Autumn Peak Faves

I can't even believe it's October let alone Friday already! Someone in my extended family told me I would be bored in retirement. I am far from bored!  There's still chores, shopping, coffee dates with friends and daughters and date nights plus leading a small group, a hiking group, and taking a weekly class. I'm busy and it does make the days go by fast. 

But I also have chunks of time where I can sit in the sunshine on the deck or in the backyard swing and reflect on the blessings God brings and Fridays are perfect for that discipline.  Susanne hosts this group called the FAVE FIVES where we share five of the blessings that made us smile during the week. Head here to learn more.

first half mile up the mountain

This goes over a brook which was bone dry
due to most of NY being in a drought

me, Celine, Evelyn, Joan
on the summit of Mt VanHoevenberg

• HIGH PEAKS HIKE: The group I lead, SoulSteps, had four of us signed up for the climb up Mt Van Hoevenberg in the Adirondack High Peaks region.  It involves a 2.5 hour drive from Albany and we got there around 9: 30 AM.  We were on the summit a few minutes before noon.  It was a glorious day but it started out cloudy and chilly up there.  Foliage  color was at peak last weekend up there.  The leaves here in my town are just starting to turn yellow/orange with a few reds as now this week the nights are getting below 50 degrees.  I'm thankful we had an awesome hike, were back down to the car by 1:30 leaving us time to explore two more areas in the high peaks.  And praise report:  I had NO cervicogenic headache all day nor did I have upper back pain when going down the mountain or for the rest of that day.  (Wish it would be that way every day!!). I'm thankful for pain free moments. 

Big Slide as seen from the opening
to an overlook on Mt VanH

looking up when paused on the trail
Mt VanHoevenberg in golden glory

• A PEEK of a HIGH PEAK:  On the way down from  the summit of Mt Van Hoevenberg, I discovered an opening through some pines where there is an overlook.  We had a wonderful view of the High Peak known as Big Slide. Can you see the slide on the mountain? The elevation of that high peak is 4239' and I have hiked the first 2 miles of that trail as it goes to 3 peaks known as The Brothers.  Big Slide has a lot of rocky scrambles so I'm not likely to be able to hike that one due to my cervical spine issues.  But I know several people who have made it to the top. It was awesome to see the actual peak since earlier it had been in the clouds. 

Big Slide
a high peak in the Adirondacks

• PHOTO PEEK:  Courtney and her best guy friend from college (Nathaniel) had their 10th year reunion at Gordon College's HomeComing (HoCo)
  on the north shore Boston area this past weekend. They left Friday and stayed at an inn Dave and I had recommended. Most of their activities were right on the college campus in this town of course but they also had Sunday to explore Gloucester and including one of the lighthouses.  I had a sneak peak of  some photos that she texted me. I'm so thankful they had safe  travels to and from Boston (they all took Monday off so it was a travel home day after exploring Plum Island). I'm also thankful she could see some college friends she hadn't seen since graduation 2015 and that her boyfriend Tyler really seemed to enjoy his time. 

  

  Tyler and Courtney at Eastern Point Lighthouse
  Atlantic Ocean 

Courtney and Tyler at the historic bell
in front of Gordon College Chapel 
photo used with permission

• SNEAK PEEK:  After the SoulSteps mountain hike last Saturday, we had enough time to pop over to these waterfalls I had been to twice before. We had to "sneak" in (although there was only 1 other person there and he was leaving as we were arriving) past the fence....the fence is to keep people off the ledge but that doesn't seem to stop anyone as the fence is broken in 3 different areas!  In fact, we could basically walk around it at one spot. I wanted my hiking friends to see this glorious falls. The reason for the fence is because several people have died here or been seriously injured as they tried to get to the base of the falls. There are warning signs as well.   We of course stayed well away from the ledge. I knew where to bring my friends for a good shot of the falls. I'm thankful we had time to pop over to the falls. 

Split Rock Falls
town of New Russia
Adirondack high peaks region

• PEEK at WHAT'S COMING: On Wednesday, I had two errands to run and in between both of them, I did my morning power walk and some running at the Erie Canal bike path on the western edge of town. The Erie Canal path goes all the way from Albany to Buffalo. I had a great peek at what's to come..... a few trees were totally bare along the path but the leaves were brown and very "crunchy".  On the news, I heard that this is because of the long drought we have had here in NYS since June.  We did have one day of rain in July and then 4 days of rain (3 just last week) in Sept but the water tables are very low. So in a drought with very warm weather like we've experienced this year, the leaves turn brown and fall quickly.  Here's a picture of me walking through the leaves and then the tree from where they fell. Of course the what's to come is more and more leaves will be falling off the trees in the next 2 months.  I'm thankful for the beauty of a bare tree and for walking places to exercise. 

power walking through fallen dried leaves

A bare tree along the Erie Canal path

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, whatever autumnal things you have planned.  I'm hiking in the Central region of the Adirondacks today with my friend Diane F.   We will be climbing a small mountain where the foliage is just at peak. I'm praying my cervical pain will be healed and if God chooses not to, I'm praying for the patience to deal with this. It's been a long 3 years. But thankfully, I can still hike!

