Tag Archives: #WeekendCoffeeShare

Tea Bag Wisdom

If we were having coffee, I would be having herbal tea. It is a habit I have developed after being advised to give up caffeine. The paper tab attached to the tea bags I use has sayings or words of advice printed on it. So, every morning I get words of wisdom with my tea. This morning’s selection said

Inner peace creates peace in the world

I do aspire to find inner peace since there is plenty going on in the world that makes me feel upset. Like reading about the ‘son of Omicron’ in the paper. I did read an expert’s opinion that it was not a son but a sibling. But whatever you call it, it’s not good. This kind of news keeps me up at night. It’s constantly being required to adjust to this pandemic on into the future.

On the local front, some indoor exercise classes have resumed here. Everyone is required to wear masks, but I am not ready to start up with it again just yet. I have lost my trust in the management here since they allowed people to go maskless in those same classes a few weeks ago and then they had an outbreak. I will continue walking outside for now. Walking does contribute a lot to my inner peace.

And so did harvesting our grapefruit tree this week. I did not realize how many grapefruit were on the tree because they were hidden from view by the leaves. We had over 50 grapefruit. I gave nine away so far to the neighbors, so only forty-one to go.

Always glad to spot my roadrunner friend, too.

I like this photo because you can see his spotted feathers

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie the Explorer.

Taking Steps

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If we were having coffee, I would still be having herbal tea, mango ginger to be exact. I continue on with my daily walks. I am noticing more people out doing the same thing. Not sure if it is the moderate temperatures or that our indoor exercise classes were canceled due to Omicron.

The roadrunner was out for a morning walk the other day. He usually walks or runs everywhere, so this was not new for him. If he had a pedometer or smart watch, I wonder how many steps he would record a day? Probably a lot more than me.

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Thanksgiving

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If we were having coffee I would tell you preparations have already started at my house for the coming Thanksgiving holiday here. Busy with the housecleaning, shopping, and our turkey has been ordered. We are expecting our kids, our little grandson, and my brother-in-law to join us for dinner. This weekend we are off on a visit with our son’s family to celebrate our grandson’s fifth birthday. Everyone is fully vaccinated. These are the first bigger family gatherings for us since the pandemic began. Thankful that we can be together and all of us are healthy. Looking forward to seeing our daughter. It has been almost a year since we have seen her.

Happy Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating it this year. Hopes for more happy get togethers for us all in the coming new year.

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Puzzle Pieces

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Coffee’s up. We have Columbian again today. I want to get to the store and pick up Peet’s French Roast but haven’t made it there yet. If we were having coffee I would tell you that my husband has collected several boxed jig-saw puzzles. Those type of puzzles don’t interest me so much. I like a different type of puzzle, mysteries, police procedurals in particular.

Another puzzle I am into is genealogy research. I like finding the vital statistics and accounts of ancestor’s lives. I have learned some history with this research as well. It is engrossing and a reprieve from all the negative things happening. It’s a lot like solving mysteries and puzzles, putting all the pieces together in the right place.

Something else had been puzzling me. I hadn’t seen any roadrunners in quite a while and wondered what happened and where they went. Then, the other day, I spotted a large bird on the patio. I only got a brief glimpse as it slipped past the patio door. I went outside to the front of the house and there they were, a pair of roadrunners. One took off right away but the other stayed for a short time while we shared greetings. I snapped a quick photo before it went on its way.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is ‘puzzle,’

Also sharing post with Weekend Coffee Share hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Weekend Coffee Share #33-Slowed Down

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Coffee’s ready. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. If we were having coffee I would tell you life has felt slowed down this week. I have been out of the house for routine errands, like grocery shopping with my husband. But I did not get to my yoga classes this week. I missed one class because we were staying at another location while the air conditioning was out. Happy to report that the the AC is repaired and working fine now and we didn’t have to buy a new unit. We did a lot of driving back and forth from the place we were staying but now we are back home. Something else made me miss the second yoga class. The county we live in is having a surge of COVID infections and the health department recommends all people wear masks when indoors with others. The community I live in has not required people to follow this recommendation and I don’t feel safe exercising in a room with unmasked people. I have been wearing a mask but most of the others are not. Neither my husband or myself can risk even a ‘break through’ infection. I feel I need to avoid indoor gatherings for now. Seems like it is going to be a longer road to recovery from this pandemic. I worry about my little grandson who has just started back to school. We are excited that he is coming to visit us this weekend.

