Today is a big day! We’re carpooling with friends to attend a live Nate Bargatze comedy show in Halifax. Exciting. Before that shindig gets underway, I’m coming at you with a post full of Happy Things.
ONE MORE TRIP TO THE LAKE
We’ve managed another glorious visit to my parents’ home on the lake. The weather was great; we made the most of any day that featured wind or clouds and cooler temperatures. There was lots of fishing, daily swimming, bonfires (breakfast, supper, and s’mores). Friends came over to play and we went to visit others. We watched Olympics coverage, ate meals inside and out, and spent time reading books. A worked hard on some crafting projects. John had to work each day, but managed to fit in lots of time for lake activities. We went to bed early and slept in. I took one shower the whole week, deciding my daily swims were good enough in the bathing department.
We’re coming home a little more tanned and with a lot more happy memories.
THE OLYMPICS
What a fun focus for the last few weeks. We’ve laughed and cheered and groaned and cried (fourth place finishes are. the. worst!). While we kept busy with outdoor pursuits of our own, we made plenty of time to keep track of how things were going for our Canadian athletes.
BOOKS
I read two books this week. First up was Yellowface. Meh. I’m glad I read it because of all the hype, but I don’t think it was quite worth all the hype? The second was a book called Boundaries which was a bit hit-and-miss, but mostly hit because it reinforced some hard lessons I’ve had to learn the last few years. I flagged a lot of pages and want to go back through and take notes/continue to digest the wisdom. It felt good to carve out time to read!
INDOOR PLUMBING…AND OUTHOUSES
Growing up, my parents’ current home was a small, rustic cottage. They’ve since added new sections and winterized it – including the addition of indoor plumbing and electricity. Nice to have, but not quite as charming.
Kae’s Anniversary Guest Post for Engie included a mention of gratitude for indoor plumbing. Amen.
That said…with only one bathroom and summer groups of people in wet bathing suits my parents still have an outhouse tucked off in the woods so I get to dabble in the joys of living off-grid.
BONUS HAPPY THINGS
- Going to bed tired and falling asleep immediately.
- Waking up to the sound of rain on a skylight.
- Waking up to the sound of a crackling bonefire on the beach.
- Watching your kids jump into the water with glee.
- Watching your kids catch fish/skip rocks/roast a marshmallow with glee.
- Homemade waffles.
- Crossing things off a to-do list.
- Every cup of coffee this week. Each one was a joyful experience.
- Cold water to drink. Warm water to swim in.
- My two new friendship bracelets; one of A’s creative projects this summer has been crafting intricate bracelets. Our whole family now sports a custom-made bracelet (or two) and it makes me very happy.
- All the nature spotting this week. Herons. Osprey. Turtles. Deer. Ducks. Frogs. Beaver. Loons.
- Being home again.
- Sushi.
- Hot showers.
Happy Weekending, friends.
Your turn. How long does it usually take you to fall asleep? Highlights of your week? Have you spotted any interesting flora or fauna this week?
Birchie
Yellowface is the perfect example of a book that I would have liked a lot more if I’d stopped reading it about halfway through. I loved the main character even though she’s not a likeable person, and I understood why she couldn’t resist the temptation to steal the manuscript…but after the big juicy setup the story went nowhere IMO.
Yay for the extra lake trip and have fun tonight!
Elisabeth
Yes to this exactly. I was very intrigued by Yellowface and was loving it and then…despite it being such a short book…the middle and end just seemed to last forever. I agree that the story really fizzled (and we never really found out what happened to those Moleskine notebooks that her mother had?).
San
Oh, what a wonderful time at the lake. One of these days, I am going to go on a weekend getaway to a lake house. I love the whole vibe!
Coffee makes my happy list every week, btw 🙂
Elisabeth
I highly recommend the whole vibe!
I’m sitting drinking my afternoon decaf and…yes, please!!!
Jan Coates
We spent the week here at the cottage with baby Violet, Noelle, Liam & Rachel. A lot of diaper changing and breastfeeding! And reading A LOT of books to Noelle, but all of it good. She’s shaping up to be a very thoughtful big sister – comforting Violet when she’s crying with “It’s okay, Noelle’s here.” And best of all, Don got the bunkie interior finished in time, so we slept out there in our brand new queen size bed – away from the feedings every three hours, etc. Glad you got to the lake again – the kids are growing up quickly!
Elisabeth
Awww. What a wonderful summer you’ve had. Those early stages of infanthood are such a blur, but I’m sure it’s wonderful for Liam and Rachel to have an extra set of hands…and wonderful that you and Don can be rested in the mornings.
