• Anne Lamott,  coffee life,  coffee shops,  quotes

    Believing in Love

    “Hope is not about proving anything. It’s about choosing to believe this one thing, that love is bigger than any grim, bleak shit anyone can throw at us.”

    Anne Lamott

    I began writing this post yesterday after returning from the coffee shop where I enjoyed the above mocha latte. Felt the need to write with this keyboard and not just in my journal or bring what I journal to these pages more. Anyway…

    After quiet time I drove to Pineridge Natural Area to enjoy the predawn colors. I never took my camera out of the bag but sat in the silence taking in as much as I could. Guess you could call it recharging. The eastern sky was cloudless with the exception of one fluffy patch to the north. They predicted snow to begin overnight and continue into today. They were right on as it is snowing now.

    I’ve read a couple of Anne Lamott’s books and find her able to express in words some of the bleak shit of my life experiences better than I can. But, I also find that true with other authors I quote on this blog. Not everyone will relate to their words or mine and I’m beginning to feel comfortable with that. Hoping you can bare with me as I continue to put my words and images out into the cyber world. And hopefully you may notice some improvement in both my writing and photography. After all, my barista did not make latte art like this on her first attempt.

  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  Food,  lifestyles

    Thank you Alyssa!

    To continue with the coffee shop theme from yesterday’s post I thought I’d mention one other factor that entices me to coffee shops. At most of the shops I patronize there is usually some pastry, breakfast sandwich or breakfast burrito as part of their menu. Almost every morning the Starry Night Espresso Cafe has a tray of freshly made scones on the counter. The aroma from these fresh out of the oven lemon cranberry scones filled my nostrils as soon as I walked in. They place them on the counter right in front of you so when you order you have no choice but to make eye contact with them. (Yes, they do stare.) And, they’re warm enough you can watch the icing dribble down the sides! Yes, there are other factors to my coffee shop excursions besides a mocha latte. Thank you Alyssa for baking the scones and making my mocha latte this morning!

  • coffee life,  coffee shops

    My Coffee Shop

    I usually arrive at coffee shops as soon as they open the doors, around 7:00 am. At this time they are normally slow which adds to my enjoyment. And at this hour of the morning I am usually the center of the baristas attention. It is much quieter, and during these times of the pandemic, much safer. There was one other person in the shop when I took this about 8:00 am. For this first hour it does feel like it’s just my coffee shop.

  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  lifestyles,  poems,  poetry,  writing/reading

    The gift of fall mornings

    watching the changes outside the window
    a witness to the sights and sounds of the fall season

    as a cool wind rustles through the trees
    red and yellow snowflakes flutter earthward

    the trees offering their annual gifts along with
    a promise of big white snowflakes soon to come

    jotting words in my journal of what I see and hear
    while including a list of todays simple gratitudes

    so, I accept the gift of fall mornings and this mocha latte

    mws

    Rain and wind predicted for today so the gold and yellow leaves will all be headed for Kansas by this evening. Thanks for stopping by.

  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  gratitude,  journal,  Mary Oliver,  poems,  writing/reading

    Warm Socks

    “Poetry is a life-cherishing force. For poems are not words, after all, but fires for the cold, ropes let down to the lost, something as necessary as bread in the pockets of the hungry.”

    Mary Oliver

    My car said it was 43 degrees at 5:18 this morning. Hearing reports that the aspens are putting up some very nice colors in the higher elevations. Awoke early and spent an hour at the natural area this morning in almost complete darkness and silence. Brought along a book of poetry to provide some warmth. Yet, I was still chilled by the time I arrived at the coffee shop. As the fall season moves on I will adjust more to the colder mornings and not be near as chilled. However, I was grateful for warm socks and a mocha latte!