Located in the small, quiet western Massachusetts town of Shelburne Falls, the Bridge of Flowers is the place for a lovely stroll on a weekend afternoon.
Bought in 1908 and once used as a way to transport freight and people to the nearby mills, the former trolley bridge, which crosses the Deerfield River, sat in decay after the automobile boom provided transport that exceeded the small railway company's capacity to compete.
In 1929, the bridge was covered with weeds, but could not be demolished because it contained an important water main, so it was rescued and transformed into a garden by the town's Women's Club. And thus began The Bridge of Flowers.
There is much to see along the arched footbridge.
The flowers are identified and provide wonderful inspiration for at home landscapes.
If you stroll the downtown, you will learn that the film, Labor Day, was filmed here.
As well as The Judge.
On the afternoon we were there, we stopped in for a coffee at Mocha Maya's, a coffee shop, pub, and live music venue.
And peeked at the glacial potholes of the Deerfield River.
Shelburne Falls and the Bridge of Flowers provided a perfect place to explore on a Sunday afternoon. If you are ever in the area, consider this downtown stroll. The Bridge is open from April to October.
It seems that lately our weekends have passed and we are left wondering what we did. Occasionally, we have quiet weekends at home, but with my husband teaching on Saturdays and me catching up with classes laden with busy work and monthly live sessions, it seems like there is little time for play.
This weekend, however, being a long weekend, it seems like we did sneak in a bit of time for ourselves.
My brother and his girlfriend flew in for the long weekend. It was nice to catch up. We don't get to see each other that often, since he lives in Florida, so this was a treat.
This weekend was also my niece's first Homecoming. She and her friends clean up well.
I also explored my new cookbook, Against All Grain, and tried out a couple of recipes, like this bread. It was a pleasant surprise. And it's fabulous toasted.
These chocolate chip cookies, also from the cookbook, were fabulous!
So, so good!
The rest of the weekend was spent enjoying fall. The colors have not yet "popped" here in my corner of the state, but the yellows and greens were lovely, nonetheless.
Pumpkins, cider, and gourds. Oh my!
Lastly, I love John Oliver. Often, in my opinion, he is right on point, and so funny. I was mentioning to my husband this weekend that I wondered how Columbus Day is still even a thing, forgetting that John Oliver did his own take on this day last year. My husband said that in South America, it is celebrated as something like a Discovery Day.
Ok...fine...discovering a continent while you're convinced that the world is flat...fine.
But Columbus Day? How is this even a thing? ~Courtesy of John Oliver.
I love pumpkin, and I love pancakes. Pumpkin pancakes on a chilly weekend morning sounded like a lovely idea.
Because of what's best for my body and no other reason, I am trying to eat less grains. As a result, I have been experimenting with different ingredients and how I can make some of my favorite things, minus the grains. This paleo pumpkin pancake recipe came about as a result. The final cooked texture of the pancake is dense; but perhaps this is due more to my impatience and sizing of the pancakes than the recipe itself, which generated from a survey of various paleo pancake recipes. This particular recipe makes 10-12 pancakes. Paleo Pumpkin Walnut* Pancakes 4 large eggs, beaten 1 can of pumpkin 2 tablespoons raw honey 1.5 cups of almond meal/flour 2 teaspoons of baking soda 1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice 1/3-1/2 cups walnuts, chopped (optional) Coconut oil for greasing your skillet Mix the wet ingredients. Add to the dry ingredients.
Grease your skillet with coconut oil. Add a dollop of batter Cook over medium low heat. This is where I became impatient. They will flip easier if you're patient and wait until they solidify a bit more.
I ate my pancakes drizzled with real maple syrup, and they were delicious! My husband liked the flavor, but he agreed that they were dense. Better for keeping us full, I said. I will be making these again. If you make them, please let me know what you think.
I would not describe myself as being on the cutting edge of anything. So, if you have already had this, I apologize. Tis the season for pumpkin spice everything.
But pumpkin spiced coffee? I just can't. Until now.
Sunday was my mother-in-law's 83rd birthday. We gathered at my brother-in-law's for an impromptu get together and she partied like a teenager.
Just kidding...she drank some tea.
It's always fun to see and chat with my nieces and nephews. And as teenagers, they are on the cutting edge of everything. So, thanks to my niece, Vivian, I have found a new fall favorite.
