Month: May 2020

Saturday, a quiet rest | #WeekendCoffeeShare 30 May 2020

by Lizl/Liz Bennefeld

Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!

Grab a cup of coffee and share with us! What’s been going on in your life? What are your weekend plans? Is there a topic you’ve just been ruminating on that you want to talk about?

Hosted by Eclectic Alli, her post and InLinkz link party here.

Welcome! I don’t know how so much of the day passed without my getting back to the computer. Thank you for stopping in. We have Toddy coffee (made with filtered water or whole milk), hot tea, and broccoli, carrots, and cauliflower to nibble. I am happy that you showed up, this weekend. I have been sleeping long nights, mostly,and getting in a nap during the day. I have looked forward to the weekend and Weekend Coffee Share company.

On Monday, at last, the Scampers met with the groomer in the morning and were returned to us later in the day, looking like someone else’s dogs. Surely, not ours!

Wild Flax
Daisy in Waiting
Wild Flax Close-up

We also got grocery shopping done on Monday, and so we were happy to find the meat counter fitted out with choices, although we did not need lots of stuff. Al was going to do yard work, but there was too much wind (gusts to +30 mph). Now, on a wind-free day, he has decided that there are more important things to do. Both neighbors are mowing their yards, again, and I think rain and winds were mentioned in the forecast for the first part of the week.

In the meanwhile, I did get some photos along the way that I’d like to show you. I’ve enjoyed in particular the blue wild flax and the appearance of a sprinkling of daisies. Most of the tulip varieties have now run their course. I think I have figured out which among the plants in the side garden are going to bloom and which are returning invasive weeds. Within the (unmowed) fenced-in area on the south side of the back yard, there were blue wild violets as well as beautiful dandelions with visiting bees. Nothing has come up in my back wildflower garden but chives for cooking and the occasional dandelion. I am considering late-season alternatives for planting.

Blue Wild Flax
Late Bloomer

If we were visiting together, today, I would tell you that I did enroll for the Artist’s Way workshop offered through the University of Wisconsin system, the instructor is an Internet friend of many years whom I met in an AW group a decade or more ago. There are many activities involved that I can no longer do. And some that I never could. I will make do. I do think it will be good, again, to go through the guided weeks as a member of a group. (When I facilitated {in the ’90s}, I found myself writing essays about each week, and I will be happy to not take on that pressure. So nice, not being in a position of responsibility.)

As far as my health is going, the blood sugar level is coming back to regularity, and I am no longer taking aspirin or antihistamine for neck and back pains. I have gotten into my old dance warm-up routines and seeing improvement in both muscle strength and flexibility. Harder to stay in one place for any length of time. Too much energy, I think. And I more often forget to eat—which is NOT good, but…

Reading continues apace. On the 20th of June, my (revamped) college book club begins reading Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere. I strongly suspect that I have extreme experiential deficits of background, going in, and so I probably will just shut up and read both book and ensuing discussions.

During the week, I wrote two poems that you might enjoy and put on my Quilted Poetry blog: “Closer to the Heavens” and “playing hooky”. The second woke me up as I was drifting off to sleep, so I made a note to finish writing it the next morning.

Again, thank you for stopping in. I’m looking forward to a visit to your blog as I am able. Best wishes for the coming week!

Hugs & much love,
Lizl

So Early in the Morning, O | #WeekendCoffeeShare 22 May 2020

by Lizl/Liz Bennefeld
Early in the Morning
Scampers, Up Early

Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!

Grab a cup of coffee and share with us! What’s been going on in your life? What are your weekend plans? Is there a topic you’ve just been ruminating on that you want to talk about?

Hosted by Eclectic Alli, her post and InLinkz link party here.

Mid afternoon, here, and the cranberry juice is cold, as is the Toddy coffee and filtered water. The tea is hot, black, and strong. Apples, fresh mozzarella cheese, and finger foods (mainly, veggies and hard-boiled eggs). If you were actually here for a visit…I would have to split the last apple with you.

