JULY FAVES

 

July is truly a special Summer month for me.

My oldest daughter was born one day (today is her #32!!) before my spiritual birthday ( so tomorrow I celebrate 50 years of being a Christ follower!).  My husband's birthday is at the end of the month.  Our nephew Adam had a birthday on the 1st. Our niece Debi has a birthday next week and Dave's oldest sister has a birthday next week! And...July has hot weather that's good for the various mountain lakes/beaches, and hikes in the deep woods. and don't forget all the fireflies we watch from the deck at night! 

I'm sharing FIVE of my FAVE blessings from the past week and joining in with other like-minded bloggers at Susanne's site.  I'm thankful for the pause to look over the things that brought a smile and a "thank You, God" to my lips this week. 

burning brush

neighbor's pool fountain!

• INDEPENDENCE DAY:  Dave and I didn't do much at all on Independence Day in regards to celebrating the birth of our nation. Rather, I spent most of the day in the kitchen, preparing for a huge beach picnic the next day that we were hosting for our oldest daughter, her boyfriend, her college friend and my sister Joy. Our youngest girl had to work both days so couldn't join us. I basically spent the day cooking, cleaning and packing up swim and kayak gear. Dave did a few chores as well and the rest of the day was spent reading and talking. By dinner time, I was so sick of being in the kitchen  that I suggested we go to whatever was open and pick up some take out even if it was fast food junk. Well, most places were closed of course that sell healthier options, so we ended up getting classic chicken sandwiches from Popeye's. We brought them home and ate on the deck because the weather was so perfect. I also made some ice cold cocktails (Mai Tais) and we burned brush for quite a while. Dave wanted to watch something on Paramount + so he went in and I continued to burn brush until the neighbors'  fire works began. The neighbor's next door to us have an above ground pool and this year they have some kind of  fountain thing for it so when they turned it on, the water began to change colors to red and blue.  No idea how this works, but it was pretty cool! I also saw a LOT of fireflies aka lightening bugs come out around the pine tree so took a quick video. They were brighter as the night got  darker. It was a perfect summer evening and I'm thankful for it and for what the day stands for. Sadly, blogger won't let me upload the video!!

I found these adorable plates, napkins 
and matching cups (not pictured) at the Dollar store!!

Courtney, Tyler, Nathaniel 

Schroon Lake is 24.7 miles long 
in the eastern Adirondacks

Tyler and Courtney go kayaking!

Dave has a nice shady spot! 
The beach is reached via a set of stairs to the left of Dave
and just past that far left tree
or by walking down the grassy hill to the sand. 

• BEACH BASH:  We 've always called full days at the beach, whether it was on the Cape or a mountain lake, a "beach bash". Saturday was one of those days! We headed to this village in the eastern region of the Adirondack Mountains, about 1.5 hours north of us, and settled on a big grassy area of the town park.  My sister Joy was there! Dave and I loaded up our car with the kayaks and gear, all the food, blankets, drinks, etc.  Courtney, her boyfriend Tyler and her best college buddy Nathaniel each brought a contribution to the picnic as well as their own drinks.  The guys helped Dave with the kayak unloading and loading which was most appreciated. We ate great food, had a lot of laughs, did some swimming in the cold lake water and cool mountain air and yes we all got a lot of sun, even though we applied sunscreen throughout the day. We stayed from 10:30-5:30 then ended the group time with soft serve ice cream at a fave stand outside the village.  I'm so thankful everyone had a great time and that we got to know Tyler  some more. I'm also thankful it was a perfect summer day, weather wise. (temp was 74 up there with blue skies and full sun). 

spinach, romaine, carrots, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion
Cajun grilled salmon

sauteed with a dash of olive oil:
sweet potato, zucchini, summer squash, red onion,
 red pepper, garlic, Beyond meat "steak" tips
totally vegan minus the drizzle of Parmesan herb dressing i used to marinate the "steak" 

• MEDITERRANEAN STYLE DINNERS:  this week we are back to eating more like our youngest daughter, the pure vegan.  I created the bottom dinner and served it with watermelon chunks and blueberries. Then the top pic was an idea I saw in an online magazine about pairing salad with salmon or boneless, skinless organic  chicken and keeping it a low fat protein with lots of veggies.  We also had some beets on the side (not pictured) and cut up peaches, watermelon and blueberries.  Then one night our youngest came to dinner before she and I had an event to go to, and I grilled Beyond Meat burgers that are made with avocado oil and gave my husband a beef burger.  We had steamed green beans and watermelon.  One evening we had grilled chicken with a spinach salad and sliced tomatoes. We had just one evening with pasta:  chicken and garlic stuffed ravioli with a tossed salad and fresh peaches. I'm thankful we are cutting back on simple carbs and  adding in more complex carbs in general, along with lean or vegan protein. 

me with our youngest daughter Claire aka the ballerina

• BALLET NIGHT OUT:  Wednesday was the opening night of the Classical Season at SPAC and the first night of the NYCBallet. It was Coppelia. Our third time to see this full length story ballet with the NYCB.  We bought a glass of wine before the performance and enjoyed it on the grass before entering the balcony. It was hot (84) in the amphitheatre balcony but every once in a while the breeze from the pines would come through. If you don't know anything about the SPAC Amphitheatre, please click here. We had perfect seats and I'm thankful I could get the tickets back in March. We were in Section 15 Row C.  Smack dab in the middle.  Just perfect. Claire loved it. It is our 18th year to attend the ballet together. The performance was breath-taking. I'm thankful we had a beautiful summer night to attend the ballet. 

Black River Pond  at Cherry Plain State Park 
eastern NY

looking south along the beach
and the sky went from  cloudy to blue sky and sun

enjoying a Mai Tai on the beach

• LAKE DAY!  Claire (the ballerina) asked me on Wednesday evening, if we could go to her fave state park/lake the next day. Thursdays are her Saturdays.  I told her that would be awesome!  The park is only about 40 miles east of us but it took almost an hour due to some major construction on the main road to the mountain road. Black Lake is a true mountain lake fed by a spring and it's always so cold...like the Atlantic near NH/Maine. But yesterday it was actually a good temp. Parts of it felt like bath water because our area has been so very hot and humid on and off for two weeks. This state park is a "swim at your own risk" as the state no longer pays life guards here.  There were only 2 other families on the beach when we arrived at 11:15. And by 2 pm only 2 more families had arrived. We swam, ate lunch, drank a lot of water and some refreshing Mai tais I had mixed up before we left. We swam a 2nd time before packing up and heading home. I'm so thankful she wanted to spend more time with  me and that the weather turned out beautiful! 

Another fave that makes me say "thank You, God":  my husband and all the lawn care he does. He did most of the yard work after working all day at the office (Tuesday) when the temp was 86 and humid. I had him take a dinner break but he went right back out afterwards to finish the yards. I'm so thankful for my hard working husband.  I used to love to mow the lawn but I'm unable to do so now with the cervical spine issues I have. I never want to take all the little things Dave does around the house, for granted. 

That wraps up my week!

I hope you have a relaxing weekend!