Coffee Blog

Coffee & A Secret Life

Writing Sparkle

Welcome! I am so glad you could stop by for a cup of coffee or another hot beverage. I think this coffee share will be a fun one and I hope you enjoy it too. But first, if we were having coffee I would tell you that it has been frightfully cold here this week with a couple days reaching minus 51 with the wind chill! We were the coldest place in Canada that day! Winter is great and the snow is beautiful but I have to be honest about being ready for spring.

If we were having coffee I would be happy to tell you that I finished the 13 week P90X3 program and I am moving onto something new. It was a nice change to my regular exercise routine and I enjoyed it. I completed the classic program but I think the next time I go through I will try the lean program. I enjoyed that it had a large variety of videos because it felt fresh and I didn’t get bored.

If we were having coffee I would tell you that my boys and I have been watching the Kid’s Baking Challenge on television and the boys have been asking to try to bake. So my oldest tried his hand at baking brownies. My only role was to get out the ingredients for cookiehim and away he went. They turned out well; I would describe them as rich and moist. He lost interest though and never made icing for them, but they really didn’t need it anyway. I would love to share some with you but I have to apologize because they didn’t last very long and neither did the chocolate chip peanut butter cookies that I made! It really was a great week to have the oven running and adding extra heat to the house.

Now for the fun part…

If we were having coffee I would ask you to insert yourself into the scene below, who are you and what are you doing…?

*             *             *

CafeThere is a soft instrumental music playing in the background and the atmosphere is friendly and warm conversations flow like the buzzing of a bee hive. The scent of coffee and rich baked goods lingers in the air. The glass front on the coffee shop shows the snow falling outside in big white flakes. Foot traffic moves by the window with warm coats zipped high wearing knit scarves with matching toques. The children that walk by all seem to have their faces up turned and their mouths open to catch those cold flakes on their tongues. I see you rush by and wonder if you will be in later for a hot drink.

The laughter across from me draws my attention back inside. I watch the group over the rim of my coffee mug wondering what I missed. As I lower my mug I smile at a familiar face across the room. “Shari?” The voice on my right says questioningly.

“Hmmm?”

“What’s your favourite thing in this coffee shop?”

I glance around the quaint shop. The room is set up to encourage conversations using big soft cushioned chairs and love seats, small country tables, and a fire place decorated for the season. I smile, “that all of you are here” I reply. My voice came out louder then I intended and random people are glancing over with smiles and nods before returning to their conversations. A bit embarrassed I look down as I raise my coffee to disappear behind it long enough for the conversation to shift.

The conversation does shift of course, someone is always ready with a topic or story. I am perched on the arm of the chair with my legs crossed and boots off. My left foot rocks up and down slightly as I listen. I am glad that I wore my black sweater and jeans today because a cold breeze hits me every time the door jingles open and it makes me wish my hair wasn’t pulled back in a ponytail. My ears are much warmer with my hair down.

A voice to my left picks up the conversation, “I’m glad we are having coffee today because…”

*             *             *

 “Who are you within the scene?” Write up your post adding yourself to the scene and then add your link to the comment section below or just add your response in the comment section.

By Shari Marshall – 2019

The idea for this post came from from Gary A Wilson’s Stories in a Dime of Time (July 8, 2017) – This post set up a nice coffee scene and it was how one of the comments read in the comment section that gave me the idea for this post.

I should also give credit to Canva because a lot of my images this month have come from this Canva site.

coffee

14 thoughts on “Coffee & A Secret Life”

  2. …it’s been beastly cold here in MN, with all-day snow for days on end (seemingly) and I’m exhausted from the shoveling, but exhilarated from the challenge. I love this coffee shop (new locale for me), the fact that it’s a sanctuary with good company and a strong, dark brew. And I’m laughing because your boys just rolled by like a couple of baby bear cubs, wrestling and laughing and somehow managing to avoid crashing into the furniture. Skol!” (raises her steaming cup)

    Liked by 2 people

    1. Glad you could join us, and clearly it is good that you have cat like reflexes. I was hopeful that the promise of hot chocolate would settle the boys but the younger one ate his cookies to quickly and wanted his brothers…

      Liked by 1 person

  3. -51!! that is so cold! Are we talking Celsius or Fahrenheit? Either way, that is insanely cold. I believe – 45 C is the coldest I ever experienced, and that was cold. We did have -30 –35C a few times every winter growing up. You really have to think about what you do in those temperatures. Stay warm my friend, and thank you for the coffee!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. That is Celsius and the children are stir crazy! There was one afternoon that warmed up to about minus 25 and it felt nice, almost warm. Kind of scary when -25 feels welcoming.

