A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Monday, June 1, 2026

Progress and Goals 2026 (May)

Since I didn't pick a Word of the Year for 2026 I had planned to just do a monthly progress report on some of the goals I am working on. Well, for the first part of the year, that wasn't happening! I finally got myself together to report on my progress a month ago and had to summarize four months worth. I'm a little more on top of the report in month five, but also there was a lot of movement on one of the two major goals.

The two main areas I wanted to focus on this year are: 1) Improve my overall health and fitness: and 2) Move to a home that suits us better than our apartment.

During May it felt like I had a lot of trouble being consistent with healthy eating, but I tried to be conscientious about keeping a daily log in the app I use for my nutritionist program, and that did keep me accountable for how well I was doing. I managed to shave off a couple more pounds and my healthier habits are becoming more ingrained. That reminds me . . . I didn't log what I ate today . . . better do that now before I forget!

When I updated at the end of April, we had made significant progress in our plans to find and move into a new home. We had just entered into contract on the house we'd chosen and were waiting for information on what we needed to do next. So during May, there was a lot of "hurry up and wait" but the checklist looked a little like this:

-submit a whole lot of signatures and documents to our lender

-move funds into the appropriate accounts

-get inspections done on the property

-obtain homeowners insruance on the property

-give our written notice to our apartment management company

-submit more signatures and documents to the title company

-do a final walkthrough of the house pre-settlement

-wire the downpayment to the title company

-get to the realty office to do the in-person signing of all the final settlement documents

All of that completed as of May 29th! We probably should have been doing more packing earlier, but we're gaining momentum on it and we do still have a bit of time before we have to be completely cleared out of the apartment.

We actually take possession of the house sometime this week, and Saturday will be our main moving day. We'll have another week after that to finish getting any odds and ends out of the apartment and doing a final cleaning. Coming up, my checklist is pretty focused on getting all the change of address tasks looked after. And getting ready for vacation!

Here are some highlights from the merry month of May!

I had my hair done on the first weekend of the month, and decided to make a bit of a change. Switched to an assymetrical cut, which you can kind of see in the Mother's Day weekend photos. The first Sunday of every month is free at Franklin Park Conservatory for Franklin County residents, so we took advantage of that with our son and his family. Great day until I tripped near the end of our visit and banged up my knee and hip. Went to East Market for dinner and home to watch the hockey game. Spoiler alert: we spent a lot of evenings at home watching playoff hockey!

After the work week, I chose Yellow Springs for the Mother's Day weekend outing. We went there to hike at Glen Helen Nature Preserve with the kids and then had dinner at Ye Olde Trail Tavern.

new hair, same old me - hubby is far more cheerful
than this photo might indicate

On Mother's Day we got Asian takeout for lunch after church, had a very relaxed day at home, and of course I called my Mum.

Once again, the workweek didn't have any real standout unusual moments. On the weekend, we suggested our granddaughter pick a park and a place to eat, so we went on a nature walk in Delaware County, explored a little in town before eating at Wendy's, and then finished with a visit to the O'Shaughnessy Dam park.

The next week was a little bit busier. On Monday I had a dentist appointment, and then chorus rehearsal in the evening. On Thursday I took time out from work to meet a couple ladies from the chorus at our church. The chorus is looking for a new rehearsal "home" and my church is one of the suggested places.

On Saturday morning, hubby went to work for a little bit but he had a nasty cold and didn't feel good. He came home earlier than planned, and after some discussion with our friends (we were planning to go to their place for dinner) we rescheduled our get-together for Sunday instead. Sunday morning he felt better and we did make it to church and worship team as usual. We had a great time with our friends for dinner.

We had originally thought we'd spend Memorial Day getting started on packing, but hubby went to work for a little in the morning since he'd cut Friday and Saturday short. Then we accepted an invitation to lunch with another group of friends.

The short week of work started off with me feeling a bit iffy, but thankfully my cold didn't get as bad as hubby's. On Wednesday I left work a little early so we could meet at the new house and do our final walk-through.

Friday was another shortened workday. I was in and out getting to the bank and doing the wire transfer of the closing payment on the house, then meeting up at the realty office to do the closing and sign all the remaining documents. To celebrate, hubby and I went out to dinner at a favorite restaurant of ours - Anna's Greek Cuisine. Came home to watch hockey. A good day, but felt a little sad for hubby because his team was knocked out of the playoffs.

This past weekend, hubby worked all day on Saturday and I did some errands and got a bit of packing done. Sunday was a quiet day as well. We had a good lunch after church, and long naps, then I putzed around the apartment and also did some rehearsing while hubby played hockey.

How are you doing with your goals for the year? Leave a comment and let me know!

