RUMOR HAS IT...I'M IN ROMANTIC HOMES!

Well, last week it was a rumor!  Several bloggers emailed me and told me they saw a tiny little feature about my blog in Romantic Homes magazine.   Problem was, I think I was the last to see it!  Rushing around and getting to the lake was taking away all my time.  Of course I knew it was coming in the August issue and I was truly anxious to get my hands on a copy.  Up in Nowhere, Michigan, it's hard to find anything besides a general store and gas station.  Friday, Emily and I went to do some grocery shopping in South Bend, In., and there it was!  "Should I buy two copies?"  I asked Em.  "Mom, it's just a paragraph!!".  So much for impressing my kids.  I am thrilled and excited beyond words.  Thank you so much, Beth Livesay from Romantic Homes! And I hope you guys don't have to drive 45 minutes to get a copy!

We had a five day stay at the lake for the holiday.  Hectic sometimes but always fun.  I did my share of patriotic decorating (there are actually carnations in these jars!).

A little bit on every surface that didn't have food, sunglasses, bug spray and wet towels.

This little flag looks like it was drooping a bit.  The weather was in the 80's and the humidity lifted by noon, so it was perfect to spend the whole day outdoors.

We never lacked for things to do.  On Friday, The Husband organized a group to take a kayak trip down the Rocky River.  Now if it was named the Peacefully Calm River, I might have been tempted.  I think my sense of adventure went out the window when I found my first gray hair!  Everyone came back looking a little worse for the wear and the girls were much more straightforward than the guys, "Jane, you wouldn't have liked it."  Apparently the river was not only rocky, tree branches were swatting them in the face and they hit some rapids (my son and Abby's boyfriend actually flipped their kayak).  No, not for me.  But The Husband seems to be on a frenzied quest to check off adventures on that bucket list lately.

More signs of a good old time, abandoned toys on the beach.  Must have been lunchtime.  All day Saturday there were bands playing out on an island near the sandbar.  This is a large area of the lake where you can anchor and get off your boat into 2-4 feet water.  People dance, play Frisbee with their dogs and lounge on floaties.  The Husband ferried 2 groups the sandbar at a time with a designated pick up time.

Our corner of the bay was dog heaven.  The neighbors to the right had four, and next to them, 3.  We had our two as well as Emily and Mike's little guy Rusty.  Layla is usually relegated to the Summerhouse...

...and Rusty the pup had his little crate for some down time between playing in the water and going for walks.  He's the runaway type, too.  Milo is okay on his own but he made a lot of visits to the neighbors to check out the dog scene.

I failed to get pictures of the food.  We munched all day on fruit, some homemade dips and chips and some seriously delicious appetizers.  Lunch/dinner was a lot of burgers, chicken, hot dogs and brats.  Everyone brought salads and side dishes.  And clean up was wonderful (for me anyway).  I would walk into the kitchen and it would seem like a fairy had come in and cleaned everything up to a sparkle.  Abby washed loads of bath and beach towels, and Emily was constantly fluffing and tweaking the house (my little interior designer is a neat freak!).  And I wanted to mention these pies.  In the next town there is a little bakery that also serves breakfast.  You can purchase pies that the owner has assembled from scratch, and then bring them home to bake them yourself.  Super fresh and delicious!

Of course there are mishaps and problems.  Last year son Kevin fell off the stone wall where it had started to crumble.  I think we also had an overflowing toilet that year.  This year it was my turn.  Friday night we were watching a gorgeous fireworks display across the bay.  Afterwards I started to walk down to the pier to see how the kids had liked it and and whoops!  See these cobblestones?  Yep, stepped right on them and twisted my ankle.  We have ground squirrels that are burrowing under our patio, and yes, we've hired someone to fix this and are still waiting.  I'm just glad it was me and not someone else.  I hobbled around the next two days but it was really only painful when I had to go up or down the stairs.

Our 4th of July fireworks display is shot off the island and at dusk, a zillion boats go out on the lake and anchor to watch.  The number of guests we now have for the holiday has made it impossible to go out, so we walk down to the boat launch to watch it.  It was spectacular, as always.

This is Milo this morning. He totally wears himself out at the lake and with meeting all these new canine friends, he really outdid himself this time!  I could use a nap or two myself.  But on a serious note, The Husband is having surgery tomorrow, a follow up sort of surgery to the one he had in December.  If all goes well he will get out on Friday and then there will be a 2-4 week recovery.  He wants to spend it at the lake.  He is NOT going out on his fishing boat!  I am going to set up a comfy chair at the end of the dock with his tackle box and pole and he will have to be satisfied with that.  I plan on doing some more gardening and maybe we will take a few day trips.  So if I don't get around to visiting you this week, you know where I am.  

So, run out and get your copy of Romantic Homes at Walgreens, CVS or your favorite grocery store.  And remember, you never know who is watching your blog! :)

XO,

Jane