Good donut, bad donut

It is early morning in mid winter. I type not knowing what to write but knowing that I should write. So here I am trying not to disturb the cat on my lap and attempting to ignore the hunger growling in my stomach.

Coffee would be good but again that would require me to get up and disturb the cat, this not disturbing the cat thing is not going so well. Too bad the cat just won’t volunteer to make coffee but that would be ridiculous; no one makes it strong enough for me, not even my cat who my daughter named Mocha after my coffee addiction.

Doesn’t that look absolutely delectable?

Now visions of hot dark strong coffee with very liberal doses of cream flood my mind…

Yummmmm

Who brought the donuts up? I have no donuts at home. I have a fondness for donuts, just glazed usually or sometimes an apple fritter is nice. Jelly filled is not my thing, too unpredictable, could explode on you at any time.

“Weird donuts near me”

There is a donut place in the city where I live. It has mediocre donuts but outstanding marketing. It sells “interesting”donuts and has set itself up as a tourist destination. This place has acquired long lines of vacation people with time on their hands and money to spend. These people then proceed to walk around town cumbered by these tell tale pink boxes of donuts, I can’t help but laugh

I googled : “weird donuts near me” I got the place. I won’t name it here.

The Bad

Bad donuts are just that. Bad. And although mediocre donuts are okay, good donuts are better but not so easy to find when you really need them. I am reminded of late night forays to convenience stores jonesing for a cruller or just a simple sugar ring only to be greeted by an old jelly-filled brown lump that sits alone under a half- warmish lightbulb snarling at you when you open the case.

The Good

Simple is good. Fresh is wonderful. Quality ingredients, consistency. No bright colors or anything oozing out. No sprinkles, no gimmicks; although I love bacon don’t put it on my donut.

mouthwatering…scrumptious…You donut know how much I love you!

Of course I am romanticizing it all but I do love a good donut. I love bakeries in general. ask anyone who really knows me and they will tell you. I am in love with that smell , that delicious aroma that emanates from them. It makes me sooooooo happy!!

I have a dream about owning a bakery someday. I am used to getting up early anyway. I used to call business owners in a previous job and I noticed that owners of bakeries seemed to be the happiest. And so in the interest of science and my growling stomach I googled the best donuts in the world. I got a list showing the best donuts in the US and much to my surprise and delight I found the number two to be in my city of Portland!

And we know where that is leading….

And so I will report back and let you all know how it goes…

Nancy

related articles

Why do we love the smell of bread? UCD scientists find the answer. by The Irish Times

The day that was never supposed to be

Sunlit Japanese Maple at my front door Credit SBI

Today is the day that was never supposed to be. It is a day where I am not where I am supposed to be and neither is MM. No, today we are not where we are supposed to be at all. Today we are thumbing our noses at convention and “the man”. We are sticking up for our rights to have a wee bit of control over our own lives. Today we made a choice. It was a collective one and one that  we did not enter into frivolously or without careful consideration. Today MM and I took a voluntary day off from work…gasp. How irresponsible and perhaps somewhat stupid to confess here for the “world’ to see. As if the powers that be have time to read my blog…haha.

More than likely whatever I say here won’t get farther than you and I. What is there to say? well….I am enjoying the hell out of myself.

I’m calling this day The Day That Was Never Meant To Be and I am determined to make this day count! I want this decision to stay home today and get a much-needed break from the daily grind that is grounding me down to be one of the smartest things I’ve ever done.

I awoke at the usual much too early…the still sleeping part of my brain was  able to persuade the only half asleep side of my brain that “runs” things, that today, a day off  was essential to my  physical and mental well-being  and life in general would be better for me and my family if I spent the day on life enhancing activities of the domestic variety.

We started our day off with a large cup of hot coffee; dark and satisfying. We giggled like school kids we talked of our daring defection and just how nice it was to relax. We lay in bed sipping coffee and enjoying the early morning sun streaming in the windows.

