September Faves

 

It's been a crazy, busy week with family stuff, church stuff and household chores/errands.  I'm ready to slow down a bit this weekend and share FIVE blessings from the past week.  I'm thankful that Susanne continues to host this weekly gratitude exercise.   Join in with us by heading over to her site. 

FIVE FAVES

• SAFE TRAVELS:  My husband left early Saturday morning to arrive in Plymouth Co MA to help out with his mom. He had safe travels to and then from on Monday morning.  Our youngest daughter Claire left early Monday morning to visit with her grandmother and replace Dave and then was back here in her apartment by 9 pm that evening.  I'm so thankful they both were safe on the Mass Pike over the Labor Day weekend. 

wet, muddy trail in the ADK High Peaks region
Saturday 5 Sept

• SOLO MOUNTAIN HIKE:  Everything went wrong.  Yet everything went right. I would love to do an entire post about my solo mountain hike last Saturday.  But for now, let's just say, I started out in drizzle; it stayed dry while I actually climbed this just under 3000' mountain, and the skies opened up to pouring rain on the summit after a young couple snapped my pic. I had left my trekking poles in the car, along with my whistle and didn't have a proper hiking raincoat with me because the weather forecast called for cloudy skies and no rain until late afternoon.  But this was a hike where I felt the Presence of God like no other mountain hike and it was my third time this summer totally hearing from Him regarding some specific issues. I made record time (a personal best) and climbed the 1.6 miles up mostly boulder steps in 57 minutes!  Last time I hiked this (2 Autumns ago) it took just under 2 hours! I had the trail to my self for 1.3 miles of it and I had the summit  to myself for 15 solid minutes. In the rain. While journaling and trying to eat my apple. It was heavenly because God did a work in me showing me that He is my Source of strength.  I might write about this experience in more detail but for now, enjoy some of my fave photos from the day and just know that I am so thankful I was safe, not in pain (until the next day) and that something I had been holding back from releasing to God, was released.  I'm so thankful we serve a Living God who walks beside us. 

these are the "easier" boulder steps on the trail
 towards the beginning of the climb
up Mt Van Hoevenberg 

A hint of Autumn in the trees
 and these boulders were slick!

This is the first "summit"...the overlook
where a lovely young woman took my photo
and after this it's just about 900 yards to the true summit

on the true summit.....just as the rain is coming in 
Mt Van Hoevenberg, Adirondacks High Peaks Region
Just 3 miles down the road, the sun was glorious! 
This is where I hung out and talked to God 

• CONNECT WEEKEND AT CHURCH: I'm thankful all went  well for Connect Weekend at church. This is where people come to the tables in the lobby where those of us who are ministry leaders, small group leaders and class instructors have QR codes and samples of books, info about our groups. I had decided that since I had to drop some SoulSteps hikers from the group for Autumn for failing to make their required Summer hike or for not following guidelines, that I would keep the group to 40 people. I was able to welcome 5 new people in, and have 2 more interviews this weekend making 7 new members.  I now have 11 people on the waiting list.  My Tuesday evening Bible study is full with just 1 more opening and my Monday morning class I'm teaching on Psalms has 1 opening.  I'm thankful for full groups and I'm also thankful I had a conversation with Pastor Rex and he totally confirmed so many things I've been going through lately.  He is a trusted, humble pastor and I give thanks for him and his wife Debbie who also talked with me for  quite a bit during our prayer time. I'm thankful to be a part of a vibrant, growing church with safe friends and leadership. 

surprise package and letter 

• SURPRISE!   On Wednesday, when I got home from running errands, I found a surprise package in our mailbox.  It included a handwritten note from a high school classmate and her husband.  I barely knew these 2 in high school (I graduated in 1978 from a small village in central NYS) so was shocked to read her letter. She stated that she remembered I loved dragonflies and was going through her trunk and found these items she was going to donate to a thrift store but wanted me to have them. The items are way too big on me, so I'm donating the blouse to a homeless shelter, and will keep the sweatshirt for a chilly day at the beach/after kayaking or after a hike when I need something warm as a top layer for the ride home.  I was very touched that she thought of me. I'm thankful for thoughtful people! 

