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.

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

I'm glad to be back posting to #weekendcoffeeshare. It was definitely a busy October, and this weekend is a little full too but I think I can squeeze it in...I'm getting a head start. 

The Weather: It's been a mixed bag, which is typical of early fall in SW Washington. We can have blustery rainy days (which we have), cold with blue skies (which we've had), and then just blah, gray days (which we've had)...My favorite..the cold blue sky days. I don't mind a blustery day or even a rainy one....IF I'm at home with nowhere to go!

What we're thinking about: I've thought a lot about finances this week...simply because I got an unexpected bill from the endodontist and it was significant. I am so frustrated with this new insurance my husband has..there are huge lag times, it's hard to get a pre-approval in a reasonable amount of time. I'm so thankful we've always been smart with finances, but even then, sometimes, it can get a bit stressful and I can get a bit anxious with the potential of costs for things like dental, medical, etc. These are such HUGE money making services and it's hard to not get cynical when our health is so vital to our livelihood and yet so many can't afford it. 

What we're thankful for: I was just sitting here looking at this line and thinking what to write...My grandkids are sleeping in the spare bedroom where I slept with them but woke up at 4:50 unable to go back to sleep even though I would've liked to, so I'm awake and sitting in front of our gas fireplace (though I know I'll turn it off in a few minutes because I'm already getting too hot). I pause my looking and open my email and the first email that pops up is from Ann Voskamp and the title is How Gratefuflness Right Now Can Shut Out Fear and Fuel Hopefulness. It's part promoting her journal (which looks good) and part reminder that no matter what is happening in this life, we need to stay grateful and find the things we're grateful for. So as I sit here, I'm thankful/grateful for the gifts of my grandchildren, for a home with a warm fire (even though it's not wood). I don't want to take for granted each thing in my life. 

Around the house: Other than all the fall decor being up, not much is happening around here...I usually think of this as "projects", etc..but I suppose it could be anything going on around the house...like working on puzzles, reading, whatever. Hmm...We are working on installing rain chains, and I'm liking the idea we came up with and it seems like it's working. That's the latest project. I really need to do some mopping and dusting...Usually I do those things on my Wednesdays off or on weekends, but I haven't really had those the last few weeks. Working at the pumpkin patch and then actually working on my Wednesdays off has just kept me from doing it. We did change all the door handles in the house. 

Some of our fall decor. I don't decorate for Halloween, but do love decorating for fall. 

I made those tin can luminaries a few weeks ago for a page I VA for. I've done them before for Christmas and 4th of July. So fun and easy. 

For the love of food: I've been keeping things really simple around here...hubby is trying to buckle down on things and lose weight and I also can stand to lose some weight, but since I'm helping him track things, it's easier to just keep meals simple. I did buy some Kamut flour and want to try making some bread soon..maybe next week on my day off. We'll see. I follow The Food Nanny on IG and she always uses Kamut flour, in fact she sells it on her website. It's an ancient grain and is supposed to be very good for you (in moderation I'm sure)...or I suppose I should just say, "better than regular flour.". It's getting colder so I do want to start making more soups. I've also made my kombucha..I flavor a new batch every two weeks. It's fun playing with flavors. I've done apple pear, apple grape, orange, orange cream, blackberry lime vanilla, Strawberry, etc..So far they've all been hits. 

What we're reading or wanting to read: Currently I just started a new Cozy Mystery by our own Jo Tracey...Escape to Curlew Cottage. It's the first in the series and I just pre-ordered the second book. I'll read books out of order if I have to, but I really prefer to get a feel for the characters right out of the gate. I haven't touched a few of the other books I started. I just finished a few others...Over My Dead Blog (a cozy mystery) and Someone Elses Bucket List which was my book club read. A few weeks ago I shared my #WOYBS post..you can find it here. 

What we're watching or listening to: I am half way through Bono's book Surrender: 40 Songs, One Story. It's very interesting. It's very long. I listened to some songs of theirs in the 80's, early 90's. I've listened to some podcasts, and when I'm with my granddaughter, we listen to a Frozen Playlist on Spotify on repeat! We sing out loud. I love it and sometimes find myself leaving it on and singing along with it. If we were having coffee I'd ask you for your favorite Christmas songs because it's about that time of year that I begin to look for new songs to add to my playlist.

Favorite quote: A few quotes stood out to me in the Ann Voskamp email about gratefulness.

"It's easy to think that the painful lines in your story mean there are no joyful lifelines in your story"

"No pain gets to be the loudest part of your story, and no brokenness gets to claim your whole story and steal all your joy. There is heartache and there is still (holy) joy.There is loss and there is still love."

I thought they were good food for thought. 

Favorite photo(s):

A few weeks ago it happened to be a dry day so after I dropped my granddaughter off at preschool I took a walk around the lake that is in the town. Lake Sacajawea has a 3.6 mile gravel trail that goes around it. It is a beautiful community spot with year round activities. You can fish, and I believe non motorized boats are allowed, but I'm not sure (I've never seen any). It is stunning in the fall. Maybe I'll have to do a post on it sometime.  

Another pumpkin patch season is over...most weekends were beautiful, with only one or two where rain made an appearance, but people still came. The skies were beautiful at night. This was right before I left for the evening. We closed at six, but there are always stragglers who think they can stay as long as they want. 

We hit the corn maze one day with cousins. That's always a fun time. 

Random or not so random things: October was a good month...full but good..I know I got a few posts in but then was just too busy to take the time. There are quite a few things in November, so I may only get one or two posts in this month as well. October was mostly filled with the pumpkin patch, working, having the grandkids and working tracking my hubby's food intake. I am working on getting back on an exercise routine and got 4 days in this week, plus my 10,000 steps. I feel good about that. I was using an app I downloaded a trial of and really like it, but it's $180 a year and I just didn't want to do that right now. I can find enough free resources to use. 

The other night my hubby's phone went off at 2:30 in the morning with an alert that their company's building had been accessed after hours. They could access the cameras and see that someone had gotten in the building and was walking around. Long story short, we watched as police showed up, the police dog found the person and they escorted them out. It was a homeless woman who was looking to get out of the rain..they think the door malfunctioned and never closed/locked entirely. It was kind of crazy watching all that take place...I decided I might as well just stay up since it's hard for me to fall asleep and I was planning to get up at 4:20 and it was already 3:00. 

We got a game the other day that we had seen online...it's basically a string with some magnets, but the goal is to be the first person to get rid of all your magnets...sounds easy, but the placement is everything because if you put it in the wrong place and the magnet draws other magnets, you have to take all of those. It's fun. The grandkids enjoyed it too. 

I don't remember if I shared my National Park puzzle...I'm making progress, but not very fast progress. 
 

I don't know what else I have to share this week...feels like I'm running on fumes. This next month we start gearing up for the busy season at work. The end of November and December are the busiest for us with people shipping Christmas gifts, etc. 

With Joy Unquenchable,

Kirstin