#sol18 . Road Trip

Make a list.

Edit the list.

Cross things off the list.

Lose the list.

Make a new list.

Heading out on a road trip.

No specific plans, just a destination in mind.

Motel reservation made.

Load the car.

Make room for Chloe (she loves road trips)

Too many clothes--not leaving any.

Sunglasses? Check.
Water bottle filled? Check.
Snack box filled? Check.
Mail stopped? Check.
Blog post written? Check!

See you next week!

#celebratelu

It's been such a lovely week at the lake. The weather, for the most part, has been lovely. Chloe and I have been able to be outside, playing and taking lots of walks. If I'm not playing with Chloe, then I can sit outside, read and stare at the lake.

There have been afternoon naps, golf with friends, lunch with friends, dinner with friends.

You're getting the theme here, right?

My husband got back to the lake yesterday and got to join in the fun. While being alone is nice sometimes, I'm glad he's back. Things are just more fun with him around. After a busy week at work, he's more than ready for some lake fun.

I'm looking forward to heading home for a few days though. I've got some friends to check in with back there!

#sol18 A Perfect Summer Day

"The kids want to swim. Care if we come out?"

It definitely wasn't a lake day. Strong winds, dirty lake water. Ugh.

But we really wanted to see them. I sent the video and said, "How about we come to you?"

The girls jumped out of the car to greet us when we arrived. Or maybe they were just excited to see Chloe--because Chloe was sure excited to see them! Then the youngest boys came running. H had a secret that he told me, but not Grandpa because he wanted to surprise Grandpa. He learned to ride his bike without training wheels! The saying "smile a mile wide" was no exaggeration as he rode down the sidewalk showing off for us. Every so often, for the rest of the afternoon, he'd come up and say, "I'm going to ride around the block." And off he'd go. Still smiling.

The older boys appeared and we got hugs from them too. They'd been in the tents set up in the backyard. Camping had been the plan, but the winds and possibility of storms changed that. Backyard camping it is. Dads taught boys how to set up the tents. The plan was to sleep in the tents Friday and Saturday nights, but the weather had other plans. No worries though. Everyone had fun playing in them until bedtime.

We spent the afternoon talking. Family happenings, jobs, politics, music, and my favorite, Books!  My granddaughters are now reading YA books and it's so fun to share book ideas with them. They gave me ideas, I shared a few with them, and even a couple suggestions from the dads. We had a great time talking about them and why we loved them. I have a few I now have to check our library for.




Finally, it was time for my husband and me to leave. We both sighed as we got in the car. While the weather wasn't perfect, the day itself certainly was.

The Art Of Doing Nothing

Ruth's son, Sam, inspired my post this morning. If you haven't read Ruth's post about Sam's summer to do list, you should hop on over and read it.

Here at the lake, we all do have chores to do and jobs to go home to, but while here, most of us have mastered the art of doing nothing. And it's a beautiful place to do nothing. After Sam's explanation, I thought I'd make my own list.

Taking Chloe on a long walk along the lakeshore is always a great way for me to do nothing. Especially when I let Chloe take the lead. She loves when I just let her go where she wants and sniff everything in her path. I do have to pay attention to her a little bit, though. She's been known to almost pull me off my feet when she gets a whiff of some critter and wants to go off hunting.

Reading is also a great way to relax. My problem is when I read outside I sometimes just put my book down and stare at the lake. There is nothing more relaxing than watching the waves roll into shore. I also watch the birds a lot. Their eyesight must be fantastic. I sure can't see the bugs they are dive-bombing!






Naps are always a good relaxer. At home I never need them. Here at the lake, I often "close my eyes for a minute". It's not hard work that makes me sleepy, just plain old-fashioned relaxation.

Short walks around the resort are great for doing nothing. You can also check-in with all the others doing nothing, see how their nothingness is doing. You have to be careful on these walks though. The ones who haven't perfected the art of doing nothing will try to guilt you into "doing something". They will try to make you see the error of your ways. My advice is to excuse yourself and just keep walking! Avoid the busyness!

Although sometimes watching others work can be fun. Crowds gather some days when new trailers get pulled in, when decks are being built, and old trailers are being painted. Yes. I have watched paint dry. The trick when watching others work is not to offer any suggestions on how to do it better. If you do that, be prepared to be invited to work!

Now. I'm curious. What's your favorite way to do nothing?