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| Molino del Rey |
| We met Tony Arnold in the early 80's in Berlin , West Germany . When we got married three years later in Nicosia , Cyprus, we decided to go back to Berlin for our honeymoon , where our romance started . Many friends and some relatives made every day of our vacation unforgetable. Tony simply handeled us the key to his apartment where we stayed for over 30 days. This was the last time that we saw each other. A few years later Tony moved to Spain , where he bought a parcel of land with a simple old water mill building. Tony's unselfish and generous personality and his sensativity to beauty make today's Molino del Rey a fascinating place to see and experience. If you decide to visit Molino del Rey, please give Tony and Lidiya a big hug from us. |
| PERFECT VACATION |
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| Coffee Talk NEWS |
| Coffee Talk NEWS |
| still free ( ! ) wireless internet at COFFEE TALK |
| 507 W.Marshall St. Norristown, PA 19401 Phone : 610 .272.4811 |
| The Norristown Arts Building is an environment where art can be made, shown and taught. Founded in 1996 by Timothy Hawkesworth and Ellen Berenholz - have 20 private studios and a teaching facility for drowing / painting workshops and studio residencies. These programs are run by Timothy Hawkeworth. |
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| "... Yoga Living is more than a magazine,its a holistic community ! ..." |
| distributed at COFFEE TALK |
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| Created and hosted by Aleksandra Eigen for Coffee Talk |
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| PERFECT VACATION |
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| June 2009 - on the front of Coffee Talk |
| Ray Naylor |
| Ray Naylor |
| Ray Naylor is a performing songwriter from the Philadelphia area. He has been performing since 1980, playing in venues ranging from small coffeehouses to the Philadelphia Folk Festival in 1997. His songs range from funny to heartfelt. In addition to his own material, Ray also performs Songs from other artists. Ray's style of songwriting has been most influenced by the singer / songwriters from the 1960's, such Phil Ochs and Jerry Jeff Walker. Ray has been heavily involved in the acoustic music scene in the Philadelphia for many years, not only as a performer, but also as a manager of other songwriter, venue booker, and concert promoter. Ray's first CD, called "Slow Cooker" was released in 2003, and he is currently recording his second CD, to bereleaased by the end of 2009. For more information on Ray Naylor go to his web site: www.raynaylor.net . Coffee Talk is proud to host Mr. Naylor in the short future -- |
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Our Amaizing Friend Richard Ladson |
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| Read Richards "Short Shorts" |
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| February 2010 in Norristown , PA |
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| The Winter Smile by Aleksandra Eigen |
| Each of those stoves was a real piece of art. Some of them had a little iron door in the middle, so we baked apples there or warmed our slippers ... The lower part of the stove had three small doors, one over the other, divided by grill-like shelves between them. To start the fire, the upper one was used. The second collected the ashes of the burned coal. while the third one collected all the dust and fine ashes. When the fire was at its peak, and the ceramic stove was hot and the whole room was very warm, the first little iron door changed its color to red. We called this "the winter smile". Then, after all the coal was burned, all three little doors and the chimney were ready to be closed. The ceramic stove was hot for hours and hours. My parents put two chairs next to the stove to keep their backs warm, and this how I got my introduction to the best world literature --- Zola, Hemingway, Dostoevsky, Hugo, Goethe, Lermontov, Mickiewicz ... We also sang to classical music, matching our tunes with the radio. |
| Cold winters, especially like this current one, make me think about great times in Poland, where winter is much longer and colder than in Pennsylvania. The truth is, that the only "great" is a fact that I was a half century younger and my only worry was how to get to school and back home. I am sitting in my house with my husband and two cats, enjoying the great performance of our brand new gas heat system that practically requires only knowledge of how to move the thermostat to the left or to the right. That's boring !!! In my glorious childhood, in our neighborhood we had ceramic coal stoves. Each room had one and in the kitchen there was a special stove - half gas, half coal. |
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| On one of the first spring afternoons we put the table in the front of the store and sipped |
| coffee, while watching sun spots with almost closed eyes. Frankie arrived in one of those spots, holding his electric guitar, making noise with his portable amplifier hanging on his back. After some "sweet little talk" he sat with us and we all waited very quietly for the music, because Frankie equals music. It was hot and lazy. The music started to come from out of his nose and then trough his mouth ... nothing specific, just some southern tunes. His body started to wave, dictating the slow rhythm. Before he started to sing he just extend one of the tunes to eight or nine of them and added: " O-o-o-o-y-e-e-e-h " ... Soon kids started just staring at him and we all began to sing a little bit, imaginingthat we all are Frankie. Then Mr. Skip Stephens put his bicycle against the tree and reached into his pocket for small harmonica ... Cliff Noble slowly walked up the street, attract by the music. He held two teaspoons and he sat on the front step, and he started to wave his body and make a delicate noise with those spoons. All and everything around forgot the reality and we all sang and waved our bodies, and we were far from Norristown, we got to the "I Feel Peace Place". What a beautiful moment it was ... This was the moment that the blues got to my heart forever. A. Eigen - April 2010. |
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| The Power of Eggs |
