CUCUMBER SLAW

image courtesy of Taste of H*me site

I love having the time to try new recipes and yesterday was one of those times!

Here in eastern NY we have had some very nice weather this month.  In fact, the last two days have been cool but humid with rain which we badly need.  I decided to make a refreshing cucumber salad I saw in a recent copy of a cooking magazine someone gifted me with.

The recipe is  titled Cucumber Crunch Coleslaw but I tweaked it a bit with ingredients we had on hand.  It's perfect for a summer meal. I've renamed mine Cucumber Slaw.

CUCUMBER SLAW

2 English Cucumbers, julienned

2 c. fresh baby spinach or spinach-spring mix, gently torn

1 c. fresh snow peas, cut into pieces 

1/2 c. sliced almonds

1 c. dried cranberries (optional)

• In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers (I used a veggie slicer that has an attachment for julienned veggies) and greens.  
• Toss in the snowpeas and almonds and gently toss.
• JUST BEFORE SERVNING, DRIZZLE THE DRESSING over the salad and serve chilled.

DRESSING

1/3 c. olive oil

1/4 c. sparkling orange water or dry white wine

1 Tablespoon of minced fresh basil

1 Tablespoon of lime juice

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp raw sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

dash of sea salt

1 tsp of grated lime zest

dash of cracked black pepper

(please note: the original recipe calls for molasses and fresh mint along with a serrano pepper....I chose to leave those out as I didn't have the ingredients and just replaced with the red pepper flakes and i didn't feel like the dressing needed molasses!)

• In a small bowl or right in a glass shaker, combine all the dressing ingredients.  
• Shake well!
• Chill, and upon serving dinner, simply drizzle over the salad or allow each person to add their own to their specifications.

DINNER MENU:  

Ziti with Earth Balance butter and 2 tablespoons of Italian seasonings

Steamed Peas

Cucumber Slaw

Note:  If you want to add in protein to your meal, simply toss into the pasta dish a cup of rinsed, drained black beans or chopped cooked/browned tofu

You can also serve the salad as is and add a loaf of garlic bread.

Another dinner option:  the Cucumber Slaw and Grilled Salmon or Chicken

ENJOY!!

as with all the posts under the faithfixes label, you do have permission to print/copy this recipe.

LAST WEEK OF SCHOOL FAVES

Whoo hoo!!

The regular academic year for my special needs preK students has come to an end as of 1 pm today.  Which means that I am on vacation all next week! It's hard to believe we've been doing remote teaching since March 17th.  Wow.  How I miss the children and how weird to have the end of June without our end of the year picnic.  But there's blessings too in this past week and I'm here to share FIVE of them....the ones that are FAVES.  I do this with other bloggers and we all link up over at Susanne's site who has been hosting this for several years.

• INSTANT STREAMING SERIES:  I began this Netflix series last week and I am hooked.  It is so much like real politics......or at least it sure seems like it! I'm not super thrilled with some of the language in spots or some of the lewdness, but the character development is exceptional and the story twists are superb.  I don't typically go for political shows (although I LOVED West Wing when it used to be on television).  And also, my oldest daughter now gets Hulu for free as she pays for Spotify to have music at work, and she and I started the series The Handmaid's Tale (we LOVED the book) last Friday night as we had no plans to go out anywhere. Sadly, the show is full of swearing (which isn't in the book) and it's set more in our time future vs the future that the book was written in.....).  It's good.....I'm hoping it's as good as the book but something tells me I will prefer the books. (I've read both The Handmaid's Tale and the sequel, The Testaments which I highly recommend. I'm thankful for things like Netflix and Hulu that offer a variety of movies and series.

