• coffee life,  coffee shops,  quotes

    Asking questions….

    Latte Art

    Live your beliefs and you can turn the world around.

    Henry David Thoreau

    I read this past week that we are ‘God’s work of art.’ That is a wonderful concept and I believe there is a lot of truth in that statement. So, it brought up some questions for me to ponder and journal about. What if we are born as a blank canvas and our life’s task is to become a finished unique work of art? What if we are to express our uniqueness through how we live life, how we treat others and all of creation. What if we use our gifts and talents believing we can turn the world around? What if we need to be in union with the creator of life to become that work of art? What if everyone believed our life is a work of art and then lived it to the fullest? I’m asking questions…

    Sun has set and the cold moves in. Hope you had a great Monday!

  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  quotes

    Latte Art

    …. Art lives in what it awakens in us…

    Jane Hirshfield

    I must say, something awakened in me when my barista, Arianna, handed me this mocha latte. Her latte art is a reflection of the coffee shop experience, the quality of my mocha and that my barista wanted to share it with me. I will return!

  • coffee life,  coffee shops

    Costumes

    I met a friend Friday morning for coffee and conversation. The couple I visited this past week are mutual friends so plenty to share. As you can tell my barista was showing off her talent on my mocha latte.

    Yesterday was the Tour de Fat in Fort Collins. It is a costumed bicycle parade followed by a party (beer) at New Belgium Brewing with music, entertainment, contests and games. What is cool about this bicycle parade is the children who dress up and ride with mom and dad. Needless to say I saw some very strange people riding bicycles. 😂

  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  fountain pens,  journal,  lifestyles,  musings,  poetry,  still life,  writing/reading

    … with you

    It was an overcast morning and cool. There was no need for a coat, my fleece would do fine. I slept well and felt refreshed. On most mornings I usually start my day by asking and relying on my intuition. Do I want to head to a natural area and all that it has to offer or do I head to a coffee shop and all it has to offer. This is a gift of retirement. After quiet time my intuition lead me to a local coffee shop. I was not disappointed as my barista, Devan, brightened my day with her latte art. Of course a photo needed to be taken followed by my feeble attempts to write about it.

    crafted with frothed milk
    a work of art now created
    no longer just a latte

    the sense of taste awakens
    as the visual sense is transformed
    when lips touch the cups rim

    now sharing this experience
    as a written memory in the journal
    … and with you

    ms

  • coffee life,  coffee shops,  landscape,  seasons,  snow,  winter scenes

    Spring Snow

    Well, Happy St. Patrick’s Day. ☘️ Not much green to be seen in our neighborhood. Awoke to a light spring snowfall, very wet and slushy. Made my way to the Bean Cycle where Devan worked on her latte art (above). She did not make me a four leaf clover design but she may practice on them today.

    After some reading, journaling and finishing my latte I headed to Rolland Moore Park for a few winter images. No one was playing basketball or volleyball and all the park benches were empty. People probably decided to have another cup of coffee and toast with jelly or making snow angels in the streets.

    My next stop was near Pineridge Natural Area. By now the roads had become very slushy and drivers were slowing down. The cities snow plows were out clearing the slush and putting down their chemicals (that poison that seeps into our groundwater).

    I saw on the news feed this morning (need to stop that) where Putin thinks “a natural and necessary self-purification of society will strengthen his country.” Then I read where Zelensky is quoted as saying, “I am almost 45 years old. Today my age stopped when the hearts of more than 100 children stopped beating. I see no sense in life if it cannot stop the deaths.” I’m thinking this morning that maybe the self-purification is about purifying minds that believe in killing.

    To end on a positive note I love the silent falling of snow, the moisture that it brings to our world. This gentle snowfall will help green up the meadows for its display of spring beauty while creating the food sources and habitat for birds and animals. May there be love ❤️ and peace ☮️ in the world!

  • animals,  coffee life,  coffee shops,  natural areas,  Pineridge Natural Area

    Passed

    My barista had trouble this morning when making my lotus flower latte art. So we agreed to just call it abstract latte art this morning. The real test was how it tasted. Passed.

    Before going to the coffee shop I spent some time at Pineridge Natural Area. If you use a magnifying glass you’ll see the four coyotes making tracks over the snow covered ice on Dixon Reservoir. They were having a good time.