Postcards From the Lake: "Same" Can Be Wonderful

Truth of the matter is, life at the lake isn't particularly exciting. There are rarely dramatic moments, major crises. It's just good. And very much the same as it has been in years past. Quiet. Unscheduled. Productive. Lazy. Relaxing. Fun. And sorely needed.

 

When we were kids spending our summers at the lake, every day was full of fun and full of play. We'd be up and out of the house -- maybe enjoying the beach and most likely enjoying the water. We were back and forth between my house and my cousins, a half mile away, singing show tunes at the top of our lungs as we walked the same stretch of roads I walk now. Whenever the sun was out and the water reasonably calm, we were in the boat and on water skis.

 

We covered ourselves in baby oil to sit in the sun, and read one book after another. Cousin Patty and I would paint, usually rocks. On rainy days our mothers would bundle us up in the car and head north to Petoskey where they would shop and we would find fun inside a store that sold practical jokes, like dead bugs in plastic ice cubes. We simply lived a wonderful, uncomplicated life.

Slathered in baby oil, enjoying the sun, c. 1980

 Things today are much the same -- with some differences. There is no boat now and I don't know if I could ski again if I tried. And I probably wouldn't be walking down the road with my cousins belting out show tunes anymore. A quiet, ambling walk with a few stops for "neighboring" is just the ticket. 

We would be more likely to be in the shade of the porch than in the hot sun and if we were, we'd be slathering on SPF -- the higher the better! 

 

In the evenings, if we weren't reading, we'd most likely be playing games -- card games and board games. There was no TV, computer/phone streaming or video games to occupy our time. We still play games and read in the evening -- some of the games are even the same. But there are others now, too, and more often than not, it is just Rick and me battling it out.

 

These days, when I'm in the hot sun, it's because I'm working on our weedy beach, which looked more like a lawn when we arrived. My next door neighbor rototilled it and together we've been using an eco-friendly vinegar/salt/dish soap "herbicide" to kill off the roots. I'm in the process of raking up those roots before they regenerate. But it looks much better. (Those little humps are piles of weeds I'm raking up so they don't re-root.)

 

I still paint in the summer, much as I did with Patty decades ago. But instead of painting rocks, now it's watercolors, continuing my progress on my England journal. Pretty soon it will be time to fill in the pages with words. But first, the art. I like to paint on the porch -- there's terrific light and if it isn't too windy (or wet) it's a perfect spot to settle for a bit. It's like a portable studio!

 

Some paintings are better than others. I am no portrait artist, that's for sure! Steve noted that in an earlier post where I showed the journal that perhaps there was a painting of the two of us when we met in London. He had a good eye but I'm not being modest when I say "how could he possibly recognize us?" He looks much better in real life than my art of him -- and I look much worse than my image of me. (It was unintentional but hey, if you can't glam yourself up in your own journal, where can you? I really do have to try to fix that a bit. My face is not that thin and my hair not that straight!) Apologies to Steve!

I do better with Rick when I don't paint his face! (For which, I think, he is terribly grateful!)

 

As in years past, there is lots of reading to be done. And, as in those days, many of the books are still mysteries, but I've moved on from Nancy Drew and Trixie Belden to Ann Cleeves, Donna Leon and Colin Dexter, with a biography or novel thrown in for diversity. (But I might pick up a Trixie this summer for old time's sake.)

 

Surprisingly, the thing I love most at the lake -- swimming -- is something I've not done yet. I'm due for some ear surgery in early August .

 

My doc suggested being very careful around the water. So, when I do go in I'll be keeping my head up. Maybe that's a good thing!

 

There is a saying that the more things change, the more they stay the same, like our beautiful sunsets.

 

Sometimes that's a good thing. 

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