Happy 4th of July!

It's 11:27 a.m. on Sunday, July 4.

I am slightly buzzed from a Bloody Mary made from Ugly Dog vodka (distilled less than 2 miles from where I'm sitting right now) and home-canned-by-me Bloody Mary mix.

The sun is shining.
There is a lovely breeze.
The lake is full of water skiers, sailors, and cruisin' pontoon boats.

I am in the company of excellent friends.

It is a perfect summer day.

Content-ness level: about a zillion on a scale of 1 to 10.

Memorial Day

The following is made possible by those who defend, who fight, and who sometimes don't come back:

As I type this, I am, quite literally, sitting lake-side with my dog padding around the shallows looking for the fish that always seem to be just out of his reach. This is his favorite game. Yesterday he caught a turtle. (Turtle was fine...just scared.)

S has just gone to refill our coffee cups, the sun is shining, and there are several fishermen out, trawling 'round the lake.

Swans, out floating in the middle of the lake, have their heads submerged, looking for whatever it is that swans eat. Every once in a while, we'll see one of their heads pop up for a few seconds before disappearing again.

The garden gnome, with his solar-powered light-up hat, is standing guard over the pontoon.

Canada geese, a couple of them, just flew in, honking their arrival. A couple of fluffy goslings are paddling past, following their mother. If you're quiet, you can hear her honking and beeping at her babies. I wonder if she's scolding them or encouraging them.

The peace has been shattered. The first water-skier of the day has appeared. In a few moments, the wake will reach us and will gently splash against the shore under the deck we're sitting on.

There's a parade in town at 10 today. Must go get ready so we can leave soon to get a parking spot.

Happy Memorial Day, you lot.

Thank you! (This post is long overdue...)

My bloggy pal Penny (aka Miss Night Owl) makes jewelry and sun catchers in any shape you could ask for. (Visit her etsy shop - SO creative!)

Just before I graduated in April, I got an email from Penny stating that she'd like to make me a sun catcher as a graduation present and what shape would I like it in? She can do anything, she said.

So I thought on it and realized that the shape I most wanted was the lake where the cottage sits. So I google mapped it and this is what I sent her...


View Larger Map

Except her version didn't cut off the corners of the lake.

She is SO speedy! I sent her the email on April 20, and I had the finished product in hand on April 25.

And it is BEAUTIFUL!


Penny's dad claims it looks like someone sat on West Virginia (hee!) but I think it's a wonderful representation of the lake I love so much. The blue heart bead up near the top marks the spot where the cottage sits.

The cottage has been rented out for the past two months, so I've been able to enjoy the sun catcher at my house. The renters are now gone and the sun catcher is going to it's permanent home on the lake this weekend.

Thanks so much, Penny! We keep a journal out there so each time we visit, we make an entry. I'm going to be sure to include the addition of the sun catcher so future visitors will know where it came from.

Welcome to the White Lodge* (picture heavy post)

Welcome, friend! Let me get you a glass of wine before we take a tour of the most charming cottage every built. White or red?


The room you entered is the master bedroom. Two of those windows face full west so this is the bed to sleep in if you don't want a sunrise wake-up call. The windows also provide a lovely breeze on warm summer nights.



Right off the master bedroom is the bathroom. Rather large isn't it? (Well, since the only photogenic thing in the room is the shower and the lamp, that's all I'm showing. You'll have to trust your hostess when she tells you it's a very large bathroom. To the right of the shower stall is the "laundry room" - a little cubby set behind a set of lovingly restored French doors.)


On the south wall of the master bedroom, through this door:


is the best place to sleep in Washtenaw County:

(We've since hung vintage tablecloths over the windows to act as curtains. But this cottage dweller isn't happy with them and would prefer some redwork curtains.) This is the view from the right side of that bed at 8:30 in the morning. A lovely sight indeed:


These are probably the most comfortable seats in the cottage. But we never use them. Shame on us, I know, but in the summer the lake view is obstructed by tree. Anyway, weather permitting, we drink our morning coffee on the pontoon boat - a sort of floating deck - the sleeping porch gets too much direct sun to be a truly enjoyable relaxation spot on a hot summer day.


Let's head downstairs now. But before we go, here's the master bedroom from the other corner:


Watch your step! The stairs are narrow and very steep. If you're tall, duck towards the bottom! Ah, here we are, in the cool of the half-basement. Here's our kitchen:

Here's the living room:


The floor is heated which all three of the dogs love in winter.

Come back soon as next we're going to take a pontoon ride around the lake.



*Kudos to anyone who knows what TV Series the White Lodge refers to.