If we were having coffee together, this weekend, I would lament that the Scampers’ appointments for Friday morning at the groomers somehow got changed in the computer (at the time, I assume, that they phoned to reschedule the time for two hours earlier) from this Friday to three days from now: Monday (Memorial Day in the U.S. and supposedly a federal holiday and a special day for our families). When we got back home, I called to double-check, not believing that the appointments would have been moved to a holiday. The Scampers are in sore need of grooming.

I am looking to sign up for an Artist’s Way class/workshop through U of Wisconsin Platteville as my educational “treat” for this year. It’s led by a long-time AW acquaintance. I got involved in The Artist’s Way (Julia Cameron) when the book first caught public attention in the 1990s. I took part in and helped facilitate in some groups. Enjoyed it. I think It’ll be fun.

If we were visiting together, today, I would tell you that my second Meeting for Worship via Zoom was very satisfying. I did transfer to the “after meeting” social gathering. I hope virtual worship sticks around for a while. Tomorrow is my first Zoom meeting with the Women in Ministry Online group (which about dates back to when I was writing articles about The Artist’s Way ~20 years past). I rewrote some of them, and some were accepted by Moondance dot Org, which is no longer maintained on the Internet, far as I know.

If we were having coffee together, this weekend, I think it would be fun to compare memories of times past, since everything seems once again in flux. Things I am happy for! I should make a list. In the meantime, here are a few of the photographs that I took this morning (Friday). We are expecting a stretch of rain and possibly thunderstorms during the coming days.

The Scampers, Oblivious
The Scampers, Oblivious
Rabbit
Rabbit
Wildflowers
Wildflowers

I would share that my former “College Alumni” book club has been transferred to Facebook, which is a more suitable site than the commercial outfit that the college first went with. On June 20 (I think) we are to begin reading the first five chapters of Little Fires Everywhere by [not remembering author’s name]. I have great hopes.

Things continue, here, with gradual improvements and accommodations. My eye strain is not going away, but the lubricating ointment helped. Al is now permitted to eat a meal or drink a cup of coffee in his regular daily haunt. That is a great stress reliever for him. The weather is such (and my capabilities, as well) that I can go outside to the gazebo and pedal for at least two miles at a stretch, now. I have yet to order “summer planting for fall blooming” wildflower seeds, which are to be shipped in June, and I have not finished researching candidates for the state elections on the ninth of next month. All are to be voting via absentee ballots, this year, as things now stand.

I am called by the Scampers for important … whatevers. I do look forward to visiting your blog, as I am able. Getting my post written today gives an additional day for reading!

Best wishes & much love,
Lizl

Blog title in reference to So Early in the Morning, O (lyrics), a memory from very early childhood of (possibly) my dad singing the song

Cloudy Sunshine | Weekend Coffee Share on 16 May 2020

by Lizl/Liz Bennefeld
heat map willow tree branches before cloudy sky
Cloudy Sunshine

Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!

Grab a cup of coffee and share with us! What’s been going on in your life? What are your weekend plans? Is there a topic you’ve just been ruminating on that you want to talk about?

Hosted by Eclectic Alli, her post and InLinkz link party here.

Welcome to weekend coffee share! There’s hot tea (black), hot drip coffee, and cold-brew coffee concentrate (your choice of water or whole milk to put it in), and 90% v. dark chocolate (husband collected some brand coupons, so help yourself). Munchies include peanutbutter on g-f flax toast, fresh mozzarella and bread cheeses, Greek yogurt (plain, whole milk), and Braeburn apples. (There’s also salad greens and organic butternut squash soup, again.) Settle in and stay a while! Love to find out how your week has gone!

You must forgive me, but things are rather a mess, here. I got in several photo walks around the yard, today, in anticipation of Al’s mowing down the grass, dandelions, and wild violets in the afternoon. First time out of the gardening shed, this spring, the lawnmower…wouldn’t start. I lended a hand, fetching clean rags and disposal containers and keeping the Scampers’ noses out of the gasoline and inner workings.

