Happy Halloween!
If you are looking for some Halloween themed coffee drinks, Yummly features ten delightful coffee drinks you may want to try. The one pictured below is called Black Cauldron and features an unusual mix of ingredients.
Month: October 2016
The Gulf Fritillary butterflies have returned and their larvae are VERY hungry!
Earlier this year we had the Gulf fritillary butterflies come make themselves at home on my passion vines. Their larvae pretty much defoliated my vines and it was a battle. They seemed to have moved on during the summer, but are now back with a vengeance, once again happily eating my passion vines. They also like flitting around the cypress vines and mist flowers, which is very pretty to watch.
This year the vines produced fruit. We counted eight passion fruit today. I hope the larvae do not like to eat that too.
Dragon Thursday
Good morning.
Captured moments – wildlife camera
We have a lot of wildlife around our home. We decided to set up a wildlife camera , threw out some scraps and waited to see who showed up. This is what we found.
We had not thrown out any scraps when she came by. I think she was a little surprised. 🙂
We also have a fox. Well, we know we have more than one. Before we realized that they would hunt during the day, we started losing chickens. We soon found out that a fox had a den close to our house with four adorable pups. Well fed pups. We now have a different chicken coop and a more controlled free range schedule.
This possum, we have named One eyed Jack. Here, he is chasing a bug.
This is a younger possum
We also have raccoons.
I am happy that we have not seen any coyotes. They tend to not come up near our property. It has definitely been interesting to see what is happening when we are not around.
Coffee Monday
Good morning!
This past week I had the pleasure of exploring Kansas City, Missouri while attending GRL 2016. It is a beautiful city with so many things to do. On the first full day that I arrived, a group of us ventured to the City market. In the back corner there is a cool little coffee shop called City Market. It is small and filled with the wonderful aroma of their on site roasted coffees. They also serve pastries and assorted breakfast foods. I went there several times while visiting Kansas City and it was always busy.
We took the streetcar from our hotel to the market. One of the first things I noticed about the market area was it is very clean and well organized. Vendors were setting up for the day on the first morning. We stopped by a Mediterranean grocery and the fragrances were amazing. Then I found City Market Coffee House
One of the local customers suggested the Cubano coffee or a macchiato. I tried the Cubano. It was rich and delicious.
Overall it was a very enjoyable place to visit. There is some seating inside, with a outside patio behind the shop and seating along the walk way in front, facing the market. I suspect that the weekends are the busiest and be prepared to wait. I have not included a link to their website. When I try to go to the site , I get a warning. You may have better luck. Google is a wonderful thing. 😉
When you visit Kansas City, be sure to take the street car to City Market, It is a fun experience and the ride is free. The weekends have local artisans, music, and many restaurants to explore. Be sure to grab a cup of your favorite brew and explore.
Melyna
Dragon Thursday
Good morning from GRL 2016 in Kansas City, Missouri!
Olivia and HueMan
Coffee Monday
Dragon Thursday
Last week I decided to have some fun with my logo, Albert Phineas Drache. The awesome Catherine Dair created him and I decided it was time to get a little creative myself. I love the saying “I’m a Book Dragon! Not a worm”. I have seen this all over the internet and thought to search it’s origin. What I found was a lovely book titled A Book Dragon by Donn Kushner. This most likely has absolutely nothing to do with the saying other than it is a book loving dragon. I found the book used on Amazon and bought the hardback edition with dust jacket. It is in great condition. I received the book yesterday and have not had time to read it. I am very excited. The illustrations are beautiful.
Title: A Book Dragon
Author: Donn Kushner
Publisher: Henry Holt and Company
Publication date: April 1988
Length: 197 pages
Genre: Literature, Fiction, Teens
Design & Cover Illustrations by : Nancy Ruth Jackson
Summary: Nonesuch, the last in a line of dragons, uses his unique ability to change in size to survive for six centuries, during which time he observes such different humans as a medieval monk, an eighteenth-century London chemist, and a modern American bookseller.
Color Illustration from back dust jacket. This illustration appears throughout the book in black and white.
Back of dust jacket
About the Author
I found this paper coaster from the Hotel George, London in between the pages of the book.
Illustration from the book.
Two Dragons – illustration from the book
I will post a couple of the designs I came up with soon. Off to read about dragons. 😉
Melyna
Coffee Monday
Good morning,
Last week Coffee Monday had a little something sweet to go with your coffee. Today I found a neat idea for making the house smell divine. The idea came from a link on Pinterest. This was under a blog post on a site called Chasing Foxes titled 7 Brilliant DIY Scents That Will Make Your Home Smell Amazing.
A Coffee Vanilla Scent hack.
I wonder what other fragrances could be used? This makes a nice center piece too. The other ideas in the article are geared towards the holidays and sound like wonderful ways to naturally add fragrant scents to your home.
Another one I found was a tutorial for Homemade coffee candles on Art Ideas Crafts.com
The instruction seems easy and the result is definitely coffee themed.
I am torn about using coffee beans for something other than my morning cup of coffee. I can definitely say that a fresh brewed pot of coffee makes the house smell wonderful and evokes pleasant memories. These ideas would be nice way to recreate that lovely feeling.
Melyna
Dragon Thursday
This week in my search for all things dragon. I ran across an Etsy shop that makes and sells dragon wings for bearded dragons. I am not familiar with the care and keeping of reptiles, but this bearded dragon looks very majestic with its dragon wings. (Pretty adorable, really)
You can find out more at 
Coffee and Captured Moments 