Uncategorized – Page 29

An Italian Ice Place

I learned about this place from a friend and at first I thought it was an okay place but nothing special. It was run by Italians and most of the staff there are young Italians from Italy. Some don’t speak English, no German whatsoever, and they loved speaking in Italian. The problem? Customers had a tough time placing their orders!

However, the place grew on me. It was nice and cozy, the ambience was comforting and the people friendly. I love the decor and the music playlist had some of my favorite songs on there. It slowly became a favorite place to hang out in whenever I met friends for coffee and sometimes breakfast. If we arrived early, the place was empty and you can hear yourself talk. However, come lunchtime, it gets crowded and very noisy. That’s when it is time to go.

In summer, they serve Italian ice but throughout the year, they have Tiramisu, cakes, cookies, breakfast dishes like Avocado Toast, American style scrambled eggs, toast, and to top it all great coffee.

I am a regular there so they know me well. Just recently, a server from Argentina who speaks English told me that he was leaving to go back home. He is actually an English teacher back home and he was going back for a year to help his family and to teach but he would be back next year. There are others there that I have come to know well.

I have a favorite spot by the window so that I can people watch and sip my coffee in silence when I am there by myself but when I meet a friend, we can talk and laugh like we are the only ones in the place! It’s a nice place and since I don’t like crowded places, it works just fine for those rare moments when I get myself out and about. Oh, the bakery is right across from the Italian place and that is an added bonus. It’s where I get my beloved cheesecake! Not a good thing in one sense but for those days when my willpower isn’t where it should be, I break down and get a slice or two of cheesecake before heading back home. Not a whole cake anymore. We are making progress!

Daily writing prompt

What is your favorite place to go in your city?

View all responses

A Beautiful Book Review

A Fresh Look at The Excellent Adventures of Honey and Hubie by T. J. Mueller
📚 Get your copy on Amazon

I recently spent a quiet afternoon reading The Excellent Adventures of Honey and Hubie, and I wasn’t expecting it to charm me the way it did. I thought it would be a simple children’s story, but there’s something genuinely special about the way this book blends imagination with gentle life lessons.

The first thing that caught my attention was how naturally the author brings her characters to life. Honey, the miniature greyhound with an enormous amount of heart, instantly feels like a character children can connect with. And Hubie — the bright green frog with a rainbow stripe down his back — adds a playful energy that makes their friendship feel real and endearing.

What surprised me most is how effortlessly the story invites readers into its world. The places Honey and Hubie explore feel almost dreamlike, yet grounded enough for kids to picture themselves right beside the characters. The mix of magical creatures and simple moments gives the book a comforting balance of excitement and warmth.

As I read, I kept thinking about how well the book captures the emotions children experience when they try new things — curiosity, nervousness, bravery, and the joy of succeeding. Nothing is overexplained or forced; the story lets kids understand these feelings through Honey’s journey. That’s something not many children’s books manage to do well.

The writing has a soft, comforting rhythm, which makes it especially nice for a bedtime read. You can pause between scenes and talk with kids about what they think Honey or Hubie might do next. It’s the kind of story that naturally encourages conversation and imagination, without feeling like a “lesson book.”

Knowing a bit about T. J. Mueller’s background makes the story even more meaningful. You can sense her deep connection to nature and childhood wonder in every page. Her writing feels sincere — not polished to perfection, but honest and full of heart. It reminded me of the kinds of stories that stay with children long after they’ve grown.

If you’re looking for a children’s book that blends adventure, gentle messages, and a big dose of imagination, this one is definitely worth picking up. It has that timeless feeling that makes you want to revisit it again — not just for kids, but for the adults who read along with them.

📚 Get your copy on Amazon

LOL!

Photo by Polina Tankilevitch on Pexels.com

Hilarious!

I have everything that I wanted as a teenager, only 60 years later. I don’t have to go to school or work. I get an allowance every month. I have my own pad. I don’t have a curfew. I have a driver’s license and my own car. The people I hang around with are not scared of getting pregnant and I don’t have acne. Life is great. I changed my car horn to gunshot sounds. People get out of the way much faster now.

Gone are the days when girls used to cook like their mothers. Now they drink like their fathers.

I didn’t make it to the gym today. That makes five years in a row. I decided to stop calling the bathroom “John” and renamed it the “Jim”. I feel so much better saying I went to the Jim this morning.

Old age is coming at a really bad time.

When I was a child I thought “nap time” was a punishment. Now it feels like a small vacation.

The biggest lie I tell myself is… ” I don’t have to write that down, I’ll remember it”.

I don’t have gray hair… I have “wisdom highlights”! I’m just very wise.

If God wanted me to touch my toes, He would’ve put them on my knees.

Last year I joined a support group for procrastinators. We haven’t met yet.

Why do I have to press one for English when you’re just going to transfer me to someone I can’t understand anyway?

Of course, I talk to myself. Sometimes I need expert advice.

At my age “Getting Lucky” means walking into a room and remembering what I came In there for.

I have more friends I should send this to, but right now I can’t remember their names.

