Fab Holiday Gathering

You know how when you plan things - they don't usually go quite to plan. I dare to tempt fate even further by creating a spreadsheet with food, activity ideas. Don't be impressed - it didn't help. I ended up going to HyVee and other stores five times in four days. 😑

I didn't get any pictures with our guests - except this kitchen shot. And our annual group shot on the steps. 

Despite the Thanksgiving holiday food prep cluster, the long weekend lived up to pre-event anticipation. Our kids/Nell arrived Wednesday night - no drive/flight issues. Nell is 15 months old - an age I remember as being "busy, requires constant attention". She's all of that but was content getting into cupboards on the approved list. She totters about in an adorable singsong voice chattering. Her parents have trained her to use sign language to indicate hunger, and full - so helpful. Nell still sleeps around 12 hours at night - waking up cheery. She's a messy eater, and is experimenting with utensils. Green food is not her favorite. 

On Thursday, Paul rose early to put the 17-pound turkey in. I'd made 2 batches of fancy (sour cream, cream cheese) mashed potatoes for the Crock-Pot, and whipped up Mom's Scalloped Corn recipe. Paul baked 2 pies the day before - Key Lime and pumpkin. Paul's sis Carol, her daughter Barb and family - husband Mike, and kids Greyson and Mandy were our guests. Carol and Barb brought salad, stuffed mushrooms, and a chocolate dessert. With all of that and stuffing (thanks Carol for gravy duty). We had plenty to eat. It was so fun to hang with family, especially after spending 2020 Thanksgiving alone. 

Thursday night we switched to Christmas with our kids. We ate leftovers and opened presents. Then we played trivia-type games, always witty with this group. 

Nell's first tailgate!

On Friday our whole gang - Paul and I, kids, and Nell drove to Ames to tailgate at the last ISU home football game. We loved it that they got to visit with old and new family friends including Jeff McFee, Steve Crittenden, Conovers, and our tailgating buds, McKims, Ehreckes, and Chaneys. Jud, Kara, and Paul went to the game - big win over TCU. The rest of us enjoyed Nell time. We may not have followed Jud's explicit directions, but she thrived despite our rookie moves. 😉

We went to Booneville for a Waveland breakfast Saturday morning and Amy and Corey caught a flight out that afternoon. We were sad to see them go. We're not sure when we'll see them again as they begin a new adventure - moving to NYC at the end of December. They were anxious to pick up their dogs - Franklin their alpha weenie had suffered a dog bite at the dogsitters. It sounds like he's on the mend. Jud and Kara's dogs Archie and Henry were at our place. Henry has epilepsy, so he takes meds, but he wasn't feeling well the first day. I hope he's on the mend too - such a good boy. 

Thanks to great weather Nell got to visit a playground. She loves slides and climbing on things. We love to watch her enjoying things.  

Paul made a prime rib that night and we savored that treat along with twice-baked potatoes (thanks HyVee). Chatting over and after a meal with your adult kids is so gratifying. After supper we watched "Planes, Trains, and Automobiles" - a funny/touching old holiday movie with Steve Martin and John Candy. I got to serve breakfast to smiley Nell before she and her parents/dogs packed up (babies and dogs require a lot of gear!). Paul headed south to sit in a treestand and I putzed around doing laundry, putting things away - while glowing from a special family time. I'm still glowing. 

On December 2 we celebrated Patrick George Goldsmith's 30th birthday. Grief hit me that morning and I got a bit weepie, thinking of what we lost by not having him physically in our family. Six days is all we had due to a congenital heart issue - hypoplastic left ventricle. I remember the love our family received during Patrick's brief life and funeral - from family, friends, and even strangers. Patrick continues to impact our lives - we try to turn our grief into gratitude. But sometimes the hurt breaks through. Thanks to all who help us remember him. His angel food cake is delicious. 

after C Section - breech baby. That hair! 

Patrick's tree

Thankful - Where to Start?

