#WeekendCoffeeShare Set For The Season

December 4, 2016 — 10 Comments

high notes

front yard decorated

candles

front yard decorated

If we were having coffee this morning I would serve you any hot or iced tea you might like or a cup of medium roast coffee. For those of you arriving at cocktail hour from other continents I have some cranberry vodka for cocktails. It is pretty and tasty at the same time. Have a seat, put up your feet on the fireside ottoman and tell me what is happening with you. I have the room seriously scented with lavender and citrus essential oils. The wood stove is a perfect diffuser. I need to replenish the moisture it sucks out of the air, so I position two containers of water on top to continually evaporate. It is a little bit shocking to see how much goes into the air. I dump substantial amounts of essential oils in those vessels, which become my giant air fresheners all winter.

Citrus is the scent of the season for me.  I have purchased a full set of citrus essential oils for December which are going quickly because I love using them liberally. Now I am rocking sweet orange and mandarin, mixed with a lot of lavender. These are all high notes in aromatherapy, or uppers if you will. The idea is to extend comfort and joy in the atmosphere.  I have my ceramic gingerbread diffuser rocking the scent with a scented candle as the heat.  This is the only time of year when I burn wax candles in my house because it does pollute the air inside that we breathe.  I am not worried about the amount of pollution a few tiny tea lights will emit.  I also have my digital candles with remote control LED lights that change color. They make me very happy.  My decorating theme is not exactly geared to a modern religious holiday but to the winter solstice, and a celebration of light that seemed to happen universally in ancient times around the darkest night of the year.  I am fully ready of Old Man Winter. We are stocked with wood for the fire and I have mounted all manner of solar twinkle lights in the front and back yard.  We are warm and, if I do say so myself, lit.

If we were having coffee and American politics came up I would tell you that yesterday I attended a meeting to organize a satellite protest march to show support for the Million Women March on Washington, 21 Jan.  Many American women are traveling to DC to march on the mall to protest the inauguration of the Donald.  I have much sympathy for this movement, but not enough to travel to DC.  I decided to find out what the Tucson group looked like, and what they planned to do.  I live streamed the event to my FaceBook page. The meeting was at once very uplifting and disconcerting.  The median age of the women in attendance was around 55 or 60, with very few under 40, and I saw nobody under 30.  They debated the language of protest and how to best express the outrage they felt.  They talked about Gandhi and Martin Luther King, which was predictable.  There were 3 men over 60 in the crowd.  One with his wife, one with Occupy Tucson, to convince the group to join their march, and one who had very good sense who came out of nowhere.  He suggested the group use positive rather than negative language.  A lot of women wanted to show off and talk about their previous political involvement and how they knew Trump supporters who were poor and underserved who needed to be converted.  When I asked them if they knew how hashtags work I was told they planned to find high school girls who would instagram and hashtag the whole thing for them.  These old ladies have missed the point.  They can march until the world looks level and will have little sway on national politics.  They need to learn how to lobby, how to hashtag, how to trend, and how to relate to the youth.  The times they have been are a changin’ and they need to acknowledge that the problem here is not HOW Americans voted, but that half of Americans did not vote at all. I am in favor of their march and movement, but the medium is the message.  The most efficient and effective mediums must be exploited along with the labor intensive.

If you were relaxing by the fire today I would now end my observations of politics and society in general and find out what you have been doing.  I have a killer nutloaf of spinach and almond with a nice parsley sauce.  Let me heat up a slice and serve it to you while you enjoy the fire.  I have almost used up all the nuts from last year, but am still pitching the nuts to guests because they are so healthy and tasty.  Thanks for stopping in today.  You are welcome to take a nap by the stove after your snack, especially if you have a long trip home. Alexa is loaded with Amazon unlimited music, so please ask her to play your favorite music.  Just say her name and tell her what you want.

Ending the year with this sophisticated group of digital coffee drinkers is a pleasure.  I appreciate knowing you, sharing with you, and learning about your writing journeys.  Thanks to Diana for keeping the party going from New Orleans even week.  Drop in and comment, post, or just enjoy the coffee.  Cheers!

Christmas cactus

Season’s decorations

scent diffuser