April Faves

 

April is here and the weather in our area has been typical for Spring:  up and down, sunny and warm, sunny and cold, damp and rainy, rainy and warm. And it's just the first week! 

I'm finding the blessings in the Spring days though and want to share FIVE of them that stood out to me and made me smile, thus making my FAVES list. We look for the blessings in the every day moments and then link up at Susanne's blog who has been graciously hosting this weekly discipline for many years now. 

SoulSteps Hike #3:  Big Bay Nature Preserve
from l-r:  Jessica, Karen, Geoff, me, Kathy and kneeling is Joan
photo used with permission

• HIKING!  I had a good group of SoulSteps members sign up for our third hike of the Spring semester last Friday.  We welcomed 4 brand new members (Kathy, Jessica,  Karen (Jessica's aunt!!) and Geoff) and had such a great time fellowshipping and hiking together. We all took lots of photos and I'm sharing a few of my faves. We were hiking in a brand new trail system just south of Lake George so not quite in the Adirondack Mountains but on the edge.  The trail was a wonderful carpet of pine needles and sand very indicative of being close to the Lake George/Corinth area. I'm thankful, that although it was a bit chilly that morning, the sun came out and there were more sunny moments than cloudy moments. The loop was just a little over 2 miles. I'm so thankful I have a good group of hiking members!

pine forest at the Big Bay preserve

Our destination:  Big Bay on the Hudson River 
Corinth NY area and about half way around the loop

image courtesy of Pra*seCharts website

• CHOIR REHEARSAL:  My husband, oldest daughter and I auditioned for our church choir for Easter and we've had rehearsals every other Sunday since the beginning of January, from 1:30-3:30 pm. Starting last weekend, we now have rehearsals every weekend until Easter including one middle of the week dress rehearsal. Our services are broadcast online and people from all over the world tune in.  We've had a few people who have had to drop out for one reason or another so this past weekend, I and one other alto, had to carry the alto part. Thankfully we are both strong singers and know how to read music. We had an excellent rehearsal and are thankful everything is coming together. When everyone is there, there are 9 sopranos, 5 altos, 8 tenors and 2 basses. My husband is one of the basses. We used to have about 8 in each section.  But despite our lower numbers for this choir, we are close knit and have been told the music is sounding great. I'm so thankful I get to do this ministry!

image courtesy of Am*zon

• EASY FIX!  Our upstairs bathroom sink was leaking from the supply line on Sunday, dripping down the side wall to basement.  Thankfully we discovered it before too much damage occured. We called our plumber (he's been here numerous times for the washer, toilets, kitchen sink, downstairs bathroom sink and shower...we have hard water and it's horrible for plumbing) who happens to go to our church. He came Monday afternoon and within 5 minutes saw the problem, went out and bought the new pipelines and had the entire thing fixed within an hour. Thankfully this was an easy, inexpensive (less than $90!)  fix.  I'm so thankful for our plumber and his excellent work. 

image courtesy of my opthamologist's website

• GOOD REPORT:  I was very thankful after having my annual eye exam yesterday morning, that when the opthamologist came in to view the computer images, he said I have absolutely no major eye diseases or issues and that I have just the beginning of cataracts and there's no need for surgery yet and probably not for another 5-10 years!  Glory to God. They do cataract surgery there with no blades...all lasers....so when it does happen, if it needs to, he said the process is super easy. I'm thankful for cutting edge technology at this eye center because I have had to wear glasses since I was 7 years old and in my 30s my astigmatism became worse as did my sister's. Now I need glasses all the time, not just to drive. I'm also thankful my prescription for the lenses only changed slightly and that I don't need new ones unless I want them. 

image courtesy of MLBsh*p

• BOSTON DAY! I'm thankful my husband was invited by the head of his company to go to the first home game of the season at our fave Boston venue today! He left early this morning and the boss even said he would drive. Dave has worked hard all month with only 1 day off plus he's had some issues at work with some of the employees who work in India and gets very frustrated. He's so excited to be going to the first home game and will enjoy the 3.5 hour car ride with his new boss. The company is even paying for the tickets!! I'm thankful he gets to do this. 

