HAPPY SPRING FAVES

 

WOW.....this week sure did fly by!

I'm linking up at Susanne's site with other bloggers who share FIVE things we're most thankful for from the past week.  Being intentional about being  grateful is good for us!  And God actually delights in us doing so...after all, our blessings come from Him!

Adirondack Corner of the living room

ignore the laundry basket waiting to be carried upstairs!
The bookshelf contains all of our classics
as well as Christian non-fiction/study books 
and Dave's Boston Red Sox book collection
The girls' college graduation photos are on the top shelf

My corner.....where I keep my laptop
do morning devotions, sit in the evening to read
or chat with friends over tea

• SPRING CLEANING!  Saturday was a day of chores around the house.  MANY chores.  Dave ran errands and I started doing a load of laundry and  cleaning the bathrooms, which then led to thoroughly cleaning the living room. I was also going to do the family room, but Dave came home and sat in there on his laptop to work some more on our taxes. I rearranged the living room furniture, dusted and vacuumed and would have cleaned the bamboo but decided to wait until after the new windows go in.  Cleaning bamboo is NOT an easy task.  (you cannot leave standing water or even mop it quite like a stone, vinyl or tile floor...plus you need a special spray on cleaner). I placed all the old hiking magazines into the recycling bin and really cleared up the shelves.  The first pic where you see the little shaker style bookcase near the piano, contains all of my hiking trail guides, Adirondack history books and hiking guides for Maine, Massachusetts, and Vermont. We also have a couple of kayaking flat water guides on the shelf as well.  A copy of Walden by Thoreau also has a place there.  Basically anything to do with mountains, nature or the mountains' history. I did end up donating one book to the town library but everything else was neatly arranged and dusted. I'm thankful to have at least one room thoroughly cleaned! 

• MAKING PLANS:  our  friend Darlene from church (and she's in my Bible study group)  introduced my husband to her husband Bob on Sunday (I had met Bob before) and we all made plans to go kayaking together this summer when they will be camping in the eastern Adirondacks.  Darlene and I are becoming very good friends and I can always count on her to be a walking buddy for some after work power walks. I've been praying we would have more "couple friends" and Bob and Darlene are definitely an answer to prayer. We will be inviting them over to dinner for some time in April.  I'm thankful for new friends!

Grain Bowls

• HEALTHY and EASY!  Tuesday evening I was craving a grain bowl for dinner but we don't want to order take out during the week and none of us had time to actually go out.  This place used to be our fave local healthy restaurant but their prices have gone up, their veggies aren't always super fresh and I can honestly make bigger ones for way less money.  So we did!  Claire and I cooked together which made it super fun. (She was home from her grand jury duty early).  I made the brown rice while she cut the lettuce and added the baby spinach.  I shredded the carrots and cut cukes and she chopped some red and orange peppers and then layered it all while I made the tofu for Dave and I infused with a bit of orange sauce.  Then she cooked her tofu (she likes hers plain and not as crispy) and then we layered it with the avocado.  It was absolutely delicious and even Dave seemed to like it!  It felt so good to have another meal with no animal fat.  That's 3 in a row for us! I'm thankful for healthy and easy recipes.

Tulips sprouting up

Iris' sprouting up

my rose bush has buds!

• NEW LIFE!  Wednesday after my after-work power walk, I notcied that in the front flower bed, the tulips I planted last Oct are pushing through the hard brown earth and the iris stems are too!  It's a bit early but it's been fairly mild here this winter and definitely this week with the sunny days. I even noticed that my rose bush has begun to green and the buds are just beginning to pop out.  I'm so thankful for Spring and new life!

they cut everything...even wire!

• FOUND!  Oh my goodness.  I went to reach for the shears we keep in the kitchen and they were ......gone. Dave and I searched high and low for them...even in the basement and garage  thinking maybe our oldest had come over and used them to cut cardboard and forgot to put them back.  When our youngest got home from work, she said she never uses them but we looked in her bedroom anyways. This searching went on from Sunday through Wednesday. I finally found them after my power walk because I had to go pick up some trash that had blown in to our backyard and there they were on the deck bench!  Whew....if you know anything about CutCo you know these were not cheap. I'm so thankful we found them...they're only 10 years old. We had actually gotten a deal on them when our friends son was selling them during his college years. Because we sat through his presentation, he gave them to us for a discount. I think it also helped that we were friends from church and his mom and I hike all the time together :) It really was a blessing I happened to find them as Dave said he had checked the deck!

That wraps it up for me.

It's been crazy busy here this week and I haven't even had time to watch the news although I do know the war is still going on in Ukraine.  I'm continuing to pray for the Ukrainian and Russian people.

I hope you have a restful weekend!