A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Thursday, August 6, 2026

Currently . . . August 6, 2026

The "Currently" link-up at the beginning of each month is now hosted at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa. Our hostess Amy posts a set of action verb prompts for the month and writers respond. So, without further ado, here are this month's prompts and what's happening currently . . .

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Savoring - I know there's more to savor than just food, but food was what I first thought of! On Saturday we went up to Huron so we could get a Lake Erie perch dinner. We don't do this very often so I really savored it! (It was our anniversary outing and dinner) On Friday evening we went to the Irish Festival, where we had some delicious Irish stew in a bread bowl, and I brought home some shortbread and scones to savor. And on a previous weekend we savored barbecue and ribs at the Jazz and Rib Fest.

Wrapping up - Feels like summer is wrapping up before we're quite ready. We have things planned on the weekends in August already so I think the month will be over before we know it.

Preparing - for company! In the short term, the sooner I have the house better unpacked and organized, the sooner I can invite friends over for dinner. I'm preparing for overnight company as well. My sister and niece will be coming for a visit in October, and our son and his family will be coming on the same weekend because we all have tickets to see Twenty One Pilots. Yes, it's a couple months out, but the preparation we are doing right now is getting the guest room bed ordered.

Other important preparation is happening with my chorus as we gear up for our send-off show and the International competition in Columbus at the end of October. We have a chorus mini-retreat coming up soon that will focus on preparing for the International stage.

Remembering - to make phone calls and write letters and pay bills on time, or trying to anyway! With parts of the house still in boxes and especially the office in an unorganized state, it's a little more challenging for me to keep track of all the things. At least I finally have a wall calendar beside my desk! I promised myself months ago that I would not be using dated planners any more, so instead I'm using undated notebooks to write down my to-do lists and appointments and other things I need to remember.

Organizing - the kitchen and pantry. I've putzed along making little steps towards organization but it's time to really focus. Once I got it to a workable state, I lost momentum, but getting everything ship-shape is part of preparing for company.

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Here's a short Coffee Break Reading List . . .

I'm currently reading . . .

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

Paper Wife by Laila Ibrahim

More reading news and recent reviews are at Just A Second.

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Something fun found during coffee breaks:

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What's currently happening in your life? Leave a comment and let me know!

This post will be linked at this month's edition of "Currently" hosted by Amy at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa

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©2006-2026 HS Coffee Break/Just A Second/A Fresh Cup of Coffee. All rights reserved. All text, photographs, artwork, and other content may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the written consent of the author. This post was written by a human. https://morecoffeebreaks.blogspot.com/

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Wednesday, August 5, 2026

Wednesday Hodgepodge - On the August Calendar

A hodgepodge is a jumble or assortment of things that might not appear to belong together. Joyce at From This Side of the Pond hosts a weekly link-up called Wednesday Hodgepodge that is a little collection of questions for bloggers to answer just for fun and to get to know each other. I always look forward to chatting with friends over coffee, so pour a cup of your favorite and let's visit for a few minutes!

Here are this week's questions - and my answers - for this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge.

1. What's something on your August calendar you're looking forward to? Or dreading if that's easier to answer.

I have an overnight chorus retreat in a couple weeks and I'm looking forward to that. Just for something a little different. I'm expecting it to be a lot of fun with chorus friends, but I expect it to be hard work as well. My husband has a church board workshop this coming weekend, so he will be busy all weekend with that. I'm not dreading it, but I'm a little at loose ends because he won't be available to do anything with me on Friday evening or on Sunday. At the same time, I'm kind of looking forward to it because I will have a lot of time and space to myself as well. Hopefully I'll make good use of that time!

2. August 5th is National Oyster Day . . . do you partake? How do you feel about pearls?

Absolutely not! Oysters are a hard no for me. Now pearls, on the other hand . . . I think pearls are so pretty and make lovely jewelry. The promise ring my hubby (well, he was my boyfriend back then) gave me was a pearl.