Those are just 5 blessings from the week but there were many more such as our youngest daughter texting me that on her third chem test she got a 94. (the semester is almost over for her and then she'll have to take another course on her journey of becoming a licensed optician). She has said it's kind of weird being the only one in the class with a BS degree and most of the students in this class are only 18-19 vs her 26.  I'm thankful she's doing well along with working full time. I was also blessed to have a quick visit with oldest daughter at her office yesterday as I needed to bring something to her. Another good blessing was a good chat with my neighbor down the street who lost her 36 yr old daughter to cancer last spring. I was able to pray for her and give her a hug and just be there on her porch to listen to her. I also was blessed to see her two grandchildren and her son- in -law as they all came out on the porch to say Hello. 

There are always so many blessings!  God is good.

HAPPY WEEKEND!!

TUESDAY 4 APRIL

These questions are.....interesting....kind of gender specific which in my opinion is sad.....kind of "traditional"...but I do want to answer them. 

I'm joining in on the Tuesday 4 meme hosted by this blogger. 

 Let's talk about Moms and Wives and other  unpaid domestic servants.

1. Have you ever found yourself in the same position as this lady?  How did you feel about it?

Yes and no.  I felt this way when camping BUT...I chose it.  I felt like my husband worked so hard to set up the pop up, after working all week (I was a teacher but my hours were fewer and for awhile, I had summers off!) that I should be the one to do the clean up. We had an agreement:  he would usually do most of the cooking over the campfire or camp stove and I would do the  clean up, giving him a chance to relax, play with the girls, etc.  

At home, we share the duties and always have. Typically I prefer to clean up the kitchen myself (yay for dishwashers and for daughters trained to clear their own spots at the dining room table) as I'm kind of picky about how to clean the kitchen. Dave definitely helps though.  Marriage, my friends, is all about sharing the load. 

2.. Women do the cooking, the cleaning up and the organizing while the rest of the family reap the rewards of that.. is it fair?  

If you are a woman who does "the cooking, the cleaning up and the organizing..." and feel resentful about it, then that's on you.  Use your voice, train your children to do chores within age appropriate limits, and stop with the old fashioned gender roles. Good grief.  Now, if you love doing all the cooking, cleaning, etc then that's fine.  I actually prefer to do most of the cleaning my self, mainly because I have more time than husband does. But when it comes to big events, he always helps out.  I rarely have to ask. 

3.  Vacations at air b&bs or rental homes often mean Mom does all the work.  What kind of holiday or vacation would be most restful for you?

Thankfully, when we are on vacation, we continue to share the load. We also are much more relaxed about things on vacation. My most restful vacation is when we rent a cottage on one of my fave Adirondack mountain lakes.  We always treat ourselves to a couple of dinners out which is super fun and supports one of the mountain town's local businesses. 

4.  In Proverbs 31, the wife is married to a very prominent man in town.  She runs the house, has a cottage industry, owns vineyards on her own and buys and sells real estate.   

What kind of woman are you? Do you hold a job.. do you do the housework.. do you find rewards in service to others or do you find it can be wearing on  you or perhaps a little bit of both.

I was a full time special education preK teacher when we met, got married and had our daughters. However, I was blessed to have a one year maternity leave.  I was also blessed to have our oldest girl in a daycare center which was on the same campus as my teaching job. I stayed home full time with her from when she was 2-6. When my youngest was born, my oldest was 5.5 yrs old and when my youngest  was 8 months old, I had her in a private Christian home daycare and went to work 3 days a week. I loved it. Once she was in 1st grade, I returned to teaching full time. I do the bulk of the housework because I'm the one with shorter hours. Now that I'm retired, I'm much more relaxed about the house. I keep it clean and organized so it's easy.  Dave does most of the yardwork but I also have helped with that. He has to do the bulk of the snow removal, etc in winter and we both share cooking duties/cleaning up of the kitchen. I do the food shopping although he's definitely helped with that at times. I don't find it wearing at all. It's life! I do  find rewards in serving others but it's definitely not my primary love language (Acts of Service). My youngest daughter's primary love language is Acts of service. 