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Sunday, May 31, 2026

Scripture and a Snapshot - In the Spirit and In Truth

"Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth."

~John 4:23-24~

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Saturday, May 30, 2026

Share Four Somethings - May 2026

Each month we're each invited to share things in these categories: something we loved, something that sustained us, something we're carrying forward from this month to the next, and something we're making space for. I usually like to include a little bit of a bonus: Some Things I Read and a little of What's Coming Up Soon.

Some Things I Loved:

Well, it feels like a long time ago now, since a lot has happened, but I did love our first Sunday of the month visit to Franklin Park Conservatory. (Right up until I tripped and banged up my knee anyway)

On the Mother's Day weekend, I was allowed to "choose my adventure" so we went to Glen Helen Nature Preserve in Yellow Springs. Gorgeous day and we had a good workout on the hike! We ended the day with dinner at my restaurant choice, Ye Olde Trail Tavern, and it was delicious.

I loved the Mother's Day wishes from my kids, and got a chuckle from this card my daughter sent.

On the next weekend we explored a nature walk up in Delaware County, and walked around at the O'Shaughnessy Dam park a bit as well. I loved that I could get pretty decent pictures of the egret perched high up in a tree. I'm definitely old enough to remember cameras with film that needed developed before you could see your photos, and amateur photographers like me just didn't get photos like this! So I love the ease of use of our cellphone cameras and how powerful they are, and we often take them for granted.

And finally, I love that we bought a house! We closed the deal yesterday and will be moving in next week, so these photos are from the listing and are not my furnishings. We are so excited! I also love that I have some money that was gifted to me that I've set aside to purchase the new furniture that I want for the house, although I doubt I'll have time to make those decisions until late June or maybe July. So, I guess stay tuned for a series of chaos photos as we move in and eventually photos of us settling in with our things old and new.

Something That Sustained Me:

Just moving along one step, one day at a time. It's been twenty-five years since we last bought a house, so we might as well have been first-time home buyers. We just kept plugging along, doing the next thing, and we are beyond grateful for our wonderful real estate agent who has been guiding us through. Everyone we've worked with has been so good. And friends and family have been so excited for us and that is really encouraging.

Having deadlines to motivate me was sort of a sustaining thing too. We knew we had the deadline of when the lease runs out so we had to plan ahead and make sure we'd be able to make settlement and get moved on that timeline. But another "deadline" is a powerful motivator too - we have the family vacation coming up soon and want to be reasonably settled into the house before we head up to the Niagara Falls area for a week. We'll be visiting hubby's sister for a couple days, and hopefully get to see some friends in that area, then we're picking up my Mum and Dad who are meeting us in Ontario, and heading back to New York state to the vacation house we have rented. All the kids will be meeting us there for a huge family vacation. After that, Mum and Dad and are coming back to Ohio with us to spend a bit more time and obviously I want to have the house ready to show off!

Something I'm Carrying Forward:

There is still a lot of packing to be done. I feel like we've barely started on it, but the good news is that we don't have to do the entire move in one day. We will be moving carloads of things over starting in the middle of the week, and then have Saturday with a moving truck to do the furniture and the rest. And still have almost all of the following week to finish clearing out of the apartment and cleaning it.

I also have a lot left on recent to-do lists that isn't completed so I have to carry forward those checklists into the beginning of June. Somehow I'll find time to get it done - I don't have much choice!

Something I'm Making Space For:

Technically, I'm gaining physical space rather than making it as we move to a house with one more bedroom, lots more closets, a garage, a full basement, a much larger kitchen, and our own little yard with a deck! We'll have to figure out where everything will fit into all that space, and make sure it doesn't get cluttered or overfull immediately. I've observed in the past that the amount of stuff we have seems to magically expand to fill up whatever space is available, and hopefully we will keep that under control. I'd prefer to keep the new house feeling spacious and definitely don't want it feeling cramped or cluttered.

*********************

Some Things I Read:

Finished and reviewed these since my last SFS:

Life From Scratch: A memoir of food, family, and forgiveness by Sasha Martin

Oracle of Philippi by Catherine Ensley (ARC)

A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber

You Never Know: A Memoir by Tom Selleck with Ellis Henican (audiobook)

Here are the books I'm currently reading:

The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

All of my reading news is at Just A Second if you're interested.

What's Coming Up Soon?

I hardly need to mention it again, because it has largely been the theme of this post, but the actual physical move into the new house is still coming up. And the family vacation in the Niagara Falls area is coming up right after that!

What's been keeping you busy or keeping you going? Share something in the comments, or share four somethings with the rest of us in the link party!

This post will be linked at My Joyful Life in the Share Four Somethings link party.

