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Day 12 (Sunday)
* Health & energy -- went for an early morning walk, ate healthy all day (despite major chocolate cravings), kept up with BCI
* Devotional life -- kept up with Bible reading and study, brief prayer time
* Homemaking -- planned my week, vacuumed upstairs and down, spiffed up bathroom, dusted some kitchen shelves that badly needed it.
* Creativity -- designed and printed out some small notes (like post-its only not sticky) to use for verses for my Sunday School class; looked through a craft book for gift ideas
Since we're back, I've managed to keep up fairly well with the challenge.
Friday (Day 10)
* Health & energy: exercised, kept up with Body Clutter Investigator
* Devotional life: good quiet time, also studying for Sunday School lesson
* Homemaking: got most of the stuff put away from our trip; made up a batch of instant apple cinnamon oatmeal to have on hand
* Creativity: not too much creative got done on this day
Saturday (Day 11)
* Health & energy: went for a walk, ate healthy, drank plenty of water, kept up with BCI; planned what to grow in our garden; shopped for seeds and plants
* Devotional life: good quiet time
* Homemaking: made a schedule, did three loads of laundry and got them all dried (outdoors on the line) and put away
* Creativity: worked on a crocheted dishcloth
And that's how the challenge is going!
During the time we were away, I managed to still stay on track in a few areas of each category:
* Health & energy -- went for a walk every day; sometimes several walks a day.
* Devotional life -- had a good quiet time each day and spent some extra time in Bible study besides.
* Homemaking -- I even managed to work in this category, by planning menus and making my grocery list while relaxing on the dock!
* Creativity -- got a good amount of cross stitch done on the "Snow Angels" project, also worked on a cross-stitched Christmas ornament. I finished crocheting one dishcloth and started another.
This week, we were able to take just a few days away at our favorite lake up in northern New Hampshire. We arrived on Monday afternoon and left on Thursday morning, so it was a quick trip. Here I must admit, sadly, that we forgot to take the camera. So any photos in this post will be from last fall.
Monday and Tuesday were beautiful days, while Wednesday was rainy, and it was raining when we got home on Thursday. We did manage to get out for a walk each morning. Even on the rainy days, since the rain didn't start early on, we were able to go for a nice walk. On Tuesday we walked on the other side of the lake. There isn't a road that goes all around the lake, so we drove to the other side, parked at a boat launch, and just walked from there. One lovely sight we saw was wild forget-me-nots in the woods and along the roadsides. Also on this walk we saw two baby foxes playing while the mother fox dozed in the sun.
We decided that spring is a couple of weeks behind up there, compared to here. The leaves aren't out as fully, and there are different flowers in bloom. For instance, the flowering crab apple trees are blooming up there, while that is pretty much over in our area.
But the pansies are blooming in the rustic stone steps leading down to the dock.
One of our favorite things to do is go out for breakfast, so we planned that into our getaway.
The first morning we went to Tall Timber, a fabulous classic sporting lodge. The breakfast was delicious, the ambience amazing, and the prices very reasonable. The second morning we ate at Happy Corner Cafe, which has a wonderful breakfast menu with some really unique omelet, French toast, and pancake choices. Mr. T had a Philly cheese steak omelet and I had what was called a Montreal omelet, filled generously with Canadian bacon, sauteed mushrooms and Swiss cheese. These came with home fries and homemade toast. The third morning we ate breakfast at the cabin so we could get an early start heading home.
Tuesday, I spent almost every minute sitting on the dock.
Mr. T went kayaking around half of the lake, came back for lunch (which we also ate on the dock), and then paddled around the other half. I got a lot accomplished sitting there in the sun -- wrote letters, planned menus, made the grocery list, worked on my Sunday School lesson, did some reading, cross-stitching, and journaling. Totally relaxing. And then to hear the call of the loons... well, it was nearly a perfect day. As perfect as anything gets in this life!
On the rainy day, we enjoyed relaxing by the fireplace in our cozy cabin.
To be able to look directly out on the lake while eating lunch or supper or while having morning devotions by the fire was just wonderful. The loons were out and about each day -- we saw as many as three at one time -- and came quite close to shore. On Tuesday we also saw a moose swimming across the lake! During this trip we saw 3 moose, 5 deer, 3 foxes and a porcupine.
All in all, it was a wonderful getaway and we are so thankful that God allowed us to have this special time away.
A cool sunny morning here in northern New England. We will be away on a little getaway for the first few days, but are taking food along. Some of my other meals didn't get used last week, so will be used this week. Here's my menu plan:
MONDAY: Hamburgers, French Fries, Coleslaw
TUESDAY: Smoked Sausage Potato Salad w/Green Beans, Rolls & Butter
WEDNESDAY: Zesty Chicken Cheese Soup, Wholegrain Rolls & Butter
THURSDAY: Pork Stir-Fry, Hot Rice, Fruit Salad
FRIDAY: Crabmeat Quiche, Breakfast Potatoes, Fruit Salad
SATURDAY: Hot Dogs, Homemade Baked Beans, Coleslaw
SUNDAY: Italian Wedding Soup, Bread or Rolls
If you would like to see menus which others have shared, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie and check out the links. Often, well over 300 people share links to their weekly menus. You'll find some great ideas and often recipes too.
Here's how the past couple of days have gone for this challenge:
Friday (Day 3)
* Health & energy -- ate healthy all day, drank plenty of water,exercised, walked to do errands, went for an evening walk
* Devotional life -- good time of Bible reading, prayer, and study
* Homemaking -- decluttered some fabric, clothing, and books; dropped off at thrift store. Did a bit of dusting in Zone 4.
* Creativity -- made a title page for the devotional book; took book to printer
Saturday (Day 4)
* Health & energy -- ate healthy all day, went for walk morning & evening
* Devotional life -- good time of prayer, Bible reading, and study.
* Homemaking -- thoroughly dusted in Zone 4
* Creativity -- spent a little time on cross stitch projects in the evening
