Mid-July Faves

 

I can't believe it's just past the mid-July mark.  This month is flying by and yes it was another hot, humid one here in eastern NY. So thankful for central air, for sure! AND yesterday morning (Thursday) we woke up to much cooler temps and could finally turn off the central air and open windows!! It was a gorgeous, perfect summer day with temps in the high 70s and NO humidity!! I love it. 

I'm also thankful for some special blessings that came my way.  I'm sharing FIVE of my FAVEs and linking with others who do the same at Susanne's site. 

image courtesy of Am*zon

• BRUNCH:  A former teaching colleague (she was a speech therapist on my classroom team) came over last Friday morning for a light brunch. I had made Lemon Poppyseed bread and a fruit salad of watermelon, cantaloupe, blackberries and blueberries. Because it was a really hot day, we opted for iced tea vs coffee. I made this red, white and blue tea. So refreshing.  It's tea with raspberries, white hibiscus flowers and blueberries. We had a delightful time catching up on with each other. She is also  loving retirement like I am. I'm thankful for time spent with C. 

A scene from The Steadfast Tin Soldier
in the NYCB at SPAC program

• BALLET NIGHT! Last Friday night was my youngest daughter's annual date with me to attend the New York City Ballet at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. We had perfect center seats in the balcony just 3 rows from the edge and we were blessed to see a portion of Swan Lake, some pieces from Coppelia (my fave full length ballet), a piece from The Steadfast Tin Solider (which we had never seen) and Stars and Stripes which we had also never seen.  It was a hot, humid evening but we had ice water and during the 2 intermissions, we had a nice breeze.  I'm so thankful that we have this annual tradition.  This was our 17th year seeing the NYCB. 

Along the trail
up Balm of Gilead Mountain
Siamese Pond Wilderness Area
Central Adirondacks
13 July 

My husband Dave on the summit 

the mountains of the Central region of the Adirondacks
from the summit of Balm of Gilead 

• SOULSTEPS HIKE:  When I put together the July hiking list for my group SoulSteps, I had 14 people signed up for last Saturday's climb up Balm of Gilead Mountain.  Well, on Friday, 2 of the younger women bowed out due to unexpected company coming to their home, and  a family of 4 bowed out due to the fact that the 2 children were in a camp all week and the next day they were leaving for Scotland so the mom thought they should have a quiet day. That left 8 of us.  I cannot post the group pic on here as I didn't get permission from everyone in the group photo but they did give permission for it to be on my Facebook page so if you're on there, you can see more pics with the gang in it.  We all had a really good time even though it was even hot and humid in the mountains.  I'm thankful that the head and neck pain I woke up with went away as soon as I got to the summit of the mountain and it stayed away the rest of the day!  I'm also thankful we had a great turn out and a fun hike. 

the only steel cut oats I'll eat!

• NATURE'S PATH!  FINALLY!! When I went to the grocery store on Monday, I discovered that finally the Quick Cook Steel Cut Oats by Nature's Path were back.  I bought 2 containers.  I haven't been able to get them anywhere in my town or even the next town over, since May!!  Theses are the only ones I like.  Nature's Path (if you're not familiar with the brand) is top notch when it comes to healthful choices.  I eat these like 5x a week for breakfast with cinnamon I sprinkle on, a cup of blueberries and/or raspberries, and a half cut of walnuts. sometimes if I have sliced almonds in the baking cupboard, I'll add those too or pumpkin or sunflower seeds.  A super easy and nutritious protein packed breakfast! I'm so thankful the market has them back in stock. 

Black Lake looking west at Cherry Plain State Park
Eastern NY near the MA/VT border

youngest daughter spent her day off with me
we were the only people on the beach at 11 AM
18 July 

My spot until I moved
to the corner of the beach after lunch

Black Lake looking east
Cherry Plain State Park 

Black-eyed Susans (Wildflowers)
at Cherry Plain 

Enjoying the blue sky, sun, perfect temps
and a quiet beach

• BEACH DAY!  Claire had called me earlier in the week asking if she could spend Thursday (her "Sunday") with me. I said of course! She wanted to go to this fave state park to the east of us.  It takes about 40 minutes to get there on some beautiful country roads.  When we got there,at 10:45,  we saw 3 different families camping in the tent sites and NO one on the beach! We were the only people for the first hour and then a younger mom arrived with 3 children who played quietly in the water and then went fishing.  By the time we left at 2:30 there was an older woman with her 2 grandchildren and 3 college girls. An older couple was sitting on the grassy area near the pavilion.  It was a perfect summer day as the temps had dropped and the humidity was non-existent finally! I'm so happy we had the day together. After getting back home, we took showers, she stayed for dinner and it was just a perfect day with my youngest girl. Super thankful we had this!

BONUS FAVE:

I drove out in my air conditioned car to my childhood hometown to spruce up the area around my parents' grave and visit with an 85 year old woman (I dated her son briefly in high school and we remain good friends all these years later).  She was a friend of my parents and is still a member of my childhood church. She has some health issues but is still strong in her faith and is still an encouragement to me.  She was like a second mama to me (spiritually speaking) when I was a teen and young  college girl. How I love this woman!  We prayed together before I left and then I met my bestie Diane for lunch and some shopping.  I then left the very hot (97!!) and humid Mohawk Valley and drove back east and stopped at my sister Hope and her husband Donny's home for a swim in their pool.  I ended up staying just a bit over 2 hours and then left before the huge thunderstorm hit their area. I'm thankful the storm was behind me the whole way and that I arrived home an hour before the storm hit us!  God is so good.......He is our Protector!

I hope you have a safe and relaxing weekend doing some Summer things you love. As you read this I will be in Vermont with a group of 6 other hikers for our 5th SoulSteps hike!

HAPPY WEEKEND!