What  earthly rewards do you get out of  the life you are living?

Hm...earthly rewards??  I guess, I'm  blessed that I married a man 6 years younger who still has an amazing health insurance plan (totally paid for by the company he is a computer tech for) and that he continues to work full time and will do so for at least another 10 years. Our mortgage was paid off just after Covid.  I got to retire a few years earlier than I wanted (due to some spine issues) and feel like my earthly rewards are my husband's love and care, seeing my 2 young adult daughters thriving on keepign their apartments nice, paying their own bills, having good careers.  My other earthly reward is attending and being a member of an amazing large church with over 75 different ministries/groups to participate in. I've been blessed to be able to have a MS degree, a job I absolutely loved, money in the bank for emergencies and overall good health and fun vacations. We are fairly frugal so can now do some more traveling as we approach our mid 60s (for me) and late 50s (Dave). We saved money for good quality kayaks and enjoy time with those. We were able to send both girls to colleges (thanks to both earning academic scholarships and my paycheck!) of their choice and now they both have settled for now in the Capital Region of NY so are near by. God has been good to us. there have been ups and downs and I fear for our nation, currently, but we know our citizenship is in Heaven and that reward will far exceed any of these earthly ones. 

HAPPY TUESDAY AND HAPPY APRIL!!!

Busy Week Menu

 

It's the last day of March and I'm facing a super busy week. Who says retirement is boring or the days drag??  Not me! Today we have a plumber coming as we came home from choir rehearsal after church yesterday to a closet with a wet ceiling, wet basement steps/floor on one side and upstairs in the bathroom sink, a huge puddle in the bottom of the cabinet leaking out one side down the wall and into our hallway carpeting! UGH.  I also have laundry, food shopping, and small group prep to do along with preparing a dish for a luncheon I am required to attend tomorrow.  (the Volunteer organization I work with is having an informational meeting at our "over 50 luncheon" at church and I was asked to attend as a volunteer member to answer questions about serving in this role. On Wednesday during class, it's my table's turn to bring a brunch item so I'll be preparing that sometime Tuesday afternoon.  I also have 2 appointments this week (annual eye exam and chiropractor).  Plus on Friday and Saturday morning of this week, I have my SoulSteps Walking group and Friday afternoon a client visit with one of our HomeBound clients. The client is the mom of a good friend of mine and although I don't speak Chinese, her daughter (my friend Ping) can interpret. Also on Saturday,  I am leading a beginners hike in a state park north of us for the rest of the SoulSteps Hiking members who need to be assessed by me before they can sign up for mountain hikes. My daughter has agreed to help with this. By Saturday evening, I am going to be tired and ready for a nice movie night  with hubby.    I'm planning on some easy to prepare meals this week:

• Vegetarian Chili Mac; Fruit Salad

• Tofu Veggies Scramble  (Pork chop for Dave); Asparagus

• Stuffed Pepper Soup;  Garlic breadsticks

• Fettuccine with Black bean Sauce; Tossed Salad

• Veggie Pizza and leftover Salad

• Meatloaf made with Bison; Garlic Mashed potatoes; steamed French green beans; Fruit

What's on your menu this week?

What's your favorite "go to when I'm busy" recipe??

Sunday Stealin' Meme

Welcome to Sunday Stealing. 

 

Head on over to this blog to learn more about this meme and to copy the questions.  

1. What book are you currently reading?

I rarely read just one book at a time.  I'm currently reading a book set in Greece (Fiction). Title is on side bar. I'm also reading a fairly interesting memoir and a devotional book for Lent that's just ok...and I'm wrapping up the He Speaks to Me study book for my book group on Tuesday evenings. 

2. Have you ever smoked? 

absolutely not....ew.....disgusting and causes cancers. and is so low class. 

3. Do you own a gun?

absolutely not.  yet my dad worked for Remington Arms and had various hunting rifles and one pistol. 

4. What is your favorite candy?

Snickers bar that I treat myself with about twice a year.

