This is the fifth day John has been playing with trains in middle Tennessee, and he is due home tonight. I thought you might like to know what I get up to when left alone at home. The first thing, every day, is walking. If left to its own devices, the body would persuade the mind to stay in bed, so I dress before the override occurs. This is a Western view of the mountains that we don’t see from the house. I walked down the steep hill and was almost on the floor of the valley when I noticed the play of sunlight on the ski area.
After I crossed the four-lane highway, almost in front of the firehouse, my right knee did a wobble. It happens about three or four times a year. Ummm. John was almost 300 miles away, and neighbor Joyce was in Georgia. If I walked carefully, maybe I could make it the mile home without bothering anyone for a ride. Yes! No problem.
It’s rare, but sometimes I forget to take two pills when I get up. I shouldn’t eat for an hour after taking them. Instead of eating breakfast when I got home, I took a shower and found the storm glass that friend Karen had given me was looking interesting. It was willing to pose, but I fiddled with the background to show it to advantage.
Meals are interesting with John gone. He eats nearly everything, so I have things that he might opt out of if he were here. Liking things crisp, I threw a corn tortilla in the toaster while frying an egg. Living up to its name, it was toast – burned. The birds didn’t seem to mind it. I watched the next one carefully, added a slice of pepper Jack cheese, the egg, and raw onion. I put too much salsa on the plate, so the last bite was an overload that almost caused steam to come out of my ears. The coffee could have passed for very hot water until I drank half of it. The coffee deserves mention though, it being something John wouldn’t touch unless he were desperate. It was Deluxe MOONPIE ground coffee.
The bag had this explanation on it:
There’s flavored coffee, then there’s MoonPie-flavored coffee – that classic chocolatey graham + marshmallow taste profile, timeless and proven in appeal, craved for generations.
The original MoonPie was born out of a 1917 conversation between a Chattanooga Bakery salesman and an Appalachian coal miner who was looking for a tasty, filling snack that would fit in his lunch pail. Nicknamed “the working man’s lunch,” the MoonPie grew from a Southern favorite to an American heritage brand that’s been featured in movies, country songs, and happy family moments ever since. Nearly a million MoonPies are now made daily.
The second cup of coffee did have a hint of sweet chocolate. It wasn’t as good as the discontinued Ingles’ brand of Raspberry Chocolate decaf, but it was fun for a change. Best of all, John didn’t have to roll his eyes at my indulgence.
The rest of the day will be spent reading and replying to email, transplanting Lamb’s Ears in the garden, eating a hamburger for lunch, napping, working the crossword and jumble puzzles, reading the newspaper, and playing a piece on the piano with “May” in the title. If there is any time left, I’ll read an ebook. Days have a habit of running out too soon.
Mehrling Muse 
So you sneak in flavored coffees? My husband will only drink plain or hazelnut. Nothing too fancy for him!
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I drink almost anything that has coffee in the name. You’ll be pleased to know that I’ve already received a Mother’s Day gift from John — re-loading of a Starbucks gift card. I don’t indulge as often as you do, so it will last for weeks.
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That’s the best gift of all!
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I’ve never heard of that coffee but will have to try to find it. Moon-pies used to be my favorite snack.
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MoonPie coffee is put out by Fleetwood. It’s from Chattanooga. On the bag it says it is sold in Ingles grocery stores, but I doubt you have them near you. I think they are only in the mountains in this area.
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Anne
I never heard of Moon pies before.
Seems like a good time was had by all.
And the best sentence of all ” Days have a habit of running out too soon”. I understand that – so well.
Where does the time go ?
Loved your post of today.
Susie
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Thank you, Susie. It was fun to write it. MoonPies are large cookie-like things that are individually wrapped. I presume they are still in stores around here. We never had them at home, even though I grew up in the South. Once or twice I bought one at the swimming pool. when I was a child MoonPies would have been displayed with candy, gum, and junk food. I MUST look to see if they are sold where I bought that coffee.
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hmmm, Moon-pie coffee….interesting. I usually drink black coffee, something left over from when as teenagers we drank black coffee because we thought it was “cool.” There is a packet of creamer with some kind of “French” flavor….not vanilla, kind of a bistro flavor. I know that’s not a flavor. It came from a box with several assorted flavors of instant coffee…something about “international” in the name..
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If you habitually drink black coffee, you probably wouldn’t be interested in MoonPie coffee. I like black coffee chilled, but hot, it needs milk or cream. John claims he drinks it like the good Lord made it. There is a slight judgment of me in that statement, but I’m used to being cast in the sinner’s circle. Bring on the creaminess!
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I will add that unless its really good coffee it tends to be bitter sometimes. Heavy creamer helps, but I prefer plain old coffee OR occasionally a fancy “coffee”
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I drink plain old coffee most of the time, but while John was gone I drank a whole pot of odd things every day. Maybe I should ask him if he thinks I’m still sane after splashing out like that. On the other hand, perhaps I don’t want to know.
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Sounds like the makings of a lovely day, in spite of your wobbly knee situation! I applaud you for making the most of your John-free day! My John (bf of 1.5 years) lives 700 miles away… Although my days are *physically* John-free, they sure aren’t *virtually* so, since we text, Kik (like Facetime or Skype), and yak on phone til all hours. Makes us realllly appreciate each other when we finally do get together, which isn’t too often. Costs a lot of $, of which we both have little.
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Oh, dear! 700 miles is a LONG distance.
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*Too* long!
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My goodness. Your day sounds wonderful. I hope you’re having a good one.
The weather predictor looks like it may be sick. I hope you don’t depend on that thing!
And poor Snot. What a beating she took. So glad nobody was in the car when the tree hit.
