A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Wednesday, November 11, 2026

WQ - Integrity and Character

When we think about integrity, almost all of us have heard some version of this quote:

Integrity is doing the right thing, even when no one is watching. ~C.S. Lewis

Real integrity is doing the right thing, knowing that nobody's going to know whether you did it or not. ~Oprah Winfrey

The integrity of the upright guides them,

but the unfaithful are destroyed by their duplicity.

~Proverbs 11:3~

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convnience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

Times of challenge describes what our men and women serving in the military face. They show great courage, character, and integrity in their service, and I want to honor them on this Veteran's Day, as well as remember those who gave their lives in the service as Canada and other nations mark Remembrance Day today. You can read more about these observances here: Remembrance Day ~ Veterans Day on Homeschool Coffee Break

Thank you to all veterans for your service!

Remembrance Day on Homeschool Coffee Break @ kympossibleblog.blogspot.com

Honor the legacy and memory of those who gave their lives in service.

May integrity and honesty protect me,

for I put my hope in you.

~Psalm 25:21~

When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost. ~Billy Graham

People with integrity walk safely,

but those who follow crooked paths will be exposed.

~Proverbs 10:9~

With integrity you have nothing to fear, since you have nothing to hide. With integrity you will do the right thing, so you will have no guilt. With fear and guilt removed you are free to be and do your best. ~Zig Ziglar

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Wednesday Quotes is a bi-weekly opportunity for bloggers to share their writing, poetry, photos, or stories inspired by our theme. We've chosen the themes as a starting point for your creativity, and the only requirement is that your post include at least one related quote. Feel free to combine or "double-dip" with other writing or photo challenges as well. Of course, we'd appreciate a link back to us, if you'd be so kind. Add your link and please visit others and leave a comment! The link is open for two weeks.

Thanks to Marsha at Always Write for introducing us to the Wednesday Quotes challenge, and for passing the hosting duties along so we can continue sharing great quotes! Wednesday Quotes is co-hosted by Kym at A Fresh Cup of Coffee and Sadje at Keep It Alive.

Quoting reminds me there are other people in the world besides only me.

And other thoughts besides mine, and other ways of thinking.

~Gregory Maguire~

Wednesday Quotes 2026 Themes

January 7 - Resolutions

January 21 - Motivation

February 4 - Eating Out/Restaurants

February 18 - Being Responsible

March 4 - Libraries

March 18 - Perseverance

April 1 - Simplicity

April 15 - Conquering Fear

April 29 - Making a Difference

May 13 - Family Ties

May 27 - Courage

June 10 - Teachers/Mentors

June 24 - Connecting with Nature

July 8 - Milestones

July 22 - Sunrise

August 5 - Patience

August 19 - Taking a Break/Rest

September 2 - Learning from Mistakes

September 16 - Best Friends

September 30 - Elegance

October 14 - Reaching Goals

October 28 - Dreams/Nightmares

November 11 - Integrity

November 25 - Generosity

December 9 - Beauty in Nature

December 23 - True Love

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Tuesday, November 10, 2026

10 on the 10th - Memorable Muppets

On the 10th of each month, Marsha In the Middle asks ten questions for us to answer in as much or little detail as we wish. As you can see, this month's question is a lighthearted and fun one - we get to talk about our ten (or so) favorite Muppets!

As a kid, I encountered the Muppets on the show Sesame Street, but when The Muppet Show had its run on TV, that was prime time for me! We watched it faithfully, and watched the reruns every time we had a chance, and our kids watched and loved the shows. So much classic and hilarious material! We watched The Muppet Movie(s) and The Muppets Christmas specials and never get tired of it. We watch clips on YouTube and never get tired of those either. What a gift Jim Henson gave us when he created these characters!

Narrowing my list to just ten favorites is hard, but I've chosen some characters from The Muppet Show that I love, and another collection of my favorites from Sesame Street too. Yes, I did watch Fraggle Rock for a time in my teens, my nickname among some of my friends was "Wimberley" inspired by Wembley from that series, but that show didn't stick in my heart and mind in the same way. My kids watched The Muppet Babies occasionally but we didn't really connect with that. Anyway, I think my list works out to approximately ten characters or character groupings, and I hope you'll indulge me if I have a few more than ten. In no particular order . . .

Rowlf the Dog - One of the reasons I adore Rowlf is how realistic his reactions are, despite him having a fixed expression and eyes! He is genuinely surprised when things happen around him as he plays, distressed when he hits a wrong note, panicked when he loses his place in the music, and moved emotionally by the music as well.

