Tag: coffee shops

Shortest Day, Longest Night

December 21, 2021 / laura bruno lilly

“The light shines in the darkness and the darkness has not overcome it.” – John 1:5

These past few years I’ve been heavy on the ‘longest night’ part of reflecting upon life’s unfolding during the winter solstice. So herein I am pondering more of the ‘shortest day’ side of things.

I like sitting this side of the solstice – winter’s frozen heartbeat on the cusp of a new beginning. Almost but not quite on the other side of darkness.

Bright spots. Glimmers. Slanting, lingering glow-rays.

Those are the things any day can bring – and are especially darkness busting on The Shortest Day.

Offerings I grasp onto, hoping to not miss any scrap of sunshine put out there to encourage me along the way through.

This year’s ‘shortest day’ forced its way into my brain. Insisting I pause, recognize and think on the myriad kaleidoscope bright spots, glimmers and slanting glow-rays of MMXXI.

From getting vaxxed, which enabled something as simple as getting a haircut and grabbing my first coffee at the new shop in town, to meeting up with a quilter-blogger buddy for the first time face-to-face at her home (and fantastic quilting studio) in NC. Plus numerous road trips made to Michigan and Chicago…mostly for fun, family gatherings, but also one that included sharing the grief with family due to the passing of my Aunt Adua.

In many cases, what was interrupted by 2020’s COVID crisis began to re-start this year in different ways…for our son that meant ‘how to get engaged, married and go on a honeymoon’ during a Pandemic. The beginning of the Pandemic caught him and his girlfriend hiking the Patagonia wilderness – a miracle story in and of itself of how they even got back on American soil…They are now honeymooning in Thailand.

🙂

In conclusion (!), the following just seems to put ‘the shortest day’ and ‘the longest night’ into a sort of musical representation of what I’m trying to convey in this winter solstice pondering – give it a listen.

I MISS MY COFFEE!

February 27, 2017 / laura bruno lilly

Been up and down with that lousy respiratory bug for the past four weeks…Hubby, too…Been unable to taste or smell for at least the last two weeks (well really only ten days and counting but still)…Hubby has his back…Been on a self-imposed coffee fast because I can’t taste it so why bother?…Hubby doesn’t get the coffee thing…Gettin’ kinda cranky…

Okay, so maybe I’m going through a good healthy coffee purge/cleansing – Sooooo: should I still pick up that first cuppa once I get my taste buds back?

You betcha!

I Miss My Coffee!!!!

I’m going psychedelic-crazy without my hot-shot brew

Go here for my new fav coffeeshop blog.
Go and here & here to more fully my relationship with the stuff (be sure to scroll down to the bottom of that second post to get the fairytale true story).

Spider Webs, Jacob’s Ladder and 'Losing the Strand'

August 2, 2016 / laura bruno lilly

Golden Orb with stabilimenta, South Carolina

Our front porch Golden Orb, spinning a ‘Jacob’s Ladder’ addition to its web base

The first full summer we lived in the South we encountered massive and prolific webs of this indigenous species of spider, the Golden Orb.
The spiders themselves get to be quite large and are wickedly beautiful…meaning, these are gloriously colored arachnids that come equipped with some seriously sharp and long legs.
What I found most intriguing was the amount of detail in their webs. Many spiders offer intricate designs in their web-construction, but these Golden Orbs use those as a base on which to further weave additional layers of web construction.
I call them the Jacob’s Ladder addition. Continue reading

New Book Release: Home to Cedar Branch by Brenda Bevan Remmes

March 29, 2016 / laura bruno lilly

Waiting for Brenda

Of course wouldn’t you know, the day’s dark grey skies decided to pour forth a drenching rain the moment I stepped out of the car. Brenda and I were meeting that morning at the FloTown Starbucks on Palmetto for a quasi-interview, so I wanted to get there a bit before the appointed time.
After my mad dash into the tiny building, I quickly scanned the area for an available table. As a veteran of numerous coffee shops, I know that claiming one’s territory is best done first. I planted my book bag atop my find as evidence of ownership then proceeded to redeem my empty bean bag* for a free cup of coffee.
Returning to ‘our’ table with java in hand, I settled in to read a few pages of ‘Home to Cedar Branch’ while waiting for Brenda’s arrival…

Home to Cedar Branch is Brenda’s second novel in the ‘Quaker Café’ series. While not intended to be a part of an actual series, this stand-alone book clamors to be part of something larger than itself. Writing has a way of making demands on its author and Brenda is accommodating those demands by crafting yet a third book in the ‘Quaker Café’ series as of this posting.
Both novels, along with an in-progress third, are centered around the fictional community of Cedar Branch. I asked Brenda if she would like to live in Cedar Branch. Surprisingly, she told me that she Continue reading

Giving Voice: Woman In A Café (poem)

January 30, 2016 / laura bruno lilly

While reading through Andrew James Murray’s newly published collection of poetry Heading North I was particularly struck by his poem, Woman in a Café.