Hi out there in blog-reading land! It's been a long while. Adele took five years to put out an album...it's all about timing/feeling. It's been a few months for me. Oh, I've written some things - but never hit the publish button. I'm not sure why I've been more reluctant to write the blog and share it lately - it's a strange time in my (all of our) life, this pandemic. 

I like to take photos and share what I'm doing. I also like seeing your photos and hear about what you're doing. 

Covid knocked me off of my stride. It knocked the whole world off its stride. Today and the future are forever changed. Ah, Road of Life, you are not smooth. I've blogged before about how our parents - mostly our mom - prepared the Bullock girls for rough roads. Though supportive, she was no helicopter parent. From that, I learned to bounce back from adversity. It isn't painless - and can be quite tough. On December 2nd, Paul and I will celebrate our baby angel Patrick's 30th birthday. His short life taught me many lessons. 

I've learned as a parent of Amy and Jud how hard it is to watch your children struggle. Teaching them resilience (with support) is one of the best gifts ever. Life will continue to throw up obstacles - health, career, relationships, ISU Cyclone teams (can't leave that out!). This Thanksgiving I'm grateful for the support of friends and family who make resilience possible. 

What are your plans? We are so excited to host our family for Thanksgiving (and early Christmas). Jud and Kara with Baby Nell will be arriving Wednesday.  Amy and Corey fly in that day too. I can't wait to see them all again. 

I set up a calendar reminder to take the 17 lb. turkey out of the freezer - never leave important stuff up to my memory 😆. Last year Paul and I were on our own for Thanksgiving since it was before vaccines were available. We're so excited to host local family on Thursday. Paul's sis Carol and our niece Barb, husband Mike, and kids are coming. We'll miss Paul's sister Jean and husband Dave who can't make it this year. 

I'm not a natural entertainer like my sisters and some friends are (if they're not, they fake it well). I'm jealous, but not enough to change it! When I start to stress about food/activities, my mantra is "it will be fine". Covid helped open my eyes to the fact that it's the people, not the food or house. 

We're so happy that travel is back - even if it requires masks! Paul and I are all vaxxed too. We are thankful that we've been able to hit the trail/road/air in recent months.   

-I traveled on my bike all summer after installing a trailer hitch on Bleuy, my car. I purchased an easy on/off bike rack and Albie, my bike and I were off - traveling to and riding on trails all around DSM - 40 miles a week. Exploring the trails was so good for my mental and physical health. 

-We hosted the Goldsmith fam reunion in DSM in August. It's the first time to get three generations together in over a decade. It was so fun to catch up with our nieces/nephews and meet some of their kids for the first time. And we got to show off our granddaughter darling Nell. (who turned 1 in September!)

-In September we attended UNLV vs ISU football game in Vegas. Jud and Kara were there, sans baby, having a good time. Those trips are good for parental mental health. We traveled with our college pals, Vic/Fred, Moose/Kay. After the game we traveled to several State and Federal Parks for sightseeing and hiking. The beauty of America astounds me. And beer is good everywhere. ;>) Kay did a great job planning out our travels, Moose drove us safely. It's a good travel group. 

Right after we returned home from Vegas and Utah, I drove west to Omaha to "group up" with Atlantic friends - some of whom I've known since preschool. There's nothing like hanging with friends who knew your people, and have known you through many stages of your life - child, young adult, and now as a "senior". Life stages are not as scary when you're surrounded by friends.  

We joined our ISU friends in Ames for several football games this fall. Tailgating was fantastic - food, friends, and a few beverages. The Cyclones haven't had the season we were hoping for, but talk about resilience - team and fans are still "All In". And the ISU Varsity Marching Band is awesome! Especially the drum corps.  

In October, a family wedding (congrats Eric & Molly) took us to California - touristing a few days with sister Cindy in San Fransico and Napa (thanks David and Lisa Lamm for hosting us at a winery!), before going to Half Moon Bay, just south of SF for the wedding. Gathering with family for a special event is simply the best!  

Assignment this week? Enjoy, and be grateful. 

