JULY FAVES

 

WOWZA! It's been another few days of hot and humid weather but the high humidity is supposed to break tonight, so for that I am grateful. I'm tired of having the central air on. I much prefer fresh air blowing through the open windows in my home. 

Let's pause and find FIVE blessings from the week that "Wow-ed" us or made us stop and say "thank You, God".  I'm joining in with other bloggers who do this every Friday and Susanne is the host! Thankful for Susanne continuing this because it is good to give thanks for our blessings. 

• iPHONE CAMERA: I'm thankful for the iphone camera. My vacation pics came out pretty good and although a couple of the ocean ones didn't come out at all, most of them have been sorted through, uploaded onto this laptop, and put into albums on Facebook and used in blog posts talking about each day of our vacation.  So far, I've only written about 2 out of the 5 days, but that's ok. I started backwards with Day 4 (I'm not doing one for the last day but I wrote about it on FB) so did that and Day 3. Day 2 will be written tonight if I get a chance or tomorrow morning. If you click on the blue bold print, it will take you to the posts. Day 4 was the day we discovered some very interesting things about Dave's family 😃 at the Pilgrim museum. 

Day lilies

hanging plant off front entrance

gerbera daisies in front flower bed

Sunflowers

• THRIVING PLANTS:  I was so happy to see my plants (including the buttercrunch lettuce I left in the dining room while we were gone as it can't be out in the high heat and humidity) thriving this week. Our youngest daughter came up after work while we were gone one evening and when we got home she reported to me that she only had to water the indoor plants because this area had a couple of days of "monsoons" (her words).  She said it poured. It never rained at all in Plymouth and Cape Cod, thankfully. I was so worried these plants would die from the heat and humidity but they're actually thriving. The short sunflowers are now all opened since I've taken this photo. The sprinkling of red you see on the leaves  is chili powder. It keeps the bunnies who live under our shed away!!  As it is, they ate all of my morning glories as I forgot to sprinkle those. I'm thankful for beautiful blooms. 

the central and high peaks region from the firetower 
on the summit of Swede Mt 

me and Melanie
on the summit of Swede Mt
There is a sign informing hikers
 of the history of the ADK  fire towers
photo compliments of Charlie 
used with permission

I had Charlie, our newest SoulSteps member,
lead the way down the mountain. 
The broken down cabin is a former hunting cabin
Hunting is allowed on Swede Mt 
so the trail is closed to hikers from Sept-midDec. 

• MID-WEEK HIKE:  I had 6 members originally signed up for hiking up the small mountain in eastern Adirondacks known as Swede Mt. Swede only has an elevation of 1904 '.  The trail is very narrow and overgrown in the first half mile. The 2nd half mile is a nice wide trail with switchbacks as it's a short,  steep mountain. It ended up being just 3 of us hiking as some members who had signed up were either not feeling well or were recovering from injuries. Melanie and Charlie were great hiking partners and it was great to get to know Charlie a bit. He shared his testimony and it was quite powerful. I had him lead us back down the mountain.  It was very hot and humid, and while I was climbing the firetower, I actually had to sit down on the last flight to slow my heart rate down...I felt like I was going to faint.  But I figured out that I just hadn't been drinking enough water plus we had set a pretty fast pace. It ended up being a hot humid day so Melanie and I went to Loon Lake afterwards which is about 15 miles north of the mountain.  We had planned to hike somewhere so we were wearing our swimgear under the hiking clothes. I'm thankful Charlie enjoyed his first SoulSteps hike (he was on vacation all week and his wife doesn't like to hike) and that we all stayed safe. 

relaxing at Loon Lake (eastern ADK)
after a hot, sweaty hike.
Loon Lake is super clear and clean and the water is cold but refreshing

• CHORES DONE:  Dave and I tackled the laundry together last weekend and while I dealt with grocery shopping and reading all the mail that was waiting for us when we got home Friday evening, he mowed the entire lawn. It felt good to be back in our own bed and get the chores done and then Sunday evening we just relaxed.  I'm thankful my husband helps out around the house! 

Thursday evening

• HAIR RE-SHAPED!  I couldn't stand the pixie cut my hair stylist did for me in June. It was much to "shaggy" in the back and the top just didn't look good on me. I don't like complaining to her as I've gone to her for about 25 years now and she's usually top notch but that cut just wasn't working for me.  So I called her, got in for yesterday morning, and asked her if she could do the stacked look in the back and trim it to grow back out to be a cropped French bob.  She said she absolutely could.  She did a great job and she agreed the shaggy pixie...although super trendy right now....just doesn't fit me well. I told her to not let me talk her into ever doing that again! HA! Seriously...I am so thankful for her and her skills.

