Hello, Readers.
The winds have finally tamed at the Lamp Post,
and we were out at a basketball game tonight.
Like my shirt?
We have had warmer than normal temperatures
for December so far.
It was nice for the Barber Ball last weekend--
no coats needed.
When you have two ladies to escort to the dance,
you bring both bouquets of roses!
What a sweetheart!
While my girls danced the night away at the ball,
a wind storm ravaged the Lake Erie shoreline.
The little blue cottage my parents own,
was all patched up and ready for winter.
We hoped she would withstand the storms
on the lake with very high water levels.
She bravely faced the storm head on,
and held back the battering waves as long as she could.
This blog is dedicated to the Little Blue Cottage
who took another severe beating--
the third year in a row.
We love our Little Blue Cottage.
Someone else has a little blue cottage.
And once again,
someone stole my story idea.
I'll take you through some of the pages of this story book
that I actually purchased for my parents a couple of months ago
and was going to give them for a Christmas gift.
Surprise!
I thought it would make a nice coffee table book for the cottage.
First, we have to dig out the coffee table.
I'll be taking you through this book,
and the pages of our own picture books
with my ringless left pointer finger.
My fingers are already splitting and cracking from the dry air,
and the hundred times I wash my hands a day!
One of the cuts must have gotten infected
and my finger swelled like a fat sausage!
I nearly had to cut the ring off my finger to remove it.
A bowl of ice for an hour
and some Vaseline did the painful trick.--
of course at the telltale hour that all bad things happen--
3:00 am.
The story is about a little blue cottage that sits on a bay.
The cottage was used seasonally,
with most enjoyment in the summer months.
The little girl loved the water
and would gaze out at it.
It was her favorite place.
Each year the cottage was cleaned and readied for winter.
The cottage would shiver through the
snow,
ice,
and rain.
Many a time,
storms came fast and fierce.
The cottage fell into disrepair.
who now was a grown girl with a child of her own
repaired the little blue cottage
for the next generation to enjoy.
Our little blue cottage has an interesting history.
my Great Grandmother,
owned the cottage next door to it.
It is now the home of the facebook famous Sunset Peggy.
We have an album full of old photos of it
from the late 1940's and early 1950's.
This is a photo from 1949
when it was a white boathouse,
with no windows and a big door to put the boat in.
By 1952 some windows were added.
Notice how much beach is in front of it.
That's my mom as a five year old little girl.
Here she is at age 8.
There were full sized trees in front,
this one with branches that held a swing.
Cars could be driven through
between the cottage and the lake shore.
When my parents purchased it in 1988,
it looked like this.
There was lots of beach--
enough to have our own boat ramp
and beach the Sun Island.
Note to the young, female readers:
This is me in the blue bikini in the early 1990's,
my college years.
I threw this bathing suit in the garbage
after I saw this photo because I thought the bathing suit
made me look fat.
Advice from Eloise:
Don't waste a precious minute of your life thinking this way.
By the early 2000's the beach was quickly disappearing.
Gone was the boat ramp
and the high lake levels arrived.
By the 20-teens
with rising lake levels
and warmer than normal winters
that kept the lake unfrozen all winter long--
the waves began to crash over.
My parents strengthened the wall several years ago
with a new cement layer a foot higher, hoping to buy us more time.
This is a photo from last year's storm.
The Don't Give Up the Ship flag made it through this year, too.
I don't have a photo of the inside this year,
but the sand is up to my waist in spots.
It is going to take considerable clean up.
Eloise comes from hearty peasant stock,
and we will clean up and move onto Plan B--
whatever that may be.
We aren't ready to give up just yet.
I'm known for being the Idea Gal around the Lamp Post,
and I'd like to see the Little Blue Cottage
return to her roots.
I think something of this design
may withstand the changing climate.
I'd like to name my movement
Back to the Boathouse.
Anyone else think it's a good idea?
Christmas is coming next week,
reminding us God gave the world a savior.
Enjoy your final preparations
and remember the reason for the season.
See you next week
on Christmas Eve.
Eloise
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