If We Were Having Coffee on the 16th of January, 2021

34 Replies

Hello and Welcome! Come on in. I have a large table in the formal dining room that I almost never use where we can stay socially distanced. I’ll grab you a super strong dark roast, a cuppa tea, hot cocoa or other beverage. Yeah, we have to be inside because it is pouring out there! It is a cold rain, but not freezing, luckily! Where are we? Although I haven’t used it in a while, some may recognize the photo at the top as being from NH.

This was an odd week. I had training on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. My work days ended up being 9 AM – 6 PM those days. Might not seem bad to you, but I am typically done with my day at 3:30 and love that free afternoon to get stuff done. I also usually take several short breaks during the day, but there was pretty much just a long lunch break. Yes, I could get stuff done in the morning, but the mornings were packed full. So I felt I got zippo accomplished this week. The class was pretty good, and I did get a lot out of it, so not wasted time. Still…

I am in the final out-loud read through of my book, The Old Mill, so should start formatting this weekend.

I did play my electronic instruments a little, but not much.

I did almost no blogging at all. I did the Weekly Smile and Friday Fictioneers. I did not visit many blogs at all.

There were some dog walks and dog play, but not what they are used to (dogs are ruled by routine).

I did exercise some, though not as much as usual. I was able to get a run in on Friday after work (I run in the cold, but when it is less than 20 F/-7 C and the air feels moist, so you are cold, no matter how you dress, it is not great running weather, which is why I only run in the afternoon during the winter. And it is dark by 5, so… Also still dark until well after 7 AM).

I did a bit of outside of work learning (math and science that I previously talked about), so that was good.

I also made a huge batch of chili, which was great. I usually make vegan chili, but I did put a little (no hormone, no antibiotic, grass feed, etc.) hamburger in it. There is still the typical veggies, of course. It’s good.

Anyway, it was an odd week overall. Not necessarily bad, but not great either.

That’s about it. Despite the rain, I have a lot to do today, some to make up for what I didn’t do during the week!

Thanks for stopping in. If you have a coffee share, I will try to stop by.

Natalie the Explorer is now the host of the weekend coffee share and she is doing a wonderful job. Stop in at this week’s main share page or go to the InLinkz linkup to see all of the other shares!

34 thoughts on “If We Were Having Coffee on the 16th of January, 2021”

  1. Rowena

    Hi Trent,
    I think you might want to come round to my place this week. It’s 80 degree f here today and really sunny and I’m parked inside with the air-conditioning on and will head out later on tonight. Our kids have gone to camp for a few days so we can relax and head out to dinner etc. I’m really excited and am wanting to make the most of this time, and yet I found myself cleaning up my daughter’s room without her around to keep me out. Nothing like shooting myself in the foot, but it was bad and once I got started, it was hard to pull back. Went for a great walk yesterday along the beach and rock platform and will post more photos later today.
    Hope you’re not getting too affected by the political situation over there, although I don’t think it’s a good thing to switch off either. If the news is anything to go by, USA is in a lot of trouble. Being January here, we’ve sort of gone into a collective coma and will be back in February. Geoff has two weeks off work as well.
    Best wishes,
    Rowena

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      80 F sounds nice – warm, but not overly hot. It has been sunny here since the rain ended Saturday afternoon, so that’s been nice, though still cool. Well, not too cool for here in January, but cool.
      It sounds like you are moving into summer nicely, even if you have taken on that extra chore of cleaning your daughter’s room. I hope you continue to enjoy the good weather.
      The political situation here is pretty scary. And there are still people, and so called “news organizations”, telling lies and mistruths. Oh well. It has been stressful, but hopefully the events of January 6 are the worst.
      I hope you have a wonderful week!

      Liked by 2 people

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  2. dinah

    Hello!
    This is my third time trying to comment… Hopefully the third time is a charm! First of all… Your chili sounds wonderful. That is a favorite of mine! Glad you have your training in the rearview mirror now. Hope you have a great week ahead!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      It made it! I don’t know what happened to the other two – I don’t see them in spam. The chili is delicious. i make chili a few times a year and improve every I cook up a new batch. Hope you have a wonderful week!

      Liked by 1 person

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  3. Sagittarius Viking

    You have such high demands on yourself when it comes to blogging and writing! I happily settled for one post a week, when I work full time. If I post two I am super happy!! Best of luck with all your projects. I hope you are enjoying a great weekend, doing things you love, despite the rain outside.

    Liked by 2 people

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Yeah, I do like to get 6 posts in a week. I am actually only going to be down two, so not that much, but since I am a stats nerd, my numbers are all really low for the week. lol. I know I need to ignore stats but… I do most of my blog writing on breaks from work. A typical post takes 10 to 15 minutes, my Tuesday poems closer to 5 minutes, so very doable, since I am sitting at a computer all day while at work. I hope your weekend is going well and that you have a wonderful week!

      Liked by 2 people

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  4. Debbie

    Hi Trent, good to read about your week, hope things return to normal routines soon for you. I must say all the photos and blogs about the cold weather while it’s boiling hot here in Aus makes me feel a bit discombobulated! Visiting from Natalie’s weekend coffee share.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Hi! It is always fun to watch the opposite seasons from the opposite side of the world. On the other hand, I was just talking to someone in the SW US and it is really hot there as well, eve though ti is winter! I’m slowly working my way through the links, so if you’ve linked up there, I’ll most likely be by for a visit. Thanks for stopping by!

