May 2015

May has been a jumbled mess of hot and cold, heat on a night and the air conditioning on during the day.  I wish Mother Nature would just make up her mind and pick one.  But we can mostly say good riddance to the snow.  At least for now.

Samson's ear is all but healed. We are grateful that it hasn't refilled with fluid, so steady and holding.  That's really good news.

And in really, really good news, our place is open for business.



we went a little crazy with the cleaning.  Now that we have a garage, the guest room doesn't have to serve as the make-shift shed.



ta da!


Samson wasted no time jumping the water.  This is why we come.




it's just gorgeous here.






Happy Memorial Day weekend.

post-olympics and post-cone

The cone is gone; the Olympics are over.   We spent the last weekend with the stitches in the Handsome One's ear.



And on Tuesday, we went to see Rick and Jen and Cindy.  Along with a host full of shots, out came the stitches. He didn't even flinch.



He was back to his regular self, destroying tennis balls and expecting treats.



We had a glorious beef and broccoli stir fry.  +Paul Kratochwill is going crazy with the wok and there are no complaints on this end.



It was so delicious.

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This winter has been brutal - even for those of us who love winter.   Add the cone to the mix and it's been beyond rough.  While I don't anticipate an early spring, pictures of the sun and moon and sand and water and neighbors East of the Equator keep me going when it's the darkest.  This is Bella, gazing at her mom, Margaret.



Soon.

Next week, we are expecting more record cold.  Resisting the urge to hop in the car and drive south.  One day closer to spring.

north

It's never a bad thing to drive north.  So we did it again on Thursday to spend a long weekend at the cottage.  I had a reading day on Friday which really turns into some reading, some writing, some more reading, and a few phone calls.

That's okay.   The pounding surf is a magnificent backdrop for any of the above.

The sunrise was exquisite.





And in other news, the eagle paid us a quick visit with a flyby heading north and our friend, the Olive L. Moore, motored south.  

It was a busy afternoon.

While I miss the lazy, hazy, hot, and sunny days of summer, there is a warm and snuggly feel to fall and winter at the cottage. We keep the fireplace on;  we are usually wrapped up in blankets on the coach;  we wear long sleeves and socks in the house.  It's wonderful.

It does take a little longer to take happy snaps - coat, shoes, and mittens.   But that's okay.

We are here, at least for the moment.

Tonight on the menu are pork chops and a delightful pinot from our friends at Brew Krew!  Cheers to the weekend, wherever you are.

a quiet end

to summer.  It has been a pretty cool summer, cool like in temperature.  We had a number of chores to do, so we took a day off to head up and work.

we stacked wood.
we cleaned the deck.
we took a nap.

and, I took a deep breath and went for a swim.  I won't lie - it's wasn't warm ... but it was moderate.  I swam for about 30 minutes before heading up.

we head into fall.  the leaves up north are already starting to change, color-kissed by the grand Painter.  stunning.  beautiful.  glorious.

after all the work today, we are kicking back with pork chops in the oven and a nice chardonnay in our glass.



these days, and weeks, and months fly by.  I've lost my stop-time button ... and I think about how quickly this summer passed and I get a little anxious.  my chest tightens.  I need time to slow down.  For Handsome Boy to quit greying around his muzzle and keep his quick step.  for the lazy-hazy daze of summer to stretch indefinitely.  



tomorrow is fall.  welcome falling temps, falling leaves, and eventually falling snow.  good bye summer.  come back soon.

May in Michigan

It's beautiful here.  I feel like a broken record but if you haven't been to the east side of the state of Michigan, you haven't seen sunrises like this:


The weather here?  You just never know what you are going to get.  Three years ago at this time, it was almost warm enough to swim in Lake Huron; over Memorial Day weekend of that year we were swimming.  Last year, it hit 80 in March and we were in the water in June.

This year?  well, who knows.  It's snowing in mid-Michigan as I write this and I strongly suspect that we won't be swimming in two weeks.  Or even three.Who cares.  It's gorgeous here and it never stops Mr. Handsome.



We had a good walk on the beach and he couldn't stay out of the water.  Despite to cold south wind and very cool temps.

And we spent the day reading.  I had plenty and finished two.