The Driveway

202 Crombie -Bullock home for 30 years

 

Our house is a very, very, very fine house! 

My childhood home in Atlantic, Iowa was designed by my grandfather, Herbert Leslie Morehead. It was built in the early 1950s, a walkout ranch-style home with a flat roof. The house had many special features - built-in drawers in each bedroom, hardwood floors, and lots of light from large windows on the north side. Thinking back, one of the best features was a fairly flat double-wide driveway for the 2-car garage. 

That driveway is central to many of my favorite memories of the first 18 years of my life. Yep, a big slab of concrete. I remember learning to ride my tricycle on the driveway. It was green with a white metal seat. I made the mistake of parking it behind my grandpa's car one day and he backed into it - bending it a bit, but it was still ride-able. Phew! Later it was a good place to practice riding my bike with training wheels. I'd turn around in the driveway and head up the sidewalk and back down again. 

The driveway was smooth - conducive to chalk. That was good because it was used often for Hopscotch - a game that is said to be over 1,000 years old. We played it by drawing rectangles on the driveway in chalk. 

Amazing - saw this on today's bikeride in Urbandale

  Hopscotch rules here

Another game we loved to play was 4-Square. This was a simple chalk square divided equally into four sections. Or you could play with two people, two sections. Players serve and bat a ball with their hands. I remember calling "banks or no-banks" rules. With banks you could bat the ball before it hit the pavement - then hit it again. Otherwise you had to jump aside to let the ball fly out of the square bounds. 

When I was older, I got into tennis (note - we were a golf family so I never had any formal training in this sport). I'd bat the ball at our wooden garage door. I often hit it onto the the flat roof! We had a long wood ladder that I just set up to the side, because roofballs were inevitable. I don't know how Mom could stand that constant thump of the ball! 

My best memories are of summer nights, playing with the neighbors - especially our next door buddies the Reinertsons. That meant we were playing with the big kids! I felt so special when they let us play. We'd play Sardines - a kind of reverse hide-and-seek, where there was one hider. All others had to look for that person and when they found him/her, they'd lay down next to them - making a row of sardines. The last person lost. Reinertson's tall bushes on the west side of their house were a great place to hide!  

We played Ghost in the Graveyard and Kick the Can. For those games we had to pick who would be "It" to start the game. Of course we used methds passed down through the years - usually the Bubble Gum Bubble Gum in a Dish chant, or Eeeny Meeny Miney Moe. 

Sister Susi is central to one of my fave memories. She's much older than me (haha - she's be 70 soon!), so I don't remember her playing with me nearly as much as Cindy and lil sis Betsy. That special evening, it was already dark. Susi's neighborhood friends were there - including Linda Buck and Jeff Grayson. There is a streetlight right over the driveway - a bright spot in the night. Jeff had his bike and they made plans to prank the cops. I'm not sure why they thought a cop would drive by. The plan was for Jeff to lay by his bike on the end of our driveway pretending that he crashed. The rest of us were supposed to flee the scene when the cop drove by - like we'd caused the wreck. Our cue to run was when someone would yell "Cheese It, the Cops!" We practiced the drill several times to make sure we all knew where to flee to. It was serious stuff to be included on this escapade! The cops didn't cooperate in the end, but fun was had!

Our driveway was perfect for jump-rope! I got a new jump rode for Easter one year. It was green rubber with white handles. No wonder we all stayed in shape with activities like that and Hoola-Hoop! Rope jumping also involved many memorized ditties. One of my faves was: 

Suzi Over the Ocean

Suzi Over the Sea

Suzi broke a milk bottle, blamed it on me

How many lickings did she get (yeah violence was involved)

1,2,3 - until you tripped up and stopped jumping

If we had enough people we could use a long rope with 2 twirlers and one to jump in between - or sometimes 2 people (double dutch!). We went International when we got Chinese Jump Ropes. I can't believe I didn't get shin splits! We never had a basketball hoop, but I didn't think twice about using the neighbor's patio hoop, stuck on a wooden pole. Thanks to the Reinertsons for being patient with a kid that probably bounced that ball when they didn't really wish to hear it. 