photo courtesy of Amaz*n site

• FATHER'S DAY ZOOM PARTY:  On Father's Day, my husband's side of the family had a Zoom meeting so all of his siblings and him could say Happy Father's Day to his dad....2 of the grandchildren were in on it as well (our niece in Scotland and our oldest daughter....youngest daughter had to work and I'm not sure where our other 4 nieces and nephews were). Anyways, before Grampa T got onto Zoom, we all played 2 rounds each of 2 of the games from Jack Box Party pack.  If you haven't discovered this yet, you have got to try it!  You do need a smartphone to play and at least one laptop with everyone logged into Zoom.  What a blast we had.  It was nice to see my husband relaxing with his siblings and just having a great time.  And I actually won the Quip Lash game! I rarely beat my husband in any kind of game so that was cool.  I'm thankful for these family online get togethers.  

totally plant-based dinner

• EASY SUMMER DINNER:  Monday evening was SO hot and humid. In fact, we had our central air on in the house from last Friday morning until Wednesday as our area was experiencing a heat wave with very dry conditions.  I was going to grill but it was just too hot!  So I made a fresh veggie bowl instead:  cooked big bowl of jasmine rice for the base.  Added black beans, slightly warmed in the microwave, raw carrot strips, cut raw pea pods, raw sweet yellow and red pepper, chopped tomato, toasted tofu and a splash of Asian Ginger dressing.  For the side, the rest of the family had fresh strawberries (I'm allergic) and I had chopped nectarines.  I served blueberry lemonade for drinks  or iced water with fresh lemon slices.  I'm thankful this dish was a hit because I totally made it up!

• SUMMER SURVIVAL KIT!  Our site coordinator at work (each of the 4 sites has a coordinator who acts as our direct boss, under the executive director who works in Albany at the Admin Office) gave birth to her 2nd child on Monday morning.  On Wednesday afternoon she walked into work to hand deliver these little "thank you" Summer Survival Kits to each one of us.  We were so surprised!!  Jessica is a wonderful boss and now we all know the reason she was taking notes and asking each of us at our last Site Meeting what our favorite cocktails are!  The kit contains a package of gum (which I gave to my youngest), a Burt's Bee lip balm, Hershey kisses, and a tonic water plus a small bottle of our fave  drink.  Mine is a tiny bottle of gin.  It was such fun and I'm thankful for a great work environment.  We all decided we will enjoy our drinks tonight at home and send photos to each other. (no, we're not allowed to have alcohol at the preschool sites. hahah.....but she made an exception to deliver the gifts).

• COOLER TEMPS!  Wednesday morning a cool front came through after the night's rain which we badly needed and it broke the high heat and humidity we've been having.  It felt wonderful to finally turn off the central AC and open windows back up, letting the fresh air flow through the house.  I also was able to eat breakfast and dinner on the deck and enjoy some reading time outside in the evening.  I'm thankful for nice summer weather!

That wraps up my week of blessings!!  and now my vacation officially begins  at 2 pm, until the morning of July 6th!

HAPPY WEEKEND EVERYONE AND HAPPY SUMMER!

2020 Book Review #20:The Apple Orchard

What an absolutely delightful story/book!

The author is new to me and I discovered her via my sister Joy.  This book is a little treasure.

It has a bit of drama, mystery, romance (but not sappy!), and family dynamics.  It also has a bit of historical fiction from WWII/Russia/Denmark.  I just loved this book and it's very well written.

STORY SUMMARY

Tess (Theresa) Delaney is single, living in San Francisco and works for an antiques/art center where she works on returning stolen treasures to their rightful owners. She loves the sense of history that comes with her career.

Her own history though has many gaps:  she never knew her father..she doesn't even have a name for him! and her own mother was constantly traveling all over the world for her job in art and never had real time for Tess.  Tess was basically raised by her grandmother "Nana" in Dublin, Ireland.  Nana has been dead for awhile and the only real people in Tess' life are her work colleagues: Nellie, Jude, and Lydia and Lydia's fiance Nathan.  She survives on going out for drinks, drinking lots of coffee and eating fast food.

