GOLD in the CLOUDS : APRIL FAVES

We are well into the month of April and I'm participating in the FAVE FIVES which Susanne from this blog hosts.

This week I am sharing some things that made me smile and whisper "Thank you God" ...I know I have more than five from this past week because each day brings about blessings, whether big or small. I'm sharing just FIVE of my FAVES.

CARDS: It seems rather rare these days to get "snail mail" that I truly enjoy and that brings a smile to my face, but this past week, I had 2 Easter cards: one from my aunt and her husband who live in Virginia; one from my blogging friend and prayer partner, Deb from this blog. Each card is so pretty and I'm thankful for thoughtful people.

our church's fireside room
with the Easter cross outside it
to the right of the cross is our side entrance to the church

the church lobby had beautiful fabrics
in pastel colors hanging from the ceiling
our Hospitality Team sure does a good job
keeping up with the seasons, etc in our church

Treat bags for the girls and the bf
and homemade plant based, all natural
Chocolate pb cups!

EASTER! Easter was a bit dreary with cold temps and rain but we dressed up anyways for church and dinner out. We ate at this favorite Japanese restaurant. Both of my girls (and Courtney's boyfriend and his parents) came so Dave and I were thrilled. It was such good food! Then we all gathered in our family room for an hour (Tyler's parents had another late day obligation) where we tried the homemade plant-based chocolate peanut butter cups I made. Everyone loved them. The recipe is here if you want to try them. Once you do, you will not want to go back to eating store bought Reese's PB Cups. I promise! And of course I had treat bags for each girl and the bf. The Easter service was deeply moving and meaningful and I'm thankful for an excellent pastor who isn't afraid to preach Truth. I'm also thankful everyone had a great time of celebration of our Risen Redeemer.

FRESH MELON: this past week our local grocery store had some excellent fresh melon. I bought honeydew, melon, and watermelon and cut it up and had it for breakfast each morning. This was a breakfast of smashed avocado on a waffle plus the fruit (and coffee of course). We've enjoyed some fruit as a side dish with dinner, as well. I'm thankful for fresh fruit!

much improved

final look after 2 hours

RESTORED! Last week I mentioned that I was thankful for a floor polish I had spent some money on to improve the look of our hardwood oak flooring in the dining room that was very worn. (our house was built in 1994 and we specified that the dining room have hardwood...never again....if bamboo had been a choice, we would have chosen that....we do now have bamboo in the living room and family room). Well, when I was spring cleaning the family room, I was cringing at how the coffee table Dave loves so much was looking. There were worn white spots where someone placed a hot drink without using the coasters I provide (!!), and there are so many scratches from Dave using his laptop here along with just the use over the years (pine wood scratches very easily). I thought I'd try the restorative floor polish on the coffee table and voila!! I put the first coat on and saw improvement. After an hour, I applied the 2nd coat and had to wait 2 hours and wow....it really did improve the look. I wish I thought to take a "before" pic! In the top pic, center, you can still see a small white spot but that whole area was WHITE. It is now restored. You can still see the scratches but they're much fainter. I'm thankful I took a chance and that the floor polish worked on the pine.

NEW MICROWAVE: On Wednesday, I was heating up some leftover homemade Spanish Rice soup for a light lunch. I don't always eat lunch if I have a protein packed breakfast. I tend to have veggies or a plant protein bar with water. But I needed something in the middle of day so chose leftovers. BUT. The microwave was making a funny noise and seemed to take longer to reheat soup than it should. I also saw some sparks! When I opened the door, some white stuff was falling down from the interior top! It seems as though our 10 year old microwave is defunct. So when I texted Dave about it, he said after dinner we'd head over to Target to get an upgrade/better brand. We found a Black and Decker (we've had super good luck with Black and Decker as well as Cuisinart small appliances in the past) and with my Target app we got the 5% off PLUS it was on sale! I'm thankful the old Sunbeam microwave didn't start a fire and that our town landfill will recycle it for only a small fee of $4.00. I'm also thankful we found a better replacement. (in all fairness, Dave had nothing to do with the Sunbeam purchase. I bought it because it was cheap. Lesson learned.).

BONUS FAVE

I had a nice walk in a nature preserve on Wednesday late morning and I had the entire loop trail I chose to myself! There were 6 cars in the lot when I pulled in. I saw one young man coming off the main trail heading to his car; another older woman walking the Erie Canal trail, and a group of young people fishing off the pond. I had the entire Bird View Loop trail to myself and I have to say I'm super thankful for it. I was praying about a situation and then for a couple of people and their requests, and the quiet time combined with a leisurely walk was perfect after a morning of running errands. Here are some pics of the nature preserve walk I took. I'm very thankful for the Land Conservancy group that keeps this maintained.