It is canoe race week, and I am back at the lake for the weekend, and my son and his family will be joining us for the long weekend. It will be the first time they’ve been here since last year and we are all excited to see them explore the cottage and the lake.

I remember those days when it was a once (or twice) a year trip to the lake and back.

Here are a couple of posts about the canoe race, from fifteen years ago (and I had to edit and update them, too), if you are interested……

• Canoe Race Weekend (about the kid’s canoe race)
• First Day New Month (about the real canoe race)

Last Saturday evening; I packed up a culinary experiment and headed over to my son’s house to have dinner with he and the grandies.

I had come across a recipe which I thought might be a good dinner at the lake this coming weekend and I wanted to try it out. It was a takeoff on a Chipotle’s chicken bowl – rice, beans, chicken, salsas and other toppings.

I had tried it out the previous two evenings for dinner and thought it could be a solution for a quick choice for dinner. I figured it could be served buffet style, and we could eat before racing out to catch the start of the canoe race.

As it turns out it was a hit! My son and the grandies loved the food. The boys are pretty good eaters though one is partial to dips – especially ranch and they ate well.

But it turns Weston was more interested in wearing my shoes. They were too big, but I am not worried. The boys are growing quickly, and they will fill big shoes someday, but for now it is fun to watch them learn, grow, and develop. First words, big steps, and so much more.

Fortunately, the weather is cooler and the smoke is mostly gone. It looks to be an amazing weekend, but first today. It is Wednesday morning and today is going to be a wonderful Wednesday. Today could be a million and six times better than yesterday. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, getting ready for a big weekend.

 What are you looking forward to this weekend?

This week’s sign offering is a tie.

I am tickled by both. But they don’t make it any cooler.

Thursday evening’s sunset looked like I was looking through those eclipse glasses from 2024.

Yesterday, I drove to Dwight, Illinois – a town southwest of home to see the Big Boy locomotive stop as it traveled back to it’s base in Wyoming after touring the USA for America’s 250th Independence Celebration.

The Big Boy travelled through Wheaton in early June and I was at the lake. I’ll write more later on this… but the skies were clear and hardly any smoke south of here.

This morning (Saturday), it’s hazy and we still e an air quality warning until midnight but the temperatures are slowly dropping. My regular Saturday morning gig – the food pantry – is closed and was closed Thursday as well due to the air quality. Hopefully, we’ll be back Monday.

I’ll be happy to wave goodbye to the heat, too. 

I head back to the lake for the annual canoe race next weekend. It’s going to be a family weekend with the my son and his family (the grandies) coming to enjoy a long weekend at the lake. I am looking forward to it.

I’ve been working on this post for a bit too long – so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Today is going to be an amazing day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, even. when it takes a couple of days to finish a post.

Do you ever get distracted and lose ‘steam’ on a post?

America’s 250 years since declaring our independence from the United Kingdom, pales in comparison to our mother country and almost every people across the globe besides those of us whom live in the New World. Yet, we celebrate our milestone proudly.

I bring you three flags, yes there is a third flag in the background.

Last week, I happened to drive past our town’s celebration of the America’s Independence –  Field of Honor sponsored by the Wheaton Park District. The park district does this annually, but I have never seen it in person. Wednesday evening I drove past it and turned around to learn more. I ended up sponsoring two flags of the 2000 planted in the field. I spent more than an hour wandering the field much like I did last summer in France and the Netherlands at the American Battle Monument Cemeteries.

Attempting to capture a image which does justice to the alignment of hundreds of American flags flying in the breeze is impossible, but I tried.

I was allowed to pick up the flags and planted them along the road at our lake house Friday.

I left Friday morning and was surprised by the lack of traffic on the highway as I patiently drove east, then north.

I was two hours into my drive when I remembered a blog post from my friend Dawn at Change is Hard. She had posted about a field filled with poppies which she and a friend had visited in mid-June. I commented that I drive past the field on my to our lake house. At the time I thought about driving over and back, but decided I had other things I should be doing and filed it away for another time. As I drove along, I remembered the poppy field and recalculated my route to include stopping and paying a visit.

I am glad I stopped. Words cannot describe, nor can a picture; but I tried.

The poppy filed was stunning. I’ll be passing there this evening as I head home for a doctor’s appointment and a  few other things before coming back for the canoe race. I am excited to see the poppy field in the evening sun.

Independence Day at the lake is always fun, except if you are a dog. Especially, Fern who is terrified of fireworks. She’s a hunting dog breed, but we aren’t hunters so she hasn’t been acclimated to the sounds. She’ll hide when the Guard Camp is doing live fire across the lake or during thunderstorms.

There were fireworks on the lake Friday and Saturday evening, but I chose to stay close to Fern and Nova.

Saturday morning was the day of the boat parade and my daughter had been busy creating her theme for this year’s 250th Independence Day Lake Margrethe Boat Parade.

She dressed as George Washington with her ‘troops’ riding behind. It’s her cousin and his young family as American soldiers crossing the Delaware for a sneak attack on the British at Trenton on Christmas night 1776.

The boat parade wound the shores of the lake and lasted a little over an hour before we finished and gathered for hot dogs, hamburgers, and judge’s results. I am surprised our little band of soldiers made it.

I created the video of the event with other entries, but not all of them. I set it to Ray Charles’ rendition of ‘America the Beautiful.’ Enjoy.

So there you have it, three flags (in front of the house) with three events to celebrate American independence.

It’s Wednesday and it’s already the best Wednesday this week. I’ve got a couple of chores and some packing before I head home. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the rest of the day. Making the days COUNT, one day at a time, making every moment worthwhile.

Have you ever been somewhere special and gone back to see it in a different light?

Yesterday on the way home from Loaves and Fishes, I was listening to the Astros baseball game. They were behind 6-5 in the top of the eighth inning.

