"Even when the rainbow seems to pass right by me....I'm still finding Gold in the clouds....."

11 October 2019

Mid-October Faves


It's been a great Autumn week and I'm sharing FIVE of my FAVE moments/things/events with other writers who like to find the blessings and be intentional about thankfulness.

We do this by linking up at Susanne's site...head on over here to learn how to join us!

FIVE FAVES

trail to Dunkley Falls
south-central Adirondacks in the town of Riperius
Mill Creek which the falls is on



  • WATERFALLS!  On Saturday, about 11 a.m. I was supposed to meet my long time childhood friend from the central part of the state where I grew up, at a trailhead that leads to one of the waterfalls in the ADKS 50 Falls Challenge that we both are completing.  Well, this trail-head was NOT easy to find!  I finally found it, met up with my friend and we walked the pretty trail (very short....about .2 miles from the car) to the edge of the Mill Creek that the falls is on. Unfortunately I didn't get a good pic of the falls because my chiropractor said I could not hike down a steep slope. Which is what it was!!  It was QUITE steep.  So I saw the falls, poked around a bit on the trail, and then drove north-west a bit to see some other sights.  I'm thankful I finally found the falls there and now I only have 29 more waterfalls to find!
Algonquin Lake
south-central Adirondacks
my fave lake in the entire Adirondack Mountain region
  • LAKE LUNCH!  After driving to find two other waterfalls which I never did find (it required a footpath search and I just.did.not.have.luck) I decided to stop and have some lunch at my fave lake.  There was one other person there...an older man doing some reading on the beach).  The entire village of Wells was very quiet because....autumn.  It's a small village with a year round population of about 674 people.  That's less than attend my church! I just basked in the sunshine and did some reading while eating.  I snapped a few pics and then was on my way to the next town north.   That  villlage is even smaller at about 300 people year round. While there, I did my first woods walk in over a month.  My chiropractor said to take it slow and only walk a mile. It was bliss!!  Below are some fave photos from that walk.  It's been created by the community and is not an official hiking trail but it IS a nice easy walk in the middle of the village. I'm thankful it was a nice autumn day and that I was pain free for the walk!!
Entrance to the Nature Park
Speculator, NY
Central Adirondacks

Boardwalk for about a 1/4 mile

from a boardwalk to a leaf-strewn path...my fave
the scent and crunch of the leaves was amazing!

Speculator Mountain in the background
summit is attained by bushwhack only so I'll never hike it!
End of the first part of trail
Sacandaga River, east branch..the calm part.....
Central Adirondack Mountains


  • SUNDAY!  Sunday was interesting.  We had church and the sermon series on Marriage wrapped up with the topic being Forgiveness. It was excellent. Then my husband Dave who is a middle school youth group volunteer leader, invited the Middle School Youth Group director to our home (she's also a personal friend of ours) and 8 of the middle school teen leaders. Those teens are all volunteers from the high school youth group and were so respectful and nice!  We served two different kinds of pizza, wings, raw veggies and the teens brought their own snacks to watch the movie Dave chose which was Chariots of Fire. This generation of teens have never seen it and some had never even heard of it! They all seemed to enjoy it.  Our family room was crowded but it was fun.  After they all left, it was late afternoon, and dreary with rain, so I baked an apple pie with fresh local- from- an -orchard apples.  I rarely bake pies. I'm thankful it came out good and I'm thankful my husband's idea to have the teen leaders over went well.


  • THE "TO DO" LIST ACCOMPLISHED!  Wednesday was another Jewish holiday so the agency where I teach was closed for the day.  This had me out the door early to get all the things on my "to do" done!  First was a trip to the NYS DMV where I had to renew my drivers license for the new Real ID one. What.a.pain. But thankfully, because it was early, I was out in 20 min.  Then I had a drop off at the Salvation Army with a bag of outdated, old clothes from my oldest gal and my self. Then a trip to the grocery store.  And then an oil change.  I was finally home by early afternoon and enjoyed baking some pumpkin muffins for my daughter to bring to Boston with her this weekend and also to have some for breakfast here, and I managed to get two loads of laundry done, plus had time to read in the sunshine in the backyard.  I also cleaned the family room in preparation for the ladies in my small group who came over for our 2nd session in the book we are studying.  I'm thankful that " to do" list has been marked off!

  • PHONE CHAT:  My friend D whom I just met last year because that's when she joined my small group Bible study, cannot be in the group this year due to a conflict.  I texted her earlier this week to see how she's doing as she tends to go to a different service time at church than I do.  We ended up chatting on the phone for quite awhile on Tuesday evening and it was nice to get caught up on each other's lives. We hope to get together for dinner or an after work walk at some point later this month. I'm thankful for good friends and sisters in Christ.
That wraps up a rather busy week.

What about you?

What are you most thankful for this week?

Happy Long Weekend! (Columbus Day here in the States and Thanksgiving Day up in Canada!)





5 comments:

Susanne said...

So glad you finally able to get outside and enjoy some walking. The pictures are lovely of all the fall paths. Chariots of Fire...can you believe I have never seen that movie either? Always meant to but just never did for some reason. Nice that you guys invited the youth leaders. My to do list never seems to end lately. Glad you got things knocked off on yours. Your pie looks delicious!

Barbara Harper said...

I am so glad you showed Chariots of Fire to the teens! Tremendous story. I hope it spurs some of them to read more about Eric Liddell and his missionary work on China and time in an occupation camp during WWII.

I'm glad you're feeling well enough to get some walking and hiking in, as I know you love to do that.

That was quite a to-do list! Glad you were able to get it done.

Karen said...

Your hiking adventures are fun to read about. 29 falls?!! Wow!

Susan @ FruitfulWords said...

Chariots of Fire is a favorite movie of mine. Have you seen the second one, On Wings of Eagles? How delightful that you had time with the team volunteers. You and your husband are building great memories with them and for them.
Hooray, hooray, hooray you got to go walking in beautiful nature. So glad to hear that you were not in pain. It is fun to hear about your waterfall challenge and how you’re progressing. And of course it is fun to see photos even if it’s not always of the waterfalls.
Getting things clicked off the to do list is a blessing and so satisfying. Glad you were able to take care if your to do list last week. What a relief to get the real ID taken care of And so quickly.
I bet your home smelled lovely with the muffins and the pie baking in your kitchen. And what a treat for your daughter to take fresh baked goods back with her.
Have a good week.
susan@fruitfulwords.com

Wendy said...

Well I seem to have missed a few of your FFF posts so I've been back tracking to fill in some gaps. I'm so glad your back is improving to the point where you could get out and walk. (And that you had the weather to do so.) Well done to your daughter for being accepted for the ballet company again. She must be delighted. And that was an impressive "to do" list and even more impressive that you got it all done!