Currently . . . June 5, 2026

The "Currently" link-up at the beginning of each month is now hosted at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa. Our new 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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Enjoying - Things I'm loving right now include:

We have a house! To be fair, I'm not enjoying the actual move process that we are in the middle of, but I love love love the house we just bought and I'm enjoying the excitement and possibilities of getting settled in and decorating and buying some new furniture and things. I love the open feel and the way the light comes in these windows, and I love the wood floors (that area rug is going away eventually, in favor of a smaller one).

I love how big and bright the kitchen is, especially compared to the apartment. There's a bay window to the left of that table that I love. (The table and chairs were left by the seller and I like it a lot, I just don't think it will stay in the kitchen so that's an open question at the moment). I love that there's a perfect spot for a little coffee bar right beside the fridge too.

I love the deck and yard, and I love that the seller also left the outdoor furniture, which means we can start enjoying the deck immediately!

I'm even enjoying the front entry, even though it's smaller and narrower than I would have liked in my ideal world. But I got my USA garden flag out there first thing, because you need to set the tone!

I'm enjoying all the patriotic decor and things, and am hoping that there will be lots of fun, safe, celebratory things to participate in over the next couple of months as we celebrate the 250th year of the greatest nation on earth! I love the USA and I love the flag! I got a pair of these banners that are going up in the new house ASAP.

Wearing - mostly t-shirts and jeans or capris, same as almost always. My office is in a warehouse so I don't dress up at all for work, so my wardrobe doesn't change a whole lot. I recently got a couple new pairs of shoes that I love. When I need a light jacket, I've been trying to choose my Scioto Valley Chorus jean jacket because it's my new favorite.

This photo is from when we first 
got the jackets, back in December.

Watching - Well, of course we've been watching the Stanley Cup playoffs! The enthusiasm we felt dropped off after hubby's favorite team (Montreal Canadiens) lost their series, but we are still following it. Other than that, I haven't watched much TV at all, and no movies. I sat down with hubby to watch the first few episodes of Spider-Noir which we're quite enjoying. Sometime when we have a free evening (which might not be until July the way things are going) we still need to watch Remarkably Bright Creatures.

Listening to - I listen to a lot of podcasts, especially at work. Technically I watch them while at work because I use the Rumble app so there's video. My favorites there are political commentary. I listen to the non-video podcasts at home and while driving, and my favorite in that category is The Bible Project. I had been listening to - and rehearsing along with - the recorded versions of my chorus rehearsals while driving, but that app doesn't communicate nicely with my car through bluetooth so I can't change the volume. Makes it really challenging, since it's usually not loud enough to sing along with, so that's frustrating. I recently listened to an audiobook I really enjoyed - Tom Selleck's memoir, narrated by him. 

Musically, I listen to mostly alternative Christian rock and other rock/popular music. My radio station of choice is RadioU.

Buying - I don't think I've bought much lately, but I've got a list of things I plan to buy for the new house, mostly furniture items. We had to buy a dehumidifier for the basement immediately. Since we 'inherited' the outdoor furniture, I'd like to buy a large patio umbrella or awning or something like that. I'm planning to buy a bed for the guest room and new living room furniture. But I will wait on all of it until after we get back from vacation. Might do a bit of shopping when Mum and Dad are here - we'll see. 

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

I'm currently reading . . . 

The Muse of Maiden Lane by Mimi Matthews

Remarkably Bright Creatures by Shelby Van Pelt

  

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

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Something fun found during coffee breaks:

I found this a few years ago actually, but it popped up in my memories on the book of face and made me laugh. This is SO me!

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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

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©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/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

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.

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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.

  Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©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/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.

    

Currently . . . May 8, 2026

The "Currently" link-up at the beginning of each month is now hosted at Coffee and Cocktails at the Casa. Our new 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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Digging (literally or the 70s version meaning "loving") - I'm really digging that spring is here and the weather is warming up. Especially when it's nice on the weekends when we have time to go out and do some fun things. Last weekend we went to Franklin Park Conservatory and this weekend we're planning to go to Yellow Springs. 

Weeding (literally or "cleaning out") - We've just begun the process of cleaning out stuff we don't need as we pack up and prepare for our move. I thought we were being so careful to not accumulate too many things in our apartment, but it's amazing how quickly it happens. We have about a month before we make the move to the house, so I'm trying to figure out how much to pack up ahead of time so it's not left to the last minute but also so that we're not living out of boxes for a couple of weeks. Hopefully I can weed out anything we don't really need during that process.

Enjoying foods, shows, books, clothing, people - whatever! - For foods, I've really been enjoying pita chips and hummus lately. I wouldn't have guessed that I would love hummus so much but here we are. Haven't been watching shows, but we are watching and enjoying the Stanley Cup playoffs. The games are usually enjoyable even when we're disappointed with how the series turns out. After several weeks of barely having time to read, I've been enjoying a little more reading time in the last week or so, and hope that trend continues. 

Eating/drinking - Doing my best to track what I'm eating these days, in order to keep myself accountable to make good choices. I need to do better with including salads and veggies and limiting carbs. This week I've enjoyed treating myself to a margarita in the evenings though. Tomorrow we're going out to celebrate Mother's Day and I've picked out a fun restaurant to try - looking forward to that!

Shopping for - Not buying yet, but I am starting to look for a few furniture items and things I'll want for the new house. Obviously no point in purchasing until we've moved in and I can double check measurements and such, but I am working on a list of things I want. New living room furniture and a bed for the guest bedroom are top items on the list. 

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

I'm currently reading . . . 

A Tarnished Canvas by Anna Lee Huber

You Never Know: A Memoir by Tom Selleck and Ellis Henican (currently listening, to be accurate)

 

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

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Something fun found during coffee breaks:

My word was: separate

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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

 Don't miss a coffee break! Subscribe to A Fresh Cup of Coffee by email. 

 ©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/ 

This post may contain affiliate links - using affiliate links from A Fresh Cup of Coffee helps continue the coffee breaks and conversation. We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.