End of Summer Faves

It's time to reflect back on the week and link up with other bloggers to share our FIVE FAVE blessings from God. 

Did you know that being grateful leads to contentment and joy?

Please do share something you are thankful for this week....something that brought you a bit of happiness....linking mine up with Susanne each week helps me to stay grounded and thankful in even the "little" things.

• SCRIPTURE!  I just love my morning or late afternoon "quiet time" with God.  This Scripture was brought to my mind as I looked out my kitchen window this week at the beauty all around me.....a baby bunny nibbling on our clover, the blue jays, woodpeckers, cardinals and sparrows at the feeder, the squirrels frolicking along the back fence, the sunshine spilling onto my dining room floor, the cooler temps rustling the living room curtains.  And all of this is by our Creator's Hand...reminding me of the glory of late summer turning into early autumn.  A true blessing.

Moreau Lake  at sunset as seen from my kayak
Moreau Lake State Park,
10 September

I love my kayak and late afternoons on the lake
photo courtesy of Melissa H.

Melissa enjoys Dave's kayak!

• LATE LAKE DAY!  Last Saturday, my neighbor and I headed north to the lake. My fave time is to go between 3-7 pm...the lake is typically quiet and this time of year, the beach is officially closed due to no lifeguards.  We did end up jumping in the lake for a quick swim as it was just perfect temperatures.  The best thing?  We saw an eagle swooping over the small mountain and of course our smartphones were zipped into our life vests. By the time we dug them out, he was gone.  But we enjoyed a nice paddle and chatting time.  The weather has been simply gorgeous.

Dave is hard at work!

• GARDEN WORK!  Our front "garden" (juniper, 2 rose bushes, tulips, irises, and peonies in spring) has been badly neglected this year.  The roses hold their own as do the tulips in the spring and for the most part, the peonies.  However, our juniper bush was starting to die in more than just one spot, creating an ugly look as well as extending up to almost our bedroom windows!  In fact, we discovered a missing part of one shutter which my hubby thinks maybe a branch broke off last winter......so now we need to replace the shutters.  That juniper was a tiny thing when we put it in just after building the house in 1994.  It was more than ready to come down.  We chopped up all the branches and left some bare ones for kindling for the fire pit.  We ended up bagging NINE bags for the town to haul away.  I then cleaned out the old mulch and in the spring will add some fresh garden soil, and hopefully some daisies and black-eyed susans.  It's a blessing to me that Dave took part of his sabbath to do this for me...and working together on the yard is always fun.

my sister Hope's living room
photo courtesy of Hope

• VISIT TO CENTRAL NY:  On Thursday, I decided to go out to central NY to visit my dad (in the nursing home) and then stop to have lunch with my sister Hope who lives nearby in the woods.  Donny (her husband) basically built their home which my girls have always called "the little house in the big woods".  Hope and Donny have a very rustic look which I love.....although I could never live that far from civilization.  They love it!  I enjoyed my visit with Dad and he at least knew I'm his daughter this time around and we had some good conversation for the most part.  I had lunch with Hope and then we just relaxed and chatted and then went to get some soft serve ice cream at a fave ice cream stand near her.  Came back for some more conversation and coffee.  I basically spent the entire day with her and I loved it....it's nice that all 4 of us girls live relatively near each other and can take turns to visit Dad, too.

photo courtesy of Little Falls, NY business directory

• PIZZA CHALLENGE AND CONNECTING WITH FRIENDS! Since Little Falls is so close to where my sister lives, I decided to do dinner that evening with my friend Diane and her cousin Rachael whom I haven't seen in several years!  It was so much fun to reconnect with Rach and her friend Jimmy whom I've known since my early 20s.  We did the Pizza Challenge event which was loads of fun although by the 3rd slice, I had to just take a bite out of the last 2 so I could make my vote between the 5 places.  We walked all over Main Street getting our slices and chatting.  We then got dessert for them and coffee for me at a lovely coffee bar in town.  My hometown area doesn't have much, but this particular place was awesome and the coffee was excellent!  I then had a long drive home in the dark but the day's memories will linger for a long time. 

That wraps up my week...nothing super exciting but lots of fun times connecting with people I love and doing things I love.

I hope you have a glorious weekend...here in eastern NY we are having some fantastic late summer weather!