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: It's still been cold and dry. Yesterday was fairly windy but I was at work and didn't notice as much, but there sure were a lot of leaves on the ground when I got home and I could hear the wind blowing out the window. I love that sound. I believe we're supposed to get rain starting Monday but it doesn't look like heavy rain. 

What we're thinking about: Well, mostly my to-do list, and a few other lists. Thinking about what I'm contributing to TG dinner (a dairy free dessert and green bean casserole). I've been thinking about some great posts that friends have shared on social media that are great food for thought. If we were in person, I'd pull up my FB and share their thoughts with you. I'll grab a few thoughts and share right here, but one shared a video and one had a backstory, so you're welcome to visit me on Facebook (Kirstin Bozich Troyer) to read the full content. I have a FB for my blog but just don't have time to manage it..

Thought 1: The words we use matter. The words we use significantly impact how a message is received. How a message is received forms the perception people have of us. Perception is lasting, can have a profound impact, and is difficult to change. Take the time to choose the right words.

Thought 2: During our meal and after our meal I was schooled on the fact that we cannot make the decision for another about whether they will or will not enjoy something we make for them.

I think this goes so much further than that. How often do we not share an idea or opportunity because we just KNOW someone wouldn’t be interested? Start a friendship? Reach out?

WAY too often I’m sure.

What we're thankful for: I'm thankful for days that I don't have pressing things to do and can just enjoy the day off however I want, even if it means getting things done around the house, it just seems different when there's not a set schedule to the weekend. 

What we're reading or wanting to read: I am trying to figure out why in the world it still keeps saying i am 5 books behind on my Goodreads 2022 Challenge when I feel like I should be close to caught up. I just finished an e-book called Merciless Legacy by Tikiri Herath. It has several books in the series...this one was good. I wasn't sure at first but it did have me wondering "who dunnit". I also downloaded our own Terri Webster Schrandts from Second Wind Leisure's ebook "Better Blogging with Photography" . Now I have no intentions of my blog ever making money and I feel like I do fairly well with photos, but I LOVE supporting peoples endeavors, and boy when I look back on some old posts...I had no idea what I was doing. I might still not know what I'm doing, and I know I'd like to get more creative with collages, etc. I plan to look for another fiction book to get started on soon as well. I have less than two months to meet my Goodreads challenge of reading 48 books and I'm 5 behind, so I better get busy. 

Around the house: Things are between fall decor and pulling Christmas out. I'll probably start decorating next week. Actually I might start this weekend since my daughter is hosting a work Thanksgiving party up here on Monday. Some friends are building her a Christmas set with pallet, and she will decorate it. Then she is offering mini-shoots for her photography business. That will be fun. I did stop at Target last Wednesday and bought a few cute things from their Dollar spot. I also looked for a tree topper but couldn't find one. 

What we've watched or listened to: I had hoped to catch up on some Magnolia Network shows but that didn't happen. I did listen to some good Ted Talks and a new podcast that I really enjoyed called Life on Purpose. The Ted Talks were Grit: The Power of passion and perseverance by Angela Lee Duckworth, What Makes a good life?  by Robert Waldinger, 10 ways to have a better conversation, by Celeste Headlee, and a few others. 

From the Kitchen or Restaurant: Last night we had pizza from our local corner store, which is always so good. A few different things I made last week were a simple meatballs in sauce. They were so good. I made a fun reel on IG but then forgot to take photos. I did the same Thursday when I made a Shepherds Pie. I just watched some of the video clips and grabbed a few photos from there. The Shepherds Pie had a combo of butternut squash and mashed potatoes and was so good. I'm also currently roasting some large cinderella pumpkins to make pumpkin puree. 

Last week when I made the meatballs, I was also making two loaves of sourdough bread. One in a bread pan, and then a typical sourdough round. However, we lost power, so I couldn't bake the round loaf when it was ready..by the time I was able to bake it, it came out a little odd. Not the typical crusty outer crust, it was more soft and expanded more. It still tasted good though, which is all that matters right? I wonder if it over proofed. The loaf came out good. It was a little more dense and heavy than typical sandwich bread, but I normally toast it, so I thought it was just fine. 

Meatballs in sauce. I used a recipe a saw a gal use on IG. They were very flavorful but we prefer a firmer meatball and these were a tad "soft" if that makes sense.

This shepherds pie is so good. I haven't made shepherds pie often so I really don't know what a traditional one has in it. This one was ground beef, mushrooms, onions, mixed vegetables and then crushed tomatoes, rosemary, worcestershire sauce and salt and Pepper. Then topped with a combo of mashed butternut squash, potatoes, parmesan cheese, butter and salt and pepper. It was so good. 

Once it's cooled I'll put it in the blender or food processor and then freeze to use in breads, scones, muffins, whatever else we want to use pumpkin for. 

Favorite quote of the week: This weeks #WQW hosted by Marsha from Always Write was on Memorable Trips. You can find my post here. I think this quote is so true. Photos and videos help me remember the things we did and saw, the memories made. 

Photos from the week: 

Last week I took the kids to a family fun room for a few hours...there were these large balls that kids would jump from a platform, onto the balls (4 of them) and then to another platform. They did move so it wasn't easy. At first Indy didn't want to do it, but when his friend wanted to do it again he went for it. After that, he just kept going, over and over. I love seeing them gain confidence. 

My daughter was scoping out a local spot for photo shoots, and used the kids to play around with lighting. The kids had a blast. 

Random and not so random things: Today I took down all my fall decor and tossed my pumpkins...Getting ready to decorate for Christmas, which I'll start here in the next day. 

I worked today and after that my hubby and I went to a Christmas bazaar and then to a new shop in town that was having a grand opening. So many neat things in it. I need to go back and really take my time walking through. 

I'm finally able to sleep through the night without coughing which has been nice. It's still lingering but not bad. I hope to get back to exercising next week. 

I had a few thoughts I was going to share, but, well, I do not remember what they were so I suppose I'll end our coffee time. I'll just go finish my grocery list and do my post for #SundayStills. 

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