END OF APRIL FAVES

 

Friday means looking back on the week and seeing where the blessings from God lie.  What things were our favorite things?  What blessed us?  Choose FIVE and then link up at Susanne's site to see other bloggers and what they're thankful for this week. 

FIVE FAVES

A small Mountain at just a little under 2200 Feet in Elevation
in the Eastern Adirondacks

beginning of Cook Mt Trail
23 April 2022

a surprise lunch seat on the summit!

Darlene on Cook Mt summit

me on summit near the cairn

Lake George looking south to the Central/Eastern Adks
from Cook Mt Summit

FIRST OF THE SEASON MOUNTAIN CLIMB!  Saturday was partly sunny for a planned, first -time -in -2022 mountain climb.  I chose a new-to-me mountain in Ticonderoga which is about 1 hour and 55 min north of our home.  It's located in the north part of the Eastern Adirondacks and is a very short, but very steep, mountain.  Lake George can be seen from the top as well as the Green Mts of Vermont (which are only across Lake Champlain and only about a 30 min drive away in the other direction). Lake George, if you know anything about New York State is 32 miles long.  It begins in the little village south of Fort Ticonderoga in Lake George Village and goes up to the fort where Lake Champlain meets it. The mountain trail was one that we had to ourselves until about a 1/4 mile back to the car when a young couple was just starting out on the trail.  My friend Darlene (from church/small group) came with me and she and I had a great climb.  It was steep but it felt great for our cardio workout and we rested on the summit in the wonderful sunshine, eating our lunch and exploring.  It's one of the widest summits I've ever seen.  The top was like a park! and we were the only humans up there!  I'm so thankful we had a good climb for our first mountain of the hiking season. 

Sunday morning Sunshine

• COFFEE ON THE DECK! Sunday morning it was warm and sunny enough to have coffee on the deck.  Our deck/backyard gets the morning sun so it's fabulous when we can start having breakfast out there or our coffee while doing devotions. Super thankful for slow mornings in the sunshine. I had a mug before church and did some reading.  It was lovely.

• EASY DAYS: No photo for this one due to confidentiality laws but the classroom team and I are thrilled that the children have done well returning back to PreK from Spring Break.  Yes, a few have had some regression which is so typical for children with special needs.  But overall, the days have been very easy this week and typically we begin to see much progress with their goals this time of year.  I'm thankful to have this teaching gig and to work for a private non-profit agency....so blessed that I don't have to deal with the shenanigans of public schools. 

image courtesy of Jeff's Film and TV reviews website

• NETFLIX SERIES: While on Spring break, I started this series because I love Jessica Biel.  At first I thought it might be dark or religiously weird.  But it's neither. There are some "dark" moments but basically it's 3 seasons and each season features the same detective figuring out a bizarre case.  Season One was the best in my opinion.  It featured a woman named Cora.  Season 2 featured a little boy named Julian and I have just begun Season 3 which features a man named Jamie. I'm having a bit of trouble "getting into" season 3 so I may skip it but I am thankful for this streaming service and all of the choices at the click of a keyboard!

pretty in pink

tulip fest!

so soft!

• TULIPS!!  I was thrilled to see all of the tulip bulbs I planted last fall come up in the last week.  I added about 35 bulbs to my front flower garden because sometime last winter (2021) they were dug up and chewed and I ended up with only about 5 blooms last spring.  This time when I planted them I loaded the bulb with Cayenne Pepper and it kept the rodents away (chipmunks, rabbits and squirrels).  I'm thrilled to have my tulips open and I love the variety of colors.  I have orange, pink/white, pink, red, yellow.  Not all are open but all are up. And if you know anything about the Capital Region of New York State, you know that Albany was settled by the Dutch and of course they brought these flowers over, and of course we celebrate our heritage (i'm half Dutch on my mom's side) as a city with Tulip Fest each Mother's Day weekend.  The large park in Albany literally has thousands of tulips for viewing and taking photos.  It's a huge thing.  I'm so very thankful for God's creation and these beautiful blooms. They're truly my fave flower. 

That wraps up my week! I'm heading to an Ignite Your Faith women's conference at church tomorrow afternoon and then my small group that I lead is going out to dinner after wards followed by a walk near the river.  I'm looking forward to the good teaching from our pastor's wife and the fellowship with the other ladies. We've even opened it up to other area churches. 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!