Observations From The Dock Boy

So as it turns out I'm the dock boy. Who knew? Not me but yup, I guess I'm the dock boy. Not something that comes naturally to me, but I'm learning. Hubs grew up boating and water skiing on lakes, and he's kind of a natural anyway at activities involving coordination while I'm a bit clumsy.

He likes to remind me we had a boat once upon a time, and then I remind him that was thirteen! years ago, and also we kept that boat in a marina where the owners hired actual dock boys. Boys who had also grown up around boats and who grabbed the lines without so much as batting an eye as you were pulling in and who tied those lines to cleats without missing a beat and who pulled you forward and pushed you away and put fuel in the tank and ice in the cooler and now I'm that boy.

So I thought today I'd share a few thoughts on my new assignment and on boating in general and since it's Thursday let's make it a nice even thirteen.

1. First things first. Boat hair. It's a thing y'all and the struggle is real.

2. I'm going to take far too many pictures of sunlight on the water, sunsets on the water, the water, the sun, and you get the idea.

3. When you live in a swim suit it takes real skill not to be photographed in said swim suit.

4. Since first launching from our own lift a little over a week ago we've taken about five excursions on the boat. These excursions involved stops at various friend's docks and also one break for petrol at the gas dock. Do you know I have not managed to get the line to the person on the dock one time without it hitting the water first? Normally it splashes down just as hubs yells, 'Don't let the line hit the water.' Bother.

5. When I'm your dock boy docking and yelling go hand in hand.

6. Also sweating. Docking, yelling, and sweating go hand in hand. Pulling up to someone's dock makes me sweat. Hubs sweats too, but I think that's mostly due to the dock boy.

7. On our first ride over to my Daughter1's in-laws dock I dropped one of the bumpers before I could get it locked in place. In my defense our old bumpers had to be wrapped around the cleat but these are fancy and lock in place. Hubs had to stop the engine so I could jump in and swim after it which I did so three cheers for the dock boy! Fortunately we were back in a quiet cove and the water wasn't moving fast. Also it was 1000 degrees and I didn't really mind getting wet.

8.  Hubs hardly rolled his eyes at all.

9. The lake is so pretty.

10. It might surprise you to know I have driven the boat and I'm good with that. I have not attempted pulling onto the lift yet, but will slay that dragon soon.

11. Riding on the boat is my jam. So long as it's not too rough, too windy, too choppy or too traffic-y, otherwise riding on the boat is my jam.

12. Some things about boating are coming back to me now, and I reminded hubs that with our first boat it took a few outings before our teamwork really clicked. There was some trial and error figuring out where to store the towel bags, remembering which cubby holds the bumpers for easiest access, mastering looping line around a cleat with one hand, and gracefully leaping from boat to dock without becoming entangled in said line. Oh wait, that's just me. Anyway it takes practice. That's what I remember.

13. Did I mention sunlight on the water is my most favorite thing?

Red, White, and Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge! So glad you've joined the fun here today, and if you've answered this week's questions add your link at the end of my post. Be sure to leave a comment for the blogger linking before you because that's what good neighbors do. Here we go-

1.  How did you welcome the month of July, and tell us one fun thing you did to celebrate the 4th. (or the weekend for any non-USA residents playing along today)

How did I welcome July? I let it roll in at a leisurely pace. I swam laps with my daughter2 then relaxed poolside, had a nice long conversation with my sister, then another nice long conversation with my west coast daughter1, I barbecued chicken and fixed corn on the cob for a rare dinner at home with the hubs, and went to bed early. See question #3. 

One fun thing we did to celebrate the 4th? We're all about the boat these days-

2. Right now...what's your favorite red thing? white thing? blue thing?

My favorite red thing is watermelon, which also happens to be my favorite summertime treat, possibly my favorite food. White thing? I love my white swim shorts. I wear them over my bathing suit as a cover up and they dry super fast so they're nice for hopping off the boat and onto someone's dock or a casual lakeside restaurant. Blue thing? Lake water. 

I know the water isn't really blue, but from the back of a boat it sure looks blue.  

3. Wave the white flag, raise a red flag, fly your freak flag...which 'flag' have you flown most recently? Explain.

Wave the white flag. I wrote about it here, but in a nutshell...a home build on top of too much travel, then more too much travel, then not enough days between travel, then too many miles in the car, combined to force my surrender to exhaustion.  

