Hokay… After two mornings without orange juice, I had to make a grokkery run after work. And then. I folded the (clean!) moomincabin laundry. That was not a problem (for any little pitchers with big ears who might be listening in). Laundry is a no-brainer. Well, except that it was hot enough that my legs started to sweat under the long skirt I like to wear after work. Hot here today although I doubt it’s 93 like Mr. Faaaaarwood told the GG on the phone today. More like 88, maybe. Anyway. The problem with the moomincabin laundry is that I have almost completely lost track of what sheets we have (The Commander is NOT smiling down on me at this moment), except for some single bed sheets the beach urchins bought at Tarjay a few eight(!) years ago. I will not go into detail. A part of me wants to re-a-start the whole sheets thing at the moomincabin and buy a couple sets of sheets for each bed. But we have also kinda been re-thinking what kind of beds we have there and what kind of beds we neeeeeed. And then there’s the water-heater-in-bedroom situation… Complicated issues that need “requirements” and “prioritizing” sessions. Do I sound like a prodject manager? (Don’t answer that!)

Anyway, when I got home, do you think I could open my Disco Lock? Nooooooo. I got home on Sunday after being away for three weeks and my phone opened Disco Lock like a charm then and since then, it has been locking and unlocking like nobody’s business, including this morning. This afternoon? It wanted me to LOG IN! Do you have any idea how hard it is to log in to an app on an iPhone X when you are standing outside your [locked] front door juggling, lemme see: work laptop, purse, lunchbag, mail, grokkery bag? Without dropping the [expensive] iPhone X? Not happening. I used the physical key to get in, put all of my cosmic debris down, looked up the password for Disco Lock, and re-opened the app. Problem? They had apparently done an update!!!!!!!! WHY DID YOU GUYS NOT TEXT ME about the blasted update? I could’ve looked up the blasted password and logged on to the app from work or at least I’d’ve known I would need to put my blasted pw in (or use the physical key). First world problems, I know.

Skirts are warm! We were sitting on the moomincabin deck last Saturday night and npJane was chilly. She said something about going home to get long pants on and I countered with something like, “You can borrow one of my long skirts!” and she took me up on it. npJane has been known to wear dresses and skirts but I think she is mainly a pants person. She wears them well and I doubt she would ever wear my long blue skirt out in public but she ROCKED it that night. It even matches her flip-flops. Is there a beer in the pic? Move along folks, nothing to see here.

I hope this fish-fly wing/carcass pic doesn’t creep anyone out. I am afraid of VERY few non-poisonous insects (I help spiders to safety frequently) but there are a couple of surprising insect species that I am horribly phobic about and when some of y’all post pics of them, I recoil in horror. I think this creature was smashed onto the side of the moomincabin refrigerator for probably a few weeks before I finally saw it. The tape (or whatever it is) is almost more gross. Nevertheless, I did not “clean it up”. I’m not sure if Suzy Homemaker took care of it after I left or not. Once we were at Hoton Lake in March and I decided I was DONE with skiing for the year, so I cleaned out the refrigerator and there in one of the crisper drawers was a fish fly from nine months before. I have no clue how that guy managed to hide from The Beautiful Gay for all those months.

On the flora side of things, it seems like we might get a few homegrown tomatoes and peppers here this year! No pics today but our yard is challenging for growing veggies but nevertheless, HE persisted, so this is a win!

What else? Oh yeah, butt in seat… My work BF and I both landed from a few weeks outta town today. Apparently I wasn’t expected until tomorrow. I must’ve given the wrong date. Oh well. Not only was he outta town, he was outta country. His out-laws have a place in Cananada. You drive up to Sault Ste. Siberia, go across the International Bridge, hang a right, and head down Highway 17 East a way and then In Country to beautiful glacial lakes. They do not have lucky-shucky or indoor plumbing and have to open and close the place during the couple weeks they spend there each summer. This is a multi-generational family property like the moomincabin and therefore priceless and my friend seems to appreciate that 🧡

I have FINALLY put a load of laundry in. I was gonna do that this morning but I didn’t get up until 7:00 AM! I was “late” to work as it was, albeit not as late as the CRD thought I was when he encountered me returning from a lunchtime errand and apparently thought I had just arrived for the day.