      Liked by 1 person

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  5. dprastka

    Thank you for the coffee and I totally understand the schedule changes and what happens with your time!! Crazy days still for me and with schedules but am happy even with the inconveniences I’m still able to sleep at night. I hope the weather will warm up a bit for you there for your outside activities! It’s warmed up here as it is 86F today! Hope you’re having a great weekend! 🤠

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      Yeah, I know you had a schedule change as well, though yours was longer lasting. If I remember, you are returning to your normal schedule this week. Hope it works out! 86. Wow. That is almost too warm for summer ;) Today will be in be mid-40s, but we are going to have a cold stretch ahead and even colder in about a week. Hope your weekend is going well and that you have a wonderful week!

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I try to stay busy, even when work doesn’t keep me straight out, like last week. Yesterday being a rainy hasn’t helped with the dogs, but they are ready go out now! Hope your weekend went well and that you have a great week!

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      This type of training is a fact of life, ans actually I usually do enjoy the classes, but they do mess with our system. One thing, what I do is pretty much “management”, so it is always fun to get my hands dirty, but the first day I felt really rusty! It was frustrating, though there were tons of errors in the instructions, so not 100% my fault. By Thursday, I was back into so noticed the mistakes and improvised without an issue, so much less frustrating and far easier! i was ahead of everyone else while doing labs on Thursday, so was able to drop notes in chat, so others were less frustrated as well… yes, here is to a more normal week. i hope you had a good week and have another good one coming up. If your coffee share is up, I’ll most likely stop by this evening or tomorrow AM.

      Liked by 1 person

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  9. Writing Sparkle

    9 to 6 sounds long to me. I love being able to do a 6 to 2 shift or a 7 till 3. I find anything much past 3 drags regardless of what time of day I start.

    I am going to tuck the out-loud read through away for a tip once I get further along in my novel. Thank you.

    Ah, chilli. Love it. I have a delicious vegetarian recipe but my family isn’t a fan so I don’t make it often. However, I switched the ground beef in the chilli they like to turkey so I feel like I am taking them in the right direction.

    Thanks for the virtual coffee!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      My typical work day is 8 1/2 hours, since, technically, there is a half of an hour for lunch on “my time”, so my day is 7 – 3:30. Perfect. I spent many years doing 6:30 – 3. I agree – the farther past 3 it gets, the harder time I have working. So these were long days.

      I do the chili by feel and have been getting better at it. This is a little hotter than usual, but I put in more jalapeño. I chop it super fine and sauté most of it with fresh garlic (chopped very fine) and onion. The rest goes in when I brown the meat. Turkey makes me sick, so a little beef now and then works, though I’m fine with pure vegan.

      Thanks for stopping in! I hope you have a wonderful week!

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Writing Sparkle

        I have to share this little chili story with you. You made me think of it when you said yours was a bit hotter then usual. The first time I made crockpot chili I called my cousin for her mother’s recipe. I’m not sure if I wrote it down wrong or she said it wrong but I ended up happily dumping a whole jar of hot peppers in and continuing on. What a surprise that was when it went in the mouth!! My poor husband didn’t know what to do with dinner that night, hahaha.

        Have a great week Trent.

        Liked by 1 person

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        1. trentpmcd Post author

          lol, I can imagine! When I first started playing with chili, I made a few very hot batches that were almost like that. Using a little on top of a lot of rice works! Hope you have a wonderful week.

          Liked by 1 person

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  10. Susanne

    Hello Trent, nice to meet you! A strong dark roast, please! How nice to make your own chili, we did that last week. Being a music geek, your mention of electronic instruments caught my interest. What are they?

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      A strong dark roast coming up… Funny that you just made chili as well. i make it two or three times a year, usually in the fall using fresh from the farm ingredient, but I also like to have it in the winter – something that warms you up on cold days.
      Music – For the last few years I have played mostly a modular synthesizer. I like the larger format – this is what is called MU, 5U or dotcom depending on who you ask. dotcom is actually a manufacture of modules (synthesizers.com, known as “dotcom”), and I do have some of their modules, but I also have modules from several other makers. That being said, I picked up a Sequential Prophet Rev 2 synth late last year and have been spending most of my time with that lately.
      Thanks for stopping by! Hope your weekend is going well.

      Like

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  11. bettylouise31

    I awoke to dense fog and it is cold out, but the sun is trying to break through the fog. The new medicine has helped a lot. My wheelchair should arrive this weekend and that will make me more mobile. Stay safe and have a relaxing day.

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      The rain finally stopped at around 2 this afternoon and the sun just came out (it is just after 4 on the east coast). Glad the new meds are helping and hope the new wheelchair does as well. Have a good week and stay safe.

      Liked by 1 person

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    1. trentpmcd Post author

      I used to cross country ski a lot, so I wear my XC ski clothing for running. Still, it helps that I am a northerner that enjoys cold weather ;) Cool about your audiobook! Good luck. I hope your weekend is going well.

      Like

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