Weekend Coffee Share, Buenas Tardes!

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer, Blog Home . Join me for a cup of coffee or tea, while I enjoy some hot energy green tea with honey on a gray day.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you about my dog, Bixby. If you’ve read recent posts, you know that he is thirteen years old and has struggled with arthritis in one of his front legs recently. Well, friends, I’m glad to say he has been feeling better and hopped up onto my bed today! What better way is there to spend a gray day?

Ever since we first brought him home, I have taught him to sleep at my feet or sometimes maybe near my legs but never up near my face or on my pillows. He is used to it, and seems to even like sleeping at the end of my bed so that he can see by my door if anyone’s going to pass by. This is especially helpful if they are heading towards the kitchen, when his former- stray- dog instincts awakene and ears perk up showing that he’s ready to pounce if he hears food bags or boxes being opened.

I’m also glad to report that I slept in yesterday and today. I stayed home until Chris picked me up for dinner yesterday evening. Most of yesterday was spent with my online course on understanding the fundamentals of teaching reading and how children learn best. Mind you, I teach Language Arts standards, but almost all of them involve reading. Actually, I did also do a good shoulder workout.

Today, I watched church online again, as I’m experiencing a sore throat and low key sinus issue. It is good that I slept in two days in a row. Tomorrow is MLK day, but the parade here is canceled due to expected cold weather…of 32 degrees. I guess we are wimps in Northern Florida. I have two appointments so I won’t be watching the inauguration. My politics don’t support our incoming president. What can I say except, that’s just where I stand.

My TV in the living room only access the streaming channels anyway. My favorite new series is Upper Bogan, about a well educated woman discovering she was adopted, and the birth parents are in a family of racecar fanatics. I find it quite funny, and the actors are great!

Thanks for stopping by for a coffee chat. How are things in your neck of the woods?

Weekend Coffee Share, Neither Here Nor There

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, in which no one actually has to drink coffee. You choose whatever you like, and I will drink some kind of sort of natural caffeinated tea. Today it’s chai tea with honey for me. It’s a chilly day but at least there’s some sunshine, still I think I’ll stay inside.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you last week at work was hectic. I think it affected my sleep. I got up in the wee hours to use the restroom and couldn’t get back to sleep three nights in a row. Saturday morning, I finally got back to sleep and didn’t wake up until 10:50. That’s a win!

This post arrives late, but don’t worry, our coffee chat is suspended in time, to begin at the point you entered the chat. This weekend I feel like I got a lot done. It started with dinner at a Mexican restaurant with a long-time teacher friend on Friday. We both really enjoyed it! Yesterday, I did my grading and parent contacts, then went to dinner with Chris for Thai food. The dinner, and the conversation (of course) were both wonderful. He makes me laugh!

Today, I had a similar sleep issue and fell back asleep around 7:30, to awaken at 9:30. I attended church service online. My mom went with me later to return a coat at Old Navy. They had so many clearance deals that we both ended up buying a few things. I bought a sub hat for $3.50. Who knows, since it’s Florida, I might need it next month! She got a floral flannel shirt. The ride to Old Navy felt like a long one since I took 295, which is all highway, but it goes around the city. You get to stay at higher speed though, and I was playing some good 80s tunes. Mom didn’t mind, she even sing along with me when a Tina Turner song came on. 😊

I cooked dinner and watched my favorite show on Netflix, Upper Bogan. It’s an Australian show, so that our accents are quite amusing. It’s about a female doctor who’s married with twins and discovers she was actually adopted. Her family happens to be a family devoted to building and driving racecars, drinking, and other mayhem. It all gets really funny sometimes!

Bixby has been getting along. I’ve saved some greasy burger meat that I warm up and hide his pill in when he seems to limp uncomfortably. Tonight, he’s getting around alright. That little guy still loves to run around with his squeaky toy in his mouth. It’s fun to watch!

Thanks for joining the coffee chat! Our host, Natalie, is on a short hiatus but will be back in a few weeks. I hope your upcoming week is a good one!

Weekend Coffee Share, Holiday is Over. What’s Next?

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer, Blog Home. I’m having vanilla chai tea this morning. Grab your favorite coffee, tea, or other morning beverage and join me for a chat! It’s sunny but in the low 40s at 9 a.m. this morning. We could try the back porch?

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that this weekly coffee share is the strongest thread linking me to my more prolific times as a writer. By doing this weekly, I am still a blogger and a writer. It is keeping me in practice, writing to a topic in my own unique way, so my achy hands and midlife ADD haven’t totally ruined my pastimes.

