Tag: blogging

More Than A Coffee Shop

In my mid-sixties I’ve discovered an affinity for coffee shops. Not for coffee, mind you, but for the places where coffee is brewed and served. Places where a banana nut muffin along with a chai latte can keep me company while I write or people watch.

Tallahassee has several good coffee shops, so I’ve been trying one a week for the past couple of months in hopes that I’ll find the perfect combination of good vibes and good tea.

The good ones all have electrical outlets wherever possible. The great ones have outlets and serve vegan goodies. I’m still trying to decide which place rates my devotion.

Red Eye is really good—lots of places to write and a nice selection of decaf teas, but, alas, no vegan baked goods. The Square Mug has great vegan selections, but they’re in a smaller space with fewer outlets. I haven’t tried Lucky Goat, mostly because the one time I visited there were no masks in sight in a crowded space. That was a deal breaker.

Yes, I know I could brew a cup of tea at home and have my quiet writing space while I snack on muffins purchased in advance from Sweet Pea Cafe, but going to the coffee shop makes me feel like I’m actually at work. Like I have a place to be. Call me weird, but it’s comforting.

Peace, people!

Freak Out

A succession of banana spiders has spun webs on one corner of Doright Manor for the past few months. We’ve watched as the web grew and evolved as each patient female passed on her creation to the next in line.

I believe we were on the fourth in the lineage, and the once meager web now stretched from one side of the driveway to the other. Truly, it was a work of art. Until it wasn’t. Until I somehow forgot about the freaking web and walked right through it this morning.

Imagine me, engrossed in reading a bit of mail I’d retrieved from the mailbox, blithely strolling from the porch to the garage when the unmistakable sticky filaments plastered against my face, my hair, my glasses, my arms. I screamed and launched into the Oh Hell No dance hoping to shake loose the mama arachnid who might be about to deliver her painful bite at any moment. I think I was successful, but two hours post-encounter I still imagine she’s lurking nearby.

Not one of ours, but this is what a banana spider looks like. Beautiful, but their bites are extremely painful.

Worst of all I feel horrible about destroying her web. Hoping she won’t seek revenge.

Peace, people!

MasterClass Suggestions

For my 65th birthday my wonderful son gave me a year-long MasterClass subscription. Now I feel like a kid in a humongous candy store. So many choices! Where to begin? Who do I watch first?

Steve Martin? Margaret Atwood? David Sedaris? Neil Gaiman? Who haven’t I thought of?

Margaret?
Steve?

What a delicious dilemma.

Peace, people!

My Driving Song 🎵

In a recent post I asked followers to declare their favorite driving song. https://nananoyz5forme.com/2021/10/07/driving-song/

There were some great answers: the Doobie Brothers’ Rockin’ Down the Highway. https://youtu.be/5Dxm1Yqrn_s

And this AC⚡️DC tune: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=vj_rvLVpqg8&fbclid=IwAR3FeBw7H0OTy37WTlwCJ3q_NlO98fmooXcezVRUvTYjXgfJzkgrarkx7GQ

One mellow friend suggested Dust in the Wind. Great song, but not what I had in mind. https://youtu.be/tH2w6Oxx0kQ

For my money, Radar Love by Golden Earring is the best driving song ever. https://youtu.be/ckM51xoTC2U

Everything about this song makes me want to put the pedal to the metal and just GO!

Of course, nowadays I don’t go too fast, but I go pretty far…Bonus points for knowing where that line comes from.

Peace, people.

Driving Song

I saw this question on Twitter and a song instantly came to mind. I won’t influence your thoughts with my answer, but if you tell me yours I’ll eventually tell you mine.

So many from which to choose!

Peace, people!

Sixty-five

It snuck up on me

This advanced age—sixty-five

Like a stealthy thief

Bestowing wrinkles

Absconding with memories

Dimming my eyesight

And yet it feels right

Comfortable as old shoes

Or warm cardigans

Peace, people.

Stop and Sing

Wherever you are. Whatever activity you’re engaged it at this moment, stop and sing happy birthday to me (Leslie). Offer good only through midnight on October 5, 2021.

Just sing quietly to yourself if you’re in a meeting. Or in church. Or hiding from a burglar. Or if your mouth is full, because that’s just bad manners.

Thanks! I believe I heard a few of you.

Peace, people!

Midnight Mass Interlude

Studly Doright and I are watching Blacklist. We’re midway through season six, and frankly I’m a little weary of Raymond Reddington and Agent Keene’s soap opera-ish entanglements. If it weren’t for Agent Arim Mojtabai, played by Amir Arison, I’d probably bail on the series.

Amir Arison provides welcome comic relief.

Don’t tell Studly, but I’ve been cheating on Blacklist with the Netflix series Midnight Mass. I’m only on episode two, but the moodiness and the sense of impending doom is captivating. I am already hooked.

Where is the old Monsignor? Is the new guy even a real priest? What happened to the cats? Is Riley going to make it and why does he look so familiar? Who else is watching this and what are your thoughts?

Something fishy about this guy.

Peace, people!

Are Americans Obsessed?

I recently read an article, okay, I read a headline, that said something to the effect of Why the Rest of the World Believes Americans are Obsessed with Autumn.

“Huh,” I thought. I like Autumn, but I don’t like like it. I mean, I could live without it, totally, if I had to. I might get the shakes for a couple of months, but surely by Christmas I’d be fine.

What would be obsessive is someone like me who lives in Florida, where autumn temps barely drop into the 60’s, lowering her thermostat so she can wear sweaters around the house while sipping hot chocolate with a cozy blanket wrapped around her feet. That would be obsessive.

Here, hold my hot chocolate while I decide if I want to wear the orange sweater or the brown one.

Peace, people.

Rock Steady

On my way into the mall where my favorite coffee shop is located I paused to hold open the door for an older gentleman. It was one of those awkward situations—he was just outside of the distance that demanded the courtesy, but of an age that I worried about his stamina. I erred on the side of being an overly concerned citizen.

He thanked me with a smile. “This old man appreciates your help.”

“Old? Hardly. Besides, I see by your t-shirt that you’re one of the folks who’s part of the boxing class that works out here. I doubt you need any help at all.”

I’d noticed the Rock Steady t-shirts before on elderly boxers at the small fitness center in the mall. The boxers always looked serious in a fun way. Like, “I could probably kick your ass, but I won’t ’cause I’m a nice guy.”

The man laughed. “Well, the class is only for folks with Parkinson’s, so depending on the day, I just might need your help.”

“I had no idea. Does the boxing help?”

He stopped at the entrance to the gym. “Absolutely. Best thing I’ve ever done for myself. Helps me forget what this disease has taken from me. Makes me feel young again.”

“Maybe I should take up boxing,” I said.

He smiled. “I highly recommend it. Thanks again young lady.”

I resisted the urge to hug him for the young lady remark, and hurried on in hopes of securing my favorite table at the coffee shop—the one in the corner that allows me to people watch as I work on editing my current work in progress. After ordering my usual chai latte I set up my laptop in the highly coveted location and scanned through yesterday’s pages. Outside the window I caught a flash of red. Boxing gloves. The Parkinson’s pugilists were throwing punches at unseen opponents. It was a beautiful sight.

Peace, people!

Here’s a link to the Tallahassee gym that offers the Rock Steady boxing program for those diagnosed with Parkinson’s. https://sweattherapyfitness.com

Rock Steady has its own website to provide further information and to direct folks to facilities near them that offer the fitness program. If you’d like to donate you can do so there, as well. https://www.rocksteadyboxing.org/

From Pinterest

Peace, people!