Savoring Summer Faves

Wow.  1 August. Already!

July was a whirlwind but it also had many relaxing moments..........

This last week was no exception.....busy, but times of rest and refreshing of the soul, too.

How about joining in with us by linking up over at Susanne's or leaving a comment below, and share FIVE of your favorite things from the past week....I like to think of them as blessings from God.

I'm savoring these summer days.....it seems like our week long Boston vacation was so long ago.....but we still have a little over a month of summer break....let's enjoy these summer days......and count our blessings!

FIVE FAVES

photo courtesy of google images

• EASY HIKE!  Last Friday afternoon, I spontaneously called my friend Anita, who is new to hiking, and invited her for an easy hike in an area  called Indian Kill Nature Preserve which is in a town just about 20 minutes northwest of where we live. I had had very good chiropractor appointment in the morning and my back was starting to finally feel a bit of relief from that low back pain!  My foot is still acting up but is definitely on the mend.  I'm supposed to take it easy...so hard for this hiker to do!!  But, the afternoon was pleasant....I forgot my camera so am showing this image of the creek that I found online. I had done this hike with another friend in March, but wanted to see it in the summer months. Anita really enjoyed the trails and although we never made it to the large waterfalls (we couldn't find the correct trail!), we did enjoy the time down at the "kill" (Dutch for creek) and the beautiful, silent woods.  It's a blessing to have friends who like to hike with me!

Dave and Claire
July 2013

• VOLUNTEERING!  Our 15 year old daughter, Claire, came home last weekend from this Christian camp that 12 of our senior high youth group teens attended along with numerous college-aged volunteers and our youth pastor.  Imagine our surprise when she announced that she wanted to spend this PAST week volunteering at the City Rescue Mission in the city just to the west of us.  Apparently, our youth pastor was doing a series of Bible lessons there with the rescue mission's VBS program for inner city  children...and he wanted some of our youth group teens to volunteer.  We were thrilled that Claire wanted to serve in this way rather than resting up from a week away.  It shows us that there has been much spiritual  growth in her life, even though she is quite non-verbal about it.  We are blessed to have these opportunities for our teens and it's a blessing to have a youth pastor willing to do this kind of service to the inner city.

Dave....with one of his fave gifts

• BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION!  My husband Dave turned another year older on Tuesday and because the company he works for gives employees their birthday as a vacation day, we had a full day with him.  Claire served at the rescue mission in the morning, Courtney had the day off from her job, so after picking up Claire at noon, we headed to Saratoga for lunch at  this favorite summer eatery. Oh.my.goodness.  We all enjoyed the food immensely. We go at least one or two times every summer...Dave and Claire got the ribs and Courtney and I got the 1/4 chicken with yummy sides.  I splurged on the chocolate frozen custard soft serve because this restaurant is the only place in eastern NY that sells it....It is a huge item in the western part of NY but not around here....every time I eat a chocolate frozen custard, it reminds me of my college days in Rochester, NY. After we had lunch, Dave wanted to go back home and just relax.....I did a lot of reading in the backyard, he made special cocktails for a light supper of cheese and crackers and fruit, and ate his decadent "death by chocolate" cake he insisted I make...both girls helped. (I skipped the cake cause I had the custard!!)  He then opened gifts and we just enjoyed a relaxing evening. It's a blessing to have family time and celebrate another birthday.

photo courtesy of The Ballet Bag website

• BOLSHOI BALLET!  Well, the highlight of the week, by far, was attending the performance of "Don Quixote" performed by the largest and greatest ballet company in the entire world....the Bolshoi Ballet.  Sadly, at SPAC, there were Ukranian protesters outside the gates, but that didn't deter us.  (how come people just don't realize that the ballet company really has nothing to do with the fighting??? UGH).  We are very honored here in the Capital District of NYS, to have the Bolshoi Ballet Company visiting us this week.....they are here in the USA for only THREE cities:  Saratoga (near where we live), NYC at Lincoln Center, and then they will travel down to Washington, DC.  If any of you are near NYC or the nation's capital, get to a performance.  It is truly magnificent.  I'm not a big fan of the story of Don Quixote but the ballet was just superb.  They have a different kind of energy...and much more flamboyant, than the NYCBallet.  We love both and it was a huge blessing to have tickets for the ampitheatre seats.  Claire and I just loved it.  It is a once in a life time experience.

• BETTER BACK!  Thankfully, my chiropractor has gotten most of my back pain to ease up.  I now have longer chunks of time where there is absolutely NO pain.  He said the plantar faciitis will take him a bit longer to tackle but that the foot will be better in a matter of weeks, not months.  He is an amazing specialist....I am back to core fitness work on the fitness ball and he assured me that if I keep to it daily (and I have been...it only takes about 8 minutes morning and evening) I will keep my back muscles fluid.  I was able to power walk, slowly, for 2 miles with minimal foot pain and NO back ache!!  This weekend I will try kayaking again. I am so thankful for health insurance and an excellent chiropractic team.

Those are the highlights from the past week......I also had the blessing of beautiful sunny days with NO humidity and wonderful fresh air blowing through the open windows, time to read in the backyard, chats with my oldest girl who soon will be back to college, and fun chats with friends.  Tomorrow we hope to do some kayaking and BBQing on a lake about 2 hours north of here with some of the families from my small group.  Whatever your weekend plans are, I hope you enjoy every moment and take time to thank God for the blessings He sends.