I am still doing my own podcast, and I’m now on episode 8. It keeps me in the practice of brainstorming ideas, then organizing my ideas and my details around a topic. It’s also a great way to express myself! It occurred to me that this could be a good way to share stories. My latest episode was autobiographical, from a time period of my life when I was 18. You can find my podcast on Spotify, and please follow: Pamela in the Trenches . I am still finding my niche, but I already determined it can’t be solely based on job talk, as there is so much more to life!

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you about my quiet New Year’s celebration, which started with a seafood dinner of blackened Pollock with Chris. We had fun looking at other couples or groups seated in the restaurant and guessing what their New Year’s plans were. One huge group was pretty loud, so we knew that they’d probably be ringing in the new year and living it up until the wee hours of the morning. We went back to my house to comfort Bixby and watch the NYE show with the Jonas Brothers. Not that I’m a rabid fan, they just happened to be the stars that were featured. 🙂

Bixby did alright amid the neighborhood fireworks going off on our street, but he certainly had some moments where he was burrowing into the space between me and the couch and climbing onto Chris’s lap, then moving and starting all over again. I had given him a calming chew earlier. Maybe it helped take the edge off, but he was still frightened.

Christmas presents for Bixby, not yet destroyed!

A quiet moment with his new squeaky toy.

Later on today, Bixby has an appointment with the vet for some shots and a prescription for his arthritis pain. Truly, it comes and goes, but he must have at least little reminders because he will not jump up on the couch to sit on the back cushions anymore. On New Year’s Eve, he would lift his front paws, and we’d lift him up to be there with us. I hate seeing all this, but I can empathize very easily, as I’m careful when exercising due to my knees. We both still have our fun moments, and that’s what matters!

My Winter break is coming to an end, but I do think I got plenty of sleep and rest. I caught up with a good friend Tuesday and had lunch with my son on New Year’s day. I even got one nap in! I organized my drawers with my denim, leggings, and t-shirts, in the bathroom faucet is getting installed this afternoon. I think that’s a good balance of accomplishments and relaxation!

Happy New Year to you, and thank you for joining me for a coffee chat!

Weekend Coffee Share, Focus on the Good

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at  Natalie the Explorer, Blog Home . My morning beverage is chai tea with honey. Are you having coffee, tea, or some other beverage?

I hope everyone has had a great Christmas this year or whatever tradition you celebrate! Chris and I went to a church service with love nativity and then went to my house for dinner with my Mom, my son, and my ex-husband. My brother and his wife, who live in North Carolina, ordered our dinner online through Carrabbas! There was salmon with capers, salad, broccoli, and capers for dessert. What a great gift!

We all enjoyed our Christmas!

On Christmas day, I went with Chris to Ocala, where we had dinner with his mom and sister. They made me feel very welcome. It was a wonderful meal, and his mom regaled us with stories of her younger years and of Chris and his siblings as kids. Ocala is a few hours away, and there’s not much to see. However, Chris’s mom has told us about several artists who painted horses in honor of its history and placed them at random places in town. We saw one on the way in, and I spotted another as we were getting on the interstate on our way out of town.

If we were having coffee, I’d also tell you about Bixby’s fearful day this week. He jumped to get up on my bed but didn’t make it, and he fell back then squealed. I saw him then walk it out in the hallway, slightly limping. Poor thing. I think his arthritis has started bothering him again. At thirteen years, this may just be natural. He did come back and jump up successfully, but he lay very still on my bed for quite a while after, and in the days since has not tried again. I’ll take him to the vet next Saturday.

Luckily, he was in a good mood this morning. He was trotting around the house with a toy in his mouth, as if daring someone to try and take it. I was glad to see this. He still won’t jump up on my bed or even up on the couch, though.

I think I’m still his biggest fan. My dad must know this. Look at the hoodie he ordered for me to go with the Bixby pajama pants Chris got me last year:

Yes, I’m a crazy dog lady. 😊

On December 26th, Chris and I went to Glowing Gardens at the local Arboretum. There weren’t as many things to do as last year, but it was still a lovely walk through the wooded park. We can also know our ticket purchase helps their cause. It didn’t take long to go through, but we enjoyed it.

Other than that, I’ve been doing more shoulder rehab this week and trying to arrange an installation for a new faucet in the bathroom. I find Home improvement were to be a pain, probably because I don’t know what I’m doing. It’ll be a good feeling when it’s all done though.

If we were having coffee, I’d ask your pardon for my coughing now and then. Cold and flu season really hit my family hard. I’m still taking something for the cough and it seems I know have bronchitis.  The doctor gave me an inhaler, just in case. I’m not feverish, and I am functional, but I’m also fed up and frustrated with this cough! I’m ready to be done with it!

