Wednesday HodgePodge meme

 

Lake Clear at Sunset
August 2025
northern ADK 

I'm linking up with Joyce's blog to participate in her hodgepodge of questions meme. Join in!

1. How do you define beauty? 

see the photo above. Anything in nature defines beauty for me. But also: beauty within a person; the beauty of God's grace and mercy; the beauty of walking with my Savior-Redeemer every day; the beauty of giving birth. There really is no way to pinpoint beauty. Beauty and how you see it, depends on you and your life experiences. I can see a physically beautiful person but if she has an unpleasant personality or is crass...well... that's not beautiful is it? 

2. Have you ever taken a trip by train? If so where did you go and what did you think of the experience? If not do you have any desire to do so? Where would you like to go? (You might find inspiration here-The Best Train Trips in The World)

Yes of course. I live in the Capital Region of NYS. We take the train to NYC.  I took it more to the City when I lived in central NY and was single. I would take it to Grand Central and my friend Usha would meet me there as she was living in NJ.  I've also taken a train from Rome to Florence when we were on vacation there in July 2017. It's a great way to travel but I still prefer flying. 

3. Shell shocked, bombshell, bandshell, shellacking, in a nutshell, walking on eggshells...choose one and tell us why you chose it, or how it relates to your life in some way currently.

Let's say I was a bit "shell shocked" when this happened this summer. 

4. Tacos, pistachios, oysters, clams, eggs...your favorite food on the list that comes in/with a shell? 

I love fish tacos...Cape Cod has some amazing ones.  And I do like scrambled eggs although I don't eat eggs all that much as I don't want to go on a statin!   I don't care for pistachios although they're a fave of my sister Hope.  And only Dave loves oysters and  clams. EW. I just so do not! 

5. Are birthdays a big deal in your house? Is your own birthday a big deal in some way? Elaborate. 

From the time the girls were 2-16, I made sure we planned birthday parties for their  closest friends. The way I did it: if they were turning 4, they invited 4 of their closest girl friends and boy friends from preK.  When they turned 16, they had 16 of their closest friends. One daughter always wanted something more elaborate in the way of cake/ice cream cake.  The youngest daughter always wanted something simple like brownies or cookies. She wasn't a cake gal like her mama. 😊

As for my self: I don't care what happens on my December birthday as long as Dave takes me to one of my fave restaurants and I don't have to cook. I prefer cards over gifts. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

True summit of Jay Mt 3600'
High Peaks region ADK

I'm hiking this beauty of a mountain  tomorrow.

it's an arduous climb.

8 miles.  First 2.5 is steep with a steady approach to a beautiful look out.

Last 1.5 miles is an open ridgeline and one in which you have no markers. Following the cairns is a must. 

There are 4 of us going. Only 1 person is younger than 50.  I sure hope I make it to the true summit like I did in 2018.  It will be glorious although it's supposed to be  cloudy. 

HAPPY WEDNESDAY!

2026 Book Review #29:House of Glass

 

My reading has really slowed down this summer.....mainly because I'm rarely home!

So yesterday, I took myself to the lake since hubby is away again this weekend, and finished this novel I've had for 3 weeks. This type of book usually only takes me 5-7 days to read but summer has been so beautiful and I've done so much hiking that I  simply haven't given myself chunks of reading time other than before bed.  

If you like easy mysteries with a lot of suspense, you'll like this one. I like that it wasn't gory and no F bombs!

STORY SUMMARY

Rose Barclay is a 9 year old girl who has been identified with traumatic mutism. 

She witnessed the murder of her nanny, Tina at the same time that her parents are in the middle of a messy divorce. She immediately stopped talking. 

Stella Hudson is a "best interest attorney"' who works with children in high conflict custody cases as appointed by the courts. She never accepts clients under the age of 13 because of her own traumatic childhood, but her mentor and good friend, Charles (a well respected judge) believes Stella is the only BIA who can help Rose. 

The Barclay family is extremely wealthy and live in a historic home in the D.C area.  This is all due to Elizabeth'(Beth) family money.  Beth is a very much a controlling mother who oversees Rose's daily schedule and rarely lets Rose out of the house unless it is to work in the garden with her  grandmother, Harriet (paternal grandmother) or if she's with Ian (Rose's father) or with the horses. Beth herself has mood swings, similar to Rose. 