I look back fondly on these memories. I don't know when my love for driveway fun died out - to be replaced with enjoying the driveway as a place to park a car. We'd pull the extra car off to the side in the grass by the tiny fire hydrant. We drove my grandpa Bubba's 1971 light blue VW Beetle in the winters when my grandparents headed to St. Petersburg, Florida for the winter. Then Cindy got a Chevy Vega with racing stripes - that clutch was touchy! 

Now we live in a neighborhood across from a small city park. Hearing the kids playing still brings joy! I can't wait to play with our granddaughter as she grows up. She's just starting to pull herself up on furniture. The circle of life. 

The Bullock girls with my Morehead grandparents - Pops was the architect

                                                                                        We get to see Nell - and parents this weekend! 

 

Moms and My Last Best Trip With Mom

Mom and I on the Cassville Ferry 1996

Another Mother's Day has come and gone. We weren't able to be with our kids in person again this year - and settled for a Zoom video call with all five. Darling granddaughter Nell, already 8 months old, was yawning and went down for a nap soon after we started. That baby is a good sleeper! I know many people are tired of Zoom meetings, but we're still delighted that technology can put us all as close as we can without physically being together. 

Happy 1st Mother's Day to Kara - here at a wedding with Jud and Nell

As a Mom, I love my special day - and appreciate seeing social media posts - people giving it up for their Moms. I also appreciate the acknowledgment of other non-birth mom nurturers. I can think of several wonderful women who have been influences on younger generations. 

A "file photo" of Jeanie with her husband Bruce

Our Aunt Jeanie, Dad's sis, has been a special person in my life, from when I was a kid and she'd visit her parents, my grandparents in Atlantic. We'd hang out, driving around in my grandpa Bubba's VW Beetle. 

One of my sisters still talks about the time she spent in Denver with Jeanie and her husband Bruce, during a summer when she was a teen, struggling to figure out how she fits in. High School can be brutal and it's nice to get a different perspective and to know there are people like Jeanie on your side. Additionally, some of my besties have special relationships with nieces, nephews, friends' kids, and godchildren. I tip my hat to all of you! Keep up the good work and support.   

During Mother's Day week I think of my mom more often than usual. Now that I'm closing in on the age she was when lung cancer took her I identify with her more than ever. This year I dug into my photo bank for one of Mom and me to post on Facebook. I found one taken on our last trip together, our best trip. 

Mom at Beringer

Mom loved to travel. She planned and took overseas tours with each of her daughters. Betsy went to England, Cindy to Europe, Susi to Greece. I got to go with her to Scandanavia in 1983. Our tour included stops in Norway, Sweden, Denmark, and Finland. It was fabulous! 

Mom at Chandon Champagne

In the early 1990s (1992?) we flew to Betsy's house in SE Washington and traveled Highway 101 down the coast all the way to San Francisco for my cousin David Lamm's wedding. Mom said she'd always wanted to take that trip. She planned memorable stops in Oregon and California. We went to the Oregon Coast Aquarium, stayed in a motel made from 1 redwood tree, and went to wine country to visit Beringer's winery, and Chandon Champagne. 

In San Francisco, Dad and Betsy flew in and we stayed near Fisherman's Wharf. We cruised out by Alcatraz, took a tour of the area including Chinatown and Golden Gate Bridge. Then we attended Lisa and David's lovely wedding - riding with the wedding party on a cable car open-air bus. It was a gorgeous day and a great way to finish up our trip. 

Mom and I had a memorable time together on those trips, but our last trip together was our best in August of 1996. We went to an exotic location - Northeast Iowa and places nearby. Wannabe Travel Agent Pat, pre-Internet mapped out a route that started in Galena, Illinois for a night. During the day we visited General Grant's home there. Galena is a beautiful town - fun to visit as it has many shops and restaurants to go with beautiful views. 

