Tag Archives: children

Day 49 and 50: Two days on the lake

adventure, Family, Life in General, teaching, , ,
The three anglers work the lake Saturday morning near Big Bear Point

It is Sunday morning at the cottage and the past two days have gone quickly. It is overcast and rain is in the forecast. The past two days have been warm, sunny, and breezy. Today the lake is calm almost lake glass with gentle ripples. Our guests departed this morning and everyone except for Olivia woke to wave goodbye. Sunday is the laziest day of the week and everyone, including Ivy, is taking their time getting around. The television is on and I am watching CBS Sunday Morning, then the Tour de France. One of the best parts of the month of July is each year I get a bicycle tour of France courtesy of the race.

With our guests here, we have been busy with boating, fishing, swimming, and enjoying the cottage. It has been a great time well spent: certainly, the days have counted. However, I have fallen behind on writing and other chores. Sunday will be a catch up day with all sorts of tasks and looking ahead to the coming next two weeks. Continue reading Day 49 and 50: Two days on the lake →

Day 48: Rain, rain, go away…

adventure, Family, history, Life in General, teaching, , , ,
The moon and the sun set on another wonderful day at the cottage.

 Thursday began with overcast and light rain. It remained that way until midday. However, we found a way to have a great day, anyway. Sometimes your weather is internal. 

Mark’s family, mom, dad, and older sister, had arrived the day before and had played on the water yesterday evening and everyone slept late, including me. We woke hoping to get out on the water in the morning, but we had to wait. It would rain, then, stop. After breakfast, mark’s dad suggested we visit the Michigan CCC museum in Roscommon. The CCC is the Civilian Conservation Corps and was in operation during the Great Depression from 1933-1942. The museum told the story of the CCC in Michigan. The corps’ responsibilities were to reforest Michigan and fight forest fires, which plagued the regions vast forests. The CCC was a program initiated by FDR to combat the rampant unemployment of the Great Depression. The museum buildings were restored from CCC camps in Michigan and had detailed explanations of the jobs performed in the buildings and explained the overall purpose of the CCC. The museum was well done and I walked away with an understanding of the period. It must have been bleak. I wish I could spend more time walking and reading, but it is difficult with children who want to be out on the lake. William, Olivia, and the rest of us returned to the cottage for lunch. Continue reading Day 48: Rain, rain, go away… →

Day 47: On the Road, again.

adventure, Family, Life in General, teaching, , , , , ,

Tuesday night and Wednesday morning blended in to one, and I did not get much sleep. I woke and slowly started moving, made coffee, and woke William. We loaded the car and checked our list, twice. What we did not check was whether we had everything we needed. We turned around twice to get Beth’s clothes and letters, which needed mailing. Fortunately, it only delayed us twenty, or so, minutes.

Six hours is a long time and it gives me plenty of time to think, listen, and talk with William. For William it was time to watch a DVD, sleep, or talk to me. Yet, this time he was reading. I had purchased Knucklehead by Jon Scieszka and he cannot put it down. It is all exciting to see. I just hope I can find another book that has the same appeal and same reaction – he reads! I recommend it! Continue reading Day 47: On the Road, again. →

Day 46: Meetings

Family, Life in General, Scouting, teaching, Teaching and Learning, , , , ,

Tuesday morning I was at home waking up in my own bed and making coffee in my kitchen – for the first time in two weeks. It felt awkward because Ivy was not with me, but it was early, still, and quiet. After we unloaded the car Monday night, I told William to sleep until he woke up and he came downstairs at eight complaining he was tired. I told him to go back to bed, so he did. He was up within the hour working on his chores – cleaning the tent and putting away our camping gear.

We came home for one day and two nights for one reason or rather two meetings. I had a meeting with the grade level language arts teachers at my school and William had a scout meeting to attend. My meeting was important because I am new to teaching a full load of language arts and William’s was important because there are only a few meetings each summer and he is working on developing his leadership skills. It looked to be a busy day with meetings, errands, and hopefully, a chiropractor visit. Continue reading Day 46: Meetings →

Day 45: Traverse City and the Great Circle is complete

adventure, Family, Life in General, model railroads, teaching, travel, , , ,
My trip around Lake Michigan June/July 2010

 Monday looked to be a busy day. On Saturday, after breakfast, we had stopped in The Bicycle Shop to look at bikes and the two bikes William was looking at – were gone. The staff said it could be at least a couple of weeks before they expected to receive more bikes from Trek. Therefore, Sunday afternoon Beth looked at bikes online and found a dealer that had two bikes in stock – one for William and the other for Olivia. However, the store was in Traverse City and it was over an hour away, so we made plans to drive over Monday morning. In addition, William and I were diving home to Wheaton Monday afternoon so I could attend a planning meeting at school and William could attend the Tuesday scout meeting. We would be coming home after sixteen days away and we would complete our trip around Lake Michigan. I would be in the car quite a bit on Monday. Continue reading Day 45: Traverse City and the Great Circle is complete →