Sunday evening fire and a mocktail

• SIMPLE PLEASURES:  Sunday evening was perfect weather for a bonfire and we have a lot of brush to burn. Because this has become our tradition (a fire..or two...) during Labor Day weekend, now that we don't camp, go to the beach house, or up to Long Lake to the cottage we rented for 10 years, I decided that even though Dave wasn't back to NYS, I would burn some of the brush. I would have burned more but the rest require a saw to break it down into smaller pieces to fit into the fire pit. I also did some produce shopping at Whole Foods on Wednesday and they were featuring a local farm that had fresh peaches for a very good price. I bought a quart of them and plan on making peach cobbler on Sunday. I'm thankful for simple pleasures in the late summer!

from a local farm

Those are the things that stand out and make me say "Thank You, God".  I also have to include my Star$ date with my very good friend of 21 years, Lynn E.  We hadn't gotten together since April due to life and being involved in different ministries. It was wonderful! We talked for almost 2 hours! 

HAPPY WEEKEND!  Only 2 more weekends until the beginning of Autumn season!

Slowing Down Faves

 

I've had to intentionally slow down this week. Summer was busy. I purposefully left this past week to be just Dave and I for the most part.  What helped was I needed to cancel a SoulSteps Hike I had scheduled for Wednesday. Originally there were 6 people signed up, then it  dropped down to 4 and by  Tuesday evening, it was just 3 of us. I didn't feel bad about cancelling as the humidity levels were over 90% (!!) and the weather forecast was  quite unpredictable. Thunderstorms and rain on and off.  So it's been a much slower week, yet one full of blessings.

I'm participating in Susanne's FFF weekly writing exercise to be intentional about sharing gratitude for the blessings God brings into our lives. Head over to her blog to join in! 

FIVE FAVES 

Totally relaxing!

Dave enjoyed being back in his kayak
Saturday 29 August

Kayaking on Black River  Pond
at Cherry Plain State Park 

• KAYAKING!  We finally had a free Saturday, where neither of us had obligations to other people. So we planned our first kayaking trip in 2 years.  For those of you who have been here awhile, you know I haven't been able to kayak since 2021 without upper back/cervical spine pain and cervicogenic headaches.  We didn't go at all last year, because, although i was starting to overcome some of the things that caused the pain, kayaking was not one of them. So we chose to leave our kayaks under cover all year.  Well, we decided we would try this year and last Saturday was the day. And guess what? All glory to God: I had no upper back pain nor headache at all. I did have some right shoulder pain but part of that was due to lack of paddling  and so although I do some weight workouts, that shoulder was being used in a  way it hadn't been in 2 years. The pain was gone by Monday so I am very thankful this was a great kayaking experience. I'm also thankful that with my Kia Soul, it is easier to get the kayaks on and off the roof rack, unlike Dave's Honda CRV which is taller.  I'm thankful we had a wonderful "Date Day". We followed it up by going out to dinner at one of our favorite local restaurants with a gift card someone had given me for Christmas.  We chose to order The Harwich (fresh grilled haddock on a brioche bun with pickles and their house tartar which was amazingly good).  Because it was a lighter meal, we shared dessert which was a slice of their chocolate mousse cake. I had never had it...it was delicious! I'm thankful that although we have been married for 36 years, we still love our date nights and make them a priority when we can. 

a delicious summer cocktail: peach spritzer
Dave enjoyed a summer craft beer 

• PHONE CALL: A friend of mine called me at the most perfect time on Sunday afternoon when I needed to talk to someone. I'm so grateful for this friend and how she encourages me and prays for me and just listens. 

• MOVIE NIGHT:  Dave and I needed to just totally relax and laugh Sunday evening so he chose this old 1990s movie we've seen probably twice before when the girls were younger. It's currently on Paramount + and he chose it because it's so nostalgic, with funny moments and a good lesson. Plus it's just all around good clean family fun. I'm thankful we had a relaxing evening together laughing and unwinding. 

beautiful sunflowers on the farm across the road from us
I walked past them every day this week. I love them!

at Cherry Hill Farm
across the road from where we live 

• QUIET WALKS:  I've been power walking each morning when it hasn't rained and on Wednesday, once the skies cleared up, I did a little bit longer walk, going 2 miles instead of 1.5. I headed across the road at one point to the other neighborhood that borders the farm across the road from us.  I was so thankful to see God's creation all around me...from the cows to the sunflowers.....it was a lovely power walk and the neighborhood was so quiet! I'm thankful I can get some good cardio workouts in every day in a beautiful setting. 

