Spring Break Faves

 

It's the end of the week and just about the end of my Spring Break.  Unfortunately I am still dealing with severe sinus headache pain and nothing is helping. I'm on my 2nd course of antibiotics and the pain has been present for 3 weeks. Also, the weather has been more like March although we've had several days of sunshine...just cold and windy!  But in spite of that, I have 5 blessings from my week, that I consider my fave ones and so I'm linking up with other bloggers who share their faves.  Head on over to the host's site (Susanne) to learn more about this.

Wadhams Falls
North-eastern ADKS
16 April 2022

Alice Falls
Keeseville

Rainbow Falls, Ausable Chasm
Ausable, NY

Anderson Falls, a bit upstream
Keeseville

• SOLO ROAD TRIP:  The day before Easter was cloudy and my hiking friend ended up not being able to go to the deep woods hike we had planned, so I took the time to go north anyways.  I actually drove 2 hours north just to check off 4 waterfalls I needed to find for the ADKS 50 FALLS CHALLENGE.  I've been working on this challenge for 3 years. I'm also working on the ADK 102 Challenge which requires one to drive to all 102 villages/towns within the "blue line" of the ADK Park and get signatures or town seals/stamps for that particular place.  It has to be a resident or place of business within the town. I've been working on this challenge for about 6 years.  I'm a little more than half done.  I was able to get my book stamped in the village of Wadhams, and then signed by a resident in Chesterfield and Willsboro (near the Vermont border!).  It was very interesting to talk to some of the locals. I'm so thankful I had the day Saturday to explore by my self and just enjoy  the beauty of God's creation.

EASTER 2022
Courtney, Dave, me, Claire
Grace Fellowship Church/Latham

• EASTER SUNDAY FUN!  Easter at church was amazing. The Word and worship were just perfect.  Our oldest daughter, Courtney, joined us and then we went back to the house, ate a little snack of chocolate shortbread cookies I made the night before, and drove up to this restaurant where we gathered for dinner with 2 of my 3 younger sisters and their families. The food was awesome and we all had a fun time of conversation/catching up on our lives.  This was our first Easter dinner together with extended family since the pandemic began. After dinner, the 4 of us  went home and played many rounds of Scattergories which was just a blast and so reminiscent of when the girls were young teens. I'm thankful for an Easter filled with family, fellowship and fun. 

my youngest sister Jill and her 2 girls:
 Mady (age 13) and Emma (age 19)

My sister Joy's son Luke and Jill's husband Mike

my 2 girls: Courtney (foreground) and Claire

chocolate shortbread...tradition!

• Car inspection:  Monday morning I drove to the car dealer and had my car's annual inspection.  What made me smile is that it passed with all marks still in the "green" zone (for those of you who are familiar with Hondas) and that my husband was correct:  I'm going to need 4 new tires before next winter. When I was done there, I stopped at a nature preserve that's on the way home and had a lovely late morning 1.3 mile walk in the sunshine.  I'm thankful for errands like this getting checked off the list and for time walking outside. 

Cascade Falls Trail
Adams, MA/Berkshires
20 April 2022

Notch Creek along the Cascade Falls Trail

first falls on Notch Creek

me and my friend Cindy R

Cascade Falls

• MID-WEEK HIKE:  Wednesday was a little overcast and chilly (low 40s here in town) but my friend Cindy who used to go to our church and whom I rarely see until hiking season begins, wanted to hike with me in the Berkshires.  Our original plan was to head northwest to the village where my mom was born and do the 3 miles one way trail there. Well...that area received 8 inches of snow on Tuesday so we knew we had to have a plan B.  We headed east towards the Berkshires which are basically snow free, and found Cascade Falls trail in a town only about 35 min east of us!  What a gem of a trail.  It's unmarked but so easy to follow.  At one point the trail disappears and you either have to wade through knee high freezing cold water in the creek or hug the edge of a cliff and squat to get make it over to the trail.  It was very hard.  After that it was a quick half mile to the falls.  The sun came out on our way back to the trailhead and all in all the hike was only 2.2 miles.  We treated ourselves out to lunch at a local diner after wards and just had a nice time together.  I'm thankful for sisters -in -Christ/friends who are always up for a hiking adventure!

science fiction/drama

drama/tragedy

• MOVIE NIGHTS AND SPECIAL TREATS: Sunday evening was a great evening to watch a movie.  Courtney had gone back to her place so Dave, Claire and I chose this movie based on Hamlet to watch.  What a great flick!  We highly recommend you watch Ophelia on Netflix.  I believe it's only on there until the 30th.  It's so well done.  Then Tuesday evening it was cold and grey and I just totally needed to relax as the persistant pain in my sinuses was really getting to me. Dave suggested we watch The Adam Project.  I had heard rave reviews about this and since I was on vacation all week, it was a good evening to do another movie. We loved it.  Then Claire, on her last day of Starbucks (for those of you who don't know, she has accepted a full time job in her field and will be a Caseworker for a domestic violence shelter agency in Albany so had to leave her job as a barista), brought me home a raspberry mocha latte with almond milk.  OH MY GOODNESS.  If you like the taste of chocolate-raspberry in your coffee then this is for you. It's just fantastic. And then Dave surprised me with a date night out for dinner at a new to us Italian restaurant.  Tons of our neighbors and friends have raved about this place and for some weird reason we had never gone there.  I had the chicken eggplant parm and it was delish.  We have enough leftover to share tonight for our "leftovers night". The Italian restaurant is also where our church gets the food for when we have special meetings, etc.  I also made myself a high protein breakfast this morning because protein packed meals help me not to snack later in the day.  I'm thankful for fun movie nights, time with my family, and special treats. 

plant-based breakfast: veggie "sausage"
egg/cheese/fresh basil on an English muffin
Kiwi

Raspberry-Mocha Latte...
last free one made by my own barista

That wraps it up for me.

I hope you all have a wonderful Spring weekend doing the things you love.