5. Hot dogs: yay or nay?

see the answer to #2.  That "food" should never enter a human body. I stopped eating that crap when I turned 40. And can't believe I ever did eat them. 

6. Favorite movie?

Can't choose just one but here's my top 3:  Casablanca, Les Miserables, Dead Poet's Society.  

7. What do you prefer to drink in the morning?

Lemon water followed by 2-3 mugs of steaming hot brewed coffee

8. What do you drink throughout the day?

Water and sometimes Sparkling water (blackberry, raspberry, lime, black cherry, pomegranate.....the Bubbly brand).  Sometimes unsweetened ice tea with fresh lime and lemon slices. 

9. Do you do push ups?

Sometimes but it tends to aggravate my upper back so lately no.

10. What’s your favorite piece of jewelry?

my dragonfly pewter necklace I bought in Gloucester MA and my engagement ring

11. Current worry?

That i'll always have spine pain/issues

12. Current annoyance?

That it's going to rain for the next 4 days

13. Do you like sleeping on satin sheets?

absolutely!  but i don't own pure satin ones..i have a set of satin blend ones

15.  Can you whistle?

yes but not well.

Thank you for playing! Please come back next week.

LAST of MARCH FAVES

 

I can't even  wrap my head around the fact that today is the last Friday of March!  This month positively flew for me! It was definitely a busier month than February. 

I'm looking at the past week and sharing FIVE of my FAVE blessings from the week and linking up with Susanne, our host. It's good to look back and see things we are thankful for. 

trail at Fox Preserve
Albany County, NY

SoulSteps Beginner Hike: 
 Me, Suzanne, Charonda, Anita
(photo used with permission and compliments of Courtney) 

• BEGINNER HIKE  Last Saturday, since I'm the leader of SoulSteps, the hiking group I formed for adults over the age of 21, I had to lead a beginner hike as I have 5 new members who have never hiked before!  Two of them are shown in the photo (Suzanne and Charonda).  They did great!  My oldest daughter Courtney and our family friend Anita wanted to know if they could also tag along and I said of course. (they are both SoulSteps members too). I took them to a local nature preserve that has a little bit of everything except a rock  scramble and a mountain summit. There's a narrow board walk to single file walk on through the mud, an incline, a meadow, a deep woods trail, and a stream. And mud. Lots of mud.  I'm thankful the new beginners enjoyed it and want to stay in the group!  I'm thankful I could have a couple people with more experience along, as well so they could describe the types of hikes they generally sign up for. 

image courtesy of Am*zon

• PIZZA AND MOVIE NIGHT:  Our oldest daughter invited Dave and I over to her apartment for pizza and the movie Wicked which she rented from whatever streaming service it was available on. We are all about the Wizard of Oz in this house and Dave and I hadn't seen the movie yet. We loved it!  I wasn't too impressed with the singing other than with Cynthia's voice (Wicked Witch of the West) and the woman who played her sister had a beautiful tone. But the dancing, in our opinion, really made the movie. WHomever the choreographer was did a superb job.  We're thankful Courtney invited us over to share the movie and we look forward to Part 2 coming out later this year. 

 photo courtesy of Taste of H*me website

• FAMILY DINNER!  We finally had both girls over for Sunday dinner at the same time!  We hadn't gotten together..all four of us...since Christmas Day!!  I made a huge pasta salad, vegan chicken for my self and youngest girl and regular grilled chicken for Dave and oldest girl. They love steamed french green beans so I had a dish of those as well along with dinner rolls.  We followed it up with glasses of wine and Girl Scout cookies from a young girl in our church whose mom used to be one of our youngest daughter's youth group volunteers. It made me so thankful to God for having the entire family under one roof, enjoying good food and wine and just fellowshipping together. We sat at the table for 2 hours!!  I'm so thankful both girls were free!

