Monthly Archives: July 2012

Summer Olympics

the Olympic preview – available on E-bay..

July 1976, it was the summer before high school. It was hot, as only southeastern Texas could get. It was the summer of a lot of things for me; growing up, figuring out who I was, figuring out what was ‘cool’ and what was not, who was cool and who my friends were, and getting ready for high school. It was also time for the Summer Olympics.

The Summer Olympics come around every four years, which is fortunate because if they came every summer, they might not mean the same thing, they might not be as special; because, the Olympic Games are something special. I have no memories of the Olympics before 1976. Continue reading Summer Olympics

Saturday morning at the lake, again

Ivy waits patiently, for the car ride home….

We came back to the lake last night, and we are all here. It’s just us – B (aka momma), W, O, and I and of course Ivy. We left the lake Wednesday afternoon to pick up momma on Ohio and come back Thursday, but Thursday turned into late Thursday, and then Friday morning, and finally Friday afternoon.

Grandpa is doing better, getting stronger, and slowly getting back to normal. We visited with them both as well as the Dairy Bar. Grandma is doing well and momma helped as much as she could. It was time for her to get back to us. Continue reading Saturday morning at the lake, again

Is it Wednesday?

It seems that the weather this summer has been on again, off again. It’s been warm and sunny, but each day it seems the wind is up one day and gone the next.  Almost, every other day the lake is calm and then, the next, churned and frothy. Yesterday was one of the calm days.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”

I let the kids sleep late in the morning; Continue reading Is it Wednesday?

Weeding, fishing, and a mean sunburn!

Ivy’s nest in the corner by the front window

It’s mornings like this one when I truly appreciate the cottage. It is quiet and the lake is calm, much calmer than yesterday when the wind whipped the lake into whitecaps, the trees rustled in the wind, and the sun beat down through the clear blue sky.

Grandma and grandpa left almost a week ago and I miss grandma and our early morning coffee together in the front room looking out upon the lake. Ivy’s curled up on her pad almost as if it is her nest, sleeping. I got up much earlier and it was cool, crisp, and clear I decided to sit out on the deck and invited Ivy to join me, she decided to stay inside and curled up and went back to sleep. Continue reading Weeding, fishing, and a mean sunburn!

Sunday morning by the lake

my survivor bracelet – courtesy W

I have been in a writing funk for almost a week, now. I started to write Thursday and stopped. I started, again Friday, and again Saturday and stopped both times. Honestly, the summer has been a whirlwind and lately, I have been having a hard time keeping up.

After a week in the hospital grandpa came home and my in-laws returned to Ohio late Wednesday; and grandpa is recovering, slowly. Beth returned with them and is helping where she can. The kids and I stayed back at the cottage and I feel, sort of guilty enjoying summer at the cottage. Though, I’m not really enjoying summer as much as I would or could. Continue reading Sunday morning by the lake

Monday, lake time

Grandma and I are enjoying the lake, sipping coffee, talking baseball, and sharing memories of our time up here. I am writing, but my mind is somewhere else; our thoughts are with grandpa and we’ll hop on over to visit him this morning.

O and I drove back to the lake Saturday afternoon. She won her game and she was elated, but she was even more excited about getting back to the lake. I can’t blame her. Except for a bit of rain as we drove out of town, the drive was dry and clear. I could see thunderheads off to the east, or west, or north, but we missed them all.

thunderheads loom ahead in the distance, the road disappears behind us, and we get closer to the cottage every minute

As soon as we pulled into the driveway and unloaded, W and O were in the lake and having a great time. Ivy was content to sit in the yard and watch as they played in the water. O took the kayak out and the hooked it to a buoy and played together in the water. They swam and played until they tired of the water and came in, dripping. Continue reading Monday, lake time

Friday

four-fifths of the Troop 35’s mile swimmers – 6/29/12

I have been up for almost two and a half hours and I have yet to start writing. Yikes, where did the time go? I spent some of it reading a couple of blog posts, some of it wandering the yard and watering the plants, and I just finished working to resolve an technical issue I have (and have had) with the teacher association website I run. I have ignored the issue for a while, telling myself, I will get to it in the summer. Well, it’s summer and I am on to it. It’s probably some setting or something simple, but I haven’t been able to figure it out; I e-mailed tech support and I replied this morning. Maybe, hopefully, it’ll be resolved and then I can move on to other things I have been ignoring for a while. Continue reading Friday

Halftime, my second half

Today is the fortieth day of my summer vacation. Unlike Phineas and Ferb – who live world of a hundred and four days of summer vacation, mine ebbs and flows depending on the school district’s calendar. This year summer break is eighty days long, last year summer break was seventy days and the year I began Making the Days Count dot org, it was eighty-two days. Today, I am in the first half of summer vacation and when tomorrow comes, it will be the first day of the second half and the countdown to the first day of school will be on.

I am home for a few more days, O’s team won their game last night in an 18-9 win, the girls played well Continue reading Halftime, my second half

Tuesday and almost halfway

Sunday’s weather graphic, courtesy of the Chicago Tribune – 7/8/12

O and I drove home last night. Let me clarify; I drove, she slept. We left the cottage late, really late, so late momma was concerned and wanted me to leave in the morning, but I wanted to get here and have a full day to get things done, so I left late. I actually enjoyed the drive – there was no one else on the road except for a few truckers and they seemed to converge on Chicago at the same time I was – past midnight. Except for a bit of whining, barking, and yipping early in the trip – the first 30 or so miles – Ivy settled and slept most of the way.

They both perked up when I pulled off the toll way exit and the car’s rhythm changed. I think Ivy could smell we were home and she sat up and looked out the window as if she knew where we were. O recognized the Arboretum and perked up, too. When we pulled into the neighborhood, I could hear Ivy whimper and purr. As soon as we stopped, she was out of the car surveying and making certain her domain was as she left it. I unloaded what we needed and went to bed; I was asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow, maybe before. Continue reading Tuesday and almost halfway