Next, we drove North from Illinois, barely into Wisconsin. There the photo above was taken at the Cassville Car Ferry, just a tiny spot on the map. You only need to push a button to notify the ferry you want a ride and await its arrival. A group of 50ish women from Dubuque was also waiting. They'd been on a quilting trip together. Or maybe they were gambling!  

We next drove up to the tip of Iowa - Marquette, close to the most NE point in Iowa. We stayed at a hotel with a Mississippi River view. The hill it was on was home to Pinky the Elephant. Mom and I ventured into my very first Riverboat Gambling experience. Casinos were new to Iowa and there were none near Creston at that time. I wasn't that impressed. I'm still not a fan. Loud, smoky, and a money pit. It didn't take long to lose my $20 stake in the slots. 

The next day of our adventure led us to Spillville to see the Bily Clock Museum a fascinating place filled with the Bily brother's hand-carved fabulous clocks. Then we headed to Montauk Historic Site in Clermont Iowa. It's the former home of Iowa's 12th Governor William Larrabee whose family lived there until 1965. The home and grounds can really give you an idea of life "back in the day".

On our last night, we had a room at a motel at Independence, Iowa. I found out that Mom spent summer weeks there as a child. She had fond memories of spending time with aunts, uncles, and cousins - the Griswolds and the Weepies. We stopped at the local library to find out to get information about the cemetery. No close family members lived in the area then. 

Then it was time to head home - me to Creston and Mom to Atlantic. Car time was special - it allowed us to really talk. Mom was a heavy smoker. She tried to stop smoking a few times through the years but could never get it done. Mom had a hoarse cough that summer that she couldn't shake. Little did I know that when she got to her beloved Florida that fall, she'd be diagnosed with small cell lung cancer. It's a deadly form of cancer and despite battling it with chemo and radiation, she was gone by the next July. 

Mom with niece Leslie and dolls she bought for several grandkids

The older I get, the more I love getting together with my sisters. We each have memories about our mother - some good, some not as good. She was a fabulous role model in many ways. I see how similar my sisters and I are - strong work ethic, caring for others, not afraid to lead. And fun! My sisters and I do laugh about some of the things she did. I only need to look in the mirror to see her legacy. Happy Mother's Day Mom. Never forgotten! 

Sisters! 

The Dreams of An Everyday Housewife

I got Glen Campbell's "Everyday Housewife"  stuck in my head whilst vacuuming today. Of course, that simple chore lead to others....I'd been putting it off as long as possible, but frazzled by a couple of hours of setting up a new Internet Router, I needed busywork.

Ironic, isn't it? (In my best cartoon voice). I don't think Glen was thinking of a housewife doing much more than food, laundry, cleaning, childcare, and staying pretty for her man! I guess that's why my rendition of the song kept slipping into Waylon Jenning's Luckenbach, Texas. I'm no musician - maybe there are some of the same chords? Or perhaps it's just that they're both country songs - not my go-to genre. 

So I was in a singing/vacuum frenzy. I had wanted to use my new slick chordless model - easy to zip around and pick up those obvious chunks on the oak/tile floor. But NO, the one I purchased online (after shopping locally with no luck) arrived Tuesday. We started unboxing it to discover it had been used - scratched and dirty! WTH! So it was quickly boxed up and returned. I had to pull out 'ol faithful and corded. 

Don't you hate it when, while doing one simple chore, you make the mistake of getting down to floor level and discover all those cupboard drips you can't/try not to see when standing up? I don't know what you do when that happens - but I pull out the Irish accent and pretend to be the scullery maid. I tell off those slobby lads and lasses who live in the "big house" all high and mighty, leavin' the dirty jobs for we "red knuckled hard workin' gals". 

That and cleaning wore me out! Now I'm relaxing, enjoying the WiFi hookup - staring at the one item that refuses to comply by joining. Waylon's "simple life" sounds appealing. 

What's Your Sign?

