HOME AGAIN

I have to admit, the last week of vacation was quite lazy.  Naps everyday, visits from neighbors, finishing another book.  Pure down time.  The heat was high again, so was the humidity, so I spent a lot more time indoors than I cared to.  The Husband didn't seem to mind.  he went fishing in The Beast almost every evening.  Didn't have a whole lot of luck catching anything, the kids fishing off docks in our bay seemed to have more success!  But fishing in his new boat was the highlight of his trip and although I passed on many an excursion, he was a happy guy!

Isn't this a cute arrangement?!  We had an old, ugly bistro table with these heart shaped chairs that we managed to salvage.  We took the seats off and The Husband put his potted plants in them.  Then he added them to our new bistro table.  If I wasn't in my lazy mode, I would have made a little tablescape!

Our good friends, the Miller's were staying on a nearby lake and came to visit a few times.  It was always fun, snacking, cooking out and having a few drinks by the fire.  Their son, Luke, cooked chicken on the grill for us one night.  This is his innovative way to avoid the heat and smoke! lol!

Speaking of smoke, I showed you our fire pit in my last post.  This is the new and improved fire pit completely put together piece by piece by The Husband.  It took him almost all day  Since the temperatures were so high, we just gave it a trial run.  It's so nice to sit by it and not get smoke in your eyes.  Hopefully cool temps are on the way and we can really put it to use!

Packing up was not easy in more ways than one.  We had a ton of leftover food, fruit and veggies.  Neighbors were always so nice in sharing goodies from their gardens.  Susie next door had tons of zucchini and green beans that she shared with us.  Yum!

We got home about 6:00 p.m. last night and it's a little of a relief!  Vacations can be a time to renew and they can also exhaust you!  Bot moreover, they add balance to your life and I sure needed that!  Now it's back to a routine and enjoying the second half of the summer.  

If I have missed commenting on your blog, I am so sorry.  I did very little blogging while I was gone, but I promise to catch up this week.  I hope I didn't miss anything juicy!  See you all soon! :)

IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE!

Well, it's Thursday already and I can't believe my vacation is winding down.  Even though we didn't take that little trip to the island on Lake Erie that we were talking about, and though I missed the county fair this year, I feel like time has flown!  One of the best things we did was throw the cocktail party last night for our long time friends on the lake.  Would you believe thatthe above picture is the only one I took?!  This was our mini bar next to the outdoor frige which was filled with cold beverages.  Our guests arrived between 6:00 and 6:30, each bringing a hot or cold dish.  My huge harvest table was filled with delicious salads and appetizers.  It didn't take long before people were making themselves plates and I was busy greeting and mingling!  You know how that goes.  We get so busy here on the weekends, and even our friends that live here year round are involved with chores and family time, so we don't see one another much.  It was a wonderful time!

The last time I posted I wrote that I would share pictures of our big family weekend that went from Friday to Sunday night.  There was a whole lot of fun on the water with the wave runners, kayaks, boat, paddle boat and even The Beast...The Husband's fishing boat!  We made trips to the sandbar, dropping people off to play in the knee deep waters along the shore line.  Others, like me, sat and enjoyed the 85 degree temperatures and a light breeze. I did take Mary Clare's mother, Peggy, out on the wave runner for a scenic tour of the homes along the lake.  She enjoyed her first ride and I was careful not to speed! :)

There was tons of food (and cold water), and plenty of snacks. 

Here is son Kevin relaxing on one of his rare days off from work.

It looks like someone has a secret!

But they're not telling!

Someone must have set out a new appetizer to try!

Oh, don't you miss the days when playing on the beach was so much fun?

This is Papa posing with his granddaughters (mine are missing).  Still recovering from recent surgery, Papa had a ball!

The captain of the boat took a much needed break.  I have to thank The Husband for all of his hard work keeping everyone busy and happy.  A BIG smooch to you! :)

This is the buffet that was set out in the kitchen Sunday night.  Everyone brought a side dish to go with the hamburgers, chicken and brats.  Look at that delicious strawberry salad!

And this is who made it, my pretty sister in law, Karen.

The kids never seemed to wear themselves out.  Everyone has permanent smiles on their faces.  Look at these cute freckles!

It was another memory making weekend at the lake with the family that I love so much.  It was so good to see Papa relax and have fun, the kids run and jump off the dock, Milo running around with them, chasing after the boats and toys as they left the dock.  I wish all of you could have been there...well you sort of have with all these pictures.  Thanks so much for following along! :)

I'm joining Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday

BATHROOM REDO, DOGS & FROGS

I left you last week with a project started, painting the powder room.  Well, it took me 2 days and although this is my vacation, the results were well worth it.  This is the before...

...and here is the after.  I am so pleased!  It looks so much more open and bright.  Even Emily, who chose the original red, loves it!  I had to do two coats even though the paint had primer in it.  Tell me what you think!

Friday night Abby and her boyfriend Tom came up.  The first thing Abby wanted to do was give the dogs a bath in the lake (seems a little useless since that's what they smell like in the first place!).  Yes, it took 3 of them to hold Milo down, he was very confused.  He likes the tub and although the lake water is warm, he wasn't exactly loving it!

