Thursday, June 30, 2022

Postcards from the Lake: Settling In

Our first few days here were quite lovely -- warm temperatures (but with a breeze and little humidity so it wasn't oppressive), sunny days (for the most part), pleasant evenings and settling in. 


Rick is slowly getting his groove back and did some bike rides, but is still feeling the tiring after effects of Covid. That exhaustion seems to hang on.


I did a lot of reading (look for the June book list soon!), a bit of painting -- not as much as I had hoped -- and a good deal of swimming. The water has been surprisingly warm for June (90 degree days will do that to a lake) and a welcome respite from the heat.


We find we are eating later in the day (we call it Eating European Style!) because the days are so delightfully long and we don't realize how late it is! Our oven has broken but the stovetop and grill are at hand and no complaints in the dinner department, either! And a little wine and cheese after a ride always sweetens the day.

I spent some time on trying to rid the beach of weeds -- it's a never ending process, but I can see some progress. This will continue (probably all summer!) Unfortunately, the dreaded tree remains. Rick finally reached the tree guy who claimed it was a communication misunderstanding (he thought it was just to come down, not go away) and will be by soon to take care of it. We hope.

Rick found a violinist up here who might be interested in playing duets with him and he's been practicing a lot. Classical guitar music is my up north soundtrack!

And so far, this one is still thinking INSIDE the box and has been very good. Let's hope that keeps up.


 We did a little tour of tornado damage and I had an interesting conversation with a woman who was working a Jimmy Johns (which blew out completely) during the tornado itself. She said it was the most frightening day of her life. This is the backside of Jimmy Johns and Hobby Lobby.


It's a real pity about the Goodwill store as people could really use it right now. It will be a long time before they do. This is a reasonably new building, having moved from their old one just last year, I think.

No Little Caesars pizza or Aldi for us, either (although to be honest, the odds of us ever going to Little Caesars are about 99 to 1.)

Here is a slightly better photo of our geese family. So far we haven't had to chase them off the beach!

I found an old swimsuit in the drawer and should have new ones soon. The missing sit remains a mystery! Meanwhile, I leave you with the nightly view!


They aren't all orange or this splashy but they are all lovely!


(Twilight's not that bad, either!) 

(PS -- Just returned after a couple days at home for appointments. Neighbor Jim took care of our beach and it is glorious, swim suits have arrived and grandlittles coming today! Life is good!)

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50 comments:

R's Rue said...

Have a lovely day.

Decor To Adore said...

That was some tornado! We had one take off the corner roof of our home in the middle of the night a few years ago and boy was that scary!

Enjoy your time at the lake. Have a wonderful 4th of July weekend.

Lisa from Lisa's Yarns said...

What a wonderful update! My pulse slows just reading this and looking at pictures. I love those show days at the lake when meal times can kind of slip later. We are out of that stage of life with young kids that need to eat around 5:30 but we'll get back there someday. I had book club last night and the girl who hosted has a pool so we lingered and hung in the pool. I didn't get home until after 9 which is late for me on a 'school night' but it was so wonderful to be with friends, enjoying some wine and talking about books!

Glad you found a suit and that the new ones have arrived. Enjoy your time with the grands!! If you forecast is like ours, it's going to be a great lake weekend!

Pamela said...

Summertime at the lake looks glorious. Lizzie looks happy to be there too.

Anvilcloud said...

That’s an awful lot of damage.

Your place looks inspiring. Kept on enjoying and reporting.

Debra@CommonGround said...

Enjoy those lovely sunsets and your time at the lake. I couldn't believe all of the little goslings! Have a wonderful 4th weekend!

Divers and Sundry said...

It sounds sooo lovely! You're well-situated for the sunsets. I'm glad he's able to start bike rides again. I hear it's a slow process post-covid, but he's making progress.

Linda said...

Another trip to the lake where I come along as a fairly silent companion. How I appreciate you inviting me year after year.

gigi-hawaii said...

Yes, life is good! I have not been to the beach in years and probably never will due to arthritis. Too bad! Gigi hawaii

Steve Reed said...

Beautiful sunsets! Being at a lake retreat and listening to classical guitar sounds pretty fantastic. Not so much the tornado damage, though -- yikes! And that is a HUGE family of geese -- now I know why Canadian geese are so ubiquitous.

Bill said...

