Coffee Time
It’s no secret around here that I love coffee. If you’ve been reading on the blog for long, you’ve likely seen more than a few photos of my coffee bar that houses most of some of my collection of more than 100 mugs. 
I think coffee first became a symbol of something special when I was a kid. My parents didn’t drink coffee every day, so anytime the smell of coffee wafted through our farmhouse, we knew that something fun was about to happen. Company was coming and our table would be filled with laughter and interesting conversations, delicious food (my mom was an amazing cook!), and then dessert served with coffee.
My grandmothers and my mom, sometime in the late ’70s or early ’80s. Judging by my grandmother’s corsage, it was likely Mother’s Day. Just looking at this photo, I can almost smell the coffee brewing while they washed up the dinner dishes before serving dessert! Even though I’ve always loved the aroma of coffee brewing, I didn’t really develop a taste for it until I was a newlywed working in a newspaper office that was freezing cold. The only way to keep warm was to go to the back room where the press guys always had a coffee pot going. Black coffee in a Styrofoam cup not only warmed your insides, but kept your hands from turning into blocks of ice.
As a young mom, a cup of coffee represented a much-needed break from the busy day of laundry, cooking, cleaning, diapering, and rocking babies to sleep. And as the kids got older and went off to school, coffee was something I shared with friends during an impromptu visit, or at Bible study, or after a day of shopping.
After I started writing, coffee became fuel for my writer’s engine. The whole process of getting the coffee pot going was a time to mull over my story before I sat down to write. I’ll never forget when Ken was laid off from work and we had to cut our budget to the bone. When I mentioned to a group of writer friends that coffee would no longer be part of my life, they rallied around and provided in the most loving and precious ways. Years ago, I shared that story here on the blog.
Coffee has been back in our budget for many years now and it’s an everyday thing for me. Part of my morning ritual, but I don’t think I will ever take it for granted. This winter, I splurged and spent some of my dad’s Christmas money on a good coffee grinder and an espresso machine. Oh. My. Goodness. I am so enjoying my Americano with cream every morning. I have a new appreciation for the baristas who make my coffee in coffee shops! There’s definitely a learning curve. Especially with the steamer as you can see from my milk-splattered wall!
Are you a fan of coffee or tea or something else? What is your favorite memory centered around something warm and caffeinated? “
And for those of you who like to read while you sip your coffee…
I shared a few weeks ago about working on a new sequel to my novella Playing by Heart (also published as A January Bride in the Winter Brides collection) and I’m delighted to share that Playing for Keeps is available now! As of this writing, only the print version is available, but it will be out in e-book format very soon. Playing for Keeps includes both novellas—the old and the brand new sequel—in one volume for one low price of $9.99 (only $3.99 for the e-book). And I just love that Alex, the matchmaking cat, once again stars on the beautiful cover, designed by my husband this time around.
