Well, we are done with the first full week of June and as of 2:30 pm today, I only have 9 days of teaching left! I will say "Good bye" to 13 special little ones and I won't be going back after the week long vacation for Summer School. It will be a weird feeling.
For now....I'm sharing in today's FAVE FIVES with other bloggers who look for 5 special blessings that God brought into our week. We link up at Susanne's site. What made you smile this week?
- NATIONAL HISTORIC LANDMARK TOUR: Saturday afternoon, I drove out to this place to tour Hyde Hall. I had always wanted to go inside this mansion but whenever I'd be there with the family for swimming and picnicking, the house would be closed. Well, my childhood hometown friend Cheryl met me there and we bought tickets for the guided tour. We were the only people there for the 2 pm tour!! The man who did the speaking was excellent. I learned alot about the Clarke family whose matriarch was the sister-in-law of James Fenimore Cooper. It was Cooper's father who founded Cooperstown. If you live in the Northeast, I highly recommend a trip to this national historic landmark. I'm thankful for history and authentic pieces from the 1830s that have been preserved for us to enjoy. Below are 5 of my fave pics from the tour.
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| Hyde Hall home of the Clarke Family 1820s-1950s |
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| "the children's playpen" aka The Inner Courtyard between the servants quarters and the main house |
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| the very formal mens dining room set in the British style table and chairs are the originals some dishes are originals |
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| the Breakfast Room all original dishes and set up to be their typical breakfast Rug is not original but is a replica of the geometric design this room had |
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| Otsego Lake as seen from Hyde Hall veranda Glimmerglass State Park 3 June 2023 |
- DEEP WOODS HIKE: I had one more personal day to use up before June 23rd or I would lose it. So the agency got a sub for me and I took Monday off. I met my sister Hope and her husband Donny at a trailhead I had hiked in 2015 with a friend. At that time, it was 19 April and snow and ice were on most of the trail. It's located in the Shaker Mountain Wild Forest area of the Southern Adirondacks about 1 hour and 25 min northwest of my house. Monday was a beautiful sunny day with temps only in the lowe 60s. We hiked the entire trail. Stewart Lake was inaccessible from the trail but you could glimpse it through the trees. The trail ended on the shores of Indian Lake in a very remote section of the woods. We were the only people there! We all had a great time and by the time we were done, we had hiked 5.4 miles! I'm thankful for a day to hike in beautiful spring weather!
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| my fave part of the trail |
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| Indian Lake on the Stewart/Indian Lakes trail Shaker Mt Wild Forest area Southern Adirondack Mountains |
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| Indian Lake trail's end 5 June 2023 note that I'm wearing hiking pants, not shorts due to black flies...... only to discover the trail had NONE! That was a HUGE blessing! |
- REFRESHER TREAT: Tuesday after work, I had to run a quick errand and my throat got very irritated from the poor air quality our state was experiencing due to the wildfires in Nova Scotia. THe air smelled like a house was burning all day long. The haze over our area was horrible. So I treated my self to the new refresher at St*rbucks: Pineapple Passionfruit Lemonade Refresher. The downside is that it has 30 grams of sugar in the grande size. But....it sure felt good on my throat and I will just have to limit these drinks this summer and only order a tall vs a grande! I'm thankful for refreshing drinks.
- RAIN! We finally got some rain on Tuesday evening and Thursday afternoon. We had horrible air quality and Tuesday and Wednesday and then Thursday the skies cleared from the smokey haze drifting down from Canada and those wildfires, the sun came out and blue sky was present once again! I'm so thankful we got a couple days of rain and that our air quality is improving.
- SAFE!! Yesterday, for the 2nd time in my life as a teacher, I had to perform the Heimlich Maneuver. I can't go into details due to confidentiality laws but let's just say I'm so thankful I know what to do and can stay calm during it!
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| Thursday evening 6 pm 8 June 2023 |
My husband ordered an Adirondack chair from an artisan up in Blue Mountain Lake (central Adirondacks) who makes the chairs from Canadian cedar wood by hand. This is not a factory produced chair like from LLB or other sporting goods stores. It's not that cheap plastic resin like from Lowes, Target, etc. It's real, authentic hand crafted furniture. Dave surprised me by bringing it home Sat and he spent Sat evening until Wednesday evening sanding it and then applying 4 coats of polyurethane on it. (to keep it easy to wipe down if the birds poop on it). He placed it halfway between our pear tree and fire pit although I'm probably going to move it back towards the maple tree come July when it's hotter. This is my retirement gift from Dave. I'm so thankful for his thoughtfulness and love. (I've always wanted an authentic ADK chair but the handcrafted ones are so pricey so he had to save).
That wraps up my week. How was yours? What were some blessings you experienced?
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6 comments:
Wonderful post. I am so glad your atmosphere has cleared so much, and I pray there is no residual damage to people who have endured this horrible situation. I loved your photos of the mansion, especially the dining and morning room. So beautiful! I cannot even imagine hiking that far, but I am so glad you got to take that last personal day! My grandpa was a carpenter with great skill! He built the two story farm house that he and grandma lived in for decades as they worked their dairy farm, But I remember the family gathering around outside for barbecues, seated in the Adirondack chairs he made. I remember they were painted white! Have a fabulous weekend!
Schotzy
Hi Faith! I am so glad that you could help that child with the Heimlich Maneuver. That must have been scary, but what a blessing that you know what to do. Your hike looks great! I also love that authentic Adirondack chair that Dave bought you as a retirement gift. So thoughtful! Such a nice gift. The historic home you toured also looks really cool. I am glad that you had a good week. Have a good weekend! See you again soon!
Oh my word, that must have been scary with your student. Those kinds of moments my training kicks in and then it hits me afterward. Thank God I've never had a major choking incident in 33 years.
I love the Paradise drink which has the pineapple but it's also got coconut milk. It's an occasional treat, for sure, because of the sugar content but it's so good. Your hike looks fun and how nice you got a day off for it. I love historical tours. What a nice and thoughtful retirement gift from your hubby. It's pouring rain here right now with more predicted over the the next week, Praise God. Everything is so dry and we've already had major fires in the province.
So glad you could help the child. Staying calm in moments like that is so important. It must have felt so much better after the rain with the air cleared. I hope the fires are now under control. What a lovely gift from your hubby. That drink sounds very refreshing but yes very sugary so not for me. Have a lovely weekend.
I'm so thankful you were able to help the child who was choking. That would be scary, even knowing what to do.
What a nice gift from your husband!I'm glad you had a nice hike and visit to Hyde Hall.
It's so good the rain is clearing out the air. My son in RI said the air there has been hazy and yellow, but is pretty much normal now.
We are experiencing some of the smoke conditions as well. I think New York has gotten more of the smoke than we have. My prayers are with the people who are right there. I can't imagine how thick the smoke must be. Thankful that we have gotten some rain as well though not nearly enough. Wow! Having to do the Heimlick maneuver is one of my biggest worries...that and administer an epi-pen. I'm glad you were able to do it but it must have been frightening for every one. My youngest step-daughter used to call it the Heimlick remover. Silly but it does make sense.
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