Birds, vampires, and really good coffee

Dave is leaving for New York for a week beginning tomorrow (June 12) and will return on the 19th. I hope he doesn't miss the Gilliam's visit. He'll be back for Father's Day and his birthday. Wish Mama and Jake and his crew could be here for that.

Kel and I have been enjoying the joys of Starbucks. Mocha frappacino. Yum. Caffe latte. Double yum. We have also found a WONDERFUL place to eat called Mimi's Cafe. We took Dave there for breakfast this morning. Kelly had Pain Perdue, which is french toast stuffed with cream cheese and orange marmalade. She let me try a bite. Unbelievable. Dave had corned beef hash and poached eggs. I had eggs benedict made with blue crab cakes instead of ham. Exquisite. Kelly and I had mimosas. It is almost worth the trip out here for the food. Sadly, for pudgy me. Sigh. (Burp).

The weather here is cool and there are wonderful breezes. Not much sun; lots of cloud promising rain that never comes. And everything is in wild bloom here. It is so strange and so beautiful.

Speaking of strange and beautiful... I am getting new neighbors. Sadly, the obnoxious young drunk downstairs is not moving away. No, the sweet and quiet Maria and her hubby next door have left us, for greener pastures, I hope. I think I have caught a glimpse of my new neighbors. I spend a lot of time in the office, which is on the corner of the building, and I usually keep the shades open during the day, so I see a lot- and a moving van is hard to miss. I watched an amazing number of furniture pieces and boxes being pulled from that van all day yesterday and yesterday evening, just as the sun was setting, I think I saw the neighbors. They were very tall and very slim, dressed entirely in black, with long, silky black hair, both of them looking like models for a style that could be called Transylvania meets Urban Cowboy. Kind of goth buckaroos. Beautiful, but scary. And I have only seen them at night, which gives me pause. I must remind Dave and Kelly to NEVER invite them in should the occasion arise. I think I have garlic...

I have the window next to my desk open. I have been missing bird sound since I got here. From my window I hear vehicles and music and loud conversations but not much in the way of bird sounds. Today, however, I had two lovely moments with the California avians. I watched a dove building a nest in the inner courtyard by the elevator. She was so close to me I could have touched her- habituated to people and unimpressed with me, at any rate. The other moment came through this window that is now permitting a night breeze to brush past me. This afternoon, during an unexpectedly quiet period, I heard the songs of birds. It made my day.

It also made me homesick. In Tullahoma, my house is set back from the road and protected by a stand of woods from street and neighbor sounds. My living room juts into the woods at the back of the house and I can not only watch birds fly back and forth between the trees but I can hear their clipped, musical conversations. From my kitchen, I can watch them congregate at the bird feeder, and see and hear hummingbirds argue over the lush red liquid in their feeder. Titmice have tried to drink the hummer's food- too silly. And the obligatory squirrels tamper with the bird feeder, but that's okay- seed in the garden for the ground feeders. My bird books reside in the kitchen bookcase, close at hand. Simple pleasures.

Watching the birds makes me think of Pat, who loved bird watching. The great and good ladies of the GFWC Centennial Woman's Club of Tullahoma took up a collection and placed two memorial books in the Coffee County Lannom Memorial Library in his memory. I can't think of a better remembrance. He would be so tickled. I need to get my binocs with my books when I get home. In the meantime... I wonder if the new neighbors fly?