• coffee life,  coffee shops

    The Baristas

    April 14, 2023
    The Baristas: Isaac, Justin and Stephen

    Met with the surgeon this morning and everyone is pleased with what they saw in my latest echocardiogram. A couple of numbers are higher than we want but for now we are pleased with them. Now it is my responsibility to eat healthier and exercise rather than just think physical activity will do. We’ve had snow/rain most of the afternoon with temperatures in the high 30s. Tonight’s low expected to drop below freezing. I stopped in at Starry Night this afternoon to write and read and enjoyed a cortado1 a cortado is a beverage consisting of espresso mixed with a roughly equal amount of warm milk to reduce the acidity. Just after I arrived it got very busy and these three Baristas2 a person whose job involves preparing and serving different types of coffee. handled it very well. Happy Friday and enjoy your weekend!

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  • clouds,  landscape,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area,  sunrises

    This Sacred Moment

    March 29, 2023

    A man who works with his hands is a labourer. A man who works with his hands and his head is a craftsman. A man who works with his hands, his head, and his heart is an artist.

    Francis Of Assisi

    While scraping the car’s windshield in the dark this morning I could hear the geese on the pond announcing to the world the approaching new day. I was well aware of their secret, which is why I crawled out from warm covers and made my way to Pineridge Natural Area. I regularly make my way to this sanctuary in nature, needing to experience these sacred moments. I am filled with gratitude for the dawn of this new day, its promises, and the mysteries of what it holds. Now time for a cortado. May you also enjoy the unfolding of this day!

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  • Art,  latte art,  poetry,  writing/reading

    The Gift of a Smile

    January 4, 2023

    Made a trip to the coffee shop this morning for
    a much needed dose of medicine in my recovery

    I was greeted with the beautiful smiles
    of Logan and Nate, over two weeks without them

    Nate brings me this cortado with his special touch,
    a cute pigs face made of frothy milk, now I smile

    Soft music lets the din of people’s conversations to dominate
    comforting me with voices and smiles from people I do not know

    I watch as a woman, pregnant with child, sits at a nearby table,
    reading her book with a cup of coffee, its steam rising in the sunlight

    I journal from my favorite chair where the sun warms me,
    these sacred moments somehow bring comfort and serenity

    So this morning I accepted the gift of a smile from my baristas
    holding their smile within me and offering the gift of my own smile

    Yes, the gift of a smile…

    mws

    PS: Sorry for the poor depth of field in the image.

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  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fall season,  fountain pens,  journal,  journaling,  musings,  Photography,  quotes,  seasons,  writing/reading

    A Reason to Journal

    October 29, 2022

    “With words at your disposal, you can see more clearly. Finding the words is another step in learning to see.”

    Robin Kimmerer

    I believe that each pen, or any writing instrument, is a tool filled with words and that it is the task of the writer to find them. And, I define a writer as everyone! We just don’t know it yet. Just pick up the pen and put it to paper. I also believe words are found in blank journals and it is the writer’s task to find them. If you don’t believe me then get a journal and pen and begin to write daily. The words may be just for you but they are there.

    This morning we had a light frost with the temperature around 30 degrees. By mid-morning the sun and bright blue sky had melted it away. It has been a quiet day for me. This afternoon I sat in my chair in the sunshine and let the sun warm me, inside and out. I watched the wind blow leaves across the yard, making that rustling sound as they danced in front of me. Now it is overcast and cooling down. My journals are my attempts to find words that describe such moments. and they also help me see such moments. It is a practice where progress not perfection is the task. I love what I see in this world so I use photography and my journals as ways to describe them. That’s my reason to journal and why I love my photography.

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  • Black and White,  coffee life,  coffee shops

    Morning Rituals

    June 12, 2021

    morning ritual
    quiet prayer and meditation
    cortado and perrier

    ms

    I’ve mentioned a bit of information on cortados before but here’s more. A cortado is a popular small-sized espresso. The balance between the espresso and milk is 1:1, (about half espresso, half milk). This amount of milk primarily serves to reduce the acidity of the espresso. It also has less froth than a latte. This one made at the Bean Cycle is 2 ounces of equal espresso and steamed milk. The other glass is Perrier water. I buy these once in a while because they have less milk than my latte, an enjoyable coffee flavor when made with good fresh beans and are less expensive. If you are adventurous enough, they can also be made with flavored syrup.

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  • coffee shops,  quotes

    It’s a Cortado Morning

    September 28, 2018

    It's a cortado morning
    It’s a cortado morning

    “Don’t just read for information, read for formation.”

    It’s only 45 degrees this morning and not expected to get above 55 today. And the low tonight of 39 degrees. Today does not feel like fall but more like winter. The grey skies have no contrast in color, just a dell gray, reminding me of the winters in Ohio.

    Had a friend invite me this morning to peel and core apples then bake a pie. Seems to be a day for that sort of creativity. Of course I’m assuming we will have to eat a piece to check out our work. I’ll let you know! 🙂

    After I post this and leave the coffee shop, I will head  back home for some reading and writing. Me time! And, of course take time for some prayer and meditation. More me time. Right now it’s cortado time then off the make and bake a pie. 🙂

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