Granddaughter Nell is a Virgo - likes: Animals, healthy food, books, nature, cleanliness

The CBS Morning Show had a piece on astrology this morning. Astrology is about "fun and empowerment" said one person interviewed. They said millennials are into it. I remember Astrology being in when I was a young girl. "The Age of Aquarius" y'all!

According to the Google machine, the Babylonians created astrology 2,400 years ago. Three hundred years later it spread to the Eastern Mediterranean, becoming popular in Egypt which was under the control of a dynasty of Greek kings. Wow - they gave us Baklava and Astrology? 

The late 1960's was the first time I remember hearing of Astrology. There are twelve astrological (also called zodiac) signs set to calendar dates that may vary a bit. Each zodiac sign has its own specific traits, desires, and attitudes. I got information for this piece here: https://www.astrology-zodiac-signs.com/

 I'm a Scorpio. 

Element: Water
Quality: Fixed
Color: Scarlet, Red, Rust
Day: Tuesday
Ruler: Pluto, Mars
Greatest Overall Compatibility: Taurus, Cancer
Lucky Numbers: 8, 11, 18, 22
Date range: October 23 - November 21

Strengths: Resourceful, brave, passionate, stubborn, a true friend
Weaknesses: Distrusting, jealous, secretive, violent
Scorpio likes: Truth, facts, being right, longtime friends, teasing, a grand passion
Scorpio dislikes: Dishonesty, revealing secrets, passive people

Water is my element. No wonder I adore swimming and my soaker tub! While blue has always been my favorite color, I've got a lot of red in my closet - supporting the ISU Cyclones. The site says Scorpios are passionate and assertive. It has taken me a long time to become assertive. Even now I often choose not to be assertive unless it's absolutely required. In a family of four girls, as the third daughter, I learned to get along. At times that comes with a price. 

Back when print newspapers had lots of space (once upon a time) they made room for horoscopes. Our dormitory floor, Schilling House - 6th Floor Maple Hall at Iowa State University, received the Des Moines Register in the Den/TV Room every day. I could read mine and any that of any fella I had my eye on.  

In the 1970s, the paper not only printed daily horoscopes, the paper published "Biorhythms" - charts of physical, emotional, and intellectual cycles. Do you ever have clumsy times that last a day or more? I still blame those on bad biorhythms. It's not me - it's the calendar! 

Life is full of mystery! Through time people have looked for ways to bring sense to the mystery, horoscopes, and biorhythms can be ways to help do that. 

Writer's Block redo - Coffee

This post originally ran in 2013. I have updated it and am now reposting for your reading pleasure. I don't know if it's retirement, isolation, or lack of dedicated effort - but I'm having a hard time coming up with Blog topics that I haven't already covered. Plus we don't really do anything, so a diary blog is out. Here goes on the redo: 

Coffee Jones

Age 12 with Momo, Bubba and Charlie the dog

I think it was my grandma, Zora Clayton Stewart Bullock - aka Momo, who introduced me to coffee. She "babysat" a few times when Mom and Dad were out of town. Momo drank coffee, just like Mom, but at breakfast time she encouraged me to try it. She added lots of milk and sugar. Instead of my usual Cap'n Crunch, I had toasted Wonder Bread, slathered in butter dipped into a marvelous concoction of coffee, milk, and sugar. It was a fun and different treat for when Momo stayed with us! It made me feel so grown up. 

Mom enjoyed coffee too (with her morning cigarettes). Remember those perking coffee pots? We had one -just like everyone did in the 1960s. Those pots made interesting noises, indicating that something important was going on inside! They took forever to brew coffee. If you forgot to put the top on the pot, the coffee perked all the way up to the ceiling! Leslie the kid thought that was really funny. 

In the 1970s Mom when through her "Zen" age. She got a funky coffee press with a filter and a decanter that sat on the stove. It was all very complicated. I don't know if it tasted any better, but she thought she was very sophisticated! Many years later, our daughter Amy got this same system. And she's lefthanded like Mom. So even though I attribute Amy's gentle personality to Laura Goldsmith, Paul's mom, there is some Pat in her. haha. Once drip coffeemakers came out, Mom went to a Mr. Coffee system. You just couldn't beat the convenience - AND that name. A dude was making you something! 