And then one day Dominic Rossi walks into her life. He actually walks into the shop that she hopes to buy. He is a lawyer from the little village of Archangel and he's there to inform her that the grandfather she never knew existed is in the hospital in a coma.  And she has been named in his will to inherit half of Bella Vista which is his 100-acre apple orchard in Sonoma County.  The other half of the will goes to Isabel Johanson.  Isabel is a half-sister whom she didn't know existed!  They discover that they have the same father, Erik, who has been dead for a number of years.

Isabel is the opposite of Tess: gentle, warm, nurutring and a fantastic chef.  But once they meet, they are just like family.....they ARE family. Tess begins to discover a whole new world and what real love is...what familial love is.  She learns about the simple pleasures of good food and the rich earth that grows it.  She learns about the family she never knew existed, and that they come first and also that the roots of history hold secrets that run deep.

MY THOUGHTS

This book is a treasure.  I loved the setting and the character development and the themes of friendship, sisterly love, family connections and the historical aspect of the Faberge egg and the situations in Denmark in the 1940s.  

The book is like a gentle breeze on a hot summer day and I stayed up late each night reading, turning page after page.

In my opnion, this book is appropriate for ages 14 and older.

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.

Almost Summer Faves

It's Friday and it's almost Summer!!

It sure has felt it this past week....especially the last couple of days......here in eastern NY, anyways!

and one blessing is that we just entered Phase 3......it's becoming easier to shop and find things and I only have 5 more days of school/remote learning to do with students and then we, as a preK agency, are on vacation until July 6th!

For now, let's pause, grab an iced cold drink, and share FIVE of our FAVE blessings from the past week.  There's a bunch of us who do this after linking up at Susanne's site. How about joining us?

at the trailhead:  we hiked the large loop 

First Bridge along the Hemlock Trail

Most of the trail looked like this or even narrower!

2nd bridge about halfway through the hike

• LATE MORNING HIKE:  Saturday was bright sun, cool temps in the low 60s and clear blue skies. My cousin Trisha and I  (she lives about 30 min north west of us) decided to meet for a spontaneous  power walk  on one of the Saratoga Spa State Park trails.  It's called The Hemlock trail and is actually not in the main part of the park although it's only about a mile away.  Neither one of us had ever walked on it.  It was not like the other trails in the park....it was more remote and actually overgrown in spots.  In fact, our plan was to walk the large and small loops but we ended up just doing the large (1.5 miles) one as we started out on the small one and it just seemed to disappear and was way too grassy...I didn't want to have to worry about ticks.  So, we ended up hiking leisurely as the trail was more rugged than we expected vs a power walk but the fellowship out in nature was something I was very thankful for.  

Courtney our oldest girl

perfection

• SATURDAY EVENING FIRE:  After I had cooked a huge totally plant-based  pasta dinner with homemade carrot/garlic/tomato sauce for Saturday evening, and because Claire our youngest had plans to go out with her friend Jonny, Courtney suggested we sit outside with me and enjoy a fire in our little fire pit. (temps were getting down into the low 50s).  We hardly ever do things together anymore even though she still lives here.  She's either always working, gaming with friends all over the world, or out with her small group.  So I was thankful for this evening together.  Dave got the fire started but it was too cold for him out there.  He decided to do something in the house so we sat and kept the fire going until 10 pm.  Then we decided to let the logs die down and we went inside around 11 pm. I made a couple of s'mores and she must ate toasted marshmallows.  I'm thankful for fun, relaxed evenings.

Long Pond 

• KAYAKING: Sunday afternoon was amazingly sunny at our home so Dave and I decided to go kayaking for the first time since last Sept.  Sadly, when we drove east to this state park, it was much chillier there and cloudy!  But we kayaked anyways....first time I've ever worn a flannel shirt while paddling in June!  There were many kayakers out and some were fishing.  This particular state park has 6 different ponds...we kayaked on the one with the beach.  It's indeed long!  We were very tired and sore when we were done 2 hours later.  We saw a cute family of ducks with brand new babies but my photos didn't come out at all!  I'm thankful my husband wanted to do this with me.  It's one of my favorite things to do in the warmer months.

