A mystery .... for Spring

Don't you just love  packages?!  Especially when they are unexpected.

 What ... someone is thinking of me??

It's addressed to me ...

And, I am now totally caught up in the  ...wrapping paper!

Yes, the wrapping paper! My head is swirling with the colors and design.

Darn, I wish I had created this!

Curiosity gets the better of me and I surgically remove this swirl of lusciousness only to discover ... A new kind of lusciousness!

All handmade chocolates! I've had them before and they are to die for.

OK, so now I am really having a sensory overload. Surprise package, beautiful wrapping paper and now handmade chocolates!

 The card from my dear friend says ... to celebrate spring.

That makes me run to my curio to get out my sliver flip fops from another dear friend.

:)  :)  :)

Can you taste them?

 

 Can you smell them?

This one fell out of the flip flop ... and I know about that 5 second rule!

Yum!!  Happy spring!

Absolutely Adirondacks! Some Saranac Lake NY flavor!

"Absolutely Adirondacks", Saranac lake New York

Home away from home! I love going back to my roots .... Saranac Lake, NY is such a lovely little town. And, although this isn't the home I grew up in, I'm adopting it!! Each time I walk in the door, I feel like I'm home.

 Nestled on Moody Pond, it's a to die for location. 

Coffee, wine, fire, snow, fireplace .. I could keep going but ... I think I will stop as you get the picture.

And, How is it that I would even consider grabbing my coffee and sitting here wrapped up in a blanket? But, I do consider it.  Something happens to my brain when I am in the mountains.

 My brain reacts like it's at a rock concert, yet, it's peaceful. I can't figure it out.

 I'm just going to enjoy it all.

And, as I drive out of town, I will know in my heart that I will be back.

It may be another season .... but, I will return.

Stories to tell ...

Bloomingdale, NY

Old buildings ooze stories. History seeps around the corners, climbs the steeple, begging to be released from behind the boarded up windows and quietly knocks on the locked doors. 

The patterns remain but are long forgotten ... until a stranger glances up and thinks, someone's hands meticulously cut the wood to add a symbol of the buildings life.

The beauty remains. Changed and worn.

The past is the story, of marriages, baptisms, funerals, gatherings. The stories are formless, the laughter and tears are soundless; but, they remain. What happens going forward is not yet revealed. It's like a book that is waiting to be opened... someday. 

For now, its beauty will be captured in the heart of the beholder.

Saranac Lake, NY ... Ice Palace wonderment!

 Every time I visit another Ice Place in my hometown,  my brain fills with all sorts of thoughts. First and foremost is the dedication and skill that it takes to produce this real life castle!

 I can't help but take in the whole picture and also the small detail. You never know what you might find frozen into these huge ice cubes .... plants ....and sometimes even a fish!

 And, the creators even take a hand at embellishment.

It's all about the color, the layers, the massiveness, precision, the mystery .... yes, the mystery. How does this wonderful small town in the Adirondack's produce these incredible structures, year after year after year?

 

Somehow it's in our blood. We love it, we embrace it, we celebrate our little town tucked into the lakes and the mountains of the Adirondacks. But, most of all, Saranac Lakers love to share this part of our culture. Even when we move away, we come back ... and bring friends. To me, it's in my blood to love the Ice Palace. To those I bring to see it, I watch their faces .. and revel in the amazement that I see cross their faces. I am so proud of what this lovely little community produces ... again and again and again.

 

Cheers to you Saranac Lake!

Mt Washington .... surprise!

I love the OMG moments of travel!  I've had them in Glacier National Park, Alaska, Hawaii, Grand Canyon, driving along the west coast, driving along the east coast, Sedona, Este's National Park, Mt Rainer .... well, you get the picture.  And, it happened again!  Driving thru the NE Kingdom of Vermont into New Hampshire and  ... right beside me comes this!

 I can hardly contain myself ... stop the car, let me out! OK ... keep breathing. Sure hope that camera stabilizer setting is on.

 

 I just knew that if I could get into the beautiful Mt Washington Resort, that I would again be lost in time.....

... and, I wasn't disapponted.

 All I can say is, my poor travel companions.  When I am in the "zone" they have to keep track of me because I'm not keeping track of them!

Every step of the way is as beautiful or more beautiful than the last.

 I can't stop exploring. Thank god i am not an astronaut! "One step for man" and I would be gone!

 Can you see why I am drawn to keep going! Ok, so now I have wandered onto a roof top! Hey, it's shoveled so that means ... keep going!

Don't those little snow drifts along the railing look like a procession of little people walking along? 

And, check this out .... that pile of snow on the railing is the same shape of the mountain behind it!

  Looking back from the roof top, I can see my travel companions in that rounded section. Good thing they are use to traveling with me. :)

I wish I had time to do all this outdoor stuff!

Oh wait ... another pile of snow on the railing that looks like the other mountain on the left.  Someone is messing with me ... but, I'm paying attention!

OK, I'm headed back to my companions ... but the shots of red aren't lost on me.

 I have to look back and enjoy it all one more time ... yup .... still beautiful!

Those little snow drifts are still marching on ...

Wait ... I can't leave!  Not yet!

Darn!

That did it!  I will be back!