Once again, it’s Ivy and I holding down the fort. We woke early. Actually, she got up after my alarm went off and I followed her out of the room. I could hear her whimpering as I quietly came down the stairs and turned toward the kitchen to start the coffee. I let her outside, where she seemed very interested in the sprinkler system and wanted to sniff around the yard. I stood and watched from the deck and looked out on the lake. I realized that visits from eagles were probably over if I had a dog in the yard but, I’d rather have Ivy. Last night, before bedtime, the kids asked if I would wake them early, so they go running with the ‘running club’ this morning and I’ll be breaking our solitude shortly. Meanwhile, Ivy lies curled up on her pad sleeping, peacefully. Continue reading Summer Reading
Category Archives: Life in General
The Arrow and the Spoon
I am home this morning; I slept in my own bed for the first time in over two weeks. It is good to be home but our visit is short-lived, we’ll be heading back to the cottage tomorrow, leaving early in the morning. It is a long journey for a day but William and I had appointments and a meeting we needed to attend so we made the trip. Today is also the thirty-fifth day of my seventy-day summer break I am half way. I can look at it half-empty or half full, I choose half full as it has been a great summer and there is more to come and accomplish. Today is gonna be a great day. Continue reading The Arrow and the Spoon
Monday morning
We’ve been up at the cottage over a week, though it seems like yesterday that William and I arrived and picked up Olivia from the airport a day later. I have done a few things but for the most part, I have been wrapped up in caring for my kids, taking care of their needs, ensuring they’re safe, separating them when they need to be apart, making sure they’re fed, and getting them to bed at a reasonable time. I have been lax about the eight in the morning bugle call, because I do savor the quiet moments in the morning sipping coffee and looking out on the lake. Continue reading Monday morning
Two days in one post
The last two days have disappeared before I knew it. Saturday we broke camp at Camp Tesomas and departed summer camp; the troop drove south and home to Wheaton; William and I took another direction, east to Grayling, Michigan and Beth’s family cottage. On Sunday, William and I drove to Traverse City to pick up Olivia who flew up from Wheaton to join us and we spent time on errands before coming home. At times, I have been too busy to think about camp and writing, but it is early morning and quiet. The kids are sleeping upstairs and everything is still and calm – the perfect time to write. WARNING: This is a long post, read at your own risk. Continue reading Two days in one post
Thursday news from camp
Yesterday seems lost when I look back but it wasn’t, it was filled with the sights, sounds, and memories of scout camp. I busied myself with visiting a couple of program areas and checking off requirements for the Geezer merit badge, I swam a half-mile in the afternoon with William, and I took only six pictures. I have no idea how that happened. However, I did get a good night’s sleep and woke up rested this morning. Continue reading Thursday news from camp
Wednesday and the Order of the Arrow
It was cold Wednesday morning, when we woke up. I lay inside my sleeping bag with just my head out and heard a few scouts and adults stirring around camp. I heard someone say, ‘It was 42 this morning.’ The forecast had called for a low in the forties, but 42 – that’s cold for the last part of June, even up here. I was the last adult up and out of his tent and the last to leave camp for the flag ceremony and breakfast. The scouts are well into the camp routine, even the newest scouts. Breakfast, and then off to classes. All of the adults attended the scoutmaster meeting with the daily briefing and then we hiked back to camp taking a shortcut that wasn’t. It was okay, though, we can use it as a Geezer requirement! Continue reading Wednesday and the Order of the Arrow
There and back
It is early Sunday morning and it is still dark out. It is quiet and I am sad, Ivy is not at my feet or curled up on her pad in the kitchen or whimpering because she wants to play and I want to work. She is in Ohio at the kennel where Olivia and momma are staying with grandma and grandpa – I know she is wondering if we left her, again. It has been busy and I have a fuller appreciation of the workings of the house, kids, and a dog. Granted, the week has been complicated by VBS and several doctor appointments, but nonetheless, keeping all of the plates spinning requires quite an effort and even more concentration. Continue reading There and back
Weather
Weather fascinates me. Really, the changes in the weather are amazing, especially in our area – the Midwest. Growing up in Texas, we had two kinds of weather hot and humid or cool. Texans would claim that my cool is cold, and I would have, too until I moved here. Here summer weather can be hot and at times, but for the most part, it is mild. Right now, it is 59 and cloudy with partial clearing forecast for later in the morning and into the afternoon. The forecast high is 70 and it will drop down to 57 overnight. After twenty years of Midwestern summers, I have gotten used to the weather and I enjoy sleeping with the windows open when I can, having to throw on a sweatshirt when I need to, and wearing shorts most of the time because it’s summer. Continue reading Weather
Influences
“Would you go back and change anything? I mean, would you still become a teacher?”
That was the question, which started the whole discussion. It was from a girl in class, who could ask a provocative question without realizing it and it was in response to why I became a teacher. Sometimes kids ask questions and want a simple answer, a yes or no, a fact, the short answer to the question. And, well there are no simple answers. My classroom rule about questions is – if you ask a question you should expect an answer. Sometimes the answer is a story or an explanation. Continue reading Influences
Two weeks
It has been two weeks – yes, it has. The days have flown by and I can report I have done quite a bit, but there is more to do. Yesterday was a hectic day and ended with crazy weather. Summer is officially here the solstice happened at 12:16 PM on June 21st! Today is the fifteenth day of summer vacation and the quest to make them count continues! Continue reading Two weeks