Weekend Coffee Share......Come Sit with Me

It's another week of Weekend Coffee Share. I always love everyone's posts. Are you like me and try to visit everyone? It doesn't always happen but I try. I have loved getting to know different bloggers and I figure if they take the time to write a post, I'll find the time to visit, even if it's a week later. 

If we were having coffee we'd probably talk about:

The Weather: Well, it is finally feeling likes summer this week. Saturday and Sunday are supposed to be in the mid to upper 90's which for our area is hot and they issue a heat advisory. Many of you probably welcome 90 degree temps when you're used to temps over 100. Next week it's supposed to drop back to the 70's. Those temps are my happy place. Mid 70's!

What we're thinking about: My daughter went to the beach for a youth leaders retreat. She's supposed to be home late this morning and we're supposed to into our nearby city, Vancouver, WA, to spend a few hours together. There is map I found awhile ago of all the downtown murals and I've wanted to go find them. I've always loved murals and one thing we did when we were in NY was find certain ones. once I joined Weekend Coffee Share I was always inspired by the fun ones Natalie posts. I knew Vancouver had many and I thought it would be something fun to do with my youngest daughter. Hoping it works out, but we'll see. I love spending time with my girls together, but I also look forward to my time with them one on one. For Mother's Day I knew they were both trying to save money so I said that instead of a gift, I'd love to just spend time with each of them doing something fun. 

As I was driving through our small town the other day, I passed this mural on the side of the bar and grill, so I stopped and took a photo. If we go out today, next week I'll share any photos I take. 

What we're thankful for: Friends and family. Last night we gathered at my In-laws house with about 15 others to visit with friends who were visiting from South Africa. We met this couple in 2010 and we don't see them near enough, but they are the friends who just pick up where you left off, they are truly a beautiful couple. We got caught up on life, ate good food and they shared their hearts with us. We left refreshed. Taking time to keep friendships and family relationships nurtured (even if long distance) and fresh is so important. 

What we're reading or wanting to read: Our book club meeting about our true crime book was fun. We went out to dinner, and one of the gals (my daughters sister in law), actually lived where one of the crimes took place and she remembers hearing it on the news and drove by the coffee shop one of the girls worked at regularly. Yikes. I grew up in the area of the Green River Killer and that was always crazy. Anyways...we'll be picking our next book soon. Then I'm slated to put together a list of books to choose from in the fall. Our next book will kind of be a light reading, but the fall one will be a bit "heavier". I may look through some past posts of those posting the What's on Your Bookshelf. In the meantime, I started and finished a book by Karen Barnett, called "The Road to Paradise". I really enjoyed it. It was so descriptive and filled with quotes. I ordered another one from the library so I'm waiting for it come in. I think it's her book Where the Fire Falls. She has 3 books in the Vintage National Parks series. The first one was about Mt. Ranier national park which I loved because I live in Washington so it was fun to read. I'm just about done with the e-book, Permelia Cottage. I should finish it this weekend. Then I'll pick a new one to read. I'm right on track with my Goodreads 2022 reading challenge. 

Around the house: Concrete is done. Yay! Now it's driving my hubby nuts that the old concrete and new are so drastically different. It's on the plan to redo the old but it costs money so we need to save. We also have plans to build out about 10' from the back porch in one spot to make more of an entertaining space. It'll look cool, but again, money! My FIL is building a playset we bought for the grandkids. It should be done this weekend. After this...we're pretty much done for awhile. Oh and we got an outdoor patio set to sit around. At some point I'm dreaming of patio furniture all around the house on the porch, but again, time and money. Haha! 

In this photo you can see the difference in the colors of the new concrete and the old. They didn't make the old color anymore. Our hope is to strip the old part and stain it to hopefully get a better match to the new...

Playset being put together. Slowly but surely. 

Loving this outdoor patio set. 

From the kitchen: I made a favorite bbq bean and sausage dish last night for a potluck, and I made a new recipe that will definitely be a repeat, Chili lime chicken with mango and avocado salsa. Oh my!! So good and fresh tasting. Other than that, I didn't make anything new. I was a bit under the weather the beginning of the week so wasn't in the mood for cooking. 

Favorite quote of the week: Or recent theme for #WQW was the summer solstice. You can read my full post here. 

Favorite photo from the week: I took this screenshot of my daughter at work, that her work posted, because I think it's so cute! 

What we've listened to or watched: Last week was busy with babysitting the grandkids from Thursday through Sunday, then again on Wednesday and being a bit under the weather. I didn't watch much (other than kids shows) or listen to much. 

Randomness: Last Saturday we felt good enough and took the grandkids to our towns parade (the first one in 2 years). It was celebrating 100 years of Planters Day Festival. Our town has always been known as a farm town, from farming dairy cattle, to fruits and vegetable farms. But it also runs borders the Columbia River and dikes had to be built to protect the town from flooding. Here's an interesting video if you like history.

Here's a blurb from the city website:

Planters Days, first held in 1922, is the longest continuously running civic celebration in the State of Washington.

Planters Days is a four day festival, held in mid June, celebrating the completed construction of the dikes along the Columbia and Lewis Rivers preventing the annual flooding in the Woodland area. The festival is family centric, with entertainment for all ages. For more information, click on the link below

We have always loved attending and it was so sad when it had to be canceled the last few years. Below are some photos from this years parade. There have been years that we participated in the parade with floats, etc. It's always so fun. 

Lots of time spent with grandkids too since mom and dad were gone at a conference and we babysat. I also had to laugh...I've been trying to finish my puzzle that I've been working on far too long and my grandson said, "How about if you finish your puzzle I'll give you a thousand dollars"...too cute. I made sure I let my daughter know of his generous offer. 

Once the kids went home, I just went and sat and relaxed and read in a quiet house. 

Check out all the other posts on Weekend Coffee Share, hosted by Natalie the Explorer. I'm off to go visit some now. #weekendcoffeeshare

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin