What's On Your Liszt For This Week?

This is on mine...

Happy Musical Monday!

Janny

Mindful Coffee

...no, I never heard of it, either. But...! 

I love my morning coffee. Or afternoon coffee. Or, on some occasions, even evening coffee. Which is why, IMHO, the Keurig is among the best things ever invented. All that coffee, one cup at a time, whatever flavor you fancy...and quick to make.

BUT...lately, I've had the *other* kind of coffee, too. No, not perked on the stove (although that's still among the better ways to make a pot)...but perked from grounds in my Keurig. As in, hand-scooping the grounds into one of those reusable cups you insert into the coffeemaker. Also for one cup at a time.

But a whole lot messier. Which means that every time you make one of THOSE cups, you have to really think about it. In terms of the cleanup work involved. Because coffee grounds, I'm here to tell you, migrate worse than spaghetti sauce toward a white blouse. No matter how careful you are in measuring out those grounds into that teeny little cup, inevitably some will...leak out.

Not to mention the cleanup of the used grounds afterward.

So, then, I got to wondering...

If you need to take care, and extra time, to make an individual cup of coffee...

...does that make it MINDFUL?

As opposed to just tossing another premade pod into the machine and brewing a second or third cup?

And do I get extra credit, then, on the "mindfulness" scale...for making the coffee more from scratch? Not to mention extra points for wiping up every spare speck of coffee grounds?

It's an interesting question, I think.

😇

I mean, hey--sometimes you need to take your meditation points where you get 'em.

But I also gotta say: sometimes, folks, I just like my coffee mindless. Snatch a pod, stick it in, push the button, and go.

Does that make me shallow?

Am I missing a chance for extra-deep thoughts while I scrub out a reusable cup?

Or...?

Yeah. 

I doubt that'll keep ME up nights, either. 😛

Thoughts?

Janny

[[Photo by Ante Samarzija on Unsplash]]

"All You Need Is Love..." And A Second Bathroom!

Yeah. The little-known second line to that lyric? (LOL)

This thought came upon me as I've been ruminating over the possibility of someday in here, "being with" somebody new. As in, having a romantic relationship that could turn into marriage and cohabitation.

And I started considering that, in light of the house I presently call home.

Now, this is a great little house. From the outside, it looks like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs live here: It's a little blue cottage with a stone chimney in front. It is two bedrooms, a large dining room, a tiny kitchen, a cozy living room, and a bathroom. No basement, no second level, utility room is literally right off the living room (when they say laundry is "mere steps" away, they're not kidding!).  It's on a slant, as are most houses in this area that were built in the 1940s and "settled." You can put a marble on the floor and check the slant for yourself, any time. Or you can take it from my Mini Taktell metronome, which cannot find level purchase upon which to keep time!

It is funky. It is charming.

But it is SMALL.

And it has only one bathroom. 

A basic bathroom, at that. No double vanity, no separate W/C, none of that wonderful stuff. It DOES have a bathtub--which nowadays, for reasons known only to builders, is NOT always a given--as well as a shower, and it's in pretty good shape, although dated. If a designer came in here, the first thing he or she would do is groan, then start tearing out all the old woodwork and cabinetry and replacing them with sleek gray & white.

Which wouldn't be all bad. And if I could afford it, I'd likely do some of that myself.

But, again...it is SMALL.

As in, it has no linen closet. I use part of the master bedroom closet to stash linens and other storage. And, once again, as in it has only ONE bathroom.

And I know, for a fact, that if I moved in with someone else again...that wouldn't be enough.

The older we get, the more we need bathrooms to be handy, accessible, and OPEN.

For many obvious reasons, none of which will I bore or gross you out with now.

We had one bathroom in the condo in Wauconda, and there was more than one instance in which I spent some looong minutes waiting for it, when it was occupied at a time when my biology wanted me to be occupying it instead!

So, in addition to the considerations attached to forming another emotional connection, dealing with all the baggage that could ensue from that exercise, and doing the usual adjustments one has to do when one is too used to living on one's own...

...I'd have to find a bigger house with another bathroom in it!

No, it wouldn't have to be lavish. And, truth be told, even a half-bath would do.

Just for Important Functions When They Need To Be Tended To.

So, the sentiment will never make its way onto a Valentine card.

But it's a very practical way to make sure everybody feels loved...going forward!

And to me, it's a basic necessity I don't want to live without.

Whadya think?

Janny

It's Musical Monday again!

Some warm music for a cold Monday! A few  piano meanderings by a composer who hasn't gotten nearly enough attention yet...(but we're working on it!)

Enjoy!

Janny

Happy Birthday Robert Burns!

In honor of the occasion...a quintessential love song, sung by one of the greatest of all time. Have tissues handy.

And...you're welcome.

A Red, Red Rose

Janny