Wow Maryann. You made me cry. "If I do what I've always done, I'll have what I've always had." I've always liked the way you say things, they make sense. I'll raise my cup to you and ponder what you're doing this Sunday. That's actually one of the escapes I found when LF was little. No matter what--church, duties for the house, trips (even if we have to get up at 3AM), we always escape to have our drinks on Saturday and Sunday mornings. He has chocolate milk and I have my decaf. We either do something totally mindless like a coloring contest (we alternate winning), have nothing but each other and the skeleton trees outside the window to hold our attention, or I might use the time to study a bit while he plays with his DS, if I am really getting behind and need a boost. I try not to infringe on the frivolous time.

The first qualification for me to like a coffee mug is that its sides should gently round down into the bottom and it should not be too heavy. Such mugs are not necessarily very easy to find in this country, and my favorite few (that are left) are from Japan. I hate the thick-sided generic type of mug that looks like a cut-off cylinder with a round disc of a bottom stuck on it. But even when I find one of an acceptable shape and weight, I like it best if it has pretty colors or pictures of animals on it. I have two with pale vegetables on them, one with pigs, and one with pink and white stripes.

I couldn't even begin to guess how many cups are in 3 lbs. of D.E., but if you go to your local pool supply store they'll probably have a handy little D.E. Scoop which holds 1 lb. and probably costs about $5. I'm not quite sure I buy the part about only using 1.5 lbs., though. Sure, some D.E. will always be left on the grids after backwashing, but since you don't know how much remains I would rather have a little too much than not enough. When I did service, I was taught to use the full amount after each backwash and then we disassembled the filter and manually cleaned the grids annually. If you get too much D.E. on the grids, then the pressure goes up and the filter cycle decreases. I don't think that's nearly as bad as the alternative, not having enough D.E. on them. I usually don't tend to nay-say a manufacturer's instructions, but that's my 2 cents on the matter.

My 4 cup maker is easy to make 1 cup. I can make "1 cup" in my 12 cup maker either. I find it hilarious that people think that a larger maker must be full. They must also think you can't drive a 6 seat car unless it's full of people! People are gullible to no end. Keurig is nothing unique. It's the biggest sell job/fad since the pet rock. It's also easy to make any amount in a percolator and you'll get better coffee from a good percolator than any Keurig IMO. Only a fraction of people who have Keurigs have even heard of cleaning them. Every time I see those things with the used, wet, mildewed soon to be moldy used pods sitting in them I gag and wonder how people like drinking that. Disgusting. Everyone I know who has them finds them to last at best a little over a year. For that kind of money I laugh at them and ask how much they paid for their pet rock and other gimmicks. One friend argues "OH it makes SUCH GOOD coffee!!!!!" Yeah, then 6 months later it's not so good. And they always ask for coffee when they're here because my coffee "is so good!" Plus I see many people who have gotten tired of the fad and realize that most people want more than a single cup, especially if they entertain so they buy a real coffeemaker to go with it. The novelty of standing in line for each person to make their own "single cup" has worn off in a lot of places. If people really want to pay $100 or more for something that does nothing more than a $10-$30 appliance, and then pay anywhere from 40¢ to $1.00+ for each of the pods, no problem, they can go ahead and throw their money away for a status symbol. Just don't try to tell me it does things that it doesn't and don't try to tell me it's better or easier or can't be done with the other things. I don't need a microwave toaster or a Keurig. I do much better without.