Tag Archives: eating

Day 51:Rain, rain, and more rain….

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Deer abound in the Grayling area.

We began today with overcast skies and it slowly started to drizzle and then light rain. It stopped and then started again. The pattern repeated itself many times until midday when the big rains came. By the end of the day, we had over an inch of rain on the ground and excited Ivy who did not get our much today. If she was anything like us, she relished in the light day. It was nice and I did get a few things done.

Our friends, the Harrison’s, returned to Wheaton this morning leaving us to entertain ourselves. We all got up to wish them goodbye and then the rainy morning took over. It left us all sort of lethargic and sleepy. William went back to sleep and took a long nap. Beth crawled back in bed and read a book. Olivia and I had fun in the front room: she watched the CBS Sunday Morning and the Tour de France with me trying to change the channel when I was not paying attention in bed and I wrote and paid minimal attention to the television. Both are classic Sunday morning television shows for July at the cottage. Unfortunately, the CBS Sunday Morning episode was a repeat and I remember watching part of it last fall. The Tour was not a repeat and Lance Armstrong is not leading this year. Continue reading Day 51:Rain, rain, and more rain…. →

Day 41: Halfway day – is the glass half full or half empty?

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I remembered the big idea or thought for the day from our last full day at Camp Tesomas. It fits for Thursday: I have had forty-one days of summer vacation and I have forty-one days remaining.  When I look at my accomplishments and reflect, I have done well. My blog is up and running, I have been to Paris and have closure to my father’s passing, summer camp with William was fun, and I am now at the cottage. I still have a few goals to attain before summer closes and that should be my focus for the remaining days.

One of the biggest struggles I have with summer is the lack of structure. The blog gives me a purpose, a focus, and a deadline. I need to write each day. I am not sure who is reading but it does not matter. It is making a difference for me and it is helping me to focus on making the days count. Continue reading Day 41: Halfway day – is the glass half full or half empty? →

Day 40: The lost art of letter writing

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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 37: Independence Day

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Ivy plays catch with me

Independence Day, July the Fourth means is an important day for Americans. Since moving to the Midwest in ’91 Beth and I have spent many Fourth of July’s at the cottage on Lake Margrethe.  I have missed only a few.

The Fourth in Grayling is much like anywhere else in America. They have a parade at eleven and fireworks when it gets dark, usually around ten. This year the parade and fireworks were on July 3, a Saturday, probably because the Fourth fell on a Sunday. I do not know why and it is not important. I do know that Grayling was not alone as William and I travelled from camp to Michigan we saw at least two parades and detoured around them.

Sunday, the fourth was like any other day at the cottage, quiet and peaceful with coffee to share with Grandma Weaver as we looked out across the lake. There is no view better. I have seen that view many times summer, fall, winter, and spring. Each is different. Sometimes it is foggy and the hills are barely visible, sometimes it is clear and that water is like glass, regardless of the time, there is no view that is the same. Sometimes the coffee is strong but the conversation is always good no matter how strong or weak the coffee. Morning is a special time at the cottage sometimes William will come down the stairs and sit with Grandma, though he is getting too big to share the chair with her. Continue reading Day 37: Independence Day →

Day 32: Dinner at camp

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Tall tales abound in the north woods of Wisconsin and camp lore.

Scouts and adults alike were greeted to a new day by the crisp clear air of a late June morning in the north woods of Wisconsin. Our day started and as usual, brushing our teeth and getting prepared for breakfast and the rest of the day. I ran into one of our adult leaders who told me he had lost his sunglasses Monday and realized he had probably left them at shooting sports – all the way across camp. He explained that when he woke up, he ran over to the area to find them. He was looking for them when he spotted a deer, a five pointer, wearing them. He told me, he asked the deer for his glasses back. The deer replied, no, they were his. So, the adult leader shot the deer and got his glasses back. He had me going there for a minute. After all, this is the land of tall tales and Paul Bunyan-like stories and the camp has a weather vane in front of the dining hall to prove it. We are all having fun at Tesomas. It truly is a great place.

