Help! They've fallen and they need picked up!

Every year it takes its good ole time shedding, making the front yard look like an unkempt property. It's senseless to rake before they all fall. But the entire neighborhood probably hates the poor thing because it's so huge it sheds on other properties, too. And then come Spring, it will shed the little helicopters, which drop all over the flower beds and in the gutters.

Any takers? Or leaf rakers? Oh the price of having a tree in the front lawn. Next week at this time, peeps are going to have some sore back muscles.

My coffee tastes like frankincense

In spite of it's broken lid latch and the torn screen in the grounds basket, the coffeemaker we purchased several years ago has produced like a gem making me a happy coffee slurper.  All I do is place a cup on top of the lid to hold it down. Otherwise, it pops up and pauses the coffee maker. Yeah, I need to replace it, but they don't make it anymore. The model that replaced it has gotten poor reviews. And we all know what it's like for me to "shop" for a new appliance. To be honest, we've been shopping for another "brew and grind" type maker for about a year. Krups, Cuisinart, Bunn, Mellitta, Mr. Coffee should call me if they really want to know what hard core coffee slurping consumers really want in a maker.

One day last week, likely one of those mornings I had washer on the brain, I made my coffee like usual, but instead of placing a cup on the lid, I grabbed the tiny iron skillet. Perfect. I wondered why I never thought of it before. (Probably because it always had a little melting wax Frankincense tart in it. Ahh yes, the frankincense tarts - another story.) I rested the little skillet upside down on the lid and dashed to my office to begin work. Thirty minutes later when I returned, the kitchen smelled grand filled with the aroma of fresh brewed coffee and other heavenly things. I poured a cup. The little oil film I spied on the coffee reminded me the coffee maker was overdue for a thorough cleaning. I bit into the buttered roll spread with lemon curd, and sipped from my cup. The lemon curd didn't mix well with the coffee. I took another gulp. It tasted great in spite of the peculiar, yet familiar bouquet.

When I returned to the coffee maker to turn it off, I noticed it. Long drips of red trickling down from the top of the coffee maker, which I somehow amazingly overlooked when I grabbed the carafe earlier. I stood baffled. Then it hit me. The heavenly aroma, the taste of heaven...the Frankincense wax tart! I drank frankincense tart! Too bad it didn't qualify me for "angel" material, cuz Lord knows a halo might have helped me feel less "incensed" about cleaning up the mess including tearing the coffee maker apart screws and all and putting it back together.

Every day my coffee is tasting less and less like frankincense, but it's still heavenly.