Not quite the last hurrah

I came to the lake yesterday to get in a few R&R days before school starts back.  Originally, I had planned to come up yesterday and stay until NEXT Sunday, but Connie and Libby are going to see Layton on Monday, so I'm going home Sunday so I can go with them.  The plan right now is to come back on that Tuesday and stay until that Sunday.  That will be the last hurrah for my summer.  :)

After I got everything unloaded and put away yesterday, I took my camera and went down to the dock to get some late afternoon shots.  I love sunsets on the lake.  And I really love the way the sun is peeking from behind the cloud in this one.  One of these days, I'm going to invest in a really good camera and take a photography class.  Photography is a hobby I'd really like to develop.

 Relaxing on the dock is another hobby of mine, but I've pretty well developed it.  I think I'm almost at pro status.  I spent about three and a half to four hours basking in the sun today.  It was hot, but being able to take a quick dip makes it bearable.  After having left the pups inside, they've been stuck to my side/lap since I got out of the shower.  :)

After supper I'm going to sit on the porch with my book (and the fan) and enjoy the quiet.  And probably an adult beverage too...



As always, keep dreaming because you never know when those dreams just might come true!

Fun with the fam

We had a mini-reunion at the lake this weekend.  A few weeks back, Tisha called and said Connie was missing her big brothers and wanted us to all get together sometime soon.  Since Billie is in the nursing home, we don't make it to Hartselle very much.  Usually on the weekends that we were up there, we'd see most everybody at some point, but I don't think we've really seen Tim and Tisha since Christmas.  We ran into them one Sunday as we were leaving the nursing home.  I know we haven't seen Libby, Jay, or the kids since Christmas, and it's been even longer since we saw Luke.

We decided that this weekend would be a good time to get together to visit.  We still didn't have everybody there, but it can be hard to get everyone's schedules to mesh.

Connie, Zac, and Billie got there first.  We were so excited to see Billie come crawling out of Connie's car!  John said on the way up Friday that he wished she would come.  Not long after they got there, Tim, Tisha, Libby, and Gavin got there, and then Katy, Phillip, and Sam were right behind them.  Danny and Linda came up a little later, but Danny wasn't feeling the best, so he rested.

We didn't do anything special--John grilled burgers, we sat and talked, Phillip and Katy took Sam and Zac to the water and let them swim.  Billie really seemed to enjoy herself.  She was a little confused about whether it was Katy or Jessi, who Libby had married (she kept wanting her to have married "the Caldwell boy'), and who the boys belonged to.  Connie said that when she got her back to the nursing home, she told everybody that she'd gotten to spend the day with all her kids and her grandkids (almost all!) and that she'd gone fishing.  :)  She didn't fish one time, but hey, if she thinks she did, then that's fine with me!  She has fished out there tons of times.

Sam sure had a good time.  He swam for a while, and then he played with his tractor and was covered in dirt.  Bama chased a beagle around the yard, and Sam "barked" and ran after them, laughing the whole time.  Then he decided he wanted to walk, so we walked.  We went from one end of the road to the other and back to our place.  On the way back, he saw a mud puddle.  He stopped, looked at it, and looked up to me.  I looked at him and said, "Sam Pate, no."  He then proceeded to jump right in the middle of it with both feet.  I couldn't do anything except laugh.  I mean, what little boy doesn't like mud??  He also got to ride with Pop Pop on the four wheeler.  John had gotten it out earlier in the day.  Katy was sitting on it, so Sam climbed on with her.  We had walked down to Danny and Linda's dock for a minute, and when we came back up, Katy told Sam to ask Pop Pop for a ride.  In his cute little voice, he said, "Ride please, Pop Pop."  Of course Pop Pop couldn't tell him no.  I'm not sure who loves whom the most.  :)  Katy gave him a quick bath and then they left about dark.

I love the time we have to spend together with our families.  The memories are priceless. 

Keep dreaming!!

Duck duck GOOSE

The ducks will come to the dock/shore anytime anybody is around,

hoping somebody will share a snack with them.

The geese get their fair share of snacks, too.

