THE MAGNIFICENT BLESSING OF THE LAKE

One last missive from the deep north woods. Just when we thought we didn't have to go to town again, the tire on the Honda was low and Richie had to remove it and take it to town for diagnosis. Value-stem problem. Sure glad he noticed it before we started home.

Last night we had a HUGE old popple tree slam down to the ground behind the cabin. No wind. Just old age. Richie now has another job to tackle. I keep telling him it (chopping up the tree) can wait til next year, but it seems he can't relax if there's work to be done. (Next day: He is already done doing it and is now hauling the logs up the hill and deep into the back woods.)

Within the past 4 nights, we've gone from pleasant fishing weather in the evenings to downright cold or too wavy for crappie-fishing. Hope this is just a cold front that will move past. It is supposed to warm up tomorrow.

I will post a pic of our new bathtub. Heavy vinyl and keeps the water hot enough for both of us to soak for 15-20 minutes. Feels like a dream after having showers all summer. We fill it up with the hose from the laundry sink in the garage and can make it super hot. I've been wanting one for years.

Two does and their two fawns were walking by our fallen tree this morning. I don't know how anyone can hunt these beautiful creatures.

As I journey toward the end of my 2019 summer, it leave me to ponder how amazingly blessed we have been to have this oasis. There is everything I crave here.....total silence, hearing and seeing nobody for days on end, sleeping as long as I want, reading as much as I want, no expectations or responsibilities, deer walking through the woods near our picture windows, chipmunks scurrying across the deck. I am so aware of God here. I look at the stars in the dark sky and know that he has counted them all and calls them each by name (Psalm 147:4). He knows the very depth and breadth of every body of water in our state's 10,000 lakes. 

What did the two of us ever do to deserve the magnificence of this gift from the Creator? I know. Nothing. Like salvation, we didn't earn this piece of the northwoods. There was no way we could have earned it. In His great goodness, in His time, God lavished us with a tiny piece of heaven right here on earth.

It is not lost on me that not many people can have this luxury and we certainly don't take it for granted. We try to be good stewards of this plot of woods. I shed tears every fall that we close up and pray that the next 9 months go by quickly.

I think back to the 3 year search we made for a WI or MN cabin. Almost every weekend we were with a realtor. God's fingerprints were on the search....every door closed before us. As soon as walked in thigh-deep snow onto this property (in January of 1988), thick with birch and pine, and stepped into the all-knotty-pine cottage, we heard God's whisper,"This is the one I have saved for you."

And what would we have missed had we jumped ahead of God's plan for us? Sam would not have ever met his best friend James, he would not have ever met his wife Gretchen, we would never have had 4 amazing summers as Youth leaders in our church, when our cottage became a tangle of teenage fun and laughter. We would never have had gallons of blueberries to bring home every fall along with our fish. 

It is so true.....we need to wait on the Lord's plan to guide and direct our steps. So often He "feels" late. We had no idea we would wait 3 years to find our most loved and favorite place in the whole world. In any of our travels, upon arriving home, we have always said, "I would have rather been at the lake."

my new bathtub

Baby Margaux, whom we met last week. My great-niece. 

 

Richie's little sweetie, Margaux

                            I love taking the 4-wheeler 3 miles out to

the mailboxes to get our mail.

STARTING TO COUNT DOWN

Another perfect lake day up north. After I post this, I am going to get outside and enjoy it. We went to Duluth this week to say goodbye to some friends who are moving to Texas, meet our new great-niece, Margaux (who took to Richie like a duck to water....and apparently she doesn't do that with strangers). He lives up to his nickname, The Baby Whisperer. She is so precious. So glad my niece didn't have to work that morning and was home with the kids.

Then we went out to Morgan Park and surprised our dear friend Kay. When I went on bed-rest with Sam, Kay pretty much ran our lives. She took over as office director, (we owned a PT clinic), called me daily to encourage me, did library and grocery runs for us. We owe her so much that can never be repaid. 

We then drove up north to Ely to see my brother Mike and sister-in-law Shirleen. They have a cabin on Burntside Lake and had added an addition onto their log cabin we had not seen yet. So beautiful. Mike grilled us up lake trout he caught that morning and we stayed overnight. Left the next morning after he grilled us up a sumptuous breakfast. They have this huge deck overlooking the lake where we ate.

Sam came up for 2 days before we went to Duluth. It is always a happy time when he comes home. The Vikings had a couple of days off.

Getting mentally prepped for the brain and lung scans when I get home. I never enjoy them. But I am anxious to see the results of the gamma knife. Last week was my 9th year anniversary living with cancer. Praises to God for letting me live this long.

Enjoy your last weeks of summer.

Richie and Margaux

9 years walking with lung and brain cancer

A NO-BERRY YEAR

I just ache to think of summer being so close to over. It has been a perfect summer. EXCEPT that the blueberries did not come out this year. Dick and some of his guy friends all checked out our blueberry patch and there was nothing but a berry here and a berry there. They all agreed it was not worth going back to check later in the summer. 

So for the first year in 32, we are not coming home with any berries. We had so many berries last summer that I had to give my last 4 packages to my friend Jill before we left. We did go over to our widower friend Bill's and picked a 13x9 size pan full of raspberries from his lush raspberry garden. So yummy with cream.

Had an accident the other day. Just shows my muscle weakness from the chemo. Got stuck in the lake. Could not get into a standing position from squatting or kneeling or sitting so Richie had to lift me out of the water and help me stand and told me to just walk up our 6-ft incline where we launch our fishing boat. I started up the tiny incline, and gravity simply overcame my weak legs and I stumbled and fell backwards into the shallow water onto my back and head. The mobility and stability and flexibility I have lost astounds even me.

Richie finished making his wood-chip path between the garages, he filled the two turnarounds on our land and it looks great. We still have enough chips to cover an acre, I'm sure.

I have read so many books this summer, I can't remember the names of them or the characters in them. My memory loss plays into this too. I finish one and start another within 30 minutes and then I think the characters from the book I just read are in the current book. I really should take a few days between books, but my reading addiction won't allow that!!

We are driving to Duluth next week to see our good friends Sandy and Darrell. They are leaving to move to Texas and we want to see them. Hopefully some of my family will be there, but the girls both work and my brother and sis-in-law might be at their cabin. We'll see what happens.

 Sam is coming up tomorrow for 2 days. Can't wait! Gretch can't take any more time off work right now.....we will miss her being here. 

Here is a shot of our wood chipped path down to the big garage.