A Fresh Cup of Coffee: February 2025

Thursday, February 27, 2025

Monthly Musings - Love and Romance

Holly at Pink Lady and Patty at Good Better Best co-host this monthly sharing of tips, tricks, and conversation starters.

1. What is your love language?

I'm definitely a Quality Time gal. Dates or family time or getting together with friends is most meaningful for me when we are doing something together that allows for conversation. Playing games, going for walks or hikes, attending sports events (or even watching on TV), or just hanging out together. I prefer watching a movie or show at home rather than at the theater not just because it's cheaper, but also because we can talk during the show if we want! Even doing household projects or chores is better when we do it together.

2. Favorite love songs?

As someone who loves music, you'd think I'd have an easier time listing favorite love songs, but I am awful at naming favorites. Let's see . . . one I particularly love at the moment is Can't Help Falling in Love, because my chorus will be singing that as part of our package at competition and I love the arrangement we have. Obviously this isn't OUR arrangement (ours is even better!), but it's a super a capella version I found:

3. Flowers, chocolate, or something else?

I'll take flowers or chocolate . . . or coffee.

4. Favorite romantic/romcom movie?

I'm not much of a movie watcher, and I had this question last year too, so I looked up a list of the "greatest" romcoms and picked several from that list that I loved: Groundhog Day, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, You've Got Mail. I also love the movie Ever After. Another one I absolutely loved that I think would be a romantic movie is Return To Me with David Duchovny and Minnie Driver.

5. Favorite childhood Valentine's memory?

I don't have any memory that stands out. Valentine's was not a big deal at all when I was growing up. I vaguely remember exchanging valentines with classmates, probably in first or second grade. My mom's birthday is February 13th so my family celebrated that instead.

6. How did you celebrate Valentine's Day?

This year we went to the Ohio State Buckeyes hockey game! (oh sorry, it's supposed to be THE Ohio State. Gotta say it right and I should have capitalized the T!) It was a lot of fun, a great game, and turned out it was a pretty cheap date too, since hubby got the tickets from his buddy that is a ref.

7. Any love or romance traditions?

I really can't think of anything specific. Obviously we celebrate our anniversary, and have little loving gestures between us that are special but I can't think of something that I would call a tradition.

8. When do you feel most loved?

Surrounded by family, and when they make a point of wanting to spend time with me or have me do something with them.

9. Big night out or chill at home?

Either one, but I guess more often I'd choose Chill at Home.

10. Do you wear red/pink on Valentine's Day?

I don't make a point of it, but I guess I often do. I don't really have anything pink.

How do you show and receive love Leave a comment and let me know!

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

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Wednesday, February 26, 2025

Wednesday Hodgepodge - February Fun and Fairy Tales

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. February 26th is National Tell A Fairy Tale Day . . . have you read a fairy tale lately? What's your favorite fairy tale? Do you believe in 'happily ever after'?

I haven't read any fairy tales lately, and I don't even think any of the novels I've read recently could be considered a fairy tale, though I have read and enjoyed quite a few retellings. I think my favorite would be Beauty and the Beast - I'm thinking of the Disney-fied versions of fairy tales, I admit! The Disney version of that one presents Belle as a young lady that is courageous and gracious, and sees good in people . . . and beasts! And it highlights that generosity and kindness are much more attractive qualities than self-importance and pride. I guess I do believe in "happily ever after" but I know that it doesn't come easily. "Happily ever after" is only possible with commitment and faithfulness and willingness to work through all the hard times. I suppose "happy" isn't the best word - "joyful" would be better.

2. Complete one of the following sentences with a thought relating to your life currently -

Once upon a time __________
A long time ago __________
In a place far far away __________

A long time ago we had the crazy idea that maybe we could get lucky in the green card lottery and move to the US - ideally to Florida - and we had some dreams for raising a family and so on, but I don't remember ever having a picture in my head about what retirement would be like.

Hubby and I actually had this conversation a few days ago. When you're a kid you have some ideas of what you want to do when you grow up, and when you're a teen or young adult, you have ideas of what it will be like when you get married, start a family, have your own house, or how your career may go. But we didn't think anyone really had an idea in mind for what life would be like at retirement or as a grandparent. It's like we don't have expectations about it until the first grandchild is on the way, or until retirement is imminent and we begin wondering if we've saved enough.

3. Which of the following 'fairy tale foods' is your favorite? which have you made/eaten most recently?

porridge/oatmeal (Goldilocks and The Three Bears), an apple (Snow White), a gingerbread cookie (The Gingerbread Man), pumpkin soup/pie/bread (Cinderella), peas (The Princess and the Pea), beans (Jack and The Beanstalk), or a cup of tea (Alice in Wonderland)

My favorite from the list is pumpkin pie, or maybe a gingerbread cookie. I most recently had oatmeal for breakfast on Saturday.

4. What's your idea of fun?

Fun is so broad and can be so many things! For me, music is always fun. I love attending concerts, singing, and playing music. I love singing along to the radio or my playlist. It's especially fun when I can enjoy music along with family, like when we were all in a worship band together or when my daughter and I attended concerts together. There are lots of other things I consider fun, but that was the first one that came to mind.