And tonight, we have rain pouring down from the heavens, a fire in the fireplace, and baseball on TV.  Life is good here, just East of the Equator.

Sign, sign, everywhere ...

You know the song.  We have a new sign at the cottage.  But first, a little background.  Earlier this summer, we were shopping in Tawas, and in a pretty neat store, saw painted blocks representing each letter of the alphabet.  I said to the spouse, hey that would look cool in the cottage.  We looked into the blocks and they were $50/each.  That was way too expensive for a block.  So we pondered further and decided the Michele Yonkers at Grand Rapids Lighting could easily make us a sign that would 1) look better and 2) be much less; and even if it wasn't less,  the money would stay local and not be exported to China.

So we called her.  And she did.  Of course, it's amazing.  She does amazing work.

We cleared off the mantle.

From New Sign

Paul did some measuring.

From New Sign

From New Sign

And drilling.

From New Sign

To get it just perfect.

From New Sign

Ta da!  It looks great.

From New Sign

From New Sign

I am hoping you know what those letters are ... and if you don't, check out the Navy signal flags.  We are back up there soon.  w00t!

The rest of the story

The cottage is looking fabulous.  I didn't have much time to write when we came home - I had a full day of work, then a million errands, a grad party and a laundry before my surgery on Wednesday.  I got most of it done and was ready for Wednesday.  More on that in a bit.  

The furniture in the cottage is perfect.  We have a great crash sofa, courtesy of Deb, great chairs, perfect tables and some much needed storage.  We will need more storage in time but for now, it's sufficient.  And yes, we know that we need to get the window frames stained.   

The brown chair with the ottoman is affectionately called the Poofy Chair. Primarily because it is a big, poofy chair.   Ms Allie used to sit in the chair when we were in Chicago, drying off from her romps in Lake Michigan.  She would be all 'poofy' when she air-dried, so she and the chair were 'poofy.'  The name stuck.  It is my favorite chair.  I can see the water from that chair, the freighters, the boats and the jet skis.  

We met the neighbors on all sides.  The neighbors to our south are awesome.  He is a retired biology faculty from UofM; she is a librarian.  The first thing they did was bring us wine (BONUS) and then promptly walked Paul around to show him all the poison ivy on our lot.  You know, we were excited about the big lot; that excitement has been chilled slightly with the poison ivy BUSHES that are sprouting all over the rear of the lot. Sigh.  We bought some stock in Round Up.   With the amount that we will use, I would encourage you to buy some too.  

The neighbors a few houses to the north are odd.  I will leave it at that for now but am pretty sure that they will be content material this summer.  Stay tuned. 

I promise pictures of Samson in the water next time.  We were having so much fun playing and swimming together that I didn't even pick up my camera until Saturday.  He barks at the waves.  He digs in the sand.  He chases his floating frisbee.  He swims and collapses on the beach.  I don't know if I have ever seen him so content.  

Most importantly, I have taken the bold step of joining the Ladies Auxiliary of the VFW.  Yup, I am going to become a card carrying life member, so I can hang out with my girls - Jeanette, Lucy, Brenda - and enjoy Killian's Red in a cold mug for $1.  No more needing an escort from Paul.  I will be able to head in on my own.  And take friends with me.  It's a private club, a great cause, fabulous beer, pull tabs and now that it's non-smoking, it is the best. You have to come see it for yourself.  Really.  

And today has been the first day that I have felt well enough to get up and around - drive, read, take and edit pictures.  My eye surgery on Wednesday went well but I underestimated how lousy I would feel.  Mostly I hadn't planned on the drops that the doctor used during the surgery would cause such a headache.  It was a monster and thankfully it's finally gone today.  And my vision, one day post surgery was 20/20.  What a gift.  Thank you Dr Habekovic.  

Since I can't swim for a week, and probably if smart shouldn't hang out around a lot of sand, stuck around GR for the weekend.   We will head back up there soon - we have some wood to stain, some poison ivy to alleviate and some great friends to see.  

Weekend in review

Life is crazy right now.  It involves all kinds of chaos including travel. The dates keep moving so we can't really figure out what we are doing until some plans solidify. Thanks goodness there are some concrete events and that help keeps us sane, at least for the moment.

