It's time to look back at the week and share FIVE of my FAVE blessings that came my way. It's been a good week....less busy than the previous one.
The Fave Fives are hosted by Susanne. Head on over to her site to learn more and read other blessings from bloggers.
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Siamese Pond Wilderness Area from the summit of Balm of Gilead Mt 3 October |
me looking out at the wilderness region from the summit Photo compliments of Diane F |
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Diane having a moment of contemplation on the summit of Balm of Gilead |
- QUIET HIKE: Last Friday was a wonderful day with an old friend and someone who has taught me a lot about prayer. My friend Diane is someone I've been friends with since her oldest son and my oldest daughter were in Youth Group together at church. She's in the SoulSteps hiking group and was 1 of 4 who signed up for the mountain hike last Friday. It ended up being just the 2 of us as one person needed to help her elderly mother get to and from the doc and the other person got called in to work. We chatted on the trail of course and after the climb of just 1.8 miles up, we had a nice quiet time on the summit. Neither one of us wanted to do much talking. We ate our snack, drank water, prayed, and contemplated. We were the only hikers on the summit! I'm so thankful we had the mountain to ourselves and had a good hour on the mountain before heading down to then drive over to the lake which she had never seen. We saw two loons but couldn't get a pic of them as they were diving all over the place getting fish to eat. It was such a beautiful day in the Central Adirondack Mountains. I'm so thankful I get to do this.
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13th Lake from the beach Balm of Gilead is the mountain on the left which is the one we climbed. |
- ANNUAL AUTUMN DAY AWAY: Last Saturday was the day my oldest daughter, Courtney, was free to have our annual Autumn day away with my sister Joy. Because Claire had to work and had been to Weston Vermont in past years, we decided that village would be fun to explore with Courtney who was in college when we took Claire. Courtney loved it! We went of course to the Vermont Country Store. We spent about 2 hours there and spent quite a bit of money! Then we browsed in the Christmas shop across the road where Courtney and Joy bought some ornaments. I have plenty so I just browzed. We walked through the village green and then popped over to Manchester for lunch. I'm thankful we had gorgeous, summer like weather and fun together. I even bought a Christmas gift for hubby and a birthday gift for my sister Hope. I'm thankful we had safe travels and a fun day.
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Courtney and Joy in the Village Green Gazebo Weston, Vermont 4 October |
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me with my sister Joy in Weston, VT |
- QUIET TIME: My husband did a lot of yard work last weekend while I was in Vermont. He moved some of the chairs into a new arrangement around the firepit and brought the swing closer to the edge of the deck so it stays in the sun longer this time of year. I love what I call "my reading or quiet time corner". I love being outdoors and as long as there is sunshine and the temps are above 50, I'm known to sit in the ADK chair in the late afternoon with a coffee or sparkling water..or sometimes a glass of wine...and read or work on a Scripture study. I'm thankful for a backyard big enough to have various arrangements throughout the spring-autumn.
my reading "Corner" of the backyard.... fire pit is to the right of the chair by a few feet |
- SUNDAY AFTERNOON HIKE! I had 18 people signed up for our Sunday afternoon SoulSteps hike. We were headed to a local state park where I hadn't hiked since my oldest daughter was a 4 yr old....so that was 28 years ago! 16 of the 18 people who went are actual SoulSteps members and there were 2 guests, as I opened it up for guests. My friend Meg brought her husband Charlie and my daughter Courtney brought her boyfriend. Because it was such a big group, we split into 2 groups of nine each. My friend Joan agreed to lead a group and my husband Dave and I led the other one. We staggered our start times and at one point Joan's group caught up to us. We had so much fun on this state park trail and hiked a total of 3.9 miles. It was such a great afternoon. I'm very thankful everyone made it there safely and that we all had some awesome fellowship.
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some of my group: Dave T, Dave D, Tyler and Courtney We hiked the Long Path to Blue Loop Trail |
- AUTUMN LOVELINESS: I'm thankful for all things autumn. I'm thankful I saw a good glimpse on Tuesday evening of the Harvest Moon. The pic isn't great...I was outdoors putting the grill cover on around 8:15 and snapped a quick pic. I made Apple Topper for dessert on Tuesday when I got back from a morning at the lake in my fave state park just to the north of us. I spent that morning reading Scripture on the beach, reading a fiction book, practicing French and taking a walk. I even went into the water up to my waist but it was way too cold for me...it felt like a real mountain lake....I'm thankful for the much cooler nights and mornings for power walking and cuddling up in bed next to my husband. I'm thankful for longer evenings to read and have steaming mugs of cinnamon apple tea. I'm thankful that some of the busyness of summer is winding down and I can slip into Autumn with some more free time. I'm also thankful that Tuesday evening and almost all day Wednesday we received rain! We sure did need it and we could use more which might happen next week. I'm thankful for Autumn.
Moreau Lake State Park |
I was the only person on the beach from 9:45 until just before noon when I left |
Enjoying what's probably the last day on the beach with shorts on |
The trees in Moreau Lake State Park are just beginning to color and the yellows and oranges are a bit muted due to the warm nights and drought conditions. |
Apple Topper |
Harvest Moon over the backyard Tuesday evening |
Here in the states, many people (Not my husband!) have Monday off. I have a hike to lead in the high peaks of the Adirondack Mountains tomorrow; Sunday is a day with Dave and possibly both daughters with a bonfire in the evening; Monday I might be heading up to my cousin's to walk in the woods near his house and go out to lunch since Dave has to work. Whatever you have planned for the long weekend, I hope it includes things you love.
HAPPY WEEKEND!
6 comments:
I'm glad the hikes went well. The trip to VT sounds like so much fun. I used to get catalogs from the Vermont Country Store. I think the only thing I bought from them was one of my favorite dresses. How neat to visit in person!
I haven't seen a lot of leaf color change yet here, but the temperature and humidity had gone down. Feels lovely.
Sounds like you've had some very successful hiking this week and the lovely time spent with your daughter and sister. Enjoy the long weekend and I hope you get the rain you need.
Glad you had a nice week, Faith. Your hikes look great. Enjoy the weekend. See you again soon!
What a nice week you had! This time of year is just so beautiful it's the perfect time for hiking and being outside. If we were closer I would love to join your soul steps group.
Your hikes are always a joy to 'see'. Autumn is the absolute best time to hike in the woods.
And your back yard is so serene and peaceful.
Have a good week!
Wow two beautiful hikes! 18 people! That is an amazing turnout! I cannot imagine getting into a lake at this time of year. Our nights have been below freezing all week and all my flowers are done. Fun trip with your sis and daughter!
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