Well, I’ve got another week of Winter break ahead , which is good. I’ll be getting things done and rehabbing my shoulder some more. Maybe I’ll take a few naps, too!

I hope you all have a great weekend, and a Happy New Year to follow!

Weekend Coffee Share, From Phase to Phase

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer, Blog Home . Join me for a coffee chat in which I drink green tea with ginger,and you’ve got your favorite morning beverage in hand.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that my Winter break started with sleeping in and waking without an alarm. We have our Christmas tree up and some presents under the tree, so the house is looking festive! The Get well flowers for my mother are getting covered up by Christmas wishes from family. We’re all getting better after the virus that swept through our household.

There’s still some decongestion in my sinuses, but I can talk, thank God, and I’m coughing less. My son is still trying to figure out what to take for his sinuses and cough, but he’s going to work every day. My mother is getting better day by day.

As Christmas season draws closer, my boyfriend has lost his 80-year-old father after a brief hospitalization.  Though he went to work the next day, he is starting the grieving process. I can only imagine how the loss feels. He’s such a hard worker but realizes that nothing is normal anymore. We are still able to laugh together in our talks, but he also gets a little philosophical and wonders, What’s it all for? We are both more than halfway through with our lives. I get tired and fatigued at times, but I’m realizing I need to use what energy I have, there are many things left to do!

It gets me a little philosophical too, when I wonder if satisfying what seems like a need for rest could just get me too used to resting. Would my body react by going into some sort of stasis? As it is, I am stiff when I wake up in the morning. I’m trying to keep exercising especially for my shoulder. I think back to our Paris trip this summer and the need to be on the go in order to see everything we wanted to see. It was all worth it. So again, maybe it comes down to balance.

Overall, I realize it’s not a good phase of life when one loses a parent and certainly don’t look forward to it. I’m trying to honor them both by being available. Of course, my mom lives in the same house, but sometimes I’m just so busy that I don’t really listen enough. I need to fix that as part of my search for balance in life. Perhaps I feel a New Year’s resolution coming on.

Thank you for stopping by for my Coffee Share. I am hopeful as the holiday draws near, and a wish you a Merry Christmas or happy holiday in your faith tradition.

Weekend Coffee Share, Airing

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer, Blog Home. It’s a sunny day with a temperature in the upper 60s and feels splendidly like spring! My morning beverage is green tea with ginger and honey, which feels great for my challenged sinuses and scratchy throat.

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Cold and flu season, and everyone’s out in the crowds trying to buy that “perfect gift.” A lot of kids at school have been sick as well. There’s no telling where I got this. My son’s been sick  for weeks, but he didn’t miss a single day of work. I, on the other, must have, and use, my voice to do my job well, and I certainly lost it. I had to give it a rest and stayed home a few days. Sadly, my mom started getting a deep cough that didn’t sound good.

I feel I am getting better; the Urgent Care gave me medicine for my cough and an anti-inflammatory for the airways. My mom went to her doctor the same day I went to Urgent Care and got an antibiotic as well as something for her cough. However, the next day, she sounded worse, and dare I say it, miserable. I worked half a day, then came home to rest and check on her. She was struggling to breathe, and it was raspy in her chest. When my ex came to drop off my son from work, I asked if he could take her to the ER. She could barely talk and hadn’t eaten all day. She has underlying conditions, so something had to be done.

Mom is still in the hospital this morning. Her condition is RSV, and that is something really serious when it comes to older adults with underlying conditions. I saw her Friday afternoon, and she was able to talk and eat. Thank goodness! It appears she has a way to go, though. Yesterday, I washed all of her bedding and blankets. I kept a window and the back door open all day, airing the house out. My son has been sick too, but steadfastly going to work every day. He also washed all of his bedding, and I had done mine the day before.

Rarely do I leave a door open all day or a window due to our Florida humidity, but I’ll tell you, it was great. Mid 60 temperatures, mostly sunny with a slight breeze, it warmed my heart. Fresh air is essential! I’m ready to move forward to health for all in my household.

I received the news that my mom will come home this afternoon. She still has to recuperate and is armed with medications. I think I’ll wrap a few presents this afternoon after I do some grading. I’ll be so glad to have my mom out of the hospital.

Thank you for joining my coffee share, and I hope you have a great week ahead!

Weekend Coffee Share, Holiday Season is Here!

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer, Blog Home .  My beverage is a vanilla chai tea, served hot on a cool day. Will it be coffee or tea for you?