Cardio room at the athletic center

• FREE MEMBERSHIP!  Thanks to my friend Jill, I am now a member, for free, at a local community center/sports complex. She joined in June and told me about last week.  Anyone who lives in our county can join for free. It's only 6 miles from my house and in mid-Autumn they're hoping to have the indoor pool finished. I'm not really a gym person but for the winter months, it sure will be nice to do something different with my cardio workouts. And to be in a warm gym vs power walking on the ice, snow and temps below 25!  I'm thankful for my friend telling me about this and for the free membership! (Apparently it's due to some kind of  grant). 

That wraps up my faves for the week. 

I hope you all have a lovely weekend and can enjoy the beautiful weather that is forecast (for the Northeast anyways!). 

End of August Faves

 

How is it the end of August already?  

It's been an active one and the Autumn months are fast approaching and those will also be even busier. 

For now, let's pause and join Susanne and gang in sharing FIVE of our FAVE blessings from the past week. Head to her blog to learn more or to link up. 

 

FIVE FAVES

Tirrell Pond in the Blue Mountain Wild Forest area
north-central Adirondack Mountains
22 August

• SATURDAY SOULSTEPS HIKE: I had 4 people originally going on the Saturday SoulSteps hike but it ended up being just Evelyn and my self. One guy injured his ankle so since he wasn't going, my husband wasn't going. Evelyn and I drove the 2.5 hours to get to the trailhead by 9:15 AM and after schlepping over a lot of blowdown and climbing over fallen trees, we arrived to this beautiful remote pond which is 3.6 miles in from the trailhead. All together we hiked 7.2 miles and had a sweet time of catching up, eating lunch in the quiet wilderness, and enjoying wading in the pond. The weather was just perfect.  I'm thankful I  got to hike this trail again and now that I've hiked in there for the 3rd time, I can be done with it. It's a gorgeous destination but the trail is becoming pretty unmaintained. I'm thankful we had a wonderful day in the mountains. 

• SUNDAY DINNER: I'm super thankful Dave offered to cook his famous Rice n Beans dinner after church on Sunday. We had invited our youngest daughter but she was prepping her apartment to have all of her windows and doors replaced, so it was just the two of us. Dave made a delicious dinner and I did the clean up.  I'm thankful for a husband who likes to take a turn to cook. 

Joan and I 

• BRUNCH and CONVERSATION: On Tuesday I had my friend Joan over for brunch and to play a song for her that I had written (well, it was inspired by God because trust me...I am NOT a composer!).  Because it involved this spiritual journey she was walking through with me, I had been wanting to sing/play it for her as she was a big part of the process. We ended up talking for a couple of hours and it was a sweet time of fellowship.  I'm thankful I could host this friend who means the world to me. 

On the summit of Balm of Gilead Mt
l-r: Joan, me, Karen, Jill
This is my tribe. 

• SOULSTEPS MID-WEEK HIKE:  Wednesday was a perfect late summer day.  It was glorious in the mountains!  The temp was about 70-72 for most of the hike. The sun was out in full force until late afternoon when it became a bit cloudy with the sun in and out. The air was wonderful. The whole hike went so well. There were 6 of us altogether.  The above pic was taken by 2 non-members who were just leaving the summit and offered to take our group photo.  Our other member (Beth) wasn't yet on the summit with her teen daughter, So she missed the  group photo and we were so busy eating lunch and enjoying the summit, we never did get another group pic  done.   I'm so thankful we all brought our bathing suits, towels, etc to linger down at 13th Lake and do some swimming. I'm thankful also that we just had one of the best hikes of the summer. Round trip miles is only 3.6 miles but the summit of Balm of Gildead Mt is just beautiful. We were in the Siamese Pond Wilderness Area of the central Adirondacks. The mountain stands at 2450.  It's a bit steep towards the last half mile. I'm so thankful, also, that my new hiking boots did well and my feet weren't sore at all! Here are some photos from the hike:

Beth and her 15 yr old daughter A

Joan and I trekking down from the summit
photo compliments of Karen T 

On the lower part of summit: Balm of Gilead Mt
with 13th lake below us and some of the mountains
in the Siamese Pond Wilderness Area/Central ADK

me in up to my neck and Joan standing
13th Lake in the Siamese Pond Wilderness Area 
Wed 26 August
the air turned  chilly due to the sun going behind the clouds
this is about 3 pm 
photo compliments of Karen T

I loved relaxing with everyone on the beach.
We of course had no chairs with us so we spread out the towels
and just sat in the sun because it came back out around 3:30
After changing back into regular clothes, we decided to go grab hot coffee (me)
and ice cream for everyone else. I was cold as I was the only one who went all the way in. 
Thankfully I had a long sleeved tee to wear with my clean shorts. 
it was a perfect mountain day and we were all home by dinnertime. 

