If We Were Having Coffee

Thanks to a fellow blogger I like to follow, I am taking my first adventure into “If we were having coffee” posts. So thanks 20/20 hindsight. I love coffee and the wonderful conversations that come with it.

If we were having coffee…

It’s more than likely babble a bit over the weather. It has been frigid here lately, with wind chills deep into negative numbers. Although it might have been my imagination, even the thermometer shivered yesterday morning.

Today is much better, a balmy twenty nine degrees. Time to get back out the door and stop driving Mama crazy.

If we were having coffee…

I’d ask how your holidays were,  if Santa brought you everything you wanted, and share some of the joy of our holidays here. I believe Mama still has one French silk pie she made from scratch in the freezer we could enjoy with our coffee.

If we were having coffee…

I would ask some get to know you questions:

What are your hobbies?

What in life are you passionate about?

What’s your dream vacation spot?

And of course the one question that always brings a look of shock to those unfamiliar with central Michigan- Have you ever been to Hell?

It really is a small town just a few miles from here as the crow flies. Most folks stutter and stammer unsure of what to say.

Roadside America even has a write up on that little wide spot in the road.

I did meet one young lady who quickly responded “Yes, lived there for a few years before I finally divorced Satan.” Admittedly her response threw me off!

If we were having coffee… I’d watch with a smile as your eyes floated across the walls of our dining room. The walls are covered with my passions in life, from pictures of the family on boats, at the beach, and in the woods to fishing lures neatly hung around the tops of the walls.

Even a couple old hand tools can be spotted if you know what you are looking at. Everything your gaze takes in has a deep meaning to me.

Some call me a sentimental fool, but there is a warmth I feel in remembering where each item came from and what it means.

That board of old handmade and hand painted lures near the window, they were handed to me by the son of a fishing mentor (after his sudden passing several years ago). He spent countless hours with me on the St. Clair river and taught me how to fish it.

The one that gets the most questions asked about, an old rifle that quietly sits on it’s perch above the windows. It is the most treasured piece in the room to me.

Decades ago now, even before my age hit double digits, one of the greatest influences in my life pulled that old girl off his wall to teach me to shoot.

In honor of my Grandpa, that well used artifact from simpler times will forever remain just above the windows and serve as a reminder of the great man that I still miss a quarter of a century after his passing.

If we were having coffee…

By now both of our four legged family members would have warmed to the new comer in the house. They can be a bit intrusive for non dog lovers.

They must feel you are okay since they want to nuzzle up next to your chair for a scratch behind the ears. The trouble with that, both of them are over a hundred pounds and are tall enough that if your not paying attention, they will try to share your pie.

Maybe it’s time to bid farewell, before their desire to love on you exceeds what you are willing to receive.

If your interested, I have another pot of coffee that should be just about finished out in the shop atop my wood burner. Feel free to come on out and get an idea of what really goes on inside my head. Or take a read at my post “Uh Dad, What Are You Doing?”

Thanks for stopping by, and feel free to have a look around. My blog is a place of family, outdoor adventures and crazy redneck insights on little things in the world.

Friends are always welcome here, and the shop door is unlocked if you’d like to stop by for a visit. Coffee is always on, and it’s no trouble to grab another mug.