Fifty Years

This past June marked our 38th Summer here at  Camp as well as our
fiftieth wedding anniversary. To celebrate the occasion, Dale and
 I decided that we would add something beautiful and lasting to Camp. 

It was Edmond Morris, father of the turn-of-the-century Arts & Craft
 movement, who said :

 "Have nothing in your home that is not useful or which you believe to be beautiful"

And so after a great deal of research we ordered a custom, handmade,
solid six lite wooden door.Long-time carpenter & friend, Doug
 Cameron and I spent the day installing this wonderful example of
Northwest craftsmanship. I had devoted the better part of the previous
 month carefully sanding and applying a total of four coats of marine

 spar varnish and the result is truly the most beautiful entry way door
 that I have ever seen.

                                                                         

Spring at Last

This past winter, in contrast to last year, was an easy one. And so it was that most of us were filled with the expectation that true spring weather would arrive sooner than usual as well.

We were wrong.

Ice-Out on March 4th was the earliest anyone could remember but April and the first week of May seemed to be one long stretch of raw, cold and rainy weather.

Outside work around our Camp was halted. Even the people that you met at the Post Office or the dump seemed grumpy.

Yesterday, May 12th, all that changed and for the first time you could actually feel and smell that spring was in the air.

A warm sun, crystal clear skies and a gentle breeze brought back memories of past spring seasons and the lead up to a summer filled with family and fun on the lake.

Taking a break from cutting up some fallen pine boughs I sat by the edge of the water with my coffee lost in my own thoughts.

Then, as If on cue from the raised baton of an orchestra conductor, I heard it. The soulful wail of a loon not far out in the water.  She was alone and her plumage was strikingly beautiful. Almost at once the baton was raised once more and a hawk soared in from the south circling over head as if to see whether the the loon had discovered a school of fish fresh for the taking.

Sitting there, in the warm sunshine, I  could not help but wonder if at that moment they too could feel that spring at last had arrived on the lake all three of us consider to be our home.

We're on the Bumpy Road!

Most of us cherish the thoughts of a special get-away place in our lives. A place where the memories are almost always good ones. For some of us, these places are from a long ago past. But for the lucky among us the experience of place is lifelong.

For our family, merely mentioning the name "Camp" conjures up the words; family, friends, solitude, campfires, board games, and time unmeasured by the requirements everyday life; "At Camp we do nothing, and we do it all the time". 

So strong are these emotions, so certain are the expectations, that even the car ride to Camp sets the mood for the days to come. 

And so it was recently, that as we made the hour-long  journey to Camp, perhaps for my wife and I, for the one thousandth time, that our two year old granddaughter Caroline, making the trip for perhaps the twentieth time, shouted out in voice only an excited child can make;

"We're on the Whine-Dee  Road!" as we left the highway and turned onto the road leading to the lake.  As we proceeded from paved to the rough unpaved section, the voice from the car seat exclaimed eagerly "We're on the Bumpy Road!" And moments later "Going down the hill to Camp!"

From the front seat I could only smile in the knowledge that Caroline's growing memories of life at Camp will be a part of who she is for the rest of her life.

As most of the family knows, for the past 35+ years the fireplace at Camp has been unusable because of its poor ( read nonexistent) draft.

With the help of chimney and fireplace gurus Jim and Corey we have;
Cleaned the chimney, used an electric grinder to cut out the cast iron damper (which had been installed backwards), installed a smoke-guard to the front top of the fireplace, and finally, today installed a chimney top spring loaded damper.

THE RESULT:
A perfectly balanced, aesthetically pleasing, working fireplace.

One more step in our goal of making Camp the 3 1/2 season retreat that we want it to be, for this generation and the next.

Five Generations on the Lake

One of the most wonderful aspects of living on our Lake is the generational  feel of so many of the camps

and cottages. Unlike the McMansions massing ominously on  Winnipesaukee, Lake Monomonac  is still mostly a community made up of prewar and mid-century family summer homes that have been lovingly passed down from generation to generation.

I was reminded of this recently as  we went about the process of preparing for my first grandchild, Caroline's, second birthday.

As we decorated the massive hand crafted, and slightly sagging, table that has stood under the picnic shelter in a grove of pine trees for more than half a century, I paused to remember the numerous other birthdays and celebrations held there for Caroline's father and uncle and others over the years.

 Camp has been a place of so many family "firsts"; our first trip to Blueberry Island to fill our cups for fresh blueberry pancakes on a warm July morning, both our sons first solo  trips as proud "captains" of their own boat, our first time decorating and then joining the annual July 4th flotilla parade, our first hike in to a closed-for-the-season-cottage,  during winter, for ice skating and ice fishing. 

Small events perhaps, but  as we sat together around that old table with family and friends, for Caroline's party, I found myself smiling with the knowledge that with Caroline, the cycle begins once more. A fifth  generation takes root on the lake we love and cherish together.

Sean Rowe's "The Wall"

Every once in a while we hear a piece of music that seems to touch both our head as well as our heart.

Sean Rowe's "The Wall" is such a song. Having initially only heard the last few bars of the song I emediately began to search out the full song, lyrics and the song writer.  Consider if you will;

      http://youtu.be/nwVsINBxc2A

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sean_Rowe

      

Blue Barn Collectibles

In her retirement, my wife Dale has opened an online vintage store; Blue Barn Collectibles. Here are her guiding principles;

After more than 50 years in the working world, my preparation for the next steps in life’s journey include some inevitable downsizing (one reason for my Etsy vintage shop) and a deep desire to stay active and to pursue new experiences and new challenges.

Robert Fulghum wrote the famous book; "All I really need to know I learned in kindergarten". I can’t think of a better basis for setting my Etsy Shop Policies than
borrowing from his simple yet thoughtful outlook on life:

Share everything: I will always share all that I know about vintage items being sold

Play Fair: Prices will always reflect what I believe to be true value 

Don't hit people: I will be honest and fair in all my transactions 

Put things back where you found them: My shipping will be Eco-friendly

Clean up your own mess: If I make a mistake I will try my best to fix it

Don't take things that aren't yours: I will strive to offer true vintage items only

Say you're sorry when you hurt somebody: If you are unhappy let me know

Wash your hands before you eat: My shop & my home are both non-smoking

Warm cookies and cold milk are good for you: Shop closed for tea-time daily

Live a balanced life: learn some and think some and draw and paint and sing and 
dance and play and work every day some: 

If you see my Etsy “Vacation” sign up, I’ll be missing for a while......but will be back with tales to tell!! 

Take a nap every afternoon..... And then eat dinner by candle light

When you go out into the world, watch out for traffic, hold hands, and stick together: I will try to foster a spirit of comradary with other shops 

Be aware of wonder: I continue to be amazed by the people and shops here!

And then remember the Dick-and-Jane books and the first word you learned - the biggest word of all - LOOK:

"There are many things in life that will catch your eye,
but only a few will catch your heart....pursue those."

Adapted from : © Robert Fulghum, 1990. 
Found in Robert Fulghum, All I Really Need To Know I Learned In Kindergarten, Villard Books: New York, 1990, page 6-7.