Even though there was a war between states, both Confederate and Union soldiers still drank their morning coffee. But how did they make it? Obviously, being in 1860's and in open fields and battlegrounds, there were no electric coffee makers, cappuccino machines, and not even latte! Jim McCoach, a Civil War reenactor for 25 years, has recreated method they used and named it Open-Pot Brewin'.

Open-Pot Brewin' is a unique technique developed by Coach's Coffee to serve Civil War reenactors coffee in field. First, Coach's Coffee starts with their own blend, Coach's Blend. This blend is made of 5 types of Arabica beans. Arabica beans are grown at a higher altitude than Robusta beans and have a smoother taste. If you want to create your own blend for Open-Pot Brewin,' mix and match several types of beans until you get taste you prefer. For more information on Creatin' Your Own Blend, email coach@coachscoffee.net.

For some of us, it's as simple as finally being able to afford to have that certain thing that, as a child, we always wanted but were unable to attain due to a lack of finances. Perhaps we dreamed of it, longed for it, and hoped for it so much, that now, as adults having money to buy it...we simply can't get enough of it! For my mother-in-law it was dolls. Now, in her seventies she has many dolls! Some she has purchased for herself, but most have been gifts from those who have known that she loved them as a girl, yet never had one of her very own. The variety of dolls she now has, adorn her bedroom and give her great pleasure...a testimony to fact that it's never too late to begin a collection.

While some collections hold purely sentimental value, others are strictly monetary.

One relative has had quite a collection of precious and semi-precious stones over years and because of their worth, has had to hide them at times. It's hard to enjoy a collection that has to be hidden under lock and key...but netting a handsome profit at resale can be more than satisfying for some collectors. My grandfather collected guns. He was a gun-smith and could make or restore almost any type of rifle. I now have one of those rifles from his carefully guarded but precious collection. He had it because he loved guns - I have it because I loved him.