Author: Amy Tetreault

With a bachelors in communications and a masters in journalism, Amy Tetreault is a thirtysomething marketing professional based on the New Hampshire seacoast. When she's not staring intensely at her MacBook screen, Amy is reading, listening to NPR, volunteering, playing with her puppy and husband, and hitting the road for a great run.

A Lonesome New Year’s Eve

Posted on by Amy Tetreault in Sidetracked, Wandering

This year, Kris and I welcomed 2012 from the westernmost hut on the Appalachian Trail, the Lonesome Lake Hut.

Just an hour or so hike from the road, this rustic accommodation was away from everyday civilization, beautiful in its simplicity, and the perfect way to spend New Years Eve. We played Scrabble, read our books, made friends with fellow hikers, traded stories with the hut’s caretaker, enjoyed too much wine, and lit sparklers on the edge of the mountain at the stroke of midnight.

Not a bad way to welcome the new year.

 

RIP Coffee Maker

Posted on by Amy Tetreault in Sidetracked, Written Word

Sure, I knew this day was coming. I’ve been mentally preparing myself for it, while simultaneously ignoring the signs: the gasping sounds, the slow drip, the tinny taste. My coffee maker has been dying a slow, painful death and I’ve been turning a blind eye.

But now the day has come. It died honorably – simple refusing to brew another cup. And now I’m I’m forced to acknowledge the loss and move on.

My coffeemaker has been my morning pal for approximately five years. She helped me stumble to morning undergraduate classes at my Maine college. She was how I survived riding the B line (and all those BU students) on my way to graduate school, my part-time retail job in Fanueil Hall, my other part-time job at a South End non-profit, and all the other freelance/temporary/desperate jobs I held while living in Boston. She’s traveled with me to apartments in Beverly, Gloucester and Newburyport.

But now I’m at a loss. All my attempts to find a coffee maker have failed. When did Keurig become the only option for coffee? Why do people need to buy their coffee in little pods? Why doesn’t anyone make/carry a good, solid coffee maker with an enclosed brewing system that features a gentle keep-warm feature? (Yes, I’m picky). I don’t want conventional glass carafes, individual cup brewing, or any of this other stuff that Bed, Bath & Beyond is stocked to the ceiling with.

I guess I’ll scour the internet, keep my eyes open at my downtown shops, and ask friends for their advice. And until I find a respectable new coffee maker? Back to the good old French Press.