Coffee Blog

Our first virtual coffee in 2024 – COFFEE 2024-1

Writing Sparkle

Maple Sleigh coffee smells wonderful: bitter, buttery, and sweet. The taste is a biting coffee. The fade-out on the taste buds is creamy and smooth. It’s the Brooklyn Bean Roastery brand of coffee that I’m drinking this morning.

If we were having coffee, I would share with you I finished Christmas puzzle I was telling you about before the holidays. It’s the one I started the previous Christmas but couldn’t finish because it was challenging. Here is a picture of the completed piece.

If we were having coffee, I would share that Christmas was busy with family visiting. The puppy did great with all the commotion and was loved by all. New Year’s was quiet and January 1 was relaxing.

If we were having coffee, I would share that Vizard was ranked number seventeen on December 31, 2023 in the Amazon category of Dark Fantasy. I’m happy with that ranking. There a few reader reviews trickling in for it now too. I submitted From the Ashes to my editor for our first round of discussion. For my writing project in 2024, I’m writing a humorous parenting book.

If we were having coffee, I would share that it’s that time of the year when I consider participation in the A-to-Z challenge that happens in April. Last year I got little blog traffic from the challenge and I felt like maybe I would take a break this year, but now that we are heading toward it I’m not sure . . .

How were your Christmas and New Year?

By Shari Marshall – 2023

23 thoughts on “Our first virtual coffee in 2024 – COFFEE 2024-1”

  1. Well done on finishing that puzzle! Every year I say I’m not going to do the AtoZ Challenge but then I can’t resist. This year I’m doing it on my history blog which is a study of a town in Wales. Happy New Year to you

    Liked by 2 people

  2. That puzzle does look like it was difficult, so, well done on being able to finish it! Your coffee sounds delicious, and I am so happy to hear that you had wonderful holidays!

    Also, if you enjoy doing the A to Z challenge, you should do it just for that reason ☺️ Happy New Year!

    Liked by 2 people

  3. I’ve been doing the A to Z Challenge since 2016. I was introduced to your writing from the Challenge and have been following you since. Please keep participating. It won’t stop me from following your blog, but I’d miss your April endeavors. Writing a 26 part story last year was quite an achievement for me, not sure what I want to attempt this year.

    Liked by 2 people

    1. How have you found A-to-Z engagement the last few years? The first few years I participated the blog traffic from it was amazing, but the last few years haven’t been the same. I need to give participating a bit more though.

      Thank you for your support!

      A 26-part story is an achievement.

      Like

      1. I usually get a handful of followers. This last year, because it was a continuing story, I got a few more from outside my circle of writing friends than I usually get, but much more from my friends and members of writing groups I belong to. The writers I know already like one of the characters in my story (Ronald, who always gets me in trouble), so that encouraged them to read my entries. Also, they were the ones that suggested I continue the story after I shared the piece I wrote as a 20 minute piece last January, so they had a vested interest following the storyline.

        Liked by 1 person

  4. That puzzle looks awesome! I love it! I do see why it was so challenging!

    I hope that you do A to Z. I know I’m biased since I help a little with organizing it. It has lost its traction in the last few years, but I’m not sure why. We’re definitely working to revive it and keep it going. If you haven’t seen, there are posts about once a month all year long now! That’s how I found your blog, and I’m glad I did! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I suppose like everything else, A-to-Z has waves. Perhaps this year the engagement will spark back up. It is a great challenge, and I have found so many new blogs to follow through participating.

      Thanks for stopping in, Jayden. And thank you for organizing A-to-Z.

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Today’s coffee sounds like something I really would like to taste, and I usually don’t like all those flavoured coffees. Every time I see one of these big puzzles on your blog I am thinking that I should get one and spread it out it on the kitchen table. I believe it would create a great gathering place for my family. I am going to do it one day! I need to find a puzzle that my kids would enjoy.

    I tried to create a magical Christmas at home for my daughter, that is the way she prefers it. I think I did pretty good. My son spent Christmas with his father in another town. Right after Christmas I got very busy, packing up everything in our apartment (we moved right after New Year.) New Year was a quiet evening at home with lots of chocolate. Chocolate is part of our New Years tradition 🙂

    Happy New Year!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Hi Maria. I love puzzling. WIth the Christmas one, I had a bit of help from my sister-in-law. Sitting around the puzzle chatting was relaxing and fun. I like to pick puzzles that have bright colours and that make me smile.

      A magical Christmas at home sounds lovely and so does New Year’s chocolate.

      I hope the move was smooth. Happy New Year.

      Like

  8. Hi Shari, I know what it’s like at the beginning of the year thinking about whether or not to commit to a year of participation. I just had to do that regarding hosting Wednesday Quotes again this year. I decided that as long as I continue to enjoy it, I would go ahead and host it. But it took several days of deliberation because it does take time. Good luck making those decisions for your blogging year! 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I like that thinking, Marsha. As long as it remains enjoyable, it’s worth participating. I spent some time this week tossing around A-to-Z themes and I’m probably going to participate because I do enjoy the challenge. Quotes was one of my theme ideas.

      Liked by 1 person

Comments are closed.