Sorting the mail? I had the mail held for three weeks. It came today. I opened up the recycle cart and placed the pile of mail on the top of the adjacent garbage cart and started flinging. I cannot tell you how many pieces of mail were in that pile but I think I flung about 98% of what was in there, mostly catalogs and polly-tickle flyers and other random pieces of spam. I think I saved maybe seven pieces of mail and I even recycled the envelopes for the three (?) pieces of mail out of that seven that were addressed to me. How not to be a hoarder, #1! Go me!

This photo is a bit more boring than some of the other ones I’ve posted recently but at least it is colorful, right?

I cannot count how many times today I said [to myself and Frooggy, who was riding shotgun but was NOT much help] things like, “What the HELL is going on now?” or “G-D-it!” or “Holy Crap!” or simply “*sshole!”. Can you guess where I spent my afternoon? If you guessed Southbound I75 SUV Speedway on a SUNDAY, you win the booby prize. The absolute worst was when we were in a s-l-o-w-d-o-w-n and I glanced in my driver’s side mirror and was horrified to see some yahooooooo coming within inches of sideswiping (or worse) my Ninja as he wildly wove in and out of the S-L-O-W traffic. I watched with bated breath as he nipped back into the lane to the left and then back into my lane, which was also the lane that both of the beach urchins were traveling in, directly in front of me. PLEASE don’t hit my children. He didn’t. Whew!

I dunno. It wasn’t the worst trip down. Mainly a few short slowdowns. Until. Dun dun dun. Mouse and I were a few miles north of The Planet Ann Arbor (Liz parted ways with us in Flint). In fact, if I had exited onto North Territorial and taken Whitmore Lake down to Joy and cut over to N. Maple, I’d’ve missed it all. My Mouse was still ahead of me and there is enough Mother Bear stuff still in my soul that I couldn’t “abandon” my (30-plus) child to ride out a traffic jam while I took the beautiful back roads. I know that sounds stupid. I bet Mouse thinks it’s stupid. Still. A long time ago, someone said, “Once you are born from a mama, you are STUCK to her.” It works the other way ’round too. (Disclaimer: it was NOT Mouse who said that. She was more likely to say something like, “I’m going to go find aNOTHER mother!”)

Anyway, the map looks worse than it was in a way. The red-and-white stuff down below The Planet represents a part of the I94 18-Wheel Slogway that is actually CLOSED. We did not have to deal with that AT ALL! But what the map does NOT show is that it was raining cats and dogs the whole time we were navigating the mess. The accident? Looked like a fender bender, probably caused by people going tooooo fast, tailgating, weaving wildly in/out of traffic, and maybe inclement weather.

So, all three of us are FINALLY home and I have not done ANYTHING to unpack except to get everything into the house. Well, okay, I did throw a bunch of moomincabin leftovers into the refrigerator. Other than that, it can all wait. I am sitting out in the back yard listening to insects and motorcycles and missing the grokking of the ravens and the foghorns that blew all morning. Decompressing.

…Man oh man, I could not type ANYTHING into this thing for a while and WP was making me LOG IN *AGAIN* and I couldn’t type my dad-blasted password in… … …(this is not the guru’s fault, it is wordpress and my laptop)

Today is my last day in the yooperland until we come back to close the place up. We all went swimming this afternoon but these pics are from last night. First, the GG kayaking into the Sun Bridge, the one I used to dream of walking when I was a small child here.

And then here are the beach urchins swimming and I have to quit after this. Back to The Planet tomorrow today (because I never got this posted last night🐽). Alas.

Okay. Was yesterday a punt? Yes, it was… I could blame the *beloved* last-minute dinner/overnight guests but I won’t. I would much rather have spent time with them than doing another day’s worth of paint-drying blather. Actually, the last couple of days, I have been dealing with a crippled keyboard. The A, S, L, and I dunno what other keys (G for one) did not work all that well. Just try logging into your laptop with a password that contains three As. I suspect moisture (and NOOOOOO it was NOT a whine issue). I am still having intermittent issues but hoping that this thing’ll dry out over time. But still, typing was painful, as was using my iPhone to blahg, as was using the GG’s laptop, since my photos are on MYYYYY laptop. I won’t go into the details except that it was complicated.

