Geocaching Milestone

If you want to know more about this new crazy addiction of ours, there's a simple You Tube explanation at www.geocaching.com.

Coffee

Here I sit, at the diningroom table, staring mindlessly at the zinnias in the foreground and the woods beyond...about to journal, read the Word, and then ready for a few hours at work. The world is still and calm...for the moment.

As I sip my coffee, I smile at the thought of Sweet Sue.

Sue was here for a bit on Saturday (we had not been together since end of June - that summarizes my summer - Sue is one of my absolute joys) and I enticed her to stay by offering a fresh cup of coffee. I was readying for Homecoming photos and making cookies to serve the kids, and Sue was ready to run some errands on her way home, but a cup of Caribou straight from the Keurig will lure ANY coffee drinker to stay a few more minutes. Anyhow, Sue made some comment about half and half...something like... people might *say* they love their coffee, but if you don't have half and half on hand... you're just not a real connoisseur. Ha. The intent was not that black coffee is not a *real* delight, but that if you add cream... it must be half and half. She went on to tell me of recent experiences in homes with skim milk and with evaporated milk...

Sue and I are serious about our coffee.

And so, this morning, as I stirred in my half and half, a smile spread across my face. Times with friends... priceless, aren't they?

Hello Autumn

This morning after depositing our two youngest at high school and my sister at the airport to return to Vancouver, Canada, I decided to treat myself to a Starbucks Latte. And guess what?! Pumpkin Spice Lattes are back. WOO HOO. It doesn't take a lot to make my morning. (the photo is actually a latte from Alterra at the lakefront, where one can admire the foam art...)

I have fallen off the blogging boat since returning from Paris. Maybe real life isn't as fun to report on. Or maybe 2010 has turned out to be the fullest year of my life with little time for blogging. Or maybe both.

Phoenix in February, Paris in April, New York in July, Columbus in July, and a dozen day or overnight trips to Little Towns, Wisconsin in between. Whirlwind. Wonderful.

I'm going to say I've been too busy enjoying life to write about it. But then, my journal is bursting... so I am writing. Maybe the issue is that I prefer pen and paper to computer keyboard, especially after being attached to my computer all day at work. Maybe the issue is that I've had all four kids around a lot this summer. Or maybe, could it be, that I'm older than I used to be? For whatever reason, I tend to go into a coma earlier each evening than I used to.

Anyhow, please know that I'm contemplating blogging. I'll start slow. Little blogs. Baby steps.

My sister and I spent last week end in Door County, geocaching. What a FABULOUS thing to shape the week end for two sisters who have extremely very little in common. We had a blast. I took this photo in Peninsula State Park on a trail I had never been on before. Haunting, isn't it? I love nature, I'm getting into hiking, and geocaching is hiking with a purpose. This is very good for me - physical strengthening, and a complete and total escape. More on that later. For now, the coma is setting in, so it's time for sweet dreams. Good night.