Behold the Iced Pumpkin Mocha.
Per Vivian, for a medium, you should order it iced, with cream and one melted sugar. I think this may mean liquid sugar, but I'm assuming those in the know will know what that means. The iced pumpkin mocha is a game changer. While other coffee shops may offer the same, I can only vouch for Dunkin' Donuts. And thanks, by the way, to Dunks, for the free coffee after a Patriots win. Maybe your local Dunks has a similar promotion for your home team. It makes for a very happy Monday morning. This fall, I will be running on Dunkin's iced pumpkin mocha; no pumpkin spice latte for me. Thanks anyway, Starbucks.
The Mexillonada is a highlight of our summer in Galicia. It's a time to celebrate with family and friends, eat great food, and join in with the community that will soon become our home.
Since school's start, I have had a hard time getting back into a regular writing routine. This is especially troubling because I am teaching a blogging class next month and I haven't set the best example of late. Back in the AOL days, I remember seeing this 4 Things survey circulate among friends and family. It may have passed through the early days of Facebook as well. I forgot about it until it popped up again in my blog feed. So, thanks to Heather at My Little HEA and Kerry at Till Then Smile Often for the fun post idea. I mixed up a few of the categories to make it more of my own. Four Nicknames 1. Kells 2. Kelly Ann, but only when I was in trouble as a kid. 3. KRod 4. Cariño, from the Señor
Four Careers I Would Love to Have 1. Life coach 2. Writer 3. Professor of Education 4. Voice over artist Four Things in My Purse 1. My wallet 2. A date book...I once lost all of the appointments I had in my phone after an upgrade 3. Coupons for various sales 4. A chestnut. My husband says it protects against envy.
Four Places I Have Lived 1. Massachusetts 2. New Hampshire 3. Florida 4. Galicia, Spain...temporarily, for now.
This view never gets old.
Four Places I Would Like to Live 1. Temporarily in our car as we do a cross country road trip 2. In a beach town 3. In Paris 4. In a big capital city Four Foods I Love(d) Growing Up 1. My mom's baked beans, with steamed hot dogs, and New England brown bread. 2. My mom's macaroni and hamburg, with a sauce made from Campbell's tomato soup. 3. Duncan Hines Strawberry Supreme two-layer cake with vanilla frosting...my Mom makes my birthday cake every year. 4. My Mom's roast (pork or pot roast) with mashed potatoes and gravy and mashed carrots and turnip.
There's no cooking like Mom's cooking.
Four Places I Love to Shop 1. Target 2. Amazon 3. Whole Foods 4. The Apple Store Four Books I Would Recommend 1. The Late Bloomer Series, by Betsy Talbot. So far, I have read Wild Rose and English Ivy. It's a fun romance series featuring over 40 leading ladies. Very fun! 2. The Compound Effectby Darren Hardy. Small changes done over time add up. 3. The Happiness Project by Gretchen Rubin. You don't have to follow her schedule, but the idea of pursuing what makes you happy makes a lot of sense. 4. You Are a Badass by Jen Sincero. We all can use someone like Jen in our corner cheering on our badassery.
Four TV Shows I'm Currently Watching 1. Narcos...A Netflix drama chronicling the Pablo Escobar years in Colombia.
2. Frankie and Grace...A Netflix comedy with Jane Fonda and Lily Tomlin. This is a gem!
3. Big Bang Theory. Still.
Enjoy this blooper reel. So funny!
4. Scandal. I'm Team Olitz all the way.
Four Musical Artists Likely to be in My Pandora Feed 1. Jimmy Buffett 2. Jack Johnson 3. Jason Mraz 4. Dave Matthews Four Foods I Will Never Give Up 1. Pizza 2. Entree salads 3. Roasted veggies 4. Cadbury Creme Eggs
Not wrong...just more for me.
I'll pass on the tagging option, but please share your answers to any of these questions, or better, do this on your own blog. Tag me so that I can read your answer and learn about you too. Enjoy the weekend!
These days, it seems like September is the new January. This idea may stem from the fresh start that comes with the new school year. Perhaps it's the cooler temperatures that bring closure to the long, sunny days of summer as people ready themselves for new projects, beloved traditions, and the upcoming holiday season.