3. Tell us about a time when you felt like 'the world was your oyster'.

I guess I kind of felt that way when I was a young adult, especially during the first few years we were married, and when our first child was born. We had a pretty nice house, we were fairly well- established in our church and community, we were close to family and had great friendships. Felt like things were going our way! Things were definitely bumpy during the time we made our huge move from western Canada to southern New Jersey, but even so we had so much hope and optimism about the future.

4. Trip Advisor lists seven islands in the US that require no passport (for US citizens). If you're answering today from outside the US you'll still need to produce yours. An-y-way, have you been to any of the seven? Let's pretend you get an all expense paid trip to one this month . . . which one do you choose and why?

Catalina Island, California - Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts - Mackinac Island, Michigan - Key West, Florida - South Padre Island, Texas - or Kauai, Hawaii

I have been to Key West and we loved it! We drove from Miami all the way down through the Keys and I must say we preferred a couple of the other islands because they were less crowded than the famous Key West. Marathon and Big Pine Key and some of the others have just as much tourist appeal but perhaps less in the way of nightlife and amenities.

I also visited the Keys virtually as I was working on the Florida Keys Virtual Challenge to earn this medal from The Conqueror Virtual Challenges. I enjoyed looking at the street views on the map and remembering our trip through those areas.

If I could get that all-expense trip I'd definitely go to Mackinac Island. Yes, I'd love to return to Key West, but I've already seen it and I did like other keys better; and I'd love to see South Padre Island or Kauai, but the old world charm of Mackinac Island is what puts it at the top of my list.

5. Sylvia Plath is credited with the following -

"August rain: the best of the summer gone, and the new fall not yet born. The odd uneven time."

Agree of disagree? In other words, how do you feel about this month?

August does feel like sort of an in-between time. It's still summer, sometimes even the hottest part of summer, but there's an awareness that summer is practically over too. Especially if we've already been on our summer vacation, like this year. And it's all Back to School in the stores, with kids back in the classroom by the middle of the month! I guess I mostly agree with Plath.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

It seemed appropriate to include our wedding photo in my answer to #3 because we just celebrated our 39th anniversary this past week! To mark the occasion we went up to Huron on Lake Erie on Saturday (our son and his family went along) and made sure to eat a Lake Erie perch dinner. One of my favorite treats. I've always loved fish & chips, but Lake Erie perch is a little different and such a special treat. Way back before we were even engaged (but after he gave me the pearl promise ring I mentioned), I lived with hubby's family in Ontario one summer. During that time, we went to Port Dover several times, and that was where I first had Lake Erie perch and oh my goodness, I loved it. Ever since then, visits to Ontario have very often included a jaunt to Port Dover for perch. We've had perch on the stateside of Lake Erie a few times now since it's a much shorter drive!

What good things are on your August calendar? Leave a comment and let me know!

I'm sharing in this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge at From This Side of the Pond.

I host the Wednesday Quotes link-up every other Wednesday. Stop by and share a few thoughts and quotes on the current topic here: WQ - Patience. I host the Everyday Images photo link-up every other Thursday. And find the Scripture and a Snapshot link-up here every Sunday.

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WQ - Patience

Patience is waiting. Not passively waiting. That is laziness. But to keep going when the going is hard and slow - that is patience. The two most powerful warriors are patience and time. ~Leo Tolstoy

Patience is not simply the ability to wait - it's how we behave while we're waiting. ~Joyce Meyer

Finishing is better than starting.

Patience is better than pride.

~Ecclesiastes 7:8~

Only those who have the patience to do simple things perfectly will acquire the skill to do difficult things easily. ~Friedrich Schiller

Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love.

~Ephesians 4:12~

Patience asks us to live the moment to the fullest, to be completely present to the moment, to taste the here and now, to be where we are. ~Henri Nouwen

You can learn many things from children. How much patience you have, for instance. ~Franklin P. Adams

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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, August 4, 2026

Flower Hour - Luck and the Floral Alphabet

My entry for this week's edition of the Floral Alphabet challenge is largely about luck! I knew I had a photo for J and was pretty confident about L but had no idea what I'd do about K. First, there aren't a whole lot of flowers or plants that start with K; and of those, the chances of me having or being able to take a photo of any of them were not good. Well, I found one! Carry on to see!

