Early May Faves

What a whirlwind of a week.

Lots of busyness yet some downtime as well.

About 9 more weeks of school for me with the special needs kiddos and about 8 weeks left for Claire before exams.  Our oldest daughter is currently preparing for her final exams at the college and she will be home for the summer in just a few short weeks!  I'm so happy about that! 

Meanwhile, I'm thinking back on this week and  finding the blessings in all the busyness.  You can join in as well by linking up with Susanne, our very gracious hostess.

photo courtesy of Target

• SHOE SALE!  yes, I ran errands to this store with my 15 year old who needed a cheap pair of sneakers for youth group camp. While there, I spied the above shoes on clearance for 8$.  Yes, I bought them.  A shoe sale is a blessing and although they probably won't last past summer, they are super cute with casual pants and capris.  And a woman can't have too many shoes, you know!

photo courtesy of pinterest

• MOUNTAIN CLIMB!  Yes, I climbed my first mountain of the year on Sunday with my good friend Carla and another hiking buddy, Keith. (the last mountain I climbed was on October 30th with my husband. We did another Catskill one....Overlook Mt)  I feel like I accomplished a good mountain hike.  It was in the Catskills, about 2 hours south of our  homes here in the northern suburbs of Albany. I chose one of the fire-tower mountains I have to do for the Fire-tower Challenge I am participating in.  (For more info on that, come back soon as I will be writing about the challenge and keeping a page with an update on my progress.)  The day brought clouds, sun, sleet, rain, and snow. Yes, snow. But we hiked anyways and the snow was light...of course there was still some on the summit area due to the mountain being over 3000 feet tall. In fact, Balsam Lake Mountain is one of the high peaks of the Catskills.  They have 35 High Peaks (the Adirondacks has 46 High Peaks).  The fire-tower was closed at the very top and it was so cold and windy that I only climbed up to the 3rd landing.  I had a great view even though it was partly cloudy.  And snowing. We ate lunch standing up due to the snow.  I have more to share on this hike, but that will be for another post.  It felt GREAT to have this mountain checked off my list.....I hiked 6.9 miles that day!! We also met a "Celebrity hiker" that day at the fire-tower......there will be more on this in my post later this weekend. The blessing, besides the obvious of being in the woods, on a mountain and getting another fire-tower checked off, is that I did very well physically. I wasn't sore at all the next day and only a little stiff that evening.  GLORY TO GOD!!

along the ridge on the trail up Balsam Lake Mountain
26 April 2014
Arkville, NY

at about 3500 feet up.

Almost to the summit....Carla is ahead of me

Keith, Carla at the Balsam Lake Mt Lean-to
we hiked past the firetower about a half mile to view this lean-to
where 2 men had spent the night....their  things are behind Carla

The Catskills as seen from the first landing of the Fire-tower

I am freezing on this April afternoon...after hiking for 2 hours we made it to the fire-tower!
Note the gloves and layers.....brr.......

Balsam Lake Mountain Firetower
3,753 feet elevation
just where I was standing to take this pic there was a picnic table full of snow

• WARM FOOD AND COFFEE.  After the hike, we were just so chilled.  We still can't believe we were having November weather in April!  We decided to stop at a  little local diner.  If you click on the link, you will first see a car "drive" onto the page.  Wait a few seconds and then their website will be complete.  Because it was 4pm-ish and I had had some lunch on the summit, I just ordered their special scrambled eggs made with Brie cheese and various fresh herbs. YUM! And the coffee felt soooo good warming my body.  It was a great place to stop after a day of hiking. And no one seemed to mind that we were all muddy and disheveled.  The blessing for me, and a very nice surprise, is that my friend paid for my portion! She is such a great friend. Thank-you, Carla!!

photo courtesy of the diner website

• HIGH HONOR ROLL!  Our 15 year old daughter Claire received her report card in the mail this past week for the 3rd quarter of her 9th grade year.  She has a GPA of 97.6 and made High Honor Roll again.  We are very proud of all her hard work.  She is doing so well in high school!

• FLOWERS!  I came home from yesterday in much warmer temps, sun after a mostly rainy day, and these flowers finally blooming!  The yellow ones tend to bloom about mid-April and the tulips tend to bloom anywhere from early April to late April.  At least that's how it's been for the last 5 years.  But with our long NY winter, and our wet, cold spring thus far, they haven't been opening.  Until yesterday!!  YAY for fresh, new spring flowers.  I love my front yard flowers.....so cheerful.  Hopefully more will open this weekend.

That wraps up my special blessings from the week....

I hope you all enjoy a restful, refreshing weekend!

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