I never became a big coffee drinker in my early years, despite that yummy coffee, milk, sugar concoction. In college, roomie Vicki and I picked up some Folgers instant coffee crystals for late-night studying. It was before the microwave days - so we still had to boil water! I remember when Vic and I took Zoology together. We stayed up so late before a test that we became "slap-happy". I still smile today when I hear the scientific words for the various secretions the body makes as we had to memorize them. We laughed until we cried. Those college years were magical! The coffee wasn't.  

I didn't start drinking coffee again until I got married to a guy who has a real coffee jones. Paul can't help it - it's in his genes. Nature and nurture really. The Goldsmiths are farmers. They drink coffee 24/7. Recently we had a family Zoom and we talked about who drinks coffee. Most still do - some all day. Paul amazes me - he can drink the stuff (black of course) until midnight and still sleep. He'll even drink cold coffee after it's sat in the car all day when we're traveling. We take the thermos everywhere. 

Me? I'd better not sniff caffeine after noon or I'll be buzzed for hours. Sometimes I can get jittery from just one cup! My Creston bestie Deb and I used to get coffee drinks at True Value in Creston. Yes, in that town the coffee place is in a hardware store - they can multi-task, and it's good. We'd go on Sunday afternoon, then I'd lay awake for hours that night. Nancy Drew finally figured it out. It was the caffeine. Duh! I had to go to decaf. 

In 1986 we moved to Creston, the home of Bunn-O-Matic an international coffeemaker company. Since then, we have been spoiled by coffee brewed instantly. I know the real experts look down on this method, but we lived and worked with the Bunn-ites! I toured the factory, which is the largest employer in town. Their employee break area has all of the good beverages - coffee, tea, hot chocolate. Okay, probably not as good as the break area at Coors, but close! We had three Bunn-O-Matic brewers in our 26 years of living in Creston plus a few in West Des Moines. Finally, a couple of years ago, our most recent Bunn gave out and we went with a different brand as we were buying retail. We went with a Cuisinart drip coffeemaker that doesn't require a paper filter. We like it. But I still enjoy checking out restaurant coffeemakers to see if they are Bunn people. 

Paul used to think Folgers was the "best part of waking" - except for another day with me (haha). After moving to the (not so) Big City, he has learned to grind his own beans (since we bought Starbucks beans by mistake one time and I purchased a grinder). We've tried lots of types of beans, but he's a Starbucks fan. Since he grinds it and drinks it black, he gets to pick.

Some people swear they can't function without their morning joe. There are lots of cartoons, memes, dishtowels, and decorations based on coffee. Beyond Starbucks, in Des Moines and everywhere, fancy coffee has never been more popular. I do enjoy a coffee drink like a latte but have to admit I am somewhat intimidated by some of the hot and cold beverages available today. Today's people have taken "special orders don't upset us" to a high level. It turns out we like that. 

I'm still getting used to this new personalized way of life. In the olden days, families like mine had more kids and less time for personalization. Sometimes I feel overwhelmed by the number of choices available. At coffee shops, I usually stick with skinny vanilla lattes. I'm sure there are lots of other delicious possibilities - but what if I choose unwisely? The problem is real y'all! Paul always sticks with black coffee at those places. 

During the pandemic, and just over one year of retirement, it's amazing how much enjoyment I've gotten from my morning cuppa with Cinnamon Dolce creamer. I usually just drink the one cup with a warmup partway through. Caffeine jitters you know. A friend of mine lost her sense of taste/smell after getting Covid-19. Coffee is one thing she really misses. We don't know how much we rely on daily rituals until they're gone. I hope you have something to help get you through each day - a beverage, snack, snuggle, TV show, or exercise. It's all good. Be kind - to you and others. I'm working on that every day. 

.