But I am back today, the penultimate day of my vacay and you may think that my post title has something to do with the Orange Baboon but I am trying to take an Orange Baboon holiday. Some would argue that I haven’t actually taken much of a holiday but what are you gonna do when the OB twitters and twatters his bizarre theories about the faaaars in California among other things. I want to look away but it can be hard for a person who deals in facts and data and requirements and routinely (but ever so politely) cross-examines people who use Word Salad to make Vague Statements. I am corn-fused. What *are* you talking about?

The Orange Doodly I am talking about relates to our own Mayor / Road Commissioner, who is currently driving up and down the Cabin Road in his Orange Doodly, grading it. We greatly appreciate his steadfast diligence in keeping our two-track beach community road up to snuff.

Finally, the beastie in the pic is not a hummingbird. It is a hummingbird MOTH. This is the GG’s photoooo, which I asked him to text me a while back. I saw the moth but didn’t take the time to determine if it was a moth or an actual hummingbird (we had them here when The Commander used to put out food), not to mention the patience to get a pic.

We were feeling like we were wrapping up our time here. Leftover city, etc. We did a big leftover dinner and we were able to feed our veggie friend. This all worked out well and the Grinch came over and I dunno what to say except it it is so great to be with cousins 🧡.

So this morning was work for me. UKW was trying to convince me to do some laundry on Monday morning before she flew back outta here. I said NO WAY! We are not spending your last morning here at the Up North laundromat. I am a washerwoman from waaaaay back and I wrangled a bunch of laundry today and here is my view of the *one* triple loader I used today. Back in the day, I usually filled *three* triple loaders.

I dropped off umpteen bazillion things at the recycle before I got to the laundromat and then I put gas in the Ninja and then I dropped off something like $7.00 worth of returnable bottles at Meijer, and then I bought grokkeries at Meijer…

And then… I got back out here and we did some tourista type stuff… Which was the Spectacle Lake overlook.

And a quick stop at the Iroquois Lighthouse.

And then a late lunch at Pickles.

And finally, we got back to the moomincabin and we kayaked and swam and napped and watched the sun head down toward the horizon.

And now we are hearing storms rolling through out in Whitefish Bay.

Well. It is not a guy. It is Chrissy the Police Mouse. I found her *alone* in a box next to the seat all those aminals are hanging out in so I put her up with them. Softy Beanbag is there too and you might be able to see parts of Green Guy and we have no clue what the heck Froggy is doing.

I bought Chrissy at Kroger way back when. She cost $4.00. Yes, really. A $4.00 grocery store mouse. In a way, I think I rescued her. She is worth a lot more than $4.00 to Mouse (who loves her) and meeeee. Chrissy helped me wrangle my loverly mouse child long ago when my mouse child didn’t necessarily want to do the things that I needed her to do.

This morning was filled with beloved folks leaving and arriving. Gray and foggy and windy for most of the day. I am always a bit unsettled when people are in flux, so I just hung out for the duration and eventually we all ended up down on the bank. I did a lot of reading today. I am reading a series of novels by William Kent Krueger. It’s a crime genre, which is not my usual thing but these take place in northern Minnesota in the Boundary Waters area and I am loving the whole thing. Iron Lake is the first book and Cork O’Connor is the protagonist and UKW turned me on to the series. It seems to be the right thing for this summer.

And HB to My Dear Uncle Harry. He is 91 today. Jeebus. We took a couple of gifts over to the Old Cabin. A couple of pieces of sour cream blueberry crumble (made by Mouse) and some fake logs for the faaaarplace. I’m not sure that Harry was all that crazy about the fake logs. I know that he likes to buy his own wood and also that he is very particular about kindling. Love to Bugs and Horsey (Harry) 🧡

Whenever I leave work for a few weeks and my co-workers wish me a good vacay, I always say something like, “You know I’ll be back butt-in-seat Monday the whatever.” Because that’s always how it goes and I am not butt-in-seat THIS Monday but it won’t be long, alas. So, when was it? Thursday, July 26th. Uber Kayak Woman landed at Chippewa County International Airport and completed the FinFam 3G 3-legged stool.