      Thanks for stopping in.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. “Why don’t you guys grab that table while mom & I order the drinks and pastries. If one of the couches opens up near the fire, quickly claim it for us.
    Given how cold it is out there, we should stay here by the fire until the theater opens up.

    “Hon, hold our place in line for a sec. I want to check something with that lady in the pink-ish shirt trying to keep those two boys under control. Yea, I’ll be right back.

    “Shari – is that you? You are Shari from the weekend coffee blog-group, yes?

    “I’m not sure how I knew, but between the weather (colder than anything I’ve ever experienced), that shirt, the way your hair is done and those two striking guys with you, I thought it might just be you.

    “It is so cool to finally meet you and put a face with that writing and the only photo I’ve ever seen of you – yea – from your blog site. I should turn you around and make sure I recognize your neck – but that sounds pretty kinky so I’ll just have to take your word for it.

    “I’ve only been here once and that was the virtual visit that I wrote about, what 18 some-odd months ago. I think that’s where we first met. Oh, there you are Hon. How did you get through the line so quickly?”

    “Right after you left, a third person arrived to take our order and she filled it really quickly. Check it out. All the pastries and still warm and they did have almond milk for my coffee. So, who’s this?”

    “Ah, this is one of my blogging friends from weekend coffee share. Shari, this is my wife,Ev. Hon, this is Shari, um, Marshall, I think, did I get it right? Ev would tell you how bad I am with names. Opps, hold on. Shari, this is my daughter – what’s up girl-child?

    “You guys have to come quickly. Two couches just opened up when that large group left and the boys are holding both for us. But they won’t last long with this crowd.”

    “Shari, we can’t use all that space. Please, come with us because we all need to be close to that fire. Let’s get better acquainted and enjoy our snacks together. We’ve got almost an hour before we have to wander over to the theater and we’ve love to spend it with you.”

    Liked by 3 people

    1. “Haha, it’s so nice to run into friends. The coffee cake with the caramel drizzle is really good if you get a chance to try it. We were going to try to get to the theatre to but as you can see these 2 would either bring the walls down or get us kicked out trying. Liz is here somewhere and a few of the others.”

      “Mom can I buy us a donut please?”

      “Sure, just what you need more sugar. Go buy one each and then you need to sit right there by the fire you can use the corner of the table to play a game of stones and finish your hot chocolate. We have to go out into that bitter cold soon.”

      “Sorry. So what movie are you going to see? Ev the colour of your sweater is lovely and it really brings out the flecks of colour in you eyes. Oh, darn excuse me for one second it looks like they need a few extra dollars for their donuts. Does anybody need anything else while I am up?”

      Liked by 3 people

  7. “I am glad we are having coffee here because its been a crazy week, my head has been all over the place, good thing its attached to my body by skin, bones and stuff otherwise I would have lost it, I tell you.”
    Clouds of condensation punctuate each word, a silent testament of the biting cold outside. Holding my cup tightly for warmth, in the hope that my hands warm up I take a sip, savouring the rich aroma of a freshly brewed hug in a mug. I should have dressed warmer but I had expected seasons to be so different compared to back home which was currently in the middle of a heat wave.
    I tuck a wayward strand of my dreadlocks behind the ear, they have nasty habit of just getting all over the place, but I can not be bothered to tie them up into a pony and right now they are keeping my ears warm. Strange how when my hair was shorter I would coax it into a ponytail every opportunity I got but now i wear it like this because I can.
    I notice you looking at the book on the table, beside my laptop. “Oh this? It’s my current read an anthology I am reading for a friend I promised if I loved it I would review it. I am few pages in and I love it so far”
    There’s lovely ambiance about the place, it feels familiar, like a good book, I have never been before but it doesnt seem that way. In the lull in the conversation I ask;
    “Do you come here often?”

    ~B

    Liked by 1 person

    1. “I will have to follow-up with you about that anthology once you finish it and see if I should add it to my reading list,” I say with a smile as I host my current book up into sight. “I try to come here as often as I can. There are days when it is just what the doctor ordered: coffee, friendly atmosphere and a great book to read. It is a great place to carve out a few quiet minutes in an otherwise crazy day.”

      It is interesting to think as we sit by this fire staring out at the frosty cold dancing with snowflakes that the weather in a different part of the world is so completely opposite. I currently feel like I am having my own personal heat wave though and need to stand up and move away from this fire place a bit.

      Glad you could make it in for coffee, hopefully we will see you again next week.

      Liked by 1 person

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