Home Again.....

Well I'm back! I wish I could say my 9 days at the lake were wonderfully relaxing and stress free...but Mr. ImAnAss was in rare form and truly put a damper on the week. But aside from that - spending time with my family was oh so nice! It often seems that time stands still at the lake.....one can come back after several decades and not much would have changed. Oh, maybe an addition here or there to a cottage or a new deck, but the dirt road traversing around the lake would still be too dusty and too skinny for two cars to pass each other without one pulling over, the hemlock trees would still grace the shoreline giving the place an Adirondack feel, and the laid back aura of yester-year would still be hovering in the air.

I think cottages are like that. Perhaps because they hold the fondest of memories of happy times with family and friends. You can almost feel them rush to surround you as you unlock the door for the first time each season. When I'm there, my mind always drifts back to past summers...when the girls were young and no one had jobs or families to rush home to. We could spend endless stretches there - and leave all the cares of the world where they belonged - which was anywhere but the lake!

So I guess I spent this past week in a somewhat melancholy state - watching my grown daughters interact with their husbands - and seeing my grandson delight in roasting his first marshmallow, or squeal as he sat perched on the side of the sailboat as it skimmed across the lake. He's the next generation of lake kids and he's building memories that will serve him a life time and come rushing back to surround him as he opens the cottage up each season...long after I'm gone....

On the other side of this long winded coin - I didn't think too much about what I ate this week. Some of it was pretty fattening...but I didn't eat all that much either. And I actually lost a pound. Go figure! I'm not complaining!

But I do know that I have to buckle down now that summer's here and get on a walking regime every single day! I'm not near as far as I'd hoped to be at this point.

As for Mr. ImAnAss....I have to tell you. We finally nailed the jerk. This time when we arrived he has put big rocks (I'm talking too big to lift without struggle) in front of the stairs leading down to our place. So I went down to the lake front where I have "so graciously" let him grow his lillies for the past 8 years(on OUR property) and ripped them out. Then I put a twine fence across the area with a no trespassing sign. I mulched the area and put 2 large conch shells on the much. It looked pretty nice. He didn't think so. He came huffing and puffing down with his shovel and ripped the fence down, threw my shells in the lake and shoveled my mulch in after the shells. Not to worry. I got it all on video. Up until now the b------d has done everything on the sly. We knew he did it but never had proof. Now we do. A DEC officer is coming by to get the tape next weekend and is turning it over to the District Attorney. It was an interesting scene. Gave the lake something to talk about the rest of the week. I haven't met anyone yet on the lake that has a kind word for the doofus or his wife. Even his Aunt & Uncle who live on the lake don't speak to him. Do I sound consumed by all of this? I guess I am and I'm not too proud of that. In any event....I'll keep you posted.

Okay - now I need to go and catch up on all my favorite bloggers. This could take a while!