Star Jasmine

This variety of jasmine is commonly grown as an ornamental plant or houseplant. I love the scent!

Kiwi Aeonium

I was totally prepared to give up on a plant or flower with the letter K, because the only one I thought I might have a photo of was Kalanchoe and my search was unsuccessful. Then Google Lens confidently told me the succulents in the lower half of this photo are Kiwi Aeonium so I went with it. Aeonium or Pinwheel is a species of succulent native to northern Africa and grown as houseplants. One of the cultivars is known as Kiwi. So it was a lucky thing that I had this photo from our visit to the Vincent van Gogh exhibit at the Phipps Conservatory several years ago.

Painters understand nature and love it, and it teaches us to see. ~Vincent van Gogh

My choice for L is the Lily of the Valley, one of my favorite flowers.

Lily of the Valley

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

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Sunday, August 2, 2026

Scripture and a Snapshot - Even the Deep Things of God

These are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person's thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God,, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understnad them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for,

"Who has known the mind of the Lord

so as to instruct him?"

But we have the mind of Christ.

~I Corinthians 2:10-16~

Thank you for joining Scripture & A Snapshot. Leave a link to your own post sharing a Scripture and a Snapshot. Take time to visit some of the other links and bless each other with comments.

I also link up at the Sweet Tea & Friends Monthly Link-up Party hosted by Grace-Filled Moments

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Thursday, July 30, 2026

Everyday Images #93

Welcome to my ongoing challenge and reminder to myself to take photos somewhat regularly. I'm not a photographer, but I enjoy taking everyday photos of things I find interesting or want to remember later, and I'm more likely to notice interesting things when I'm intentionally watching for them. Having some prompts that are open to interpretation has helped me pay a little more attention to what's around me. Here's how it works: Every two weeks I have a few words and phrases to focus on, and I try to find opportunities to take pictures of these things each week. The link-up post will be here every other Thursday, sharing my photos and offering a link-up for participants to share theirs. Right below the link-up is where you'll find the next set of prompts.

July Prompts - Everyday Images #93

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at home (monthly)

in my cup

path

Tuesday tranquility

summer

golden hour

out for a walk (quarterly)

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at home (monthly) - we gave the kitchen table and chairs we'd "inherited" with the house to our son and we got this small gateleg table/kitchen cart instead. I took this photo before I'd put anything in or on it.

in my cup - I tried Somali Shaah (extremely similar to chai) at East African Coffee House and it was very good! Very nice classy coffee house, so we'll visit again.

path - you can't actually see the path, but this planting of Black-Eyed Susans was along the bike/walking path when we finally walked over to the park down our road. There's not much else there - it's a bike trail to the school basically. But these flowers were so pretty!

Tuesday tranquility

summer

golden hour - full rainbow spotted at golden hour while we were driving

out for a walk (quarterly)

And a few bonus photos:

The Canada Geese are at it again, getting in my way of getting to and from work. Haha. At least I am safe in my car this time, instead of having to walk past geese to get inside the building at work!

From our neighborhood walk:

Another view of the new kitchen table

On the weekend we went to the Rib & Jazz Fest in downtown Columbus.

On Tuesday night we went to the Columbus Clippers baseball game, because the chorus was singing the anthem. Hard to believe, but it's possible this will be the only baseball game we go to this year!

I usually get hubby to hold the phone to take the couples selfie of us, which means running the risk of him taking photos like this . . . or sometimes shots that are even more unflattering!

Thankfully we usually get at least one where we look relatively normal.

I am sharing my photos every other Thursday, along with my prompts for the next two weeks. You can use all or some of the prompts for your own photo posts, or none of the prompts and just link up a post featuring your photos. Simple rules: Your posts must be family-friendly; the photos must be your own; and the post must be mostly photos. If you do share I'd appreciate a mention and link to A Fresh Cup of Coffee on your post.

The Everyday Images link-up is posted every other Thursday, and is open for two weeks.

August Prompts - Everyday Images #94

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dessert

gradual

on the road

imperfect

tangled

selfie (quarterly)

restful

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