Then it was Layla's turn while Milo watched and probably laughed. 

They got a good drying off under the arbor and were ready for company!

A bonfire was lit and company started to arrive. 

Leave it up to my adult sons to revert to a childhood pastime, hunting down bullfrogs!  These are some big critters and really give me the creeps.  After grossing everyone out, this guy was let go.  

Most of the family arrived Saturday afternoon and then more on Sunday.  We almost topped last year with 25 people.  I have a slew of pictures to share with you, but I'll do that in my next post.  Everyone was gone by late last night and I collapsed in bed shortly after.  The Husband is cleaning up the patio and yard right now and I have the inside to do.  Then we are going to take the wave runners out to the sandbar and chill with a few cold beverages!

Wednesday evening is our cocktail party.  It's going to be a great time reconnecting with friends we don't see too often.  I really don't have a lot to do to prepare, so the next few days are going to be carefree.  I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend.  The weather here in Michigan is gorgeous and a nice break from all the rain.  Thanks for stopping by and I will see you in a few days. 

I'm, joining Honey at 2805 for Potpourri Friday.

A BATHROOM REDO ON A RAINY DAY

Lest you think I have fallen off the face of the earth, we are now on our 4th day of vacation at the lake.  In spite of the heat and now, a rainy day, we have been having a ball and are keeping quite busy!  Son Jeff met us up here Friday night and spent all day Saturday here.  It was really a treat because it has been so long since he's been up to the lake and he is usually all work and no play.  But here he is with The Husband and Milo on the beast after a fishing excursion.  It's hard to believe he is thirty years old...seems like yesterday he was ten years old,  catching frogs and fishing off the dock!

The heat has been insufferable but we have managed to keep busy.  If there is a nice breeze I can tolerate being outdoors.  Our flowers and plants are paying the price, but The Husband keeps using his home remedies and we haven't lost anything yet...just fewer blooms.  We had a nice thunderstorm with a lot of rain last night so that should help. 

This is my project for today, painting the powder room.  It shouldn't take that long, as you can see, half of it is bead board.  Emily was in charge of decorating the bathroom/mudroom when we renovated a few years ago.  The mudroom has a wonderful Pottery Barn bench with a cushion and baskets below, and a shelf with hooks above (I can show you better when I finish with it).  She painted the bath this dark red and the mudroom a chocolate brown.  The laundry room is beige.  Overall, it's very dark and not very beachy looking. 

We made a trip to Menards yesterday and I picked out this new color, the middle one called Aqua Whisper.  I think it's going to look perfect and really brighten things up.  Emily, if you are reading this, I'm sorry!  But I think you will like it!  So that is one of the things on my agenda for today.

I am in the midst of planning a cocktail party with my neighbor, Barb.  We have a guest list with about 30 people, friends around the lake.  Pretty invitations were printed and we wrote out envelopes yesterday, so I have to go to the post office in town and get them mailed.  I ordered some fun party things from a website called Smarty Had A Party, disposable forks and serving spoons and tongs that look like real silver.  Napkins, plates that look like china...it's a really great website.  

This weekend we have a big group of family and friends coming up, time to bring out all those inflatable toys!  The weather is supposed to be wonderful.  Now, it's time for me to get off my bum and scoot.  I will be back with pictures of the painted bath/mudroom as soon as I can.  Stay cool!

ROW ROW ROW YOUR BOAT!

This is just a short post so you don't think I am MIA.  The heat here is dreadful again and I have been a recluse up at the lake for the past 5 days.  The water temp is in the 80's, it's like taking a bath.  With fish.  At night it would cool off a bit and I would sit outside reading, but for the most part, stayed in, even cooking on the stove instead of the grill.  We had a good thunderstorm on Saturday but it did little to cool things off.  The Dog Days Of Summer!

We brought The Husbands new boat up with us from Illinois.  Boy, did he fill this thing up with gadgets.  A motor, depth finder and he made a plank of wood into a holder for his fishing rods.  I chickened out of taking the maiden voyage with him Saturday morning.  We got up a 5:00 a.m. and I made him a carafe of coffee and wished him well.  I was so worried he would break down in the middle of the lake!  It wasn't like he was sailing around the world alone.  He came back about 3 hours later and was a little disappointed that he only caught one bass.  He went out twice more on Sunday and Monday and had no luck.  There is a saying that in the heat, the fish keep their mouths tightly closed.  He was quite proud that our neighbors came over to check out the beast!

Friday we leave for two straight weeks at the lake.  I am praying for good weather.  Either that or I will have to just brave the heat because I really don't like sitting indoors.  16 whole days.  I am beyond excited.  Of course I will have to get used to fishing again on the beast, and I have been a real sissy about taking the wave runner or kayak out because of the mean swans on the lake.  They chase you flapping their wings and they are by no means small birds.  

