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

06 August 2021

FIRST FRIDAY of AUGUST FAVES

 



It's August!!  One of my absolute fave months besides June, Sept and October. 
One week from today will be the last day of summer school program with the special preschoolers and then we are off for a solid 3 weeks plus the long Labor Day weekend.  I'm so thrilled.

For now, I'm pausing in the busyness to find FIVE of my FAVE blessings from the past week....the things I might take for granted or not say "Thank You, Lord" if it wasn't for this blogging group.  Learn more about us by clicking here.


Vintage game from 1979!

the original game Lord of the Rings, circa 1979
a gift from Courtney to her dad for his birthday last week

burgers,  Seagrams, and a board game

Dave, Nathanael, Courtney
  • GAME NIGHT!  Last Friday evening, Courtney's best friend Nate arrived from Maryland (with some items she had ordered from Ikea) to help us move her into her own apartment the next few days. Nate and she became the best of friends during their Gordon College days. We made burgers (beef and plant-based)  on the grill for dinner, my dad's homemade lemonade and a big tossed salad. Courtney gave Dave the vintage board game (Lord of the Rings) for his birthday that she paid a lot of money for from a vintage toy shop in this town when we were there in May. And of course, like good book and game nerds that we are, we played one round.  It was a blast...Nate won!  (It's tough to beat Dave). I'm thankful for this fun evening...the last one at home with our girl in her childhood bedroom). 
her very first teddy bear peeks out

in her new kitchen

Dave and Nate put in the new AC window unit


  • MOVING DAY!  Saturday was moving day for our oldest girl. She finally got into a 1 bedroom apt in a complex (about 10 min away) she can afford while finishing off her federal student loan. Several of her  church friends showed up to help Dave and I move her stuff into the U Haul she rented.  These young people made light work of all her heavy boxes and by 1 pm everything was done.  Then the unpacking began that evening after we had a pizza dinner.  She's still waiting for some of the Ikea parts to arrive but she's slowly getting her things in order. I'm thankful the weather was perfect (sunny, blue skies and a high of 72!!).  God is good!! A bittersweet moment was when I saw her very first Gund teddy bear I bought for her when I was pregnant, sticking out of one of the bags of stuff.  (she has kept almost all of the 15 bears she's owned over the years but most are in our basement)


  • BACKYARD BLISS! Sunday afternoon, after delivering some grocery staples to Courtney's apt, I felt like my back was starting to hurt near where I have a slipped disc so I relaxed in the backyard with the book I'm reading and it was just so nice to have perfect summer weather again!  We've had a run of good weather for about a week now and I'm so thankful for the blue skies, no high humidity or heat and all the green.  


Monday evening
  • STUNNING SUNSET:  Monday evening the sunset was just stunning as I got back to our driveway after my walk.  I'm thankful for God's creation.

At the Conklingville Dam
Eastern Adirondacks

The Conklingville Dam
5 August


Dave walks on the dam
with the Sacandaga Reservoir to his left

The  start of the Great Sacandaga Reservoir
Town of Day
Eastern Adirondacks

The beginning of the Sacandaga Reservoir
as seen from the Conklingville Dam
  • MENTAL HEALTH DAY!  Dave and I took yesterday off from work and decided to drive to the eastern Adirondacks about 50 minutes north west of our town so I could get my 102 Challenge book signed in the town of Day.  It's the last one for the Saratoga County region I need.  I know only have 54 more signatures or town hall seals to get!!  And most of those are 2-3 hours from our home so I will knock some off when we are on vacation at the end of the month in the northern part of the mountains. We had a blast revisiting the Conklingville Dam and driving around the beginning part of The Great Sacandaga Reservoir.  (aka Great Sacandaga Lake) My mom was born just a half hour north in a town on the Sacandaga in 1934.  It was fun to see some boats on the lake today and spend time with Dave.  We ended the trip by stopping at the A&W root beer place in Lake George to have some lunch.  Last time I drank a soda was in 2004 at the A&W in the high peaks region! (I don't drink soda unless I'm having coke with rum). The root beer was great tasting after all these years of not drinking soda!


outside the Town Hall

butterfly on wildflowers



ENJOY THE WEEKEND and GET OUTDOORS!!



8 comments:

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Oh boy would my husband love that game! He had health problems when we were in high school (in 1979) and reading Tolkien was one of the things that got him through all of his time at Mass General. Happy to hear that your daughter got an apartment. How exciting for her!

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Faith. That game looks really fun. Charly would love that. He is a big Lord of the Rings Fan. In fact, he might have that very game. So glad that the move went well. Courtney's apartment looks great. Hope she is getting settled in. So nice she has a good friend who is such a big help. That is a stunning sunset. I am glad to hear that your weather has been good this past week and that you have had some time to relax. Your "mental health" day trip looks great. That book challenge you are doing sounds like fun. Have a great weekend. :-)

Deb J. in Utah said...

P.S. I LOVE A & W but haven't had one for years! One of my earliest memories (I was maybe two of three) was going to the local A & W drive-in with my parents for a root beer float treat. Good memories, but I sure can't drink much root beer now. Thanks for the memories. :-)

Wendy said...

Great list Faith. Hope the resting sorted out any back issues. Enjoy your weekend and your weather. We've had lots of rain.

Barbara Harper said...

That game sounds like a lot of fun! I wonder how we missed it when the movies were first coming out.

That's neat you had so much help with Courtney's move. I'm sure she's enjoying getting settled in her new place. Hope your back is feeling better.

That sunset is gorgeous! And your outing with Dave sounds fun.

Willow said...

Mental health days OUTSIDE are the best way to relax. I'm wondering if my state has some kind of state park booklet to stamp when visiting them. I'll have to look into that.
Congrats to Courtney for settling in to her fist apt. Now she can get all the bears out of your basement. Yay for Nate coming to help, too.

Gattina said...

Wow ! you had a busy week compared to mine ! Moving is always a lot of work especially when you are in a vintage age !
When we moved to Waterloo and I was in my 30th with a toddler it didn't bother me !

Susanne said...

How fun that Courtney found that game for Dave. So glad she is all settled in and you had lots of help to move her. Ten minutes away is awesome. Your little trip sounds like a lot fun. These challenges you do are so neat.