New Year, New Coffee Date

Well, the Christmas tree is gone.  The rest of the decorations are coming down gradually, and I’m still drinking out of my holiday mugs (that’s allowed until January 6th, right???)  But it’s a new year, and time for the first Ultimate Coffee Date, hosted by Coco and Deborah.  Get out your holiday mugs one last time, grab a delicious beverage (always Earl Grey tea for me!) and let’s get started. If we were having coffee (tea) together, I would share one last “fantastic” photo my daughter sent from Rome. I would love to put them all together in a collage, “Angie’s Trip to Rome.”  It would be special! She had a good time, although traveling to a different country can be eye-opening.  You appreciate first-hand the hardships people go through- like, did you know people in Italy are actually forced to drink room temperature water??? Yes!  There’s NO ICE.  No ice in the hotel!  No ice in the restaurants!  If you order a soda, it comes in a can, and it’s kind of cold but not really, and there’s no glass full of ice to pour it in!  You can’t imagine how much I’ve heard about the lack of ice in Rome.  Well, hopefully this harrowing experience will make her appreciate life in the US more. My daughter has a few days to recover from her jet lag, and then it’s back to school… for two days.  On Wednesday of next week we’ll be off to Tampa!  Angie is playing in the high school All-State band; my husband will be attending various band director conferences for professional development, and my son and I will be enjoying some rest and relaxation. Last year when we went to Tampa I sought out a trail for an adventurous run… but this year, I’ll be doing a long run on Wednesday morning before we leave, so my time in Tampa can be more chill.  I plan to stay close to the hotel, read my books, visit the Starbucks… and POSSIBLY have a blogger meetup (ooh!  Exciting and mysterious… who lives in Tampa???) The last thing I would share over coffee is my new wall calendar, which I found while randomly browsing at Barnes and Noble:   Seriously?  CATS AND BOOKS???  It’s like someone made this specifically with me in mind.  Here’s the January picture:   I love it so much!  2024 is going to be a great year!!! Do you use a wall calendar? Room temperature or ice water?- Room temperature is actually better for your digestion, but I know it’s hard to drink if you’re used to icy cold. Header photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash