Is it time?

There comes a time when there is merit in reviewing a lifetime of habit. Coffee. I have been drinking coffee since I was a senior in high school. Apart from the nausea driven months of pregnancy when i couldn’t stomach it, coffee has been my constant companion. It is difficult to imagine life without her.  But recently friends and family have stopped drinking coffee due to health issues and a determination to improve stress levels and sleep quality. This has caused me to reflect again on my relationship with Ms C. I am defined by my love of her. I am a coffee drinker, I drink good coffee, not the instant stuff. I am part of the world domintion of take away, keep cup, coffee in hand at work, in the car and by the sports ground.

But somehow I cannot completely let her go. How is your caffeine habit? Does it mark your day? Does it define you?

Ms C and I have some serious talking to do. How about you?

Rough Diamond

Image: rough diamond Instagram

image: 7mouths2feed

I had my first Rough Diamond coffee last week. And a Cruffin with curd and citrus and pistachios.
It was a treat. Great coffee, fun and fabulous sweet things and an urban, mover and shaker cafe fit out in the legal and financial end of town. Love your work diamonds. xx

Dying Days of School Holidays

The dying days of school holidays. I need another coffee mid morning. What are you looking forward to when school is back? Are you anxious, dreading the rush and tumble of school lunches, early mornings and uniforms? Perhaps you are planning fun things for ‘you’ once the kidlets return to school? Love to read your ‘Mummy – back to school list’.

Friday Fact

More than Coffee

It is always exciting when a new business opens. And especially when it means there is more good coffee in town. In recent weeks our small regional town has seen retail stores close, several large car dealerships shut their doors and another chain store launch their ‘closing down’ sale. So our home town is feeling flat. But the warm welcome of a new cafe offers more than a good coffee to the local resident.  It offers hope. Hope for future growth. More employment. More opportunities for people to connect and build community.

I am sure that when this idea for a new venture was being sketched out on paper napkins over drinks no one would have dreamt that it was going to be about more than just the food or the coffee. It would be about hope. Hope for them. Hope for us and for the whole community.

He is the designer of all Hope. He knew. That gives me Hope.

Coffee Busters is Busted….

 I attempted to go without coffee last week and it did not end well. 

 Headaches.  Anxiety. Stress. Discouragement.

So I gave up.

 I was incredibly encouraged when a friend sent me this link, What’s wrong with your morning cup of Joe? Is coffee a friend or foe and what benefit is there if we understand more how caffeine in particular impacts our system? Lisa Bryne suggest we need to understand coffee but more importantly we need to know our own body,  health and well being.

“Caffeine impacts people differently because every body is different. It is always useful to check in with yourself and see what your body is telling you.”

I have decided that my body needs some caffeine. 
It occasionally benefits from taking a day off  caffeine.
I need to drink more water. 
And coffee needs to be a slow, social event for me….not a rushed fix during a busy time.

So this “Coffee Busters” exercise has been a helpful one. I have also decided that an addiction or an over reliance on any thing, a substance or person needs redemption and not a quick recovery. It is more about the heart than the coffee that passes between the lips.
So I will enjoy my coffee. I will redeem my approach to coffee drinking and I will care for my body, mind and soul in the process.

Day 2: Coffee Busters

I am seriously considering giving this coffee detox up. It is one of the few “treats’ in my day and I am beginning to realise it is a vital part of how I socialise. My man and I have developed all sort of rituals around coffee making, drinking and sharing. Sipping a cup of herbal tea with my man as he has his coffee each morning is not quite the same.  He asked me today, “So why are you not drinking coffee?” I am not sure. I know it is not the best for me perhaps. But I think I have been more confronted by the notion that others can see my addiction. Today I am tired and have this strange taste in my mouth. So I need to satisfy those cravings for coffee in other ways: more water, more great music and more time to reflect on where my hope lies after all.  

This is a favourite Josh Garrels piece, one that was introduced to me by my man. He does a good version of it too! Listen to it here.

Farther Along 

Farther along we’ll know all about it
Farther along we’ll understand why
Cheer up my brothers, live in the sunshine
We’ll understand this, all by and by

Tempted and tried, I wondered why
The good man died, the bad man thrives
And Jesus cries because he loves em’ both
We’re all cast-aways in need of ropes
Hangin’ on by the last threads of our hope
In a house of mirrors full of smoke
Confusing illusions I’ve seen

Where did I go wrong, I sang along
To every chorus of the song
That the devil wrote like a piper at the gates
Leading mice and men down to their fates
But some will courageously escape
The seductive voice with a heart of faith
While walkin’ that line back home

So much more to life than we’ve been told
It’s full of beauty that will unfold
And shine like you struck gold my wayward son
That deadweight burden weighs a ton
Go down into the river and let it run
And wash away all the things you’ve done
Forgiveness alright

Chorus

Still I get hard pressed on every side
Between the rock and a compromise
Like the truth and pack of lies fightin’ for my soul
And I’ve got no place left go
Cause I got changed by what I’ve been shown
More glory than the world has known
Keeps me ramblin’ on

Skipping like a calf loosed from its stall
I’m free to love once and for all
And even when I fall I’ll get back up
For the joy that overflows my cup
Heaven filled me with more than enough
Broke down my levee and my bluff
Let the flood wash me 

And one day when the sky rolls back on us 
Some rejoice and the others fuss 
Cause every knee must bow and tongue confess 
That the son of god is forever blessed 
His is the kingdom, we’re the guests 
So put your voice up to the test 
Sing Lord, come soon http://joshgarrels.bandcamp.com/track/farther-along

The Roxburgh: Cafe & Providore

It is hard for me not drinking coffee and honouring coffee dates with friends. What does one drink when you are not drinking coffee? Thankfully our favourite haunt Roxburgh House has plenty to offer. The Rox is owned by friends and it is run with a passion for coffee, food and the local community. A short visit to the “Rox” becomes a catch up with so many different faces….as you share a tasting plate, warm yourself by the fire or wait in line with others during the mid morning coffee rush. It is a place for sharing food and telling stories. And Matt Preston, Australian food critic rates the coffee very highly indeed. Do you have a special place, that “third place” where you can meet new and old friends?

Day1: Coffee Busters

SO…. I take it you all love your coffee too much to give it up with me? I understand, really I do. Day one and already the headaches have set in, just an annoying soundtrack to my day.

I have consciously consumed more water, cleansed my head by doing things I like (quilting) alongside things I don’t (house cleaning), I have listened to some great encouragement for my soul and considered alongside my coffee busters decision, what else I may need to bust in my life.

It is interesting how one detox leads to another and shows up the cracks that have been lurking in the shadows going unnoticed. Until now. Are you still with me….

Time Out

It is a strange thing to have to schedule time out, but over the last week and being away I have had to do that. I had a few hours alone in a cafe, sipping coffee and completing some much needed reading and doing some work related thinking. Long gone are those student days when whole days stretched before me to plan, read and write. Since children my time is short and precious and I have learnt to work smart. How about you? Do you achieve some time out now and again? Love to know how you do that……