Welcome to the weekend coffee share! Can I offer you a cold cup today? The weather is a little too warm for my likings, close to 30C/86F. Earlier today when I was standing outside of our house saying goodbye to my son I noticed an elderly lady struggling with a huge grocery bag looking like she was about to faint. At first she didn’t want my help, but I stayed nearby to see if she was OK, she wasn’t, so in the end I helped her to get home safely. I felt so bad for her, even when she was holding on to me and I carried her bag she still struggled to stand up and walk. Luckily she didn’t live very far away. I know I personally shouldn’t complain about the heat since many of you are dealing with much warmer weather, but I still think a cup of ice coffee or ice tea sounds tempting, can I get you one?

The garden is thriving in the warmer weather. The gooseberries (above) are ripening, so are the raspberries.

I’ve been picking raspberries every day to load my freezer, especially since today’s birthday girl always wants raspberry cake for her special day. I get to use my creativity any way I want when it comes to the cake, as long as there is an abundance of raspberries in and on top of the cake. As always, I’ve done my best to make her wishes come true.

I usually freeze the raspberries that are going to be on top of the cake individually on a tray.

I can’t believe I once again have a teenager in the house! How did that happen?

Back to the garden.. there are still some flowers in bloom.

I am in the process of cleaning up the garden beds, to make room for some fall crops, but I am going to write a separate post about that.

I am saving the poppy heads. I think they are beautiful and I will save the seeds later on.

This third week of my vacation is a good one (even though it is a little on the warm side.) It really isn’t all that different compared to last week. There’s been gardening, bike rides, ice creams, conversations with my daughter and of course I’ve had the pleasure of being in the company of several good books. I’ve been reading a series of books written by a Swedish author, Ewa Klingberg, unfortunately they are not translated to English. I do like her writing style, best described as a mix of feel good and history. I have one more week of vacation left, and yes, I am most grateful that I have four weeks. The plan is to do a lot of swimming next week, along with the usual activities.

How are you doing? Please tell me in a comment! Thank you Natalie for hosting the Weekend Coffee Share.

Maria

27 responses to “The Weekend Coffee Share – My third week of vacation”

  1. That looks like a delicious birthday cake! Your garden sure seems to be enjoying the warm weather. Ours had been pretty pleasant this week up until today where it’s supposed to get into the mid-90’s.

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    1. Thank you so much! Stay safe in the heat.

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  2. A glass of something cold to go with a slice of that amazing raspberry cake would be very good!
    Enjoy your weekend!

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    1. Coming right up!! There’s plenty of cake left :)

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  3. Happy birthday, H! Can’t believe how fast she is growing up… wasn’t she just a toddler yesterday??
    You bake the most luscious things! I wanted to dive into that cake, lol.
    So kind of you to help that elder, the heat is no joke for older people whose metabolism can’t deal with it very well. I’m getting up there in age, too, and find heat and humidity esp. hard to deal with. When the hot days come, I have to stay inside. The other day I actually had to lie down in the shade next to the garden, didn’t know if I’d make it to the house in time! Thanks to mother earth, I made it, ha!
    Enjoy your last week of vacation… time tends to fly these days it seems, alas!

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    1. Thank you! The long gone toddler days does seem like yesterday, in some ways. Watching my children grow up makes me feel a little old, but also happy to see the caring individuals they’ve become.

      Heat and humidity is no joke. I often plan my day around the cooler hours. Stay safe. Cooler days will come. <3

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  4. Happy Birthday to your sweet girl.
    Looks like a yummy raspberry fest. Enjoy!

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    1. Thank you so much! I’d invite you for some cake if I could :)

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  5. That cake looks so good and I’m sure it was extra yummy with fresh raspberries. I do love the combination of raspberries and chocolate.

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    1. Thank you! Raspberries and chocolate is a good match :) I would love to send some cake your way :) Have a great rest of your weekend.

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  6. I love raspberries. I made a point on Friday of getting myself some raspberry jam, and the ice-cream place I go to had raspberries for topping the other day.

    The cake looks delicious.

    I hope you have a lovely weekend, Maria.

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    1. Thank you! Raspberries are amazing :) I have a lot more picking to do within the next week, when they ripe they need to be picked ASAP. I wish you a wonderful new week.

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  7. Happy birthday to your daughter! It sounds like a nice week overall, despite the hot day. Glad your garden is doing well.

    The poor elderly lady. I am glad you were able to help her. What is “too hot” has a lot to do with what we are used to and 86F can be far too hot for some people, like that lady.

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend and have a wonderful week!

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    1. Thank you so much! It has been a nice week and it looks like the weather is cooling down a couple degrees next week, which is going to be very nice. Have a wonderful rest of your weekend and week to come.

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  8. What a deliciously lovely week you’ve had! Happy belated Birthday to your daughter! What a gorgeous cake you made for her! I hope you enjoy your last week of vacation and all of the abundance coming out of your plot!

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    1. Thank you so much!

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  9. Beautiful pictures! That cake looks really yummy.

    We’ve had 30+ temperatures whole of July and no rain. So much watering and danger of forest fires.

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    1. Thank you so much! I hope you are able to stay cool and safe. Today we’re enjoying 22C/71.6F, it is perfect if you ask me.

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  10. Hi Maria, seeing your raspberries and cake photos made me wish I could sample the cake (salivary glands were active – ha) and your photos from the garden are so lovely. Also, best wishes with the teen years – as it sounds like you are embracing it – and right now, my youngest is planning his wedding – so it reminds me of how time does fly. enjoyed your coffee share

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    1. Thank you so much! I wish I could share the cake with you :)

      Time goes by so fast. My son turned 20 last month and that feels very strange. Have a wonderful rest of your week.

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      1. yes – he reached the two decade milestone and that is a big deal – for him and for momma –
        I hope you have a great week also
        xxx

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  11. Hi Maria! I would like some tea and a nice big piece of your delicious raspberry cake for your daughter, if there are any leftovers! 🤗 Happy belated birthday to her, how can she be 13 already, time flies too fast. I feel old too, but young at heart! I was thinking of trying to grow some blueberries in a container here as I just love them with my yogurt! Such a bounty from your garden and such a great idea to freeze the extras. 😍 Enjoy your last week of vacation. My daughter finally comes home this coming weekend. We are all very excited!! 🤩❤️

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    1. Thank you! I would have loved to share some cake with you. How wonderful that your daughter is coming home, and perhaps that means you’ll get some extra time for yourself as well?

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      1. Yes, it will free up my mornings and evenings on the weekends since we have been going to my daughter’s townhome twice a day to take care of her 2 cats. Funny, this week I’ve been extra fatigued, more than normal and I couldn’t figure out why I was feeling so exhausted. I think it’s because our time is coming to an end having to take care of her house and the busy days will subside. Her townhome is just over 4 miles away, so it’s a 10 minute drive each way. It really isn’t a problem, but it’s been a long time for everyone, 5 months is just so very long for us all!! Once she’s home we will have to settle into a new schedule and we have missed her so much! Maybe I’m feeling emotional about it all too. Happy days are ahead! 💞

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  12. I hope the lady recovered once she was inside. 30C is too warm for me as well. That was really very nice of you. Delicious birthday cake! Enjoy your vacation days.

    #Weekendcoffeeshare

    -Soma

    Liked by 1 person

    1. thank you! 30C is definitely too hot! Have a wonderful rest of your week!

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