Friday night, we had quite an adventure.  When I arrived home, we had lost heat. After much work on Paul's part, along with a visit from our good friend Kevin, it was determined that our igniter had failed and we needed a new one.  Kevin promised to come by on Saturday AM with one so we hunkered down with a roaring fire and a few space heaters.  Good thing.  When we got up on Saturday, the temperature in our backroom was 44 degrees.  And it was cold!!  By 11 am, it was all good.  And warm.

Saturday, we started the arduous but joyful task of furnishing the cottage.  We need to first replace the windows and flooring; once those are updated, we can start putting things on the floor and the walls.  We have a couple of items being framed, picked up some necessities from Bed, Bath and Beyond and have one of our signs being made.  I will write more about signs as they are completed.  Suffice it to say signs are a big deal in Oscoda and we need one for the street and a few in the house.   There is a UHaul in our future but I think that's when it is quite a bit warmer.

Saturday night, we had friends over for dinner.  Paul made beef tenderloin with mustard (and shallots) and it was a wonderful night.  

From 2010-02-07

Sunday was a quiet day with reading and a good book.  I took a few pictures of Samson as he gazed out on his backyard.   It's a busy week.

Wednesday Wisdom

Hooray for down time. This time off in between Christmas and New Year's reminds me of how valuable, how delightful and how energizing a good vacation can be. We have had the perfect mix of fun - Meijer Gardens, family, friends, and a little travel; and quiet - fires in the fireplace, delicious dinners and lots of reading.

Monday and Tuesday, we took a quick trip to Detroit to see family. The highlight of our trip was seeing our cousin Mary and her wonderful kids. They have a delightful French bulldog, Franco who is a bundle of energy. We hung out, caught up and had a great meal at Steak and Shake. Her children are all budding photographers too.

We are also finalizing New Year's Eve plans. Looks like it might include a tenderloin deluxe, some shrimp and a good hockey game. Nothing too crazy, we stay off the roads. It promises to be wet - probably snow and no reason to fight with the amateurs.

If all things go right and go well, closing will be 01-11-10. Here's hoping.

Making progress

It's Wednesday and it's hump day! Some days, I blink and the time flies. It's crazy.

I have all my Christmas shopping done. I am printing a picture of the beach, putting a bow on it and putting it under our Charlie Brown tree. I do have to say that it beats the year that I got tires for Christmas or say, the refrigerator. Both worthy gifts but nothing that quite fit in the living room.

The inspection is completed and we have the paperwork to prove it. Now the appraisal is in process. And we wait. Until there are further updates, enjoy the view of our resident hawk taking a fly by.

Weekend Wanderings

What I learned on my November vacation, among other things.

131 is a much nicer drive north than 96-69-75-23.

It's a little town when high school hockey is on the radio.

The water in Greenbush isn't any good. Even the people at the V know it.

Friday night is a good night to eat out; all the locals are at the several hundred fish fry events at various venues around town. Or at the hockey game.

Locals don't worry so much about living on the water; they are surrounded by it. The summer people can pay the taxes and live on the lake.

The V and American Legion are hopping on Friday nights. $1 Killian droughts in frosted mugs could have something to do with it.

There are still a lot of people who smoke.

There are some pretty cool people at the V. And then there is Winky.

Winky is a good pool player when he isn't three sheets to the wind.

Oscoda has never really recovered from Wurtsmith closing. The locals still talk about it.

I don't believe that the people up north know how stunningly beautiful it is up there.

There are deer camps, deer blinds and deer check points. I don't care for any of them.

Samson (@thedogsamson) loves Whiskers. And the good people at Whiskers love him. They aren't just saying that either.

I miss His Handsomeness when we travel. I know that he does not miss me. He has a Kurunda bed and a flat screen TV.

Oscoda is beautiful. Really, truly beautiful. If you have never spent time on one of the Great Lakes, you are missing out. And I am not just saying that either.

So now, we wait. It's good to be home in my own bed.

