July Already

My new favorite thing about being here is the returning guests. Many of them remember Scott and me from last year. They are so sweet and eager to hear how we've survived the winter. It is fun catching up on their lives too. This is the stuff.

As for the weather, what a week! Sunny and beautiful everyday. No rain until Saturday. When it's dark and gloomy and semi-cool, we turn the fireplace on for our guests. Then they hang out here playing games, reading, knitting.

 

It's been raining most of the weekend and I don't mind. I'll tell you why. 1. The lakes are very low. They need a drink. 2. Couch potato time. You see, because of my whacko personality and since winters are long driving us inside for months, I insist on being outside whenever the sun shines and it's more than 70 degrees. No matter what. And not just me, this includes Scott and whichever of our kids is here. 

So here I sit inside, on the couch, enjoying the rain with no guilt. It's good to rest. 

Fourth of July happened this week and I was determined to decorate at least part of Camp for it. Last year when this, one of my favorite holidays, came around and there was no fuss, I was aghast. 

Not this year. I enlisted some help with long arms and we got to work decorating the TeePee. This is where all the families hang out, eat ice cream and buy penny candy.

 

We started with lots and lots of red, white and blue balloons. I mean lots. 

Got some help from Pinterest for banners and posters. Laminating is fun too. All the cool kids are doing it.

 

I even wore some combination of red, white and blue everyday all week. Yes, some of my co-workers rolled their eyes. But a holiday girl has to do what a holiday girl has to do. They didn't seem to mind the endless bowl of patriotic m'nms on my desk though.

My (tall) buddy Paul is good at hanging white lights with (for) me. This ain't his first rodeo.

Side note: this is why one should have one or ten boxes of lights handy....you never know when you're going to need them.





White lights make everything more festive. And the thing about being in the Adirondacks is that they are not only tolerated, but expected all year round. Too good to be true. Picture doesn't show how awesome it looks.

Kenny didn't help at all, but he's the TeePee Manager and gave us permission to take over his turf, so he deserves honorable mention. May I introduce Christa and Abby, my 4th of July...elves?

There. Festive! Don't you think?

It's kind of a scary, embarassing time to be an American as we approach the presidential election. I think it is safe to say we don't have much to celebrate in light of how far we have drifted from the dream and intentions our founding fathers had for this land. Specifically a nation whose people would worship God and follow the principles in the Bible. Still, there is something worth celebrating. 

Whenever I feel fearful about politics and/or what I hear on the news, I remember this passage, from Daniel 2:

 Blessed be the  name of God forever and ever,

to whom belong wisdom and might.

He changes times and seasons;

He removes kings and sets up kings,

He gives wisdom to the wise

and knowledge to those who have understanding; 

He reveals deep and hidden things;

He knows what is in the darkness,

and the light dwells in Him. 

To you, O God of my fathers,

I give you thanks and praise...

Like Daniel, we can take this opportunity to give God thanks and praise because He has made us so many promises, namely that no matter how dark it gets here in the USA and everywhere, He is the Light of the World. Psalm 139:12 says, "Even the darkness is not dark to you; the night is as bright as the day, for darkness is as light with you." 

 

When we have faith in Jesus and hope in God, our Father, we have nothing to fear. He is firmly in control of our destiny. We have every reason to trust Him. He has proved His faithfulness to every generation in every possible political climate. Nothing is too big for Him. Nothing is beyond His reach. He loves His people and has set us free. Believers all around the world and believers who live here in America.

We are free to worship and live our lives in a way that pleases God and serves others. That's the freedom I want to celebrate. Bring on the fireworks!

On July 5 after work, I talked Ben into a quick trip down the mountain so I could gather up patriotic decor at 50% off for next year (obsessive personality alert). Great idea except it wasn't on sale yet....

 and this happened on the way home. As Scott put it, Adirondack deer don't play nice.  We are grateful that they didn't come through the window (yes, there were two), the air bags didn't deploy and we were able to get safely home.

The next day was our day off and I was eager to explore more of the mountains and little towns up here. But Scott Burtis. You've got to love him. Even though Ben and I drove the car home just fine after the unfortunate incident, he said we had to wait for the insurance agent. What? Why?

It went something like this:

A: I've got some ideas where we can go today.

S: We're not driving the car.

A: It drives just fine.

S: We're not driving it.

A: Well what are we going to do? We are not sitting around here all day doing nothing.

S: We can go to the town beach.

A: We're supposed to get out of town on our one and only day off each week.

S: We're not driving it.

A: What about all the chairs and blankets? How will we get them there?

S: We can walk.

A: It's barely a mile. I think the car will be fine.

S: 

The rest sounded alot like blah, blah, blah. Deductibles, further damage, insurance, etc.

Whatever. So here we sat. Scott firmly planted in the shade. 

See that beach there? You guessed it - that's CAMP-of-the-WOODS. Keeping an eye on it.

It was still a good day.

Back at home, Ben keeps asking when we are going to get food in the house. 

I'd love to help the kid out, but we can't drive the car.