A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Sunday, November 23, 2025

Scripture and a Snapshot - Bless the Righteous

In the morning, LORD, you hear my voice;

in the morning I lay my requests before you

and wait expectantly.

But let all who take refuge in you be glad;

let them ever sing for joy.

Spread your protection over them,

that those who love your name may rejoice in you.

Surely, LORD, you bless the righteous;

you surround them with your favor as with a shield.

~Psalm 5:3, 11-12~

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Thursday, November 20, 2025

Everyday Images #75

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.

November Prompts - Everyday Images #75

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layers

remember

texture

at home (monthly)

prepare

cozy

~~~~~

layers - it's time to start dressing in layers to keep the cold at bay!

remember - This was kind of fun to notice. We had tickets to the Blue Jackets vs Canadiens game on Monday night, and on Monday morning my FB memory from three years previous was the Blue Jackets vs Canadiens game that we attended about a week after moving to Ohio.

texture

at home (monthly)

prepare - the day I did my "day in the life" photos helped me out here, because this is how my table looks when I'm in a hurry to prepare our lunches before going to work

cozy - a sleepy cat on my her chair

And a few bonus photos:

We explored Quarry Trails Metro Park:

I got a kick of how the ducks all had their heads under water when I took this first photo, and then heads up for the second. Very nicely synchronized!

Last week we got our first snow! Thankfully it didn't affect my morning commute, and it did melt quickly

All gone by evening:

And then a bright sunny day followed.

But my glass rain gauge broke, so now I'm trying to find a replacement one that's the right size:

It's nice and cozy inside even when the weather isn't the best.

I had a dentist appointment one day and it was chilly, but still a nice day to get a few steps in.

As I mentioned, we went to the Blue Jackets game on Monday night:

My team won so my smile was a little bigger:

Time for coffee:

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.

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

November/December Prompts - Everyday Images #76

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current season (quarterly)

together

lights

silver

vintage

neighborhood spot (quarterly)

~~~~~

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Wednesday, November 19, 2025

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Squash Season

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. Let's do our gratitude question first this week . . . what's the best thing about your home, and have you taken time to enjoy it lately?

This is a good exercise for me, because while I'm quite content here, I'm itching to get into a place I like better, so I think a lot about the things I want in a house that I don't have here. One of the first things that comes to mind that's great about this place is that we really don't have to worry at all about outside maintenance. No power washing the siding, no worries about roof repairs, and no lawn care!! So I guess that's not something that we take the time to actively enjoy, but we do appreciate it. Having the pool and access to it - plus we live in a unit that's a very short walk to the pool - is something we enjoyed greatly during pool season. I also really appreciate the separate laundry room and that it's on the same floor as the bedrooms. No lugging laundry baskets up and down from the basement, and the laundry room is clean and well-lit and efficient.

2. Do you like squash? Of the varieties listed, which one's your favorite and how do you like it prepared? Is squash of some sort on your Thanksgiving menu?

acorn, butternut, delicata, spaghetti, zucchini, crookneck (yellow squash), patty pan

I like squash but I don't love it. Of the ones listed, patty pan is my favorite. We make it into Impossible Pie. It's very like zucchini in that it's so mild that you can add to almost anything and it won't significantly alter the flavor. I've been meaning to try it in zucchini cake and zucchini muffin recipes. I also like acorn squash, especially the smaller dumpling variety, and delicata. Both are good baked with some honey or syrup in the 'well' and with some cinnamon and spices added. Spaghetti squash is the only one on the list I don't much care for. Zucchini and yellow squash are better added to other things than eaten by themselves in my opinion.

that's the impossible pie on the right!

3. Last time you were 'squashed in' somewhere, or felt squashed?

I always feel just a little squashed when we go to a hockey game, because the seats aren't terribly wide and then if I have bulky coat to fit on the seat too it's a bit tight. So on Monday night I guess I felt a bit squashed. Not uncomfortably squashed, but I always wish there were just a few inches more.

4. Have you ever played squash? What about other 'racquet sports' such as racquetball, tennis, pickleball, badminton, table tennis (ping pong)? Are these sports something you enjoy?

I am pretty sure I've never played squash. I did play some racquetball and tennis when I was in high school, but haven't since. I used to enjoy playing badminton as that was something we played at camp and sometimes in the backyard over the years. I liked table tennis but I'm not good at it. I've not tried pickleball yet, but I'd kind of like to give it a shot. Wonder if my stiff achy joints would cooperate?

5. Something in today's society or culture that feels like a 'racket' to you? If you don't like that one, tell us about a place you've been recently where there was a lot of 'racket'.

Well, obviously an awful lot of politics is (or certainly feels like) a racket. 'Nuff said. There's always a lot of 'racket' at the hockey games - cheering, loud music, everything that happens to get the crowd hyped up, and of course the cannon being fired whenever the Blue Jackets score!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

The question about favorite ways to prepare squash reminded me . . . I was summer-of-2025-years old when I realized that squash sap is a real thing and boy did I have a challenge trying to clean it off my hands! Maybe I hadn't ever done that much patty pan squash at one time before? We were given a bunch of patty pans and I peeled and grated all of them one evening to make pies. My hands were coated with the starchy stuff and it doesn't come off with soap! I googled with my dry crusty hands, and tried the methods suggested. What worked for me was scrubbing with olive oil and coarse salt, rinsing, and then washing with dish soap and finally moisturizing well. I also found out that some people have a dermatitis type reaction to squash residue on their hands, particularly if they have a scratch or cut that the residue gets into. Who knew?! Now I do, and if you didn't before, you do now.

The theme for the current Wednesday Quotes link-up is "Good Manners" and you can find here: WQ - A Matter of Manners. Stop by and share a few thoughts and quotes! The new Everyday Images photo link-up will be up tomorrow.