Waterfalls!

Yesterday afternoon we met my friend, Cheri, and her sixteen-year-old foster son at Ricketts Glen State Park which has more than 20 waterfalls. The tallest waterfall is 94 feet high. We ate lunch at a picnic table together before starting our hike. We planned to do the 3.2 mile loop, but we ended up doing the 7.2 mile loop, which translated to over 8 miles round trip from the parking lot. The forecast on Accuweather showed a significant chance for thunderstorms, but thankfully the two other weather apps I checked, which showed favorable forecasts, were correct. It was a beautiful day. I had an umbrella in my backpack so I could protect my umbrella if Accuweather was correct. I never needed it. We only used our masks when using the bathroom. I was surprised how many people were wearing their masks while hiking outdoors. When we go to the playground, swimming pool, yard sales, etc. people aren't wearing masks. I had planned to make blueberry pancakes for dinner, but since we ended up staying at the park for more than five hours, we stopped at Dunkin for breakfast sandwiches instead. I was thankful I had a gift card in my purse! We had brought our bathing suits. We stopped at our swimming pool on the way home and swam for about 90 minutes.

From the ballpark figures that the salesman was giving me on Thursday, I assumed his quote would be the highest of the three. I also wasn't happy that he was trying to convince me to buy two new garage door openers. I am not tempted to do that since the other two salesmen said they did not think we needed new openers. Since he had come to our home to measure, I felt I should at least call their office on Friday to get a quote. I was pleasantly surprised that the cost of buying two oak colored garage doors from him would actually be $200 less than two cedar colored garage doors from the first salesman. I had been trying to decide between evergreen or cedar. I had gotten feedback from three friends and three family members regarding which color they would choose, and not a single person had picked green. I am going to call the third salesman back on Monday to get more quotes because the door he recommended isn't as well insulated as the doors the other two recommended. All three suggested we buy a door that is made of steel on both sides. Our current one has steel on one side and vinyl on the other. I think part of the reason he didn't suggest we get one with better insulation is because we don't have insulation and drywall on all of the walls in the garage. At this point I think we will be going with medium oak. It might be a little darker than our front door, but I could buy some stain to darken our door a little. The inside of our front door is much darker than the outside. I'm assuming that the sun has faded it over the past 21 years. I have been paying attention to garage doors when I've been driving, and I will say I do like the windows on the carriage house style doors, but if we spend more than what he quoted me yesterday, I think it's wiser to invest in a more energy efficient door than to pay for decorative windows.

We swam at the pool for two hours this afternoon, but other than that the kids and I have been home the rest of the day. I'm very thankful that we WILL be going to church tomorrow morning. Yesterday we watched a video announcement from our pastor. He said they would continue to offer in person and online worship services because churches are not obligated to follow the 25 person maximum for indoor gatherings. He said that since the church reopened the attendance hasn't exceeded 18% capacity. Since the sanctuary usually can seat up to 1,050, I would assume that means that the attendance hasn't exceeded about 180 people per service the last few weeks. The thought of returning to watching a service online at home was very hard for me to swallow. I am very grateful we can continue to attend in person for the time being. The directors of the play Nadia is going to be in are trying to figure out what "plan B" is for the productions. There are fewer than 25 kids in the class, but there would be more than 25 at the performances. They are trying to decide whether to broadcast it by livestream, move the performance outdoors, or make a recording. 2020 is definitely a year when flexibility is VERY necessary. Rolling with the punches is necessary during a pandemic.