Thursday, August 18, 2011

So Much More

Since I have been camping at the beach all week and just returned home this evening, I don't have much time to write and I certainly haven't had time to upload and sort all the beach photos I snapped, so this will be a short check-in here.  But I think it is important to spend time every Friday (or Thursday evening) reflecting on things for which I am grateful through Friday Fave Five.  It is just my Friday thing and really So Much More.  Susanne at Living to Tell the Story always posts a link for anyone who wishes to participate in Friday Fave Five and you can join us if you want to.

1. We love to camp!  It had been way too long since we had pulled out our gear and gone camping, so it was especially fun to pitch our tent and roll out our sleeping bags.  Three nights of camping by the beach was mostly peaceful.  Winds gusting up to 60 mph (yes, really!) tested our resolve to stay up and burn the last piece of our firewood at night, but nothing beats drinking our morning coffee while staring into the campfire flames.

2.  This week I've been without my cell phone.  Over the past 4-6 weeks, my provider has worked with me to determine the source of the problem of my malfunctioning phone.  Three. new. phones.  Hopefully, this newest phone will work properly.  The fave?  A mixed blessing.  I relaxed a bit more without being tied to email and facebook.  Also, I do appreciate the customer service and good attitude I've received from the manager and staff at the store.

3.  We have Great Neighbors.  They keep an eye on our place when we're gone and my next door neighbors watched for the new cell phone to arrive by UPS and took it in to protect it while we were gone.  We knew it would be delivered during the week so we asked them to keep it until we returned this evening.  They picked up our paper for us too.  Good Neighbors are truly a blessing!

4.  Long bike rides.  6 miles.  14 miles.  9 miles.  In some of the most beautiful places in the world.  Photos later, after I've slept in my own bed for 8 hours.

5.  After a hiatus of several weeks, our small group of friends (including two other Great Neighbors) are back meeting together for a Bible Study on Sunday nights.  We've missed being with them, so it was good to resume our regular Sunday evening get togethers.

I know there is So Much More I could add to my faves this week, but part of my brain is still at the beach, another part is already sound asleep and yet another is concentrating on camping clean up.  I invite you to tune part of your brain into the Thankful Channel and remember what you can be grateful for this week!

19 comments:

nikkipolani said...

What a terrific week! I think I was in high school the last time I camped at the beach :-) So you had a phone vacation... though I hope your phone gets back to work soon!

aspiritofsimplicity said...

bike riding and camping are two of the things I wanted to do this summer that I haven't had much of a chance to do. Perhaps I will be able to do some at the beginning of next month.

Caroline said...

My family camped a lot when I was a kid. We're talking month-long trips across the United States, and then many weekend at Morro Bay and Yosemite. My husband and I did too until about ten years ago. We've resolved to start again because it is so much fun!

Glad you had another wonderful week, and that you shared it with us.

Lisa notes... said...

It’s been TOO long since we’ve been camping. But it’ll have to wait now a few more months until the heat eases up. You’re a real trooper. Glad you’re back home; it takes awhile to get back in the groove again so go easy on yourself.

ellen b. said...

Glad you had fun camping and that the wind didn't blow you away. Hope this new phone is good!
Did you ride by Refugio...that was our camping spot.
Blessings...

Jewel said...

I really enjoy biking long distances, unfortunately I'm not in the right area to go alone. :/ I'm hoping my fiance will have an interest in joining me once he is stateside! Your journey offered some beautiful landscapes, I'm sure! Sounds like a good week!

Knitting Linguist said...

Oh, your camping trip sounds wonderful! I need to organize one myself - it's been far too long.

Jerralea said...

Camping at the beach sounds awesome. So does your neighborhood bible study! You have a blessed life!

Janet said...

I enjoyed reading your list. My husband and I really like riding our bikes together too. I'm sure we'd love the beach if there was any conceivable way for us to get to one. :-)

Enjoy recuperating!

Laura@OutnumberedMom said...

Sounds like a wonderful week! First, no phone...HA! But the camping sounds just great. I could use that. And good neighbors? We have those, too -- they're golden.

Hope you have a great week ahead, Willow!

Anonymous said...

We watched sunset over Lake Michigan Monday evening at Ludington State Park...SO beautiful! Sounds like your beach time was great. Mary

Brenda said...

The bike rides sound wonderful!

It would be hard for me to be without a phone, but I'm sure it would be good for me :)

Jientje said...

Good friends and good neighbors truly are a blessing! Camping at the beach, campfires and bike rides ... Oh my, you had a wonderful week!

Barbara H. said...

I'm afraid I am not much of a camper at heart -- we went a few times when the kids were younger but not recently. But it has been since my childhood that I have camped on the beach -- we used to live along the Gulf and went often them. I do miss being able to easily visit the coastline.

Hope the phone situation gets worked out. While it's a respite to be away from it, we do depend on them a lot these days.

Good neighbors are a wonderful blessing.

Catherine said...

I think it's nice to unplug for a little while and just enjoy the people I love. I'm glad you had a nice week away, and that your neighbors looked after things at home. Welcome back, and good luck with the new phone! I'll look forward to your photos.
-Catherine

Bethany said...

It sounds like a wonderful week! I hope you get the phone straightened out... very frustrating! I think one of the greatest blessings in life is to have good neighbors and I'm thankful for them this week. And my blog "neighbors" too!

Dorothy said...

Great neighbors are such a blessing! I'm glad you have some too, Willow!

Susanne said...

Camping on the beach sounds like a lot of fun, though these bones of mine would probably protest!

Barbara said...

Well I would just hate to camp and have been without my mobile because of the house break in and we too have great neighbours to keep an eye on our place while we are away.

So that is two out of three I'm with you.