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. I truly enjoy what you all share and I often learn so much. 

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

So glad to be back after a two week break. Hope everyone has been well. 

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

The Weather:  Well, it has been dry and hot. We've hit some temps in the upper 90's and even up to 104ish. Not fun. This morning (Friday) we actually had some thunder, heat lightning and then fairly heavy rain for about 20-30 minutes. It made me remember living in Ohio and the temperatures would be hot, and when it rained we'd go out and play in the puddles. I ran out to move a few thing under the cover of the porch in my bare feet and thought "wow, this actually feels warm". I don't think it's supposed to rain anymore and tomorrow (Saturday...I'm putting days because I know I won't finish this post tonight (Friday...haha) it's supposed to get back up into the 90's. I love summer, but we really need some cooler temps and rain. Never thought I'd hear myself say that. There have been quite a few fires in Canada and eastern Washington that have affected the air at times here in SW Washington. 

What we're thinking about: A few recent link parties I've been a part of have mentioned thinking back to memories, and I'll admit that my memories of childhood are not good at all. I used to joke with my mom, that she could make up anything about my life and I'd believe her. I truly don't remember much. Just a week or so ago I found a Facebook reel that talked about this very thing, and that one possible reason is due to childhood trauma. As I listened to it, I could clearly identify with at least two of the things listed. Which was interesting. Here is a link. I think we often view trauma as something absolutely horrendous, evil, etc. But I think possibly, some of the very unhealthy things we experienced, may have contributed to this, or perhaps I just have a bad memory because I don't remember details of many years of my life. Looking back, I sure wish I had learned to journal and keep diaries. 

What we're thankful for: I'm so thankful that while I don't have a great memory, I have many photos that show that while life wasn't easy, and always healthy, it was good. I will continue to choose to have a good life, to create memories with those I love and even for myself. 

Around the house:  We haven't done much of anything around the house. Oh, yes, we did trim up our cedar trees that line our driveway and it looks so much better. We still have some more to trim at the front of the property. We are still hoping to get some excavating and prep done on the spot we want to do a circular driveway in, but after the free portion, yikes the $$$ are high. 

What we're reading or wanting to read: I finished the book for our book club "Weyward" . It was really good. I wasn't sure I'd like it, but it really held me captivated the whole time. I am also reading a book by a local author called Unimaginable Loss by Joe Thuny. I actually met him earlier in the year when he came in and asked me to make some copies for him. He was copying a large amount of papers and they looked to me like a book. So I asked him about it. In 2020 his only daughter was murdered by her ex boyfriends father. She and her ex had a daughter, and it is a tumultuous relationship...Joes wife also passes away in this time and the story is about what lead up to the murder, and the journey afterward and how the justice system failed him and his granddaughter. It is heart wrenching to read. I'm not quite done, but almost. I also decided to start two more. One was a Christmas gift last year and the other was one a friend let me borrow. I usually like to have one audio book going, one kindle and then at least one physical book. I'm on track with my books for the Goodreads reading challenge for 2023. 

I thought this comic was hilarious from Adrienne Hedger. 

What we're watching or listening to: I've watched several episodes of When Calls the Heart. I love that show and this new season has been good. I've also watched some cooking shows. I'm currently listening to the audiobook The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Wow. Another heart wrenching true story. Henrietta is a black woman who's cells (taken without permission) have been used throughout decades and called HeLa cells. I saw there is a movie, and perhaps I'll watch it sometime. I don't remember if I've listened to any podcasts, and I haven't watched any movies. Well, I did watch the Mario Movie with my grandson at their house. 

For the love of food: Let's see, what have I made in the last few weeks....At the beginning of our two week break I was almost a week into our 30 Days of Healthy Living group and we're now nearing the end. I did make a few new recipes, though I failed to take any photos and the recipes were ones I printed for my 30 days notebook so I don't have links. They were good though and ones I'll probably make again. I picked some blackberries from our yard (they were actually growing up into our cedar trees, so I climbed a ladder and picked a bunch. I made a blueberry crumble for dessert one night with homemade ice cream. So good.  Hubby had his work team up last night for dinner and we bought some "Sloshy Pops" from a local food cart vendor that he had met when he was helping our daughter with her coffee cart a few weekends ago. They have both alcoholic and non alcoholic options. They were pretty good. 

