I love the month of December......so many fun moments, and reflective times, as we approach the birth of our Savior. Let's pause for a little bit this morning, to give thanks for all the blessings God brings to us. I'm here to share FIVE of them that make my FAVE list and I do this with other like-minded bloggers. We then link up at Susanne's site. How about joining us? What blessings are you enjoying this week?
FIVE FAVES
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- TASTY TEA: This is a silly fave but I'm thankful I found a flavorful tea that just warms my sense of taste, smell and sight. Stash and Tazo are probably my fave tea brands, mainly due to the appeal of the boxes and the scent/taste of their teas. I'm a coffee lover but in the winter months, during the late afternoon or evening, I like a good tea and the only holiday tea I've ever found to be good is the Apple Cinnamon Spice by Celestial Seasonings. I was thrilled when I happened to see this new-to-me tea on a shelf in the grocery store. The funny thing is, it wasn't on the tea shelf but instead on a shelf featuring other Christmas/holiday goodies. I fell in love with the name and wow.....it's amazing. There's undertones of chocolate, vanilla, lavender, and peppermint. The scent is just amazing. There is a warning on the box that it does contain small traces of caffeine. I was able to sleep just fine though when I drank a mug of it watching a movie after dinner. The caffeine is from the cocoa shells. I'm thankful to have finally found a holiday tea that I love.
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| Apple TV remote image courtesy of B*st Buy |
- STREAMING SERVICES: I'm super thankful that I bought my husband an Apple TV thing a few years ago when they first came out. I'm not sure how all this technology works, but I am thankful I can get movies or old tv shows I've never seen (am currently making my way through This is Us and watching movies I've wanted to see on the big screen but refuse to pay for movie theater prices). We typically access Netflix, Hulu (me more than Dave) Disney + (Dave more than me), You Tube and Amazon Prime. I'm super thankful too that "I Can Only Imagine" is finally on Netflix. Dave and I had an in-home date on Tuesday evening and that's the movie we chose as we didn't pay to see it in theaters. It was outstanding. I'm thankful for technology and streaming services I can access either through the TV or my laptop.
- COZY COMFORTER: I'm super thankful this week for our cozy down comforter on our bed. The beginning of this week was very cold after 11 pm (plus we keep the heat at 62 F between 11-5:30 AM) It is so warm that we don't use a blanket from November until April. Just a sheet and the comforter. I love snuggling down in it at bedtime and never want to take down comforters for granted!
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| the beach from Providence town park southern Adirondacks |
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| The Great Sacandaga Lake....one of my fave southern region Adirondack lakes......it's also one of the largest |
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| Do you see the "wall" of rocks in the center of the pic? The water is usually up to those rocks! |
- COUSIN CHAT: On Tuesday, I drove north to this village (where my mom was born and where we had a summer camp when I was growing up; it's also where my paternal grandparents lived once they retired). My cousin Ken lives right up the road from where my parents' camp was. I brought him a Christmas treat bag filled with some of the cookies and candy I've made this past week. He was very appreciative of it and we had a nice long chat before going out to lunch in one of the local diners. I'm thankful for time in one of my favorite mountain towns, and also for the stop I made in one of the town parks on the Great Sacandaga Lake The water was very low...in fact, it's the lowest I've ever seen it. I guess because we had a mostly dry autumn. I love how the lake looks this time of year and it's so quiet with all the summer people gone.
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| Cinnamon French Toast Latte with almond milk |
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| cozy comfy chairs at The Scene! |
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| Our cozy corner for lunch |
- BIRTHDAY BLESSINGS: My youngest daughter (Claire) has to work Saturday and can't join us for my birthday outing and dinner, so she wanted to take me to lunch yesterday. We went to The Scene (it recently opened in Albany, and wowza....the ambiance screams "millennial" and is just perfect that even us baby boomers and Gen X people love it!). I ordered the West Coast sandwich (scrambled egg on sourdough bread with smashed avocado, tomato and cheddar) plus it came with beet greens/romaine and cherry tomatoes. I also ordered a latte because Claire said they are the best. She wasn't kidding. I was in food heaven. hahah. I'm thankful she had the day off and that she blessed me by treating me to a yummy lunch at a spot that will be a fave place to bring friends. AND this week a package was delivered to me and inside was this beautiful solar butterfly wind chime from my close friend Cheryl. I was so surprised!! I love it and will hang it from the deck trellis come Spring. I'm thankful for thoughtful friends and family.
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| solar wind chime hanging from our dining room chandelier so I could take a pic! |
That's it for my fave blessings. There are always more than 5 but those are the ones that I am especially thankful for this first full week of December.
What about you? What are you thankful for today?
7 comments:
So many favorites today! What a blessing:) Your wind chime is so pretty. I'm sure you will enjoy it often. A french toast latte sounds so yummy...although, I agree with you, that tea in the winter months seems much cozier. And we, too, are enjoying a warm and snug comforter on our bed!! Happy Friday to you!
Sounds like a wonderful week choc full of blessings. I love snuggling under flannel sheets on these cooler (soon-to-be cold!) nights. Like you, I'm a coffee girl but I've developed a taste for good flavoured tea early in the morning and, occasionally, in the afternoon. I had a good supply of favourite varieties of David's Tea but when I ran low a few weeks ago decided that I was going to forgo the extra expense and try some grocery store brands. So far, so good.
Happy Birthday! We like some of the streaming services, too. My husband wanted to stop paying for cable this year, so we watch everything either via Apple TV or the Amazon Fire Stick.
It's nice to have a warm comforter on a cold night.
I'm glad you had nice times with your cousin and then Claire. The chimes are so pretty.
Hi Faith! This was a fun post. I love what you did with alliteration. So glad that you are having a good birthday! I love the butterfly wind chime. It's great that your daughter was able to spend some time and have lunch with you. As we get older, time with our kids is the best gift they can give us! I hope you have a truly wonderful birthday weekend. See you again soon!
Hi again Faith! I just read your comment and you are right. We did watch Candy Cane Lane on Prime. We have Netflix, Hulu and Prime and I get them all mixed up. Tonight, we are watching another good one on Prime called It's Christmas Carol - kind of a modern take on Dickens A Christmas Carol and it's very good. Have a very Happy Birthday tomorrow.
You had a great week. Happy Birthday again to you. That lunch sounds amazing.
Cousins are (almost) always a win. :) I'm glad you had a chance to spend time with yours.
That tea sounds marvelous!
Have a good week!
Happy Birthday again! The birthday lunch out sounds like a lovely way to celebrate with Claire. The sandwich sounds delicious. We've got our down comforter on the bed finally too. I love it. Love the movie "I Can Imagine". I do try to support good faith based movies at the theatre because if they are not supported there they won't be making them. From talking with you, it does sound like our prices are less expensive than your area.
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