Hooray for the grand reopening of the Notre Dame chapel in Paris! How awesome is it that their president’s name is Macron? It always makes me think of macarons, which Chris and I tried, and enjoyed, while in Paris. We got to see Notre Dame in June, only the outside of course, scaffolds still in place. I just had to interject my happiness at that!

The start of my week was great, since my dad and his partner were visiting and staying in Crescent Beach, part of St. Augustine. Chris and I went out to eat with them and walked through St. Augustine enjoying the Nights of Lights. Dinner was at the Castillo Restaurant, and it was beautifully decked out for the holidays. The food was so good! I got to have lunch with them the next day at a cute little restaurant. It was nice having time with them!

The Castillo in St. Augustine

Ice cream for dessert

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that this work week was stressful and I’ve been oh, so tired. I left work right at dinner time Friday, so I had to pick something up, and Cava it was! They are a small Mediterranean chain that sells wonderful food! My steak Harissa bowl included hummus, feta cheese, and black olives. So tasty! I was glad for a good dinner and felt it was a perfect way to treat myself. Sadly, Chris had some concerning news last night.

His dad had a serious surgery last night, and is still in the hospital in ICU. Please send prayers or positive thoughts. Chris is handling it all well; he feels that his dad was in a good place with God and is ready to meet his maker if that’s what will happen. I’ve been praying, too. I like his dad, he is a very non-confrontational person and maybe a little old-fashioned.

Chris and I will be going out to a seafood restaurant tonight. I plan to work on the podcast tomorrow and attend or view my church’s service online tomorrow morning. After that, Sunday will be about getting ready for my week. At least I slept really late today , and that was a treat!

I appreciate you visiting my coffee share. If we were having coffee, I’d ask you now, how was your week?

Find my podcast at Pamela in the Trenches on Spotify . Visit Natalie’s blog for more details about the Weekend Coffee Share. Have a great weekend!

Weekend Coffee Share,Thankful

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer , Blog Home. My wake up brew is vanilla chai tea today, served hot on a morning with temperatures currently in the 40s.

Nothing says you’re a teacher more than telling others you followed your breakfast with a video tutorial on how to make snowflakes, and I did just that. For some reason I’m wanting to decorate my classroom in a wintry fashion this year. Nothing acknowledges the season in a more secular or non-religious way, which is best in a public school. I guess our cool weather has inspired me!

I do have some good memories of snow and of true winter. We lived in Iceland due to my father’s job in the Navy when I was age 3 and 4, then moved to Virginia when I was 5, then to settle in Florida when I was 8. One thing I remember fondly from Virginia is having snow days off from school. My friends and I would make snow angels and draw clues in the snow, then see if they’d still be there the next day. ❄️

Kids in Florida don’t get that experience. Well, most kids these days probably don’t even go out there. I hope some do. It’s a great use of imagination, just stay away from the yellow snow! Which leads me to wonder how my dog, Bixby would react, and has he ever seen snow? Was he stuck in the Southeast for his first three years as well? I think he’d like playing in snow.

Bixby is playful today and in a good mood. Wednesday was rough for him; he didn’t want anyone petting him and snarled when I gently reached to try. He snarled horribly at my mother and she threatened to get rid of him. A reaction of anger, of course. We had a discussion and I talked with Chris about it, who would take him in if needed. We don’t want anyone getting hurt, but he deserves his last years to be comfortable and to never be in a shelter again!

He must have listened to our conversations, though. Thursday, he was loving and friendly, allowing us to pet him and wagging his tail when we came near. Bixby gets troubled by arthritis sometimes. I don’t know if he just had a day of pain on Wednesday or if our mood and the atmosphere affected him on Thursday, but he was his congenial self again.

Bixby and my mom relaxing

Thanksgiving was wonderful. Mom, my son, Chris, and I had Thanksgiving dinner together in my low-carb version. I did have dessert, though! Bixby was in a great mood, hanging out in the kitchen and waiting for food to drop. Chris and I watched Joe Vs. The Volcano on the Fandango channel. It’s a 1990 movie about a poor schmuck in a dead end job, just a cog in the wheel, who gets hired, challenged, to take a journey and jump in a volcano to appease some angry volcano god. It encourages him to start living for the day. I’ve always loved that movie, crazy as it is.

I’m still doing my podcast, learning what works and what doesn’t. There’s still so much more to learn. I did a Thanksgiving post, with not one mention of job stress! Give it a listen: Pamela in the Trenches, Post-Thanksgiving Podcast .

Writing still sort of eludes me, but I think I’ll share some poetry on the podcast, maybe a once weekly post perhaps? I do still have the mind of a writer, after all, distracted as it is!

