Weekend Coffee Share, Spring Forward!

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Today is a Zen green tea day. Is it coffee for you? The sun is shining; I drank half of my tea before leaving, but now I’m back four virtual chat, as I finish my second half of my green tea. It’s honestly good at any temperature. Don’t judge!

This week seemed like such a busy one. I was trying to get grades done, motivating students to finish things, and trying to keep them busy and out of trouble with all of their excitement for the upcoming Spring break. Not always easy. I was very proud of some students, but others just disappointed me. I went to the chiropractor Thursday and got the manual adjustment again. It relaxed me as usual, and I woke up Friday, ready for the day.

At nine this morning, my mom and I went to my church for the meeting of Bag Ladies, a group that gathers monthly to assemble bags for children whose parent left an abusive situation and are entering into temporary residence at Hubbard House. Frequently, they leave home quickly without packing a suitcase. It’s such a good mission, and those who run it are such nice people!

Bag Ladies is a mission of our church I always wanted to join. They pack these care bags with a children’s book, stuffed animal, toothbrush and other necessities a family might forget when leaving in a hurry. Hubbard House keeps their shelter location secret. You can find out more about their organization here: https://www.domesticshelters.org/help/fl/jacksonville/32201/hubbard-house

So, it’s been a nice morning so far. I usually am just lazy Saturday mornings. I feel I’ve earned it after a week teaching middle school. However, the Bag Ladies mission happens once monthly, and I can certainly give that much. Mom agreed for some of her beanie baby collection to be donated today for the Bag Ladies group, so that clears out a little bit of stuff from our garage. Now, I have to decide what sort of cardio I’ll do today.

Beanie babies sure are cute…

I’m planning to get a pedicure later, and tomorrow, I’ll go to the Celtic Fest with Chris to see my favorite Scottish band, Albannach. While I am only 7 percent Scottish, drums and bagpipes really do energize me! It’s also a great way to welcome Spring in coinciding with the start of my Spring Break!

Albannach!

That’s what I have going on these days. How do you plan to welcome Spring in? Are you in an area that is currently still snow covered? If so, have a second cup of hot coffee for me! I look forward to some relaxation this week, time with friends, and time with Bixby, of course! Have a wonderful weekend, all!

Advertisement

Weekend Coffee Share, Sloth-like Saturday: Smiles and Sleep

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Today’s morning beverage is green Tazo tea served warm with a hint of honey. The morning weather is in the high 40s now. The sun is shining, which suits my lazy-late-sleeper attitude today!

Don’t be jealous, though. I certainly don’t usually sleep late enough! The warmth of my bed and my dog, Bixby at my feet helped the cozy atmosphere. I woke once to put the electric heating pad on my bum shoulder; it gets more uncomfortable with cool/ cold weather.

This past week on Thursday afternoon, I had my appointment with my new chiropractor, which is closer to work for me and also offers acupuncture. The office is airy and friendly, and there is lovely music in the reception area which is manned by a long-haired male receptionist. The chiropractor, who also does acupuncture, spoke with me about my needs, goals, and experience with chiropractic medicine. His adjustments are hands-on. There’s a window up high in the consultation room, again, nice and airy

I must say, the thought of someone ‘cracking my back’ was unnerving at first, but I feel the results are positive. The chiropractor seems pretty holistic in his beliefs, which I think is quite a good thing. The office is closer for me , too. He said I should wait and see how my body reacts to the adjustment. I have set another appointment for the acupuncture and will certainly share my experience!

When I got home, I was greeted by a newly shorn Bixby. He is cute as ever! His eyes are kind of squinted here in this morning’s photo because he has his eyes on a treat in my hand!

Friday was a non work day for me, a weather day. I got up and met some of my teacher friends for breakfast. I had a scrumptious egg platter with spinach and goat cheese on it, as well as real coffee! It was nice to catch up and share some gossip!

Last night I was able to catch up with my son a little bit. He wanted to watch Family Guy, then he was in bed early to prepare for a workday. At this point, we have have to be glad for the little moments we get. He likes the absurd humor of that show. It’s not my first choice. 🙂

Here’s to a great weekend with good food, friends, and loved ones!

A Day in My Life, Day 30

Day 30 of #ADayinMyLife, Jan. 31st:

It was another day of weather around 80 degrees and of teaching students to write and to read closely, which went alright. I got a lined journal/notebook I had ordered from Amazon.

Tonight, Chris and I are planning to go to trivia. Of course, as he mentioned, sometimes the trending mood of my day can wipe me out and make me change my mind. He is pretty patient with that, as should be! He has some special nicknames for my moods. Let’s keep in mind, shoulder pain, any pain, lack of sleep, workday stress, any of it can wipe me out. I do have ways I try to deal with it, but there are good days and bad days.