This is the first week I've been able to come to the lake and stay so far.  Between my trip to the beach, dentist appointments, baby showers, and getting pampered, I've not had time.  I knew I better grab this week because Mr. Thomas Layton Caldwell could be making his appearance at any time.  IF Jess goes the whole time, he'll arrive three weeks from today via c-section, but she is hoping she doesn't have to wait quite that long.  Yeah, three weeks isn't long for most people, but poor Jess...she is so swollen and miserable.  But she looks beautiful, despite what she thinks.  :)

Mom and Dad came up Saturday, and we grilled out for Father's Day.  John put a pork tenderloin on and let it slow cook for a couple of hours. Oh my!  It was delicious!  As a matter of fact, I'm having the leftovers for dinner in just a little bit.  :) 



We had a nice, relaxing visit with Mom and Dad.  Fortunately, it wasn't miserably hot.  Once we just knew we were about to have a downpour, but it went a little west of us.  My poor elephant ears sure could have used a good rain!

I sat out on the dock for about three hours today.  It wasn't TOO bad...a nice breeze would blow every once in a while...but it would've been much nicer to have floated for a while.  We still haven't put the ladder back on the dock, but that's okay.  John hasn't been able to take care of it.  I could have walked over to Danny and Linda's dock, but I was just too lazy.  ;)  I may have to tomorrow. 

Not much new to share for now.  But always remember to

KEEP DREAMING!

Good times

Best Friends

 

Sun worshipper?



Duuuudddddeeeee



Memorial Day weekend 2011

Because I was working graduation Friday night, we didn't head up to the lake until yesterday.  I was awake at 3 AM yesterday.  (John says it was because I was too excited to sleep, sort of like the little boy in the Disney commercial a few years back.)  I finally got up at 3:30, make coffee and biscuits, put the cold stuff in the cooler, and dressed.  We'd planned on getting up at 4, anyway.  John got up a little before 4, and we were on the road by 4:30.

By the time we got the boat out of storage and got the trailer back in storage, it was almost 8:30 when we got here.  I had a couple of projects I wanted to get done early, so I tore in to those once we unloaded. 

We got some mulch to put around my elephant ears, and we (okay, I) wanted to make a bed around the ones by the front steps.  I moved about 10 nice size rocks for the bed.  When I say nice size, I mean carry with two hands because they weighed in the neighborhood of 20 pounds each.  But I got them done and got the mulch spread, and I think it looks pretty darn good.  I think I'm going to get some hosta to plant in the bed with my ears.  It would look a ton better if we had a beautiful green lawn.  Someday!

After doing all that, it was time to soak in the sun.  Since we had to take our ladder off our dock in the fall, I went over to Danny and Linda's dock.  I didn't think I'd be able to make it all day without getting in the water.  The first dip was pretty cool, but to quote the kids, once I got used to it, it wasn't so bad.  I ended up dozing off, so I got a little more sun that I really wanted.  Today will be a sunscreen day for sure!  I would hate to be burnt and unable to enjoy the beach this weekend!

Susan and Tim are coming over sometime today to chill and grill.  Because some lovely creature decided to use our boat as a place to enjoy a dead fish, we had to go out early and clean it up.  It wasn't an easy job, but it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be.  We have it gassed up, so we'll be ready to ride later.  I can't wait to spend the day with the Kings. We have a lot to catch up on.  :)  Maybe I'll have some pictures to post later.  It time to start the Lake Memories 2011 album!

As always,

KEEP DREAMING!

Grading like a crazy woman

We came to the lake this weekend just to get John out of the house.  Since his surgery on the 4th, he has been pretty much stuck in his recliner, and it is really getting to him!  It's one thing to stay at home if you have the option to leave, but it's quite another to be stuck.  He has gotten out a couple of days and taken the pups on a ride around town, but until yesterday, he hasn't been out and about for very long at all.  And what has he done most all day?  Napped in the recliner.  He is snoring as I type.  hahahahaha

It is rather yucky today.  It's overcast, breezy, and pretty cool, and he can't fish, so he really doesn't much else to do.  I, on the other hand, have been grading research, but that is making me crazy.  I'll grade a couple papers, and then I have to take a break.  It's good that it is yucky because I'd be so tempted to be down on the dock.  I don't have many more to do to reach my goal for today, so I should probably get back to them.  I wouldn't mind reaching my goal and then doing a couple more.  It's still early in the afternoon, so I may be able to do that.

As always, KEEP DREAMING!

