November Faves

 

November is here and with it, for those of us here in the USA, comes the last Thursday of this month for the holiday known as Thanksgiving; it is typically set aside for giving thanks for all of our blessings. It is especially celebrated in New England where it all began and I will be heading to Plymouth County later in the month for a week of celebration. Here in the blogging community, thanks to Susanne who heads this up, we share FIVE of our blessings from each week, all the year round.  To learn more about the FFF, head over here. 

FIVE FAVES 

written by my young mom friend Vicki
 and her 10 yr old daughter Isla
inspired by Isla 

• BOOKS!  A young mom and her oldest daughter, who are in my hiking group, members of our church, and who, along with her husband, used to serve in my youngest daughter's youth group, have written (and were successfully published by Torn Curtain Publishing c. 2025) a book about being neurodivergent (on the autism spectrum) and how we all are created uniquely with gifts and talents and that we should never apologize for being ourselves. I bought three of these books and Vicki and Isla signed them for me at church this past week.  I was able to then run them over to my former boss, the director of the marvelous Special Education Preschool Agency where I spent 5 wonderful years and ended my career there teaching special needs 3-5 yr olds. Although I retired a bit early, and 2 years ago already, I have kept in touch with Rachelle and the team I taught with.  I was so thankful I could visit Rachelle on Wednesday, get a hug from her and gift her with these books for each Integrated Classroom (one for each site). 

Operation Christmas Child 
for a 10-14 yr old girl 

• OCC!  I'm so very thankful that Operation Christmas Child is still going strong and a vital part of the Samaritan's Purse ministry. Although I don't always agree with the director of SP on a political level, I do appreciate the ministry overall and most especially OCC.  We have been participating since our oldest daughter was a 2 yr old and we love it. This year I  chose an older girl to shop for and I had so much fun choosing practical as well as fun gifts. I even managed to get a colorful Tumbling Tower game packed in there.  I'm very thankful I have the means to help another child at Christmas time and I'm thankful my daughters  and husband still enjoy doing this as well. 

There were over 100 geese in this section
of the Erie Canal

The Erie Canal
from a side trail heading east

The Mohawk  River from the loop trail
Vischer Ferry Nature Preserve 
Capital Region NYS

• MORNING HIKE:  Tuesday dawned bright and sunny although the temp was only about 40 degrees. I had 2 hiking members who had signed up for a hike in the ADK but up there it was supposed to rain so we chose a local nature preserve to hike in. It was lovely.  The morning sun was so pretty on the river and there were many mallards and geese in the Erie Canal. The trail we took was inbetween the Mohawk River and the canal where the canal splits for a little ways. We had a really good time and hiked just under 3 miles.  I'm thankful for mornings in the fresh autumn air especially because by the time we were done the temp was climbing up to 55. 

• GOLDEN LIGHT:  I love the oranges and reds of October but there's just something about the golden morning light and the soft golden late afternoon light in November from the sun hitting the leaves that are yellow. I'm so thankful I live in the Northeast where we have such a significant change each season and sharp contrasts in each season! Autumn is truly the most colorful with perfect temps (for me, anyways)  here in eastern NYS.  God has indeed created a beautiful world. I'm thankful this is my view most mornings. 

Claire at UNH Ballet Company

• SURPRISE VISIT:  Early yesterday morning, (I hadn't yet showered or gotten dressed as it was only 8:30 AM and I had been on the phone with a small group member), I heard someone opening the garage door and in walked my youngest daughter on her way home from our mechanic where she had her car inspected and had an oil change. She lives about 10-15 min south of us and I truly was not expecting her so early! (She has Thursdays and Sundays off).  We had French Press coffee together and chatted.  She shared that she had received 100% on her Chem 2 test from last week. (She has to take undergrad chem even though she has a 4 yr BS degree, in order to take the  exam for getting into Optometry school as she is only an apprentice optician right now).  We  chatted about music, her apartment, her car, her work and then she needed to get down to her place to get her lab homework done and do her chores. I was so thankful she popped in and surprised me!  I love and miss her hugs and it  truly made me smile. And one of these days I need to get some updated pics of her! 

Happy Weekend, Everyone!