Coffee and Candy… um yes please. Ok, I’m not eating it. Just getting the bags ready for tonight. We’re going to make Halloween as socially distanced as possible. We’re going to have a table in the driveway with black lights, decorations and goodie bags. Scott and I are going to hang in the garage (with a space heater cuz I’m a wimp) play games and listen to Neil Gaiman tell spooky stories.

This is the year that I’m realizing how fleeting time is with my girlie. She opted not to do pumpkins with us and bought her costume all on her own. She’s a gangster and has a matching costume with her boyfriend. I’m hoping she’ll at least stop by with said boyfriend so I can see their costumes. She left for work this morning and isn’t planning on being home until after trick or treaters. My baby is growing up.

Scott and I carved our pumpkins last night. I did Jack Skellington and Scott did The Child from The Mandalorian. It’s weird not having a third pumpkin.

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After pumpkins we were able to watch Rocky Horror…

It’s our yearly tradition. Typically we’re so tired on Halloween after getting the kid in bed that we fall asleep watching it. So this year we watched it early… so we could watch it in it’s entirety. Scott thinks we should dress as Magenta and Riff Raff one year… that would be fun.

Happy Halloween my loves please stay safe and Happy First (or 5th) Cups.

That moment when you realize that you’re sitting under the picture that’s also on your cup. Yep.

It’s the simple little things that I find amusing. I tried to take my morning coffee selfie and was thoroughly entertained by the matchy, matchy.

I hope you find amusement in your day.

Happy First Cups ☕

I got my hair cut today. First time in just under a year. I was way overdue when Covid started and haven’t gone in since.

My hair is now 4 inches shorter and then layers from there so really 6 inches shorter in places. It feels so much lighter and happier. Lena, my hairdresser, and I talked again about my whites… which she assured me still aren’t as noticeable as I think they are.

I may or may not have done an impromptu self glamor photo shoot when I got home…

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Of course with coffee too. I needed a late afternoon pick me up. I had only one, yes, one cup of coffee this morning. So more caffeine needed, plus, I think my mugs feel left out when I don’t photograph them too.

Ashlynn also got her hair cut… she did 6 inches and then layers… she loves it. Although she feels it’s short… just below her chest… that’s short for us… goofy I know. Lena laughs when she looks at the floor with the hair scattered and then looks back up at our hair and says… you guys still have so much hair.

Anyway, it’s way past bedtime for me. I hope your coffees gave you happiness today.

Today’s coffee brings life into my weary soul. The smell, a hint of vanilla and hazelnut wafts through the house like a beacon… guiding me towards it…promising flavors to comfort and nourish my tired body and mind. The taste, oh it’s even better than I remember… that first sip with eyes closed… savoring the feeling.

I savored that first cup as I watched the remnants of the dawn… as light hits the city.

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It helps wake me up enough to finish wrapping zucchini bread for a friend before I get into the shower and head out to meet him.

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Savor those first moments, that first smell, that first sip. Let it give you peace for your day. Let it embrace you, give you comfort and energy. Let it be your beacon.

Today’s coffee is still trying to give me a wakeup call.

How is it the day after a snow day I’m lazier than I was yesterday. I took a shower, made several zucchini bread loaves, helped shovel, made a yummy chicken crockpot dinner plus also a yummy crockpot carrot side. All while keeping the kitchen clean. Today… well, yep.

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Today I’m sluggish and have moved laundry twice. Part of the sluggish feeling is the random temperature of my bedroom. This house has horrible insulation and typically my bedroom is freezing but recently our bedroom seems to be sweltering at night giving both Scott and I very restless sleep. Plus this morning was an early morning wakeup for the girl kid and my body hates the 5:30 shock to the system. I did drift back to sleep after she texted saying she safely had arrived at school. But still had the same heat issue. So, after starting laundry and getting the trash to the curb I’ve been mostly collapsed on the couch.

I keep thinking I should venture out into the world… but that requires a shower… and that sounds like too much work. Told you, lazy.

But now as I hear the ding of the dryer I’m trying to convince myself to move laundry and get in that shower. Then I can feel confident, clean and maybe more awake to run a few errands. I miss grabbing coffee before doing said errands… now with masks you can’t peruse a store with drink in hand. I miss the ‘before times’.

I hope you find your afternoon pick me up… and remember to savor your cup.

Snow has a way of transporting you to a tranquil place. Watching it slowly trickle down covering its surroundings in a blanket of white. As if to say, “Sleep, you’ve been awake so long. Let me embrace you, cover you and comfort you, just sleep.”

