A Fresh Cup of Coffee

Thursday, May 7, 2026

Everyday Images #87

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.

April/May Prompts - Everyday Images #87

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Saturday scenery

current project (quarterly)

green

on my plate

miniature

tower

connected

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Saturday scenery - we were a little surprised by this scene in the yard of the Maryland house . . . this sheep belongs to the neighbors. Guess none of us minded a little help with lawn care.

current project (quarterly) - our project lately has been buying a house! Going through the checklist of all the documents and steps and preparation . . . it's been a couple of decades since we last did this so in a way it feels like we're first timers. Next phase of the project is packing and being ready to move, and getting all the change of address things done will be a project of its own.

green

on my plate - salad, pitas and hummus, and it doesn't show up very clearly, but Greek style roast pork and potatoes

miniature - going with the delicate miniature flowers of this jasmine plant

tower

connected - lots of connections of tracks and supports in the train garden connected to Franklin Park

And a few bonus photos:

A fun weekend trip to see the Maryland family

Apparently we have a new security system at work. I waited in my car until this guard and his partner had moved on. I'm scared of geese, not gonna lie.

Stocked up at Bath & Body Works, thanks to a gift card I had.

And a few more photos from this past weekend's visit to Franklin Park Conservatory . . .

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.

May Prompts - Everyday Images #88

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building

selfie (quarterly)

vintage

arrow

handwriting

nest

in the kitchen

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Wednesday, May 6, 2026

Wednesday Hodgepodge - Mother's Day

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 you may do this month?

I'm finding this surprisingly hard to answer! I have quite a list of things I must do this month, but am having trouble thinking of something that I'd like to do or should do but can't be sure will get done. Hmmm. Here we go - I may order new glasses before the month is over. I feel like it's a long shot that I'll do it in May, more likely it will wait until June, but you never know.

2. Hola! Hodgepodge Day lands just after Cinco de Mayo . . . how do you feel about Mexican food? What's your favorite dish? Do you make it at home or is it a strictly dine out option?

I like most Mexican food. I don't like pico de gallo (it's the raw onions that I consider no bueno) or guacamole, so those are the limiting factors on what I like. Enchiladas is probably my favorite, and that is for dining out. At home, it's burritos.

3. When the children of today grow up what do you think they'll say about this time period? What do you most hope they remember?

I wonder if they'll think everything was so over-the-top and chaotic, because of political differences of opinion, or if children are largely oblivious to that? Like I grew up mostly in the 70s and I had no clue about protests and riots and that sort of thing happening at the time. I learned about it later. I guess it depends where you live and go to school, but the difference now is that children are often exposed to more through the internet and social media. And the schools are not even trying to be neutral ground any more. The kids that were school age or teens during the covid nonsense will surely have something to say about all the restrictions and masking and, again, the "over-the-topness" of that - whether they will recall that as something that was part of their normal daily life, or whether they will recall it as ridiculous and more harm than good will depend on how disruptive and negative their personal experience was. I think there will be fallout from what society did to children during those couple of years that we'll continue to discover as they grow up and it breaks my heart. I hope today's kids will remember fun things like the music and entertainment and silly social trends more than they remember political strife. I hope that American kids will have lots of great memories of the celebrations for the 250th this summer. My family vacationed in the USA in 1976 when I was a kid and I still remember how cool I thought it was with all the flags and bunting and the word "Bicentennial" everywhere.

4. What advice would you give a new mother?

Trust your instincts - ask questions and get advice from those you trust, and do some research if you need to, but trust that you know your baby best and that you know what will work for you in your home. Also, don't ever feel bad about feeling overwhelmed or needing help. Focus on raising your little ones and creating a loving home for them, and not on presenting something picture-perfect on social media.

5. What's a phrase your mother often said to you? If you're a mom do you say it to your own children?

The phrases that come to mind were probably only said a handful of times at most, but we joked about them so much that it makes it seem like they were said often. I can only think of one specific time that she said it, but there was the classic line, "if you want to cry, I'll give you something to cry about" which I probably said to my kids more than once. We had a running joke about "words you never thought would come out of your mouth as a parent" and "household rules you didn't think you'd have to make" when my kids were young.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

We went to the Franklin Park Conservatory on Sunday because it's free for county residents on the first Sunday of every month. It's probably more crowded than other times, but it's still a good deal! And after all, we won't be residents of this county much longer. We had a good time and were pleased that the weather turned out nicer than expected. All went well until we were at the train garden, and then my clumsiness caught up with me and I tripped and fell hard, mostly on my right knee. I was shaken up but no real damage done, so I elected to sit on a bench while the rest of the crew finished exploring the train garden area. Well, here we are on Wednesday morning and I still feel like I've been hit by a bus. My knee and hip are pretty sore, but oddly enough my upper arms are really sore too. It's no fun, but again, nothing broken and I'm sure I'll be fine by the weekend, but you can bet I'll be watching my step!

What advice or memories are coming to mind related to Mother's Day? 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 - Positive Impact. 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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Tuesday, May 5, 2026

The Flower Hour - Franklin Park Conservatory

On the first Sunday of each month, Franklin Park Conservatory is open free for county residents, so although it's usually crowded, it is a good time for us to visit. We can see the things we're interested in and not feel that internal pressure to see "our money's worth". We visited on Sunday and I took a few photos to share here.

Starting with my favorite of the day, the orchids:

The next one doesn't look all that impressive here, but it is a century plant just about ready to bloom. After it flowers, the parent plant will die and the 'pups' will carry on the growth cycle.