Into our vacation a little rain falls

From our retreat in Northern Michigan I've been watching the heat wave hit the southern half of our lower peninsula. Every time I visit my home weather bookmark online I am bombarded with bright red and orange warnings: "heat advisory," "air quality alert," "excessive heat watch." I'm not sure how all these are different, but they make me even more thankful to be on vacation, a trip that was planned when the temperatures at home were still in the 80s, the kind of days we are enjoying here now.

Blue skies, intermittent clouds, a soft breeze to cool our warm days, I wish I could share them with the friends, family, and pets we left at home. And the rain we got today—sweeping in with showers and sprinkles, sending us to town to enjoy books stores and adventure golf before sweeping back out again in the evening—that rain would have been appreciated at our house, too. We didn't mind it here either, though. It gave us a break from the sun, a chance to play golf, some reading time at the house, naps, daydreams. These are the traditions from my own childhood vacations in this area, and we're soaking up as much of this relax time as possible.

For more information:

Petoskey (Chamber of Commerce)

Pirate's Cove Adventure Golf

Vacation, take 3

Going to bed full of sun, full of discoveries, full of good food, full of rest, full of joy. Sated.

For more information:

Tunnel of Trees

Wilderness State Park

Sturgeon Bay

Don't forget Leg's Inn!

Vacation edition, take 2

for more information: Harbor Springs (Chamber of Commerce)

Just like that

Not every day can be perfect. There are, in fact, whole weeks that go by that seem to take my patience and sense of well being right along with them. My communing with the mama robin yesterday was a way of reminding myself of the promises I made when we chose to embark on the journey of parenthood and, later, homeschooling. Some weeks those promises—like not to yell, to give space, to be patient, to go with the flow—are easier to remember, and to keep, than others. But the rough days don't last, and neither does the headache that goes with them. I fully expect days when things like lack of sleep and an overheated house will drive everyone in the family over the edge, and a child's need to test boundaries is also to be expected. And when all of those things happen at once it's just time to take a step back and breath for a moment and replenish the well.

There is a bigger picture. This week may have been about butting heads and arguing for the sake of hearing one's own voice, but the bigger picture has always been dominated by love and respect and pure unadulterated joy, and a few rough days can't diminish that. It always comes back.

Just like that.

Rolling Sculptures Auto Show

It's that time of year again. Jon and I have been feeling a little out of sorts; besides the strange weather throwing things off, we are missing out on three summer staples this year—Top of the Park, The Townie Party, and the first day of Art Fair—and that leaves a big hole in the middle of our season. There are still other events to be had, of course—we'll be catching a Friday Nights in Dexter one of these days, and last night was the Rolling Sculptures Auto Show in Ann Arbor.

It was warm, but not a bad night to be downtown. Calvin had asked for a redo of the scavenger hunt we took to the NAI Auto Show in January so we worked that out together and he looked for things like pink cars, glittery cars, a variety of engine make-ups, and even a rumble seat. I was disappointed that the old fire truck was not there this year (someone else is missing their summer staples, I see) but the fairy car was there to serve as an alternative fueled vehicle (because nothing is a more alternative fuel than Vernors).

We enjoyed shakes at Frita Batidos, and later had dinner at Grizzly Peak—some old stomping grounds and some new. We went with Gram and Grampa, we ran into some friends, and we got a call from Jon, who had been in New York for two days, saying that he'd been put on a different flight and would be home before bedtime, and that equals a good day.

The future is electric!

Austin-Healey, the happy car

Being the car...

Isetta, the other happy car

Discussing the oddities of the Isetta

Smart selling, at my favorite book store