Stormy weather

Today has been stormy most all day.  Thankfully our weather here hasn't been as bad as it has been (and still is) in other parts of the state.  It has rained enough, though, that the lake is about two feet over full pool and the run off continues.  We have a little branch at the edge of our property.  Most of the time, it's dry, but tonight it sounds like a waterfall.  I'll be very surprised if the water isn't over the rip rap by in the morning.

Mom and Dad rode up Wednesday and spent the day.  It was a wonderful visit.  John and Dad went fishing, but they didn't catch much.  While they did that, Mom and I just visited.  :)  I can't wait to be here more this summer so our visits can be more frequent.  Three hours isn't all THAT far away, but it's far away enough that going to visit for the day is hard.  I mean, a one day visit would include a 6 hour drive (round trip), and that's a lot of road time.

Yesterday I was quite lazy.  I sat on the dock most of the day.  John was pretty lazy himself, but he sat on the porch at our place or over at Danny and Linda's.  About 3, we took the boat out for a short ride.  It was a perfect day for a ride, but I lost my new Lake Girl baseball cap.  :(  It blew off, and before we could get back to it, it sank.  I was almost within grabbing distance when I saw it fade away.  **sigh**

Just a few more pics to share.

This little guy flew in the door and kept going to the bobber lights.  We think he must have thought they were feeders.  I pushed the screen out and he finally found his way to freedom.

John went out yesterday morning and did a little fishing.  He didn't have much luck...

But he did catch this guy.  According to the Carl Scale, it would have been a five-pound bass.  LOL  John decided to let him go.  :)

As always...KEEP DREAMING!

Stick a fork in us...we are DONE!

Our butts are dragging tonight!  We spent the entire day working in the yard.  I think we raked at least 9.5 billion leaves and probably about that many pieces of pine straw.  Fortunately it was a very pleasant day.  A nice breeze blew all day long so we didn't get miserably hot.  What we did get are blisters, aching backs, and for John, an bum shoulder.  We were almost finished for the day...only three more loads to go...when he slipped down an embankment.  SCARED me to DEATH!  He hit the ground and rolled over.  I didn't know what had happened, so I threw my rake and ran, yelling "ARE YOU OKAY??" the whole time.  He wasn't answering, so that scared me even more.  Then I saw him move, so I knew he was still alive.  :)  But the way he moved made me think he'd broken an arm.  He didn't, but he did hurt his shoulder.  I asked if we needed to go have it checked, but being the stubborn man he is, he said no.  I did tell him that if it isn't any better by Monday, he better have it checked out at work.  We did finish the yard, and now the rest of the week, we can play.  Or relax.  Or whatever we want to do!

Before I go, I want to share a few pics.  :)

 The lake after an afternoon storm

Donald Duck...he swam right up to the bank when I was taking his picture.  Think he's been fed by humans?  LOL

 Donald's ladies

My first elephant ear to make an appearance!  So tiny!

The blisters are proof that we raked 9.5 billion leaves...








Remember...KEEP DREAMING!

Addicted to sunshine

I am addicted to sunshine.

Seriously, I think I am.  I even googled "can you be addicted to sunshine."  I didn't get any hits that indicated that a person can be addicted to sunshine, but I know how much better I feel when it's sunny.

For the last week, we had some of the grayest, dreariest, gloomiest days ever, and my mood matched.  I was so blah all week long.  Finally, yesterday it started to perk up, and so did my mood.  I noticed the difference in how I felt on my way to work.  Even though I was stuck inside all day, I just felt so much better knowing that I could look out my windows and see blue skies.

I had to grade some note cards today (fortunately, Ashley is grading them too, so it only took me half as long as it would have if I didn't have an intern!) but once I finished, I put on a swimsuit and headed to the deck.  It was quite breezy at times, so I would wrap John's flannel shirt around my shoulders until the wind stopped.  Even though there were those breezy moments, just having the sun warm my skin felt so good.  Tonight my face is a little red, and I have a white strap mark across my feet from my flip flops (I didn't think to slip them off), but I don't care.  I'm just so happy to have had the chance to enjoy the beautiful day.

And beautiful it was!  Not a cloud anywhere all day.  I hope we have these kinds of days when I'm out on spring break. 