Regarding my nicknames: there’s protective Pam, willing to take down anyone crossing him in his day ( a humorous exaggeration, of course). Then there’s Krampus Pam, who will step on anyone who gets in the way of me and my dinner. She’s concerned with her needs and has disdain for poorly managed restaurants, traffic, and bureaucratic red tape or over-encroaching laws. Rightfully so!

Let us not forget Creme brulee Pam. The weekend that he took me to Savannah last December, we had to wait for dinner but found another restaurant with outdoor seating, and the 65 degree weather felt perfect! We enjoyed our conversation and laughter. The waitress thought we were newlyweds! I wanted to introduce him to creme brulee. I don’t have it very often, so when I do, it’s a special occasion! The restaurant didn’t serve it but provided a great dinner! Afterward, we searched for a dessert spot.

Historic Savannah, Georgia.

Google came to our aid. We had walked to the restaurant, and my feet were complying, so we used Google maps to walk to the dessert restaurant, not without a few wrong turns in the cover of night, down streets he said were not the ‘good side of town.’ Still, we walked arm in arm; I was feeling satiated by dinner and in happy anticipation of creme brulee. The street corners didn’t look so bad. We passed many art galleries and art college extensions. (I want to go back during the day when they’re open)! Finally, we got to our dessert spot.

There was a line, but Chris and I waited together using good conversation and laughter to keep our spirits up. Once we got in and received our creme brulee, there were no seats inside, so we shared it with a fork standing on the street corner, with a kiss and a laugh, oblivious of other tourists. Creme brulee Pam doesn’t let ANYTHING dampen her mood, because she knows something good is on its way. I am capable of being like that. Gratitude helps, having a pleasant goal in mind helps! Well, I was also on vacation with him. You see, being a Gemini, I can own up to having all these different personas!

Ah, I like these memories. On that note, I think I’ll close my post. It is the end of the 30 blogging challenge, and I did it, for myself, despite one post that I actually wrote and finished then fell asleep and had to send it the next day once I remembered. LoL! I wanted to do something different in this post; I hope it held your interest. Have a good evening, everyone!

A Day in My Life, day 29. #RRBC

Jan. 30, Day 29 of #ADayinMyLife

Yikes! The 30 day challenge is almost over! I plan to blog more, though. This has helped me get in the habit. Plus, I have to keep getting the word out about what’s happening in my state.

I had a fairly productive day at work. My first class is Language Arts, and while they sometimes need help with focusing, they are pretty good kids! Second block was Journalism/Yearbook, and we were loading photos again to the yearbook site

After work, I walked out into 80 degree weather, and headed to physical therapy. It went fairly well. Then I went to grab a bite to eat at Chicken Salad Chick, a Southern style sandwich shop. Do you think I ate healthy enough? Keep in mind, I didn’t eat the cookie. 😁

Wheat bread, a Fruity Fran, and broccoli salad!

I’m going to the gym for some cardio. Nothing intense, just 30 minutes on the bike. Have a great evening!

Weekend Coffee Share, Vantage Point

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. It’s been a green matcha tea day for me. What are you having? I’ve written this post over two days….there is a lot going on!

Saturday was my day for cardio, which I completed on my Gazelle exerciser on the screened-in porch. There was a little bit of rain. Scattered thunderstorms are predicted all day, but still, a high of 97 is expected. I hear there are high temps all over. My dad shared that it was 100 in Charlotte, VA yesterday.

This morning’s view.

A lot of the day also consisted of packing to go on a cruise, which leaves tomorrow afternoon. Along with that, I had to get a supervised COVID test, then called my auto insurance to tell them I’m not renewing with them, but rather, I am starting with a new company.

If you’ve never done this, you should try it. Insurance is always less during the ‘honeymoon period’ if your record is accident-free; admit it, we’re at their mercy. We have to have that insurance even if we end up never using it. Shop around!

Saturday night, Chris and I stayed in Dania, Florida right near the cruise port. We were in good spirits, it was the first night of vacation!

Southeast Florida landscape.

Sunday morning it was pack up time, breakfast, and off to the cruise port. Now, we are checked in, seated, and waiting for embarkation. Exciting! I hope to have many new sights and experiences to share in the next few days, depending on the Wi-Fi.

Weekend Coffee Share, Get into the Spirit!

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. Today, I’m having a fruity V8 with green tea. What’s your beverage of choice?

No snow, just Florida sun!

‘Tis the season and Merry Christmas! It feels strange saying that in the midst of weather that reaches a high of 80 degrees. Yesterday I was out in it. I chaperoned a group of 7th and 8th grade NJHS students ringing the bell for Salvation Army outside of a local grocery store. We were sweating for sure, but they kept it up, ringing the bells. I started singing Christmas carols, maybe because I was growing delirious from the heat…or maybe not. 🙂

Too hot for a Santa hat, but I wore my best festive mask!