Today, sadly, we dropped UKW off at the airport for her journey homeward to the PACNW. I mean her longtime adopted home when I say this. Her real home is here on the moominbeach. We had a morning of beach walking, kayaking, and swimming, and then 10 of us met up at Penny’s Kitchen for a farewell lunch, including Bugs and Horsey 🧡. Our 3-legged stool has been a bit teeter-y since our Uber Cuzzint Pooh left last week. Today I am on my own again, the only leg left.

It’s okay. I am well supported with my own beach urchins and their friends and UKW’s son and SO are also here and SO is cooking a wonderful dinner in The Commander’s 1960 kitchen, pizza and eggplant parm! This is not the fanciest kitchen on earth but somehow it works for just about anyone who uses it. I’m not sure the old gal knew what she was doing when she designed this teensy tinesy little galley kitchen with the yellow counters but it seems to work.

It was hot and humid most of the day, also gray skies and intermittent light rain showers here at the moominbeach. The airport was a bit different as a deluge blew through a bit before UKW’s flight took off but she texted me when she got to Metro and the flight was fine.

And then, as we sat on the deck this afternoon, the temperatures dropped a bit and we all went for our socks. UKW bought me these loverly striped socks. I managed to get ONE measly pair of smart wool socks up here and they quickly developed holes. Oh darn! I was gabbling about getting more socks at Barishes in Sault Ste. Siberia (the owners are old neighbors from my childhood on Superior Street). But then, we were in town doing bizness and I waved off UKW’s offer of a trip to Barishes in favor of drying laundry but she went there and bought me these socks and I am using them!

I just heard some botes blow master salutes so I guess I should head down to the beach. G’night! KW! 🧡🧡🧡

The Lopez Crew and the GG got Brendan’s catamaran out and sailing and here are the sailing crew returning after the GG and Lizard Breath went out in the Motor Bote to warn them of incoming *weather*.

We did get some rain and lightning/thunder but I was totally puzzled when I heard a *tornado siren*. Say what? I have *never* heard a tornado siren here at the moominbeach before. I guess it was emanating from Brimley? We could not figger why. There was “weather” in the area but nothing resembling a tornado. Tornadoes are rare up here in the yooperland. I can count on one hand the number of times some variation of a tornado rolled through. When I was growing up in Sault Ste. Siberia, we had a siren. It was an air-raid siren left over from WWII. The city blew it every night at 10 PM as a curfew reminder. Parents do you know where your children are? The Grinchie says they still blow that siren for curfew and I bet they also do it for tornadoes. But those are rare here in the yooperland.

And so we did not get any tornadoes here today but we got a couple of decent rainstorms, complete with thunder and lightning. I did not think we would lose power and we didn’t (although the internet had to be restarted) but we dredged out some candles just in case and it was so beautiful to have them lit.

And so, gotta go, folks are gathering here on the moomincabin deck for dinner in a while. After a fishing expotition and I dunno what else 🧡

Because today was another beautiful fun-filled day and I cannot even try to sort out my feelings about it. I will say that UKW and I made yet *another* run into the Sault Ste. Siberia Meijer store. We didn’t think we would need to go there again but we did. This time, we each took a cart and paid for whatever was in our own personal cart. We realized (yeek) that we had the same checkout gal that we had a few days ago and for whatever reason, we felt compelled to say that we were really not eating/drinking all of the stuff we’ve been buying. Our gal laughed and then asked if we were camping. Well, no, at least not really. I explained that we were hanging out at our family cabin on land that the fam has owned since 1924 and that we have a lot of folks visiting us and we are all having a great time. After all of that a bunch of us hiked at Naomikong and we all re-convened at the beach, where some of us swam (including meeee) and all of us ate and drank and I’m kinda done for now. Love y’all. Kayak Woman.

UKW did a beachy type bucket list thing which was to swim from Round Island to shore. We facilitated it by taking her out to the island in the Motor Bote. I rowed us back to shore and we towed one of our neighbors’ paddleboards behind the bote just in case UKW needed it. She didn’t but please please please y’all, bote safety first. Actually, I was amazed at how little time it took before I could declare a Second Sandbar alert meaning that UKW could touch bottom if she wanted to.

