• coffee shops,  fountain pens,  journal,  lifestyles,  writing/reading

    A Restless Soul

    July 29, 2020
    First mocha at the Bean Cycle in about 5 months

    A few years ago I found myself with my camera bag over my shoulder, my hand on my doorknob, heading out the door, realizing I had no clue where I was headed. My mind was blank and a recurring experience. I can’t even count how many times I’ve laughed at myself. I’ve wondered if I was crazy. Of course there are times I had a clear indication of where I was heading but not always. Should I be making a therapy appointment?

    Over the years I’ve come to the awareness that I am not a homebody but a restless soul of some sort. Home for me is not just a manmade structure with a mortgage payment of 30 years, which is how much of our culture defines home. For me, a home is where we lay our head to sleep, find shelter from harsh weather, a place of safety, and a sanctuary, a place of quiet and solitude. So home can be anywhere and everywhere. Some will disagree.

    I feel at home when I’m at one of the local natural areas, camping trip, a road trip, a nearby park, in a bookstore or library, at a coffee shop, in a sacred place, or a bicycle ride, my Adirondack chair on my porch, anywhere and everywhere. I am a restless soul. I suppose this could indicate some psychological problems but we’ll dismiss that for now because I do not want to spend money on therapy sessions.

    A closing thought as I want to keep this short. I have daydreamed of traveling most of my life. Play time was always outside, bicycling, sports, fishing, camping. As a young teenager I thought I wanted to be a truck driver. I’ve constantly dreamed of living an RV lifestyle for the past 15 years. Which I write about next. I’m a restless soul.

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  • coffee shops,  fountain pens,  Fujifilm X-T3,  journal,  quotes,  writing/reading

    Put it in your calendar

    July 19, 2020
    Journal time and a mocha at Mugs in Old Town this morning

    “When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand. The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares.”― Henri Nouwen

    And, for those who need to know it’s National Ice Cream Day, which happens the third Sunday of every July. Put it in calendar! 

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  • Food,  lifestyles,  rants,  Transportation,  window

    Burn off the jelly

    April 18, 2020
    Morning toast and coffee

    Awoke early. Couldn’t go back to sleep. Spent a bit more time reading and writing while enjoying toast and coffee. Took a walk this afternoon to Fisher Nature Area, even put in some extra steps. Needed to burn off the jelly I put on the toast.

    US Air Force Thunderbirds

    I heard the jets coming as I stepped outside to take the camera for a walk when. They were on top of me so quickly. I didn’t even look, just raised the camera and fired away.

    I had heard earlier this morning that the US Air Force Thunderbirds were planning a flyover across communities in Colorado to honor “healthcare workers, first responders, military members and other essential personnel who are working on the front lines to combat the coronavirus.” The flight path was to take them over more than 40 medical facilities.

    I find it a contradiction that military aircraft, designed to kill thousands of people, would plan a flyover in tribute to healthcare workers, first responders whose purpose is to keep people alive and include military members. I’m confused!

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  • John O'Donohue,  landscape,  quotes,  snow,  winter scenes

    Snowy Easter Morning

    April 12, 2020
    A light dusting of snow and cold temperatures on Easter morning

    “No one else has access to the world you carry around within yourself; you are its custodian and entrance. No one else can see the world the way you see it. No one else can feel your life the way you feel it. Thus it is impossible to ever compare two people because each stands on such different ground. When you compare yourself to others, you are inviting envy into your consciousness; it can be a dangerous and destructive guest.” 

    John O’Donohue

    Awoke to a dusting of light snow and cold. It is now 27 degrees, snow is falling again and expecting it throughout the day. I shortened my morning walk not because of the cold but the light breeze out of the north penetrates my clothes. I thought maybe a cup of hot coffee in my wicker rocker, watching it snow from my bedroom window, would be more comfortable, and it is. Happy Easter!

    Journal, fountain pen and coffee
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  • coffee shops,  lifestyles,  window

    The Morning’s Mood

    April 2, 2020

    Empty French Press on an overcast and misting morning

    Good morning. It is misting and at 25 degrees a fine layer of ice is covering everything. As I took in the view from my bedroom window, I thought this would make a decent image that expressed the mood of this morning.

    Awe and Wonder…

    With eyes fixed on the horizon
    I realize how small, insignificant
    I am in this vast universe.

    Yet, within me there’s a sense I am
    a part of all this, of being connected,
    even though a small part.

    I cannot define, comprehend or
    name this sense within me but at this
    moment I feel this huge mysterious love.

    May we be the gift we were meant to be,
    created to be. May we never lose the
    awe and wonder of living this life!

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