Sam the Eagle cracks me up. He is so serious with his patriotism and tries so hard. He's gruff and often exasperated with his castmates as one of the few "adults" in the room, but I think he's also lovable. My favorite line of his is "why am I here".

Along the same lines, Waldorf and Statler are favorite characters as well. Because they say what they think with no filter and it's usually hilarious. Again, they are critical and grouchy, but it seems to me like their jabs are good-natured and the crusty exterior is a bit of a cover.

I'm going to group The Swedish Chef, Animal, and Beaker together because my all-time favorite bit is the three of them singing Danny Boy. I post the video on my Facebook page every St Patricks Day!

Okay, now my Sesame Street favorites!

Cookie Monster! I love him because he does what he wants and enjoys his cookies with so much abandon and enthusiasm! I wish I could eat cookies all the time and not pay the price with my weight!

Oscar the Grouch is so great! He doesn't even apologize for his grouchiness and negative attitude and he is comfortable with who he is. And the rest of the neighborhood is okay with it and just accepts him. He's hilarious and is another character who is crusty but also lovable.

I love Count von Count and he's so very quotable! Ah - ah - ah! He's so delightfully enthusiastic about his obsession with numbers and I love that about him.

I chose this clip of The Count to share because it also features the very great Sir Patrick Stewart.

Ernie and Bert are fun odd couple flatmates and their friendship is a great example of how very different people can still get along. Ernie is very funny, and Bert is often unintentionally funny. I remember having a record when we were kids that was Ernie in the bathtub with Rubber Ducky and his friends kept coming by for a singalong. Poor Bert is called upon to provide snacks and find room for everyone, and then to pay for the ice cream when Mr Hooper delivers it, and he's so frustrated, but in the end he joins in the singalong as well. Classic album!

Big Bird obviously makes my list because he is the Muppet face of Sesame Street. Childlike, sweet, generous, and neighborly, he must be on everyone's list!

My final add to the list is H. Ross Parrot. He was the most wonderful parody of the presidential candidate in a way that was cute and funny but not insulting at all. I loved him cheering and encouraging the kids to say their alphabet all the way through and his positive energy!

By the way, The Muppet Show has given us so much great music too! And the Muppet Movies. In fact, one of my favorite singalong songs is Man or Muppet. It's on my serious Spotify playlists and we turn it up and sing along with all the emotions.

Which muppets are your favorites, and which muppet moments stand out in your memory? Leave a comment and let me know!

This post will be linked at Marsha In the Middle for the November Edition of 10 on the 10th.

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The Flower Hour - Boardman Arts Park

It's been a minute since I had the time to participate in The Flower Hour link-up, so I think I have a little catching up to do. About a month ago we spent a little time the Boardman Arts Park in Delaware, Ohio and these photos come from that visit.

We especially enjoyed this kaleidoscope of mums.

This post is shared at Second Wind Leisure Perspectives for #TheFlowerHour Photo Challenge.

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Sunday, November 8, 2026

Sunday Stills Monthly Color Challenge - A Peace of Leather

The Sunday Stills monthly color photo challenge is focused on leather browns and burgundy this week. I didn't have anything in the recent camera roll that fit the bill so I searched "brown leather" in my photos and based on what came up, I was prompted to share these photos from two of the Frank Lloyd Wright houses we've visited.

I'm surprised at myself that we've twice visited The Westcott House in Springfield, Ohio, and while I've shared photos, I've never done a post specifically about this property. Next time we visit (I'm pretty confident there will be a next time since it's only an hour or so away) I will have to remedy that. Anyway, "leather brown" did bring to mind the rich and cozy atmosphere of the Westcott's library sitting area, living room, and dining room. The walls here are the type of textured and painted plaster Wright often used, and the color is a deep warm and leathery brown.

If peace had a smell, it would be the smell of a library full of old, leather-bound books. ~Mark Pryor

Wright usually designed furniture specific to his houses, but the Westcotts had a couple of pieces from other design houses that they insisted upon keeping, and this leather armchair was one of those.

The same rich brown plaster continues throughout the entire living area including the dining room, with its instriguing dining table with built in lamps; and the hearth sitting area with the beautiful grand piano positioned nearby in the window.

I also remember that The Duncan House at Polymath Park had some beautiful colors. The flooring in the dining area and living room area is probably not quite burgundy, and Wright called this specific color Cherokee Red, but it's close enough in my mind! The warm tones of this easy-care flooring bring together the entire living area of this gorgeous Usonian home which was originally located in Illinois.

I did a post about our visit to The Duncan House and Mäntylä in A Polymath Park PhotoJournal

This post is shared at Second Wind Leisure Perspectives for the #SundayStills Photo Challenge.