Good thing I went to bed early Friday night! I was tired from this whole week of school and finishing grades. In fact, one evening, I went home and ordered my dinner through Door Dash so I could put my feet up while I waited. Thursday at 6 p.m., I attended a musical production of Matilda Jr. put on by several students in our school, many of whom I teach or have taught. It was fantastic, and they gave it their all!

The spirit of minimalism lives on in my household! I am content with this tree that fits into our home that houses three generations, mother, adult son, and grandmother. The amount of gifts is just right. However, I received a Christmas check this weekend. What’s the first thing I did with it? I ordered a green Christmas t-shirt. 🙂 Well, I wouldn’t have done that otherwise, and why not spread good cheer?

Okay, the Weekend Coffee Share is late, and it took me three sittings to complete it and then to remember I had to finish and send it. It’s my Winter break, so deadlines are a little fluid. I had a massage yesterday and then rested a while before having dinner with my boyfriend. My one regret about this post is that I could not join the inlinks for the Weekend Coffee Share community. You might be surprised to learn the temperature right now as I finalize this is just below 60. I hope you all have a great week, and a Merry Christmas of happy holiday!

Weekend Coffee Share. Cafe Music and Pre-Springtime State of Mind

Welcome to my Weekend Coffee Share! The sun is shining through the window blinds on this crisp morning, and the cafe is the place to be! My ‘cafe’ is currently playing songs by Nina Simone and Billie Holiday, and there’s a click of my dog moving about on the floor until he settles at my feet again. It all sounds heavenly to me. I haven’t “hung out” in a real cafe in quite some time. So, I’ve created my own. We’ll converse virtually.

It’s a coffee drinking day! I have abstained from coffee for the last four days, due to my desire for better sleep and less anxiety or stress tension. I don’t think coffee is the whole problem, but I promised myself I would drink the green matcha tea more often, as it fuels me enough and is supposedly healthier. Still, this is my reward today, since I slept great last night and actually, most nights this week. Coffee goes so well with Simone’s “My Baby Just Cares for Me.” Piano and/or horns and a sultry voice just bring Spring closer to my heart.

Spring is scratching on our car windows, flirtatiously telling us she is near. “Be ready,” she calls. A rainy week has washed a lot of pollen off of our cars and into the streets. Florida is confused, but heck, that is nothing new. Having lived here since I was eight (with an 8 month misled venture out to OK for the sake of love), I’m used to it. Last night it got close to the thirties but our Florida sun is brightening this day.

I went along, day after day this week with a number of gray, rainy days. Having Monday off was great. Wednesday after school I had the Newspaper Club meeting. We accomplished a lot, I believe! Some are unsure of themselves with writing, so I pair them up, and it has helped. I am trying to make it a welcome place for anyone to find their voice. This was the third week. On the evenings after Newspaper Club, I am pretty tired. I get to bed and fall asleep with ease, and if I wake up in the middle of the night, I get right to sleep. It is good work, something that I am enthused about and that is turning out to be really good for me.

It’s becoming clear to me that I write a lot about my struggles. That’s because I am human. When I am honest with others about that, they are more honest with me. Add to that fact that, my struggles that I’ve overcome are a part of who I am. In my everyday life, I am teaching students who need to feel comfortable expressing themselves in my classroom, so I believe this is beneficial.

Keeping things in or hiding things about ourselves is difficult, too difficult. It results in us alienating ourselves; I know, because I did this drastically four years ago, when my son went through a really hard time with emotions and mind issues after a car accident and head injury. I felt like a failure as a parent. There were struggles he had with himself and that I had with him in the household. I kept so much bottled inside and felt really depressed since I was bottling up the stress. Not very healthy.

Glad that I’m beyond that, I have a few close friends that I can confide in. His struggles are much better, and he has held down a job for two years. I see that I wrote a lot about my stresses back then as well, and that’s a good thing. It helped me to hang on.

Having gone through the shoulder injury last year and educating myself on dealing with arthritis pain has helped me acquire healthier habits. There is a true link between anxiety, body tension, and pain. I’m still working on all of it.

Writing is sporadic, but I will not give up. Perhaps I will move more into autobiographical writing. Journaling is a more frequent process for me in “getting things out.” Blogging is a sort of journaling. It’s all good.

The sunshine outside my windows is representing my current state of mind. I’ve gotten through many things recently, COVID fear being part of them, and I just don’t feel as fearful anymore. Sitting at home in the computer chair all day is not an option! I can do this. You’ve likely heard me say that before. 🙂

**Weekend Coffee Share is a weekly bloggers’ feature that many across the globe have joined. Search for or use the hashtag #weekendcoffeeshare and tell me about your cafe of choice and the goings on in your part of the world. Have a great week!

