On the Roof

One of the many projects on my to-do list at the lodge is sanding down and staining the weathered wood.  This week I got up on the roof and spent two days sanding the wood on the second floor and one day staining and washing windows, since I was already up there.  Day two it got pretty windy and when I decided I needed a break to use the facilities, get a snack and fluids, I discovered my ladder had blown over. Jim was in the office downstairs on the opposite side of where I was working and the wind just carried my voice away.  I tried calling the dog...no response.  I wondered if I could jump down on the lawn without breaking anything and decided not to try.
When you are stuck on a roof you think about a lot of things....will my bladder hold out?...should I put Poise pads on my shopping list for roof work?...I wonder if we have to pee in heaven or maybe we just can go any place we want to, like my puppy or maybe it just won't matter...maybe I need to put a message on Jim's phone to check on his wife hourly when she's on the roof...wow, what a great view up here...I should come up here more often...great clouds...the tops of the trees are beginning to change color... The Lord had mercy on me, my bladder held out, and I went back to work until Jim came out and noticed the ladder down.
The next roof outing I took up a bucket with a bottle of iced water and my cell phone.  This time, I could call Jim and if all else failed I had a bucket.

2015 Greer Boat Races

An overcast day, the rain held back for the Great Greer Boat Races.  A nice crowd of residents and visitors gathered to watch the heats go down the river, cheering when the winners were announced. Michael had his hot dog cart fired up and they tasted great.  It was a festive atmosphere and a fun way to spend a Saturday morning.

Help...I'm Stuck!

Zella could smell the sweet fragrance of the strawberry protein shake and really wanted to lick every powdery remnant in the empty canister.  But what can squeeze in didn't want to come off.  Jim and I were laughing hysterically as Zella began to panic, running around bumping into things.  I grabbed her and Jim tried to work the container off her head to no avail.  After retrieving some cutters from the toolbox, I held her as still as I could while Jim cut the container open to get her head out.  She's growing so fast...this pic was 2 months ago...today, at her 4 month appt. she weighed in at 40 pounds. No chance of getting her head stuck now...at least in this size container!

Showers Bring Flowers

The rain has been abundant this summer, bringing bright spots of color all over the meadows.  Even the weeds have beautiful flowers, which is a nice thing since there are so many of them.  This bright, purple thistle makes me smile, remembering childhood stories of Winnie the Pooh and friends.  Even downcast Eeyore brightened at the sight of thistles.  The variety of plants and flowers, all unique, shouts to the glory of our great God, creator of everything.

Spider Poop

Owning and operating a lodge can have some disgusting chores.  Today, I took an old broom and spent several hours outside sweeping spider webs off rafters, wood log siding, light fixtures, and railings.  Summer time is spider time and there is nothing they won't spin their death traps on. Several victims dangled from torn webbing.  As I reached up with the broom from my ladder, I tried to dodge the falling debris.  I'm sure I will be itching the rest of the day.
As I was working today, I noticed little spots on the wood siding and all over my newly painted front porch that wouldn't brush off.  I wondered if it was spider poop or diarrhea from terrified victims. Thanks to google, I know it is spider poop and that it is very hard to clean up. Now, I just find that rude to poop all over someone's property.  I hope I don't have to do this job again until next year.
I really hope I don't dream about being trapped in a spider web tonight.

Is Your GPS Making You Stupid?

Those GPS devices or mapping apps can be quite helpful, unless they tell you to drive off a cliff to get to your destination.  When Jim and I were in Germany last year, our GPS led us off road, but thanks to Jim's sense of direction found an alternative route to get us where we needed to go, no thanks to modern technology.
We find it amusing and somewhat alarming, when people stop at our lodge and insist that this must be where they are lodging because their GPS directed them here.  Just yesterday, as I was out emptying trash, a car pulled up to me and asked if this was the motel.  This was a new one!  I wanted to ask him if this looked like a motel, but I bridled my tongue and asked him where they had reservations.  They were supposed to check in with Kevin.  No Kevin here.  Finally, the wife, face glued to her GPS, said they were looking for the Greer Lodge check in and this MUST be it because her device told her so.  I lost a bit of tethering on my tongue and responded that this was the White Mountain Lodge, just as the large sign says, pointing to the huge sign they passed driving on to the property.  I instructed the driver how to get to their destination while the navigator continued staring at her device that could not be wrong.

Catch of the Day

Our nearly 4 month old lab loves her walks on forest trails and dirt roads.  Every walk is an adventure and you never know what her keen senses will find.  Some days it's a new stick, a pine cone to shred, a discarded water bottle to crunch on, a squirrel to chase up a tree.  The other finds I can do without: the dead snake in the road, proudly carried all the way home; dead birds, dead field mice....basically anything dead.  It's such a struggle getting it out of her mouth, so I've decided she's part vulture and I'm just letting her eat the dead thing.  I'm disappointed she has such poor taste and standards in food.