Okay so here is what just happened - I ordered a superautomatic. It's not gonna be top of the line, but I think it'll give me an idea of how much I'll use/enjoy it and then I can possibly move on to a better machine. I just figure by the time I buy all the other small crap, in addition to the grinder, I'll have spent a couple hundred bucks only to possibly buy a superautomatic anyway. I got the Gaggia Brera for $259 refurbished after watching several videos and talking with the guy at Whole Latte Love. We shall see...

I know right? I REALLY want good coffee, but I REALLY don't want to work so darn hard for it!

Oh my goodness yes!

Dishwasher safe isn't gonna help me. I have no dishwasher. How difficult are these to clean?

Honestly, and this sounds cold I'm sure, barring any medical issues, I would euthanize the cat. I think rehoming older animals can often be harder on them than just being put to sleep, especially if he has strange behaviors that could potentially cause him to be placed several times. Also, and I mentioned this in the dog thread, there are TONS of good, well-behaved, loving cats that desperately need chances at good homes; why take a spot away from one of those cats and place one with known issues? This is just my opinion based on what I see around my area with the humane efforts. I know it's probably not popular opinion, but if every animal could have a home, rescue organizations wouldn't be turning pets away. I just think if some are gonna be euthanized, it should be the ones with known behavioral issues so the others would have a chance. Editing to add: I'd be extremely certain I got out as much latent cat pee smell as possible before I brought in another cat or kitten. You may get a perfectly behaved one that never feels the need to mark its territory, but I don't know that I'd want it to have a reason to try.

So if you're using all these more manual methods, how do you get out the door quickly with coffee in hand? I'm just worried all this is gonna take too long, dirty too much crap and cause more stress than it's worth. That being said, my coffee from my French press this morning is much better; just worried about how quickly I'm gonna go through a pound of coffee! I looked at more superautomatic machines online last night. There's a lower end Gaggia machine that's reasonably priced. I watched videos and it looks good, but of course, these guys ARE trying to sell these machines...

For those of you that use the stovetop espresso makers, how much time is involved and how much cleanup? I'm looking for simple. ;-p

So why would you need both of these? Does one do coffee and the other espresso?

Have you ever used one of the stainless versions of this? I would be interested in trying it for the money, but I don't like to cook or heat anything in aluminum.

I did get a burr grinder.

I do use the Pioneer Woman's recipe (well, I make a gallon at a time versus two gallons, but I just adjust her measurements).

I'm so sorry y'all had to return the dog, but it was definitely what needed to be done. This is one reason why I have a tough time with adopting older dogs. I know there are many, many wonderful stories of pet adoption, and thankfully many people who adopt unwanted/abandoned pets, but I won't do it. I have too many kids in and out of my house to take chances. Around here the shelters are so overloaded and foster homes so hard to come by, that the screening process is weak. They just want to move the dogs through, place them into homes and get the next ones off the streets or out of the kill shelters. I think it's a fabulous thing to do, and I love animals, but some dogs are just not adoptable into families, and those bad ones are keeping good ones from getting homes. We have a dog right now that we've raised from a puppy (from a littler of puppies my dd found), but he has gotten aggressive with us lately, and he snapped at my granddaughter a couple days ago. At this point he is locked up anytime the kids are here, and we have discussed having him euthanized. It will be a tough thing to do, but I am just not willing to risk it.

I so wish you could too! ;-p

Okay I get that it's not gonna taste as good as real espresso, but seriously - tell me how you make other drinks for a reasonable price. I used 1/3 of a $11 bag of coffee this morning! Does the French press just require way more grounds than other methods?

Okay - tell me how I use this and why it's awesome. ;-p Seriously though, I'm just over working hard for my coffee that isn't tasting like I want it to. Plus, I just REALLY like the cappucinos with the lovely, frothy milk. ;-p

Well our flooring isn't gonna change. We have slate ceramic in the entire downstairs, and I'm really hoping that our changes won't force us to bust up floors - that'll be a huge mess! Ideally we will either use spare (if we still have some) or find something that's a match or near match. I'm thinking the idea of going more moderate in the bathrooms might work and it'll leave a good bit of money for lots of those other things. I actually already have the vanity piece for my hall bath. My niece gave it to me. We will buy a sink that sits on top and a new faucet. The toilet won't need changing because it's fairly new. We have to rip out the tub and work on the enclosed area around it. What I want to do is a clawfoot, but, depending on the flooring situation, I may wind up with just a slightly larger tub than what I have now; one that will fill the space. My bathroom isn't large, and my husband will be doing most of the labor. For the back bath, I wanted a walk-in shower, but I'm not sure our space is big enough. I know I do NOT want a tub/shower combo. I also know I don't want it to be cheap looking. We have those funky yellowed fiberglass enclosures now and I can't stand them. I just need to lose that look forever.

