Postcards From the Lake: Visitors

My little world has seen some company lately! Talk about fun! 

 

It started out down the road when my cousin David welcomed a group of his friends dating back to high school for their annual Otsego Lake summer reunion. I've met all these guys over the years and while I'm not part of the "gang," I delight in their company.

 

This time, that included a pontoon boat ride around the lake. I hadn't done this for a long while and it was fun to see what had popped up over time, and be reminded of places I'd forgotten, like the old Arbutus Beach hotel that is now a private residence. We also said farewell to their friend, Bill, who  recently passed away. 

Postcards From the Lake: Hot and Happy

I promised myself that no matter how hot it got this summer, I would not complain. I would observe, such as "It is SO hot today!" but not complain. So far, so good. Things have "cooled" off to normal summer. After a sticky start, the fun of summer has started!

 

Sometimes We Clean Up OK!

Sometimes (not often), we get dressed up! And most of the time when we do, it's for something fun. But this time, it was beyond fun -- it was for a spectacular evening. (Followed the next day by fun with our grands!)

 

The occasion was the Michigan Emmy Awards, held  Detroit. (For those not familiar with this award, the Emmy is presented for excellence in television production. Awards are first presented regionally and may include everything from video promotion to local news and weather. You might be more familiar with the national Emmy Awards, in which programs you are more likely to see in any market in the country, or even internationally, are honored.

We Are Exhausted! And It Was Great!

We had a lovely and fun pre-Easter, birthday weekend with the grandboys -- and boy, did they tire us out! To be fair, both of us were running on limited sleep. But it was a fun weekend so no complaints!

 

Our weekend started off watching Michigan State lose to UConn in the Sweet Sixteen. The first half was grim and the boys were in bed by the second. The game ended up much closer than expected from "Act One" and if MSU had played as they did in the second half, they would have made it to at least the Elite Eight. Alas. 

Memorable Moments of 2025 In (Mostly) Pictures

Happy New Year! 2025 was quite a year for us. We had a damaging ice storm at the lake and a tree fell down on Rick's house during a tornado in Lansing. Rick took two long bike hikes, including a month-long trip to Canada and New England. I stayed close to home or the lake! There was fun -- our Cork Poppers and other times with good friends, a good art sale and lots of art time. But I also dealt with afib issues, a cardioversion, pacemaker, tendonitis that laid me flat for a bit, and the usual MRSA, sinus and pseudomonas infections. Add to it the tension in the US and I will be glad to turn the calendar page to 2026.

Christmas -- The Merriment Continues

I think we were like many of you, who enjoyed multiple Christmases! As you saw in the last post, we had fun with the kids, decorating Rick's trees and doing the zoo walk. That was Monday. On Tuesday, it was our "Christmas Eve." I took the morning off so I could get a couple of things done at home (like sleep) and make cookies to decorate. But soon it was time for fun! (The clean-up would be later!)

 

We (I mean the collective "we") were going to build a gingerbread house. It started out well enough. 

Smile, and Keep On Tapping

The kids have moved on to their next Christmas after a good (and exhausting!) celebration. The tree is up and will be for a bit. I need the light and to be honest, have barely had time to sit with it and fully enjoy. I've had rough holidays before. This one has been overwhelming. But, as someone once said to me when I was doing theatre and we were all tired, not always sure of the steps, "Smile, and keep on tapping!" 

A Full, Hectic Week!

It's been a good week or two and not a lazy one! I've been busy ramping up for the art sale (which is November 13-15 and if you live in my area of Lansing, MI and want more details, let me know and I can email them to you!) There will be nine of us altogether and while we're all a bit apprehensive on how sales will go with things being financially precarious for so many, it will be fun, no matter what. Still, our prices are fair (and no tariffs!) These are some of the paintings I did this year that will be included. 

 

In addition to the framed (and matted) watercolors, I'll have lots of cards, many from photos and some original watercolors, and the felties. 

Postcards From the Lake -- Energetic Guests!

The morning after my ear procedure (thanks for the good wishes, too!), Rick and I headed to the lake to await the arrival of our guests later in the day. And arrive they did, with ten times the energy I had! One seven year old, one eight year old, and their lovely mom! 

 

It was a steamy hot weekend and that meant plenty of time for beach play! The lake water was warm and I enjoyed swimming with the boys (though, keeping my head out of the water, I was actually on my floatie!) Then there was a lot of construction going on!

