When The Lights Go Out (How to Conquer the Coffee Dilemma)

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Quick, think of a song about "When the lights go out."  What were you thinking?

Here's my answer: "When The Lights Go Out" by Five.  Oh my gosh.  Circa 1998.  Is it bad that it's still playing in the background as I'm typing this?  By the way, were you wondering if you recognized the song?  Well... the answer is "Yes, you do."  Seriously.  Take a listen...

Why did I ask that random question?  This week, we lost power at my parents house for pretty much a whole day.

What do you do when the power goes out?  Go to a furniture store, of course! Duh.

Lil sissy loved this animal print pillow.

I wanted to steal I mean buy this chair.

We both were loving these magnifying glasses with (fake) horns as handles.  Seriously I would play with that thing all day.

In the end, we bought nothing.  Zilch.  A big, fat zero.  Am I complaining?  No.  It was fun.

I did complain, however, when we returned to a still powerless home.  No power = No coffee maker = No coffee.  What!?  No coffee!?  Howsagirltofunction?  Hmm... do the noodle dance.  

Dingdingding!  French press coffee with no power.  

1. First, you might ask, how do you grind coffee beans when there's no power?  I filled up my grinder, stomped out to the car, and hooked it up to the power converter.  Yes, I ground coffee beans in the driver 's seat.  Yes, I would expect that the sweet aroma of ground coffee still lingers in the vehicle.
   
   
2. Second, you might ask, how do you make the water hot?  Okay, well, you're probably only asking me that if your stove has an electric starter like mine does.  We started the gas and used a match to light the stove, then put on the tea kettle!
   
   Sidenote: I really want a brightly colored vintage-looking teakettle like these I found for $23.99 on Amazon.  It's going to happen.  The gray monster just isn't doing it for me visually.  I mean obviously, there's no competition.
   
   vs.  
   
   
3. Third, the coffee part.  French press, baby!  This was my first forte into the french press arena.  Apparently (please humor me if you already know all of this - because I didn't!)  you put the coffee grounds in the bottom, then fill with water.  Put the top on without pushing the plunger down and let it steep for a few minutes, then slowly push the plunger down to trap the grounds at the bottom.  And then... voila, a freshly brewed cup of Jo!
   
   

Maybe I'm about to become a French Press enthusiast.  This could be dangerous.  Here we go...