I'm participating with the Sunday Stealin' meme again because I really liked this week's questions. I forgot to post it yesterday though!!
1. What is the hottest temperature you've seen this summer so far? 96. Last week one day it got up to 96 with very high humidity (75%) which is very high this early in July for eastern New York. We are on our 2nd heat wave with heat advisories so far for 2024.
2. What is your favorite summer beverage? That's a tough one. If with alcohol, then a crisp gin and tonic with extra lime. If a regular drink, then my dad's recipe for homemade lemonade or my current store bought fave of Bubbly Sparkling Black Cherry water. no calories and and no sugar! but I also love my homemade iced tea (peach and blackberry are 2 of my faves) and I love plain old iced water with lemon, lime, and orange slices.
3. Have you seen any fireflies/lightning bugs yet? Cicadas? Yes, I saw a couple of fireflies last week from the air conditioned family room. No to the cicadas although at night when the windows are open (when it's not so hot and humid) we do hear the crickets which I just love.
4. What are the last 3 things you bought online? A Swimsuit from Modlily (still hasn't arrived!); a Fitbit Luxe (arrived last week), and the puritan's pride phytosterols I take daily.
5. Where do locals go to cool off? The Capital Region has 6 state parks where people tend to go to picnic, swim, etc. We have Grafton State Park outside Troy, Ny with 2 large lakes and where we used to kayak (about 35 min east of us across the Hudson); we have Cherry Plain State Park close to the Berkshires of MA (about a 40 min drive east across the Hudson River) with a beautiful mountain lake and a gorgeous beach (I'm actually heading there on Thursday with my youngest daughter who has the day off! it's our 2nd fave); we have Moreau Lake State Park ( my fave) where our kayaks are stored and where we have camped when the girls were little; and we have Thompson Lake at Thatcher State Park to the southwest of Albany (i've never been there to swim, just to hike). We also have Mine Kill State Park which has a pool. I've been there once (it's about an hour drive southwest) and we have Saratoga Spa State Park which has 2 pools: one for young children and the famous Victoria Pool, now with free admission! I may go there next week since it's been over 20 years since I've swam there. People who don't enjoy lakes go to their town/city community parks which most around here have pools.
6. Where did you buy your last postcard and what was on the pc? I bought a postcard last year when we were on vacation in Stowe, Vermont and sent it to my oldest daughter as she collects postcards. It was a photo of the village and mountains.
7. What's your favorite summertime scent? Balsam from the top of a mountain summit or the smell of woodsmoke when it's cool enough to have a fire in our firepit
8. What kind of a/c do you have - central, room, fans only, chillers, none and what temperature do you set it to? We have central air (we built the house in 1994 and put in central air in 1998 when I was pregnant with our youngest). We keep it set/programmed at 74 during most of the day, 72 in the late afternoon/evening, and 70 after 11 pm until 6 AM.
9. Do you have a summer vacation planned and if so, where are you really going?? We already took a week and stayed in Plymouth on Long Pond in a camp that my brother in law owns. He let us have it for a wonderfully relaxing vacation after dealing with my father in law's wake, funeral, etc. I'm also going on a mini vacation with my oldest daughter in August to the northern and high peaks regions of the Adirondacks and in late August, my husband and I plan on doing several day trips.
10. What are your favorite summer activities? Hiking, sitting on the deck for all meals (When it's not humid!!), mini golf with hubby, swimming in lakes, reading on a beach, day trips to places we've never been.
11. What's your favorite summertime food? Oh man, that's TOUGH. I love all the summer produce including raspberries, blueberries, blackberries...all of which are at peak right now. I love watermelon! I love sweet corn on the cob from local farmers, I love soft serve ice cream and it's even better when you find a place that has oatmilk soft serve (there's like ONE we know of). I love all kinds of summer salads, bison burgers on the grill, basically anything grilled.
12. Did you ever go to summer school? No but in college one summer (after my 3rd year) I stayed and took Ethics to get it out of the way (a required course) and had a blast with a few of my friends who also stayed on campus. And when I won a fellowship with the Research Foundation, the grad classes began in June 1986 and for 5 weeks we had intensive classroom experience with all levels of disabilities. By the end of that year (june 1987, those of us who stayed in the fellowship program and didn't flunk out had earned our MS in EdPsych/Special Ed and received our NYS permanent certification to teach special needs people ages birth through geriatric. That was a tough summer!! And being a PreK Special Ed teacher, I had to teach the summer program for 6 weeks. I did that for 14 years!
13. What's your favorite summertime memory? I have way too many to list but one of my first faves was when I hiked my first High Peak in the ADK (Giant Mt, the 12th tallest mt in NYS) when I was 18 before I went off to college in the very flat western NY. How I missed my mountains during my undergrad years!
14. Do you like fireworks? Yup. But I'm ok if I miss them. Rest of the family could care less about them. My faves were when i was a child growing up at our summer camp in Northville NY and seeing them on the 4th of July over the lake.
15. How do you feel about the longer days of summer? Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE them. but only when it's NOT HUMID!! I really hope our humidity breaks this week and we go back to temps in the 70s and low 80s my fave. I love sitting out by a fire at night or reading on the deck until dark.
That wraps up the questions! Play along if you want and I'll come read yours.
4 comments:
Do we have cicadas around here? I did not know that!
I've been to Northville. My wife has friends who summer there. It's a charming little town.
I didn't even know oatmeal ice cream was a thing. I am allergic to dairy, does it have dairy in it, too?
Hi Faith, I am impressed with your education! I got my BA, but then decided I wanted to start my family. Things changed when I went though infertility. Once I had my kids, I did not want to leave them, so I worked part time until I retired. Now I am an active grandparent. I did do counseling at my church. I got hurt at work and that also changed my direction. I like how adventurous you are. I once was until I got hurt a few times at work. Life goes on. Have a great week!
We don't have fireflies or cicadas but I got to hear them when I was in Costa Rica. I like eating outside too, that is until the wasps come which is basically Aug 1st. Then I avoid it at all costs. LOL.
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