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Thursday, May 28, 2026

Monthly Musings - A Quick Summer Preview

Patty at Good Better Best hosts this monthly sharing of tips, tricks, and conversation starters. I don't manage to participate every month, but I try! This month we are looking ahead to our summer plans and preferences.

1. Tell us about your Memorial Day weekend.

This year we didn't travel to Maryland for the long weekend, partly because we'll see the kids in a few weeks anyway, and partly because we thought we could get some packing done for the upcoming move. Turned out my husband wasn't feeling well, so our plans to go have dinner with friends on Saturday was postponed to Sunday and we stayed home home and didn't do a whole lot. Sunday we went to church and then to our friends' place for dinner, so again, not much packing got done! And then on Monday we were invited to another cookout, so that cut into our packing schedule as well. Of course I started feeling a little under the weather by Monday night, so overall it was a relatively low-key weekend, but I'm glad we did get to spend time with some friends.

2. What were your summer jobs when you were younger?

I don't remember having jobs for the summer only, but I did work/volunteer at our church camps in the summer a couple years. And I did start my part-time jobs during the summer, when I had more hours available, then continued but with fewer hours once school started. First part-time job was at Wendy's, and the second one was at the city's cable company.

3. Ice cream or popsicles? Favorite flavors?

I definitely choose ice cream, though I have to be careful how much I have unless I'm prepared to have an upset stomach. I like almost all ice cream flavors, but my favorites are black raspberry or cookies and cream.

4. What do you like on your burgers and hot dogs?

I usually keep it pretty basic with my burgers and dogs. Burgers should have cheese and maybe bacon, and condiments are mayo, ketchup, and mustard. Sometimes I forgo those condiments and just put Thousand Island dressing on my burger. I usually put just ketchup and mustard on my hot dogs.

5. Beach, lake, or mountains?

Mountains, or ideally a mountain lake, I guess. I like the beach okay, but I don't feel like there's much for me to do there, because I don't like to swim in the ocean. I feel like there are more options for things I like to do in the mountains, and the cabin setting is more appealing to me than a beach house setting too.

Last summer's family vacation house was in the
Deep Creek area of Maryland - mountains!

6. Share any travel for summer 2026.

We only have one trip planned at this point, though I'm sure we'll go to Maryland at some point. Or maybe just for Labor Day. Anyway, in the middle of June, we are meeting all our kids and their families at an Airbnb vacation house in the Niagara Falls area. My parents will be joining us for the week there as well. We will do some touristy things there, like the boat tour at the base of the falls, and spend a day over on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls. But we also want to make sure we have plenty of time at the vacation house with the whole family together.

7. Do you visit amusement parks in the summer? Tell us your favorites.

We used to visit amusement parks quite a bit but haven't done so in quite a few years. The one we visited most often was probably Darien Lakes Theme Park (formerly Six Flags Darien Lakes) in upstate New York. We've been to Cedar Point a couple times and I'd say that one is our favorite for rides. Others we've visited are Kings Dominion, Six Flags in Maryland, and HersheyPark. And of course the Disney World parks, but that was usually in the fall. Disney World is the absolute favorite for overall experience.

8. Do you enjoy dining outside in the summer?

Well, yes and no. I do like eating outside, especially at restaurants, assuming the weather is right for it, and there aren't bugs annoying me! For the past couple years at our apartment, our patio was not very nice for sitting out, so we haven't been in the habit of outside dining at home. However, the new house has a very nice deck, so as soon as we have some outdoor furniture I'll be glad to make dining outside a regular thing during good weather!

9. Favorite summer beverage?

My go-to is always water, but my summery favorites are sweet tea, margaritas, white wine, or hard lemonade.

10. Favorite side dish for summer parties? Please feel free to share recipes.

I just started making this caprese salad platter this spring, but it's become my new favorite for dinner parties or potlucks. It's basically salad served sort of like charcuterie. I like it because with it spread out on a platter instead of heaped in a bowl, the add-ins don't all sink to the bottom, and it's easier for everyone to kind of grab the elements they like and avoid any they don't.

I hadn't added the balsamic glaze yet

Not really a recipe, but here's what's in it: I start by spreading 50/50 mixed greens on a large platter. Top with rolled or sliced prosciutto, cherry or other small tomatoes, berries or sliced peaches, and marinated mozzarella balls, and maybe olives. I love burrata cheese and add that if it's a smaller group - so there's one burrata or a half burrata per person. Sprinkle on marcona almonds and slivered fresh basil, then drizzle with a little olive oil and some balsamic glaze.

What are some your summer plans or summer favorites? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm linking up with Monthly Musings hosted by Patty at Good Better Best.

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