So this is the bote photooo I sent to my loverly boss Amazon Woman when she texted me to say that I hadn’t finished my mid-year review and could I do that. I have not *ever* completed a mid-year review and no one has ever seemed to care *ever* and so I had been cavalierly ignoring messages to do one.

But of course, I did my review, which consisted of selecting dropdown options of “on track” or “not on track”. Of course I am on track. I am always on track. Jeebus. I texted AW back to say I *thought* I had finished my review and I sent her the Bote photooo, which she loved.

We filled up with a few more folks today. I am loving it and I know that The Commander would love all of these people here too. Children and grandchildren of hers and Radical Betty’s and friends of theirs. We are having so much fun. Love.

So much for a SECOND post yesterday. I’ll blame it on an episode of porterization. Is that a good enough excuse [insert percontation point here] 🐸

Anyway, it was a good thing we took a Motor Bote ride in the MORNING yesterday, given what happened later. This Motor Bote ride was gorgeous, almost dead calm and we were able to meet the Joseph Block as it traveled upbound toward Gitchee Gumee. I managed to get in and out of the Motor Bote without falling in the drink! Yay me!

After that we headed into the thriving metropolis of Sault Ste. Siberia for a bizness trip. My main bizness involved the Up North Laundromat. Highlights of the trip were lunch at our beloved Palace Saloon and watching a couple of freighters go thru the locks.

As we were heading back out to the moomincabin our hot sunny day began disintegrating and when we turned west onto 6-Mile Rd., it looked like we were heading into Armageddon. Rain held off until we got home and then all hell broke loose, at one point the lightning was so close it shook the ground.

The GG took the opportunity to use the Sherman to clean out the gutters.

You may have heard of a McLeod or a Pulaski or a Mattock? This is a Sherman.

Today is a Lazy Day, at least for UKW and me. Although we did go and dump off a Green Bag and get a cuppa at the Dancing Crane Coffeehouse. Our Mouse arrived last night and we took a walk down the beach with her, returning via the road, where we found this bench sort of in the middle of nowhere. Not sure who put it there or why. Maybe you can catch a bus to the Back Light from here?

Let’s catch up a bit. Monday morning, the GG hauled a deadhead outta the bay, winched it up onto the beach and buried it (or something). We used to get deadheads all the time when I was a kid and they were still corralling pulp logs down the river to the paper mill on the Canadian side. Logs would escape and wash up on our beach. We used them for all sorts of things, furniture and forts and what not. Occasionally one would deadhead, meaning one end of it would sink to the bottom and the other poke a wee bit out of the water, a hazard for anyone with a motor bote. We don’t get pulp logs any more and this particular log was (we think) from one of the old “cribs” (basically wood and rock docks) that once ringed the bay when the area was lumbered back in the 1800s. My grandfather and a couple of his friends originally bought the land from the lumber company. Others probably know that story better than I do.

While the GG was pulling in the deadhead, UKW and I were plowing through Meijer getting ingredients for lasagne and garlic bread and salad and dessert. And an extra box of white whine. Once back at the moomincabin, we scrambled a bunch of food together in between beach time. At the last minute, the GG dredged all manner of tables and chairs outta the garage. Yay for the garage and yay for not getting rid of every single last piece of furniture that belonged to The Commander! We are needing that stuff this summer and she would love that we are using it.

And the family potluck party? Can I just say serendipity? One of my local cousins and I were conferring, saying that we had both wanted to do some sort of party but neither one of us felt like we could engineer it alone. Enter UKW, a rabble-rouser from day one and with her organizing skills and a general attitude of “it’s about the people, not the food”, we were able to pull it off. Again, The Commander would have loved that we hosted it at her cabin. It is an ideal place for a summer party as long as the weather is good and it was!

Yesterday! Tuesday! Field Trip! Seney Wildlife Refuge! 90-something miles away but worth the drive every few years or so. We did a mini-hike (1.5 miles), then the beautiful slow drive snaking along through the ponds. Swans and loons and an EAGLE and — FINALLY — TURTLES on a log. There are no turtles on Lopez Island so we were looking for those.