| My friend Eva visited me on one of those hot August evenings. We had some fresh cherries, German chocolates and coffee.We shared intimately about our family members and making ourselves even more mindful of ... - we smoked cigarette after cigarette. We talk about our old homes, that we loved so much. I reached for an old album, with pictures of Torun, one of the most beautiful towns in Europe. We were fascinated with the art of architecture. "How did they build those big churches " Eva asked. I said: " I remember, that one of the bonding materials used by builders in the Middle Ages had been eggs. We always underestimated the power of eggs". Then we talked about home remedies; How to faith fleas, heal mosquito bites, what's the difference between black and green tea... We covered the family, work places and neighbors. Eva was dreaming about visiting hers Puerto Rico, I just wanted a trip to Europe. We have such a good time. And when we reached the zenith of feeling good, Eva said : "You know - I have such a great relationship with my Mom. I never have this with my Father. When I had been little, I remember him coming home drunk, he was biting my Mom and us. He was a nasty alcoholic. And then, one day he just stopped drinking and never bit my Mom again ... He was just sitting on the front porch hour by hour, did not talk to anyone. Fifteen years later he died in his sleep. " - How did he stop drinking with no detoxing ? I asked. We both, Eva and I, for years had been working for drug and alcohol rehab, and we have some knowledge about how it works. " Well ", she said, - my Mom explained this to me not long ago ". |
| The Power of Eggs |
| One evening the Father came home so drunk, that he passed out on the porch steps. Mom checked if he is still breathing -- he was. She smiled ... Than she walked to the kitchen, reached for a big ball, grabed from the fridge six eggs, separated the yellows from the whites, added some salt and beat the whites strong, until they became a solid foam. She moved so easy, kitchen was her therytory. She walked with the dish to the porch. She unzipped her husband pants, pulled his underpants down, and with the same smile and a big spoon, she started to spread the eggs on her abuser's naked lower body. Then she just pulled his pants up. She returned to the kitchen, cleaned the ball and spoon, made herself a cup of coffee, sat by the kitchen table and was ready to see the face of her man, her macho-Latino- abuser, the father of her children, her scum husband. She smiled. She knew that he will never ask or revile to anyone about that " yak - staff " in his pans. He will just wander forever. She was right. Eva said: " You reminded me of this story, when you said - never underestimate the power of eggs ". Then she reached for her cell phone and called her husband Eddy. She told him how much she loves him. |
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| Aleksandra Eigen - 2010 |
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| On one of this magic-like evenings, Miss Janina and her husband visited us. They were very quiet people. The husband was on disability because he had a coal miners sickness and was breathing heavy. They grew rabbits and sold them for meat. They were "few words" people. As a matter of fact, the only subject that they could talk was those rabbits. My Mom started a pot of coffee and served it with cookies. Two more chairs were moved closer to the stove. Everyone made comments about how the stove smiles and then we all talked about rabbits. When we woke up, Miss Janina and her husband were fully dressed in winter coats, ready to leave. Miss Janina said " It's time for us to go ... we still need to feed the rabbits". And " we added some coal to the stove --look, it still has the winter smile !" Dear People, they never learned how great my parents' embarrassment was. We got a rabbit for Christmas. It was delicious. |
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| Bob Dylan 70 ?!! |
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| In 1978 in Tel-Aviv, I saw for the first time the "Woodstock"" movie. At this time I was a political refuge from Poland, living in Israel. This movie was my introduction to young Americans, who were being rebellious in very different way from the rest of young people aroud the world. At this time I had no idea who hippies were, what freedom or the right to protest was. I did not know English then. Watching the movie, my focus was on music, colors, visible freedom ... It was a very strange movie, very shocking for me but in an amazing, positive way. I cannot count how many times I saw "Woodstock". And with todays technology I can watch it again and again. This how I learned about Bob Dylan's music. It was another 10 years before I started to understand the lyrics to my favorite American songs. Bob Dylan was the one with his own stile, courage and a way to "sing-out" his mind. He was expressing my thoughts and feelings. In 2002 Matthew Gordon, who together with Sandy and Paul Pluta and their band "Blue Moon" came with an idea to celebrate in May Bob Dylan's birthday. On May 28th, we celebrated Bob's birthday for the ninth time. We have all changed a little bit in those years and Bob is 70 ! The "Blue Moon" changed too - they are now the "Barn Swallows" ... We will see you all next year ... " May your hands always be busy May your feet always be swift May you have a strong foundation When the winds of changes shift May yourheart always be joyful And may your song always be sung May you stay forever young ..." Happy Birthday Bob. Aleks Eigen- May 2011 |
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| photo curtosy of Matt Gordon |
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| . Blues and Jazz at COFFEE TALK |
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| For over fifteen years we have musical events at Coffee Talk. Each of them is unique and not comparable. We love them all. Approximately once a month, we decide on a date and time for an event, and I make a new flyer and I hang it in the front window. Then I carefully check who reads the flyer. My mood changes with the facial expressions of the readers. Then - a day or two before the scheduled date, familiar and new faces start to "pop-in". The questions are the same: "Do you have equipment? " --" What is the entrance fee ?" -- "Can I play ? " ... Before an evening starts, there is a lot of chaos, almost a dance of connecting all the wires, trying the instruments, finding the right, the most comfortable place, and then ... somebody gives the first tone and the music starts. The musicians are talking between themselves in this mysterious language of music. Very quickly their natural talent and love for music makes their harmonies perfect. And the rest of us ? We just can enjoy every unforgettable moment of this magic. |
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| Music ... |
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