Company at the Lake

Y'all think I'm kidding about the bears here. This one was caught between Helen and Hiawassee... so, I'm estimating maybe 25 miles from here.

I've only had one cross my path. We were sitting in the parking lot of a restaurant in Helen, around 7am one Saturday morning. This big ole black bear walked past us - maybe four parking places away. He didn't notice us and I didn't make a peep. Later, Austin noted that I "freaking lose my mind" when I see a spider... and yet didn't make a sound at the sight of a bear. That's easy to explain. I didn't want that bear to know we were there.

I got this picture from facebook so I don't know what became of the car that crossed paths with this behemoth.

We had comfortable weather today and I spent a long time chilling on the screened in porch while the fam and our company (neighbors from Riverdale) were down at the dock. The boys put the boat in the water and it's mostly seaworthy. There's a small leak but nothing tragic. So there was boating and swimming and fishing and many long, oxygen deprived walks back up to the house. Myself.. I just hung with the old dogs and read a book on my nook and played sudoku. Perfect holiday in my book.

Damon, Dawn, Mawmaw, Pop and Oscar eating by the grills

Pop grilled burgers and hot dogs and ribs and made potato salad, baked beans and slaw. I made a run to the good ole DG (Dollar General) for chips and cups and picked up those new chicken and waffle flavored lays. They taste like waffles but not like chicken. I also replaced the eye makeup so I don't have to go around town looking scary. I bought super cheap stuff so that if I have to trash it again it won't be a huge loss.

I also got to talk to one-yan-Cody-san today. He got a cast iron skillet for his birthday and wanted to know how to cook this really awesome breakfast dish I used to make for the kids. I don't pretend to be a gifted cook. I'm really only just ok... but every time one of my kids calls me to ask how to make something it makes me realize that they really did LIKE my cooking, for the most part. Ryan and Cody both do the bulk of the cooking in their households and Ryan is incredibly talented. Cody is more of a "meat and potatoes" cook - he does the basics and does them well but Ryan is a creative, gifted cook. Some days it's nice to know that I had more influence on them than just exposing them to musical theatre.

Fat Pat, Austin, Little Damon with Lily and Lady

For some reason I feel much less pressure in September than I did in August. A huge part of it is knowing the appeal is filed for my disability... and having liquidated some funds so that I'm not as stressed out about money. At the end of the day I have faith in God to know that He has always provided... I have trust in my family who have never let me go without the things I needed (and often just the things that I wanted). I don't want to be a burden and I want to be able to contribute to our upkeep as much as possible so having a little give in the budget makes me feel better. And if we end up going to the next round of Disability Poker, I'll hopefully have found a way to stretch the budget. I won't waste money but it's nice to know if I want a new bra, I can buy one. If I want to drive thru McDonalds one day, I can. I'm not spending much this Christmas but I do want to do a few things and I'm hoping (since I'm home all the time) that I can do some baking this year for the first time in a long time. Maybe I'll tackle the whole pound cake making thing and give pound cakes for gifts!

David takes a break from the water for a burger

I just think it's knowing that it's September... which slides us into Fall... then we'll get together for Grandma's 90th birthday... and that slides us right in my favorite holiday of the year... Thanksgiving... because it's all the food and none of the gift giving obligations... and then having a really relaxed Christmas holiday this year because we're not trying to decorate and purchase everything down in Riverdale and haul it to Cleveland... we are having a cozy family Christmas with time to relax and enjoy our lovely mountain home and I JUST KNOW that God is giving this homebound girl a big snow at some point this Winter. I just want one Winter Water Wonderland.

That's the magic of the holidays... even though we know that not everything will be exactly picture perfect... some folks will make it and some folks won't.... we may not achieve every single tradition that we've ever had but we'll put together enough family and enough traditions to help us feel like we're part of the greater picture, in what we learn from our elders and what we pass down to our children and nieces and nephews.... Holidays make me feel like I'm participating in history... my family's history... and that's all good.

Pat hauls the boat to the dock while Austin gives moral support

I'm reading a new book: A Midwife's Tale - the story of Martha Ballard. She kept a diary of her life from 1785 to 1812 which gives a lot of insight into childbirth and social norms dealing with birth, life and death in that time period. It's fascinating. I needed something to engage my mind a bit. I feel sort of on the slippery slope of depression and discouragement and the way to avoid that is to keep moving, keep learning, stay engaged in the lives of others, just make sure you know every day why your life matters and can see a reason for the next day of how you can enrich your life and the lives of others.

So that's our Labor Day. Pop's gone back to the suburbs. We're hauling off carpet and assorted ruined items tomorrow... we'll get that downstairs Whine Cellar ready for flooring as soon as possible because although I'm grateful for my lovely attic room, I need a little more privacy that I can get up here. I need to be back in my space and whenever we can finally get my tv hauled up here from Riverdale, I'm going to be much better!

Anyways... hope you had a fabulous weekend and I'm praying that you'll all have a great week to follow! Love and hugs!

Happy September!