My weekly exercise in gratitude, or as some of my blogging friends put it, three things that made me smile this week.
First, little red apples. For me, there is something about apples on a tree that fills my heart with joy. Could it be because apples are one of my favorite fruit? No doubt. But I also find them very beautiful—even the small ones, which I don’t eat. I took this picture at Norcross Point, a small park in town, and these gleaming gems have the advantage of being by water. Little red apples by water. It doesn’t get much better, does it?
Second, seeing Clif by the bikes. For our daily bike rides, we drive to Norcross Point right in town, where we park our car and then ride along lovely Maranacook Lake. After I was done taking pictures of the apples, I walked back to the car, and there was Clif, in his bright blue shirt, by the bikes and our little red car. It was such a pleasure to see this colorful tableau. Once again, I was filled with gratitude that we have these bikes and are able to ride nearly every day. We don’t go on long rides, but we are gaining strength as the summer goes on. And by gum, my creaky knees are not as creaky as they used to be.
And third, after a bike ride, what is more refreshing than ice cream? Especially when it comes from Gifford’s, a local company that, as my Yankee husband puts it, makes pretty darned good ice cream. Grapenuts is an old-fashioned flavor made from that crunchy cereal once favored by the famous naturalist Euell Gibbons. (He compares the flavor to wild hickory nuts, and the ice cream does indeed have a pleasant nutty taste.) My grandmother loved Grapenuts ice cream, and back then it was only available at ice cream stands. Therefore, when we went out for ice cream, that’s what she always would get. When I eat Grapenuts ice cream, I think of my grandmother. Here’s to you, Mémère.
Notes From the Hinterland 
Three wonderful things to be grateful for Laurie :o) I have never seen such small red apples before and they look lovely, especially by the water.The grape nuts icecream is new to me too and I love how it reminds you of your grandmother :o) xxx
We call them crab apples, and they are very common in Maine. The ice cream is pretty tasty. The grapenuts give it a nice nutty flavor.
I had heard of crab apples but had never seen them before and the ice cream sounds delicious :o) xxx
I do love the look of a full crabapple tree!
I know. Those little red apples!
My mother loves grapenuts also. I will have to get her some before the summer is over. Today was the perfect day for a ride. Hope you had a nice one.
They are pretty tasty and do indeed taste nutty.
Good news about the de-creaking knees.
Oh, yes! After four months of riding (and losing weight!), they are 50 percent better. I can actually go up and down the stairs like an adult, instead of taking them one by one, the way a small child does.
Very good
Such lovely things to be grateful for! Thanks for sharing.
You are most welcome! And thanks for stopping by.
Our crabapples in the front garden have turned red – they are quite pretty.
Little red beauties!
Life is as it should be in Maine – good. 🙂
In Maine, no better month than August. And this year has been a beauty.
With all this sunshine, I imagine you have been able to get quite a bit of bike riding in. Such gorgeous days we’ve been having.
Almost every day. Yay for gorgeous weather!
Our crabapples are looking quite good too though they are not by the water which definitely makes a big difference!
The water does make a lovely background.
Three great things to be grateful for. Gratitude is a good practice in my experience. It gives me a happier perspective on life. I had Gifford’s ice cream when we were in Maine last summer. It was delicious! We didn’t have Grape Nuts flavor – a cereal I used to love, but haven’t had for a few years. I used to put out in yogurt for breakfast. Have a wonderful week!
Thanks, Robin!
We drove on Sunday to the ice cream place in a nearby village. The line was so long, we had to leave! I love grapenut ice cream too. Was a big favourite (along with rum and raisin) in the Jamaica of my childhood.
My goodness! Grapenut in Jamaica. Food can travel in mysterious ways.
Indeed!
I remember Euell Gibbons, although I had not heard of Grapenut ice cream. Sounds tasty!
It is very tasty, in its own modest way. 😉
Crab apples make great jelly (by which I mean the clear stuff you strain through a bag). As I know you call jam jelly I assume you call jelly something else. I’m not yet fully bilingual. 🙂
For us, jam has seeds and jelly doesn’t. So you could have both raspberry jam and jelly, depending on how you make it. But, you can only have apple jelly because who wants a spread with apple seeds in it? 😉
That’s roughly how it is for us – I just had the idea it was all “jelly” in USA. I’m told there was once a counterfeiting scam in UK – making raspberry seeds from wood to add to red-coloured jam –
http://bizarrevictoria.livejournal.com/44351.html
Oh, my goodness. A jam scam! Never heard of that one.
That’s what I love about history – so much to learn! 🙂
I love the three things Thursday theme and the photo of the apples by the lake! Thank you for the good reminder that I did not ride the bike enough this summer and need to make up for that in the autumn.🙂
You’re most welcome! Bike on!