If we were having coffee

Over second and third cups flow matters of high finance, high state, common gossip and low comedy.  [Coffee] is a social binder, a warmer of tongues, a soberer of minds, a stimulant of wit, a foiler of sleep if you want it so.  From roadside mugs to classic demi-tasse, it is the perfect democrat.

~ Author Unknown

A spring bouquet.

If we were having coffee, I would be thrilled to see you again.  I am thoroughly enjoying our weekend get-togethers.  As always, it doesn’t have to be coffee.  I have a large collection of teas, including a new magnolia oolong that is simply delicious.  The tea leaves unfurl like flowers so I like to serve it from the little glass teapot my youngest son and daughter-in-law gave me for Christmas last year.  I have herbal teas as well, and there is always plain old water if you’d rather have that.  There are potent potables, too.  I’m not partaking, but you’re welcome to sample the beer (a local IPA) or wine (we have both red and white).  And if it’s been that kind of week, there’s always good old Kentucky Bourbon.

Bringing the outdoors in.

Let’s have a seat in the kitchen today.  The cedar waxwings have come back after a brief absence, the bluebirds are sunning themselves on the perches we placed in the front yard, and we might see a great egret or a great blue heron as time goes on.  We also have a pair of mallards visiting the lagoon on a regular basis.  Did you know that the male mallards don’t quack?  It’s the female who makes the quacking sound.  Males rasp.

Sunshine in a flower.

So.  Have a seat and I’ll grab those beverages for us.  How are you?  Did you have a good week?  What have you been up to lately?  Have you read any good books?  Seen any good films?  Listened to any good music?  Gone on any good walks?

I finished reading The Forest Unseen: A Year’s Watch in Nature.  Fantastic read!  The author, David George Haskell, is a biologist who spent a year visiting a one-square meter patch of old-growth forest in Tennessee on a daily basis.  I learned a lot, but most of all, I enjoyed Haskell’s prose which was almost poetry at times.  His love of nature and the forest permeates the book.  I was also given much to think about in regards to how we humans approach and think about nature as well as our own impact on the earth.

I heard about the book from Kathy, I think, so a big thank you, Kathy.

Budding at the edge of the marsh.

I also finished reading Pema Chödrön’s book Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living.  I very much enjoyed her humor and her advice to lighten up.  One of my favorite teachings from the book is:  Whichever of the two occurs, be patient.  Ha!  It’s perfect, don’t you think?  Suitable for any occasion.

In the grass.

I finished the course of antibiotics this week.  It was good to be done with that, but I continued to have pain for a few days afterwards and that worried me until I reminded myself that whichever of the two occurs, be patient.  I’m not pleased with our medical system here.  I did go to my primary care physicians’s office and see a physician assistant (PA) a few days after my original visit to urgent care.  The PA was not terribly helpful.  When I told him the doc at urgent care suggested a CAT scan if the pain didn’t clear up within a few days of taking the antibiotics, the PA said, “Well, they can do that at the hospital if your symptoms worsen and you need to go to the ER.”  I think he missed the point that I didn’t want to reach a crisis situation.

Persian speedwell.

No matter.  It didn’t reach a crisis point.  I took care of myself, altered my diet substantially as suggested by the first doc I saw (urgent care), and have been slowly adding back in foods to find out what’s a hit and what’s a miss.  On a positive note, I’ve lost about ten pounds which is remarkable when you consider the type of foods I’ve had to eat.  Low-fiber, white foods.  All the things they tell you not to eat.  I did grow weary of carbs, and switched to eating small amounts of meat with my overcooked vegetables.  Low-fiber is very difficult to do on a vegetarian diet, and I have to admit that I miss the loads and loads of veggies I’m used to eating, not to mention (but I will) the beans, legumes, and whole grains.

Spring green! (Daylilies popping up near the greenhouse.)

Speaking of weight loss, I don’t think I can credit it entirely to my diet because no amount of dieting over the past ten years has helped me lose weight.  I have a great coach to thank.  Do you know Dana?  If not, let me introduce you to her.  I’ve been following Dana at her blog for a while, and I always think of her as one of the cool kids (even if she does call herself a geek).  Dana is just getting started as a coach, and offered a free weight loss coaching session which I availed myself of, and I am so glad I did.  I apologize for not telling you about this sooner because the offer was extended until April 1st (and we are obviously past that date now).

Dana uses EFT techniques (you may have heard of it as “tapping” or, if you haven’t heard of it, Google “tapping” and you’ll easily find it).  I went into the coaching session willing to be open to it, but have to admit there was a dash of skepticism.  Thankfully it was just a dash.  The coaching that Dana gave me was amazing and healing.  It brought up things I didn’t know were buried within me, and it was done in a way that made me feel safe and curious and willing to explore.  She also presented me with the opportunity to view things I thought of as negative from a positive perspective, and boy, does that change everything!  I can’t begin to describe how much lighter I’ve felt since working with Dana.  Yes, this is a shameless testimonial.  A well-deserved one, too.

Blossoming.

M and I have been going through more boxes from the attic today.  We now have a large pile of stuff to be either be given away to someone specific or donated to a suitable charity.  We also found that the movers broke a number of heirlooms, but there is nothing we can do about it now since we settled our claim with them last year (to the tune of a few thousand dollars because they busted up a lot of our furniture).  We should have unpacked everything and looked at it.  Another life lesson, and one we should have known already.

There all kinds of tiny flowers blooming among the lawn grasses.

Well, I think it might be time to head outside for a walk.  You are most welcome to join me if you like.  It’s windy and around 60°F so a light jacket ought to suffice.  It’s a sunny with cloudy spells kind of day, with big, fluffy clouds being driven across the sky by the wind.  Let’s go out to the woods behind the lagoon.  I was telling you about that section of woods in yesterday’s post.  M said he’ll act as guide for us since I don’t know the trails back there yet.  Later we can go down to the Point and watch the sunset if you have time for it.

A little one.

Thank you so much for visiting today.

Be good, be kind, be loving.  Just Be.  🙂

The peonies are popping up.

This post is in response to Part Time Monster’s #WeekendCoffeeShare.  Grab a cuppa of whatever your preference is and join us.  I’d love to hear all about what you were up to this week.