Here comes the Sun. credit SBI

I took out the camera and took some experimental happy shots around the house. This is my idea of fun.  The early morning sun makes for excellent ethereal pictures.  The birds were in the spirit singing their bestest which may have drawn the neighbors cats who paid a visit from up atop the fence.

I decided to do some barefoot gardening. Nothing strenuous; weeding, seeding and a bit of this and a bit of that.   The bees were going full buzz and I spent several minutes enjoying and admiring them before I returned to “work”

Scarlet Lily. credit: SBI

MM the dear and wonderful person,  did the dishes as has become his custom since I started my current job. He is a dedicated and special man who doesn’t get the recognition he deserves.  Thanks to his industry, the kitchen was spotless before we went out “exploring” which sounds exciting but really just involved  visiting an exotic place called the grocery store for a bag of Friskies and some grape soda before sneaking into a well-known fast food  joint that I never eat at for some inexpensive and satisfying coffee, yes the coffee is Ok in a pinch)

After the mid afternoon pick me up, I was back at it full steam and the rest of the day played itself out gloriously. Tasks that would have stricken me as mundane just a few scant months ago delighted me in their comfortable simplicity from one thing to the next, leading to a delicious cashew chicken dinner at home . We watched a  Classic Star Trek rerun. It was like seeing an old and dear friend you haven’t seen for a long time. I polished my nails (sparkly blue) and indulged in a big bowl of ice cream (Chocolate Brownie Thunder, YES!)

Credit: Public domain

We snuggled under the covers, Me, a good book and MM. It was an excellent day. It was just what I needed…

Am I glad I did it? Yes! Am I making excuses? Sure. But I must say this unexpected break from the daily grind let me have a chance to look at my situation with perspective.; my much too long commute is wearing thin on me. I am not a quitter but I am rational and can see my current lifestyle is unsustainable. So I did one more thing today; I revamped my resume, added some color and worked on some cover letters…who knows… I may be ready for a jump. Wish me luck!

Columbine, phlox and Johnny jump ups. Credit SBI

By the way, does anyone want to hire a tired and starving writer? I’m right here!

Have a good one.

Strawberryindigo.

😀

“The pessimist complains about the wind; the optimist expects it to change; the realist adjusts the sails.”
―     William Arthur Ward

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Nothing

I have countless notebooks jam-packed full of ideas and subjects to write about. I have  been blessed/cursed with an active imagination. So I’m sitting here thinking about what’s next, I must feel passionately about the subject at hand or the words don’t flow, it becomes strained and forced and there is no point to writing anything at all. Fortunately this rarely happens and when it does I just walk away and do something else. The time has to be right….

…and so this very afternoon I lament this to MM;  He has a gift for making my complicated little life dilemmas into simple bite-sized pieces that can be easier to chew but sometimes not so easy to digest..

I remarked in passing how I felt like writing (Ha, big surprise) but that I didn’t know what about. Currently I’m in a layed-back Sunday mood although it is a Tuesday, it feels like it anyway. It is cloudy and cool and I am listening to some soft melodic guitar music. The coffee is hot and it’s black and I shouldn’t be drinking it but what the hell it’s Sunday…I mean Tuesday and life is too short…

…and so I am sitting here and I lament all this to MM.

Have I mentioned what a wise person he is? Well this wise person suggests that I should write about nothing….  At times I  have foolishly resisted his advice but today I’m taking it.

This may sound a bit difficult to write about nothing but I am always up to a challenge like that. So as MM carefully crept out the door and down the hallway and I, like a dog with a bone, set out to write about my just found obsession: Nothing.

I know that MM knows I will be tapping along for a while; at least 400 or so words at a stretch. He knows I can’t help myself and that I will be distracted with this very thing: Nothing.

And as I’m tapping along MM goes and does the dishes…without my knowledge, under my very nose…he’s like that you know. (sorry ladies, he’s taken)

And so, as this wonderfully lazy day goes on with me writing and pondering the deepest philosophical mysteries about nothing. MM has the satisfaction of knowing he’s doing a good deed all the while pulling one over on me in the process…

..and me? I’m going for my second cup of coffee….

Strawberryindigo.