That wraps up my first full week of July and some favorite blessings.

How was your week? what are you thankful for today? 

I totally forgot to mention Independence Day!!  We spent it doing chores and I made grilled burgers (plant based for me, beef for dave) and we attended our local baseball game (the Valley Cats..used to be minor league but can't remember what level it is now) where the visiting team won but that was ok because that's who we were rooting for! Why? because it was the Brocton Rox and that's the area of MA that Dave is from!! It was a great game with a grand slam and just so much fun to see the fireworks afterwards.  I was especially thankful that our youngest daughter Claire could meet us there...it was so good to see her and get caught up on her life. 

I love how this pic I took came out!

Vacation Day 3: Sandwich on Cape Cod

 

Wednesday was our 3rd day in Plymouth and we chose to do something that I wanted to do.  The Battleship Cove visit in Fall River on our Anniversary (30 June) was for Dave. Although if you are on Facebook with me, you know I also loved it.  

I had really wanted us to go back to the Botanical Heritage Gardens and Museums.  We had been there during Memorial Day weekend circa 2004 when we camped in Sandwich that year and the girls were 5 and 8.  But it was rainy, gloomy, chilly the morning we went to the Gardens and hardly anything was blooming yet.  So we took them inside the Auto Museum there and then on the carousel.  They must have ridden that 5-6 times and then we ended up in Wareham to visit their grandparents (Dave's folks) and get warm by the fireplace. Wareham is where we had the T family beach house on Buzzards Bay which is just over the Bridge from the Cape. 

So I was very excited that it was a gorgeous, although hot and humid, day. We were thanking God for the ocean breeze!

Sandwich is the oldest village on Cape Cod. It's quaint with beautifully manicured lawns and pretty Cape Cod bungalows, ranch style homes, and now more colonial type homes.  Some are very simple and some are much more ornate. 

There's a very small shopping district with quaint gift shops and art galleries. 

We headed first to the Botanical Gardens which is at the end of a row of homes that are quite pricey and just beautiful and some are like mansions.  Definitely a more up scale part of town. 

There are 100 acres at the Gardens and at the admissions center they give you a map.  Most of the paths connect.  Some do not. At one point we were a bit confused as the map wasn't great but we figured out where we wanted to go and the above pic took us to a beautiful maze where it was a very sensory experience with sight, scent, sound, and touch. It was very shady in the maze and I neglected to take photos because I was reading what all the trees/plants were. This photo above was one of my favorite walkways through the gardens.  

Here are some hydrangeas that were just gorgeous. Much prettier in person than in the pics. 

Dark blue ones were my fave

the light blue ones were pretty too
We didn't know there were so many varieties!

The Botanical Gardens have 155 different species of hydrangeas.  Click on the link to read about this. 

I also loved this section, paying homage to the Wampanoag tribes. 

a replica of a Wetu, the homes of the Wampanoag 

The "three sisters":  corn, beans and squash
that the Wampanoag people taught the Pilgrims to plant 
This is why these vegetables are featured in a traditional Thanksgiving feast 

Across from the Wetu and Wampanoag Garden was the Cranberry House in an historic building that actually comes from NY! This holds the largest museum collection of cranberry history in the nation! 

Where the Cranberry Collection is exhibited

We will start celebrating Cranberry Day!
Who knew??!!

iconic signage from the 1940s 

An example of a cranberry sorting table

We were allowed to pick these up.
They are scoops to harvest the cranberries.
The one on the right, when I lifted it, was like lifting 
both of my 4 lb weights.
The one on the left I couldn't lift!  It was VERY heavy. Dave could.
Can you imagine using these for 8-10 hour days???  

After the Cranberry Exhibit, we continued onto the various gardens.  Here are my fave photos from the walks: 

a species of day lilies 

a Yew tree

Beets in the vegetable garden

An historic windmill...is called 
The Old East Mill and was built in 1800
it was used to ground corn meal for the Union soldiers of the Civil War
and was orginally located in Orleans which is further out on the cape
It was moved to Sandwich in 1967. 

a trail to the pond where it was a bit cooler
and definitely more shady 

Peas in the veggie garden.....
they were so ready to be picked and eaten!

onions!!