After that, the long drive to the Tahquamenon Falls Brewery for lunch. With a stop at the North Star Brick Oven Bakery along the way. The bakery was open so I was a bit disconcerted at first that the lights were out when we entered. Turns out we were in an area that is off the grid. I mean the ELECTRICAL GRID, not the INTER-TUBES. They use wood to fire their brick oven and they do have a generator for lights and things but did not have it running today. The sign is undoubtedly battery-powered LED lights. (Thanks to the Marquis for turning us on to this place!)

Tired from our long day, the GG took a Lyme Lounge nap and UKW and I swam in Gitchee Gumee a couple of times, then after a lazy dinner of leftover lasagne, we dragged ourselves down the beach a way for a dessert party thrown by our new[old] neighbors. Complicated story but children of our dear childhood beach friends have bought property and cabins from children of *other* dear childhood beach friends. We all strive to make sure that we do not have to sell our beach property to “strangers” and as introverted as I am I greatly enjoyed talking to old friends and meeting their children (and grandchildren).

So that covers the last couple of days and I will write a SECOND POST (you are WELCOME!) about today, which was a bizness day with a bit o’ WEATHER thrown in.

So maybe then I will find some time to write about yesterdays partay, etc., and today’s adventure to the Seney Wildlife Refuge and Tahquamenon Falls Brewery. And the partay tonight. And now the afterglow. But for tonight, I will leave you with this one pic, the first one I took this morning. Love y’all and orange hearts to all. 🧡🧡🧡

While we were obtaining food and supplies for the partay tonight, the GG was back at the moominbeach pulling a big old deadhead outta the lake, with npJane (out of frame) supervising.

We were ready for the partay just early enough to allow a bit of time for UKW to play us some mbira music.

So here is everyone at the partay. Eight out of 11 first cousins, a smattering of representatives of three other generations, a few outlaws, and some other crazy guys. You can guess who’s who. It’s late and I’m gonna rack it up.

I don’t guess I ever thought of myself as part of a 3-legged stool exactly but I suppose I will take it.

Our little 3-legged stool is intact here at the moominbeach at the moment with two thirds of it here at the moomincabin and the other third just across the parking lot at the Old Cabin. I am supposedly the host to the third that is staying at the moomincabin but as much as anything, I actually feel more like I am being taken care of than vice versa but that’s what happens when you are rooming with a Force of Nature!

We floated through this beautiful morning reading and sipping coffee until we finally decided to rustle up some breakfast. I offered to slow-cook some bacon (like yesterday) but UKW had another idea, which was breakfast burritos. Yes, yes, yes! I felt like a weeeee bit more coffee so I perked another pot thinking we really didn’t have to drink it all.

This turned out to be a good idea because the Mean Old Grunchy Old Grinchy (UKW’s brother, if I didn’t already say that) came along to have some coffee. By then, Warmer Outside Than In had taken effect and we drank our coffee on the miraculously insect-free moomincabin deck.

It was still calm and sunny at the end of that and UKW twisted my arm to go on a kayak ride. It has been a while since I have launched myself in a kayak but I womaned up and off we went for a gorgeous paddle over to Cedar Point, where we ended up floating for a while, looking down into the water at the rocks and fish – trout, we think, big ones. Too fast for me to get a pic. Oh well. Oh, and we watched freighters too. Lots of those today.

Back at the still sunny beach, a confab with [how many?] cousins. Six! All women, all four family branches represented. Until… Dun dun dun… That’s not the tallest thunderhead I’ve seen in my life but it is a pretty darn good one. At the first peal of thunder, we decamped back up to the moomincabin deck, where I observed birds scrambling like crazy.

Hello! KW here. I wrote all of that early in the day and I can’t remember what I was gonna write about next. I’ve had a great time alone with my cuzzint for a few days but now the GG is back (from his high school reunion) and more and more people are gonna be coming in and we are excited and ready for that. Yay for big families. Yay for summer. Love y’all. It turns out that the GG did NOT drink most of the Woodford Reserve in the last week. He decanted it to various other bottles. So there. I like the yellow sunglasses the best.💛💛💛

A couple of my cousins are here at the moominbeach working on family archives and this is one of the artifacts they came up with. Is this woman having fun? (Is she having tooooo much fun?)

We tried to go to the dump Spectacle Lake overlook but there was a wedding set up there so we turned around to head down and UKW noticed that my GPS was proclaiming “Indian ahead”. Say what? We were on or adjacent to Native-owned land but “Indian ahead”?