• FRESH BERRIES:  I managed to find really good fresh raspberries and blueberries at the market this week.  I've enjoyed them for breakfast on my oatmeal, for snacking, and in a fruit bowl for dinner one evening.  They're so refreshing and these two kinds are my absolute faves!  I'm thankful for fresh berries.

• FRIEND'S CALL:  I had a phone chat with a good friend of mine from church this past week.  She also happens to be an aide in the classroom down the hall from where I teach.  She has supported a couple of the students in my language group while I've taught lessons and she's very good with the children.  I also sometimes hike with her and she's super fun to be around.  She's joining my book club in September. It was so great to hear her voice and get caught up.  If we open for summer school, she'll get to come back to work!  (aides have been unemployed with us during Covid19). I'm thankful for my friend Cindy.

BONUS FAVE!!!

We found out late yesterday afternoon that our youngest girl, Claire, made the Deans List again at UNH!!  She had a perfect 4.0 with HONORS for the Spring Semester and this is after dealing with the disappointment of no Ballet Company performances due to quarantine and after moving to a new dorm room half-way through the year.  She also worked as an Alpha Phi Omega member at the local food pantry via Waysmeet an on campus volunteer group and also worked part time at the local fair trade coffee shop called Freedom Cafe where all workers are volunteers and the money made from coffee selling goes directly to Christian organizations that help stop human trafficking.  I'm so thankful for her hard work and her service to the community.

I hope you have a wonderful last weekend of Spring!!

2020 Book Review #19: The Turn of the Key

This is the 3rd book I've read by this author whom I discovered a couple of years ago.

WOW....she's an excellent page-turning kind of author.

STORY SUMMARY

Rowan Caine works in a daycare center called Little Nippers.  It isn't a great job and she's been passed over for a promotion.  She begins to look for a nanny position or new day care job and discovers one that sounds like a dream job.  It's for a family who live in northern Scotland (she would have to live in the house called Heatherbrae House and move away from London and her flat with her friend Rachel).  The husband (Bill Elincourt) and his wife Sandra are very wealthy.  They are co-owners and operators of an architectural firm.  They designed an old Victorian house to be part Victorian and part high tech.  In fact, the house is known as a "Smart House" where everything is digital including how you open curtains and the fact the fridge "talks" to tell you what you are getting low on.  They have 4 little girls:  Riahannon who is 14 and attends boarding school, Maddie (age 8), Ellie (age 4) and Petra (a toddler). It's the picture perfect setting for a nanny.  She accepts the position and moves in to what she thinks will be a dream job.

But...what she doesn't know is that she is not living a dream....it soon becomes a nightmare........One child will end up dead and she will end up in prison for murdering the child.  Except...she's innocent.

MY THOUGHTS

This book kept me up late at night!  I just couldn't put it down which is why I'm done with it so quickly.  It is spell-binding.

It's actually rather believable in an unbelievable way if you know what I mean. It's a bit creepy but only because of the weird surveillance/technology where even just kissing the top of the baby's head feels like someone is watching and judging her. 

There are many layers to this story.  The characters are so well developed and at times you think you know what's going to happen next but then there's a twist and you still have no idea what's really going on!

The story begins like a letter...in fact.. the entire book is told from Rowan's perspective in a letter to an attorney whom she wants to hire to take on her case.  Yet we never see the trial.  We only get the back story.  And its' quite a story!

Rowan has to explain all the events that lead up to her imprisonment.  She explains about the constant surveillance of the smart cameras set up everywhere in the house (except Bill's study), she explains about the strange night when everyone in the house woke up (Sandra and Bill were away on business so Rowan was in charge) to a malfunctioning tech system that included loud raucous music and flashing lights.   She explains how the girls really aren't as perfectly behaved as she was led to believe on the interview. She has to explain about Jean McKenzie the maid who comes once a day and Jack Grant who lives over the garage in his own little apartment and acts as a handyman around the house and grounds.  She has to explain about the attic and the creaking footsteps she hears at night yet no one else seems to hear.  

