If we were having coffee, I would tell you that herbal tea is losing its appeal. But I haven’t found an un-caffeinated substitute yet. Things remain pretty quiet here. Maybe quiet is good. We have to start thinking about when we will feel safe to take off our masks. Next week the State of California is ending some of the mask mandates. California counties can make their own decisions about it. The infection rate here is still high but starting to decrease. The weather is a bit hot for February. It’s supposed to be 93 F today. I had to put on the AC the past couple of days. I hope it cools down again before Spring.
I continue on with my book list. I’ve almost finished ‘The Dark Hours’ by Michael Connelly. He remains one of my favorite writers of detective/crime fiction. This book has a steady pace and does not get boring. It stars two great characters, Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch. They team up to solve not one but three cases.
On PBS streaming I have been watching Vienna Blood. In this series Detective Inspector Oskar Rheinhardt teams up with Max Liebermann, a psychoanalyst protege of Sigmund Freud, to solve murders in 1900s Vienna. Max helps determine the psychological profile of the murderer to reveal clues missed in the initial investigation by the police. We learn about the society in Vienna during those times as well.
You may think that I only like detective stories, but I also like science fiction. I have enjoyed ‘The Book of Boba Fett’ on Disney Plus. The season finale was this past Wednesday. Hoping for a Season two.
Thinking about Valentine’s Day coming up next week. The Washington Post had an article this morning by Donald Liebenson which asked several different actors, including Miss Piggy, what were ‘The best movies for Valentine’s Day.’ Miss Piggy likes ‘Breakfast at Tiffanys,’ with Audrey Hepburn…”not only because it stars the incomparable Audrey Hepburn and her fabulous little black dress, but any movie with a meal and a jewelry store in the title has to be an instant classic! ”
So, I started to think about what my favorite romantic movie would be. There is probably more than one that I will remember after finishing this post. But one that came to mind right away is ‘Moonstruck’ with Nicholas Cage, Cher, and Olympia Dukakis. The acting ensemble is terrific. It is romantic and very funny.
What is your favorite book, movie, or song about love?
Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Featured image ‘Cup of coffee in a cafe bar in Madrid’ by Gvjekoslav on Wikimedia.org (cropped)
I love ‘Sleepless in Seattle’ and also ‘You’ve Got Mail’.
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Two good ones. And Sleepless in Seattle has some great songs including ‘As Time Goes By’ and ‘Stardust.’
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Breakfast at Tiffany’s is such a classic. Thank you for your #weekendcoffeeshare.
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Thanks, Natalie.
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I enjoy a lot of romantic comedies and I’m not sure I could pick just one favorite… though I do love Notting Hill and How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.
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Both of those films have zany plots. I really like Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaghey is just about every one of their films.
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Hi Deb, I too am kind of bored with herbal teas but I also lack a compelling reason to pursue them because i drink tea more than 9 times out 10 and coffee only 1 of 10 times I want something hot drink.
For what it might be worth to you, have you taken a look through the Harney & Sons (H&S) website?
I’m a long time customer and have tried several of their black and flavored black teas along with several of their green teas. If you’re looking to reduce caffeine, I found one coffee vendor who reports:
coffee has between 95 and 200 milligrams of caffeine
black tea has between 14 and 70 milligrams of caffeine
green tea has between 24 and 45 milligrams of caffeine
So if you want zero caffeine, both tea and coffee are out along with many soft drinks, which I gave up years ago.
H&S has lots of herbal things to consider on their website that might salvage your opinion of this option. I would offer you:
https://www.harney.com/pages/herbal-infusions to get you started.
I even tried their Rooibos Tea, but thought is was too tasteless for me, but you might like to try it for a mild different taste. I found I had to use a coffee filter rather than a tea infuser as it is ground to a pretty fine powder.
I do like several of their fruit flavored blends as they use both a lot of the classic herbal ingredients and add bits of dried fruits for a very tasty drink. I’ve tried and liked their:
Blood Orange
Orange Passion
Strawberry Kiwi
Their all listed at: https://www.harney.com/collections/fruit-tea
H&S has a huge collection of products worth trying. I’ve had great satisfaction dealing with these folks. If interested, I’d give them a call and ask for their catalog which is fun and instructive to read through.
I hope you find something you love.
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Hi Gary, thank you for all the recommendations. It would be good to find more caffeine-free herbals. I will check out the links you shared.
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I love a good (sweet/poignant) love story… West Side Story among them. Just watched A Christmas Star today–a perfect fairy tale for this old gal. Sending lots of love your way with wishes for A Happy Valentine’s Day, Deborah! ❤
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West Side Story was very poignant. I saw the original version with Natalie Wood. I will have to check out A Christmas Star. Sending hugs back to you for A Happy Valentine’s Day, Bette. ❤
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Moonstruck was a good film. Not sure what I would pick for Valentine’s Day though!
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Sometimes too many choices.
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I like so many of the romantic comedies featuring Meg Ryan, and others with Julia Roberts.
Sending wishes for A Happy Valentine’s Day!
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There were a lot of movies with those two stars. Happy Valentine’s Day, Damyanti!
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Really loving the book of Boba, not caught the last one yet so no spoilers! Film wise I’m struggling to think and no doubt a few will come to mind after I hit submit. High Fidelity with John Cussack, bit different from the book by Nick Hornby. A good one though
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I won’t mention any spoilers. I don’t think I saw ‘High Fidelity.’ I looked at the synopsis and the title is a cute play on words.
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I also just finished watching the Book of Boba Fett–very good, though I liked the Mandalorian better. Now hubs and I are starting on Reacher (Amazon Prime). So far it’s wonderful and follows the first Jack Reacher book (The Killing Floor) pretty closely. As for romantic movies, I’m not usually a big fan, but I do love the Princess Bride.
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I liked both Mandalorian and Boba. We watched Reacher too. It had a lot of action. I thought the character was a bit tongue in check. I did see the Princess Bride but do not remember it. I read the plot synopsis and it sounds pretty funny and lighthearted.
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Wow 93..phew! I live in Washington and we will probably not see that temp til late summer. I’m just excited if we get close to 60 before may. Lol. I used to like Science fiction in Jr. High but I don’t seem to care for it as much now.
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I hope you weather warms up and ours cools down.
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