A peaceful and relaxing lifestyle. Enjoy!

My name is Erika. said...

Your days sound fantastic Jeanie. But it is too bad about all the tornado damage. It will take quite a while for things to get "back" to normal I am guessing. That is a lot of damage. But lake life looks good,especially with the kids coming. Enjoy. And have a great holiday weekend. Hugs-Erika

eileeninmd said...

Hello,

Your time at the lake sounds wonderful. Your floral painting is beautiful.
I love the shots and views of the lake, the geese family is huge. I hope Rick gets back to normal soon. Lovely orange sky! Take care, enjoy your day! Have a happy 4th of July weekend.

David M. Gascoigne, said...

We usually eat dinner around 6:00 pm, and pretty much stick to that, unless my daughter is visiting, and especially if we are visiting her when dinner time can be any time up till about 8 o'clock. Tell Rick I will return his toast a little later when I open a bottle of Malbec. Salud!

Salty Pumpkin Studio said...

That damage is awful. I hope they get the help they need with no or little hassles.
Your screen porch table photo is a delight, serene, uncomplicated summer scene waiting for food and laughter.

GretchenJoanna said...

Back at the lake! I'm getting a dose of vicarious enjoyment from that :-) Your views are lovely.

It's me said...

Woww that violets…beautiful painted…nice to see you enjoy summer…so sad all that reunited houses in the storm…love from me and Leaf 🍀🐾💗🍀

Mae Travels said...

Not counting the tornado damage, your blog post is lovely and I'm really glad to see how wonderful things are up there! Good luck with the tree work! And also good luck with Rick's energy levels getting back up.

best... mae at maefood.blogspot.com

DUTA said...

The orange sky is fascinating!

DVArtist said...

This is a lovely post. I am so glad Rick is on the mend. Really pretty art. Your cat's face is just too cute and should be linked the my Friday Face Off. I hope you join in. Have a great day.

Elderberry-Rob said...

uk tv coverage of your tornedo was minimal so was surprised to see the damage. Looks like your home is cosy and safe. Betty

Linda P said...

Thank you for the update. It looks as if you are both benefitting from being away by the lake. May that continue. The tornado damage must have been scary for those people caught up in it.

Rita C at Panoply said...

What a wonderful world you have there. Enjoy, enjoy.

La Table De Nana said...

Sounds like a wonderful time has been had an shall be had!

Amy at Ms. Toody Goo Shoes said...

Sounds like a wonderful start to summer. Lazy, long days.....what could be better? The sunset pictures are glorious. That tornado damage is horrifying. Sorry to hear that Rick is still feeling lingering affects of Covid, and hope he will soon be 100%. We had a damaged tree that we had to wait a year to get removed. Several tree guys agreed to do it, and then never showed. Finally got it out this year.

Penny from Enjoying The Simple Things said...

Sounds like your summer is starting off lovely. Look how many baby geese ther are!

Deb Nance at Readerbuzz said...

It sounds like you are living a dream up north, with beauty all around you. Love the sunsets. A perfect place for swimming and painting and living life.

crackercrumblife said...

Your days sound absolutely perfect!

That damage is terrifying! I hope that businesses can rebuild quickly. :(

Mary Rose's said...

Ahhh, the restorative powers of the lake!
Good for you, and Rick, and Lizzie.
Send the cool air south when you can, please.
Enjoy, enjoy, enjoy

xoxo

Bonnie said...

Glad you are enjoying all the lake offers. Hoping Rick will regain his stamina soon.

Marilyn Miller said...

Beautiful sunsets and having new swimsuits is just perfection for a summer day.
It sounds so peaceful at the lake. I could use some time like that just to read and paint and dream and swim. What loveliness!!!

Joanne Huffman said...

What a nice report from your lake! Have fun with the grandlittles.

Pam said...

Love the lake shots. Nice job and glad to see that Rick is up and about again! Tornados are wicked, scary how they hit some places but flies right by the place sitting next door.

Rita said...

So much damage!
Glad Rick is feeling better. Hope he's totally recovered soon.
Swimsuits and grandkids arriving--whoohoo! Hope tree-cutter & hauler arrives soon, too. :)

Painting the hamptons said...

Oooo I would love your classical guitar 'soundtrack' - how peaceful - glad you stayed safe from the tornado. Have a great weekend!
xo Gail

Jenn Jilks said...