At Home: Let the Merriment Continue

I can't say coming home for a few days was great -- it was beastly hot for much of the time (like so many other spots here in the US) and without air, I relied on fans in the evening, the car for quick air-con cool downs and ice beanbags to take to bed. Fortunately, a rain came through with a bit of a cool down -- relief at last! Rick stayed at the lake, cycling home just in time for some fun. But a broken bike had me on stand-by for a pick-up, just in case the repair made didn't hold. 

The high point of being home was seeing that my front yard no longer looked so bleak. The Black-eyed Susans and Sweet peas (above) came out and still look lovely. (The rest, not so much.) And the Annabelle hydrangeas have passed their white stage and are already turning green, which I actually prefer.

Postcards From the Lake: Guests, Grands and the Fourth

We have settled into the lake and kicked off the summer with house guests and a "grand" birthday celebration -- not to mention the July 4 holiday. 

At Home: Books, Birds, Buddies and Grandboys!

I'm having a hard time getting my brain around the season. It's almost June and summer will be here before we know it and yet spring seems oddly erratic -- cold or rainy one day (or two or three), then a short burst of warm, and back to cold. Stormier than usual. The sun was out today and we tried to plant flowers at the cemetery but so many trees were down, we couldn't get to the grave. That's a story for another day. On a cheerier note, things have greened-up a lot! I'm sure you all delight when you have the chance after winter to see what is my favorite color combo come to life -- chartreuse against a blue sky! And now, there is more green!

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Still catching up on pre-storm activities and there were some good times. One such day was celebrating friend Kate's birthday with a road trip to IKEA and a stop at my favorite Italian grocery in Livonia/Northville for lunch.

At Home: Easter Fun

It finally feels as though spring has arrived here in Michigan. That doesn't mean it won't be cold, but not as cold or gloomy as it has been. Always a plus! I think celebrating a late Easter adds to the spring feeling. More sunshine. More flowers. More merriment.

Definitely more merriment.

At Home: Early Spring Fun -- and Storms

I've been getting my house pulled together for Easter decorating at long last (and probably a way to go!). I did get a few things up early to celebrate the advent of spring, though you wouldn't know it from our weather.

I know many of my blog friends in Canada and New England were hit by snow and ice storms over the past couple of weeks. Michigan got them too, in the north. Power was out for close to a week (and still is in some areas) and the roads were covered with ice and downed trees. We were concerned but no one we contacted could even get out of their own yards straight away, much less check ours, in hopes none of our tall, thin pines came down. Finally, one of our down-state friends, whose cottage is near ours, went north to check on things. Here's a photo. If this is the worst we have to deal with, I can work with that. (That said, as I write this, another ice storm is in the offing up there for tonight or tomorrow, so we're not out of the woods yet, no pun intended.)

At Home: Good Things

I have been pretty distressed about things going on in our country and our world and while I try to steer clear of politics here, I might have a couple of things to say before returning to the London posts again. And, if has been a very rough month health-wise. But there have been some good things, too. Like our recent Cork Poppers gathering, which I wrote about HERE.

Holidays at Home: A Tale of Two Christmases!

Like so many of you, our family enjoyed more than one Christmas this year -- one at home, one at the kids' house. 

 

That was our first one and it actually began a bit earlier in the week when Rick when down to kid-sit and I followed a couple of days later. They boys are six and seven (nearly eight) so it's a fun age to be with them. They're still young enough to have some magic in them, so when we went to the bookstore we came home with the elf on the shelf. It certainly kept them occupied.

Postcards From the Lake: Indoors and Out!

So, what do you plan when a six and a seven-year-old (along with their beautiful mom) descend on you? Well, when you're at the lake, there are no shortage of options! And no double-trouble!

Molly brought the boys up for a couple of days and fortunately, the sun was shining and the weather was warm! On the first afternoon, Rick took each of them out in the kayaks. It was their second time and the journeys weren't far!

Postcards from the Lake: Fireworks and Festivities

Our recent Saturday began with Rick's bike ride. He's having a lot of problems with his bike and waiting for a new part to arrive. That means rides are shorter and closer to home. (We still don't know about his upcoming Canadian trip yet.) 

But he took off in good form, happy to be in motion!

Fun with My Favorite Small People

Last post I mentioned that we were kid sitting with our two favorite small people, while their parents celebrated their tenth anniversary. (One is seven, the other almost six.) There wasn't a lot of sitting!

A Few Critters -- Living and Otherwise!

This seems to be the year for home reno in our world. You've heard about my basement, but Rick has also been hard at work -- first, on his rental duplex and now on one of his bathrooms. Kevin came to help him tear things apart and since Molly and the Camster had another engagement, I said I'd have a Carson day! It would include a play, some dinosaurs and more than a few fish!