Once Stella gets to know each Barclay family member, and spends time at the Barclay mansion, she begins to see that this family is vastly more troubled than she realized. The house has absolutely no glass. Everything is plastic or plexiglass.  It's very eerie. 

As she comes closer to uncovering the secrets that the Barclays are hiding, danger starts to creep in, and her own past and her present are about to collide. 

Everyone is a suspect in the nanny's murder. Beth, Ian, Harriet, Pete (the nanny's boyfriend), and even little Rose. 

Will the truth be revealed?  Or will Stella need protection from the very person she's supposed to be protecting? 

MY THOUGHTS

This was a good book with a lot of suspense.  

I liked the character development as well as the setting.

The chase scene at the end was a bit unbelievable but then again it's fiction so.....

Some of the main themes in this story center around: family dysfunction, deception, trauma and its consequences, the weight of carrying secrets, truth restoring love and forgiveness, divorce, drug use, friendship. 

As suspense novels go, this was pretty good!  I liked that there were no editing errors and no blatant swear words. 

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 an 8. 

God Moments

 

Moreau Lake State Park
12 Sept

I was   at the lake by 11 AM after sleeping from 1 AM to 7:45 AM.  I had been at Worship in the Pines with 3 friends and we didn't get home until close to midnight. So when I woke up and saw it was going to be a glorious day for sunshine, sand and the lake, I decided to just toss on a bathing suit, grab my fiction book, beach bag and a sweatshirt/shorts and get up to where I knew there'd be hardly anyone on the beach.  It was only 68 F up there and breezy. On the beach, a young family with 2 little ones were leaving which left just me and another woman who was  sitting  further down the beach.  We had the entire beach to ourselves the 2.5 hours I was there, except for the occasional person walking on the edge of the lake and then leaving. There were quite a few kayaks and canoes on the water.  

It was so peaceful and the sun was amazing.  I like to continue my tan as long as I can, and today was the perfect day for it. I had an apple, my coffee and water.  After applying sunscreen, I prayed and thanked God for last evening and for the glorious weather He gave us these 2 days in a row and then prayed for my husband, who once again, is away this weekend..this time at a gaming convention in a nearby city.  I read 4-5 chapters in my book and then decided to ask God a question. 

The conversation went like this: 

me: God, why did I feel pity last night, when I ran into 3 of the people who were at that good-bye party 2 weeks ago?  They were blatantly staring me down while in line for our rental chairs. They were ahead of my group, God, and yet they felt compelled to turn around and just stare. Why did I only feel pity for them? 

And then I waited. Silence. 

Ok...so maybe God wasn't going to answer me this time. I got up to return my coffee carafe to the car and grab my water and use the bathroom. 

On the way back down the beach to my chair, I spied a very thin piece of totally stripped driftwood. Next to a heart shaped leaf in yellow, which is like the sun which reminds me of the Son. 

I picked them up. I love nature and seeing what God has created.  And what's with the driftwood this year at Moreau Lake?? 

I took a pic to show my oldest daughter who loves finding hearts in nature. 

And then I sensed His Spirit speaking to my heart:

"you felt pity because your memories are fading like I, your Father in Heaven, told you would happen. The leaf represents my love for you. I held your heart last night. Your memories, along with the rage, sadness, hurt, confusion, and betrayal, are fading like this tiny piece of driftwood which is stripped bare. I told you this was a process. I wanted you to see today that your pity is ok. It's replacing  all of those negative emotions you gave me on the mountain last week."  

And friends.....don't be fooled if you think you can't hear from God....sometimes He uses the simple things of nature to speak to us. 

I call those God moments. I thank Him for those. 

September Faves

 

It's been a crazy, busy week with family stuff, church stuff and household chores/errands.  I'm ready to slow down a bit this weekend and share FIVE blessings from the past week.  I'm thankful that Susanne continues to host this weekly gratitude exercise.   Join in with us by heading over to her site. 