• HOT COFFEE: I'm thankful for a good cup of hot coffee each morning. I set up the Ninja the night before to start brewing at 5:45 as Dave is downstairs by 6. I  tend to come down anywhere between 6:15-6:45 now that I'm retired, and that first mug of steaming hot coffee is one of the things I'm  thankful for every single day. This is the blend we've been enjoying all week.  After my first mug of coffee, I get a 2nd one to drink while reading my devotionals/Bible and then with my third one, I eat some breakfast. Super thankful for all the blends our fave companies offer. 

That's it for my fave blessings.

Dave and I have a date day tomorrow and we are getting the kayaks in one of the state park lakes for the first time all summer. We both  finally have a free weekend other than popping in to a goodbye party after church for a very old friend from our former church who is moving to Florida. She kept in touch with us after she left the former church as well and we will miss her! 

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. 

Mid-August Faves

 

I truly can't believe we are already into mid-August!

I love Summer and am happy it lingers into mid-September even though at church, we are gearing up for our Autumn semester of groups, Bible studies, classes and large group ministries.  We will be promoting our groups and ministries on Sept 6 and 13 and the ones I'm leading will begin Sept 21 and 22.  But for now? I'm pausing to give thanks to God for the past week and the many blessings He has brought into my life.....I appreciate this community of believers who give thanks and share FIVE of our FAVE blessings each week. We do this by linking up at Susanne's site.....join in!

Beginning of Stony Pond trail
1.8 miles to the pond

A nice bridge through a boggy area 

our backcountry destination: Stony Pond
it's so big...it's more like a lake....
it also goes off towards the right where the lean-to

• SOULSTEPS HIKE:  Last Saturday, I had scheduled a hike for my group and originally there were 4 of us signed up but 2 had last minute things happen so it ended up just being my friend Jill and I.  Jill is also a member of my Tuesday book group.  She's a lot of fun and a new Believer so sharing Scripture often happens on our hikes. We were the only people on the trail although a dad and his 2 young adult sons were staying in the lean-to for the weekend to hike and fish. But they stayed up at the lean-to the whole time we were down at the pond having lunch and meditating and enjoying the solitude.  The pond is in the Vanderwhacker Wild Forest Area of the central Adirondacks.   It was my 2nd time hiking in to this beautiful spot.  I took off my boots and socks for a bit and cooled off my feet and even hiked over to the edge of the lean to area with barefeet. There's just something about barefeet and pine needles coating the ground. It was heavenly and I'm thankful we had a great hike. This was the 18th trail I've hiked/led my group this year and my 21st hike (I've hiked 3 solo hikes this spring and summer). I'm thankful I live so close to the Adirondack Mountains. This hike was just an hour and 35 min to get to. 

Jill and me
total miles of hike: 3.6 
so we had time to pop up to Schroon Lake 
for a swim and rest in the sun before
driving back to our homes. 

• CHURCH WORSHIP: Sunday was amazing. Dave was in MA dealing with his mom so I went to the 9 AM service and sat with my pastor's wife.  I was able to freely worship and felt like a load had been lifted. The music was very touching and we both just cried through some of one song because it was just so powerful to think of God and His mercy and grace. We had an awesome conversation afterwards and I was able to also conduct an interview with a young lady who is joining the hiking group!  It was a pleasure to meet her and she had all the paperwork  filled out and is eager to start.  I'm thankful that we are in a wonderful church with supportive, encouraging friends. 

my church:  Grace Fellowship  (Latham site)

• SALE!  A couple of weeks ago, one of my fave online stores was having a good sale on clothing so I ordered a new skirt for autumn/spring/summer and a blouse and a cozy sweatshirt for winter.  On Tuesday they arrived, and everything fit perfect.  I'm so thankful for good quality  clothing that's on sale.  Here's what I bought (yes, I'm totally into the bohemian/casual look). 

