hiking buddies

Coworks Kim and Vicky and I spent most of our time in New York hiking trails and stopping to wonder at the incredible waterfalls we encountered along the way (there were 8 separate water falls on one of our 1.5 mile hikes!). As you can imagine, all those waterfalls meant we trekked several hundred feet in elevation at least a handful of times. I've determined I prefer rugged trails for hiking up (rather than stairs) and trails with stairs for coming down (much easier on the knees). 

friends who hike together eat ice cream together ;)

blueberry scones...

...because sometimes that's a good idea.

rooted

Let your roots grow down into Him,

and let your lives be built on Him.

Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught,

and you will overflow with thankfulness.

~Colossians 2:7 (NLT)

Dippity Do Dahs

Vicky and I happened to be adventuring in downtown Corning, New York recently... where we discovered Dippity Do Dahs homemade ice cream. Post discovery of said establishment, we performed initial quality control testing and can now highly recommend all ice-cream lovers near Corning should experience Dippity Do Dahs for themselves.

Talk about a complete experience:

Excellent service

Deliciously creamy ice cream (on the softer side, for those who prefer a less firm scoop)

Beautiful interior decorating and ambiance of the shop

My Dippty Do Dahs experience was so delightful, I was inspired to walk to the tip jar and leave a contribution mid-ice cream consumption! 

It was that.good.

my flavor picks of the day: pistachio and mocha chip

There's nothing quite like the gift of enjoying quality ice cream with a terrific friend who shares my love for adventures, especially those involving delightful combinations of frozen sugary cream :).

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!