Celebrating Good Coffee and Great Friends

It is very early in the morning as I enter the kitchen, flip on the light, and immediately push the "on" switch of the coffee maker. As the smell of the coffee fills my kitchen, I slowly start the wake-up process. For me coffee is far more than a simple beverage. The very aroma of fresh-ground coffee beans carries with it a whole bundle of feel-good sensations: warmth, comfort, friendship, relaxation, hospitality, intimacy.

Here is the coffee display that graces the wall of the entry way into my kitchen. Gifts from dear friends who just happen to know me well, possibly because they too are fellow coffee drinkers. "Come over for a cup of coffee, " we say to our friends. What we really mean is, "Let's spend some time together talking." An invitation for coffee is synonymous with an offer of friendship; it means we want to take time to get to know each other better. In our culture, drinking coffee together has somehow become one of friendship's building blocks, a small and casual ceremony that brings us closer to each other. " ---paragraph from "Coffee Talk", author unknown

"One of the most beautiful qualities of true friendship is to understand and to be understood." --Seneca "When friends meet, hearts warm." ---Proverb Thank you dear God for all of the special coffee breaks that I have with friends...whether for 15 minutes or the rare ones that last for hours ...it is one of my most treasured pasttimes.