Now, I’m wondering… did I send this to you, or did you send it to me?

😂😂😂

Confident

I want to give the impression that I am so confident that “I could sell ice to an Eskimo!” I have another saying I go by, “Walk in like God sent you!” The first one helps when I am jittery or feeling like I am not enough and that happens a lot. It comes from being an introvert from my younger days and some remnants of that period in my life are still visible or rather they tend to hold court and have a field day with it! The second one helps when I’m meeting someone for the first time and if I’m feeling nervous, I wear that outlook and let me tell you, it works like a charm.

These days I can psyche myself up so that I walk into a room with my head held high and with a confident smile on my face even if I’m quaking in my boots! People tend to look up to confident people, there is this certain something “Je ne sais quoi” that captures their attention.

I went on a date this past week. It was our first meeting and I was nervous. Just a meet and chat and see where it goes from here kind of thing. I was early as usual and he showed up on time. Dressed well and with a bouquet of flowers in hand, he seemed like a nice enough guy. We smiled and it took off from there. I wasn’t feeling too confident, first dates make me feel that way. However, three hours in and we were still talking and he said, “I’m not going to take off running! I have all day and I find you very interesting!” I was thinking, “You don’t know the half of it!” Anyway, that “Walk in like God sent you,” part seemed to work. He did walk me to my car, gave me a hug (not a bone-crushing one) and a kiss on the cheek. What happened next? Well, that is for another time.

Coming back to the topic in hand, the first impression I want to impart is confidence, then comes the “niceness” part. It matters to me. All the rest can fall in line as the meeting goes on.

Daily writing prompt

What’s the first impression you want to give people?

View all responses

It’s Saturday!

I’ve been up early, not because I wanted to but because the “little brat” decided that every day is a wake up early day! Today, I wanted to sleep a little later but Chachi, the cat, wasn’t having it. He was in his element and READY TO GO!

It’s 9 in the morning and I’ve been up for several hours now and feeling like my day is halfway done! The rain hasn’t let up and more of the same is in the forecast for later in the day. Just when I think I’ve had enough of rain for quite a while, in comes another forecast. It seems the “Polar Luft” is moving in. Literally translated, it means “Polar air,” or rather it is going to get cold as hell! Lord, have mercy. The golden days of fall are nowhere to be seen and we’re heading straight into winter. Anyway, snow is in the forecast for Wednesday next week and I am ready. I have turned off the water to the garden so that the pipes don’t freeze and I have plenty of salt in case the sidewalk freezes over and needs thawing out. Nothing much to look forward to.

Chachi is in his window seat and watching the rain come down. His complaint, “Mom, the TV hasn’t been working right for days! You need to fix it!” Right, the Little Munchkin has plenty to say and he’s bored out of his mind. I’m pretending to listen but not really. I’ve got other things going on in my head. I need to clear my mind so I’m opting for an hour long meditation today. It should do me a world of good if I get through it but since my mind is jumping up and down like a “monkey” I don’t see that happening. Half an hour maybe.

Lots of workouts are planned for today and I might take a break from cooking. I’ve been eyeing the takeout menu and Chicken Nilgari from the local delivery place sounds good. I PLAN to have a good day and let’s see if it works out that way.

Have an amazing day.

A Christmas Book Trailer

This one is cute. Honey and Hubie seem to be going places! They love being Santa’s little helpers and they do a mighty fine job too.

LOL!

Funny stuff!😂😂😂

In a trial, a US Southern small-town prosecuting attorney called his first witness, a grandmotherly, elderly woman, to the stand. He approached her and asked, ‘Mrs. Jones, do you know me?’ She responded, ‘Why, yes, I do know you, Mr. Williams. I’ve known you since you were a boy, and frankly, you’ve been a big disappointment to me. You lie, you cheat on your wife, and you manipulate people and talk about them behind their backs. You think you’re a big shot when you haven’t the brains to realize you’ll never amount to anything more than a two-bit paper pusher. Yes, I know you.”

The lawyer was stunned. Not knowing what else to do, he pointed across the room and asked, ‘Mrs. Jones, do you know the defense attorney?’

She again replied, ‘Why yes, I do. I’ve known Mr. Bradley since he was a youngster, too. He’s lazy, bigoted, and he has a drinking problem. He can’t build a normal relationship with anyone, and his law practice is one of the worst in the entire state. Not to mention, he cheated on his wife with three different women. One of them was your wife. Yes, I know him.”

The defense attorney nearly died.

The judge asked both counsellors to approach the bench and, in a very quiet voice, said,

“If either of you idiots asks her if she knows me, I’ll send you both to jail.

NOTHING!

I am reading nothing right now. Surprising? I used to be a bookworm but those days are gathering dust somewhere. Ever since, I started writing books, reading has taken a backseat. I try, really try to get back into it but I go a few chapters and I put it aside. Not good I know but it’s where I’m at right now.

