Friday, September 05, 2014

Friday's Fave Five #298


Welcome to Fave Fives everyone!  I had a wonderful break with family and have so much to be thankful for!! Please join me as we look for our five favorite blessings from the week whether they be big or small.  For details and guidelines just scroll to the link in the sidebar.

1.  A new fireplace.  After humming and hawwing for a few years we finally bit the bullet and bought a new air conditioner.  We knew our original was old; it came with the house when we bought it 21 years ago. In fact, when the salesman who was a friend came to check out the logistics of moving the location, he took one look at it and said, "Wow, that's an old one."  It was tediously slowing down on us, giving out less and less cold air even though we recharged it.   And sure enough when they disconnected the old one there was a date of 1985 on the back. We now had wonderful cool air for those hot days of summer we were expecting.  Again hot being relative because I'm sure Anne and Willow would scoff at us Southern Albertan's wilting in what they consider a cool down.

Now what does this all have to do with a fireplace you ask?  Well the air conditioning company was having a special on where you received a wall electric fireplace for free with the purchase of the air conditioner.  And our friend was incredibly generous in upgrading us to a really nice larger framed unit (rather than the smaller square shaped lcd looking one).  I really love the "fire" in it and it's also a heater for those really cold nights. For now I haven't figured out how to decorate around it but that will come eventually.  I may even lower it a bit but that will take some renovation as I'll have to remove the chair rail but that's down the road.






What a cozy feeling for the already cooler nights that we are experiencing!  And did you catch the fact that it was free?  I love free!

2.  Time with the family all together. Last week we had the family all together, the first time since Christmas.  Oh how I enjoyed it.  We had decided in the spring to have a more low key holiday a bit closer to home.  I wanted my oldest to be able to spend extra time with her grandparents, she wanted to go to our beloved Waterton National Park.  So we skipped the 10 or so hour drive to Kelowna, B.C. and stayed closer.  We were all together and that was the main thing.


top of Bear's Hump Waterton National Park

3.  A family trip to Glacier National Park.   Waterton National Park and Glacier National Park are the 2 sides to an International Peace Park, Waterton being the Canadian side and Glacier being the US side.  I hadn't been there since I was a kid and had bits and pieces of memories.  What a stunning drive we had!  I took over 250 pictures.  I just couldn't help myself.  It was breathtaking.  I can hardly wait to go back!  Because of time constraints I've had this week I just haven't been able to upload and make a nice collage but I'll leave you with one and put up more during the week.




4.  My most thrilling part of being in Glacier National Park...hiking the trail at the Logan's Pass visitor centre. It was cold and it was windy but boy oh boy was it worth it.  A trail that ran the side of the mountain, sometimes so narrow that for someone to pass you had to push your back against the cliff.  In fact, when on the side wall, they had a hose type hand hold for you to hang on to.  Cliff wall on one side, cliff edge on the other, but the view.  Oh the view!  God is an amazing creator and artist.  Pictures cannot do it justice!  And the thrill of doing a hike like that was exhilarating!!






5.  the hotel we stayed in.  I booked from the Starbucks in Kalispell and we hit on a wonderful hotel.  Nice and clean, they provided lots of extras.  Firepit in the evenings, an incredible breakfast with made to order omelets amongst a whole host of other things hot and cold, and the best part they had bicycles to rent with the first 2 hours being free!  We love biking as a family so that was really a treasure find for us and we took advantage of that.  



What were your favorite blessings this week?














11 comments:

nikkipolani said...

Wonderful wonderful family vacation! Skipping an extra 10 hour drive? Brilliant. I hope you will get a chance to post more photos. These are like paintings. Beautiful!

I love your **free** fireplace! You might think we'd scoff at your "high" temps, but I'm sure you'd guffaw at what we consider "cold". So I'm glad you got both ends of the temperature range sorted :-) Happy weekend, Susanne.

Faith said...

Oh Susanne!!!! I'm drooling over,your mountain and national park vacation!!! Good for you,for,hiking that cliff edged trail!! The photos are stunning so I can only imagine what it must look like in person! Glacier is on my bucket list. My hubby has been there when he was a pre teen but we really want to go together, what a wonderful week you've had!! Enjoy the weekend.

ellen b. said...

What a beautiful place to visit as a family.
You've made me want to figure out how to get there for a trip in the future.
Congrats on your new air conditioner with a bonus...fun!

Barbara H. said...

What a wonderful vacation all the way around! Though you're much braver than I am to go on such a narrow path on a mountain!

That is really cool about the free electric fireplace. We need to get our gas one checked out or replace it - it smells so bad we can't use it. I may check into those.

Jerralea said...

I've never seen a fireplace like that before. How neat!

Your photos of your vacation are gorgeous. I would never never hike on a trail that narrow - did I mention my fear of heights? Kudos to you for taking the challenge!

Ann said...

We went to Glacier/Waterton for our 10th anniversary back in 1997, and LOVED it. We spent a night in Kalispell at a Hampton in, a night at Many Glacier hotel, and best of all, a night at the Prince of Wales hotel in Waterton. We also took the boat ride down to Goat ___? back across the border. What a beautiful place!! Very glad you got to go. We'd love to go back. Maybe when husband retires. . .

Susanne said...

Ann:We tried the Hampton Inn but they wouldn’t take our pet. I’ll have to see Many Glacier hotel maybe for the next time we go. And Price of Wales is awesome. I’ve never stayed there but have walked through. It is one of the most photographed buildings from around here. Waterton is only about and hour and a half away from us so we take a day trip every year. I just love it. It’s a place I really feel the majesty of God.

Willow said...

I've seen photos of Glacier Natl Park but never been there. Now it HAS to go on my bucket list--that hike--oh my! (You do look a bit scared; was it that narrow?) And hurray for family vaycays!

That is an awesome FREE fireplace. No ashes!

Willow said...

I just read Anne's comment about our SoCal idea of cold--yup. We are total wimps in that area.

Susanne said...

Willow: I wasn’t scared, it was just cold and windy and my son was a ways back to take that pic and we couldn’t tell when exactly he was taking it. LOL. So I’ve probably got a “hurry up” look. The trail was quite narrow in parts where if someone was passing you had to back right up against the cliff wall. So worth it. The views were picture book stunning!

Karen said...

See, no problem that you didn't do FFF this week. I'm just catching up with last week's! Your trip sounds awesome. What a beautiful place. My husband has always wanted to see Glacier NP. You are braver than I am for going on that hike, though!

This is the first house I've ever lived in without a fireplace:( Eventually I will have to look into finding one like yours. They add such a homey touch to a house.