Life Stories

A colleague at work shared a wonderful experience about listening to a speaker, Donald Miller, who came to Calvin to talk about story telling. After listening to his account of the evening, I was despondent to have missed such a wonderful event. But his words stayed with me as Paul and I took off for Oscoda to have the cottage inspected pre-sale. Themes ran through my head - things that go into a good story - tension, conflict, compassion, heartbreak, resolution.

We headed up north Thursday night after work and stayed at the AmericInn in Oscoda. I had no idea what the place would be (websites can be rather deceptive in looks and location) and we were delighted with the place. And the people were terrific. We made such great time on our drive, Paul treated me to a draught of beer at the VFW across the street. Just imagine Killian's Red in a frosted mug. Oh yum.

It is in the VFW where we met Winky and Butch. There is no need to change the names to protect the guilty - they would be thrilled to be mentioned in a blog. Given that neither has likely seen much technology, I doubt they will see it.

Winky and Butch have had a rich tapestry of life experience. And each had enough liquor to share the highlights. (For a G-rated blog, I have done extensive editing of the expletives). Winky had a script of quips that continually ran while we were enjoying our beer. Comments like, 'That's a FACT" or "damn straight" when listening to Butch talk. We learned through the time in the VFW that Winky had only ever been in love once in his 60+ years, had an ex-wife who rented out rooms to travelers (he thought we should contact her for a room - we declined), and really wanted to be down in the Florida Keys ... though he had actually never been there.

Butch had a different life than Winky though about the same amount of alcohol that evening. Butch had been married to his wife for 39 years and 2 days before she passed; love two additional woman including Phylis but sadly, she died. He was enjoying life as a bachelor, still working and driving around. We were not sure what Butch did for a living but he did have experience at some point working for Pepsi.

Both Winky and Butch had lots of advice for us on cottage purchasing and ownership. Butch told us to lowball everything. Take the asking price and knock 40% off, he said. Winky advised us to buy something that didn't need any work because you need a $#%@^ permit to fart up here. He said. We chuckled. Inside I was rolling on the floor. What characters. And of course, I didn't have my camera. But we will be back and I suspect that Butch and Winky will be there too.

The inspection was terrific with ample time for me to take more pictures of the property. It's hard to take it all in- I am always glad to have reminders. There are a few things that need attention - we aren't surprised since these older homes will have some wear and tear. Hopefully the seller will be willing to fix them.

Regardless of the bumps, I am constantly reminded that our individual and collective lives are beautiful stories. Fragmented. Intertwined. Cliffhangers. Mysteries. Sometimes difficult, at times bittersweet, frequently amazing and always -every single day - a miracle. A gift from God. I work hard to not squander such a gift.

The Answer Is ....

...because. That's why.

So what is the question anyway? The question that we have received from family and friends, after posting about our recent cottage purchase, why did you buy something on Lake Huron? Why would you look all the way over there? It's a good question and something we pondered and discussed and contemplated.

So the answer is because ....
1. Big boats. In my world, a lake isn't worth the water in it if it doesn't have big boats. Not little big boats. Big, big boats. BIG BOATS. Freighters to be exact. Big freighters full of ore and stuff, traveling by. Freighters like Gordon Lightfoot sang about in the Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald. I need to see big boats, need to watch 'em and need to know they are there.
2. No cliffs. I want to walk out on to the beach, not up and down 300 stairs to it.
3. I don't want to spend my weekends with Chicago weekenders; rather I want to be with Michigan peeps. They are on the east coast. No offense, Chicago friends. I just like it over there better.
4. I am a painfully early riser. I believe that sunrise is the most beautiful time, energy and light of the day. I would rather see the sun rise. Sun sets are amazing, and we get them too. I sit with my coffee and camera, listen to the water soothe my soul and watch the glory bloom in another day.
5. Paul spent 20 + years working on the water. Now, we want to have fun on the water. The east side is affordable. Reasonable. Delightful.
6. There are both a VFW and an American Legion in Oscoda, both of which Paul is a member. They have Killian's Red on tap. Served in big chilled mugs. Heaven. Really.

And I spent my summers on Lake Huron. It feels like home. It feels like MY home. I have waited for this for 40 + (mumble, something) years and I can't wait to start this adventure. With of course, Paul and Samson. Our Mr. Handsome already loves it.