The carburettor is in pieces and hoses are scattered. Drained fuel inhabits one or more of my glass yogurt jars. Al has declared the mower unfixable and headed out replace it with a mower with the same engine. I am so pleased that our economic stimulus money is out in the world, stimulating the economy through purchases of necessities. I hope he saved the new spark plug that he bought first off.

If we were having a visit together, this weekend, I would tell you brightest spots for last weekend and next! First, I got the Zoom app working on one of my less used computers (one without the microphone and camera permanently disabled), and I was able to join with Friends a time zone or two west of here for Meeting for Worship on last Sunday’s morning. Lovely, peaceful, and nourishing. I’ve missed the focused worship. A SF fan that I met at the 48th Minicon in the Twin Cities, a friend who has kept in contact over the years, belongs to that Meeting. We followed up afterwards with a couple of telephone calls. Also, second, my Women in Ministry Online group, most of whom have moved from conducting in-church to organizing and presiding over virtual worship services, are planning a WIMO Zoom gathering for the end of next week. I look forward to that, also.

As I mentioned, I took several photo walks, this morning, and also this afternoon. Pre-lawn destruction mowing. Many of the tulips weathered the rain storms and freezing nights, and another, later variety has started to form flowers; I look forward to the new tulips blooming in the south side garden before the end of the coming week. The dandelions are beautiful, as are the wild violets, and through late morning, dew was heavy in the grass. I have had a lovely day reading, resting, and going through the photos that I took from 7:30 a.m. until now.

Rain in the grass—

Flowers—

Green Grasshopper
Green Grasshopper
Cabbage Butterfly
Cabbage Butterfly
Ladybug Wings
Ladybug Wings

This has been fun! I look forward to visiting your blog, as I am able.

Best wishes for your week!

Hugs,
Lizl

P.S. Still some problems with the neck strain and the eyesight, but not so bad as it’s often been, so we’re good. The eye ointment is helping.

P.P.S. And we have a replacement lawnmower, but sticker shock. And so, I have finished this coffee share in time to help get the new mower out of its box and into front yard or back. Hurray for economic stimulus money!

May Showers #WeekendCoffeeShare on 2020-05-09

by Lizl/Liz Bennefeld

Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!

Grab a cup of coffee and share with us! What’s been going on in your life? What are your weekend plans? Is there a topic you’ve just been ruminating on that you want to talk about? — Hosted by Eclectic Alli. This week’s post and InLinkz link party.

It’s turned cold, again, where I live, and so treats include hot cocoa (with which cocoa powder I used to make “cake in a cup”, prior to the low carbs diet); Greek yogurt with your choice of blueberries, strawberries, or blackberries; sardines on toast; and fresh mozzarella cheese with crackers. If you are dropping by a couple hours from now, there also should be some mixed nuts and Toddy coffee made with milk instead of water.

For the most part, this has been a good week regardless of the return to unseasonably cold weather. I enjoyed taking photographs of the tulips and wildflowers and many hours spent playing with the editing software. I have gone a couple days without taking aspirin, and although it’s been too cold (or smoky) to exercise in the gazebo, I have continued my dance exercises to stay limber.

My excitement for the week was that my larger, work laptop will run the Zoom.us application. Although I had to turn on camera and microphone and remove the adhesive bandage that covers the camera lens, which is a bit of a pain, it was worth it to spend nearly an hour and a half with nine other of the members of our poetry-writing mail list. We band together for the National Poetry Month and the National Novel Writing Month to write and share, as best we’re able, a daily poem each for the 30 days.

So much fun actually to see people I’ve only known over the Internet, knowing them only through the poems they write and incidentals (and sometimes momentous happenings) shared in the daily email notes. (Having fragrance sensitivities interferes with in-person business and social activities, and there is truth to the phrase, “Out of sight, out of mind”.) I am wordy, but I am a rather extreme introvert; my husband, on the other hand, is quiet but remarkably extraverted, for all that he loves spending alone time on his electronics and woodworking projects.