image courtesy of CBS news Alb*ny

• SAFE!!  Our oldest daughter lives about 3 miles from us in an apartment complex and her best friend Nathaniel, whom she met at Gordon College, also lives in a building there. His building is the first one into the complex.  He also has a young roommate..a girl...who rents out his 2nd bedroom. Nate was at work when he got the call from roommate K that the building was on fire and everyone (12 apts) had to vacate.  K went to my oldest daughter's apt as my oldest daughter drove home from work to finish her workday at home.  She hosted K for 2 nights and then K went via the Red Cross to a local motel.  We (Dave and I) are hosting Nate until he can find out where the complex is going to move everyone.  It might end up being a month before they can get into a new unit!  The thing I'm thankful for is that everyone got out safely.....and that we are available with our guest room to host Nathaniel. I've been taking him to work as he has no car right now, and Dave picks him up.   If you think of it, please do pray that he can get a new unit ASAP and that his computer equipment isn't too damaged by the water. We've donated some clothing items to him. The police are saying the building will most likely be determined "Condemned".  (to the right of the flames in the photo taken by the news crew, is Nate's bedroom window!). I'm also thankful the fire was quickly contained although it caused major damage and that my own daughter's building was safe. 

• GOOD THERAPY:  I'm thankful for a good chiropractor who did some good therapy on my back this week.  She was a bit concerned regarding the sciatica going into both legs so put me through some strength and walking tests. I passed them all so she said it most likely is coming from either the pinched nerve in the lumbar/disc issues I have there or more concerning is coming from the cord compression in my lower  cervical spine. Either way, she provided a bit of relief for me and will use another therapy on me next week that involves gently stretching the spine to hopefully open up space for the vertebrae. I'm thankful that our health insurance covers these visits as I'm now back to going weekly. Of course I'm praying for complete healing before our vacation in May. 

That wraps up the week!

Happy Weekend, everyone!

2025 Book Review #18:Almost Midnight

 

This is a series set in Maine that I really enjoy reading.  Light mysteries help me to relax.  It's book 10 in the Mike Bowditch, Game Warden series. I have read all the books in order and plan to read #11 sometime later this spring. 

This was a good, fast read!

STORY SUMMARY

Mike Bowditch, Warden Investigator, is on vacation when he gets an odd summons from his friend, Billy Cronk, who is in jail.  Billy is one of Mike's oldest friends and unfortunately, Mike had had to put Billy behind bars for murder. 

Now, a couple of years later, Billy has asked Mike to come visit him in prison because he wants Mike to investigate a new female prison guard  who has a mysterious past. Her name is Dawn Richie. Mike feels like he should help his friend.  

But then the guard, Dawn, becomes the victim in a brutal attack at the prison and Mike realizes there might be a darker cover up going on....and Billy and his family (Aimee and 4 children) are at risk. 

While this investigation is going on, Mike gets a second phone call for help but this time it's from a distant mountain valley where Shadow, a wolf-hybrid he once cared for, has been found shot by an arrow and clinging to life. Mike searches for the identity of the bowman but his investigation is blocked at every turn he takes by a very hostile community. And how are the Amish involved?? 

When Billy's wife and children are indeed threatened, Mike finds that he himself is tested like never before.  How can he possbily keep this family safe when he has his own enemies on his trail? 

Mike is torn between loyalties.  So he responds in the only way he knows how:  by bending every law and breaking every rule to keep his loved ones safe and the true predators at bay.

And what about Shadow?  Will Mike take Shadow back if he lives?? 

MY THOUGHTS

This was a good mystery.  It was very fast-paced and had much less swearing in it than some of the other Mike Bowditch books.  

The character development  and setting are well done as usual.  

I loved that Mike is now with Dani Tate, a state trooper who has had a crush on Mike since she first met him when he was living with a different girlfriend (Stacey) his mentor Charley Stevens' daughter. 

In this book we find out that Mike and Dani are dating but that Dani doesn't live with him. I like that Dani is being cautious...she knows Mike and his issues!  

This book also brings back some other characters from previous novels that I liked reading about. 

The two plots mix well together and are solved in a believeable manner. 

I love the bond between Shadow and Mike and I don't want to ruin the ending for you, but let's just say Mike, in any future books, is going to have his hands full. 

If you like mysteries and nature, this is a highly recommended series. 

I can't wait to find out more about Mike and Dani and Shadow in the 11th book. 

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 9.