WEEKEND WRAP-UP

 

Algonquin Lake
southern AdirondackMountains 
Saturday 19 Sept

What a weekend!  It was the perfect last weekend of summer.  A half day of hiking and lots of down time to relax and recharge for this busy week ahead. 

FRIDAY:  Friday, I woke up, did a 30 minute power walk even though it was supposed to be my recovery day from the difficult mountain hike the day before, and then did laundry and housework.  I also had to run an errand on Friday.  Dave worked from home and in the evening, we had a "date night" of a picnic in the family room while watching a Michael J Fox movie from 1987 that we had never seen!!  In fact, in September of 1987, (I had just completed my MS in EdPysch/Special Ed in June and earned my NYS permanent teaching certificate/license to teach birth through geriatric) I was a first year Master Teacher of inner city PreK children and Dave was in grad school! We knew each other just as acquaintances!  And neither of us had time for movies...or the money to go!  So we had a blast eating our leftover sloppy joes, salad, and he had a beer and I had a glass of my fave Riesling. 

a comedy that was loads of fun!

wine on the deck at sunset 

SATURDAY:  I had 9 people originally signed up for the Meditative Hike in the southern Adirondack Mountains.  It was a flat hike (only 1.25 miles one way) to a little waterfalls on a creek and to a  flow.  It ended up being 6 of us due to one person  who had an injury, and two who had something come up last minute in their families. In my car there was my friend Meg (who is also taking my Psalms class I'm teaching on Monday mornings), my oldest daughter Courtney and her boyfriend Tyler.  Our Indonesian members Ridwan and Lisi followeed us in their car.  Here are some fave pics from our beautiful  quiet hike!  We all hiked in silence to pray or meditate on a Scripture or to just reflect on whatever we were thinking about and at the waterfalls/bridge, we could then share what we learned along the way or just start chatting.  Everyone seemed to really love it.   The feedback was great.  We hiked from about 10 AM to 12:30 PM  and were home around 3:30 pm after popping in quick to the lake pictured at the top of this post which was on the way home. 

Tyler and Courtney lead the way 
along the Stewart Creek Falls trail
aka Oregon Trail
Southern ADK 

Meg, Ridwan and Lisi enjoy some quiet time 
along the trail on the way to the falls 

Stewart Flow
in the Wilcox Lake Wild Forest area 
of the southern ADK 

beautiful wildflowers...asters I think? 

Stewart Creek Falls 

SoulSteps Hikers
in front: Tyler and Courney
l-r back: Ridwan and Lisi, me, Meg

Saturday evening, Dave and I had dinner together.  He was tired and fighting either the beginning of a head cold or autumn allergies. (I think it's allergies as this happened last year too!) I made a chicken pasta broccoli casserole with some bean salad on the side.  It was delicious and kind of like "comfort" food as the temps were chilly Saturday evening.  It had that "Autumn" feel to the air. We both read in bed for a bit and talked about some family things that are going on in his family. 

SUNDAY: Dave had to be at the church by 7:30 AM to work on the Production team so I slept in until about 7, had coffee with him and then did a 15 minute cardio workout inside since it was a very rainy day.  In fact, it rained most of the day on Sunday and was very cool.

Church was awesome as always. The worship  was especially meaningful and the sermon was excellent!  Pastor Rex began a new sermon series last weekend called God Sightings. We will be learning about when God showed up (mostly in the Old Testament with Scriptures in the NT to back it up) and revealed a new name He goes by to the people of Israel. For example: this week's name was Jehovah Jirah. God our Provider.  The sermon was centered around Abraham hearing the voice of God to sacrifice his son Isaac and how God showed up and provided the ram instead.  The whole point of the sermon is to Obey what God is telling us and we will have that mountain top experience and of course the One who gave us His only Son (Jesus) who was sacrificed for our sins.  It is going to be an excellent sermon series! 

In the afternoon, I did some reading and watched an episode of Call the Midwives and Dave took a nap. 

 For dinner, I made a "steak tips" dish we enjoy: Beyond Meat steak tips, peppers, (red, green, yellow)  onions, broccoli, garlic, carrots sauteed in a drizzle of Asian Ginger sesame sauce and served over brown basmati rice. We also had Apple Crisp for dessert as I had spent the afternoon baking apple crisp with some excellent early apples I had purchased from a local farm. Dave went to bed early and I spent the evening reading and prepping for my Psalms class. 

All in all, it was a good weekend and I just can't believe the first day of Autumn arrives tomorrow!! 

Mid-September Faves

 

Did I really just title this post "Mid-September"?? 

Wowza this month is already half over!  And Autumn officially begins on Tuesday and we are having a glorious end of Summer here in eastern NYS.  I have had many blessings this past week so it's hard to choose just 5 but here we go, to give intentional thanks to the One who makes it all possible.

Head on over to Susanne's site to learn how to join in and link up!

FIVE FAVES

SPAC and Worship in the Pines
The first ever Christian concert held at
Saratoga Spa State Park/Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Friday 11 Sept. 
l-r: Maggie, Darlene, Cindy, me