Thank you for dropping by for a visit! I look forward to reading your blog and others, as I am able, throughout the rest of the weekend.

Best wishes for your week!

Hugs & much love,
Lizl

 

Orange-tinted California poppy, late afternoon sun shining through petals
yellow California poppy, late afternoon sun shining through petals

 

Sunny Saturday | #WeekendCoffeeShare on 2 May 2020

by Lizl/Liz Bennefeld

Weekend Coffee Share is a time for us to take a break out of our lives and enjoy some time catching up with friends (old and new)!

Grab a cup of coffee and share with us! What’s been going on in your life? What are your weekend plans? Is there a topic you’ve just been ruminating on that you want to talk about? — Hosted by Eclectic Alli. This week’s post and InLinkz link party.

Welcome! I hope that your weekend has started out well. I’ve tea and Toddy coffee fixings ready, and frozen fruit with Greek yogurt, organic butternut squash or roasted red pepper & tomato soup, gluten-free toast (chunky peanut butter optional), mixed nuts, and very dark chocolate for snacking. There is a bit of a breeze, today, but the woodworking shop does block that while not blocking the noontime sunlight. Lovely views all around!

If we were having coffee together, today, I would show you tulips, dandelions (not pictured), and wild violets that have made a strong appearance, this week. The snapshots above were taken around midmorning, today (Saturday). There has been just enough rain to green up the grass, and I have raked–Oh, yes, I raked!–a lot of last autumn’s straw from the wildflower bed at the back of the lot. The chives are doing well in the wildflower garden, and I’ve been gathering some for my scrambled eggs and omelets, during this week.

If we were visiting together, this morning, I would tell you that my health situation is improving quite a bit. The muscle pains are minimal enough that I’ve only taken morning and evening aspirins, the past few days, and I’ve gotten a lot of uninterrupted sleep for at least four or five days in a row. Neck’s still a bit stiff, but that’s loosening up, also.

The Scampers, looking for the neighbor’s dog
The Scampers, as you can see, are in sore need of haircuts. The first appointment available is three weeks from yesterday, which gives us time to keep a “distanced” wellness exam, testing, and shots at the animal hospital the Friday before. The salons are to begin opening at the end of this next week, I think. My hair has not been cut or trimmed since the day after Christmas. I used to get my hair cut to the length it is now, and I’m rethinking going back to the shorter cut whenever I do get another appointment. I recall getting sunburned on my scalp, last summer. Pretty sure I don’t want it past my waist, again, any time soon.

This week, I have spent less time reading and more time sleeping and keeping active. My front-room book is by a new-to-me author, Sara Fujimura: Every Reason We Shouldn’t. Most lovely! I highly recommend it! And that sent me on to a 2019 TV series, “Normal People”, on Hulu. I liked the (first half of the) first episode. I may spend more than three quarters of an hour on Hulu over the next month (maybe). Even so, I pay extra for ad-free watching on the Basic level. The other book, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., is The Octagonal Raven. A perennial favorite…a go-to book!

If we were having coffee together, today, I would confess that I find this sequestering to be very restful. Fewer commitments, longer stretches of time for thinking and doing, taking naps when I need them, and space for letting my thoughts wander. It will be interesting to see what comes our way. I do intend to be nonsocial until there’s a clue as to whether or not there is “herd immunity” to any heartening level for the currently circulating virus.

Thank you for dropping by! Again, I hope that your weekend is enjoyable…or at least, successfully navigated. I have enjoyed the prospect of your company and look forward to visiting your blog before the end of the weekend.

Zen hugs & much love,
Lizl

P.S. At least two new poems at QuiltedPoetry (WordPress); although I did not complete thirty poems during April, I do still have some I haven’t posted yet.