Hurricane Haiku while Hunkering down…#hurricanematthew, Poetry and Reflection

As it gets closer,
Wind gusts, growing more steady.
Hurricane Matthew.

One must admit, Nature can be beautiful, even when it is fearsome.  I videotaped the breezes and wind gusts the morning of our expected hit date by Hurricane Matthew.  The breezes were beautiful and enthralling at this point.  However, they are to be feared.  Reporters and news reporters kept reminding us to “hunker down.”  It was a Category 4.

I had said that I didn’t want this storm to be anything worth writing about.  I recently shared a poem with my classes about Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.  No one wants to go through that.  I did not want a life or death situation.  I did not get one.  Luckily, the storm downgraded to a category 3.  The worst we had personally was a power outage, and a tin roof from my neighbor’s dog house flying into our backyard.  I survived said power outage by reading with a flashlight.  James Patterson is entertaining no matter what goes on around you.

Some neighborhoods did not fare as well, as old trees were knocked down or uprooted, blocking roads or hitting houses.  This tree and road blockage was surveyed the day after the storm came through.  Residents of the beach area, 20 miles away, had to evacuate, as it became flooded out.  I feel fortunate not to worry about such a thing as flooding, and am very relieved no trees damaged our house.  A tree was felled at the front of our neighborhood but was cleared away by the time I ventured out.

Trees with shallow roots did not stand a chance.  Shown below, is a tree near the front of my neighborhood, already trimmed to make our entrance and exit possible.

I am heartbroken, however, by the death of a friend of our family, a church member who had taken us under his wing, mentored my son, and helped him get his first job.  It was reported that he tried to cover up his roof during the storm.  It had been damaged by a tree, and while on the ladder, he fell.  I believe he was approximately 70.  He lost balance and fell, most likely because of those wind gusts.  He later passed away in the hospital.  Why did it have to be him?  Sometimes it appears these things happen by random, to good people who didn’t deserve it.  I can’t question it much more because I can’t find the answer.  He will be remembered and missed, God rest his soul.

I truly will miss Bob’s smile and his hugs.

Echoes of My Neighborhood, October Entry. Widening the Radius

A neighborhood with trees such as these, is a beautiful one indeed….

How far does your neighborhood reach?  On this beautiful October day, October 2nd, I got to experience a larger neighborhood reach.  Today I walked with some members of my church in the Cropwalk, a yearly event that raises funds and spreads awareness to stop hunger in other countries and in our local neighborhoods through an organization called Church World Service.

I live in a side of my town called Mandarin.  My church is located in Lakewood and is called Lakewood Presbyterian.*  (It is only a ten-minute drive for me when there is no traffic).  There’s a small area beyond that called Miramar, and then there’s San Marco, a beautiful historic area.  Our walk began in a church in San Marco, still, probably just a ten-minute drive from my church on a pleasant Sunday.  Simply an extension of my own neighborhood!  Never mind that the homes are a bit more expensive.  The land is a little more valuable, considering many of them have riverfront property and easy access for a boat entrance.  I just love our river.  Maybe you can tell, I also love these old, moss-filled trees.

The weather has been a lot less humid lately, but the temperatures seemed to be pretty high anyway.  Another reason one would enjoy such lovely trees along the roadway!  I was so thankful for their coverage as we continued our walk.

As we headed back to our starting point at South Jacksonville Presbyterian, I was amazed at what a perfect backdrop the clouds made.

Later, when I’d been back at home in my little neighborhood again, they peaked at me during sunset while I took the dog on his walk. I caught just the last glimmer of pink.

So, I suppose I widened the radius of my neighborhood quite a bit in this entry.  I’ve done that before, have you noticed?  It’s all part of my neighborhood, my world, my home.  Our church service today reflected on World Communion Sunday and the fact that we are all neighbors.  Perhaps these same clouds drifted past you in your neck of the woods.  I hope so; they were perfect.

It was such a lovely day, and I look back on it peacefully now, as my city is in the wake of Hurricane Matthew.  I truly hope I won’t have any outlandish stories to tell about it.  I prefer to be the author of outlandish fiction, thank you very much.  Please pray for us!

“Echoes of My Neighborhood” is a weekly blog challenge started by Jacqueline Obyikocha at her blog, A Cooking Pot and Twisted Tales.  One of her recent entries can be found at http://acookingpotandtwistedtales.com/2016/10/06/random-snaps-of-my-neighbourhood/ and illustrates her life in Dubai quite well!  Go and give it a look!

Having participated regularly over the summer in this blog challenge, I will try to join in every few weeks, or monthly, now that I’m back at work.  I am hoping my brief entry here has shown a little of what life is like in Northern Florida with the river, the sunshine, the Spanish Moss.  It all comes together to paint a lovely picture.

*Lakewood Presbyterian in Jacksonville’s website is lpcjax.org. If you are in the area, please give it a look!