4. According to Cond Nast Traveler these are the seven best places to visit in July-

a boat safari in Botswanna's Okavango Delta, Riviera Maya mexico (it's whale shark season and apparently you can swim with them), Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, Pamploma Sapin, St. Petersburg Russia, the Fuji Rock Festival at Mount Naeba Japan, the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg Austria

If time and money weren't factors would you want to see any/all of these? Which would you most like to see and why? 

Sure I'd like to see them all. Why not? I've been to Salzburg more than once and think it's one of Europe's most charming cities. I highly recommend. Of the options listed I'm going with the boat safari in the Botswanna Delta. There aren't rough seas in the Botswanna Delta are there? If I'm mistaken about the surf there then my second choice would be Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons. They're on my to-see list and I intend to get there one day.  

5. Grilled cheese, pimento cheese, or mac and cheese...your favorite from the cheesy treats listed? 

Pimento cheese please. I used to make my own, but the Palmetto Cheese Brand is so delish I buy that now. 

6.  What makes you sweat?

People doing stupid stuff or really daring physical feats like cliff diving, or the opening scene in the movie Cliffhanger, or YouTube videos of truckers on those super scary narrow roads that wrap around a mountainside or those crazies who hang hammocks over deep canyons in the Alps. All of the above make me sweat. 

7. Your favorite movie with a 'patriotic' theme of some sort? 

I have a whole list, but I think I'm going to say Apollo 13. Maybe not what you typically think of as patriotic, but I love that film and when I watch it I feel pride in my country. The whole nation held it's collective breath in the summer of 1970 and the bravery, ingenuity, and adventurous spirit of those involved in getting that spacecraft home feels patriotic to me. 

Saving Private Ryan, American Sniper, Argo, and Act of Valor are some others I really love. 

8.  Insert your own random thought here.

I have a couple of posts I want to write related to the weekend, so will save some of my random for those. In the meantime...I was stung by a bumble bee on Monday afternoon. I haven't been stung by a bee in over 30 years. How's that for random? 

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Hodggepodge Questions-Volume 272

Welcome to this week's edition of the Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow and add your link to the party. Here we go-

1. How did you welcome the month of July, and tell us one fun thing you did to celebrate the 4th. (or the weekend for any non-USA residents playing along today)

2. Right now..what's your favorite red thing? white thing? blue thing? 

3. Wave the white flag, raise a red flag, fly your freak flag...which 'flag' have you flown most recently? Explain. 

4. According to Cond Nast Traveler these are the seven best places to visit in July-

a boat safari in Botswanna's Okavango Delta, Riviera Maya Mexico (it's whale shark season and apparently you can swim with them), Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons, Pamploma Spain, St. Petersburg Russia, the Fuji Rock Festival at Mount Naeba Japan, the Salzburg Festival in Salzburg Austria

If time and money weren't factors would you want to see any/all of these? Which would you most like to see and why? 

5. Grilled cheese, pimento cheese, or mac and cheese...your favorite from the cheesy treats listed? 

6. What makes you sweat? 

7. Your favorite movie with a 'patriotic' theme of some sort?

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

Cloudy With A Chance of Love

Just some random stuff to throw down here today.

As opposed to other days when I think oh so carefully about content, ahem.

I'm tired. Hubs might laugh at that because while I have been on the go, he has been on the go-go-go, plus he's working but still...

In the past six weeks I've flown across the country and back, made a long weekend trip to Atlanta, took an 1100+ mile road (work/fun) trip with hubs that involved stops in four cities in various states, was home for one! day before flying to Philadelphia for a week with my mom (in NJ) which included a weekend trip with a friend to a summer camp staff reunion in Maryland-

...then back to NJ, a Sunday cookout in the city (Philadelphia) at my sister and brother-in-laws house where the hydrangeas are ridiculously gorgeous-

I mean, come on!! Have you ever seen prettier hydrangeas???

After one cancelled flight and one re-booked flight, I finally made it home Monday night. Five hours later than anticipated, but nonetheless home. 

Has there ever been a sweeter word?

