Our camping story

The little red truck all packed up
Camp Smallwood loaded and ready for home

The VW has the over-flow

VW packed tight

Inside our cottage

see our "AC" unit?

Lake Jordan

another view of the lake

Fiona likes the "carpet"

this little dorm fridge is a life-saver!

other end of screen room

Camp kitchen inside screen room

Inside the VW headed for camp

Hello everyone,
I have taken some photos to share, but my camera is needing her battery charged before I can download....so, the text will be first!
Paul and I have had a love affair with camping for our entire married life. We took our first trip for a weekend get away while my mom watched Matt. (Matt turns 40 this August....so it was waaaaaaay back!). Our "rookie" trip was a bit of a disaster, but we had enough fun that we didn't abhore the thought of camping, we just didn't do it again for years. While living in Germany we made friends with several couples at our church and these folks camped while site-seeing! They invited us to join them one weekend in May and the rest is history. We had 3 small children and the very best way to travel with them was camping and I was determind to see as much of Europe as we could possible see on a Staff Sargent's salary. We began with a sturdy canvas tent and camp stove and progressed to a "caravan" which is a pull-behind camper. Our Tabbert camper was adorable and would be classified "vintage" as it was made in the '60s, but it was heaven for us. We spent 3 weeks in Italy, a week in Switzerland, a week in Holland (made 5 more trips to Holland in that camper), long weekends in France, and many many trips in Germany. My friend Karen was a pro at organizing and arranging and she advised me on the best way to pack, plan and prepare for 5 traveling for extended periods, what fun we had. Planning was literally half of the fun. I would read about a place to see or an event to attend, then we would put together the itenerary and then plan the food and the clothing needs. Wish I had a photo of that camper to share, I will hunt for one. Seems like another person in another lifetime, but we were all together and having a good time. A dream come true for a girl from the heart of America who never thought she would see such sites!
After 5 years in Europe, we returned to the USA and settled in Idaho of all places! Each summer we would travel to Kansas and then to Ohio to visit our families and we camped for those trips. Back to a tent again. A cooler and sleeping bags (no air mattresses for us). Primitive and kinda uncomfortable, but we were still young and it was cheap.
We camped while stationed in Boston at the military camp site called Fourth Cliff just up the road a bit from Cape Cod, what a beautiful space and so much to see and do while in the area. We tent camped there as well and the view was awesome, but the wind could get fierce too.
Moving to North Carolina kept us busy and our kids were teens and life was hectic so camping was not on the agenda for a while, but we started tent camping to go to the Highland Games at Grandfather Mountain and then bought an Aliner camper (a very neat one which we loved). We camped all over in that fellow for a couple of years, then he was totaled by a storm and we were back to tenting it! My tea business kept me too busy to even think of camping, but now that I am not running a shop, I have time to plan and prepare again and Paul and I are camping up a storm. Lake Jordan is just 20 min. from our front door, yet you feel as if you are out in the wilderness when you are there. We have already been out camping there four times this year. We began with a trial run of camping the week before we had our "Camp Lake-In-the-Woods" with the grands, then we had camp, then we met Paul's twin brother John and his wife Ruth out there for a weekend camping and Sarah and Amy and families joined us, then we were back for the 4th.
Well, all this rambling, so sorry but my memories got the best of me for a moment...I once did a talk on camping in Europe for Christian Women's Club and called it "Camping....how can so much work be so much fun?" that is still true to this day. I told Paul I feel the same after getting all the Christmas stuff down each year....but hope I never tire of doing this as it keeps us in the flow of life. We work hard, but oh it is so enjoyable.
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cathy
ps pictures will follow!

Our Cottage (without the roof cover)
View of inside and one of the closets

The "MEGASTATION"

Good Monday to you,

Definately summer time here in NC. Our highs are in the 90s and clear blue skies. Lawns are baking, container plants are withering and corn is about 5ft. tall and lookin good....perfect summer. We are "stay-cation" pros here on Arrowhead Way...Paul and I are loving camping at the lake and each time we go we up the anti on comfort....this trip we added a wonderful screen room to our inventory....it is 10' x 20' and a delight to set up and just keeps us about totally bug free, plus great shade and protection from rain....if it ever rains again. We get a site with elec. and water and hook up a good heavy-duty extension cord to a multi-port elect. power strip and we can plug in our dorm fridge, our elec. skillet, our crock pot, or elec. tea kettle...our wonderful fan or even our Ipod dock...