• SPECIAL EMAIL:  I had a very touching email from our senior pastor. It totally made me get choked up, made me say "Thank You, God for Pastor RK" and showed me we have a trustworthy, safe senior pastor who is Biblically sound, wise and caring.  I'm thankful I received this personal email.  

• PERFECT TIMING TEXT:  While I was on the road yesterday to my childhood hometown to check my parents' graves, have lunch with an old friend, and do some antique shopping, I  was overcome with emotion after driving past an old haunt where I have some very bad memories...although the memories have faded...just seeing the spot really made me get choked up and I had to pull over on the side of the road. Just as I did, a text came through from my friend Joan and it was all about her devotional that morning and this song was featured.  She sent me a you tube version (Click on video above) and it just made me weep with gratitude for our loving Heavenly Father.  I honestly don't know how people get through life with out faith in Jesus/God.  I'm so thankful this text came through at the perfect time. 

That wraps up my week of things that made me smile and/or say "Thank You, God". 

HAPPY WEEKEND!

Summer Faves

 

Here it is Friday again!  Time to look back on the week and share FIVE of our Favorite blessings.  I had so many blessings this week.  But I'll share the top five and link up with Susanne at her blog.  Join us! 

FIVE FAVES

Dave pruning our cherry trees 

• SATURDAY WITH DAVE  Saturday morning, Dave had to get up on the very tall ladder that reaches to the roof to temporarily fix the gutter strip that had partially torn away from the gutter in last Thursday night's thunderstorm. I had noticed it Friday morning but he had to work all day so couldn't get to it that day.  After realizing he was going to have to call a gutter service (he temporarily tucked the strip into the edge of the gutter making a loop so it couldn't get loose again) he decided to then get the shorter ladder (he hates heights) to prune both of our  cherry trees.  He pruned/sawed and I carted all the branches to the backyard area where we store brush until it's dry enough to burn. Then we had other chores to tackle and the afternoon was a partial Sabbath rest for us.  For dinner, we dashed out to pick up Chinese food and then we watched the third movie in the Enola Holmes triology.  We agreed the first 2 movies were better, although we did enjoy the ending. I'm thankful we had a day for just the two of us and that we spent the morning getting a lot of yard work done. I'm also thankful for in-home date nights. 

 photo compliments of instagr*m

before 

• RESTORED  I never order from a site I see advertised on social media because the 2 times I did,the product ended up being NOTHING like what the ad showed and both items came from China and were poorly made.  One was a pair of sandals (one arrived with a broken heel!) and the other was a very poor quality dress I ended up trying to send back but of course the company refused to communicate with me.  My credit card company did agree to not charge me for the item.  Anyways, I saw this product on social media so did my own research into the company, read reviews and ordered directly from their website. I'm thankful I have this product because the results speak for themselves.  And it arrived within 10 days of ordering it. It doesn't get rid of gouges of course but look at the water damage in the above pic and look how the salve restored my kitchen cupboard!  I'm thankful I could buy this. 

after!

• EMERGENCY VISIT:  I woke up Friday morning with what I thought was a case of Patellar tendinitis or wicked shin splints. I iced the knee on and off all that day and didn't work out. On Saturday, my knee was feeling a burning feeling and my right foot was tingling and I had sciatic nerve pain going down the back of my upper right leg. So I knew right away....like in 2012...that this was a pinched nerve in the piriformis muscle (look it up) which is exacerbated by sciatic nerve issues. Thankfully, on Monday, after having wrapped it for 2 days, I was able to get into my amazing chiropractor for an emergency alignment and massage of the piriformis muscle with the hypervolt and some PT stretches for the upper thighs that she put me through. It was hell. BUT...when I stood up after she worked on me for 25 minutes, the tingling in my foot was gone, the pinched nerve feeling was gone and I only had mild upper back pain. She said the pain was coming from S1-S2 joints so not a disc issue like 14 years ago. I'm so thankful she considers me an established patient and I'm very thankful for good health insurance that gives me unlimited visits to the chiropractor. She wished me luck on the hike the next day and had me schedule a follow up for today (Friday). She thinks I overdid it with the daily power walking and no rest day and being on hard pavement made things worse. Her alignment of my lower spine brought on some upper back pain on the right side but that's pretty normal for me. 