All of this is so well executed, you forget you are reading a letter.

The beginning of the ending is absolutely brilliant and I did NOT see that coming.  It involves a lie Rowan tells in order to get the job.  I don't want to reveal what that lie is because that will ruin it for you and it's done in such a brilliant way I was left gasping and like "WHAT??" 

And then there's a spellbinding twist at the very end......

Some of the themes in the book include:  teenage rebelliousness, alcohol issues, single parenthood/abandonment issues (physical and emotional), dishonesty, sexual harassment, legends, death, and the use of high technology/smart technology.

The book is a modern take on a Gothic type story.   It has been compared as a modern take on the novel The Turn of the Screw by Henry Jamess). (from the 1800

In my opinion, this book is appropriate for ages 17 and older (due to some language and content).

On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the highest, I rate this a 10.

JUNE Faves

Here we are at Friday again and time to share FIVE of our favorite blessings from the past week.  Head on over to Susanne's site to learn how to join in and share FIVE of your FAVES. It's important to have a grateful heart and give God all the thanks.  I came across this quote this past week and love it so am sharing it here:

• FAMILY PARTY!  What fun we had on Saturday afternoon!  My youngest sister and her husband (Jill and Mike) have 2 daughters whom we are close with:  Emma (17) and Mady (12).  Last Saturday was their combined birthday celebration (Emma missed hers in March due to the beginning of quarantine and gathering restrictions). My other 2 sisters went as well (my sister Joy and her son Luke; my sister Hope and her husband DonnIy) and Mike's 2 siblings and their children.  Our youngest daughter came with Dave and I as she had the day off....our oldest had other plans.  We all had so much fun sitting around on a beautiful day, having cold drinks, eating grilled food and the most amazing lemon cupcakes (there were also peanut butter chocolate ones...I sampled one of each).  Mike who is a true vegan like our Claire, had picked up a little bag of gourmet vegan chocolate chip cookies for her as the cupcakes his mom made weren't vegan. It was the first time we had all gathered together since Christmas and I am very thankful for the day that we had.  Here are some photos from the afternoon:

Mady opening gifts
My husband is in the background

from left to right: my sister Jill, her oldest girl Emma and our daughter Claire
in the pool is Mike's brother and one of his little girls; Mike is to the left of Jill

• DECK DINING!  This past week has been just about perfect late Spring weather.  A couple of days actually felt like Summer!  Dave and I enjoyed creating homemade veggie pizza together late Sunday afternoon and while it was baking, we made some cocktails for the 4 of us. Everyone wanted icy cold rum and cokes.  I've also enjoyed eating breakfast outdoors just about every morning before work.  The photo is from last Saturday morning after my morning walk.  I allowed myself a full hour to just read my Bible, eat, and then read the fiction book I'm enjoying. Dave prefers eating breakfast inside so I had the entire deck to my self and the birds at the feeder. I'm thankful for great weather and a  deck to sit on!

Saturday morning breakfast
6 June

Sunday evening dinner 

• READING TIME:  I've had quite a few late afternoons and early evenings to just relax and read.  I'm an avid reader and always have been ever since I was a little girl.  I just love books.  I'm thankful for good books, cooking magazines, hiking guides and my Bible, all of which I've enjoyed this week.

• TEAM WORK:   This past week, not only did we have to begin planning and preparing lessons for our Summer Program Learning Kits but at each site (we have 3), we had to start thoroughly cleaning, de-cluttering, and fixing broken items.  I was in charge of the kitchen and the other assistant on my team was in charge of the children's and adult bathrooms. We both worked on the classroom although we still have much to do in it and I haven't made a dent in my own classroom where I have a literacy group.  But I was able to get rid of a  LOT of junk and old kitchen items for Goodwill and the garbage bins and I even created a corner for our break times and a coffee/tea station.  I added some homey touches like some silk flowers for the windwo sill and a couple of candles.  The speech therapist has ordered a new tablecloth for our break corner and we decided to leave the work table bare with just the laminator on it and then we will move that to the computer desk when we have parties/celebrations and want a food buffet.  It felt great to come together as a team and get these tasks done.  The other teachers and assistants in the other 2 rooms have been working on different areas of the site as well.  We will be all set for summer school if the governor ever makes a decision! (we still don't know if we will be allowed to open for summer school in person, although public school districts have been given the go ahead by the NYS Governor....special education preschools are still waiting to hear) I'm thankful we are getting organized and cleaned up!  I'm also thankful we are almost done with the Remote Learning Kits.

