For Chad and Norma: The Cottage

Returning to our May England trip (midst the craziness now of the Brazil World Cup and another Dutch win!), it's Chad and Norma's turn...with whom we stayed for 2 days.

It's hard to know where to begin but where they live is worth an entire post, all on its own.  Tell me if you're thinking of Better Homes and Gardens by the time you get through this!

This is why they call it The Cottage.

Front or back, it just oozes with charm...from 1346.

Yes, you heard me.  Can you imagine living in a house that old?

What's your favorite room inside your house?

Okay, so let's start with the kitchen, which is totally remodeled.

Tell me those knick-knacks in every corner aren't adorable.

And a dish or cup for every possible scenario!
(Remember, the English love their tea!)

This is where Norma is the QUEEN...and she loves it.

I think Food or Kitchen is probably her middle name.

You could say she eats it up.

 And so did we!  The dining room is right off the kitchen and is so cozy.

 

 But she is also an artist and has her own studio on the top floor.

You could say she eats that up, too.

 Everywhere you go, The Touch is there.  See what I mean?

This is in the family room....

...where lots of figuring out and explaining happened.

Did I mention that Chad is one of our Shutterchance bloggers...and he is a CRAZY artist!

And oh yes, they have 3 kids and 13 grandchildren.

Speaking of crazy...I went CRAZY over all the windows.

These are from the kitchen alone!

But all over the house, the windows totally charmed me.

See what I mean?

Now, come back outside and eat breakfast with us.

It's while sitting around food that we enjoy such good company.

Have you noticed that?
(BTW, Chad and Norma have been sweethearts since their teens!)

Lucky for us, the weather was nice enough for a lunch as well....

(Chad remembered we both like Magners Irish cider)

...and for a Happy Hour up on the hillside, where the conversations continued.

See what I mean about Better Homes and Gardens!

Even with the "obligatory" cats to entertain us!

 Everyone is welcome at this fabulous home.  Trust me.

Well...almost everyone.  We were ever so lucky for such a grand tour for two days!

Next up:  the things we did with Chad and Norma (besides eat and talk)!

Home Sweet Home

There and back again!
No, this isn't the family cottage in Michigan. It happens to be one of my favorite houses near where we live here in The Netherlands. Daughter Amy says coming home is always the best part of going away. She's right. But there's more...which is what my post is about today at Vision and Verb.

In the meantime, here's a bit of a visual from the Michigan cottage, a total of 1750 miles driving to and fro. My disclaimer is that I took only my 100mm macro lens with me and had no intention of documenting the family time. Therefore, it shouldn't surprise you, let alone me, that I took no pics of my own kids! (What was I thinking???) But in the end, they wanted to see what I did take.

In the early hours of Friday when the rest of the family had not yet arrived,
the few of us there found ways to use our time.

That's the fun of vacation time. You get to play, few or many!


And then everyone arrives and more fun happens.


Our family cottage is on Horseshoe Lake, big enough for speedboats
but small enough and more cozy for pontoon and fishing boats.






All our fishing, however, is off the dock.
You should have seen the bass that got away! Don't you love how the kids are part of it.


Inside the cottage has its own joys and thrills, of course.
Like Asher watching Aunt Susan (my sister) making her deviled eggs...a family tradition.


Or Eli helping Dad out with breakfast.


Of course, there's lots of sitting-around time, watching and listening...


...Dad time around the laptop...


...and G'ma time with Wilma, the Mother of all Grandmas!
They were all on or next to her much of the time.


Uncle Jeff joined the family on May 14 when he married Katy,
the daughter of my sister's daughter...yup, 3 generations. Is that possible?


Let's just say he's a big hit....and a match for Aden.


There's always at least one children's movie.
Don't you love how the boys and girls (the cousins) 'segregate' themselves!


Saving the best for last...my 5 sibs of 7 who were there: Nelson, Susan, Nancy, Jim and Ruth. In chronological age, I follow Susan. Bennett, who follows Nancy, walks around the Universe somewhere. John, who follows Jim, was not present. (Lest you be confused, I have two pictures of each except for Susan.) The spread from top to bottom is 14 years. Nelson is the one who turns 70 in January...after which the rest of us follow suit. Sigh.


I told you I took my macro lens, right?
Next time I'll also take my tripod. It's much trickier than I thought!

