Spring and it's late arrival

Well today after a very long rain filled winter, Spring decided to arrive in all her glory! She just waltzed in like being about 1 month late was no big deal!! Well let me tell you it was a big deal and if I was not so happy to see Spring I would tell her so.

The clouds have parted and the sun is shining here in Northern California!!! We, as in collectively all of Northern California are giving a HUGE sigh of relief from all of that rain, well with the exception of my lovely wife, she loves the rain. That for another story another day.

When I woke up this morning and looked out and saw BLUE sky, this middle age, balding man was a HAPPY man!!!! I know we need the rain but oh my gosh we have had it and then some this year.

So last week I was dreaming about the sun coming out and today here it is!!!! Ahhhh I can dry out a bit, get some of the rust out of my system..

For those of you who live in rainy places, my hat is off to you. I for one cannot go for days on end without seeing the sun, I yearn for the warmth it brings, the smile it puts on my face and how it makes all of us just a bit happier.

I tell ya I was ready to renew my membership at the tanning salon, I needed to feel the warmth of the sun even if it came in the form of a high powered light bulb!

So for today and for the many days after today when the sun shines here in Northern California I will bask in all of its glory, warmth and good feelings.

I know I am a bit fickle, as I know that we need the rain, I just want it to rain every night after I go to sleep and then the sun comes out when I am up and out doing my daily routine. I said I was fickle didn't I?

So to all of you out there who like me are enjoying this reprieve from the rain, I say go outside, sit in a chair, walk the river trails, work in your yard, or just smile and know that this is just the beginning of a great Spring and Summer.

And do not let Spring know I am a bit miffed at her for being so tardy to her own party, I mean really, she should have showed up a month ago and started the party then.

Well I am off to go bask in this new found treat.....the sun...... hope you can take some time to enjoy it.

Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Long Winters and Dreaming of Spring

Here in Northern California we have had a very long winter this year. I usually love the rain and cloudy days, but this year we have had them for so long... I am dreaming of Spring.

Dreaming of watching the budding of the leaves on all the trees, watching the flower buds swell just before they burst forth with all of their beauty and fragerance.

Dreaming of being able to sit on the deck or patio on a Saturday morning reading my paper, having a cup of coffee on the table and just breathing in the fresh air. Dreaming of having breakfast outside on the deck, just my wife and I, fresh fruit, mimosa's, fresh ground coffee beans making a wonderful French Pressed cup of coffee.

Dreaming of being able to work in my flower beds, filling them with sweet Pansies, Snap Dragons, Shasta Daisy's, wonderfully fragerant Petunias, oh I can close my eyes and just see them all now. Truth be told I have 5 flats of Pansies sitting on my deck right now waiting for the rains to stop so I can plant them in the flower beds.

Dreaming of coming home from work and having the sun still shining, going for a walk along the creek behind the house, listening to the birds sings, and watching the bee's buzz around pollinating the flowers and tree's. Looking and watching the water hoping to see a beautiful trout swim by. And on the first warm day of Spring putting my feet into the creek, the cold taking my breath away as I get used to it. Feeling so alive as Spring brings forth all of her beauty and life.

Dreaming of seeing the new born Fawns playing on the lawns in downtown French Gulch, with their spots all white and clean, looking so sweet and innocent. Dreaming of seeing the goslings, Canadian Honkers swiming in a small pond right off of our mountain road. All swimming in a straight line behind mom and dad, oh the wonder of Spring.

Dreaming of the cool of the night as it turns from dusk to night and the sky lights up with all of the wonderful bright stars. Looking up and wondering who else on the other side of the world might be looking at that same star I am gazing on right now. And this year for the first time, looking at the stars and wondering if my son and his wife might be looking at them from their new home, and we for a moment in time could be connecting looking at that same star...

So what are you dreaming of right now? As we await the dawning of Spring, a new beginning? A new job? A new home? A new friend? We all need to dream, we all need to reach for that one lone star, hoping that we can reach it. I know that at times I am really talking out loud to myself in this blog, putting down in connected letters my feelings, wishes, dreams...... but I want you to also have the same, wishes, feelings, dreams..... so go ahead and dream of Spring, and the wonders that it brings forth, and for a moment just after dusk turns to night who knows, we maybe wishing on the same bright star.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis

Coffee and a cozy shop

You know when you go into a shop, you immediately get a vibe good or bad about it. We all have these instincts, feelings about the place, the person waiting on us. Well here in our fair city of Redding, California, we have a wonderful little coffee shop, Breaking New Grounds.

No drive thru you have to get out of your car and go inside to get your coffee. As you enter the door you are greeted by the owner Lisa, in her cheery exuberant way, as if she is welcoming you into her home, you feel immediately at ease.

You order your coffee, bagel, or the BEST carrot cake ever, or a sundry of other pastries to go with your coffee.

Now I have been going to this little coffee shop for over a year now, so I do not even have to say my order, my coffee is poured, dark roast, room for cream, a bagel, just cheese on it, and my morning newspaper. I pay for it and sit at the counter.

In this past year as I have sat at this counter every morning Monday thru Friday, from 8:00am to 8:30am, I have met some amazing and wonderful people who also frequent this little coffee shop. From the workers in the offices around to locals like me who just drop by to start their day.

And through this year I have made friends, some closer than others but friends none the less. We have shared our lives with each other, we have supported each other, we have even cried with each other as life does at times deal us all blows that we need to be comforted from.

But as I have sat there on that bar stool at the counter in that little coffee shop I have learned some life lessons about not only myself but others as well. We all need to have a coffee shop where we can go and enjoy a cup of coffee with a side of kindness, and a real dose of life.

So today my hope is that you can find that little coffee shop, tea house, to just go to and sit and enjoy. Be able to make friends, share you life with them, support each other and just enjoy your time that you spend there. Because we all need a little kindness from strangers who can become our friends, In This Journey Called Life.
Blessings to you and yours
Curtis