All is good on the home front.  I have so much to do before we leave.  We had son Kevin and Mary Clare over for dinner last week.  I made lasagna and stuffed shells.  Rumor has it that after MC runs in the Chicago Marathon in the fall, they are going to start a family.  I am so excited!  This and Emily getting married in May is just too much!  And...we are putting together a trip to New Mexico for this spring.  We have never been to the Southwest so I'm really happy The Husband is up for this.  I have a girlfriend that I've know since grammar school that lives in Albuquerque and we are going to see each other for the first time in 25 years.  We have been having email marathons and it seems neither of us have changed a bit.  I am really excited.  More on this later.  

I hope all of you had a great weekend.  Let's all hope for an end to the heat and do a little rain dance! :-)

FLUFFING THE SUMMERHOUSE!

Whew, the temperatures have finally cooled down to 85 degrees.  Considering it was well over 100 this past week, I am relieved!  I stayed in as much as possible, pretty much only going out to water the flowers.  I did lose 2 pots and I want to make a run to the nursery to replace the flowers..  Then I will keep my fingers crossed that we don't have another heat wave like this.   

Up at the lake, I occupied myself cleaning the Summerhouse.  This is not to be confused with the main house.  It is a detached separate sort of guest house with two pull down beds.  See the little porch on it?  Sitting there we have a wonderful view of the bay.

Behind this settee, you can see what looks like a closet door, but inside is a pull down twin size bed, and another on the other side of the room.  Surrounded by trees, it feels like you are waking up in a treehouse!  The glass windows pop off so that you are just screened in.  It's a great respite from buggy evenings.

This is my favorite chair.  I love to sit in here and watch T.V. or read.  There is even a window seat for the dogs!  I found the chippy little drop leaf table at The World's Longest Yard Sale and the wicker chair came from a little antique store in South Haven, Mi.  

So, I spent a good part of Saturday in the heat cleaning and scrubbing, dusting and fluffing.  My little playhouse is ready for some relaxing days and evenings!

The dogs didn't take the heat well at all.  Here's Milo trying to catch a breeze.  Luckily, the heat died down Saturday night and the wind picked up blowing cool fresh air in.  We left the lake Sunday afternoon to pick up a new toy...a fishing boat!  The Husband has been searching Craig's List  and we finally found the perfect one in Valparaiso, IN.  It fit perfectly in the truck and it's now in the driveway ready to go back up to the lake on Friday.  We used to take a lot of fishing trips when the kids were small, renting cabins in Wisconsin and Michigan, renting pontoons and fishing all day.  When we bought the lakehouse, we got into so many other lake activities that we only fished occasionally off the dock.  So...I have my oars ready and you will soon see us out on the lake at 5:30 a.m. when the fish are jumping!

I hope all of you had a good week in spite of the wretched heat.  I will try to get around more in my visiting.  My To Do list is a mile long, but I hope to catch up on everything in the next couple of days.  See you soon! :-)

ALL AMERICAN WEEKEND

Happy 4th of July all!  Well almost.  It seems the whole weekend was a celebration with company and cookouts and fireworks and don't forget the hamburgers and hot dogs!  All things American!  I fiddled with my table and couldn't decide on a centerpiece I liked better, so here are the two I narrowed it down to.  I keep all my July 4th things in a cabinet in the garage.  Apparently The Husband moved most of it to a shelf in the shed, "Jane's Gardening Stuff".  Sneaky guy!

I think I like the runner better.  Milo wore the scarf the rest of the weekend. 

We got up to the lake Friday night and stayed until this morning.  Abby dropped in from a nearby lake where she was spending the weekend and we had a few friends on and around the lake pop in...otherwise, not near the 27 people we hosted last year!

We played in the garden and although we had a little rain twice, everything was watered over and over due to the 90 plus temps.  I managed to sit outside or in the Summerhouse when we weren't playing with the lake toys, but I finally succumbed to the heat yesterday and stayed in most of the day.  This heat wave seems to have no end in sight. 

This is a little sign I bought last weekend in Galena.  I did get a little burned on the boat and a few new freckles (bad me...no sunscreen).  Otherwise I stayed out of the sun. 

I had to take a picture of the daisies blooming.  And I filled vases with them for every room!  We definitely have an abundance of them!

This pic is out of order...I had a little bit of the red, white and blue everywhere!

I wanted to show you the bottle holder I bought in Galena also.  I'm not sure yet where I am going to keep it.  It will be great for parties when everyone is drinking something different. 

Yesterday was The Husband's birthday.  We celebrated with steaks and clams and potato salad and corn on the cob.  Yum!  He always has such a festive birthday.  

Saturday night we watched the fireworks out over the lake from our balcony.  I recently started to fix up the balcony, which is off of our bedroom, a nice rug and bistro table so far.  We had the best seat in the house!  I can't seem to take night pictures with my camera so you will just have to imagine how beautiful it looked (the sky!).  Milo was a little frightened, he sat and my side and I petted him.  Layla investigated every corner of the balcony...new territory for her.  

Today I am dragging.  Our section of town has a parade tonight and fireworks and tomorrow night we are going to a barbecue.  It makes me tired just thinking about it...but give me 5 minutes!

Hope all of you had a wonderful weekend.  Happy 4th of July to all!