The Little Things No. 21

The little things really do add up, which is why every Friday I end the week on a positive note with appreciation for the little things in my life that make up a greater sense of joy. I hope you join me today in appreciating the good, no matter how small. I will also be sharing links from time to time about things that are inspirational, funny, beautiful, or important.

Because this is about appreciation rather than perfection, I’m not only including my professional quality photos, but some cellphone snaps as well. You can expect to see a more candid look into my life every week with my The Little Things blog posts every Friday.

Dear Friends,

Last weekend Matthew and I celebrated our two year wedding anniversary with a socially distancing car camping trip into the Catskills and Adirondacks in New York. The Catskill Mountains are less than a two hour drive away, so it is actually a much closer road trip than going up into Maine, New Hampshire, or Vermont, which are also practicing strict quarantine rules for visitors (a good thing!).

In Connecticut, cases of Covid-19 are going down faster than anywhere else in the United States, but with everything just re-opening recently and gyms opening up last week I’m afraid we’ll see a big rise again in a couple weeks from now, especially because so many people are acting like nothing is going on and going out in groups without masks! Although cases are fewer here, the virus still exists so I hope wherever you are that you are safe and wearing a mask when you must go out in public. I’ve been carrying a mask with me absolutely everywhere, especially after learning that by wearing a mask I have only a 5% chance of passing on the virus to someone who is not wearing one. That is almost as good as a vaccine in preventing the spread when combined with distancing. If only everyone respected the lives of others and did their part.

The weather here has been absolutely perfect for outdoor adventuring and kayaking, although it looks like a week of thunderstorms are on the way. I’m really looking forward to diving into summer activities this year, especially because they can be done safely with the virus. Looks like I will be reading outside a lot this summer and picnicking every chance I can get.

These are the little things that made my week:

Our drive up to New York. The countryside is beautiful.

We couldn’t find any place to get food, not even a gas station (pro tip; pack a cooler before you go) and then we found this diner in the Catskills. It is called Selena’s Diner and they were just ten minutes away from closing. We told them we were visiting for our anniversary and they told us to sit down anyway. Selena and her fiancé are very kind and we were so thankful to them. It was our first time eating indoors since February so it felt a little odd, but also nice. Obviously, I wouldn’t recommend indoor dining right now, but it was our only option. I haven’t had diner food in months and I love my spinach omelets.

These fireflies.

Selena from the diner told us about a lake down the road called Colgate Lake. We parked at the parking lot and set up camp in our SUV. Thousands of fireflies flew around in the field in front of us and by the car windows.

Our new inflatable kayak.

This is a big little thing, but the best part is spending time outdoors with my husband. Two peas in a red kayak pod.

This is when we spooked a black bear fishing for his breakfast! Or I should say, he spooked us.

Seeing this sign only as we are leaving. I would have been more cautious if I thought more about it ahead of time, even though I know that the Catskills have thousands of black bears.