My online journal where I share my interests in photography, nature, journaling, fountain pens, bicycling, coffee life, spirituality and the mystery of it all.
Annie was sporting a new apron made by her mother. This apron is number two. So, I’m showing you both Annie and apron number two. Well done mom! I am about to head to Pedro’s Coffee and meet up with Eric. I hope you have a great day and weekend!
And, Happy Valentine’s Day!
“There is a great difference between defending life and befriending it. Defending life is often about holding on to whatever you have at all cost. Befriending life may be about strengthening and supporting life’s movement toward its own wholeness. It may require us to take great risks to let go, over and over again, until we finally surrender to life’s own dream of itself.”
Rachel Naomi Remen
In spring and summer we do not see the intricate and random patterns of tree branches due to the amount of leaves. But in winter when the trees are barren of leaves we see those chaotic growth patterns of tree branches. I say chaotic because our logical minds and egos want to control, keeping things in some form of order. That is not true of nature. She amazes me at how twisted and bent the branches seem to be but nature has its reasons. I’ve come to realize my task is more about enjoying nature’s creative work of art rather than trying to analyse it. So this morning as I waited for the coffee shop to open I enjoyed seeing the moon framed by the old tree with its random and intricate branches while a touch of pink glowed from the morning’s sunrise. My view at this stage in my life is that life is full of things happening erratically and the chances of any of them making some kind of relevant sense are remote in the extreme. We are all here to live life one moment at a time. It seems this is a wonderful way to start any morning!
“To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.”
Mary Oliver
And I am talking about Winter, one of our baristas at Mugs on Laurel. She has been gone for three months to England through an exchange program at Colorado State University. This is the first Old Town mocha she made for me since her return. She still makes a good Old Town mocha and her latte art is pretty dang good too. Welcome back Winter!
My friend Jeff came by and picked me up for coffee at Mugs this morning, which became two hours of good conversation. He is moving to senior low-cost housing in Windsor and needed to talk about it. It’s something both of us have talked about for over a year. So this morning we talked about facing the reality that many of us do qualify for senior housing and for low-cost housing. Yet, our minds do not always follow our age. I qualify for both. In fact, I have my name on the waiting list for 2 of those facilities.
I was trying to figure out what to say in a blog post for this evening because it’s been a couple days and I don’t want my millions of readers worrying. I also have comments I’d like to respond to. As far as my health I am still not driving and I’m not lifting over ten pounds. I will see the surgeon this coming Friday and hopefully have the staples removed and be given the okay to to drive again. I am still taking it cautiously when I move, making sure I take care of my incision. Thanks to all of you who checked on me. It means a lot. They say we could see snow overnight here and I see some of you have already had snow or rain today. I hope you had a good weekend and stay dry and warm!
“Wisdom is not gained by knowing what is right.
Barbara Brown Taylor
Wisdom is gained by practicing what is right,
and noticing what happens when that practice succeeds
and when it fails.”
We had an absolutely beautiful day here in Colorado, reaching a nice 72 degrees and sunshine. I sat outside and journaled in the sun. It seemed like the wise thing to do!
It was surprisingly warm this morning at 57 degrees, reaching a high of 69 degrees. Even though the wind was gusting a bit I rode the bicycle to the coffee shop, taking the Spring Creek Trail just for the ride. Two of the baristas were taking photos of latte art to put on their Facebook or Instagram sites for the coffee shop. So I took a photo of them.
My dad’s graveside celebration of life will be on Wednesday morning the 17th at 9 am in Follett, Texas. Sheree (my sister), Monica (my youngest daughter), and I are going to drive down leaving early on the 16th and drive back right after the service on the 17th. We will stay one night, the 16th, in Perryton at the Quality Inn. It will be a very quick trip down and back. We will gather around his casket and share individually something about dad. I hope you had a good day!!
The young man came in and setup this chess board and then proceeded to eat his muffin. While everyone else around was probably wondering what he was doing, I saw it as a photo opportunity. I grabbed my camera and walked over to ask if I could take a photo. He said yes but actully had hoped I was coming over to play a game with him. He was disappointed when I told him no. The truth is, I don’t even know how to play chess. It has been a beautiful sunny day today and right now we are getting one beautiful sunset. I hope you had a good day!
“In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.”
Bill Gates
Update: My dad had a restless night as breathing becomes more difficult even with oxygen and he is sleeping a lot. Both common aspects of the end stages of congestive heart failure. My sister says he is still sharp and witty and sharing those funny moments with her. What a gift to share! He has plenty of visitors as he is loved by many at his assisted living facility.
In reference to the above quote I’m not sure it pertains to retirees. For some retirees the coffee life is our real job. I hope you have a wonderful Sunday!