Friday already?! Not sure how this week has flown by as I really didn't have all that much on the agenda originally and then all of a sudden my week filled up. A nice week weather-wise and doing some special things with special people and organizing my closets and doing some early Christmas shopping due to sales. All that and more makes me pause and say "Thank You, God". Let's join in with other bloggers who do the same...looking for FIVE of our FAVE blessings from the week and then linking up at Susanne's site.
- MOTHER-DAUGHTER DATE: Sunday was a day with my oldest daughter. I picked her up for church at 11 and afterwards we came back to the house, changed our clothes (she had packed a bag so we wouldn't have to go back to her apt and waste time...she is thoughtful like that) and headed out to lunch at this fun place in the town just to the north of us. We ate delicious food and could only eat half of our panini so we both agreed the leftovers would be our respective dinners that evening. After we ate, we drove a bit further north to a beautiful new trail system (Created during the pandemic) to do some easy hiking. Courtney no longer likes the longer hikes but she likes local nature preserves. I'm thankful for spending time with my oldest daughter out in the amazing fresh autumn air. Here are a few photos of our fave parts of the hike:
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| The main loop trail through 100 Acres Woods trail system |
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| yes we played pooh sticks... how can you not, in a preserve with the same name as in Winnie the Pooh?! |
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| another fave part of the trail |
- MOTHER DAUGHTER SHOPPING DATE: Not only did I spend time with my oldest girl but my youngest daughter had Tuesday off and wanted to spend it with me going to these outlet shops in the Berkshires. It was an overcast day but the sun was in and out so felt warm and although the leaves aren't quite at peak yet, it was a pretty drive into the mountains of Massachusetts. Claire was in need of certain winter clothing items and scored well at her fave shops. I was in need of a new winter sweater and managed to score one from one of our fave places which had a 50% off sale!! It's one of our very fave outlet stores and yes the prices are truly outlet prices. How could we resist? I also managed to get 2 Christmas gifts: one for Dave and one for my nephew. On the way home we stopped in the last MA town before NY and got fresh ground coffee from this place. Oh my. Is it ever good. We also bought coffees to drink on the way home. I'm thankful I could spend time with Claire on Tuesday. We had so much fun.
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| Coffee from No 6 Depot West Stockbridge, MA |
- COLOR! I'm so thankful my autumn flowers and even some summer blooms are still bright with color. We still haven't had a frost yet in our eastern NY area....in fact, even the mountains haven't had many mornings of frost. I"m thankful for autumn colors!
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| Deck mums |
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| summer blooms holding on...... |
- BRUNCH DATE: My very close friend and sister in Christ who grew up in the same church I did when we were children has a birthday coming up and it's our tradition to get together for brunch and some exploring or shopping to celebrate. We met at this new-to-us breakfast/lunch spot in a town that's about 35 min west of where I live but still considered the Capital Region of NY. We had no idea this gem of an eatery was even there! After lunch we parked by the Erie Canal Towpath trailhead and instead of walking the canal trail which we've both done parts of many times, we headed towards the section of downtown Amsterdam we're unfamiliar with. Lots of historic buildings there and all kinds of art, sculptures, etc. We discovered this bridge and after walking across it to the Riverlink Park, we discovered a woman who was working on one of the sculptures. Come to find out...she's the artist and the former mayor who got the work done in the park/revitalized that part of this small city that I usually just pass through on my way north to the southern Adirondacks. We chatted with her for a few minutes and just admired all of her work. We told her it was our first time discovering Riverlink and she was thrilled. It's pristine. No litter, no mess, just a beautiful space. The whole walk is only about a mile. I'm thankful I had a nice day with my friend Diane. Here are a few of our fave pics from the walk (I actually have 41 photos from this walk...more are on FB and I'll post more on FB at some point):
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| Beginning of the Mohawk Valley Gateway Overlook Bridge Amsterdam NY 18 October |
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| Cleopatra the Rock Snake... people paint a rock and add it on to her she winds all the way down the walkway! |
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| a large mosaic on the walkway all filled with Autumn colors |
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| The artist and former mayor on the raised platform to her mosaic sculpture she's currently working on My friend Diane is chatting with her The sculpture depicts Mother Earth and creation/nature and includes all kinds of animals, flora, birds, and insects one can find in our part of the state and along and in the Mohawk River It's much more vibrant in color in person |
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| an iconic historic Erie Canal Tugboat on display in the park |
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| I'm touching one of the steel beams from the North Tower that collapsed due to terrorists on 9-11-01. The signage says these beams are the most intact sections....most unaltered.....of the World Trade Center. This memorial was very sobering as on the flag sign behind me are the names of every single hero (firefighters, police, etc) who died due to that horrible day in NYC that everyone around the world felt. |
- SOLO ROAD TRIP: Yesterday the weather was absolutely glorious. Sunshine, blue sky and the leaves are starting to peak here. Our one smaller maple tree is golden yellow but the larger maple is still green! The nights just haven' been cold enough for those colors to pop out yet. Anyways, I decided to go to a couple of places in Bennington, Vermont where I know I can find Christmas gifts for two of the difficult to shop for people on my list. And I found the perfect gifts! Vermont is simply stunning right now as their mountains are at peak. It was a gorgeous drive (It only takes me about 45-50 min to get to downtown Bennington) and I loved the fact that I did some early Christmas shopping, saw some gorgeous color and got a phone call from my spiritual mentor friend while I was there. She had an answer to prayer and it was awesome to hear the report! I'm thankful for answers to prayer and also that my husband (he's helping out his mom in the Boston area this week and working remotely) has reported that his dad, who was in the hospital with a heart issue, is doing better. Glory to God for all of these blessings!
Golden beauty at the Bennington Monument
Vermont
19 October
The meadow and mountains behind the parking area
at Bennington Monument
Bennington Monument
Vermont
That wraps up my week of blessings. I hope you all have a restful weekend.
9 comments:
Hi Faith, I enjoyed reading your post today. Nice that you had time with your daughters. It much have been a special moment to stand next to that beam and remember those who lost their life on 911. I love all the fall colors here. Enjoy your weekend!
Wow what a great week you had! Hope you have a good weekend too.
What a lovely week! You make retirement look fun. :-) It's so nice to be free to spend time with your daughters and friends doing all these fun activities in fun and beautiful places. We're starting to get some beautiful color, too,
Hi Faith! Wow, you had such a nice week and did some really fun and interesting things! When we lived in Arizona, a park near where we lived in Gilbert had a 9/11 Memorial and there was a piece of one of the beams there as well. I hope you have a very nice weekend. It's great that you get together with your daughters so much. See you again too!
You have had a busy and adventurous week. I love that you are able to spend time with each of your daughters.
That small town you visited sounds like a wonderful place. You are certainly taking advantage of your retirement days.
I hope your weekend weather is good for hiking.
I am so very jealous you went through Stockbridge ((grin)). Have a beautiful Sunday my friend.
Firstly, I am glad that your father-in-law is doing better. And, that autumn mosaic is absolutely beautiful.
Your time with each of daughters sound so fun in their own way. How blessed to have your daughters so close by. Love the orange mums. I wanted to get a pot but am glad I didn't as everything is covered in snow today! And so cold! Your solo trip also sounds fun. Beautiful pictures.
Faith, can you let me know if my specific comment for this post went through?
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