Saturday is a trip to Vermont. 

Sunday is church and yet another hike at a local state park where 18 SoulStep members have signed up!  I'm thankful three of those members are my husband, my oldest daughter and her boyfriend. 

HAPPY FRIDAY!

Hodgepodge Wednesday

The hodgepodge image isn't very autumnal, so I'm putting my own image here in this space.  I did like the questions for today's meme so decided to sit out here on the deck with my last cup of coffee after being in the Scriptures, and enjoy the sunshine (with a flannel shirt on cause it's only 55 degrees F right now in eastern NY...I love it!).  To learn about how to jump in to the Hodgepodge meme, head to this blog. 

lower Cascade Lake
Adirondacks High Peaks region

1. What's your favorite fall scent? Would we find this in or around your home right now?

It's hard to have just one.  I love the scent of fresh picked apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, woodsmoke (why does it smell better in October than in July??), maple and balsam.  I'll go with cinnamon.

Yes, I have a new to me cinnamon-vanilla candle on my autumnal tray in the family room. I love it. It's subtle. Here's a pic of it, all lit on Monday evening. 

2. October is Country Music Month...are you a fan of country music? Do you have a favorite country artist

I'm not a huge fan of country music but I grew up listening to it as my parents and younger sister Hope loved it.  They loved Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and Tammy Wynette. 

Personally:  I love listening to Hillary Scot aka Lady A; and Taylor Swift's country songs (I also love her pop songs and yes both daughters are true Swifties although neither one can afford her concert tickets but they both have all her albums/cds and merch). I believe she is a good role model. I also like Christian country artists particularly:  Chris Tomlin (yes, some of his are country style)   and Zach Williams. 

3. How about 'country cooking'? (loosely defined as rich flavors, familiar foods, large portions, often fried, and often associated with the southern region of the US of A)? 

I love my homemade veggie mac and cheese and believe it's similar to "downhome cooking".  We don't eat fried food in our house..it's not healthy! We also don't eat huge portions of food....we eat unti satisfied. We are mainly following the Mediterranean/Apostolic Diet the last 10 years. I do like the Country Fried Chicken at Cracker Barrel with mashed potatoes but it's SO not nutritious. 😃  I've gone twice in my life. 

4. What's something that always has a positive impact on your mood? 

The Scriptures that speak about peace or being still with God; classical music particularly Mozart or Symphony #7 by Beethoven; a walk in the woods or to a mountain summit. 

5. As we say so long to September share a noun, a verb, and an adjective that tells us something about how that month looked for you. 

a noun, a verb and an adjective together should be easy so here goes: 

Hours of Happy Hiking

on the summit of Mt VanHoevenberg
in the Adirondack High Peaks
27 Sept  when foliage was at peak
this is 2.5 hours northwest of my home

6. Insert your own random thought here. 

I need to get the canned goods for the Faith and  Blue Drive that our church is participating in, over to the church this morning. We are helping provide non-perishable food items to two community not for profit agencies that help domestic violence survivors as well as a homeless shelter. I'm thankful I can volunteer! 

HAPPY HUMP

DAY EVERYONE!!

Italian Sloppy Joes on Garlic Toast

 If I have ground bison or ground "Beyond Beef/Impossible Beef" in the house, and a busy afternoon or evening where I need a quick, easy dinner, I often pull out this recipe I found via the Yummly app several years ago. 

It's one of our faves! (note: the original recipe calls for ground beef but we don't eat beef so I use bison or the vegan meat that has pea protein in it). 

ITALIAN SLOPPY JOES

This recipe is for 2 people with some meat mixture leftover. 

4 slices of Garlic Texas Toast 

or 4 cheese texas toast

(we like the Pepperidge Farm brand) 

1/2 c. chopped sweet or yellow onion

1 c. chopped green pepper

1 c. chopped yellow pepper

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 lb ground bison or vegan beef

1 small can tomato paste

1/2 jar of traditional pasta sauce

1/4 c. shredded  parmesan cheese

1 c.  shredded mozzarella cheese

1 tsp   basil

1 tsp ground oregano 

dash of sea salt

1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

• Saute the meat, peppers, onions and garlic until meat is browned and cooked through. Add in the parmesan cheese and stir well. Preheat the oven for 425 degrees.