So, we drove back to Atlanta, my kids and I, after a delightful 3 days reunioning with the family. During my stint of night driving, an adult deer crossed over the interstate so close in front of me I couldn't see its legs. My heart stopped. The kids woke up. A second later, it would have been a sobering story. It's when we once again thanked the Universe for protecting us all along the way.

Once back in Atlanta for a few days, I had a chance to make phone calls to friends as well as to meet up with Bob and his partner Marc for lunch.

Bob reminded me we have known each other for 19 years!
He even joined me on my MARTA ride to the airport and bid me adieu.
And do you recognize grandson Nicholas?? He turns 11 tomorrow and is ready to start 6th grade.
When did that happen???

You can imagine the joy we felt, Astrid and I both, when we rendezvoused at the Amsterdam airport Friday morning. Talk about Home Sweet Home. For supper that evening, Astrid made her macaroni specialty dish and a small appeltaart, to celebrate.

Coming home really IS the best part of going away. Home Sweet Home. (And another reminder of my Vision and Verb post today.)

One last thing: Remember the Shutterfly book I was working on before I left for Atlanta? It arrived while I was there. Here it is (click on Full Screen to see it better):

Reunioning

I think I am forever blowing bubbles! OOPS! I mean...forever processing photos!! :)

HA! But I love it! We got back on Sunday night from our July 4th reunion with my Hart Family in Michigan. You could go back into my Archives to this time of the year for the last 3 years and see a different version of the same thing! It's always the same and yet always different. We all keep growing up!

The lake, of course, is the central focus for reunioning during the day when the weather cooperates. Sun or shade, take your pick. There's something for everyone!

Nephew Paul is a graphics designer and was the one who encouraged me last year to buy the above Canon lens for my camera. So I brought it his year for him to "test" on his own camera. He loves it. If I ever find it missing, I think I'll know where to look.

In this picture there is a g'ma, g'daughter, mother, daughter, aunt and niece. That's the fun thing about reunions! Wilma is my SIL, a real Dutch lady, and we know what that means to me. She's holding her g'daughter, Clara. Niece Shari in the center is the mother of Emma on the right. Can you believe it!

For me in particular, I'm mesmerized all over again by the wee ones. Little great-nephew Aden (above) stole my heart last year. He and I are both #3 children in our nuclear families. I think I'll really be watching him like a Mother Hen.

Little great-nephew Asher (below) represents the awe I have over the simplest of things that I treasure.

This year there seemed to be more activity in the water than past years. I wonder if it's because the wee ones are getting older and are enjoying it more. So that means the g'ma/g'pa generation (mine) is more involved as well. Reunioning!

And all kinds of little conversations take place anywhere! That's what gives us so many dear memories of the cottage. Three generations are represented here.

Nephew Peter is one of the favorite cousins for the second-generation cousins. You can see why. The reunion-connections are built every year and keep getting bigger and bigger. Squirt guns help.

Then you have the reunion between sister Susan and her g'daughters who are separated throughout the year by several states...Illinois and Florida. The Michigan cottage becomes an oasis in their reunion-desert.

BIL Don (like his son, Peter) knows how to connect with the kids in a way that makes him a favorite. My g'son Nicholas and his cousin Audry know how to wiggle their way in. Uncle Don, incidentally, teaches 3rd graders...Nicholas' grade this year! Nicholas becomes google-eyed when he imagines what it'd be like to have Uncle Don as his teacher!

Sister Nancy does not know how to stop, period. But that was her heaven, to make all kinds of pillow shams and curtains for the cottage. And a spoonful of sugar makes the medicine go down! But she loves it and is good at it!

Some of my favorite times are the quiet times when you actually can rest, meditate and slow down. Daughter Amy with Nicholas had a few quiet moments before the Tribe arrived after we first got there. In this case, we reunion with the cottage, Hukilau, and get reacquainted!

And at the end of one day, nephew Eric rowed the boat across the lake while 3 of the cousins swan across...and then back again. This is a rite of passage as the cousins get older. It happened to all of us!

Sister Ruth and I are keen on finding those early, quiet moments when the lake is still and calm. This is what we live for...those quiet moments, after all the hubbub.

Family reunioning doesn't really get better than this. I finished my photo album yesterday and sent it out to the family. Every year we all want to "document" our time because the kids are growing up way too quickly. What will they look like next year??!!