OK....One Thing

Dreama Tolle Perry, a wonderful artist who I am friends with on Facebook and whose art I have admired for several years wrote about a challenge (for me it will be a challenge).  You can read about it here.  Simply...to find something to be thankful for - each day of November.
 Knowing what I have faced this past year and knowing how it has, at times, taken me down the path to hopeless feelings I have embraced this idea and have EVEN decided to blog about it each day - therein lies the challenge.  

A good thing - this is, since I feel my blog is dying on the vine, so to speak.  It gives me a purpose to blog while I convalesce - AGAIN.  I think in these times - we could all use a platform to affirm our 'gems' in life, whatever they may be, material or otherwise.  

Today, October 31st, I am thankful for the espresso machine that my daughter got as a White Elephant last Christmas and knew would never use. She gave it to me last time I visited her.  I just recently took it out of the box - replacing an older, more inefficient one.  

I got hooked on Hazelnut Mocha Latte's back in the early 90's (my daughter hooked me, of course).  I used to spend most of my weekly allowance (you know, 'bread money') on a daily Hazelnut Mocha Latte at a high-end coffee shop while teaching in the city - they made the absolute best. Eventually I funneled that money to a 'coffee trailer' in the mountains where I lived and then passed each day on my way to a mountain school and then back to the city, where I last lived and taught - spending at another coffee shop or two.  I also did a part-time stint at Border's Books and Music (etc, etc) during that time (late 90's) - where I was able to be a 'coffee barista' and learned the true art of making many kinds of 'steam machine' drinks.  Boy, was that a fun job...selling and being around books and music and serving up coffees and bakery goods.  Loved it!!!  

When coffee is a part of your daily life, like it is in ours, this machine is a money and time saver.  It saves me the gas of having to go to town to get one and saves the money I used to spend on one drink...it doesn't cost that much to make your own - some chocolate syrup (OK, chocolate LITE), some Hazelnut syrup (can be sugar-free, as is mine), milk (OK, 2%), espresso coffee grinds (and NOT decaf), and of course, you can't forget the squirt of two of whipped cream (that part, I could leave out...but life is short.)

While attempting to include DH on this journey, he said he was thankful to be drinking the Hazelnut Mocha Latte I was making - ha  ha  ha.

So what is your favorite coffee house drink?  I would love to know!  There are a lot of Chai drinkers out there.

Happy Halloween!