• Meanwhile, place 4 slices of Garlic toast on a baking sheet. I use foil on the baking sheet,  lightly sprayed with olive oil spray for  quick and easy cleanup. 

• Once the meat mixture is done, scoop a large portion onto each slice of toast.

• Top each slice with shredded mozzarella cheese. 

• Place baking sheet into oven and bake for 8-10 minutes or until cheese is bubbly and browned. 

DINNER MENU

2 slices of toast per person. 

Steamed broccoli

Tossed salad

Fruit cup for dessert: strawberries, blackberries, blueberries or melon. 

I have also served this with ditalini pasta vs the toast.  Just cook the meat mixture a bit longer on the stove, add to drained/cooked pasta and toss. Add in the mozzarella cheese and stir well. Serve with a fresh tossed salad. 

ENJOY!!

as with all of the posts under the faithfixes label, you do have permission to copy or print this out. 

Currently Around Our House on a Monday

me on the summit of Mt VanHoevenberg
in the Adirondack High Peaks region
Saturday 27 Sept

Currently, it is Monday early afternoon and I'm taking a break from chores to sit and have some lunch and blog.  It's a day that feels more like summer and not Autumn but I'm not  complaining! It's also the last Monday of September!  Wow did this month FLY! Here's what's happening around our house today......

The Weather: Sunny, beautiful blue skies with a few  puffy white clouds, warm at 73 degrees F and the time is 1:20 pm

What I'm wearing: I had the Proverbs class this morning and am still in the clothes I went to class in, as well as the grocery store after class:  denim skort, pale salmon colored tee shirt that says "I believe You move the mountains" (for those of you familiar with that modern Christian song many of us sing in church, you'll chuckle...yes I bought it from an online faith-based clothing store); a blue bracelet with a mountain charm, salmon colored drop earrings, bare feet with mocha polish on my toes. 

What I'm thinking about:  This morning's class discussion on Proverbs 7 and how each person shared on wisdom vs folly. 

What I'm reading:   The Apostolic Diet Plan (non-fiction about the importance of the original diet plan outlined by God in the Garden of Eden)...I'm slowly making my way through this as I don't read it most days of the week; The Usual Rules by Joyce Maynard told in the voice of a 13 yr old girl whose mom died when the twin towers were hit on 9/11/01; Proverbs: Learning to Live Wisely from the LifeGuard series by William Mouser, chapter 3 for homework. 

What I'm watching:  I just  finished last evening, a phenomenal limited series on Netflix titled Wayward, about a "school" for dysfunctional teens set in Vermont. Super good! I'm in the middle of the new Netflix movie by Tyler Perry called Ruth and Boaz, a modern version of the Biblical story of Ruth, Naomi and Boaz. I am hooked! I hope to finish it either tonight or Wednesday. 

What I'm feeling: frustrated and a bit "down" that this cervical spine pain continues. It has become chronic and nothing seems to help. I'm crying out to God to heal the issue. 

What I'm thankful for: that the cervicogenic headaches are basically gone other than maybe 1-2 a month even though the upper back pain continues. I'm also thankful for my husband's help on a number of little things around the house this past weekend. 

What I'm listening to: cardinals at the feeder; and silence.  First time since the pandemic put us in lockdown that Dave isn't working from home on a Monday!  Every year since lockdown, he works from home on M-W (most)-F. Today he had to go in for a special meeting I guess. 

What I'm cooking in the kitchen tonight:  Spiced carrots and butternut squash and Italian Sloppy Joes on Texas Toast (recipe will be posted tomorrow) and berry fruit cup (blueberries, raspberries and strawberries). 

What's on the calendar this week:  PT tomorrow morning; a lake day to walk, swim, read on the beach; my book group tomorrow evening; chores including washing windows and finishing the Autumn decor; getting Dave to and from a medical procedure on Thursday; a hike with my SoulSteps group on Friday to the west-central Adirondacks which will be at peak this week; Annual Autumn Girls day away with my oldest daughter and my younger sister Joy (we're heading to Weston, Vermont); Sunday is church followed by an afternoon "family friendly" hike with more members of my SoulSteps group at a local state park. 

A Scripture I'm meditating on: 

A favorite Autumn photo: 

dave and i relaxing after a 4.3 mile hike to this pond
Tirrell Pond in the Central ADK
Blue Mt Lake Wilderness Area
We were so tired so we lingered but then had to hike the 4.3  miles back to car.  

HAPPY MONDAY, EVERYONE!