My Deer Friend(s) in the Woods!

 Much to my delight, I've been enjoying some Briar Rose/Snow White moments in the woods recently. I discovered the sweetest deer on one of my walks in the woods last month! She didn't run away and she had a sweet, gentle, chill spirit about her. She was a rarity among deer 😄, and she made my day!

Do you see her?

She's ready for her close-up, Mr. DeMille. 😉

I got a vertical shot, too. (No, not that kind of shot. Never!)
Isn't she pretty?

Why thank you! 😆

When I walked by again a few minutes later from a different place on the path, she was still there. I spotted her through the trees.

😍

I attempted a couple of selfies with my deer friend. She came out better than I did.

She was so chill, just meandering along without a care in the world. So unusual for a deer when a human is nearby!

Then, a couple of weeks later, I saw a deer in the same woods again who wasn't afraid. I think it was the same one, but I can't be sure. The relaxed personality leads me to believe that it was.

Selfie time again!

And this was yet a different day. This encounter left me a little worried. I'm not sure if this was her or not, but again, due to personality, I think it may have been. She had discoloration on her body that I hope was dried mud and not sickness. I've been kind of worried about her since then.

Why the discoloration? I hope she's okay. I love having a deer friend, or friends, on my walks in the woods.

On a related note, unbeknownst to me, there had been a storm that caused some destruction in these peaceful, beautiful woods. I was surprised by the extent of it!

This picture doesn't do it justice, but this is a HUGE long tree that had come down.

I'm about to go out now for another walk in these woods. Most of the time, I do see a deer, but only sometimes do I see the sweet, chill one who doesn't run away from me. She's my deer dear friend! 😉

John Goes to the Temple

 Friday, August 2nd was a very special day. John went to the temple to receive his endowment! It was a warm, sunny summer day, and we went to the 12:00 session at the Boston Temple (which, incidentally, is one of my favorite places in the world that is also just about as close as you can get to heaven! I may have mentioned that on here before 😉.). My dad was John's escort, and my mom was there too. It was a special and memorable experience with my eldest son, and I'm so happy and thankful that he's chosen to make these sacred covenants. They can be a game-changer in life if you let them be, and I hope that John will do just that for the rest of his life. 

We didn't take as many pictures as I wanted because there was another family taking pictures on the lawn, but we still got some nice ones to commemorate this very special occasion.

With my parents/John's grandparents

He was off to Denver, Colorado for his mission almost one month exactly from this day!

Some of life's most valuable treasures are in this picture: the temple, The Book of Mormon, and my son.
Not necessarily in that order. 😉

John is not only physically strong, but spiritually strong! 😄 

The temple is the best place you can go to get closer to Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ and to increase your spiritual strength. 

I love this one of us. I'll always treasure it and what it means to me as a mother. 🤍

Later that day, his missionary tags arrived in the mail. Good timing! 

He still had a little over a week until his mission began.

Now he's been on his mission for almost one month, with one week doing home MTC, two weeks at the Provo, Utah MTC (which he loved), and last Tuesday, he flew to Colorado and began his time in the field serving, inviting, and teaching others about God, Jesus Christ, and the gospel of Christ and His restored church. It's the beginning of what I hope will be one of the greatest experiences of his life!

Nauset Light, The National Seashore, and a Bag of Chips

On the last day of our annual summer Cape Cod vacation, we did something new and went to a place we hadn't been before in our nineteen years of going to the Cape. I got the idea from this article about good locations for family photos that I edited and published for Cape Cod Moms earlier in July. Then one of my friends who rented the house the week before we were there did this very thing and posted pictures on Facebook that were so cute. That was my sign that it was time to do this for myself! And what is the "this," you might ask? We went to Nauset Light, the pretty red and white lighthouse in Eastham that overlooks the National Seashore and the wide-open, majestic Atlantic Ocean. It's the lighthouse that's featured on every bag of Cape Cod Potato Chips.

 

I brought a bag of Cape Cod chips for a fun photo prop, even though you can't see it that well.

A kind woman who was there offered to take pictures so that we could all be in them. This is such a nice thing for bystanders to offer to do!

Here's the history of the lighthouse and other information about it in case you're interested.

Just me and a bag of chips. And a lighthouse. 😄

You can stay in that house next to it! That would be fun.

I love it when the sea is what makes up the whole horizon.

So picturesque 😍 

Nearby, there were some great views of the very high dunes and out over the sea.

My mom and John had walked back to the car (it was hot and sunny out), but Sam stuck around and obliged me with a few pictures.

The sea is my friend, as well as a great, deep, slightly terrifying mystery that's teeming with life, history, and ancient secrets. 

I traced the latitude lines on my globe and determined that Portugal is directly on the other side of the ocean  from here. Pretty cool!

Oooh, a magic cottage!

It was fun to do something new, and it was a lovely spot that was worth the trip!

Tags: #NausetLight #NationalSeashore #Eastham #CapeCodPotatoChips

July 2024 Randoms

 John and Sam went to Ohio the week of July 4th and reunited with some Iowa friends there. Here they are at Cedar Point! 

Good advice from Hopkinton High's graduation ceremony in June.

Adelaide (Lee) Greco was my guidance counselor when I was at HHS!

The Inflatable Park that we've been going to for many years and is near our house on the Cape now has a waterpark! The boys went in July and had a fun time (despite the lines!).

Sam went to stake youth conference in upstate New York and had a good time. I only have one picture to document it, and it's this one. My friend Vera who was there sent it to me.

Speaking of friends giving me things, Meredith got me this adorable sleepy-eyed owl that she saw in a shop. It's so soft and cuddly and cute!

I liked these bumper stickers that were on a car at the temple. Prince Edward Island is still one of my favorite places.

Romeo hanging out on my lap on a Sunday afternoon.

This happened earlier this year. I was working in the Young Adult room at the library and recognized one of John's wrestling teammates who was the Rookie of the Year when John was a senior. He sent John this picture of us on Snapchat and I didn't see it until last month when I was going through some pictures on John's phone. Cute!

Romeo is so erudite!

We did a lot of shopping in July for John's mission. Among many other things, this is a pair of shoes we picked out.

I received some very nice and thoughtful birthday gifts from friends. I'm so thankful for the wonderful friends in my life; they are true blessings.

Becky got me this beautiful necklace because of Violet. It's become one of my favorites to wear.

💖💜💖

I googled this when I was feeling self-conscious after a selfie session. 😂 It was slightly reassuring.

I was hired to write for a publication I've written for in the past, but this was a new one starting up in a different area of Massachusetts. I wrote the town bios. It was fun! 

I wrote these...

It's the same picture and bio from the last BeLocal I wrote for a few years ago. Not much had changed, so no need to update.

I've developed a long list of seasonal YouTube "dishscapes" that I stream to the TV and I love it! I function best with peaceful nature sounds and a pretty scene in the background.