I also connect a long hose to the water source and we have water on demand without going out of the screen room! Next on my "hafta have" list is the Coleman Hot water on demand unit and a free standing shower room and I will be in bliss!!! I love camping. Luckily, so does Paul and 2 of our 3 children, so we all head for the Lake and have some fun. Amy has a canoe, we have the Mega Station, lots of blow up rafts and such, and it is total water fun, campfire, eating smores, hanging out fun. and cheap too...no it is not Disneyland, we make most of our fun ourselves...and cook all our food too. The best part is being together and enjoying the moments. Paul and I like to head out alone too... so we have our recreation and don't spend a bunch.

When we pack up, it looks a bit like the Beverly Hillbillies tho....I promise to take a bunch of photos to show my mother...so I will share with you all after the 4th. Now remember, we all love doing this. It would be a different story if one of us was not as enthusiastic.

Well, I am off the find the two-room shower tent......

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cathy

Thursday thoughts

Hello all... I saw this poster first time in an article I was reading about a couple in NYC. The article was in Domino...a now defunct design magazine I really enjoyed....along with Country Home, Blueprint, and Mary Engelbreight's magazine....anyhooo. Then I kept seeing the poster pop up in all kinds of cool apartments, homes, kitchens, bedrooms, just everywhere and I wanted it too! So, I ordered it off Etsy and framed it and hung it over our fireplace where a big basket of neat flowers and such used to hang over a neat arched window frame....that is now gone! I had noticed an abundance of silk flowers in our great room...they were all great, and I love them and they look not silk, but real and you would love them too and not think they were fake or anything....but they were just too much, so now here is our way=cool poster instead. How's that for thinking outta the box?
The fireplace mantle used to be white....boring...then I painted it dark dark blue, better....after our fire in '05 I had them paint it black and I added the embellishments and voila! better.
I am debating with myself on the idea of painting our kitchen cabinets...we have lived here at least 19 years longer than I ever thought we would.....we moved into the house brand new back in 1988!!! I turned 40 that summer too....we have moved into this house 3 times!!! painted the outside 4 times already, replaced the hv/ac 3 times and the water heater twice. We have had a house fire that netted us a brand new roof, all new insulation and dry wall not to mention pergo flooring downstairs and smooth ceilings throughout and all new ceramic tiles in the bathrooms....we are blessed. Now I think we should paint the kitchen cabinets....white....but I am scared. It is a big job, could look really bad and would be a mess or could look fantastic and we would do the happy dance....
I have been seeing alot of photos of bloggers who do this very thing and they all look so nice and everyone looks pleased....what do you think? Is this a fad (painted cabinets) or a real style statement?
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cathy

Camp Lake-In-the-Woods

Dear Ones,

We made it home safe and sound and pleased with our 4 day camping adventure with our teens, wow, it was a whole lot of work, but also alot of fun too. Paul and I went out a day early to get set up and we stayed a day longer to take down...the stuff we hauled was huge....would you believe we even had a dorm-sized fridge???? yep we did. The kids ate well......and no rain the entire time!!! Dave Ramsey's Generation Change for teens program was awesome and we believe the kids learned a whole lot about the value of money and their own value too!!! So, all in all, we are pleased, but pooped.

Next week is Vacation Bible School at church and I am helping there so it will be another busy week. I am glad for this bit of a break although, I need to do some planning and prep for the week ahead.....

Our yard looks like the "Land that time forgot"....just a week of neglect and it shows. So, we will spend a bit of our weekend on the yard along with setting up for VBS and Father's Day....

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cathy

Summer Time

Summer time is....camping! (our new "camp cottage")

I took over 200 photos of setting this little baby up....it is quite a process, but oh, so nice!

Summer time is "end-of-the-year" programs above is Bella in her dance recital

Woody on far left with his buds at the High School Band concert (he had a solo btw, and did awesome)

Zion recites poetry at the Poetry tea at his school

Summer time is parents attending all the wonderful programs!

Summer time is tea parties!!! with friends

Summer time is re-covering the sofa in a soft white with new pillows! A "no sew" project, of course!

Summer time is gardens....my small herb garden

So, are you ready for summer???? It will be in the 90s all week long here in NC. Camp Lake-in-the-Woods begins this Friday.....ye gadz and rain and heat are in the forecast, so folks, it is going to be ****fun***** really, it will be. I have so much planned, just hope I can pull it off.