the "break" corner and coffee station
as well as a work area for Assistant Teachers

This part of the kitchen is across from our break corner.  I added some homey touches
 and thoroughly cleaned out cupboards.  The papers you see hanging are in rainbow order and are "shout outs"to everyone on staff from therapists, assistant teachers, head teachers, and office manager.  Our social worker made sure everyone had one stating how we helped during Covid 19/what we bring to our Troy site.  It's a wonderful mood booster!

• Dessert and Drinks Night:  Last night the small group Bible study I've been leading since January (and online once Covid hit) wrapped up our semester by having a dessert and drinks evening in my backyard.  We each brought a dessert ( I did a huge fruit bowl and provided all the drinks and supplies).  Diane brought these amazing fudge frosted vanilla and raspberry frosted vanilla cookies from a local bakery, Darlene brought a dish called "Candy-Land Dessert".  Anita made mango pie which I couldn't sample as it contained cream cheese and I'm allergic to that but Dave had a piece and said it was delicious.  Someone else brought cheesy popcorn.  It was a wonderful way to end the evening.  My friend Diane brought me a " thank you for leading" gift and her note touched my heart. I'm now on break from leading a small group until mid-September. I'm thankful for good friends, great Bible studies and the nice weather to hold our social event.

The dessert table

special gifts

That wraps up the fave things from the past week. What made you say "thank You" this week? Please share!

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend........

Take Your Mask Off!

image courtesy of the Daily Prayer Guide

Masks.  They're what's on everyone's face these days.  This pandemic has forced  us to be careful with where we go, whom we do business with, how we do business, what we wear, how we wash our hands.  And in doing so, I have often wished I could mask my eyes......to not show the eye rolling I want to do at times in regards to all the political garbage and overly-sensationalized news, the fake news, the real news, the perceived slights and the real tyranny, injustice and violence.  I roll my eyes in my mind and mask my face. but......

image courtesy of Beliefnet site

....the eyes are a window into our souls........

.....revealing what is really in our hearts.......

I've been reading in the book of Jeremiah since winter.  I'm taking my time with it and studying key passages that jump out at me.  For chapter 17 this morning, it was the following Scriptures:

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the Lord search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings."

 We can wear a mask (figuratively speaking) to hide our real feelings, our real thoughts, our real intentions and our real selves....but God knows and is not fooled by our masks.

God sees beyond our false front.

He looks right into our soul...and knows every thought, feeling and desire.  He knows our jealousies, dishonesty, rage/anger, sadness/depression, judgmental/racist attitudes, selfish ambitions, lying. 

He sees it all.  And will judge it all.  But....He also will forgive it all when we take off our mask and lay everything before Him.  Bare it all.

Oh the redeeming love of Jesus Christ. 

God not only looks at our hearts....He can renew it and transform it.

Will you take your mask off today??

"B" Faves

This first week of June flew by!

The weather has been very spring-like.....and sometimes almost summer-like!  I love it.

Let's pause before the weekend begins and reflect back on our week to find FIVE blessings that made us smile or take note of  extra thanks.  Then link up over at Susanne's space to join in with others who are grateful for God's gifts and who participate in the FFF.