That damage is scary.
Good luck with the littles! Our arrive Monday!
(ツ) from Jenn Jilks , ON, Canada!

Judy at GoldCountryCottage said...

Jeanie, life at the beach sounds good and getting better when the littles come. Such a beautiful, peaceful place. Hope you will enjoy it all summer long..Happy Weekend..xxoJudy

Misadventures of Widowhood said...

Glad you are up at the lake for the 4th. Breathe, relax, read and pet that mean looking cat before she tears your face off in the dead of night. Just kidding. She's probably still pouting from the car ride north.

Sandra at Maison De Jardin said...

Jeanie, so glad you and Rick are feeling better and will be better each day. Those sunsets are glorious. Tornados are so scary - Hurricanes are too but you do have a warning. Lizzie doesn't look like she is in the best mood in this photo. She has such expression in her sweet face. Happy she is still thinking "in the box."

Happy lake days of summer!

shoreacres said...

Kudos to Lizzie for getting back with the program, and hooray for all those little details that make life great: swimsuits, decent lake temperatures, sunsets, and music. I can't get over all those baby geese. Do they usually have such large families? Is that one family? Our mallards may start out with that many, but nature takes it course, and the family size shrinks. It's the way of the world!

anno said...

These beautiful pictures from the lake are so calm & soothing.... I'm bookmarking them to return to any time I need to take a deep breath and refresh my spirits. Welcome back to the lake!

Iris Flavia said...

Beautiful first pic and yay for recovering!
One of my teamleaders came down with Corinna, too.
He´s back "at work" (aka home) and said, just going down the stairs and he´s puffed. He´s my age, it´s frightening.

:-) YES, cheese always "sweetens" the day! Good saying, I´ll rememeber that!

Sweet pic of Lizzie.

Oh, shoot. Tornadoe really sounds very frightening, and I mean that literally.
Missing things come back when you buy new ones, at least in this household.

Beautifl parting shots, I really get now why my T said many years ago that when he retires he wants to live by a lake!
(That or the ocean - huh, gotta start playing lotto ;-)...)

Carola Bartz said...

Your days at the lake look lovely! It must be wonderful to wake up and going for a swim first thing in the morning (that's what I would do). The tornado damage, however, is bad - I somehow missed that you had a tornado up there. Do you usually have tornadoes in that area? I thought they were more a thing of "tornado alley"... but then, they had a couple in Germany, too. They can happen everywhere, I guess, just like earthquakes.

Red Rose Alley said...

So glad you're settling in at the lake, Jeanie, and I hope Rick is feeling better and regaining his strength. What a relaxing time for you to paint and read and swim. I'm wondering if you found your swimsuits that disappeared, isn't that strange? Maybe you misplaced them. I know what you mean about the weeds. I just weedeated recently, and my lawn is full again. Hard to keep up here. That's nice that Rick wants to find a violinist to play with him. That's terrible about the tornado. I feel for the people in that area - looks like much damage was done. What a precious photo of the geese family. And the loveliest of sunsets at the lake. Enjoy your time there, Jeanie.

~Sheri

This N That said...

Happy 4th!!
The lake looks lovely and relaxing..
Love your pansies.
I can't tel you the last time I used my oven..It's just me and I don't cook anymore..
Wine and cheese works for me!!
Sorry about the tornado..Glad you weren't affected..
I guess Geese on the beech are like geese on the golf course..yuck!!

thepaintedapron.com said...

Glad you're enjoying your lake time! Summer time is all about easy, relaxed living!
Jenna

Lowcarb team member said...

Goodness, the tornado damage looks bad.

I've heard others say how tired they are feeling after catching Covid, I'm sure Ricks full energy levels will return soon.

Beautiful views of the lake, so restful.

Enjoy your time with the grand-littles :)

All the best Jan

Barb said...

I love it when you're at the cottage - and the living is easy...

Judy Biggerstaff said...

How wonderful to relax at the lake. Take time to do what makes you happy. Thanks for sharing your beautiful pics. The tornado damage looks terrible, it will take some time to rebuild. Enjoy life!

Victoria Zigler said...

Sounds like you were enjoying your first few days back at the cottage. Hope the tree is gone by now. Glad Rick is improving and you have another swimsuit (would be even better if you find the missing one).

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