First Friday of February Faves

 

The first Friday of February and it's a COLD one here in New York State!  I live on the eastern edge.....in the Capital Region and this is the coldest it's been all winter thus far. I'm happy to be home tonight helping to lead our small group and tomorrow my husband and I plan on staying inside and reading, watching movies,  doing some cleaning and maybe some baking and just keeping warm. In the mountains where I normally hike April-November, the wind chill is supposed to make the air feel like -60!!  that's COLD folks. Hopefully no one will be hiking up there. 

But for now, let's share FIVE of our FAVE blessings and link up at Susanne's site to learn what made us thankful this past week.  I enjoy reading everyone's list and  it really is important for us to look for things to be grateful for. Click here to learn more about how to participate. 

FIVE FAVES

image courtesy of Av*n website

•  BLUEBERRY FACIAL CLEANSER:  This is a gentle cleanser with the scent of blueberries and has blueberry extract in it...It literally is one of the best facial cleansers I've ever used. I'm thankful for my sister's website where I discovered it was on sale.  I'm going to go back and order more as she says Av*n has a habit of discontinuing items.  I'm so thankful for this lovely lightly scented blueberry  cleanser because I love anything blueberry!

Beyond Beef Burger and fries

• DINNER DATE!  Last Friday evening a friend of ours cancelled our get together so we decided to go out anyways and chose our fave local diner. I was craving a burger and fries (i know...i hardly EVER eat fries but man in the winter I sure do crave junk food/comfort food).  I bought the Beyond Beef (vegan) burger with a slice of cheddar and tomato/lettuce. Dave chose to eat a hot pastrami and onion rings. We followed that up with a piece of Chocolate Cream Pie to share. It's the only place where I will order pie.  It's the best and I'm always thankful when their bakery has it made!

afternoon sun in silent  woods

Bike path/walking trails
north part of the town park

• AFTERNOON HIKE:  On Saturday, the temps climbed to 48 degrees F so off I went with my winter hiker boots and hiking stick to the north part of our town park.  I had to go slower than I wanted, on much of the trail, due to sloppy snow and bits of ice here and there.  For the most part I power walked on the side of the trail where someone had  used cross country skis.  I did a total of 1.4 miles before getting back to car. The fresh air, warm sun and brisk pace when I could just felt so good and glory to God I had no headache! (update:  headache/neck pain/upper back pain is decreasing more and more and a new treatment plan is beginning next week. I'm saving exactly what it is for another post....it's cutting edge tech and I have to pay out of pocket as no health ins will cover it due to big pharma wanting people to be on Rx meds. more on that later). I'm thankful for fresh, winter air and sunshine!

 

• SUNDAY DINNER: I smiled when Courtney said she'd love to come over Sunday afternoon after church for comfort food. I made my famous Veggie Mac and Cheese and we had big bowls of it while  watching episode 1 of Season 3 of The Handmaid's Tale. Oh my how far the producers/writers have strayed from the book but wow is it ever riveting.  I'm so thankful Courtney, our oldest girl, still likes to hang out with us sometimes. 

NYS patch for hikers who support trails

• ARRIVED!! This patch finally arrived in the mail yesterday.  At the end of 2022, I gave a financial gift to the DEC of NYS (the main office is in Albany a few miles south of us) to help them raise funds for trail maintenance. As a "thank you" they sent this patch.  It makes me smile and it will be joining my hiking challenge patches on the pillow my colleague made me. 

BONUS FAVE

backyard Thursday afternoon around 4 pm

Front yard on Thursday after work about 3 pm

BLUE SKY, SUNSHINE ALL DAY, and TEMPS IN mid-30s!!  I'm thankful for yesterday because today the air feels like we live in the Arctic Circle. 

I hope you have a weekend full of things to do inside if you're facing the Arctic blasts like we are here in the Northeast!! I plan on watching Netflix movies, reading good books, drinking hot coffee and maybe doing some baking. 

HAPPY WEEKEND!!