For some reason (actually the reason was ROOTS) I'd scheduled a hair appointment first thing Tuesday morning so was up and out Tuesday a.m., home for a quick lunch, then made the drive to the lake with hubs so we could meet the boat delivery-

...followed by a boat ride (of course!), which meant dinner at something ridiculous like 9 PM, and then on Wednesday I waved the white flag.

I was cooked, and did something I absolutely never do which is lounge in bed until 10:30 finishing a book (the Daughter by Jane Shemlit -really good!). The idea of having nowhere to be on a Wednesday morning was heavenly. Eventually I did laundry and bought groceries, then Daughter2 said she was free and we said do you want a boat ride? so when hubs finished working it was back out to the lake for dinner and a cruise.

The afternoon started off a little threatening with some dark clouds, but by the time hubs had wrestled the bimini on and off the boat the skies had turned gorgeous. And HOT. Very very HOT. A boat breeze can fix all that though, and as we headed back into our dock around 8 pm I snapped this picture of my Daughter2-

Something about this picture makes me sigh. She's all grown up now, but it's the pony tail down her back and the barefeet and the casual way she's sitting that help me see the little girl she once was.

Back when summer meant leisurely mornings at home, trips to the library to get a stack of books and whatever treat the summer reading program offered as incentive (usually a free Slurpee), an afternoon at the pool, dinners filled with something on the grill served alongside fresh corn and tomatoes and nowhere to go besides our own backyard for quiet talks and fireflies.

The weather was stirring as we made the drive home and the sky was a thousand shades of childhood summer. I thought about the words to a Psalm I love and about God's goodness in all the seasons of my life. How He sets a sky on fire with magnificent drama.

How sometimes I need to see bold beautiful brushstrokes across the heavens to remind me I am small, yet He knows my name, my longings, my heart's desire. How there is nowhere His love can't find me, including the middle of a mid-life summer.

"Your steadfast love, O Lord, extends to the heavens, Your faithfulness to the clouds." 

Psalm 36:5

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Swimming Into The Hodgepodge

Welcome to the Wednesday Hodgepodge. It's 10:12 PM and I'm just now sitting down to answer this week's questions. We shall see how it goes. If you've played along today be sure to add your link at the end of my post, then leave a comment for the blogger linking before you. Everybody loves summertime visitors! 

1. It's officially summer (in the northern hemisphere anyway). Which summer month is best and why? 

Not what I would have said as a kid, but I'm going with September. I know summer wraps up before the end of the month, but still it's that last gasp of the season I think is especially sweet. I love the light in September, the weather is lovely, and it's a great month for a holiday as places are less crowded but the beaches are still warm. It's also my birthday month, and September always feels like the end of something, yet the start of something too. 

2. Can you swim? How did you learn? June 27th is National Sunglasses Day. How many pair do you own? 

Yes I can swim and I love it. I'm not sure precisely how I learned, but I know I took swimming lessons at our local pool as a young child. Later, I think it was the summer before middle school, a friend and I both wanted to learn to dive and we paid a lifeguard to teach us. I love the water and think everyone should know how to swim.  

Currently I own two pair of sunglasses. One pair is prescription and I wear them all the time. The other is backup in case I lose this pair. My track record for keeping up with sunglasses is not the best, but I've done much better with that since I had my prescription put into the lenses. 

3.What characteristic do you judge most harshly in yourself? How about in others? 

In myself? Impatience. In others? Self-centeredness. 

4. Robert Frost wrote the now well known poem entitled The Road Not Taken. What's a road (literal or figurative) you've always wanted to travel, and where do you hope it takes you? 

Well literally I'd like to see Alaska, Australia, and about a hundred tiny little towns dotted across Europe. Also, the pieces of America I haven't seen and probably an African safari and then some of South America too. It's a big planet. 

Figuratively, I'd like to put the stories in my head somewhere besides my blog and see where that path leads. 

5. Popsicles-yay or nay? If you answered yay, what's your favorite flavor? 

I used to love them, but I don't enjoy the super cold foods anymore. If I eat a water ice or popsicle I often get a headache. My favorite flavor is lime. 

6.Brexit-on a scale of 1-10 how knowledgeable are you on what's involved here? (1=very knowledgeable and 10=what's Brexit) Is this news you'll follow or is it something you think won't impact your life in any way shape or form? 

