Egg Nog

Now I'm starting to wonder if I'm an emotional drinker: first coffee, now egg nog. But again, I think it's all the associations I have with it. It's the first taste of Christmas. It's what I'll have in my morning coffee instead of cream from now until New Years-ish. Plus, Ben and Sam were home for the weekend and we made a batch of homemade eggnog. And it was so nice to visit with these newlyweds over this first-try beverage. Right now I'm heating some (store-bought) egg nog up with milk and cocoa (Believe it!), while I relax and warm up for a few moments before supper preparations begin/continue. So really, I suppose egg nog (as with coffee) just represents gratitude I have for much more significant things, like family memories.

And I just thought of more food-related thankfulness: We had a delicious seafood feast of crab legs and bacon-wrapped scallops this past weekend. But it was the "taste" of family around the kitchen table that made me the happiest.

My beach

I am so happy that we live within a 5 minute stroll to the beach, where I can sit, walk or run in almost complete solitude for as long as I desire. Although our house is in a small subdivision, I still have sneak-peaks of the water from a few windows and even from our side deck and yard. We have a large lot, but not many trees for privacy. However, this is a trade-off that I'm so glad we made when we decided to buy this particular home near the sea rather than in town. Another perk: living a short drive from a seafood market where just this evening I picked up a bag of scallops (to wrap in bacon and drizzle with maple syrup, of course).

Mitaines was enjoying our yard this summer, and the view as well. (Yes, he's on a leash.)

Friends

I've often felt lonely because we live so far away from many of our like-minded friends. This has certainly caused me to grumble over the years. However, when we have the occasion to spend time with far-away friends, I am so refreshed! Such was the case this weekend.

A cup of coffee

All the tensions of a busy day were relieved with that first cool sip of iced coffee on the way home from work today. It was incredible! It's that first moment of relief that is felt when you put up your feet at the end of the day. It's the taste of memories from other similar moments of peace in a busy season of life. I guess what I mean is that I'm grateful for those simple moments when suddenly my perspective in changed, however briefly. Of course, what also made the moment so pleasant was that my husband had picked me up from work and surprised me with this cute-cafe-bought coffee. Surely that is what heightened my senses and sentimentality even before the first sip.