BUSY WEEK FAVES

 

Well, it's August 1st!  I love August as much as I love June. July, here in eastern NYS, was very hot and humid and I think we broke some records for high temps. Cooler air and less humidity has moved in and I'm most thankful for that. I'm also hoping praying the high humidity stays away!!  I can deal with 88 degrees if the humidity levels stay down! 

But...today is Friday as well as the start of a new month, so let's pause, give thanks for FIVE of our FAVE blessings that were part of our week and join in with Susanne from over here to read more. 

Sanderson Brook along the trail
Chester-Blandford State Forest, MA

The MA state forest workers created a path for dogs
so their feet  don't get caught in the webbing of this bridge that spans
Sanderson Brook 

Sanderson Creek Falls, our destination
after just 1 mile of hiking

• SoulSteps Hike: Last Saturday, there were 6 of us from the hiking group I lead, who went to a new to us trail in the Berkshire Mountains of MA. We were planning on hiking the lollipop trail for a 4.4 mile hike but when we got there, the main trail was all loose gravel (not fun to hike on) and the deer flies were horrible! We ended up deciding just to do 2 miles...to the falls and back. A new member of the group rode with me, and it was her first hike with us. She loved it and I was thankful she was able to go.  The other 4 people were a family of 4 who just returned from hiking in the deserts of Utah so they were ready for some green forests and waterfalls.  The 2 little girls wanted to linger at the falls, so their family decided to stay longer than Carla and I did. I'm thankful that it wasn't too hot when we started the morning hike and that my car has good AC because by 11:30, when we were done, the humidity levels and temps were rising!  I'm thankful we had some good fun and fellowship, too. 

the "jungle bird" cocktail
with rum, aperol, pineapple juice, lime, agave

• BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION:  My husband Dave had his birthday on Tuesday but we celebrated with our daughters a couple days early as both were free after choir rehearsal on Sunday afternoon. Our youngest made a late lunch reservation for us at 4 pm which was perfect as the rest of us were super hungry after church and rehearsal. We treated him to this place. Someone had told us it wasn't "authentic" Mexican food but oh my it sure beat any of the other Mexican restaurants in our town. It's actually a fusion place. It's been in our town since 2020 but we had never gone.  We loved it and we will be back. I'm thankful both daughters were free and that we had a lovely couple of hours in a new to us place. 

• VOLUNTEER PICNIC:  The church we attend has 3 different sites. We call them campuses. The main, and largest, site is the Latham campus (the town where we live) which is the campus we attend.  The other two are north of the Mohawk River. Our daughters go to the main one as well. Well, each summer there is a volunteer picnic that our site puts on for those of us who serve in some capacity. This year there were about 350 people who gathered on Tuesday evening. It was catered by Mission BBQ. If you're not familiar with them, click on the link. Their story is super cool and they have sites in 23 USA states. Check to see if yours has one! Anyways i gathered most of the choir members around Dave, while he was enjoying his bbq and all the fixings, to sing "Happy Birthday" in harmony. It was great fun. Because it was so hot and humid Tuesday night with a temp of 96, the church had set up tables in the gym and cafe section of the lobby, with the food at various tables in the main part of the lobby and a bouncy house/slide for toddlers through 5th graders, on the other end of the lobby. Yes, we have a long lobby. I got to talk with our pastor's wife for quite awhile to get caught up on our summers, and we ate with our oldest girl, her boyfriend, and several choir members. It was great fun and a great way for the church staff to say "thank you" for us volunteers. (I was so busy eating and talking, etc that I neglected to get photos!!) I'm so thankful there was a great turn out and that I got a chance to talk to so many people I sometimes don't see during church. 

image courtesy of Nighth*wks website

• DOUBLE DATE: Our friends from church, Diane and Scot, had been trying to find a time to take Dave and I out to lunch since I won a game at her birthday party last Sept. The prize was lunch paid for by them. Our schedules just never seemed to jive until I mentioned that Dave had taken his birthday holiday for Wed vs his actual birthday on Tuesday. So we finally had a day where all 4 of us were free on the same day! We went to this restaurant that everyone raves about but that we had never been to. It's a bit "edgy" but the overall vibe was fun and the food is absolutely amazing. I ordered the veggie burger as it's made from scratch with all whole grains, mushrooms, beans, etc. I had a side salad vs chips or fries. Everyone else got a beef burger and salads. I've had a lot of veggie burgers in the last 10 years, including the vegan "beef" ones and this far surpasses any of the others. It truly was outstanding. I think this will become my place for when I crave a burger. After eating and chatting for over an hour, we walked down the street to this coffee shop to order iced coffees and poke around the building. Before we got coffee though, we went to a taste a wine  at this place.  Then we walked over to Little Pecks. The building has a restaurant (Donna's)  a wine bar (Luca's Confectionary) with talking space, where Dave and I have gone a couple times before with other people.  We also saw space where there is a young vibe that included tables, chairs, a billiard table.  I'm guessing a lot of Gen Zers and young Millenials hang out there. I'm definitely coming back to this coffee shop with a book some day and just relax. The space is wonderful. I will definitely go back to at least the coffee shop! This city is across the river from us and we rarely spend time as we tend to head north. Now that we know of some awesome spaces close to free parking, I might just get over there more often. I'm thankful we had a fun...and tasty.... afternoon...with good friends. 

• POWER OF SCRIPTURE: I'm so very thankful for the Scriptures. Particularly the ones that bring my heart and mind some comfort when I'm feeling anxious or annoyed.  I had an odd email exchange with an extended family member and the person totally misunderstood what I was writing. If she had actually read what I wrote, she would have been fine. Rather, she confessed to not reading the whole thing so missed out on the important parts! I won't go into her hurtful reply but let's just say I'm comforted by praying friends and Scripture. 

That wraps up some of the blessings that made me say "Thank You, God" during a busy week of various activities. 

I hope  whatever you have planned for the upcoming weekend and first full week of August, that you take time to embrace each moment. I covet your prayers as I will be traveling by car about 3 hours northwest to northern NYS with my oldest daughter for a mom-daughter vacation.  We are heading into small Adirondack mountain towns where sometimes the population is less than 800!!  We will be gone the bulk of the week but I hope to be back for the FFF next week.