A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Tuesday, August 18, 2026

The Flower Hour - Mums to Orchids

The Floral Alphabet continues today with M, N, and O.

Mums, as chrysanthemums are commonly called, don't come to mind as a favorite flower for me, but it's hard to imagine a flower I associate more closely with fall decor. Of course I need some "mumkins" and other fall arrangements featuring mums in September and October!

Last fall Timbuk Farms featured an patriotic Ohio themed arrangement of mum at the garden center. From this angle it's probably hard to tell what is depicted but there is an Ohio flag and a cardinalalong with the large sunburst. And here I used to think mums were all either yellow or orange!

Naked Lady Lily is one of the common names for this hardy bulb which is a variety of amaryllis. The common name comes from the unusual growth cycle of the plant. The leaves come up in spring but there are no flowers until well after the foliage has dried up. So in late summer, the flowers seem to come up on naked stems. Sometimes these are called Resurrection Lily because the flower grows from what may look like a dead plant. I remember being intrigued by these leggy flowers that I saw popping up in people's flowerbeds and wondered what they were. Didn't think about them all that much until a couple weeks ago when these surprised us by blooming along the back of our yard!

Quick honorable mention to my birth month flower, Narcissus.

For the letter O, here is an oleander and a selection of orchids.

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

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Sunday, August 16, 2026

Scripture and a Snapshot - Proclaim

As for me, I will always have hope;

I will praise you more and more.

My mouth will tell of your righteous deeds,

of your saving acts all day long ―

though I know not how to relate them all.

I will come and proclaim your mighty acts, Sovereign LORD;

I will proclaim your righteous deeds, yours alone.

Since my youth, God, you have taught me,

and to this day I declare your marvelous deeds.

Even when I am old and gray,

do not forsake me, my God,

till I declare your power to the next generation,

your mighty deeds to all who are to come.

Your righteousness, God, reaches to the heavens,

you who have done great things.

Who is like you, God?

Though you have made me see troubles,

many and bitter,

you will restore my life again;

from the depths of the earth

you will again bring me up.

You will increase my honor

and comfort me once more.

I will praise you with the harp

for your faithfulness, my God;

I will sing praise to you with the lyre,

Holy One of Israel.

My lips will shout for joy

when I sing praise to you ―

I whom you have delivered.

~Psalm 71:14-23~

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, August 13, 2026

Everyday Images #94

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.

August Prompts - Everyday Images #94

~~~~~

dessert

gradual

on the road

imperfect

tangled

selfie (quarterly)

restful

~~~~~

dessert

gradual - it's started already . . . a few leaves have gradually begun to change color . . .

on the road

imperfect - I thought I could keep my SVC Duck in my car, but it got a little too warm and the decoration glued to his chest kinda slid down. I guess a little imperfection makes him represent me a little better! LOL

tangled - that's me sorting out my in-ears every Sunday

selfie (quarterly) - I was trying to get a photo of my earring but it was harder than I expected to get a good angle

restful

And a few bonus photos:

Here's Duckie before the temperature soared.

On the first weekend in August, we went up to Huron for the day. We spent a bit of time at the lakeshore, walked out the pier towards the lighthouse, and enjoyed a Lake Erie perch dinner. All to celebrate our anniversary!

Sadly, I didn't take many photos the rest of the time. See, that's why I need this challenge!

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 #95

~~~~~

double

at home (monthly)

yellow

mistake

heart

clock

current project (quarterly)

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Wednesday, August 12, 2026

In the Middle of the Hodgepodge

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. I saw a meme on Instagram that went like this - 'The movie Dirty Dancing came out in 1987 and was set in 1963, so if remade in 2026 it would be set in 2002. Now I need a little lie down in a dark room for a while.'

Time is crazy isn't it? So . . . What were you up to in the year 2002?

In the summer of 2002, my sons were almost 10 years old, almost 8 years old, and 3 1/2 years old; and my daughter had just turned one. That was the first year we went to Kingdom Bound festival at the beginning of August. We went with a small group from our church and all camped together at the state park campground near Darien Lakes (Six Flags) where the festival was. I found photos of my two youngest kids from late 2002 but not of the older two. That year was still pre-everything-on-the-computer so pretty sure there are a pile of snapshots in a box or an album somewhere and these were among the few that were scanned.

2. "Me? I'm scared of everything . . ." What's something that scares you that you'd like to try anyway?

Singing in a barbershop quartet. It's not the singing that scares me so much as the competing. I usually don't suffer from stage fright, assuming I feel prepared and it's something I genuinely like doing and chose to do in a performance setting. Some nervousness from excitement and that little bit of anxiousness that goes with the territory of "okay, this is what I've been preparing for and I hope I remember all the things and do well" but not terrified-to-be-there type stage fright. I've been pretty comfortable performing and competing in the chorus, but I don't know how I'd do on a competition stage with a quartet. It seems like it would be a lot of pressure and exposure. All the same, I hope to have the chance to try it at some point. I don't feel very confident that I have the time to put into practice and preparation right now though.

3. Watermelon - yay or nay? Which melon is your favorite - watermelon, cantaloupe, honeydew. Of the watermelon food/beverages listed which would you say yes to . . .

watermelon salsa ~ watermelon feta salad ~ watermelon sorbet ~ a watermelon Jolly Rancher ~ a watermelon margarita

I'm kind of in the middle, not an enthusiastic yay but not a not-for-me nay. I'm "meh". I like watermelon but don't love it and it's not the first fruit I choose, and I very seldom buy it. I would say cantaloupe is my favorite of the melons. I'd say "yes" to the watermelon margarita, because I almost always say yes to a margarita!

our Jack-o-Melon from a couple
summers ago

4. August 12th is Nation Middle Child Day. Are you a middle child? If not, where do you fall in the birth order in your family of origin? Do you think this has influenced your personality? Elaborate.

I'm not a middle child; I am the oldest of four children. I have a few of the traits that are supposed to be typical of firstborns but not so many that I feel like I fit that mold. Firstborns are supposed to be conscientious and organized (yes and not in a way anyone else understands), achievement-oriented (not really), natural leaders (I can see this), and rule-keepers (maybe about half the time). Apparently firstborns also tend towards perfectionism, anxiety, and people-pleasing; and find themselves in "caretaking" or advisory roles with their friends, partners, and colleagues. I think being the oldest of my siblings was a factor in developing a sense of responsibility and leadership, and general willingness to trailblaze, but I don't think it has been a huge influence on my personality.

5. Would you rather talk to everyone at a crowded party for a short time, or have a significant conversation with two people? Explain.

I think I'd prefer a significant conversation with a couple of people if I had to choose one or the other. I feel like I'm usually awkward at doing little small talk things and "working the room" is a skill I learned but doesn't feel natural to me. I'd rather find one or two people that share a common interest with me and get to know them better.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

When I was typing up the questions, I initially mistyped #3 so it started out as "whatermelon - yay or nay" and it made me laugh. I guess my fingers expected the question to start with the word "What". Whatevermelon. I kind of wanted to title this week's edition of the Hodgepodge as Wednesday Whatevermelon.

I'm running short on time and I'm really going to try to visit other Hodgepodgers before the day is over, so I'll keep my random thought to just that. Will do my best to stop by other blogs in a timely manner!

What are you "in the middle of" this week? 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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