So much bad news these days in the world. I find myself taking refuge in my genealogy research. It helps to take the load off my mind. It is like detective work looking for clues about the people on my family tree. It is satisfying when I can find the answers.

Well, time to hit the road.

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer.

Stream of Consciousness Saturday, #SOCS, is hosted by Linda G Hill. The prompt for today is “ode.” Find a one- or two-syllable word that rhymes with “ode,” or use the word “ode.” Have fun!

Weekend Coffee Share # 28-Rabbit Tales

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Coffee’s up. Sit down and pull up a chair. We have rye toast today for a change. If we were having coffee I would tell you I spent much of my time in the rabbit hole again this week. I mentioned that I am into genealogy research. I strongly matched DNA with several people. I have researched the surnames on their family trees but no link up with anyone on mine as yet.

The weather has been pretty warm so I have been spending more time indoors. I did get out to a pool yoga class this week. I was glad that I tried this new class. It was nice to be outdoors in the community pool.

The Delta variant is taking a stronger hold in California. My husband and I decided we are wearing masks indoors when out in public as an extra precaution. I hope more people will get vaccinated so we can get rid of this virus.

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer. Featured image of rabbit by Wildlife Terry on Flickr.com

Weekend Coffee Share #27-Down The Rabbit Hole

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Coffee’s ready. Pull up a chair and grab a cup. If we were having coffee I would tell you this past week contained a loose assortment of things. I finished the latest book for our book group. I would highly recommend ‘Station Eleven’ by Emily St. John Mandel. You might think a book about a fictional pandemic would not be appealing in these times, but it really drew me in. After I finished it, I wished there was more.

We’ve been binge watching another series on Netflix, ‘Manifest.’ It mainly keeps me interested because I want to know how it’s going to end. And I started back doing genealogy research. That’s where I really get hooked. I think it is that there is something rewarding about finding records about people on my tree and following the winding path that links us all together.

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer

Featured Image is Forest Tower of Camp Adventure in Southern Zealand, Denmark by Stig Nygaard on Flicker.com

Weekend Coffee Share #26-Abundance Of Roadrunners

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Coffee’s ready. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. If we were having coffee I would tell you we coped with the extreme temperatures here in the desert. Now the heat dome has moved northwest. We continue with temperatures in the 100s F. We are doing well with air conditioning, but it makes it harder to fall into a routine with outdoor activities. It can be in the 80s at 6 AM. It gets hotter in the afternoon, so the evenings are still hot too. I do go to an indoor Yoga class. This week I am deciding if I need to wear a mask there again. We heard the announcement by the LA Public Health Department that people, even vaccinated people, should wear masks while in public, especially when indoors. This Delta variant is causing concern and I read the Biden administration is sending out ‘surge teams’ of specialists to assist communities where the virus is spreading rapidly. Our county here has not made any announcements about wearing masks.

I hadn’t seen the roadrunners for a while during the high heat, but just spotted one crossing the road yesterday. And today, so excited to see three of them. One was right near our driveway. I thought it was going to go in our yard, but it must have gone next door. The most wonderful sighting was on the patio outside one of the restaurants in our community. I think people must be feeding that one because he was not as shy as the others, and I was able to get a few closer photos of him. He was just beautiful and my photos did not capture all the colors around his eye, but you can see a blue streak on his tail. It was good to see that the roadrunners are surviving the weather.

This roadrunner had some striking colors. Can you see the blue streak on his tail?