If you like to set seasonal goals or if you are looking to create new traditions, here are a few ideas you can add to your list.
Make some hot spiced or mulled cider, or try an apple sangria.
Sign up for a fall road race to run or walk, or organize a team with your friends and do a charity walk.
Dig out your crockpot and experiment with some new recipes.
Go to an agricultural or fall county fair. You can search for one near you here.
Go apple picking and pumpkin picking. Apple crisp and roasted pumpkin seeds for all.
Host a chili cook-off or a pumpkin decorating party capped by a cozy fall fire.
Organize a fall food drive or a winter coat drive.
What are some of the numbers that are significant to your story? Thanks to Steph and Nicole for the fun post idea. Here are some of mine.
531 - My age in months. 5 - The time I usually wake up, on my own...no alarm needed. 7.5 - Hours of sleep that works best for me. 19 - The day our anniversary. 409 - Published posts here at A Lovely Life, Indeed. 11 - Posts in draft form. 1,820 - Number of Instagram photos in my gallery. 2 - Number of times per week I meet with my trainer for strength training. 17 - Years of teaching under my belt; starting #18 on Monday. 108,768 - Miles on my car. 7 - The day of my birthday month. 10 - The age difference, in years, between my husband and me. 3,112 miles to our home in Spain. 5 - Most miles I ever ran in a road race. 13.1-- Miles I hope to run in a road race one day. 8 - The number of books I read while on vacation this summer in Spain. 3 - Fun food-related classes I'm taking this fall...A Passion for Pumpkins, Thanksgiving... Everything but the Turkey, and Gifts from the Kitchen. 43 - Storms of the 2004-2005 Hurricane Season in Florida. 9 - Hurricanes that disrupted my school years with Hurricane Days out of school during that time period. After Wilma, I moved back up North and met my husband...a happy ending, indeed.
Those are a few of my numbers. What are some the numbers that are significant to your story?
Ideas swirl around my head like cartoon canaries after a good bump on the head, and at times, having too many options can be just as paralyzing as when there are too few. So, like ripping off a bandaid, I am here to catch up over my morning coffee, just as if you were sitting across the table with yours...not with well thought out words and pictures, but merely with conversation. Welcome. What a summer it has been!
We did a lot of this.
And this.
And this.
And now we're home. We took the weekend to sleep off residual jet lag and prep for the week ahead. And here we are. Let's start with yesterday. I am back at my home school. It was a whiplash kind of day. Upon arriving at our opening day general session yesterday, I was greeted and then saddened to hear from friends that my position, which at the end of the last school year had been eliminated due to budget cuts, had been re-funded, BUT that I couldn't go back, because I had transferred to another in-district building earlier in the summer. Wait...What??? Imagine my confusion. And then, in the eleventh hour, so to speak, as my former colleagues and I trudged into the auditorium for the general session, I was pulled aside by my former principal, assistant principal, and program director who then told me I was "going home." I am so incredibly grateful to be back in my building. While the other school is wonderful, it just wasn't home. And the welcome I received when I returned that afternoon with my things was overwhelming...so much love and support. I can't wait to see my kiddos! I'm in a Pre-K-4 building...you can imagine the level of cuteness. And so I'm back. And so very happy. My heart is full. Vacation was wonderful. In addition to exploring more of Galicia, we visited Toledo, Àvila, Salamanca, and Dublin, Ireland on our way back to Boston. I ended up posting a lot of pictures on Instagram, but I did not bring my laptop with me. And so, I didn't do much any writing. BUT, I did do a lot of reading. I finally read Gone Girl, and Mindy Kaling's memoir, Is Everyone Hanging Out without Me, and the first of the Late Bloomer Seriesby Betsy Talbott, Wild Rose. I'm reading the second in the series now, English Ivy. I also read Paris in Love, finished Julia Child's My Life in France, Love with a Chance of Drowning, and The Lost Girls. Now, I'm prepping for school's start next week. I'm trying to get back into my routines and I am looking forward to cooler weather and all things fall. And my Dad turns 71 on Friday! I'm hoping to start back in on a regular writing practice again, and start digging through pictures, but for now, this is where I am. Now, please tell me. How was your summer? What was your best moment? What are you looking forward to this fall?