Horses on the farm across the road from our neighborhood
30 May 2020

small pond in the neighborhood down the road from ours

•  BIKE RIDE:  I finally got out my bike on Saturday morning after breakfast and had an enjoyable ride around the 3 neighborhoods closest to ours.  I only rode for about 4 miles as there seemed to be something wrong with my front tire but it was a wonderful way to start off the weekend.  The weather was one of those absolutely perfect late spring days.  I'm thankful for my hybrid roadster bike  and the time to enjoy it.

baby bunny a.k.a. "bun-bun"
30 May

• BABY BUNNY: About 2 weeks ago, our youngest daughter and I were sitting out in the backyard swing near the deck reading in the early evening after dinner.  All of a sudden she noticed a brand new baby bunny eating the clover by the fire pit. Mama was under the pine tree in the corner of the yard.  Well, this past Saturday we were sitting again in the swing and there was little "bun-bun" as Claire has named her/him.  How close we were and how (s)he didn't mind me snapping the pic.  We've had a lot of fun the last 2 weeks watching baby bunny...I'm thankful for the simple things that nature and our Creator bring.

a new fave 

• BREAKFAST:  Dave and I woke up a bit early on Sunday and enjoyed a cup of coffee together and doing our devotions.  We had a "date" with Claire to watch the online service together before she had to leave for work so we made a pancake breakfast.  I made cinnamon vanilla pancakes with fresh blueberries.  Oh my goodness. It had been a long time since I'd made them and they tasted great with a couple of vegan (plant-based) "sausages" and this new-to-me maple syrup: cinnamon and vanilla infused pure maple syrup.  It's so amazing!  I like a splash of it in my morning coffee, too. We enjoyed a 2nd mug of coffee, chatting about things going on in the world.  I'm thankful that Dave and I took the time to have a relaxing (and yummy!) Sunday breakfast and that Claire joined us for the sermon. 

first of the wild daisies along the bike path

the Mohawk River as seen from the ridge top
 along the northern end of the town park
31 May 

•  BIKE PATH POWER WALK:  Dave and I ventured out Sunday afternoon for a 2 mile walk along the north end of our town park. Our town has 2 major parks:  The Crossings in the south part of town, and the Mohawk-Colonie River Park on the north end where we live.  The north end one has an extensive bike path which officially is about 10 miles according to my neighbor.  We've biked much of it. But we also love walking parts of it. It was a bit overcast but warm enough to just need a light sweater.  By the time we were done with our fast-paced, up an incline walk, I had to take off the sweater.  We saw the first of the daisies and everything was so lush and green, especially by the river.  I'm thankful for walks in the great outdoors with my husband.

flowers are growing in this pot for the deck!

the first rose, snapped on Sunday but now the bush is FULL

the Peonies have bloomed! I have two bushes in this front flower garden
and one down by the mailbox

Irises are blooming now, too! 

• BLOOMS!  On Sunday everything started blooming at once it seemed like!  My entire row of irises (pictured above) has bloomed and I also have a small plant in the front flower bed.  (This last photo with the irises  is the south facing side of the house).  Our tea rose bush (planted in 1996) has really taken off this spring and is chock full of beautifully scented light pink roses.  On Sunday there was just one bloom (2nd photo down).  This is in the front flower bed in the far right back  corner and the small peach colored rose bush is in the left front corner....it hasn't bloomed yet but it looks like it will open sometime this weekend.  And the peonies are looking very lush this year......I have 3 peony bushes total.  I'm so thankful for spring blooms and for flowers starting to grow from seeds I planted in mid-April.

I cannot believe we only have 3 weeks of Spring left....and then summer begins and our school year comes to a close around June 26th.  We will have a week of vacation before summer school begins on July 6th.  Sadly, we will most likely still be doing remote teaching.

 Here in my part of New York State, (eastern edge of the Capital Region) we are in Phase 2 of the quarantine.....my hair salon is opening up on Tuesday and even though she came to my house 2 weeks agoto give us a color and a cut, I'm wanting to go back and get it re-shaped soon....before vacation.  I'm so thankful things seem to be improving with the Covid Virus.

That wraps up my faves...I hope you all have a wonderful weekend of relaxing and fun activities.

stay safe!