Took our friend Fiona for her check-up and found out she and I are the same age!!! both 60. And the vet is just like my Dr. trying to push lots of tests and such...me and Fiona just say, "No thanks" Still cost over $200. whew, she is glad it is over, and I still have to go back cuz I did not get her heartworm pills.....well, this post is just to keep in touch, I don't know how much I will get to post until after camp, then VBS begins. But July promises to be lots less eventful.

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cathy

I promise to do better.....

Hi friends---family---et al
I have been very slack and altho I have some good excuses, still, I could have been a bit better keeping in touch.
1) I got a bad bug, maybe a bit of flu, not of the swine persuasion tho....and I have been out of it for 2 whole weeks.
2) My life is mundane
3) Couldn't think of a thing worth saying and that is pretty difficult to admit as I can usually chat to wrong numbers!
So, here and now, I do so promise to do better.
Now, I need to post a bit of great retail info. I found Wild Olive via another blog....(don't ask me who, I do so much blogging and love it so...)
oh, I know from Stellan's mom at this blog you need to check that one out! Such a wonderful family...there's ever so many of them out "there". Anyhow, the mom was wearing a tee that I loved and had my favorite Bible verse on it and she gave a link to the web site where you can buy the tee yourself, and I did and I also bought another so now I have two and can't wait to get out there and witness and you should get one or two of them too! I got the "transform your mind" one...and they are both way way too cool, I love them and you will too.
Just two weeks from today and Camp Lake-In-The-Woods begins! Planning is at fever pitch here at camp headquarters....lots of fun for the campers. Since I have been a bit under the weather, I have not done much planning but that is behind me now. There will be 8-10 teens and tweens at the camp plus me, my dh and my two daughters. Adults are the councilors. We will have 3 tents (cabins) plus the Lodge where food will be prepared and campfires will be held, oh, it is all alot of fun, plus this year we will do Dave Ramsey's Generation Change for financial freedom! I think they will enjoy the sessions with Dave and then we will have tons of other stuff to do too. I'll let you know more about the plans as the days progress towards camp! Even at my advanced age, I love camping and being outdoors. Hope you have a wonderful weekend, check out Wild Olive and let me know what you think!
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cathy

Did I NOT blog one single day in April???

Five perfect small blue eggs
5 perfect little house wren babies

Mama is watching me watch her!

Yep, they are all there and thriving

Oh look, only two left, we watched the Mom and Dad come and persuade the babies to fly the coop! These two are reluctant, but ready!

Empty nest says it all....

That is a rhetorical question...... the heading, I mean...not the empty nest (altho I know what an empty nest feels like...lonely/quiet/finished.)

oh dear, I am terribly sorry and all. If you missed me, I was still here, just not much to share altho I had a lovely April and no catastrophes that I can recall....and May is going quite nicely so far......I feel a bit like Alice as she falls down the tunnel......life is passing me by very quickly and I have no idea where I will end up...well, I mean I know where I ultimately will end up...but for this here and now...I still am waiting to turn the page. I have made some very strong decisions about my health. I am watching what I eat very closely...using http://www.sparkpeople.com/ an excellent FREE site for healthy weight loss. I am working hard on my $ habits (learning new areas of self-control is painful friends!) I take a cart and do my twice around Target all the while saying, "can't eat this...can't eat that, can't buy this, won't buy that!" painful.......I think my source of happiness quite honestly came from food and stuff I bought. Pitiful. So I sit here and I want to eat SOMETHING probably salty or chocolate....but I WILL NOT. I will eat yet another delicious tangerine! Yes, I am coming face-to-face with the truth about Cathy! I have lost 8 lbs so far. I am not trying to loose weight to fit into a size 8...I want my numbers to go down for my blood work as in cholesterol and diabetes and blood pressure and oh yes, my liver count too....none of which are yet over the top....but I am heading that way and if I simply use a bit of self-control and change some bad (not illegal or immoral) habits...I could make a huge difference in the next 20 years of my life (Lord willing).

I have also discovered http://www.daveramsey.com/ and am totally hooked on the Total Money Makeover! so....that has been my April....and will be my May....etc.

I did do a desert tea for the local library and if you would like to see a slide show of the event here is the link.

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cathy