Xxxooo, Karen
Sent from my iPad
>
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I didn’t believe the cellphone weather when I wrote that I was going to work in the garden today. It has rained cats and dogs ever since. John just texted that he is leaving his friend’s house and should be here by 8 tonight. He won’t if he has this rain all the way!
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Moonpie coffee sounds wonderful! So does the chocolate raspberry! Your day sounds like the days I love! I hope this comment comes through-we are having internet problems due to the storm. loved your post as always!
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Your comment was here for me to see. Thank you. I keep hoping they will bring back the chocolate raspberry coffee. There was nothing else like it.
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I bet it smelled amazing too!!
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We never needed air freshener when brewing chocolate raspberry coffee!!! I’m surprised it didn’t draw the neighbors like a magnet.
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If I were a neighbor . . . haha!
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If you were a neighbor, I’d EXPECT you to drop in for coffee. What fun that would be!
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xx-yes!
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Used to be when Pete was gone a few days playing with dulcimers, he would home to find one of our rooms a different color. Now he takes me with him. LOL
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Oh! That is something! I wouldn’t dare do that. John might leave until the whole house was repainted.
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I have heard of Moon Pies but never really knew what they were. You sound like me….when Lar is not home for a meal I tend to have things he does not care for like pasta, Mexican etc. I figure when he is around we can go back to meat and potatoes.
The picture taken on your walk is absolutely beautiful! What a view.
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John and Lar share a dislike of Mexican food, I see. I might eat pimiento cheese, a corn dog, butter beans. black-eyed peas, Thai dishes, or anything spicy like sausage when John is not here. We’d do alright together on a ladies’ night out, wouldn’t we?
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We would do great! Lar is not a spicy food person at all. Pizza is as wild as he gets!
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Sounds like you keep pretty busy when John isn’t home.
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I can talk whether anyone is with me or not! I spent a fair bit of time doing the monthly backup of the computers and working on a laptop upgrade. Reading an ebook also took time, and that’s something I don’t do when John is here. We generally chat during and after meals three times a day. He fills me in on breaking news, because he listens to streaming NY radio stations much of the day. I keep him up to date on news of far-flung friends and relatives that I get from email. We have a relaxed lifestyle that suits us in our retirement years. I say relaxed, but a Southerner wouldn’t think so. I grew up in Tennessee, but John was born in Brooklyn and raised in Queens. He still has a lot of drive to get things done. I’m used to it. He still walks like a New Yorker, too.
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I don’t think that you ever lose the walk when you transplant.
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It is good to be weary of wonky wobbles while walking.
Happy you made it home fine… although YIKES… the tostada breakfast and Moon Pie coffee has me questioning some of your culinary tastes. But then, what do I know?
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I eat mostly ordinary things, Ellen. It’s great fun to write about the unusual ones, though. My menus when John is away would make anyone laugh.
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Oh Anne, I love your posts. Funny you mentioned coffee because I always think of you like that…someone enjoyable to snack with or drink coffee with…a friend.
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Wouldn’t it be marvelous if we lived close enough to have coffee together? While I was working, there was never enough time for family, much less friends. You grabbed what time you could and were grateful for it. Now there is time!!!! I find myself thinking of you and my other favorite bloggers who have added a new dimension to my life. You are with me longer than I sit at the computer, and that is saying a lot!
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Thanks so much Anne…the same is true with me.
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Nice Share Anne.
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My husband will only drink his coffee BLACK and to me that is YUCK! I have to have some flavor even if it’s just milk/cream and sugar. I had never heard of Moonpie coffee… most flavored coffees that I’ve tried just aren’t sweet enough. As much sugar as I use it’s no wonder I only drink a cup every now and again. I take after my Mamaw. ❤
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I sweeten flavored coffee a bit, too. If coffee tasted as good as a newly opened bag, surely we could drink it straight.
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I guess I’m more of a tea fan than coffee, but I don’t have either one very often.
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Thanks for sharing! My heart sank when I read about your knee wobble with John 300 miles away and your neighbor in Georgia. I’m glad you made it home on your own!
P.S. Your dynamic with John sounds allot like me and my wife with food. I’ll eat anything and she likes all her food a certain way.
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Do two “eat-everything” people ever marry each other?
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Nice post and a sadly true ending, days certainly do run out too quickly. I haven’t seen a moon pie in a long long time!
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I suspect I haven’t seen a Moon Pie because I wasn’t looking. After writing about the Moon Pie coffee, I was aware of the brand. I was very surprised to find boxes of them in Aldi’s! Most of the things on their shelves are house brands, but there was the Moon Pie box staring at me!
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Ok! with the moon pies. Being from Mississippi, I had moon pies and RC colas frequently growing up. After becoming an adult I had a friend show me how to put it in the microwave and watch closely as the marshmallow filling slowly begins to puff up. What a warm treat with a cup of coffee. We were traveling when I read your earlier post about moon pies and at the very next service station stop, I found the moon pies, got one and wow! had forgotten how good they are. Oh dear. The more you write, the more I have to go right now and warm one up with a cup of coffee. Sorry, no Moon Pie coffee, but I do have Delta Blues Southern Pecan pie coffee. Sounds like a match made in heaven. Will think of you as I indulge. blessings!
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You’ve had a Moon Pie!!!! Good for you! I forgot to look in Walmart the other day. I last had one years before microwave ovens were on the market. Now I simply must find a Moon Pie and nuke it like you did. I’ll bet the grandsons will join me in eating that. Your Delta Blues Southern Pecan Pie coffee has a name that is a mouthful. I’m drooling over that. Thanks for sharing your Moon Pie experience.
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