Coffee al fresco

I've invested in a new coffee machine!

I found it lying in wet grass down the road from where I live.

It's all part of the big recycling campaign launched by Auckland council.

Everyone's been digging out their unwanted belongings and putting them up for grabs in the street.

I didn't even have to go out of my way to hunt down anything in particular but still managed to walk past plenty of interesting stuff on my usual route to and from the city.

If you'd had the time and patience for a good rummage, you'd have been rewarded with some nice finds.

And probably a few not so nice ones, too.

I bet this BBQ's been to some good parties though.

Okay, so the coffee machine has seen better days. And most of them were probably some years ago.

But you never know... it might turn out to be the best free investment I've ever carried home.

Though I still haven't dared plug it in yet. And as for cleaning it... well, let's just say I haven't yet attempted that either.

As you can see.

So whilst I still can't make a decent coffee at home, at least I still have an excuse to while away the hours drinking them in cafes.

Though after a certain time of day, usually around 3 o'clock, I now move on from coffee to hot chocolate. And I've found a pretty good one at Ben's.

This one wasn't done for the camera either - they always look like this. The texture is amazing, like smooth, fluffy pillows that melt over your tongue.

You're not sure where your mouth ends and the drink begins.

And this is what they look like a few minutes later.