There's only about a month and a half of summer left!!
July has gone by so fast.....but it's been packed of many memories and special blessings. Here are a few from my week that I'm sharing by linking up at Susanne's site.
FIVE FAVES
 |
| Beach & San'd bar at Moreau Lake 24 July 2015 |
- LAKE DAY! Last Friday, Claire and one of her friends and I all headed to one of our favorite lakes just about 35 minutes north of us. We were there only 2 hours as it started to rain but the view I had from my beach chair was peaceful (see above) and the ice cream on the way home was yummy. It was a fun day. It's a blessing to live so close to several good lakes.
 |
| my husband and my dad |
 |
| from l-r: my Aunt Ruth, Uncle Bruce, my sister Hope and her husband Donny my sister Joy |
 |
| my youngest sister Jill and her youngest daughter Mady |
 |
| Jill's oldest daughter Emma and Jill's husband Mike |
- FAMILY TIME: I have 3 younger sisters and one of them (Hope) lives in the woods with her husband Donny. My dad now lives there, too. They live out in Central NY. Dave and I attended Hope's annual family picnic last Saturday. Everyone was there in our immediate family except my 2 daughters and my sister Joy's son. It was a nice day, partly sunny, not too humid (yet!), and lots of good food and conversation. My favorite was my sister's broccoli salad....yummy! Our aunt and uncle were there as well. It is always good to see family!
- NEW RECIPES: This past weekend, in talking with my brother-in-law who is a total vegan now, I decided to see if I could go at least 3 days in a row with no meat. And I did! It's easy!! And I didn't miss eating meat with dinner at all!! I had given up beef last summer and switched to bison due to the fact that bison are grass-fed only and are local AND are less in fat than poultry and cows. So Monday-Wednesday I only made vegetarian meals for dinner. My fave was the Rice Bowls I made. YUMMY.....and they were a hit with everyone else in the family, too. I've decided that I am only going to buy bison once every couple of months and only eat chicken once a week and fish twice a week. I do still eat hard boiled eggs about once a week and on hiking days. It's fun to look for more nutritious choices.
 |
| photo courtesy of yelp |
- BRUNCH: My friend Monica and I decided to meet for an early brunch on Tuesday at the above tea shop in town. I had a gift certificate from a student to use which made it extra special. We both enjoyed the spinach and cheddar frittata, a sweet scone, and some fresh, local berries. I had the apple spice iced tea, too. Delish! It's important to me to get together with my friends over the summer as once I am back to work in September, the school year is much too busy for weekday get- togethers. I treasure my friendships, and especially so when we are united in Christ.
- LUNCH: You are going to think all I did all week was eat! But Thursday morning was so awfully hot and humid.....the humidity level in our town was at 77%! So I decided to head to a favorite lake about 40 minutes east of us. A friend of mine who lives out that way said she'd be home so I could pop in to say hi. Well, she invited me for lunch! So after some quick chores around the house and an even quicker step aerobics routine in the basement, I headed out the door and up the mountain to her home. What a lovely salad we shared and the sweet fellowship of catching up with what God is doing in our lives. By the time I left her place, it was starting to rain so I never did make it to the lake for my alone time. But the visit was so worth the drive! I am blessed to have been this woman's friend, and she mine, for the last 27 years.
Those are the highlights of my week......it's been hazy, hot and very humid here with spots of rain here and there. I'm very thankful for our central air! But I do miss having the windows open to let in the fresh air!
I'm praying it is cooler tomorrow as we head up to the north with our kayaks for the first time all summer! It's going to be a family day and I am very happy about it. Just the 4 of us. Sand, sun, swimming, the kayaks, food, mini-golf and hopefully some good ice cream!
Whatever you have planned for the weekend, embrace each moment!
Blessings to you,
11 comments:
Oh your so lucky to have central air!!! (smiles)---no one, no, wait, the guy/house behind us has it. He said it cost him over $4,000. Yikes....anyways---thank you for the smiles. Have a safe trip. Blessings
Well, we all do eat all week -- your meals just were more memorable ;-) Glad you have had such a good week with family and time with friends. Summer is wonderful for that, isn't it?
Meals with friends and family do make good memories. I should have mentioned in my faves that we took my hubby's sister to lunch on Sunday :)
Did you know that I am vegan? Whole food plant based, to be exact. For almost five years. It's for my health. I don't miss meat or eggs at all. I know that butter and oil may slip in where I indulge in a cookie or scone, but that is very, very seldom. The only difficulty is meals out--I just bring my own. If you want meal ideas or encouragement, let me know!
I love the picture of your Dad and Dave. They just look so chilled out. Gotta love summer. It's so nice to get together with family! We went to the mountains with my sis and her hubby and it was a lot of fun. I do vegetarian meals sometimes but I just can't even imagine myself going vegan. I love eggs, cheese, butter and all that good stuff way too much.
How funny that you mentioned vegan recipes. Yesterday I spent most of the day listening to and reading about vegan meals. Evidently that type of food plan is really good for folks with diabetes (like me). So I am thinking of making a food shift in that direction. I will miss yogurt though!
Spending time with family is always a joy for me too and one that happens too infrequently.
I am envious of your rain!
Have a great week, Faith.
Congratulations on the meatless eating. I can go light on meat but don't know about eliminating it all together. (Bacon. . . .) However - I've been eating a lot less and am down seven pounds. Got a long ways to go, and not ready to talk about it a lot until it shows - but it is a great feeling to eat well, isn't it.
It is a good thing to treasure friendships - and family - and what a blessing you got to do both this week!
What great times you've had this week with meals and visits! Your outing tomorrow sounds like a lot of fun.
What a treat to get together with family like that! And, I just love visits with old friends. My best friend and I have plans to get together some time this month. We live about an hour away from each other and don't get to see each other as often as we used to.
Your family time at your sister and brother-in-law's last weekend sounds like a lovely time. I enjoyed getting to "meet" each of your sisters and their spouses and some of their children. The picture of your dad and Dave is precious. I'm so glad your dad can be with your sister. It has to bring peace of mind and heart to you.
Yay for your time with the four of you this weekend! Enjoy the time together. I know you will...you never seem to miss embracing the moments.
Hugs to you, my friend.
Dianna
You have had a great week! You still have a lot of summer left - Charly and I go back next week! I am totally not ready, but duty calls. We have really cut back on our meat consumption and there have been weeks we have not eaten meat at all. Not hard to do for us. We have been using non non-GMO soy crumbles instead of hamburger in things like red beans and rice and even spaghetti. We like it much better. Good for you to choose to eat healthier! I love your hikes. Wish I had someone to hike with, when the weather cools down a bit. Enjoy the coming week.
Post a Comment