FIVE FAVES

• SAFE TRAVELS:  My husband left early Saturday morning to arrive in Plymouth Co MA to help out with his mom. He had safe travels to and then from on Monday morning.  Our youngest daughter Claire left early Monday morning to visit with her grandmother and replace Dave and then was back here in her apartment by 9 pm that evening.  I'm so thankful they both were safe on the Mass Pike over the Labor Day weekend. 

wet, muddy trail in the ADK High Peaks region
Saturday 5 Sept

• SOLO MOUNTAIN HIKE:  Everything went wrong.  Yet everything went right. I would love to do an entire post about my solo mountain hike last Saturday.  But for now, let's just say, I started out in drizzle; it stayed dry while I actually climbed this just under 3000' mountain, and the skies opened up to pouring rain on the summit after a young couple snapped my pic. I had left my trekking poles in the car, along with my whistle and didn't have a proper hiking raincoat with me because the weather forecast called for cloudy skies and no rain until late afternoon.  But this was a hike where I felt the Presence of God like no other mountain hike and it was my third time this summer totally hearing from Him regarding some specific issues. I made record time (a personal best) and climbed the 1.6 miles up mostly boulder steps in 57 minutes!  Last time I hiked this (2 Autumns ago) it took just under 2 hours! I had the trail to my self for 1.3 miles of it and I had the summit  to myself for 15 solid minutes. In the rain. While journaling and trying to eat my apple. It was heavenly because God did a work in me showing me that He is my Source of strength.  I might write about this experience in more detail but for now, enjoy some of my fave photos from the day and just know that I am so thankful I was safe, not in pain (until the next day) and that something I had been holding back from releasing to God, was released.  I'm so thankful we serve a Living God who walks beside us. 

these are the "easier" boulder steps on the trail
 towards the beginning of the climb
up Mt Van Hoevenberg 

A hint of Autumn in the trees
 and these boulders were slick!

This is the first "summit"...the overlook
where a lovely young woman took my photo
and after this it's just about 900 yards to the true summit

on the true summit.....just as the rain is coming in 
Mt Van Hoevenberg, Adirondacks High Peaks Region
Just 3 miles down the road, the sun was glorious! 
This is where I hung out and talked to God 

• CONNECT WEEKEND AT CHURCH: I'm thankful all went  well for Connect Weekend at church. This is where people come to the tables in the lobby where those of us who are ministry leaders, small group leaders and class instructors have QR codes and samples of books, info about our groups. I had decided that since I had to drop some SoulSteps hikers from the group for Autumn for failing to make their required Summer hike or for not following guidelines, that I would keep the group to 40 people. I was able to welcome 5 new people in, and have 2 more interviews this weekend making 7 new members.  I now have 11 people on the waiting list.  My Tuesday evening Bible study is full with just 1 more opening and my Monday morning class I'm teaching on Psalms has 1 opening.  I'm thankful for full groups and I'm also thankful I had a conversation with Pastor Rex and he totally confirmed so many things I've been going through lately.  He is a trusted, humble pastor and I give thanks for him and his wife Debbie who also talked with me for  quite a bit during our prayer time. I'm thankful to be a part of a vibrant, growing church with safe friends and leadership. 

surprise package and letter 

• SURPRISE!   On Wednesday, when I got home from running errands, I found a surprise package in our mailbox.  It included a handwritten note from a high school classmate and her husband.  I barely knew these 2 in high school (I graduated in 1978 from a small village in central NYS) so was shocked to read her letter. She stated that she remembered I loved dragonflies and was going through her trunk and found these items she was going to donate to a thrift store but wanted me to have them. The items are way too big on me, so I'm donating the blouse to a homeless shelter, and will keep the sweatshirt for a chilly day at the beach/after kayaking or after a hike when I need something warm as a top layer for the ride home.  I was very touched that she thought of me. I'm thankful for thoughtful people! 

Sunday evening fire and a mocktail

• SIMPLE PLEASURES:  Sunday evening was perfect weather for a bonfire and we have a lot of brush to burn. Because this has become our tradition (a fire..or two...) during Labor Day weekend, now that we don't camp, go to the beach house, or up to Long Lake to the cottage we rented for 10 years, I decided that even though Dave wasn't back to NYS, I would burn some of the brush. I would have burned more but the rest require a saw to break it down into smaller pieces to fit into the fire pit. I also did some produce shopping at Whole Foods on Wednesday and they were featuring a local farm that had fresh peaches for a very good price. I bought a quart of them and plan on making peach cobbler on Sunday. I'm thankful for simple pleasures in the late summer!

from a local farm

Those are the things that stand out and make me say "Thank You, God".  I also have to include my Star$ date with my very good friend of 21 years, Lynn E.  We hadn't gotten together since April due to life and being involved in different ministries. It was wonderful! We talked for almost 2 hours! 

HAPPY WEEKEND!  Only 2 more weekends until the beginning of Autumn season!