If you have a Nespresso, how much do you love it or hate it? I thought I had made up my mind about my coffee situation and was going to just use what I have until I could justify the cost of a superautomatic espresso maker. I have also had a couple people mention that the Nespresso actually has pretty decent espresso, but it is pricey to drink regularly. Well, today I ground my fresh beans for my French press and realized that basically I'm gonna go through a 12 ounce bag of coffee every 4-5 days (for sure within a week) using my French press. I'm buying good coffee and it's not cheap. Basically I'm gonna spend $40-50 on coffee beans for the French press and that or more on beans for a superautomatic espresso maker. This is not including the Swiss water processed decaf I buy for my cold brew (can't drink more than one cup of caffeinated, if any). So I'm thinking again about the possibility of just getting a Nespresso to do my one cappucino or Americano daily. I just don't know if I am ready to justify the initial cost of a superautomatic, but I am not really loving just coffee right now. Tell me, what do you love, or hate, about your Nespresso. And for those who have read my other coffee threads, I'm sorry. I hope this one will be the last. ;-p

Well we got a new roof after Hurricane Gustav, and less than 2 years ago my husband pulled off all the exterior, reinsulated, put new plywood and Tyvek then had the entire outside done in vinyl siding. While he was doing that, he replaced all the windows with new, double-insulated ones. Our exterior is in good shape for a long time to come. The main reason for the bathroom remodels is some jacked up, backwards plumbing between the two showers (they are back to back). We have no leaks or anything, but it's literally backwards AND my husband thinks there may be an uncapped drain line which is causing a stale smell in our closet. We just need to do the bathrooms to take care of that issue, so we are taking the opportunity to update them (which is much-needed). At this point, we owe well under half of what the house appraises for, and we aren't planning to spend more than 20K, so we will still be right around half the value with our mortgage. Our property value has more than doubled since we bought the place (we did an overhaul before we moved in, and the property values out here have increased as well). I'm not super worried about getting everything we'd put in back because we would make a nice amount if we ever did sell. We are certainly on par with most of the houses in the neighborhood (not really a neighborhood per se, but a street with houses on 5 acre lots). There is one really big, extravagant house, and maybe 2 that are nicer than ours, but most of the rest are about on par with ours (a few being lower quality). Not positive if this is forever, but quite possibly yes. Maybe going more middle of the road with the bathrooms would be smart though, just to be able to get more things done. I just think there would be more contentment with that.

Well I'd like it to NOT be our forever house because the house is probably never going to be able to be what I would want. The property, location, etc., are all pretty great, so it's quite possible we will be here until we need a retirement home or dh convinces me to move away from my grandkids and live on the beach.

Well first off, we are in a fairly rural area, and we will potentially be here forever (or at least a good, long while). I just know myself and know that even though I'll love having those perfect bathrooms I've always wanted, other things will annoy me. Other things we could do would be: A wall to wall built-in unit in the playroom downstairs which would allow us to eliminate an afterthought closet that sticks out off one wall, and also allow serious organization of the grandkids' play area (and cover the unsightly electrical box that is on the dang bedroom wall for some unknown reason). Updating all the hallway bedroom doors with nicer doors, and new knobs, fixtures, fans, etc. all throughout the house (or at least the downstairs - we don't really utilize our upstairs rooms at this point). Converting my upper kitchen cabinets into open shelving like I'm wanting and maybe adding my dishwasher drawer. Possibly even more small things we have talked about.

Okay I tried to do this as a poll but clearly failed - Nevermind I see it actually worked! ;-p If you had 15-20K to update/remodel, would you: A) update a couple of things and do them top-notch B) update more things and use nice, but not most expensive, materials We are about to update bathrooms and paint. If we do top notch bathrooms with best available materials, we'll only be able to do bathrooms and paint. The other option is to do more moderately priced materials in the bathrooms thereby allowing us to do some other updates of things that annoy me. Which would you choose?

Thanks! I don't know why I am having such coffee issues right now. This is normally my cold press season as well, but a week at my niece's with their Jura espresso maker and I am just wanting something that tastes as amazing as that (having no luck though).

Okay well Stumptown says 8 T if you're basically filling the French press with water. I did 4, which I usually did before, but I only let it steep the 4 minutes and it was way watery. I did 4 and only half the water and it's still not great, but it's a little better. I'm thinking I may need a darker roast coffee. This one is good, but a light roast. My coffee tastes have definitely changed and I'm so very annoyed.

She has the PP and MFW, but was just going to do the PP separately from the MFW. Is the MFW phonics really complete? I just wonder if dd might be less overwhelmed with something that was integrated; she's very nervous about actually teaching dgs this year.

Wow thanks for all the information!!