Day 44: One fish, two fish, Olivia catches, blue gill

adventure, Family, Life in General, teaching, , ,

Sunday at the cottage is usually a lazy day. Even for a place where days are nameless and time is measured by meals, Sunday is always the day when we all sleep later and the pace is usually slower. July is warm, sunny, and the days are longer at the cottage with the sun setting near nine and darkness coming closer to ten. The month of July usually brings the best sporting events and this year is no different. July is the month of countless auto races, the Tour de France, and this year, and every four years, the World Cup. The month of July ends with a local sporting event – the Ausable River Canoe Marathon. The canoe marathon takes place on the Ausable River starting in Grayling and finishing at Oscoda where the Ausable drains into Lake Huron – 120 miles away. Continue reading Day 44: One fish, two fish, Olivia catches, blue gill →

Day 43: Saturday at the cottage

Family, Life in General, , , ,
A summer thunderstorm crosses the lake and heads for the cottage

I was up before anyone and Ivy and I had quiet time by together. We walked, I had my coffee, and we communicated silently. It was a good walk with her as she misses very little; small birds moving, animal scents, and whatever else dogs notice. It is hard to believe where she was a month ago. I had to wake Beth so she could attend the Lake Margrethe Property Owners Association’s annual meeting at nine, Olivia was next up, and finally William around ten-thirty. The kids have been up late and they need to sleep. The cottage is a great place to sleep and rest. I promised the kids we would have breakfast in town and needed to finish yesterday’s post to upload at the coffeehouse in town. Continue reading Day 43: Saturday at the cottage →

Day 40: The lost art of letter writing

Family, Life in General, , , , , ,
Scott Stantis cartoon from the Chicago Tribune, March 13, 2010

When the mail comes at home, Olivia always wants to know if is she has received any mail. She sees Tom, the postman, pull up and hurriedly run to the box to pull out the day’s mail and search through it. Most of the time she is disappointed, but she never gives up. Growing up I remember the joy of receiving a letter or a postcard of someone I knew was travelling. Recently when I was in France, I sent postcards to many people: Olivia, William, Beth, my mom, my in-laws, and every one of my Language Arts students from 2009-10. I included everyone, except me. Continue reading Day 40: The lost art of letter writing →

Day 39: Cleaning and Fun

Family, jobs, Life in General, , , ,
William manuevers Ely boat into the lake

Tuesday went quickly, very quickly. Before I knew it, it was afternoon and I felt as if I had not accomplished much. Though in reflection, it was busy and it counted for many reasons and people – including me.

The cottage has two boats: a pontoon boat and a small wooden boat lovingly called ‘Ely Boat.’ Ely Boat was at the cottage when Beth as growing up and has been around for William and Olivia. Ely Boat is striking; built in the 1940s it is painted blue and white with red upholstery. However, the best feature is its power plant – a 3 HP lawnmower motor. It is not fast but is perfect (and legal) for a twelve year-old on Lake Margrethe. He uses it to go fishing; and ride it up and down the lakeshore. I have even ridden it across the lake and back. The first order of the day was to get Ely Boat into the water and out of the garage. Mr. Weaver was anxious to help and I wanted to ease his stress – his perspective was it was July and we did not Ely Boat in the water. We had not been here but a week and I had only been here two full days and we had accomplished other priorities. William hooked up the trailer and Beth, William, and I loaded into the car and drove to the boat ramp at the bottom of the street. We had her in the water and William had her on the boatlift by the time we returned to the cottage. All was good at the cottage – the pontoon and Ely Boat presided over the lakeshore.

Continue reading Day 39: Cleaning and Fun →

Day 38: Livy ski skims for the first time

adventure, Family, Life in General, pets, , , , ,
Olivia poses on the boat.

I slept until ten and awoke in a panic. I went down the stairs to find Ivy waiting patiently for me. I took her outside and noticed Mr. Weaver’s truck was gone; and I had seen Beth and Olivia were up and out of their room when I got up. I assumed they had gone to town and let William and me sleep. I was worried Ivy had had no one let her out all morning long. Ivy did not seem stressed and after she finished, we went back inside, Olivia and Mrs. Weaver appeared, and reported Grandpa and Beth had gone to town grocery shopping. I got coffee and began to wake up. Ivy settled in on the floor and chewed on her bone. I was about to serve breakfast when Grandpa and Beth came home and we all enjoyed a ham and egg scramble. It filled everyone up.

The forecast for Monday was rain and I need to catch up on home stuff – bills and balancing the checkbook, but not in that order. Grandpa was working on his egg cards so we sat at the table and worked together. William and Olivia were in and out and Beth baked in the kitchen – rhubarb bread. I finally finished the balancing and needed to go to town to get a fast internet connection at the library. We can use the dial up service at the cottage but it is slow and long distance charges apply. I had updated the blog at the cottage; it took much longer for uploads and I needed a quicker connection. Continue reading Day 38: Livy ski skims for the first time →