Seasoned Beauties

I've not spent nearly as much time I'd like at the lake this summer.

Lots of good reasons -- Myrtle Beach, family fun, festivals and one awful weather weekend. Still, summer is at an end, and I need to get my time in! So, I'm enjoying this last bit of summer -- Labor Day -- spending delightful moments hanging with the Gypsy, doing art, and loving it to the max.

My day began Thursday when I said goodbye to Rick and a gang of folks riding four 100-mile days on their bicycles to the Mackinac Bridge. I'll see him Saturday for a party and then pick him up Sunday afternoon!

Then, I took the Reluctant Traveler for his two-and-a-half hour car ride. We've done it with no kitty drugs this year, which is a great feat. And so far, only one hurling incident!

The first thing I did upon arrival was set up the "art studio," which in this case if the front porch. I'm ready for silk painting! (Results to be shown later!)

I did this and my unpacking quickly, and then hurried to meet up with my friend Annette. It was a good thing we planned on getting together -- she had to leave after our lunch and "unplanting" to return home for some medical tests.

What's an "unplanting?" you may ask. That's when Annette -- a hosta gardener extraordinaire and one who has a glorious and colorful garden of perennials -- divides some of her black-eyed Susan and artemesia for me!

Her garden is a joy -- it's a stop on the Gaylord Summer Garden Tour. Someday, my little hosta garden in the back may look a little like Annette's. (No, it's a nice dream. But probably not!)

Then it was home to paint silk, read, watch a movie and just enjoy the quiet of the lake before the Labor Day weekenders descend with jet skis and boats.

(When I was a kid I could never understand why my next door neighbors, Ray and Marie, used to stay up all during the week, but head home "down below" on the weekends. Now I know exactly why!

And, shock of shocks, The Gypsy caught a mouse!

This sweet little face had mouse-baby hanging out of his mouth. I think the poor thing (which did escape) died of a heart attack. The Gyp stood guard by where the mouse had hidden, but when when I went to corner him to take outdoors, he'd already died. RIP Stuart Little.

As soon as this post goes up, I'm headed to Petoskey to see Virginia,a knitter/quilter extraordinaire! Petoskey is about an hour north, hilly country, with beautiful views of Little Traverse Bay.

Virginnia and I used to work together at the station until she retired and moved north. Whenever we get together, I end up buying yarn. Note to self: bring checkbook.

And I'll never know all Virginia knows about fabric or fiber arts. Her work is still knocking them dead at the county fair, and I'm always excited to see which ones will bring home ribbons. Her husband Phil died earlier this summer, so I'm especially looking forward to enjoying our dinner together and meeting her new cat, Filbert.

Tomorrow morning I'll get to the farm market early. Peaches are due, and Michigan peaches are lovely!

And I love the end-of-season bounty with the fresh veggies and sunflowers.

Certainly tomorrow or Sunday, I'll stop by and see Fran, my mom's best friend. I look at this young face and wonder how she can possibly be 90+. She's beautiful and fun!

Fran tells me the stories my mother never lived long enough to tell. I hear about days at the lake when they were just small children. My grandmother being locked in the outhouse late at night. Singing at the tops of their lungs on the docks together. And knitting the very same clothes they would wear at their different schools the following year!

And if I'm lucky, my neighbor Eulah will be there. At 101, she is on a cruise; I don't know if she'll be back for the holiday! This photo was taken last summer.

These women range from their 70s to 101. I can't tell you how much they inspire me. They're active, they're sharp, they're fun, and when I'm with them I don't feel a 20 or 30 or 40+ year age difference. They are seasoned beauties and knowing them is an honor and a privilege.

I learn so much from them. Annette tells me how to care for the garden. From Fran, the family stories. I learned what it was like to teach in a one-room school from Eulah, and after Virginia makes me laugh, I'll have any knitting I could possibly imagine answered. They are my personal "Ladies of the Lake," (Well, Virginia isn't of the lake, but she is in spirit!)

Oh, it's so good to be here.