Perhaps, it’s because I have too many things going on. I am working on the sequel to, The Excellent Adventures of Honey and Hubie, and I am also working on giving the novel a much needed boost. I’m stuck where that is concerned and there seems to be a blockage of some sort but I know it is just a matter of time before the ideas start flowing back in and I get going again. Until then, I’m not going to clutter my mind with books, meaning when I read I like to live the stories. Does that make sense? It does to me. I take on the personas of the characters who capture my imagination and they stay for a long time. So, for now books are on the back burner.

Daily writing prompt

What book are you reading right now?

View all responses

Another Good Book Review!

🌼 My Thoughts on The Excellent Adventures of Honey and Hubie by T. J. Mueller
📖 Get your copy: Amazon

When I first picked up The Excellent Adventures of Honey and Hubie, I thought it would just be a fun story to read with the kids. But it turned out to be something much more than that. It’s the kind of book that quietly pulls you in, page by page, and reminds you why stories matter in the first place.

Honey, the miniature greyhound, and her friend Hubie, a bright green frog with a rainbow stripe down his back, go on a journey that feels full of heart and imagination. What I loved most is that it doesn’t try too hard to be clever or loud. The story moves gently, letting you and your kids settle into the world it creates. There’s a real sense of wonder in every chapter, and you can tell the author truly understands how children think and feel.

Reading it together became one of those special evening moments I’ll remember. My kids would lean closer, curious to know what would happen next, and sometimes even pause to guess or ask questions. That’s when you know a book has done its job.

The writing feels sincere and full of warmth. It never talks down to kids. Instead, it treats them as thoughtful readers who can handle stories with meaning. Honey’s courage, kindness, and curiosity really come through, and those little lessons about bravery and friendship stay with you after you close the book.

T. J. Mueller has written something that feels timeless. You can sense how much she cares about imagination and keeping that spark alive in children. It reminded me of the classic books we used to read as kids—simple, heartfelt, and full of adventure.

If you want a story that makes children feel brave and curious while also giving parents a reason to slow down and enjoy reading time again, The Excellent Adventures of Honey and Hubie is a wonderful choice.

📘 Read more or order your copy: The Excellent Adventures of Honey and Hubie on Amazon.

Letting Go vs. Letting Go (Archives)

There are two kinds of letting go, perhaps there are more ways of doing that but I’m going to talk about two kinds here that make letting go more than a nightmare.. The kind that is of a temporary nature and then there is the more permanent kind. In the temporary kind, you have every intention of letting go but when you do, it is only a matter of time before you go back to the same person. It doesn’t matter how bad the person has treated you, how you were almost invisible in their eyes, how they never had any time for you and you were never the priority but still, you hope and wish that things could have been different. Here’s the problem, it never changes because what they’ve shown you is what you get, nothing more, nothing less. Instead of showing them the door, you keep it slightly ajar just in case they decide to walk back in and do the drumroll all over again and you bow to their every wish.

“It sucks when you know that you need to let go, but you can’t because you’re still waiting for the impossible to happen.” Unknown

The other “letting go” kind is doing it permanently. You realize that the person you were seeing or dating has a lot of the qualities above and you see them for what they are. Maybe it is narcissism, maybe it is selfishness, maybe it is a lack of integrity or character and maybe they are just too full of themselves and think they are IT and everything revolves around them. It’s time to cut the cord because the relationship is not going anywhere and you also realize that you deserve better than what is being handed to you on a worn-out platter. It’s time to do a major change and to take out the trash.

“Letting go does not mean you stop caring, it means you stop trying to force others to.” Mandy Hale

There are many lessons to learn in life and one of them is, you can’t force someone to change. You can only change yourself and take control of who you are, what you deserve and who you want to be with.

“The hardest part about letting go is finally realizing that there wasn’t much left to hold on to.” Unknown

The problem with letting go and why it doesn’t work at times is because we keep looking back at a non-existent relationship and we romanticize it to the point that the guy comes out looking like Prince Charming when in actuality he is a toad or a turd! We come in with the “if only” scenarios hoping and wishing it could be different. Changing someone’s character is next to impossible, it might work for a while but then the real person shows up again and it is only a matter of time before that happens. If he is a cheater, you can bet your bottom dollar that he’ll do it again. If he is a narcissist, he’s a lost cause and if he’s someone who shows no empathy or compassion, well, that is not going to change either because it is built into their DNA. Pay careful attention to what they show you because you’re looking at the truth right there.

“If he’s stupid enough to walk away, be smart enough to let him.” Unknown

That is good advice because if he wants to go, let him go. Don’t keep wondering who he is with, what they are doing together and what he is up to. If you do, it makes letting go a very hard or almost an impossible thing to do.

“Breathe. Let go. And remind yourself that this very moment is the only one you know you have for sure.” Oprah Winfrey

Take Ms. Winfrey’s advice, the lady knows what she is talking about. Stay in the moment and give him enough rope to hang himself but YOU keep moving forward. Rest assured that whoever he is with or whatever he is doing is not far from what he was doing with you because people never change and they don’t change overnight and start smelling like a rose either. It is not for you to wonder why, just know that perhaps it was for the best.

LET GO & JUST LET IT BE.

Have an amazing day.