I'm going to say 2 because I think it's a bit complicated and I'm sure I don't understand it completely. It's news I'll follow because for one thing I think you know I have a soft spot in my heart for England, and also because we live in a world where the economy is global. What happens in one part of the world tends to affect us in other parts of the world in ways we can't necessarily foresee. 

7.Share a favorite song on your summer play list. 

Lots of songs, old and new but one I love currently is Think Of You by Chris Young and Cassadee Pope.  

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

When you're building a house it feels like every thing is a process and each process requires 1000 steps to completion. Our dock went in (mostly) way back in October, the lift was installed a few weeks ago, the boat purchased a month ago, and finally we've got the lift working and the boat on our lake. Whoohoo!

Picture perfect weather Tuesday evening for her maiden voyage!

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Hodgepodge Questions-Volume 271

Here are the questions to this week's Wednesday Hodgepodge. Answer on your own blog then hop back here tomorrow to add your link to the party. See you there! 

1. It's officially summer (in the northern hemisphere anyway). Which summer month is best and why?

2. Can you swim? How did you learn? June 27th is National Sunglasses Day. How many pair do you own?

3. What characteristic do you judge most harshly in yourself? How about in others?

4. Robert Frost wrote the now well known poem entitled The Road Not Taken. What's a road (literal or figurative) you've always wanted to travel, and where do you hope it takes you? 

5. Popsicles-yay or nay? If you answered yay, what's your favorite flavor? 

6. Brexit-on a scale of 1-10 how knowledgeable are you on what's involved here? (1=very knowledgeable and 10=what's Brexit) Is this news you'll follow or is it something you think won't impact your life in any way shape or form?

7. Share a favorite song on your summer play list.

8. Insert your own random thought here. 

The Post Weekend Ramblings Post

First things first. I'm not going to have a Hodgepodge this week because I literally cannot squeeze one more thing into a day/week/month. I've been out of town since last week's Hodgepodge with stops in three states, and will be traveling again this week, so something's gotta give. The Hodgepodge will return next Wednesday (June 29). 

Wait, wasn't it just May 29th? 

Anyhoo, hubs will be here managing the homefront and I'll be galavanting with my mama and also spending time with some

oldlong time friends.

The weekend. Let's discuss. Hubs and I celebrated our anniversary in one of our favorite cities in the whole wide world. A place that makes us sigh and smile and say remember when. 

Annapolis. 

Let's back the truck up for a minute to last Wednesday. Hubs had a business dinner in Washington D.C. on Thursday evening so I trekked to Raleigh (NC) with him Wednesday, hung out downtown while he worked in the office there, then we got back in the car and drove on to Richmond (Virginia).  

We stayed downtown and had dinner with his brother, sister-in-law, and another good friend who also lives in Richmond. We love Richmond, and there's so many new restaurants and shops I'd like to check out that we might have to go back soon and spend a full weekend there. 

On Thursday (our actual anniversary) we headed to Maryland so hubs could drop me at a friends house and then go back into D.C. to check into his hotel and get ready for his dinner engagement. Too bad you can't earn frequent driving miles because if you could we'd be knocking it out of the park. 

Before he dropped me at a friend's house we managed to grab lunch in downtown Annapolis at one of our favorite spots-McGarveys. 

Of all the crab dips in the world theirs is the crab dippiest of them all. 

While hubs was doing his work thing in D.C. my friend and I had lunch with my former across the street neighbor. We raised our children together and I loved catching up in person.

Hubs drove back to Annapolis after work on Friday and we spent the rest of the weekend right here.

Also here. Our friends took us out on their beautiful boat and we cruised to the Eastern Shore for a long leisurely lunch beside the water...crab cakes of course! When in Rome...

The weather was spectacular with low humidity, a light breeze, and sunny skies.

Ahh, the bridge and the boat spray and the beautiful Chesapeake Bay.

It's always so hard to peel ourselves away from the water here. It's such good medicine, and we're so thankful for good friends who always say come on over and let's pick up right where we left off.

We headed out early Sunday morning to make the all day drive home so hubs could have Father's Day dinner with one of his girls. Technically he might say two of his girls because he's pretty crazy about Daughter2's sweet pup too.

A perfect ending to a wonderful weekend.