5. Next week's Hodgepodge lands in March. Is that right? I guess so. Give us one noun, one verb, and one adjecctive that tell us something about your February. To make you think a little harder, you cannot use the words cold or snowy.

Noun: Indoors - except for a winter walk right at the beginning of the month, we opted for activities at home or indoors in order to stay warm!

Verb: Prepare - I feel like that's the bulk of what I've been busy with all month, preparing and planning for upcoming events.

Adjective: Hopeful

6. Insert your own random thought here.

On Sunday we went to the Columbus Museum of Art to see the Lego exhibit. There was a lot! There was a Lego city in the center of the room, and many Columbus buildings and landmarks were represented - like Franklin Park Conservatory, Huntington Park, and Kemba Live. I'm not sure where the "tire fire" is in real life, but we got a kick out of that detail!

I wish I'd taken more time to examine this beautiful "crazy quilt". My family had many crazy quilts, and I didn't really care for them much when I was young because there was no real pattern and they were so random. Crazy, if you will. Of course, the ones my grandma made didn't have the details embroidered or appliqued like this one that is more of an art piece, but crazy quilts are far more artistic and beautiful than I was able to appreciate back in the day.

What's your idea of fun or of a fairy tale ending? Leave a comment and let me know!

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

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Tuesday, February 25, 2025

Share Four Somethings - February 2025

I meant to do my Share Four Somethings post on the weekend but time got away from me. Time might get away from me today too, so I'm going to try not to overthink my answers! Share Four Somethings is a monthly link-up that invites us to share things in these categories: Some Things I Loved, Some Things I Learned, Some Things That Went Well, and Some Thing I Let Go Of. I usually like to include a little bit of a bonus: Some Things I Read and a little of What's Coming Up Soon. Here's a brief look back at February:

Some Things I Loved:

We had some fun times with family - going for winter walks and out to dinner, getting together to watch the SuperBowl, and visiting the Columbus Museum of Art.

Times of worship and fellowship - at church, with our 55+ lunch bunch, and at a womens conference.

We enjoyed a Valentine's Day date at the Ohio Buckeyes hockey game.

And of course, we loved watching the 4 Nations hockey tournament, especially the Canada win!

Some Things I Learned:

With just about a month to go until the Sweet Adelines Regional competition, we've been working hard at chorus, polishing our music and choreo. There have been some changes and adjustments to the choreo recently, so I've been doing my best to learn those really well. At this week's rehearsal we worked out our walk-on and some other performance details, and thankfully for me there wasn't a lot that was new that I had to learn.

Some Things That Went Well:

In general, I've felt better - no stomach troubles or prolonged reflux discomfort, and although my joints have been extra stiff during the very cold weather, they usually don't hurt.

I've been working on being more disciplined about getting housework and things done, with mixed results. But overall, my plan worked reasonably well in February, even though I'm kind of scrambling to finish cleaning the spare room before the weekend.

Some Things I Let Go Of:

I let go of my goal to have our taxes filed by the end of February. It shouldn't take that long to actually do them, but I know I won't be able to finish by Friday!

I still have my collection of things to give away in Buy Nothing, but none of the things have actually left my hosue yet.

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Some Things I Read:

I've got too many books on the go so I haven't finished any (yet!) in February. Hoping to wrap up the first one on this list by the end of the week though.

Here are the books I'm currently reading:

Frauds On Favourite by PJ Fitzsimmons

The Goodbye Cat by Hiro Arikawa

Good Energy by Casey Means, MD with Calley Means

A Deceptive Composition by Anna Lee Huber

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

What's Coming Up Soon?

So excited for this coming weekend! Landon and Meaghan and Aubrey are coming for a short visit, and we are going to the Stadium Series hockey game! This is the NHL game between the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Detroit Red Wings which will be played outdoors, at the Ohio State football stadium.

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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Everyday Images #56

Welcome to another installment of my 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 find that I 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. Every two weeks I have a few words and phrases that I'm focusing on, and I try to find opportunities to take pictures of these things each week.

February Prompts - Everyday Images #56

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at home (monthly)

dessert

neighborhood spot (quarterly)

pieces

sunrise and/or sunset

hearts

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at home (monthly)

dessert

neighborhood spot (quarterly) - a view of the park behind the library

pieces - we went to see LEGO exhibit at the Columbus Museum of Art, which features a lot of structures and art constructed from LEGO pieces.

sunrise and/or sunset - I managed to get both a sunrise (seen near the town square) and a sunset (seen from our door)

hearts

And a few bonus photos:

We went to the Buckeyes hockey game on Valentine's Day - very romantic!

And we watched the 4 Nations Face-off hockey games from home - cheering for Canada, of course!

I didn't take many photos of the rest of the Museum of Art this time, but got quite a few of the LEGO displays. A lot of these are buildings and landmarks in Columbus.

Franklin Park Conservatory

Huntington Park

We joked that I could enter this photo as an art piece - it's a church building across the street from the art museum, and I took the photo through the sunshade. Ha! But seriously, I actually like how it turned out.

And of course, a stop at the coffee shop after our museum visit.

I am sharing my photos every other Tuesday, 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.

Everyday Images will continue in 2025, every other Tuesday, and the link-up is open for two weeks.

February/March Prompts - Everyday Images #57

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far and/or near

happiness

current season (quarterly)

purple

stairs

action

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