And the Heat Goes On!
July 3, 2012
Every morning I wake up expecting a return to power and find instead darkness. I had another restless night, the heat climbs. I can smell Mark making the coffee, nectar for my veins. It’s a painstaking task, but I love the man for doing it. Stumbling into the semi dark bathroom wishing I could turn on water to brush my teeth, I improvise with a bottle of water to rinse.
It’s really not bad. I have memories of Grandma Goldie and Grandpa Ray taking us down to a camp they rented for the summer in Southern Ohio. The small cottage lay close to the Ohio River and we spent two wonderful weeks there. We lit the cottage with kerosene lamps, pumped water from the well and trudged warily to the Outhouse. We “roughed” it and loved it all, a childhood adventure. I am looking on this adventure as a challenge to treasure. What stories we will tell when we get home!
I think the thing we miss most is showering and flushing. Such a disgusting topic, but bathroom habits are a normal problem without running water. Mark, my marvelous and very inventive husband has solved my bathroom issues by pulling water from the sump pump overflow. The boys, well, have roughed it quite comically. The outdoors is after all, where our native ancestors and true to life campers have found ways to eliminate. Dan says the trick is to make sure the ground is sloping the right way. I leave all with that thought.
Mark and I sip our coffee and sit quietly in the midst of birdsong. What a delightful sound early in the morning. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all wake up as cheerful as our feathered friends lifting sounds of praise high above? The lilting sound makes me smile as I search the trees for my serenading birds.
We decide to head to Freeport and pick up some Ice, juice and bait. Water supply is running low, so we need to store up on this precious commodity. Half-way back to camp, we find we forgot the bait. Go figure. So, trip 2 will be the guys venture while I pack up items for the boat. Dan and Mark return to Freeport for the bait and bring back words that today (maybe) we will have power. We can only hope and Pray.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…God saw all that He made, and behold, it was very good…” Genesis 1:1, 31
I decide to let the men go fishing alone as I set out to clean the kitchen and work on scrapbooking. My skin is a little sunburned from yesterday’s boating, so going to take it easy and try not to bake anymore. I enjoy the surroundings and am content in the beauty of the woods. I love sitting on the “tree house” deck and create. It has been a good time all in all for me. I find no stress here, only my creative juices flowing.
One of my best friends, Jackie, bought me a beautiful journal that I am journaling our adventure in. I enjoy clipping photos and glue them inside the pages. I use stickers and sketch trees; it has become more than a journal, but a moving scrapbook. I do not know why I have never done one this way before. I enjoy jotting down words about our trip and then highlighting the pages in colors, quotes and photos of past times here. I am creating memories with our family and documenting our history here. I hope to continue journaling this way onward.
The sun beats down on me and I am aching for a swim and bath. The lake shimmering through the trees invites me down and I gather my items for a refreshing bath in the lake. The water is cool against my skin at first and then warms quickly. I view the lake, the trees and the sky and marvel at how peaceful it is here. Oh how I wish to bring this home with me, this feeling of relaxation and happiness. The soap lathers well in the water and I rinse off and swim a few laps back and forth stretching my muscles and cooling my skin. I so love the feel of water.
My eyes move from my cool spot in the water to the climb up the hill, not looking forward to that at all. Hunger forces me out of the water and my slow trek through the forest. I make a quick sandwich and a cold glass of pop with ice from the cooler and return to the deck noticing the outdoor thermometer registering mid eighties.
The guys return from fishing and tell me all about the catches they made, a fish fry is sure to come this trip. The guys grab some food and decide to rest before we make yet another trip into Freeport. The air is a little cooler from yesterday’s threat of a storm, but still the air does not stir. I am beginning to think my too hot husband is inventing trips into town on the pretense of forgetting items so he can cool off in the air conditioning of the car.
As we return, we pass by neighbor Ted, our camp Ambassador who informs us of some very unhappy news. It seems the campgrounds down the road which holds the key to our power was never reported out. I am in shock! No one has had power anywhere near us, how could the power company miss this? Don’t they have some sort of grids or something they watch? I mean the storm hit three counties and we are on day four without power. Feeling a bit dejected we drive on.
So now, like the Israelites wandering in the heat of the desert-we wait. I recall the story in the bible about the Israelites who wandered for forty years in a hot desert. Having been in Israel and seeing how small this country is, the story amazes me. God, are You there? Are you teaching us or testing?
We need a treat, Fish Fry tonight.