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Scripture and a Snapshot - Fill Me With Joy

LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup;

you make my lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;

surely I have a delightful inheritance.

I will praise the LORD, who counsels me;

even at night my heart instructs me.

I keep my eyes always on the LORD.

With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.

Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;

my body also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,

nor will you let your faithful one see decay.

You make known to me the path of life;

you will fill me with joy in your presence,

with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

~Psalm 16:5-11~

Do you want to be filled with joy? We all want joy in our lives, of course! It begins with gratitude, with understanding how very good God is to us and that his 'boundary lines' are to keep us safe in his presence. This alone should get us praising God and encourage us to listen to his word. He protects us in this life and the next, as he shows us the path of life. If we want the fullness of joy God promises, what we need to do is make room for it in our hearts and lives. If our thoughts and actions are putting strife, anger, greed, bitterness, complaints and negativity into our container, there's less room for the joy of the Lord. We find our joy in his presence, and how can we hold onto those negative thoughts when we are in his presence and rejoicing in his goodness?

Joy is the serious business of heaven. ~C.S. Lewis

Gratitude can transform common days into thanksgivings, turn routine jobs into joy, and change ordinary opportunities into blessings. ~ William Arthur Ward

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Friday, November 6, 2026

Progress and Goals - October 2026

I guess I'd better get this progress report done before I'm too far into November! October was pretty full of excitement and activity, but let's take a look at how I fared on my goals.

At the beginning of this year, rather than choose a Word of the Year or make a long list of all kinds of things I wanted to accomplish, I set two main areas of my life to focus on as far as goals: 1) Improve my overall health and fitness; and 2) Move to a home that suits us better than our apartment. Over the past month or so, I haven't seen the weight coming off, but I was making progress with general fitness. It's discouraging in a sense because I try to eat right and try to fit in some exercise, but I still don't see the scale move. But at the same time, my fitness level certainly was improved and I could sort of measure that as I went to the Sing United International Convention and Competition and felt great through rehearsals and performances ― able to keep up with the choreo and not be winded or worn out! The second goal was obviously met when we moved in the summer, but there are still things I'm working on as far as furnishing, organizing, and decorating the house. During October we got our new mattress delivered so the guest bedroom was completely set up, and we got new living room furniture delivered so the living room is updated. We still have the old living room set and want to give that away or donate it somehow. I have artwork and things to hang on the walls but still need to decide where some of the pieces go and then convince my hubby to get up on the ladder and pound in some nails and hanging hardware. I haven't found a small size pull-out sofa that would do what I need it to in the office, so for now we are just going to have an air mattress available for when we have guests that need that room . . . but we found that we'd lost the plug somewhere along the line so hopefully I can find it as a replacement piece instead of replacing the whole mattress! Sometime soon we'll make a trip to IKEA for an end table solution for the living room and probably more bookcases or shelving. And . . . it's getting to be time to decorate for the holidays!

That's the progress report part! Now here are some highlights and photos:

October 1 - kicked off the month with tickets to the Blue Jackets game. It was good to have a decisive win after a dreadful preseason (but little did we know at the time that the wins would not continue apace!)

October 2 - after work and dinner, I hassled hubby into going over to the furniture store with me to get the loveseat and chair ordered.

October 3 - I got my hair done in the morning. In the afternoon we met the kids at Hank's Texas BBQ for Harrison's birthday dinner. Afterwards we went to a park and art park in nearby Delaware to explore.

October 4 - Worship team, church, and lunch with friends at Chi Thai. After our usual Sunday afternoon nap, we got the guest bed put together.

October 4-9 - powered through a work week. Our furniture was scheduled to be delivered on the Thursday but they came early without letting me know and after a whole ordeal I had to reschedule.

October 10 - It was a great Saturday to sleep late and then treat ourselves by going out for brunch. We went to Delaneys Diner and really liked it. Did some shopping, then spend the rest of the day baking bread and butter tarts, making Nanaimo bars, and frying the turkey.

October 11 - After worship team and church, we went home to finish prepping dinner and cleaning a little bit. We had two couples over for Canadian Thanksgiving dinner and had a great afternoon and early evening with them.

October 12-15 - worked, went to chorus rehearsal and Dinner + Discipleship, and yes, our new furniture was delivered successfully on this attempt!

October 16 - I went to work for a regular Friday though I did scoot out a little early. Hubby left work early afternoon so he could be home to greet Landon and family when they arrived from Maryland. We ordered pizza for dinner and enjoyed a great evening with family, then hubby and I went to the airport around midnight to pick up my sister and niece who also spent the weekend with us.