  

  all wrapped for the hike! 

  
  

• HARD HIKE! Tuesday was a day my friend Joan and I had set aside to go hike a trail that's been on my bucket list for 10 years.  I'll be doing a separate post about Hoffman Notch but for now: it's the iconic Adirondack trail that most die-hard hikers like me wanna hike, but most don't. Why? because it's (per state measurements) 7.6 miles one way. In actuality, because of re-routes and major blowdown and the trail disappearing after the first 4.6 miles, it ended up being 9.05 miles and over 21, 786 steps!! Because we didn't want to hike south to north and then turn around (that would be 18 miles!!), we took Joan's car to the north entry point, then got in my car and drove to the south entry point, began hiking at about 9:30 AM from the south which is Loch Muller (town of Schroon, eastern lower high peaks region) and went north to Blue Ridge Rd in North Hudson (high peaks region).  We bascially were hiking a flat trail except in two spots, and came out at the exit point on Blue Ridge Rd at 6 pm.  We LOVED it. I had no physical pain, God showed up big time which I will write about in the actual hiking post sometime later today or this weekend. We were actually energized!  Which is odd.  We then got in Joan's car, drove south for 3 exits, got back to my car, changed into bathing suits right there in the wilderness (no one is around and we are 12 miles from civilization at this point).  Drove our cars to the Schroon Lake town beach (it's now about 7 pm) jumped in the lake to cool off, wash off the bug spray, got our bag of clean non-hiking clothes and shoes, went off to find bathrooms to change, then had a very late dinner (8 pm) at this fave spot before driving home and arrving at home at 10:45 pm.  We left my house that morning at 6:30 AM.  Long day but very rewarding, and we are super close, tightly knit friends now and it's day we will never forget. I thank God we were safe (we were the only humans in that trail system!!) and that we were able to get through the bushwhacking parts just fine. This was not a hike for my group SoulSteps. This was just 2 friends out hiking and it was perfect. God is good. Here are just a couple of pics to show you and the whole hike will be in a separate post with all of our pics. 

about to start this hike!
Joan and I at about 9:30 AM Tuesday 

This is what the trail looked like for most 
of the 4.5 miles to the Big Marsh
which is the half-way point going from south to north
very narrow and thick vegetation

To clarify: to hike through a notch means to hike a narrow gap or like this trail, to hike through a deep depression between 2 mountain ridges/peaks.  We hiked between the Hoffman Mt /Blue Ridge range and Washburn Ridge. 

Beautiful Big Marsh at about 4.3 miles in
Hoffman Mt is in the background 
(no trail to summit) and it stands at 3,693'
so almost a high peak 

we had to trek through this
yes, this is the trail.......
totally overgrown for about a half mile
after leaving the marsh 
at this point we have another 4 miles to go

This is what most of the "bridges" were like...
walking a balance beam....this was a "dry" section of the brook
Most of the stream crossings involved knee high or higher water
In the hiking post later this weekend, I will explain why at this point I am wearing
an ace bandage on my left leg

THE END!!  9.05 miles hiked
This is the North End where Joan's car was parked. 
We were thrilled we actually succeeded and did the entire trail
end to end....most people turn around at Big Marsh and go back
on the "Easy" part of the south end. 

Schroon Lake about 7:15 PM
The lake felt so good! The air was getting chilly.....

• PHONE CALLS:  my pastor's wife and I talked by phone on Wednesday evening. I was able to share with her about the hike and what God did during it. It was a great conversation and I'm so very thankful for my church leadership. They are the real deal and so trustworthy!! I am thankful I can call them friends. And on Thursday morning, my friend Joan called me to check on something and share a Scripture with me. I'm so very thankful for these friends in my life. And then last night, my very dear friend and therapist from years ago, called me to hear my news about Tuesday and she said she was so happy to hear how God showed up. She informed me that recent psych research has shown that people who have endured spiritual/church abuse have more damage to their souls than the s*xual childhood abuse.  She said because I had both,  this is one reason it took so long to work through.  We ended up praising God together. I never want to take my close, intimate friends for granted. I'm so very grateful for their care. 

That wraps up my week.  

What about you? what made you say Thank You, God?