I can't believe we are more than half-way through the calendar year and that we are now heading into completing the first full month of summer! We've had a good, but busy week, here at our house and I'm sharing FIVE of the many blessings God brought to the week. Join in with us by heading over to Susanne's blog where other bloggers share their fave blessings.
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| Tyler and Courtney on her birthday |
- BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION: Last Friday was our oldest daughter's 32nd birthday. Her bf took her out for dinner when she got out of work at this place and she posted this pic for us to see. Then on Sunday after choir rehearsal, they came over for dinner and our youngest daughter also came and we had what Courtney had requested: grilled bbq chicken; vegan potato salad; steamed broccoli, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting and pink sprinkles. Then we gave her a gift. Claire got her a themed gift as did Dave and I! Her bf bought her the lego Roses Bouquet set. She collects various lego sets. I'm so thankful we could all get together. and the next day (the 12th) I celebrated quietly, my 50th spiritual birthday! I am now 50 yrs old as a Christ follower and although I strayed for a couple of years after college, I'm so thankful I can do life with God. I can't imagine my life with out my church, the community of Believers I know and do life with, and leaning on God in good and hard times.
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| Milkshake themed gift We also gave her colored sprinkles, Ghirardelli Dark Chocolate sauce and a gift card to the local grocery store so she can choose her own oat milk, oat milk ice cream and whipped cream. |
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| a Pride and Prejudice themed gift with the record album still to come...from the movie ....Courtney loves Jane Austen and the book contains hand written letters like in the book and written in the handwriting of that time period. |
- FRESH BASIL! My basil has really grown well so far this summer. I've been pinching off the bigger leaves and using them in stir fries, in a Bison stew, on tomato and lettuce sandwiches, tucked into pita bread with hummus and veggies....there's nothing like snipping off some fresh basil for dinner! I'm thankful it's doing well.
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| growing since May! |
- EARLY MORNING AND LATE EVENING WALKS: We are on week 2 of high temperatures with high levels of humidity. I'm tired of it. I want to open my house windows, get fresh air blowing through and stop sweating as soon as I step onto the deck. Is that too much too ask?? This is eastern NY for cryin' out loud...not the Deep South! I am not liking temps above 86 every day and humidity levels higher than 70%. But at least I can still walk...although at a much slower pace...and this past week the blessing was running into a fellow church member (older woman) who heads up an organization I've been volunteering with. Carol invited me to sit on her porch for a few minutes and I'm so thankful I did. She is the mom of our oldest daughter's fave Shaker High Creative writing teacher. Courtney also took Film Critique with her and I was sad to hear that she is battling cancer. But Carol says she's doing pretty well and I got to know her (Carol) a bit more. There's a lot we can learn from talking with older Christians. I'm thankful for that time and I'm also thankful I have some pretty plants doing well in my backyard. I snapped a few pics one morning after my walk.
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| my hanging plant in the pear tree NO idea what these flowers are called |
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| These are supposed to be morning glories but I don't think I'll see blooms this summer.....I used to have them for years here and during the pandemic..for some strange reason, they just stopped growing. Every year I had gorgeous blue morning glories going up the trellis. So I bought seeds and sadly the month of May was so gloomy and rainy that I'm not sure what will happen. But for now, the green growth is gorgeous. |
- BRUNCH! On Wednesday, mid-morning to early afternoon, my friend Diane from church, hosted a few of us from the class we took 2nd semester at church, for a brunch and pool party. There were 9 of us total and we had such a great time of fellowship. We all brought a dish to pass. One of the women took a lot of photos and sent them to us. I'll share a few of my faves. I'm so thankful we had some nice fellowship, food and fun! It was great to see everyone again.
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| Diane and Scott's pool |
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| I'm swimming the width of the deep end with Becca on the left and Diane on the right. Becca is a good friend of Courtney's and getting her PhD in Ed Psych. She had Wednesday mornings off from school so was able to join us for the class. |
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| I contributed a fruit salad of Santa Claus Melon, blueberries and raspberries |
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| Hanging out before we eat l-r: a young high school girl and her mom. Mom is a visiting scholar professor at the University of Albany and must return to China in November. Daughter will be staying in a boarding house for international students while attending a private Christian high school in our area. Then there's me, and then classmate Lori. |
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 and then me just hanging out in the pool with Kathy, Becca, Diane and Meg (not shown). |
- SPONTANEOUS DINNER OUT: Dave was super tired Wednesday night, and because I had been away most of the day, I didn't eat lunch until about 2:30. By 6, he was asking me what was for dinner. I told him I was just gonna make a salad and wasn't really hungry yet. So he suggested
weI take a night off from cooking and just go out. We chose P*nera as I just wanted a fresh salad. It was nice to be out and have time to just chat together. I really enjoyed our spontaneous dinner out and I'm thankful my husband suggested it.
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| Asian Chicken Salad from P*nera |
That wraps up some special blessings from the past week.
Cooler, drier air is supposed to move in today. I sure hope that happens!
have a wonderful Summer weekend!!!
have a wonderful Summer weekend!!!
UPDATE AS OF 7:45 AM!! YAY! I opened all windows at 2 AM when I was up getting a drink of water and noticed that the central air wasn't running. FINALLY!! this is my fave weather! Currently as I type this at 7:47 AM EST the temp here in my town is 66 F and the dew point is only 56! I'm very thankful!!
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