Sunday Coffee Share
A Cup of Coffee and a Conversation
Thank you for joining me for a coffee and a chat this fine first Sunday of Summer. This past week has been a different schedule for me. My husband has been in Canada for his annual backwoods camping and fishing trip so I dedicated the time to an at-home writing residency for myself.
I am having black coffee because one of the tasks for myself this week was fasting. When I was an ultra runner I did this structure of eating and not eating but it was a natural fit. I feel more energized when I fast. This past week because I wasn’t cooking dinners every night I experimented with longer fasts and it worked well.
Let me pour you a cup and let’s sit down in the sun outside in the chairs and see if we can see the hummingbirds in the yard. I fell in love with the birds when I was in Colorado last year. There was a charm and a half that came to the feeders with a frenzy at all times of the day. They would fly so close to you and nip at your hair and seem to yell at you an inch from your nose!
If we were having coffee I would tell you… I was social this week! Over the weekend, I went to visit my dear friend Chari and we went to an author event. We woke up Sunday had breakfast, continued our conversations like it never ended over the night’s sleep and then got back in our cars and went opposite directions. It had me thinking about perception of time. I saw her a week ago and it feels like it has been months. We are the type of friends who speak every day on the app Telegram but the illusion of time stretches like an accordion.
I had lunch with a friend by the water on Monday in the town I used to teach in. We sat and had the best hummus and pita bread and veggies together! Then we had crab cakes and glorious conversation. Both of us were a touch sunburned afterward!
I had lunch with another friend I used to work with on Tuesday. It was lovely to see her. We have kept in regular communication since I left that corporation. She was planning her class reunion which was a fun conversation. I received a lovely pic of her and her boyfriend today. They looked happy!
Wednesday I made dinner for my son. Last year for his birthday we were in Disney World and dined at the Nine Dragons. He had this spicy garlic honey chicken that I had recreated a couple of times since the trip.
Friday I had linner with a friend I used to work with who is also in my PUSH group. We had great conversation and lamb lollipops for an appetizer. I also had an amazing Mediterranean Chicken sandwich. We went to a restaurant called Stacks which resembles an old library. We talked a lot about books too so it was the perfect atmosphere!
Although it was great fun, that many outings was tiring! I am glad this week will be more of my husband’s and my regular schedule.
If we were having coffee I would tell you…I sent in some submissions this week but not as many as I had anticipated. I did a lot of writing but it was mostly reflective which I annoyed myself with!
If we were having coffee I would tell you…the Summer Solstice on Wednesday was my 6 month wedding anniversary. My husband came home late last night and I am glad he had a great time but am sooooooo happy to have him home! I have now lived back in Indiana officially one year today. I am happy to be here living the life I am! I have much to be thankful for.
If we were having coffee I would tell you… I got some writing friends together and we did a writing session twice! It was so wonderful and it was nice to chat, write and then chat again.
If we were having coffee I would tell you… I am teaching a Bradbury Trio course starting August 6. The class will be 12 weeks of curated poems, stories, and essays. There are weekly assignments that will be posted in a private Slack channel. If you are looking to deepen your writing and reading practice this is for you. If you would like more information as we get closer to the registration please fill out this short form. It does not obligate you to anything other than more information.
If we were having coffee I would tell you…I participated in an on-line writing retreat on Saturday hosted by Claire Campbell, founder of Blue Stone Writers, which was fun. We wrote to an Ada Limon poem at the beginning of the day which worked well. I will revisit the poem this week. There were also two speakers and a session on Revision.
Thank you for joining me for coffee today! I would love to hear something you would tell me about if were having coffee. Are you doing a summer reading challenge? Are you taking weekly trips to the beach? How are you nourishing yourself?
We sat on the front porch & visited with family over the weekend. It was wonderful catching up with them. There was a hummingbird that bussed the porch several times & went to the feeder. It was awesome. It gave us another topic of conversation to talk about. Karen
My husband takes an annual camping trip too, and I often use that time for a DIY writing residency (and puttering around the house residency and reading and lounging residency). I'm always happy to see him when he comes back, but I do enjoy the solitude.
Good for you for submitting your work! I've been messing around with a new short story--have a first draft done, but it took forever. I've also done some reflective writing and seem to generally lack motivation and self-discipline. Ah, well.
I hadn't heard of Blue Stone Writers. Will check them out.
Have a great week!