Thank you for visiting my Coffee Share. How was your Thanksgiving?

Weekend Coffee Share & RDP Circular

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer, Blog Home . It’s a cool day, and my ‘coffee’ is chai tea with pumpkin spice creamer, yum! Join me for your favorite morning beverage and a chat.

If we were having coffee, I’d ask you if you like my “Bixby pants,” a gift from my boyfriend last Christmas. Last night was cool so it was a great opportunity to wear them, while I watched my dog Bixby passionately attacking a steak bone. He enjoyed it immensely!

It’s Saturday morning, so it’s okay that I’m still wearing pajama pants at 11 a.m. Another week has cycled through and circled around again.

I made it through five days at work, starting Monday feeling refreshed. Tuesday I had physical therapy in the afternoon. Wednesday was an early release. Short classes went by in a whirlwind, then there was some interesting training, but I had to leave early for a shoulder MRI.

It was a small practice not attached to a hospital, and I like it so much better. It’s cheaper, comfortable, and not  an ammonia smelling place of disease and death. Yes, I dislike hospitals! Hopefully the results show my shoulder is getting better. The doctor will review results with me this coming Wednesday.

Thursday seemed to go well, as it was a regularly schedule day, and we continued online testing from the day before. Desks were all spread out so students would be less distracted and not socializing.  Friday, none of that worked. Kids were tired of it, and I took them to the library the last half of class to get novels, which got them moving and led to them not wanting to get calm or stay seated when we returned. Most students were done with testing, but others were not. I told them to wait and finish Monday.

Some of their behaviors were awful and I had to raise my voice several times. A few referrals were written as well. It’s very tiring. Someone sat on a table, so now it needs to be repaired. Unbelievable. It lays on its side since one of the table legs was pushed down and made it shorter than all the others.

However, today I relax with reckless abandon. Now we circle back again to the weekend, where I claim back me time, and eschew any Saturday timelines or schedules. No social responsibilities today. Last weekend was quite similar, except that I slept even later today!

It is now after noontime, and I’m pondering yoga along with the shoulder strengthening exercises while I lay on my Shakti mat (it mimics acupuncture with prickly plastic flowers. I’m sure I’ll do something Thanksgiving food shopping later. Perhaps I’ll convert my coffee share to a podcast episode. All I’ve accomplished so far though , is this post, my breakfast, and chai tea. That feels nice for today!

*By the way, the #RDP word for today was “circular,” as in the cycle of starting a week hopefully, then coming around to the same old overall chaos leading to malaise and a reckless search for relaxation and disregarding all things noisy, chaotic, or even scheduled.

Hear and follow my podcast here: Pamela in the Trenches

Weekend Coffee Share, Making Time for Myself

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie at Natalie the Explorer, Blog Home. Natalie’s back, after traveling again. I got chai tea with pumpkin spice creamer and some honey in My cup. Grab your morning beverage, and join us for a chat!

My week was stressful and tiring, despite having Monday off! There were two Monday appointments, and one of them was shoulder physical therapy, which sometimes leaves me sore afterwards. I’ve been doing this for 6 weeks now and next I’m going to get an MRI to rule out any tears or injury. It’s coming up next Wednesday. Work included an observation and the requisite before and after meetings. Not to mention, Friday was a full moon day, and all that that entails.

Wednesday night, Chris and I went to the fair downtown. For Wednesday night, it was very busy. There was even a line for us to get in through their security. At least it kept moving, though. Our first stop was where the animals were.

This was only the second year they had a sea lion show. Let me tell you, it was amazing! I discovered two years ago that, being an animal lover, Chris enjoys going to the fair almost every year. When you sent me to the fair 2 years ago, I had not attended it in probably 30 years. It was just something I used to do as a teen. Being at the fair with him makes me feel young again!

We actually went for a ride on the Ferris wheel. It’s awesome to look down and see everything around us!

Looking down on the fair

In other news, I’ve started my podcast! I’m a newbie and not as professional as some of the others, but I was so excited to learn how to even out the volume! I had to learn because I had someone as a guest on my first full episode, which is really episode 2 since the first one was an introduction. Next time, I won’t keep turning to look at the guests as we speak, or I’ll invest in a better microphone. 🙂 

You can hear my podcast at Pamela in the Trenches Please give it a listen and follow my podcast! I know I have more to learn, but I’ve become a person who loves to learn by doing! (Perhaps a trait of my generation)…

Thank you for joining my coffee chat! I’m on my way to get a much needed car wash. This is also an exercise day, probably of the yoga variety. I’m still having to make space for calm or Zen-like activities

How are things in your world? Have a great Saturday and a great week to follow!