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As I write this I find those words true on so many levels. A state ablaze with wildfires, the earth so desperate for moisture. From firefighters who have been battling the fires to ranchers and people that have lost everything to others hoping maybe their house/ their town got spared. From a personal level of grief… from losing a friend. From lost traditions and vacations and life in the ‘before times’.

Today I’m going to choose to see the comfort and feel nature in it’s splendor wrapping me in a blanket. Today in going to find peace… even if for a moment. My momma brain is slightly having an issue since this is Ashlynn’s first snow since she got her license and she’s working today. She made it safely to work… she’s mostly good at calling when she gets to and leaves places.

I’m also going to find comfort making chili and zucchini bread today… but first… coffee and candles… and snow.

Let nature embrace you today and have a peaceful first or third cups.

Can you smell it? The aroma of fresh fallen leaves, of frost on the wood. I woke this morning needing solace and peace.

As I opened the bag of coffee the smell washed over me. And the sights of nature gave me relief. I waited for my first cup as I lit candles of the season. Looking at the intricacies of the frost on the wood. Natures art.

Here in my diningroom… I feel peace. I feel comfort. I feel cold… ok, this room is a tad chilly. But right now with the house still quiet my senses can explore and can heal my weary soul.

Many of us are hurting… I hope you can find solace today.

Find some peace in your first cup

Today’s coffee brings cold weather and it truly looks like Autumn. The air is crisp… ok, cold. But with coffee in hand, warmer. My mind starts wandering towards the holidays and family and friends and then the wave of sadness sets in again.

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It’s been a rough few days here and tears will come and go as we try and grasp relief from grief. I wrote down my grief yesterday as it was cathartic but not something I wanted to share on Facebook since family and friends all grieve differently. It’s my previous post if you want to read.

But today, I’m going to be productive… maybe. I already went and got donuts… first time out all week. I’m going to do some meal planning since that completely went the wayside this week… thank goodness for a full fridge of leftovers from last week and Ashlynn bringing home random soups from work. So today, meal planning maybe grocery shopping and maybe some light cleaning.

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Much love my friends and enjoy whatever cup you happen to be on.

What follows is my grief poured into words…

My Dear Lewis,

I wish I had reached out more often. I wish I was better at inviting you over for dinner. I wish we had hung out more. You are gone and my heart hurts. Gone. I want to text you and hear your voice in the reply, as you know I do. Gone. I want another hug… always another hug. Because then this wouldn’t be real. Your gone and I want… To hear you laugh. To hear the sarcasm in your voice as you joke and as we make fun of each other. I want to talk adamantly about hockey with you because we’ll never agree that the Avalanche are better than the Islanders. I want to try the different scotch’s and whiskey’s you’d find and bring over… not that my pallet liked me trying but now that’s what I want… one more drink with you.

You gave selflessly. You made me laugh when I desperately needed it. I don’t think I ever thanked you for the comfort you gave me all these years. The nights at Denny’s when I couldn’t/wouldn’t eat and instead just bounced up and down in the booth. You never minded being the third wheel all those months as Scott and I started our relationship and it eased my mind you being there as I wasn’t ready. The many times of letting Scott borrow your car even the crazy early morning times. The timeshare in Vail. The Peacemakers show when I was an emotional wreak and got horribly sick in your car. The countless pool games you tried to teach me and you never got frustrated at my poor form. I wish we had hung out more in recent years besides the yearly parties at our house, Peacemakers shows and sporadic sushi nights. 

I want you back, I want to tell you all these things and how much you mean to me. How much of an indent you made on my life. I wish I had known you were sick, I wish I’d spoken to you and gone all momma-like and scolded you into going to the hospital. Not that your stubbornness would have listened. This sucks. I’m so angry at this stupid virus and at society for allowing it to get this far. I’m tired of hearing it isn’t that bad, it’s not that big of a deal… we’re young it doesn’t affect us. IT DOES, DAMN IT! You’re gone. I want more time. You deserved more time. You deserved to find the girl who would love you harder than you loved her. I’m pretty sure she would have been the luckiest girl in the world.

I love you my friend, I miss you and I’ll strive to give selflessly like you.

Please don’t be… I wish you weren’t… Gone.

Always,

Corrine

Sunrise in all its glory

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This morning I was lucky enough and awake enough to watch the sunrise with Scott. We both stood outside admiring the beauty in all the detail. Every shape, every shadow, every color… a canvas being painted right before our eyes.

It makes me imagine each of us as a painting as we each day add layer and detail to the canvas that is us. Not all days can be perceived in the moment as beauty and there are definitely details that maybe we wish we didn’t have but that’s the wonder of adding to our canvas each day… each of those lines of color… light and dark… make a beautiful portrait.

Today I’ll add life and love and some more coffee to mine.

Happy First Cups