Weekend Coffee Share – Summer Time Fun!

Welcome to a warmer than usual Weekend Coffee Share. Let’s sit down by the water. This is one of my favourite views along a trail I walk/run/ride my bike along several times a week. What kind of beverage can I get you? Something cold? There is ice coffee, ice tea, watermelon smoothies, bottled water, and of course some hot coffee as well to choose from. 

As I mentioned it’s been warmer than usual this week, pushing 90F most days, and humid almost every day. I don’t think 90F is bad at all, just warm for a Swedish summer. What’s the weather like in your area? 

My daughter kayaking earlier this week.
Lake Varpan, same lake we visited last week but a different location.

It’s been an active week with a lot of going to the beach, swimming, kayaking, walking, yoga, and bike-riding. I even went out for a run a couple times, but I prefer walking, or riding my bike.

This morning I rode my bike to Falu Copper Mine.

Falun Mine (Swedish: Falu Gruva) was a mine in Falun, Sweden, that operated for a millennium from the 10th century to 1992. It produced as much as two thirds of Europe’s copper needs[1] and helped fund many of Sweden’s wars in the 17th century. Technological developments at the mine had a profound influence on mining globally for two centuries.[2] The mine is now a museum and in 2001 was designated a UNESCO world heritage site.

wikipedia.org/wiki/Falun_Mine

A couple days we participated in a  free summer event that our town arrange for kids 8-15 years old. The event is every day except Sundays, at our local beaches, starting this week, different beaches different days. We have many beaches in, and near our town. The beach events starts with swimming classes, and after that the kids can try different water activities. My daughter was hesitant to go to the event the first day, but when we got there she didn’t want to leave, and we ended up spending more than six hours in the water that day. I think it’s a great initiative from our town to teach water safety, and give all children fun things to do during their summer break. 

Early morning walk earlier this week.

It has been another wonderful week of vacation, and lovely weather. Everyone is happy and healthy, I cannot ask for much more. How is your week so far? What have you been up to? Tell me in a comment!

Thank you Natalie for hosting the coffee share!

Love,

Maria 

Weekend Coffee Share – Swedish Fika

If we were having a fika (essentially Swedish for coffee and a conversation,) I would offer you a beverage of your choice; coffee from the french press, ice tea, or a smoothie. I’ve incorporated a new healthy habit into our summer routine, every evening I prepare breakfast smoothies for the next morning. Right now I’m having a smoothie with; baby spinach, avocado, banana, pear, pre-soaked chia seeds and almond milk. It’s really good, and there is an extra one for you in the fridge if you’d like to try. My daughter likes to prepare her own smoothie, something I encourage. She had mango, strawberry, banana, and almond milk this morning. 

My breakfast smoothie with; baby spinach, avocado, banana, pear, pre-soaked chia seeds and almond milk.

Would you like to enjoy our beverages at the balcony? There is slightly more space there now. My plants were growing so much that I had to find new homes for some of them this week, they were taking over. I put an ad up on a local sale site, (sort of like craigslist.) It didn’t take long to sell the plants I wanted to sell. One lady that came over to purchase plants offered me to come to her house and take some cuttings from her blackcurrants, and gooseberry bushes. I am going to take her up on that. I’d like to have more perennials, and berry bushes are wonderful. There is still a lot of plants at my balcony, and soon it will be crowded again, but for now there is room for our feet. LOL. How is your week so far? 

Lake Varpan, Dalarna (Sweden.)

There are several lakes around where I live, and with the lakes comes a lot of seagulls. They are very loud, especially at night, during the day you only hear them occasionally, but at night they are really loud. I’ve been sleeping on a mattress in my daughters room several nights this week, because its slightly more quiet there (more in the middle of the house.) Whatever works, right? The loud seagulls is a very small matter, overall I am happy, relaxed, and enjoying my vacation immensely. My children are also enjoying their well deserved summer holidays, which makes me very happy. Both of them have worked really hard this past semester. My son had a birthday in June that we celebrated, and my daughter have a birthday later this month. I’ve spent some time this week planning things for her birthday. 

Gullnäsgården, a very quaint lakeside cafe, with a beach.

What is the weather like in your area? This summer have offered even temperatures, it’s been between 73-77F most days for several weeks. It looks like today is going to be around 77F. The lakes have temperatures around 70F now, and it is very comfortable. We like to go swimming, and playing in the water. Yesterday we went to Gullnäsgården, the place you can see in the photos. It is a ten minute bike ride from our house, and a very nice place to relax at. The property belongs to one of the local churches. They allow people to spend time there, even if they don’t visit the cafe (it’s a very nice cafe and worthy of a visit,) or rent a cabin. I like that they don’t allow wild parties, making it appealing to visit with children even in the evening.

The menu, and part of the outdoor seating area at the cafe.
The beach area below the cafe. We enjoyed our ice creams on the beach before going for a swim.

Thank you for joining me for a fika today, and thank you Natalie for hosting the coffee share! We are going out to look for some blueberries this weekend, rumour says they start to become ripe, what are you up to?

Love,

Maria