I knew Monday was going to be a great day and the possibility that Tuesday would be a million and six times better as Bowling for Soup said in the chorus of their song, “Today is Gonna be a Great Day”:

This could possibility be the best day ever!
(This could possibility be the best day ever,)
And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be a million and six times better.
So make every minute count, jump up, jump in, and seize the day,
And let’s make sure that in every single possible way,
Today is gonna be a great day!

We are making every minute count. As it turned out, Tuesday was even better than Monday! Continue reading Day 32: Dinner at camp →

Day 31: Our first full day at Tesomas

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Tesomas Scout Camp near Rhinelander, Wisconsin

When I camp, I usually wake when the sun rises. However, Monday morning came earlier than I expected and it was William who woke me. The sunrise Monday morning was at 5:11 AM and set at 8:51 PM – giving us an incredible set 15 hours and 40 minutes of day to make count.  William is an early riser and has always been.  The troop had gone to bed late Sunday night and we had a slow start.

Continue reading Day 31: Our first full day at Tesomas →

Day 17: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and the Seine

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Me in 1966 on the Champs de Mars

The ringing was my phone alarm and it woke me up. The windows were open, it was light outside, and I could hear the sounds of Paris coming alive. The trip across the Atlantic and the day before had taken a toll on me and, I was sertain, the others in our group. I had slept well during the night and I was ready for the new day. I cleaned up and got dressed.

Monday, June 14th would be our first full day in Paris. I wanted to make it count, really remember it. I remembered the song that got all of this started and re-read and listened….

This could possibility be the best day ever!
(This could possibility be the best day ever,)
And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be a million and six times better.
So make every minute count, jump up, jump in, and seize the day,
And let’s make sure that in every single possible way,
Today is gonna be a great day!

How can a day in Paris not be a great day?

We met for breakfast and discussed what we wanted to do. We agreed on the Eiffel Tower and decided to meet in the lobby at 10:30 to get going. We got a late start because of me – I held the group back – because I was late finishing what I was working on – the day 15 and 16 post. Continue reading Day 17: Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, and the Seine →

Days 10 and 11: the first official day of summer

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Olivia and Ivy wait for the bus on the last day of school, June 7, 2010

Monday, June 7: The first official day of summer began when Olivia stepped off the bus! There are many definitions of summer – meteorological, astronomical or celestial, and educational. Of course, for those not still in school or working in education there are the first two. Meteorological is June 1 to August 31. Astronomical is from the solstice to the equinox. The solstice this year will be on Monday, June 21 at 6:28 AM. It marks the longest day in terms of sunlight in the northern hemisphere. I will be home from Paris by then. Experts measure Educational Summer from the last day of school until the first day of the next school year. Phineas and Ferb had it wrong there are not 104, but 82 for me and 77 for my kids. Monday was the last day of school for William and Olivia. It was also traditional the neighborhood party for all kids it is organized by the moms in the neighborhood. I do not attend; instead, I worked on cleaning my office downstairs, organized my planner, worked on writing the blog, looked ahead to the Paris trip, and worked on a few odds and ends. Continue reading Days 10 and 11: the first official day of summer →

Days 4-9: Learning, a garage sale, and household chores

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Today is day 10 of summer vacation – where have they gone? Seventy-two left, will I spend them well?

Well, I have been busy with household chores and other activities the past few days. The days have counted but not in the way of the first three days. I spent Day 4 wrestling with WordPress and finishing the Indy 500 page. I got started on Memorial Day and it I continued to work on and off and on for several days until I finished it and posted it yesterday. I suppose there is irony in the day of the post – June 6 – the sixty-sixth anniversary of the landings at Normandy in 1944. June 6, 2009 is also the day that I travelled to Oxford, Mississippi to see my dad who had taken a fall and was gravely ill lying in a hospital far away from his family. I will have more about my dad and the summer of 2009 in a future post.  Continue reading Days 4-9: Learning, a garage sale, and household chores →