Coffee in the Quiet: A Tale of Downpours and Disappearing Tires

"Courage doesn't always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, 'I will try again tomorrow.” (Mary Anne Radmacher)

Hello, my lovely friends! 

    It finally happened, you guys. We actually broke through that absolute nightmare of a heatwave and cooled down so much. Friday afternoon the temperature finally started dropping, and then the rain rolled in. It rained for a solid hour that night, and honestly, I just stood there listening to it like it was the best song I’ve ever heard. Then yesterday afternoon we got another hit of it, just a total downpour. It has been so miserably dry around here lately, and everybody’s yards are looking completely crispy and sad.

We needed this so badly. Our lakes and rivers are literally sitting at half of where they should be right now, and the whole state is in an extreme drought. I am keeping every single finger and toe crossed that it just keeps coming down for a while.

    You know those random things in your house that just become part of the furniture after a while? For us, it was a set of four old van tires sitting in the garage, neatly wrapped up and taking up space for over five years. My mom kept them when she got new ones, and ever since, they’ve been this weird, un-dumpable mystery because regular trash days just won't take them. Every time we walked past them, we’d talk about how we really needed to figure out a way to get rid of them, but the years just kept rolling by.

Then, out of nowhere, someone posted on our local Facebook group that the city was doing a free tire recycling day. Mom was so determined to finally get this done that she insisted we wake up at the absolute crack of dawn so we could beat the crazy crowds. We dragged ourselves out of bed, loaded up the car, and rushed over there, only to pull up and realize we were literally the only people there. We had a good laugh about dragging ourselves out of bed so ridiculously early, but hey, the tires are officially gone forever, and that feels like a massive win.

Since the recycling site was clear on the other side of town, we decided to make the most of the trip and took the scenic route back to show Mike around a few parts of Denver he hadn't seen yet. By the time we finally pulled into the driveway, the early morning caught up with everyone at once. Mom, Mike, and Scoots all crashed out cold for hours. I ended up with a delightfully quiet house all to myself, sipping my coffee and catching up on blog comments and Twitter notifications without a sound around me. It turned out to be the perfect kind of slow, productive late morning.

    There is something so peaceful about these extra few days of cooler weather, and I am fully taking advantage of it today by rolling up my sleeves and getting out into the yard. We have a big trash pickup coming up later this week, which is exactly the motivation I needed to finally clear off the patio. You know how those random things just stack up out of nowhere? For me, it is mostly a pile of old, chipped pots and random bits of clutter that have been sitting there far too long, just waiting to be tossed out. It feels so good to finally get them out of sight and start fresh.

I decided to sneak a quick peek at my lettuce containers, and to my absolute delight, I actually saw a few tiny green sprouts poking up through the soil. Finding those little signs of life always feels like a tiny win, especially when you are just out there doing the dirty work of clearing away the old stuff.

    If we end up getting another mild winter like last year, I might actually manage to get a head start on the raised beds and containers for once. My dream scenario is having every single pot filled, prepped, and completely ready to go by the end of April. I feel like I am always playing catch-up with the season, so hitting the ground running in early spring would be a total game changer.

Plus, if the universe is feeling extra generous, all the chaos with the front and back yard work will finally wrap up this year. We’ve been living in a semi-permanent state of yard projects forever, and I am so ready to cross that finish line. Once that big heavy lifting is out of the way, we won't have to stress about the lawn or the hardscaping anymore. We can just kick back and put all our energy into the fun part, which is actually growing things.

    Is anyone else feeling completely overwhelmed with everything going on over on Spark, or am I just super out of practice? I keep telling myself I probably just need to give it a little time and get back into my usual rhythm, but right now there is just so much of everything. It feels like a lot to take in all at once, and I am still finding it surprisingly hard to actually connect with people. Honestly, it just does not feel as easy or natural as it used to be back in the day.

I did manage to get a blog post up, though literally just the one so far. I was thinking I should probably write a quick intro post soon for some of the newer people who have followed me over there, just to say a proper hello. How are you guys navigating it all lately? Let me know if you are feeling the same way or if you have figured out the secret to making it feel like home again.

Thanks for checking in today! I hope your morning, afternoon, or evening is wonderfully cozy and bright. Wishing you the absolute best, and looking forward to next time.