Inspired by the memory of a woman who used to come into the café he frequented during his lunch break while working in Manchester, her fingerless mittened hands clutch bunched plastic bags while two worlds converge if only briefly but forever remembered.

Re-printed with permission.

Goat-Joe Love & Laura's Sumatra (part two)

April 27, 2014 / laura bruno lilly

My personal blend! (story at end of post)

Until a few years ago, I thought beans and roast were one and the same. This misconception can be excused since beans and roast tend to be labeled interchangeably within the commercial realm, causing confusion to even the most discriminating coffee-lover. Bean bags labeled either ‘Sumatra, Aceh, French, Italian or Dark’ are the ones which routinely get freshly ground in my home coffee grinder for brewing each morning. Once the distinction is made between bean origin and type of roast, a greater understanding of coffee basics unfolds.

Goat-Joe Love & Laura’s Sumatra (part one)

April 11, 2014 / laura bruno lilly

Two of my favorite things: goats & dark roast coffee

By now, most of you know about my goat obsession. So it was to my great delight when I discovered goats had a hand, or should I say hoof, in the creation of a long-time vice of mine: coffee.
Believe it or not, goats played a pivotal role in the historical first-time human interaction with coffee berries. Close your eyes for a moment and imagine the high altitude mountains and contrasting valleys of the Ethiopian highlands…Now picture goats grazing…Open your eyes and keep that visual in mind while reading the following:

Goat herder tending his goats on the Ethiopian Highlands

‘In ancient Ethiopia a young goatherd named Kaldi noticed his goats dancing and prancing after eating the small, red fruit of a nearby shrub. Not wishing to be left out of the fun, Kaldi ate the coffee cherries and soon he was dancing with his goats.’

Some call this a legend. I tend to believe it on face-value now that I’ve had firsthand experience with goats; in the garden or otherwise!
Historically, the Arabs were the first, not only to cultivate coffee but also to begin its trade. By the fifteenth century, coffee was being grown in the Yemeni district of Arabia and by the sixteenth century it was widely known throughout Persia, Egypt, Syria and Turkey.
Coffee was not only drunk in homes but also in the many public coffee houses — called qahveh khaneh — which began to appear in cities across the Near East. The popularity of the coffee houses was unequaled and people frequented them for all kinds of social activity. Not only did they drink coffee and engage in conversation, but they also listened to music, watched performers, played chess and kept current on the news of the day. In fact, coffee houses quickly became major centers for the exchange of ideas and information, gaining a reputation as being ‘Schools of the Wise.’
Over the years, I have accumulated an impressive a list of my favorite ‘Schools of the Wise.’ Personal criteria being: a place filled with ambiance, artistic vibes, happenings and serving quality coffee, preferably in-house roasted. Oh, and the possible perk of offering killer chocolate croissants is always an added plus. Continue reading

The Prophet and the Gift

November 19, 2013 / laura bruno lilly

from-Swimming with Swans: vignettes of our three year journey between homes
6/2009 ~ 6/2012

April 2010

Thank you, John

Many of us remember John Breaux, a unique individual who was beloved within the mainstream community as he traveled daily all over the Louisville/Lafayette area in CO on his bicycle. Spending his days filling the plastic grocery bags dangling from his handlebars with garbage he’d pick up along the way. It was his job, it was his mission, it was his life and he excelled in doing it. Always smiling and quick to wave at those he knew and those who initiated a wave towards him.

During our stay in Las Cruces, NM these past few months, I met another unique individual while frequenting a local coffee shop hangout in nearby Mesilla, called The Bean. Offering great ambiance, coffee and local color, this is a welcoming place to connect to the free WI-FI and be as anonymous or engaged with others as one desires. Continue reading