October 17 - We did sleep in a bit, then hubby went out for brunch with the kids while I took my sister and niece to see a couple of TØP-related sites. I dropped them off at the "Bandito camp" near The Ohio State so they could enjoy that full fan experience, and then went back home and got ready for the concert. After all, that's what the family had come for ― we all had tickets to see Twenty One Pilots play at the "Shoe"! We all met up to stand in a merch line for...ev...er and spell each other there. LOL The concert was absolutely amazing!!! We got home really late and a bit chilled but so happy with the whole experience!

October 18 - I wound up going to worship team by myself because my hubby's cold had come for him. Landon and family joined me for the service but my niece slept in so she and my sister missed. Harrison and family came over to join us for lunch and we had pizza AGAIN. Not that anyone was really complaining, we had just wanted Raising Canes. Later in the afternoon I took Laury and Kaylee another TØP site quest. Then we spent the evening together just chilling.

October 19 - Landon and family left in the morning so I left for work after seeing them off. I worked morning only then came home to get ready for our Scioto Valley Chorus send-off show. Hubby came home from work early so he could drive my niece to the airport, then he and my sister (and Harrison and family) came to the show later. The show went so well and was great fun, and let us know a few spots where we needed to do a bit more work before contest. I was able to spend a little bit of time with my family after the show before they left and the chorus did our post-show evaluation and cleaned up. It felt to get home and put my feet up after my busy day!

October 20 - I left work a bit early once again, this time so we could get to the Blue Jackets game on time. My sister and I sat in our seats and hubby had purchased tickets together with some people from his work. We had fun, but the Jackets did not play well so the game itself was not a good time.

October 21 - My sister took my car for the day and then picked me up from work so we could go walk Blacklick Metro Park for a bit, then out to Cap City Diner for dinner.

October 22 - the three of us went to East Market for dinner and then to Franklin Park Conservatory for the Pumpkins Aglow exhibit.

October 23 - I did work the full day but took a long enough lunch to come home and say my goodbyes to my sister before hubby took her to the airport. So glad we got to spend that week together - what a treat! In the evening I did a catch-up grocery shopping trip and then relaxed.

October 24 - It felt good to sleep late! I got some housework done and in the afternoon hubby and spent some time helping out our church at the community Trunk or Treat event before another quiet evening at home.

October 25 - after church we had a brief nap and then met Harrison and family in New Albany. We were celebrating Veronica's uipcoming birthday with her choice of activity and restaurant. She wanted to explore at Rose Run creek again and then she wanted dinner at Panda Express. Can you believe they were wading in the creek in late October? The weather was beautiful.

Side note: This is the overlook at the creek where we were when our daughter video-called the family group with the happy announcement that she and her long-time boyfriend had just gotten officially engaged! Our huge congratulations to Kennady and Dan on their engagement and we are all so excited about getting the wedding on the calendar and welcoming Dan into the family in that more official way!

October 26 - I spent the full day at work, knocking out everything I possibly could in advance of my taking the rest of the week off for Sing United convention. I got pretty much everything packed and ready to rock in the evening.

October 27 - I went to work just for the morning, then went home to finish the last minute packing and prepping. My wonderful hubby left his work early once again so that he could give me ride to the hotel downtown, saving us the trouble and expense of parking my car there for the week. We had a rehearsal, got checked into our room, and I went to Stories on High with friends for dinner.

October 28 - we had morning rehearsal, I went to lunch over at the Short North Market with friends, and spent the rest of the day taking in the Quartet Semi-finals.

October 29 - SVC had an early breakfast and rehearsal, then it time to do hair and makeup and be on stage for Chorus Semi-finals. We were able to get into the hall to hear the last couple of choruses that performed and then the call off of the top ten in the performance order for the Finals. After the call-off, we hurried to our rehearsal room for a short rehearsal and meeting, and we were in Finals mode!

October 30 - another rehearsal, of course! During the day we watched the Quartet Finals. I went to dinner at Martini Modern Italian with friends, then went to the Coronet Club show in the evening.

October 31 - Finals Day!! We our final rehearsal and then worked on getting into costume, hair and makeup and getting onto the stage. It was so much fun! We were the eighth out of ten competing choruses in the order, so we watched some of the earlier choruses on the livestream while we were getting ready, then after our performance we went straight into the hall to hear the final chorus and await the results. We placed fifth in the world and we are so proud and excited for our success! We had a chorus dinner afterwards and celebrated.

Seems like a lot longer report than most of my others, but as you can see there were a lot of photos I included! November has already started off with some interesting things to report, but I will save those for the next summary coming in about a month!

How have you been doing with goals you set for yourself this year? Leave a comment and let me know!

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