Monday Morning

There's nothing like a cheery garden bouquet to kick start another Monday morning at the office.

Majestical

Majestical = Majestic + Mystical

If you haven't yet visited Watkins Glen State Park in New York, be sure to add it to your list of places to go!

What a unique, absolutely lovely park, gushing with waterfalls and breathtaking views.

Sample of Autumn

Summer has faded into Autumn 'round here, and two weekends ago Judith took me to an apple orchard. Austin helped me choose a variety of apples to fill a peck container, and I enjoyed their delicious scent all week as I passed them in the dining room.

On Saturday afternoon, Sara and I got together to bake an apple pie. 

This was one enormous and delectable pie!

Sara made an incredibly flaky butter crust that perfectly browned around the filling of perfectly softened apples smothered in perfectly spiced glaze.

Such an indulgent sensory experience!

Morning Star 5k

Saturday morning, Sharon and I laced up our runners and headed to Harrisburg's City Island to run a 5k in support of Morning Star Pregnancy Services. This was only my third ever 5k (see one and two here). This time I found a 6 week training plan to follow (started with a combination of running and walking and progressed to longer runs to increase endurance).

We had a fun run and were happy to finish before the morning rain showers! 

As before, I was at the tail end of the group: finished in just under 33 minutes (probably the last runner who ran the entire course; there were some run+walkers who finished after me). I met my personal goals: 1) train well, 2) run the whole course (no walking), 3) have fun.

before

after

Citrus Inspiration

Several weeks ago, coworker Will asked if I ever make lemon bars.

I realized I don't.

The last time I made lemon bars may have been 15 or 20 years ago.

Since Will expressed a strong love of a well-balanced lemon bar, I was inspired to search Pinterest for a perfect recipe to pin for some future special occasion. I am impressed with the simplicity of classic lemon bar recipes.

Last Saturday I bought a bag of lemons, and Tuesday morning I rolled out of bed extra early to bake a pan of lemon bars to share at the office for Tuesday break.

I didn't think the lemon bars were anything amazing (or necessary to bake again during the next decade or two), however, Will and a few other coworkers gave generous five-star reviews.

Mishap

My dinner wound up mostly on the floor Monday night...

It's a pretty short but messy story.

note to self:

don't try carrying multiple items (including your dinner) while turning off the light switch.

Downtown Stroll

Last Tuesday after dinner, Naomi and I drove downtown and spent a delightful hour strolling Main Street and visiting Dahlia Hill before the sun dropped below the horizon.