I did make some protein breakfast muffins with zucchini that I thought were really good. They were only sweetened with whatever was in the protein powder and while I liked them, the average person might not because they truly aren't sweet. I topped mine with some almond butter. Yum. It helped curve any cravings. 

I did take a picture of one soup I made (yes, I made soup in the hot weather). Someone gave me two HUGE zucchini and I shredded one of them and still had one left. The gal who gave them to me shared a yummy recipe, using ground sausage, zucchini, tomato base. I also added corn and some cannelini beans. VERY good and flavorful. 

My blueberry picking adventure. Crumble below. So good. 

Sloshy Pops! 

Favorite quote: The theme for last weeks #WQ was Fun. You can find my post here. 

Favorite photo(s): 

My MIL has had this ventriloquist dummy forever. She used to use him when she taught camps and at kids church. His name's Davy. None of the grandkids have ever liked him...and she felt it was time for him to find a new home. She went with me to deliver him to the people who will use him. Cowboy Buck and Elizabeth. I said "I better not get pulled over with you in the front seat."

My youngest daughter helped her sister at a wedding a few weekends ago. I was so glad she did. They don't get to do as much together as they used to, just because life, living in different towns, etc. 

On our way back from our time at the rented swimming pool (see below), we stopped off at the local grist mill to show our friend. Such a pretty place.

Random or not so random things: Well I'm sure a lot has. happened in the last two weeks, but 1) did I bother to write things down? Nope, 2) do I have a great memory? Nope. So we'll see what I have to share. 

I'm getting so close to finishing the puzzle I've been working on that does not have a photo to go by. Here's a link to the brand and the variety they have. I have the Sherlock Holmes one. It's been a very difficult one and there were a a few times I just wanted to give up, but I am determined to finish and now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. 

At the beginning of the month, we went to our county fair with Indiana and then his mommy, daddy and sister met us there. We had a great time even though the weather was very hot. Pepper was too small for most rides so we did the carousel a few times. Indy loved all the rides.

Last Monday, we rented a swimming pool through Swimply. If you've never heard of it,  you should look it up. We found a swimming pool that wasn't too far from our house and looked like fun. The price was decent per hour and we added some extra amenities, like pool toys and grill use. We had about 16 people and everyone absolutely loved it. We are planning to go again next year and stay a few hours longer in order to do even more. They had a large TV, hot tub as well as lawn games, etc. 

My steps have been good though the week before this last one was the first time in 30ish weeks I didn't hit the 70,000 steps. I just couldn't do it. I'm close this week, but for some reason I woke up with my left knee being very sore and I'm not sure why. I don't think I did anything at the gym that should have bothered it. Oh, and speaking of the gym. When we were done working out, we did a hydro massage for 10 minutes. Oh, my, that was amazing. 

I've spent some time playing cards with my MIL and playing with grandkids. Next week we celebrate my hubby's birthday. 

My daughter is doing great with her coffee cart. She has it open at church most Sundays, but has also had several events she's done and a wedding last weekend. 

Last night we had my hubby's team that is directly under him over for dinner. There were 6 of them. We had a nice time eating, talking and playing games. We played a new game called I should've known that. It was fun and we got some laughs out of it too. If you like trivia type games, you'll like this one. We had bought flowers for the table, then my daughter stopped by with some flowers for me that they picked up from the farmers market and then one of his co-workers brought me flowers. 

Right before we took a break, I was reading a post by Joanne (Slices of Life), I can't remember which one, and I don't remember if it was her response to a comment or something she posted (ugghh I'm terrible sometimes), but it reminded me of this Adrienne Hedger comic...She has some great content. I mean, can we ever have too many books to read or too many on hold? Don't answer that. 

Well, I think I'll leave it at that for this week. I'm hoping to also get my post done for #sundaystills. I never was able to get it done last week, sadly! I may combine the two, we'll see. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin