Ivy greeted me very enthusiastically this morning. It had been a while since we had seen each other and she wanted me to know she had missed me, at least that’s the spin I am going to take. It was just after five with the moon sliding over the horizon and the sun was beginning to creep up, just enough light to cast a faint light in the yard. It is the time in summer when the days are getting shorter and evening’s dark before nine. It can only mean one thing, school’s back. Continue reading First Day
Tag Archives: Family
Where have I been?
It has been crazy busy the past two weeks. Seriously busy and all of it self-imposed. I have been in South Texas since Tuesday morning and it has been hot. I grew up here so I should have know what I was in for when I scheduled the trip, but I haven’t lived here for over twenty years and you forget how hot it really gets until you visit. It is so hot it literally melts you or at least it melts me. Continue reading Where have I been?
A week of Sundays
It seems like a long time my last post and it has – six days. Summer is almost over and I was thinking of what needed done today, what really had to be done, finished and I got sad. I was bummed because summer is nine days away and I have several incomplete projects, some of which are more urgent than others. Then, I realized I had accomplished quite a bit and I felt better, for a moment. I really have lived true to my core beliefs this summer, to make the days count. I haven’t had the day count as prominent as last year, but I have been keeping track. Continue reading A week of Sundays
First Day New Month
August the first sounds bad, it really does. It sounds like the end of summer vacation and the return to serious things like school, work, and responsibility. I read the quote in my Franklin Planner this morning and it read,
“There shall be Eternal summer in the grateful heart.” Celia Thaxter.
I had never heard of her so, I let my fingers do the walking and discovered she was an American poet and author in the nineteenth century. Her father was a lighthouse keeper and ran an inn and she lived her entire life in New England. In addition, she is known for running her father’s summer inn, which attracted America’s literary elite in the late 1800s, and hence she lived a summer-like existence, year-round. I suppose summer does live on in our hearts and minds. It is the motivation when the mornings are dreary, the workload enormous, or the chores unpleasant. Whatever is coming in a few weeks when school resumes will not be as much fun as summer has been. Continue reading First Day New Month
Canoe Race Weekend
It is late morning, not a particularly good time to start a post, but this will be brief at least that’s the plan. Sometimes plans change as they did earlier this week and I drove back to the cottage Thursday afternoon instead of early morning arriving just as the kids were coming in from skiing. Continue reading Canoe Race Weekend
Reality is overrated!
It is getting down to the nitty gritty. I have had 48 days for fun (rest, relaxation, rejuvenation) and I know have 22 days to wrap up all of the things that I wanted to do, needed to do, and absolutely had to do before another school year begins, again. Somehow, I think I have failed, again but in hindsight, I have made progress.
I woke Sunday morning without the benefit of an alarm I just got up and started the day. Evidently, I had set my alarm for 6:00 PM, not AM, and the alarm did not go off for obvious reasons. This is really the best part of the day, I know I sound selfish and I am. I think we all are, to a certain extent. I started to write Sunday morning and did not finish. Continue reading Reality is overrated!
Friday and the past week
It is early Saturday morning. The sun has yet to peak over the horizon and all is quiet. Even Ivy has decided it is better to stay in bed and has returned to her place on the floor in our bedroom. It has been a great week – for all of us.
Beth finished planting the mailbox on Monday and it has been a reminder of how beautiful her gardens are at home. It certainly makes a statement at the front of the driveway. After Julie’s letter on Saturday, we received a few more items including a postcard from mom! I’ve been writing and sending postcards all summer and this is the first to arrive, here. It is great to get mail and hear how other folks are spending their summer. Continue reading Friday and the past week
Reading and more reading
Saturday always feels like a Saturday at the cottage. It doesn’t matter that we aren’t following a schedule it still feels like a Saturday. It is time for a few chores and mostly time for recreation. It is also a busy time on the lake. There are more boats and jet skis zipping on the lake, more water skiers, and more noise. You run into more people on the lane, up for the weekend arriving Friday night and leaving, or planning to, on Sunday afternoon. Continue reading Reading and more reading
Running
Yesterday morning, I roused the kids for a run. A group of kids had organized a ‘cottage running club’ and they wanted to go along. Up here, at the cottage, they probably don’t need it with all of the activity packed into their day; swimming, skiing, boating, and just being outside playing. They are far more active here than at home. Nevertheless, I got them up and thirty or so minutes after they left, they tracked back in from their run. They had plenty of time and physical activity ahead in their day. Continue reading Running
Summer Reading
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