I really liked this whole garden area
with the yew trees

Dave by the yew tree

I loved this pot of flowers
 and the shadow it's making

The labyrinth section was peaceful and beautiful
We walked the labyrinth and had some prayer time
and it was a half mile walk!

on our prayer walk 

we thought this bench was super cool 

Dave just loved this stone wall 

We enjoyed the sundial near the front entrance

Shawnee Pond at Botanical Gardens

the trail from Shawnee Pond.....so pretty

A pretty little water garden 

Another fave water fountain garden
I especially loved this one 

a pollinator busy working!

Riding the carousel on one of the historic
handcrafted carriages 
We ended our time at the Botanical Gardens with the Carousel
in memory of when our girls did this in 2004. 
1 July 

Fish tacos with pineapple salsa and the house salad; Dave had the seafood reuben and the caesar salad
We ended the day with the BEST food, BEST prices and 
BEST drinks....at Dillon's Local
We ate late and then enjoyed time on the hotel terrace overlooking the Atlantic

a refreshing MaiTai for me and a Guiness for Dave

The beautiful sunset at Pilgrim Sands 
evening of 1 July 

That's a wrap for Wednesday 1 July!

WEDNESDAY HODGEPODGE EARLY

It's Tuesday but I'm writing these answers up to this week's Hodgepodge because I'm at the car dealership waiting for my first oil change and tire rotation on my car I bought this past October. I'm joining in with other bloggers at this site. 

1. What's something you enjoy now that your younger self would never have appreciated? 

the peace and quiet of a summer morning on the deck; a quiet walk in the woods by myself; quietly sitting sipping a good glass of wine by the bonfire by myself or with my husband

2. What was peaceful about today? 

There's nothing peaceful so far about my day. This waiting lounge at the dealership is loud. TV is annoyingly loud and someone's cellphone alarm keeps going off. I'll answer this later today. 😀

Ok..the most peaceful part of my day so far (it's about 2:30 pm on Tuesday) is having a steaming mug of chocolate raspberry truffle coffee by Fresh Market that I made as a pour over after lunch. The coffee time with a good book I'm reading was just what I needed after driving home from the car dealership in the pouring rain and then needing the AC on because it's still so humid!  The temp is only 68 but it's humid!!  I don't like humidity. Hopefully it breaks over the weekend. 

3. It's National Blueberry Day (July 8). Will you celebrate?  You can have one of the following right now-a slice of blueberry pie, a warm blueberry muffin, or a stack of blueberry pancakes...which do you choose?

OOH....I love blueberries but I actually don't like many pies. 

I made blueberry muffins before vacation so will pass on those this week. 

Maybe I will get it together and make blueberry pancakes for hubby before he leaves for work, although we did have them before we left on vacation last week.  

I have a lot of blueberries and eat them year round so will probably do tonight for dinner what we did last evening:  cut up peaches, nectarines and blueberries as a side dish. 

This or that-blueberries or raspberries? blueberries or strawberries? 

I love both blueberries and raspberries and have both in pretty bowls in the fridge this week. 

I am allergic to strawberries....less so now as an adult but I actually don't like the taste or scent of strawberries.

4. Do you need a break? From what? 

I need a break from political news. I cannot stand it. Especially the "news" I see when I log into Facebook to post my photos. 

5. What has surprised you most about getting older? 

That I actually don't really care  what people think of my style or my opinions. 

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

fish tacos with pineapple salsa and house salad

best MaiTai ever!

These were the best fish tacos I've had since we were in Portland Maine last year. These were SO good.  The cod was fresh!  Of course we were in Plymouth for our Anniversary vacation and you don't get much fresher than Plymouth.  Plymouth incidentally was so pumped up for the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Although it wasn't written in Plymouth, Plymouth IS where our nation began!! If you've never been to Plymouth to do all the Pilgrim and Wampanoag stuff, I highly recommend it. I firmly believe every American should get there at least once. For us? We've gone often since I got engaged to Dave in 1989. If you're a regular here, you know why.  Click here to learn why Plymouth has been rather important to us. It was awesome. The food pictured above was at the Irish pub off the main drag called Dillon's Local. SO good. 

HAPPY SUMMER!

I'm leading a hike today so had to post this on Tuesday.