John grilled steaks for supper.  As usual, they were delicious.  Now I'm sitting here with the pups snuggled up next to me.  Ali is trying to get covered up, except I don't have a blanket, so she's trying to get inside my shirt.  Silly girl  :)  I guess I should go so I can get a blanket for her,

Remember, never stop dreaming!

Dreary day at the lake

The sky is gray, the wind is blowing, the air has a chill to it.  The forecast is calling for possible thunderstorms.  I'm glad I'm here. 

So what if I can't relax in the sun.  So what if it might be too cool (for me, anyway) to sit on the porch.  I would just as soon be here on a wet, gray day as anywhere.  What would I do if I were at home?  Probably the same thing I'll do here...read, nap, watch a good movie on TV.

John has breakfast ready, so I'm gonna go eat and then I'm gonna enjoy this stormy day.

Remember, KEEP DREAMING!

Full pool and then some!

Full pool on Smith Lake is 522' msl.  What this means is that once the water reaches 522' above sea level, it will begin to go over the dam.  Right now, the level is at 515.9'.  Fortunately, it has stopped rising.

Last year in the later winter/early spring, we had some huge rains, and the water got right to 515'.  It's amazing how much difference that extra foot or so makes.  In our "subdivision" (very loose meaning), the only walkway not under water is Danny and Linda's.  The distance between the bottom of their walkway (land side) and the top of the water ain't much, either.  The nice thing about all of the rain is that we shouldn't have to worry about getting the level up for summer.  It's already there.  The not-so-nice thing is that now we have a ton of debris that will be left in our slough and will have to be cleaned out.  Yea...

I had hoped to sit out on the swim deck today and soak up some sun, but unless I walk over to Danny and Linda's dock, I won't be doing that because I'm not going to wade out to our walkway.  Brrrr!!!  I meant to bring my camera this weekend, but I forgot it.  I did take some pictures with my phone, but I don't want to walk around until I find service so I can email them to myself.  I'll post them later.

John and Ali are napping in one recliner, and Bama is snuggled with me in the other one.  I think I'm about to grab my Kindle and read for a while.

Remember,

Keep on dreaming!

Come on it! The water's fine!

Well, okay, maybe the water's still a little cool, but that didn't stop a few hearty souls yesterday who took advantage of the beautiful day.  Several fishing boats, a pontoon or two, and even a jet ski were out and about.  Even though it was a gorgeous, sunny day (and quite warm in the sunshine), it was still just a tiny bit too cool for me to want to be out ON the water.  Unless it was just sitting on the swim deck.  And I didn't even do that for long.

Mom and Dad gave us a picture for Christmas that has "Life is better at the lake" on it.  We hung it up yesterday, and I meant to take a picture of it so I could use it in this post, but I forgot.  I tried to find the same one online, but I couldn't.  I found the one at the right, though, and thought I'd use it. 

It was after dark before we got there on Friday, so we didn't do much except unload and turn on the water before walking over to visit with Danny and Linda for a bit.  We were thrilled to find NO BURST WATER LINES!  This was a first!  We don't think they would have burst last year, but apparently someone turned on the water after we'd drained the lines.  (John, for some reason, didn't leave the line open at the boat house, so after it was turned off again, the lines didn't drain.)  When we closed up for winter last year, we left that line open AND we put a note at the valve saying NOT to turn the water on.  Before we left yesterday, we drained them again, just to be on the safe side.  This is Alabama, and it has snowed in April.  Can't take any chances.  :)

Saturday was quite overcast and cool.  John needed me to help him attach the "new" swim deck to the walkway, but that didn't take long.  Once we finished, I got a chair and my Kindle, but it didn't take long for me to realize it was just a little too cool for me.  Plus, I was still feeling crummy from my cold, so I decided to sit on the porch and read, and John got his hammock out and napped for a while.  Doesn't that sound like a perfect way to spend the day?  (Aside from the cold, that is.)

Yesterday, we sat outside with Danny and Linda for a while.  (I hope we didn't share our cold germs with them!  If we did, we are SO sorry!)  The weather was much nicer than it was on Saturday, so that made packing up to come home so much more depressing.  Hopefully, we'll be able to go most every weekend from now on.  That's the plan, anyway.  :)

I guess I should run for now.  I read over this, and boy, did I ramble.  I really don't care, though.  This is my blog, after all.  LOL

Just remember...

Keep on dreamin'!