This is the first (and largest) of two living crayfish we saw today. This one, at Iroquois Lighthouse, was five seven(?) inches long and going hell bent for I dunno where. We saw another one later on our own beach, about half the size.

An afternoon on the beach and a pie (blueberry/apple filling) made by UKW. I can make a pie to save my life but I did not really get any of the pie-making DNA, either from the Fin or MacMu side of my fam. Dishwashing DNA I seem to have in spades. (That’s one of The Comm’s vintage rolling pins in the pic.)

A beach walk after dinner while the pie cooled, a cute little jigsaw puzzle of our own Whitefish Bay, and company for pie. Add to this week’s missions? Lake Superior / Yooperland themed jigsaw puzzles.

We are having so much fun 🧡🧡🧡 (and rainbow sunglasses)

I don’t buy big bunches of groceries too often any more, just whatever can fit in my backpack or a couple bags at the farmers market on Saturdays. But UKW is in town from the PACNW and we are expecting various folks to be in town over the next week or so and so we spent a good deal of time ricocheting around Meijer this morning, coming home with this haul. (Boxes of whine? Move along folks, nothing to see here.)

It was not a very loverly day here on the Shores of Gitchee Gumee. We were reminiscing about when we were kids here on the moominbeach and we could *always* get somebody’s mother to lifeguard us while we swam, no matter what the weather, even when it looked a lot like this.

And then… a creature emerged from the waves.

Or not… Actually it was the one head I was assigned to count today and hey, it wasn’t all that bad although I did have a winter-ish jacket on. And socks.

I was actually supposed to work today but I didn’t faaarrr up my laptop until afternoon and when I did it was only to turn on my auto-responder. I’ll be out of the office until… I have a work ethic that regularly threatens to knock me upside the head so I was feeling a wee bit guilty about playing hooky, so to speak. But then when I logged in, it turned out that the power was out for the SECOND DAY and no one was around. Obviously I didn’t miss much.

Dinner at Pickles with the Mean Old Grunchy Old Grinchy and now we have the propane stove on (to take the edge off) and I am kinda propping my eyes open. Hoping for a bit more of Mr. Golden Sun tomorrow. G’night. –KW

We have had rather persistent northwest winds since we arrived at the moomincabin last weekend. Last night they died down enough that we could take the Motor Bote out for a spin. Here is the GG at the helm with me asking if we had enough gasoline to tool around the bay for a bit, not that I mind rowing home (like I had to do once last summer). But Bote Safety First. Do we have any gasoline?

We went around Round Guano Island and you can see some of the island denizens but not the cormorants, which I didn’t get a pic of.

The seagulls are getting ready to leave Guano Island. Family folklore has it that they leave on August 13 and return February 13. I doubt that those are the exact dates every year but they are pretty close.

We got back up to the moomincabin and I put my “pajamas” on. Meaning I was wearing my red Lands End nightshirt, a long skirt and a polartech jacket (and NOTHING ELSE butchya wouldn’t know that unless you had Xray eyes!). I am sure I am quite the sight in that outfit. But wait. An Old Cabin denizen arrived to invite us over for a wee bit of cheer. “But I’m in my pajamas!” Oh what the heck. It is just next door and it is FAMILY. So we went *anyway*, pajamas and all.

And so here is my uber-cuzzint The Grand Poohbah working on her latest quilting prodject. Yes, she likes bright colors! I insisted that she use that red piece of fabric in the block she was working on (on the right in the pic). She tried to replace it with other choices a few times but I would have NONE OF IT. When we left last night, the red was still there but y’know, she is the artist and if she wants to change to another fabric, it is not my bizniss. Disclaimer: I have done various quilting prodjects in my life so I know how hard it can be to pick fabrics (I am on hiatus from fiber arts for the time being).

If I had crashed out early, I would have missed this last shot, taken from the Old Cabin Front Porch.

I spent my first six summers in the Old Cabin and me and a bunch of my cuzzints slept on that front porch a lot of that time. I remember when we got thunderstorms in the middle of the night. Parents and aunts and uncles would rush out there to close the windows and comfort us and my great-aunt Elizabeth would tell us it was the gods rolling bowling balls.