Well all, it is that time again...
That's right, it's Cherry Blossom Festival time in Macon. Today is bright and sunny with a high in the mid 60s, and the blossoms have been blooming all over Macon, and all over my yard. And it is not only the cherry blossoms blooming, but the Camellias and Daffodils, too. On days like today, I can't help but harken back to my first Cherry Blossom Festival experience.
It was 2007. The day started of with a chance of rain, a heavy hoodie tied tight around my face, and a long line for pink pancakes. Yes, that is right. This, I thought, would be the most interesting part of such a small-town festival...I was wrong.
Only in Macon, GA, can you find a Cherry Blossom Festival Pet Fashion Show. A runway was constructed in the grass in the middle of an open field, and around the runway, happy pet owners milled excitedly, awaiting their turns to parade their respective pets around in front of the crowd and judges. There were pink, spray painted poodles, and daccsunds whose neck ribbons matched the ribbons in their owners' hair. There were bull dogs in tutus and cats in pink collars. I took in the cotton candy atmosphere, in complete disbelief. These animals were amazing. None were wearing pearls and riding in designer celebrity handbags...this was much more impressive.
I thought I had reached my most exciting moment at the festival, silently weighing the wonderment and attempting to choose my own personal pink pet winner. And then it happened...out walked an owner with a huge white duck, whose tail feathers were now light pink, trotting along on it's blossom-y leash.
Welcome to Georgia, my friends...welcome.
Friday, March 19, 2010
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Comfort in a Cup
Ok, today there is one big question on my mind.
I am sitting at Jittery Joe's, an independent coffee shop in Macon, Georgia, attempting to dig into my next big project (the cozy mystery series). Although the story is not flowing, my mind is. So here it is, the ever present mystery that has been weighing on my mind in every coffee shop, at every library coffee kiosk and gas station coffee bar...why is the disposable coffee cup such a draw?
Come on, it can't just be me. I have found myself leaving my office at the college, where I have deliciously gourmet coffee in a variety of flavors, like Raspberry Chocolate Kiss and Peppermint, and fancy hand-painted travel mugs in bright colors and funky designs, and I venture to the library for an overpriced cup of not-as-delicious Joe. But, I find that I am inexplicably happy. I walk back across the campus, sipping from a hole in the nondescript plastic lid, the warm, recycled sleeve clutched in my greedy, but contented little hand. And in this moment, I am no longer on the campus, at least not Fort Valley State University's. Instead, I am on an adventure. A rich, coffee smelling adventure. Suddenly everything I see is new. The dirty old building become urban, the thumping R&B music pouring from the boy's decrepit dorm hints of excitement and movement. This place is not Middle-of-Nowhere Georgia, but some New York or Toronto-like city and I am hidden in the crowd, just another faceless sipper from the disposable cup.
Really, it has become an obsession of mine. I've gone as far at to look online for look-alike travel mugs, the most promising find, a plain white ceramic mug with a silicone lid. This is not acceptable. I know, even before ordering it from Amazon. It's missing the quirky design, the paper sleeve. it would not feel the same against my upper lip and nose. The silicone would feel odd, my mouth used to a thin plastic.
So, to all of you out there in the blog-reading world, I ask, what is it about the disposable coffee cup?
I am sitting at Jittery Joe's, an independent coffee shop in Macon, Georgia, attempting to dig into my next big project (the cozy mystery series). Although the story is not flowing, my mind is. So here it is, the ever present mystery that has been weighing on my mind in every coffee shop, at every library coffee kiosk and gas station coffee bar...why is the disposable coffee cup such a draw?
Come on, it can't just be me. I have found myself leaving my office at the college, where I have deliciously gourmet coffee in a variety of flavors, like Raspberry Chocolate Kiss and Peppermint, and fancy hand-painted travel mugs in bright colors and funky designs, and I venture to the library for an overpriced cup of not-as-delicious Joe. But, I find that I am inexplicably happy. I walk back across the campus, sipping from a hole in the nondescript plastic lid, the warm, recycled sleeve clutched in my greedy, but contented little hand. And in this moment, I am no longer on the campus, at least not Fort Valley State University's. Instead, I am on an adventure. A rich, coffee smelling adventure. Suddenly everything I see is new. The dirty old building become urban, the thumping R&B music pouring from the boy's decrepit dorm hints of excitement and movement. This place is not Middle-of-Nowhere Georgia, but some New York or Toronto-like city and I am hidden in the crowd, just another faceless sipper from the disposable cup.
Really, it has become an obsession of mine. I've gone as far at to look online for look-alike travel mugs, the most promising find, a plain white ceramic mug with a silicone lid. This is not acceptable. I know, even before ordering it from Amazon. It's missing the quirky design, the paper sleeve. it would not feel the same against my upper lip and nose. The silicone would feel odd, my mouth used to a thin plastic.
So, to all of you out there in the blog-reading world, I ask, what is it about the disposable coffee cup?
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