Teresa Gale
July 3, 2012
Every morning I wake up expecting a return to power and find instead darkness. I had another restless night, the heat climbs. I can smell Mark making the coffee, nectar for my veins. It’s a painstaking task, but I love the man for doing it. Stumbling into the semi dark bathroom wishing I could turn on water to brush my teeth, I improvise with a bottle of water to rinse.
It’s really not bad. I have memories of Grandma Goldie and Grandpa Ray taking us down to a camp they rented for the summer in Southern Ohio. The small cottage lay close to the Ohio River and we spent two wonderful weeks there. We lit the cottage with kerosene lamps, pumped water from the well and trudged warily to the Outhouse. We “roughed” it and loved it all, a childhood adventure. I am looking on this adventure as a challenge to treasure. What stories we will tell when we get home!
I think the thing we miss most is showering and flushing. Such a disgusting topic, but bathroom habits are a normal problem without running water. Mark, my marvelous and very inventive husband has solved my bathroom issues by pulling water from the sump pump overflow. The boys, well, have roughed it quite comically. The outdoors is after all, where our native ancestors and true to life campers have found ways to eliminate. Dan says the trick is to make sure the ground is sloping the right way. I leave all with that thought.
Mark and I sip our coffee and sit quietly in the midst of birdsong. What a delightful sound early in the morning. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could all wake up as cheerful as our feathered friends lifting sounds of praise high above? The lilting sound makes me smile as I search the trees for my serenading birds.
We decide to head to Freeport and pick up some Ice, juice and bait. Water supply is running low, so we need to store up on this precious commodity. Half-way back to camp, we find we forgot the bait. Go figure. So, trip 2 will be the guys venture while I pack up items for the boat. Dan and Mark return to Freeport for the bait and bring back words that today (maybe) we will have power. We can only hope and Pray.
“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth…God saw all that He made, and behold, it was very good…” Genesis 1:1, 31
I decide to let the men go fishing alone as I set out to clean the kitchen and work on scrapbooking. My skin is a little sunburned from yesterday’s boating, so going to take it easy and try not to bake anymore. I enjoy the surroundings and am content in the beauty of the woods. I love sitting on the “tree house” deck and create. It has been a good time all in all for me. I find no stress here, only my creative juices flowing.
One of my best friends, Jackie, bought me a beautiful journal that I am journaling our adventure in. I enjoy clipping photos and glue them inside the pages. I use stickers and sketch trees; it has become more than a journal, but a moving scrapbook. I do not know why I have never done one this way before. I enjoy jotting down words about our trip and then highlighting the pages in colors, quotes and photos of past times here. I am creating memories with our family and documenting our history here. I hope to continue journaling this way onward.
The sun beats down on me and I am aching for a swim and bath. The lake shimmering through the trees invites me down and I gather my items for a refreshing bath in the lake. The water is cool against my skin at first and then warms quickly. I view the lake, the trees and the sky and marvel at how peaceful it is here. Oh how I wish to bring this home with me, this feeling of relaxation and happiness. The soap lathers well in the water and I rinse off and swim a few laps back and forth stretching my muscles and cooling my skin. I so love the feel of water.
My eyes move from my cool spot in the water to the climb up the hill, not looking forward to that at all. Hunger forces me out of the water and my slow trek through the forest. I make a quick sandwich and a cold glass of pop with ice from the cooler and return to the deck noticing the outdoor thermometer registering mid eighties.
The guys return from fishing and tell me all about the catches they made, a fish fry is sure to come this trip. The guys grab some food and decide to rest before we make yet another trip into Freeport. The air is a little cooler from yesterday’s threat of a storm, but still the air does not stir. I am beginning to think my too hot husband is inventing trips into town on the pretense of forgetting items so he can cool off in the air conditioning of the car.
As we return, we pass by neighbor Ted, our camp Ambassador who informs us of some very unhappy news. It seems the campgrounds down the road which holds the key to our power was never reported out. I am in shock! No one has had power anywhere near us, how could the power company miss this? Don’t they have some sort of grids or something they watch? I mean the storm hit three counties and we are on day four without power. Feeling a bit dejected we drive on.
So now, like the Israelites wandering in the heat of the desert-we wait. I recall the story in the bible about the Israelites who wandered for forty years in a hot desert. Having been in Israel and seeing how small this country is, the story amazes me. God, are You there? Are you teaching us or testing?
We need a treat, Fish Fry tonight.
Teresa Gale
