What a great week! I guess I'm in that "new normal" routine now and it's feeling ok. Work is still arduous at times due to not being with the students, but instead, creating video lessons for them, along with scads of activities for take home Learning Kits. But we are all getting in the groove of things and this week seemed less cumbersome. We're also having shorter Agency and Site meetings which is nice.
I'm thankful for many things from this past week but especially for FIVE of them which we call FAVES. Many of us share five of our favorite blessings from the week and then we link up at Susanne's site. Won't you join us? What are you most thankful for this week? What made you smile?
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| Main Trail in the Woods at Ann Lee Pond |
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| ANN LEE POND |
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| mama duck and her baby ducklings |
- MORNING SOLO HIKE: Saturday was absolutely beautiful here in the Capital Region of New York. My daughters were both sleeping in, and my husband had no interest in getting off the couch but I just had to get in a quick, local hike before doing yard work and chores. I hopped in the car and went back to a local pond near the airport and Shaker settlement. This time there were only 2 other people there and they went on a side trail that I had no interest in. I loved my solo hike through the woods and around the south side of the pond. It was lovely. I'm thankful for local, beautiful nature spots.
- Pedicure: Saturday afternoon, Claire (our youngest) gave me a wonderful pedicure. She chose a dark purple color and did an awesome job. I normally do my own feet but she had volunteered so I took her up on it! I have a wonderful foot balm by Naked Bee that really works nicely on my calloused hiking feet. I'm thankful for good foot products and a nice pedi.
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| "cheers" |
- Social Distancing Drinks Date: Sunday after online church, my friend Ingrid and I made a spontaneous drinks date. We have hiked together,been in small group together, and are generally all around good friends. We hadn't seen each other in weeks, so I suggested she pop over for a drink (Dave had opened up this orangecello we bought from a Christmas fair we attended in the mountains back in December) and I had made a fresh pan of brownies so we also indulged in those. It was such a gorgeous spring day and we sat outside for a good 2 hours just chatting and catching up. Although we miss giving each other a big hug, we made do with just sitting across from each other and saying "Cheers"! I'm thankful for good friends and good times.
- Margaritas and Dinner Chat: Tuesday evening, since it was Cinco de Mayo, our youngest daughter volunteered to make us some margaritas. She made mine with the tequila, triple sec and a splash of orangecello and rimmed the glass with sugar as I can't stand the salt on a traditional margarita. Oh my. It was icy cold and delicious. I'm not as thankful for the drink though as I was for the evening of conversation and laughter. We have been doing a lot of reminiscing about our extended families (both sides of our family have many interesting events and family members). I actually confessed to skipping classes during high school and my daughters were shocked! (I reminded them it was not a good thing.....and why my grades weren't as high as theirs in high school!). We've had a lot of good laughs around our extended dinner times. We often sit at the table from 6:30-8 pm!! That's definitely a blessing for me.
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| The yellow trail going deeper into NorthWoods Nature Preserve Saratoga County, NY 6 May 2020 |
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| NorthWoods Preserve pond |
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| This little guy wasn't scared of us at all! |
- Afternoon Hike: Very spontaneously I texted a hiking friend (Anette) who lives a bit north of me, as I was wrapping up a video session at work on Wednesday. I asked her if she wanted to join me on a new-to-me trail in a rather new nature preserve in the town that lies between our two home communities. She said "YES" so we agreed to meet at 2 pm to hike the preserve. It was ok. I probably won't go back as the pond was rather stagnent and didn't contain any kind of wildlife that we saw. The preserve sits smack dab in the middle of suburbia and the entrance is literally between 2 houses. But the time in the fresh air and partial sunshine was nice and we actually ended up walking the entire preserve which was about 2.5 miles. It's nice to discover new trails at any rate. I'm thankful for friends who can be spontaneous. And now my personal New Year's goal of 10 new to me hikes, is up to 9!
- Mother's Day Card: this weekend is Mother's Day and in the mail earlier in the week, I received this pretty card with a message from our church on the other side. We go to a large church (4 different sites in 4 different areas of the Capital Region/NY) and just our site has about 1200 each weekend. So to receive a homemade card just made me smile. That's a lot of cards! I have no idea which staff member actually made them but whomever it was did an excellent job. I'm thankful for an excellent church and its leaders.
That wraps up my FFF and the things that made me smile.
What made you smile this week??
and to all the mom bloggers:
9 comments:
Hi Faith. I love your Faves this week. Hiking is a favorite of mine - so glad you could get a couple in. Glad you have been having good family conversations. Those are so important. We have also been enjoying more good conversations with Josh (ours take place late at night). So glad you were able to get together with a friends this week and I am also glad that work is going better for you now. These are challenging time to be sure, but it's best to try and find the things that are good. Have a great weekend!
P.S. Happy Mother's Day to you as well!
I love how you and your girls are having these reminiscing conversations! I miss my kids! Your walks and hikes look so calming. It's so good to get outside during these tough times. Love that you also had a chance to have a distance visit with a friend. I felt totally built up after visiting with my friend. Though sitting so far apart is different, we can live with that. Sweet that that card came in your mail. Happy Mother's Day to you!
I'm glad you're getting out and about and having quality time with your daughters. I'm hoping after the weekend that we might be able to have socially distanced visits - the Government are supposed to be announcing their plan for moving out of lockdown on Sunday but I expect it's going to be slow and gradual. Happy Mother's Day.
I am longing to get a pedicure! First thing on my list when it is safe to venture out. Your hikes always look so peaceful and beautiful. So grateful for teachers like you, your work is never done. Happy Mother's Day to you!
we are not allowed to receive friends ! or take the car and go to another place, only for shopping ! From tomorrow on we are allowed to see 4 peoples but always the same ! I think it will be very strange to go back to normal, because it will probably last a long time until it get's normal again !
I'm glad you had some nice hikes and get-togethers. How special to receive a homemade birthday card, especially from a church that large. The reminiscing sounds fun. I love when our family conversations drift that way.
I was able to get out with a friend and do a bit of hiking as well. It was so nice! I miss getting a pedicure!
What a blessing to have a nature preserve right in the middle of a neighborhood. We have a nature trail that's maybe three blocks long and just one cement path. In fact, we walked it this morning. It's not much, but it's something.
I loved the pedi! Totally get the whole hiking feet bit.
Happy Mother's Day to you! (yesterday)
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