A nice closeup. Can you see there is some color around his eye?

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie of Natalie the Explorer.

Weekend Coffee Share #25-Not Quite Into The New Normal

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Coffee’s ready. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. We have cinnamon toast today. If we were having coffee I would tell you it has cooled down some this week, as low as 102 degrees F on Wednesday with some rain showers. We are heading back up into the teens on Saturday. It was good to have some rain and I am pretty sure the citrus trees appreciated it. Some of the leaves on the grapefruit were getting puckered with 120 degrees. I love the smell of the earth after the rain. I went to check the mail box one late afternoon during the high heat and there was a hot wind blowing as well. I thought I was going to burn up right there. I did take an early morning walk this week. I did not see any roadrunners.

We were hopeful for a smooth transition from lock down to post-COVID life. We had a setback just after opening here. We had just had week one of the end of restrictions and I had gone to a couple of yoga classes without a mask, when we received an email from the HOA telling us that a person who tested positive for COVID had been inside both club houses in our community. It made me realize that COVID is still out there and close to home. But I have been telling myself that I have to trust the the vaccine is providing all the protection I need and I have to re-enter society eventually. How long am I going to wait? So I am continuing to take the beginning steps. I went to the grocery store again but I still didn’t feel comfortable getting too close to other customers. I keep reading in the paper that fully vaccinated people are protected even against the new Delta variant, so I will try to remember that.

The book group I recently joined is still meeting on Zoom until the Fall. Meeting on Zoom feels like being on camera, which it is, and a bit outside my comfort zone. I didn’t realize it would have this effect on me. It feels a bit like public speaking when we discuss the books and it is awkward for me. I have to get accustomed to it. It’s easier for me to express myself in writing.

Speaking of books, I am reading ‘While Justice Sleeps’ by Stacey Abrams. It takes place in current times and it is an engaging suspense thriller involving a Supreme Court Justice and the government intrigue he and his clerk are swept up in. Stacey is an articulate speaker and talented writer as well.

Weekend Coffee Share is hosted by Natalie of Natalie the Explorer.

Weekend Coffee Share #24-Odds and Ends

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Coffee’s up. Today it’s Peets French Roast. Grab a cup and pull up a chair. If we were having coffee I would tell you we are in the middle of a heat wave here. It is already 100 degrees F at 8:30 AM. I did do a couple of early morning walks this week, but I would have to get up really early to get out when it was cool today. And I did not wake up early because my husband and I were binge watching ‘Mere of Easttown’ last night until midnight.

Have you ever tried cleaning a barbeque, grills and other parts, after the grease has baked on. I bought this non-toxic spray foam that is supposed to remove it all, but it takes a lot of scrubbing and the addition of Brillo pads. And all the baked on stuff didn’t come off. I researched grill cleaning tips online and one suggestion was to put the grills in the bathtub to soak. I can tell you that is not going to happen. I bought another brand of non-toxic grill cleaner and I will let you know how it works.

We re-opened in California this past Tuesday. I took my first Yoga class without a mask on Tuesday morning. It was the first time I saw the instructor’s whole face. The class was not crowded and I felt comfortable. When I walked into a local market on Wednesday morning it looked like the staff and customers were all wearing masks. I thought I had missed some information about the mask wearing rules. I almost went back to my car to grab a mask and then decided I would just pick up one item I needed and make a quick exit. When I got to the check out I asked the cashier about it and she told me if I was vaccinated I did not have to wear a mask but the staff were still wearing masks. The same thing happened at the bank. There was still a sign outside the bank that said face coverings and social distancing were required. So this time I went back to the car and grabbed a mask. When I asked the teller about it she said the employees were continuing to wear masks but I did not have to. Seems like not everyone is ready to go without a mask yet and I don’t blame them. Customers are not required to show proof of vaccination.

I was thinking about how the roadrunners were doing in this heat. I read that they are very adapted to the desert and take shelter when it’s really hot. I only saw one this week on one of my early morning walks.