• CHRISTIAN CONCERT:  back in June, when my book group found out there was to be 3 of our favorite Christian bands at SPAC, for the  first ever Christian concert held in the very fave venue where I see the Philadelphia Orchestra and the NYCBallet every summer, we were over the top thrilled. Some of us bought tickets and rented chairs right away. Cindy offered to drive so we gave her gas money. Because it wasn't a SPAC sponsored event, but a Live Nation one via Ticketmaster, the prices were insane for parking. (classical stuff hosted by Spac is free parking). and the food and drinks prices were way above what I pay for the ballet. So, we brought our own empty water bottles and filled them at the water stations, and brought snacks.  Cindy and I did end up buying fruit smoothies which were delicious and non-dairy and were "only" $14. but at least we got 16 oz of it!  I was most excited to see Rend Collective and Crowder bands as I have been a fan of them for years.  And of course the evening ended around 10 pm with Brandon Lake whom I'm sure most of you know and probably sing some of his music in your worship services.  It was a phenomenal evening. There were 18,000 people!  It was truly an evening to be thankful for.....so many Christians gathered on the lawn and in the ampitheatre to worship God.  And my young friend Scot who is the head of production at my church, was asked by the team to be a videographer for that evening. I was so happy I ran into him and also that he scored this gig as he said it was paying well.  If you've never seen Crowder, Rend Collective or Brandon Lake in concert, I highly recommend. There were 3 lesser known bands playing as well and one was the younger generation, Elevation Rhythm,   of Elevation Worship which of course most of us know from the church songs for most praise and worship services at churches across North America.  

Crowder!! 

Jonathan Chu, the fiddle player for Rend Collective
 I was most excited to see/hear him!!
Fantastic!

friends from the Bible Study/Book Group I lead:
Maggie, Darlene, me, Cindy 
photo used with permission

Moreau Lake State Park 
Sat 12 September

• SUN, SAND, SOLACE:  Last Saturday, Dave was at a gaming convention, something he had been looking forward to all summer in a city to the west of us. This left me alone for the weekend, again, and no scheduled SoulSteps hike that I had to lead.  Because I had been out so late at Worship in the Pines, and didn't even wake up until 7:45 AM, I decided to get ready for a morning at the beach and do some reading and catch some rays to prolong my tan. There were only 2 of us on the beach and one young family was fishing over by the boat launch.  As the morning went on, a few people would come walk their dogs by the lake/on the beach and then as I was leaving around 1:45, a group of young teen boys were playing touch football on the beach.  It was so peaceful and although the temp was only 68 up there, I was in full sun from 10:30-1:45 (yes I use sunscreen!) and it felt heavenly to have a large chunk of time to sit and read.  I had packed an apple and water and I did  get up a couple of times to walk around. Im thankful for a peaceful morning. 

Finally!

• MORNING GLORIES!  My morning glories, which should have started climbing and blooming in July since I started them from seeds in March and planted them as seedlings in mid-May, are finally crawling up the deck trellis and blooming. Since I took this pic last Sunday, there are many more purple and pink blooms.  I'm thankful I have morning glories again. They  typically last until mid-November here in eastern NY unless we get snow before then, which isn't likely. 

• CHIROPRACTIC CARE:  I needed an emergency visit with my chiropractor on Wednesday.  My S1-S2 joints were locked causing my knee to pinch and lock upon going up or down stairs. Sciatic pain is so annoying.  After aligning both sides of my body, and then using a hip flexor stretch on my left side, she decided since I could barely lift my left leg, to use the Activator tool on my S1-S2 joints. This is rather "new" technology that allows her to not do any 'cracking" (she doesn't believe in that unlike most chiropractors) or manual manipulation. It's about the size of a pen and hooks up electrically to help reposition the vetebrae and gives a "tapping" to the joints relieving the pressure.  it's like a little hammer is gently tapping on my back.  Once this was done (it's just less than a minute!) I could lift my leg and was able to stand with no pinched  shooting pain behind the knee.  I'm so thankful she fit me in because I had to lead a rigorous climb up a significantly tall mountain the next day!  

this is after 4.5 miles to the famous Cairn on Jay Mountain
in the High Peaks region of the Adirondacks. 
We still had another half mile or so to go to get to the true summit. 
from l-r: Joan, me, Michelle, Ping
photo used with permission

• SOULSTEPS HIKE!  I had a scheduled hike up a mountain on Thursday that I didn't think I would ever hike again. I first climbed this 3600' high mountain (remember..here in the ADK we start at base!) in 2018 and it was a kick your butt trail then.  At age 66, I was determined to see if I could make it to the summit. I did but chose not to scramble to the very tip top like last time. Total milage for us (because stupidly, we decided to go further along the ridge past the summit before turning around at a steep drop) was 9.3 miles.  This was our first major and longest hike as a group which began 2 years ago.  More pics and the story will be on FB but for now here are some fave photos from the day. Down here in the Capital Region it was a rainy humid day.  Up there? cloudy at first, and then when we got to the overlook the sun was peeking out. Once we got to the open ridgeline, it was gorgeous but humid.  God was really with us on this hike. There were so many rock scrambles or butt slides, but we all did it and felt great!  I'm so thankful for fun people to hike with. One of the guys who signed up had to bow out due to a neck injury.  So it was just us 4 ladies. 

Whiteface Mt, NYS's 5th highest mountain
(zoom in to see the ski runs)
from Jay Mt Overlook.
This is after 3 miles of hiking up. 
We still had another 1.5 to go to reach the true summit

Beginning of the open ridgeline 

Michelle is behind me as I navigate through
the ridgeline towards the summit

There's the summit!  
This is on the overlook.  At this point we have hiked a steady climb
up 3 miles.  After this we have another 1.5 to go with NO markers/blazes
and most of the cairns were gone.  We began hiking about 9 AM and were back to car by 5:30 pm...after stopping at a rest stop to clean up and change clothes, we went out to dinner!
We left our church (I drove) at 6:15 AM and got back at 9:30 PM! 

Joan and I on the summit....
and no....none of us scrambled to the very top
although I did in 2018.  We were wiped out!
We ate our lunch here and then after about a 20 min  pause
we started the 4.5 miles down. 

Tomorrow? I'm leading a group of 7 of us to a remote stream/flow/waterfalls and RT is only 3 miles. It will be like a walk in the park compared to this! 

Have a fabulous weekend! 

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.