Saturday, July 21, 2007

Positive Thinking

I had a phone interview with Alma yesterday. I'm wearing all Alma clothes this weekend in an attempt to build as many positive vibes as possible in drawing an invitation to the next round.




I have two Alma shirts on in this picture also - oh, and a pair of Alma sweats that I forgot to get out for the picture. Incidentally, I aquired those from a girl down the beach who graduated (?last year?) and was selling them in a garage sale.

Where the sidewalk ends. . .

Two weekends ago, we finally braved the swamp at my sister and brother-in-law's cottage. It was a rewarding project - we can finally use the "beach" and water now!

We had a brief scary moment when my brother-in-law fell and got his leg trapped under a deck section, but after he walked it off we worked for another hour until the weather forced us to stop.

After we left, Darrin made a trip to the ER because he developed a swelling the size of a softball on his leg as soon as he got in the shower. The ER doc first looked at the X-ray and said it was broken. He stopped to do one more scan just as he was going to send Darrin to another hospital for casting. Guess what? The better angle showed that there was no crack in the bone! Still, Darrin spent over a week elevating and icing his leg, and - at last count - went to at least two doctors' appointments as well as having our ER-Doc-Neigbor-at-the-cottage check it out.

All that for lake access rather than just lake view. I think even Darrin agrees it was worth it!



Housemates


Gizmo checks out his soon-to-be-housemate. He doesn't know that he will soon lose access to one of "his" rooms. Although, given the fact that Tony will have another housing option soon (Congrats on the new home, Amy!), this housemate relationship may be short lived.

Wednesday, July 4, 2007

Mother Nature's power

Saturday afternoon was sunny and beautiful at the lake - until Mother Nature showed her power. We watched the clouds across the lake and laughed at the fact that they were all passing us. Then an immediate drop in temp with concurrent gale force winds forced us to halt our volleyball game. Here, we watch as the ominous clouds turn direction and pass overhead.



A few hours later, the beach was beautiful again, if not hot.


The next morning, I had a beautiful drive back home at 5:30 a.m. . . .

The Human Element

The cottage is a lot more than just a beautiful place: it's a place of gathering, a celebration of family and friends.

Dad is the only one in the family who knows how to make a "good" fire. Here, he tends the fire in a jacket with the embroidered name "Mary Lou". . .who knew!


"Oh, you have the camera up - I'll stand reeeaaallly still and smile so that you take a picture of me. . ."


First experiences with sparklers. . .


. . .and more advanced 'sparkler-ing'. . .


Look at Jordan's beautiful eyelashes as he drinks his morning milk.


Our family church service was fun - especially the addition of a song at the end that the kids acted out. The adults tried to follow along. Note the confused look on both of my brother-in-laws faces. Funny, they always look like that. Funny, too, that my sisters appear to have switched partners in these pictures!



There's nothing like friendly competition. Here, the almost-70-year-old beats out the 32 year old in a headstand competition while the grand-daughter/daughter looks on. . .!



Family time often includes music time. Dad also made a new friend with a steel guitar - AWESOME!




(pre-weekend: Gizmo protests my packing by laying in my clothes and getting hair all over them)

Man-made beauty

Interesting how man-made things often follow nature. . .these fireworks look like flowers in many cases! The beach is a beautiful place to watch fireworks. . .