Enjoy every moment <3
coco
I love the feeling of going to bed tired, not exhausted, and read few minutes, feeling sleepy, put my earplugs, put the pillow between my legs, hug my stuff toy and feeling so comforting to fall asleep this way.
First sip of the coffee is the best!
Love all the nature pics, everyone is in our best self when we are near nature.
Love the color combo of these bracelets!
Elisabeth
I just had a first sip of coffee and it’s so true – it’s ALWAYS delicious.
I got to choose my braclet colours and love how they turned out. Very “me.”
Lisa’s Yarns
The week at your parents sounds amazing! That will be us in a little over a week. I am so ready for a week of downtime and having my out of office on! I haven’t really had a break since our April Florida trip and I badly need a break!!
I did not see any flora and fauna that was notable this week but Paul and Phil saw a hawk in our neighborhood one morning this week so that was exciting for them!!
I can usually fall asleep fairly quickly as I am usually so dang tired. The times I have trouble falling back asleep is when I wake during the night. I will usually read on my kindle for a bit until I feel sleepy when that happens.
Elisabeth
I’m so excited for you and I hope it is everything you hope it to be and MORE.
Jenny
Your lake photos are gorgeous!!! It all looks amazing- I wouldn’t even mind the outhouse (I’ve used enough porta potties at races, so I’m not too picky.)
I’m glad you said that about Yellowface (and I read Birchie’s comment as well.) It’s one of those books I keep feeling like I should read- but maybe now I’ll skip it. I have too many other books I really want to read.
I love A’s bracelets! Did you request the colors? I love the pink/purple combo.
Elisabeth
I’m the only one in my family (like L, A, and John) that will use the outhouse. I grew up using it 4 weeks/summer so using it a few times a year is no problem for me now.
Yellowface was fine. I know some people LOVE it. I 100% agree with Birchie – but hadn’t put my finger on it yet – that the book is too long. It’s a short book, but the first half is so captivating and then the second half seems to drag. You might love it though, so don’t let me discourage you. I’d give it a 3.5/5.
I DID request the colours and I love that she used the same colours but with two different styles.
Nicole MacPherson
Oooh what a lovely week. And yes, hooray for indoor plumbing!!
I liked Yellowface a lot, but I have had that experience in which a book is so hyped that it is a letdown when I finally get it in the library queue.
Elisabeth
Hyped books rarely seem to work for me. Sigh. I did love The Dutch House and Hello Beautiful, though, and those were fairly “hypey.”
Suzanne
Oh my goodness, THE LAKE. So beautiful, so much fun. (Except for the outhouse — I get a kick out of you finding it charming!)
One of the highlights of my week was the lake at my parents’ house! And another highlight was spotting all sorts of fun birds: sandhill cranes, a bald eagle, loons, and a turkey vulture!
I hope you are having a wonderful time with your friends and Nate. He cracks me up.
Michelle G.
Your time at the lake sounds amazing and looks amazing, too! I agree; that photo of the kids jumping is pure JOY! Wonderful!
Tobia | craftaliciousme
Oh those pictures. I want to come visit you parents lake house. Bonfires and swims and hot cups of coffee with a book in hand. It’s the perfect summer vacation. So glad you got to enjoy that. I am sure – while the pictures are gorgeous – they don’t do the lake and experience justice.
J
I know your kids have their moments and fight, and everyday life can be a lot, but I know they are going to look back at their childhoods and remember these summers, these trips to Europe, time at the lake, camps, all of it, and KNOW they had a magical childhood. Not perfect, no one has that, but magical nonetheless.
We’re watching the closing ceremony of the Olympics as I type this, and it’s SO FRENCH. I love it.
Stephany
What a fun week at the lake! (I almost said “fun ending to summer” but you guys still have a few more weeks left! The kiddos went back to school this week around here.) It must feel so good to get away on these lake trips.
It usually doesn’t take me too long to fall asleep but lately, it’s been a bit more difficult. Very frustrating! I probably need to dose myself with melatonin for a few days to jumpstart my system. That usually helps!
Maria
Your lake trip sounds refreshing and fun! We have had overall gorgeous weather in NB this summer – glad you have gotten to enjoy some of it too!
Anne
Love this. So much. The coordinated jump into the lake? Joy in motion, joy in life, just…joy.
I also love that you let L drink coffee. <3 I nearly always fall asleep within minutes, with the light on, then wake up disoriented, with the light still on, and re-situate myself. Sometimes, though, it's 2 hours later. What this says about the amount of sleep I'm (not) getting, I don't want to know… sigh.
Sarah
The lake pictures are perfect summer **chef’s kiss**