The Detroit Tigers made a pitching change which didn’t work out for them. The Astros clawed their way back into the game with a couple of hits and a little misfortune on the Tigers part. While I was listening, my mind wondered and it found its way to a book I read a more than a dozen years ago, Imperfect, an Improbable Life.

The book was about a baseball player, Jim Abbott, who was born with a partially formed right arm who taught himself to play baseball. It’s an inspiring story and I wrote about in this blogpost – Saturday Morning – late April – published April 28, 2012. And I went back to read it. As I have discovered with many older posts, my writing has changed and the links I added, no longer worked. So, I did a little revising to the links.

This morning, I was reading a blogpost from one of my favorite bloggers – Beth from I didn’t have my glasses on…. A trip through life with fingers crossed and eternal optimism. She posts almost everyday, it’s quite impressive. Beth’s posts are inspirational, funny, and thought provoking.

This morning’s post was about book lending and it took me back to the book I had read about Jim Abbott and his journey from Flint, Michigan to Yankee Stadium and beyond.

I lent that book, Imperfect: An Improbable Life, a few times before I lent it a final time. I haven’t seen that book since, or that person for that matter.

It doesn’t matter, I could (and probably should) lend more of my books and never get them back.

Beth’s post sent me on a rabbit chase of sorts where I discovered a video about Jim Abbott that was produced by ESPN last summer. I missed it, I was busy with other things. The trailer below is about how he learned t play baseball one handed.

Jim Abbott overcame an incredible amount of hardship in his life. Much of it through his own hard work and determination. But baseball, like life, is a team sport.

Nine players on the diamond to play a game.

Every player has to be all in for it to work.

Today is going to be a great day, especially when I go down a rabbit hole in time. Like every day, I have a lot to do and today is no different. I am watching the grandies in a little over an hour and as usual I am behind on the things I thought I’d get to this morning.

Rabbit holes.

So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, even when I am diving into rabbit holes.

When was the last time you dove into a rabbit hole?

NOTE: I posted this unedited versions of the sign on Sunday and only noticed the mispelling after a commenter noticed it. I went back Sunday afternoon and the error had been corrected. As always, I was reminded that some times my most effective proofreading comes AFTER I press publish.

When the day came, it really wasn’t a surprise, but there was a surprise involved.

A couple of weeks before the game, I called my daughter on her way to work and shared that the Astros were going to be in town and asked if she wanted to go. There was a silence on the other end and then an answer,

“You didn’t hear this from me, but I’ve been watching for tickets…Father’s Day is coming”

A few weeks before, she asked me if I had any baseball trips planned for the summer. I told her,

“No, all the good weekends are taken.” I said.

“What do you mean?” she replied.

“Well, all of the games I’d like to see are weekend when I can’t go. Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, my brother’s visit, Race Weekend, weekends when I can’t go.” I explained.

I finished my bucket list last August when I watched the Astros play the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park. With that game, I had made it to all 30 of the baseball cities and 33 baseball stadiums.

With that milestone, I needed a new bucket list item! So, I added a new item to my bucket list, it’s a updated version of the original bucket list item – to see the Astros play in every stadium. Presently, I am at 17 cities where I have seen my team play.

It had been a while since I had been to a game with my daughter – it was 2018 before the Astros cheating scandal when she stopped rooting for the Astros.

I wrote about a trip to the park almost a dozen years ago, Weekly Photo Challenge: Between June 2014. I had to go back and edit – the link to the seventh inning stretch was broken, but I was able to find the video and update it!

A couple of days before the game, I found out the rest of the surprise – my son and his boys would be joining us! I was so excited. A baseball game with the grandies!

It had been even longer since I had watched a game with my son – I think it goes back all the way back to April 2017.

Anyway, Saturday couldn’t come soon enough. Friday afternoon, I listened to the finish of the game in my classroom after school and the Astros won 4-2!

Saturday morning I was up early and excited.

My son had borrowed my car the night before and the grandies loaded and ready to go.

The drive into Chicago went smoothly until we reached the city and got bogged down in lower Wacker traffic. IYKYK!

We had decided to park remotely, instead of attempting to park near the stadium. A WIN because it was free and much easier!

We parked, loaded the bus, and finished with a short walk to Wrigley.

The Astros were up 2-0  in the second inning when we got to our seats, but it didn’t matter. We were there to enjoy a day together at the ballpark.

My son had brought snacks and drinks for the grandies and they were happy to watch and take in the game. I got ballpark food the kids and me and got a free peanut (for the photo) from the couple behind me!

We had a great time and the Astros were able to tack on another run in the fourth inning.

When the seventh inning came, we were all in and sang “Take Me out the Ballgame” with gusto.

It was a fun game to watch, but to be honest it was just fun being at the ballpark sharing the game I love and spending time with my kids and grandies.

After the game, we let the crowd go before we left our seats… and we let the grandies play before we packed up and headed back to the bus and home.

On the way home we checked in with mom (my wife, B) and organized an outdoor pizza party to finish the day.

And now, I have a new bucket list item – watch as many baseball  games as I can with my grandies!

It was an amazing day and I’ve been waiting to share ever since. It’s Father’s Day and I am blessed with two amazing kids and a couple of grandies to boot. Today is going to be an amazing day. So, I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, being father since 1998.

Any Father’s Day memories?

It is that time of the year when late spring storms cross the Midwest. Yes it is still celestial spring for a few more days.  Last week’s storms spawned 11 tornadoes in Chicagoland.

Yesterday afternoon thunderstorms popped up by the lake in the afternoon and again in the evening. Neither of the storms were severe, but we did get rain and some hail and a lot booms which scared Fern.

Today severe storms will pass south of us at the lake, but will pass through home. We are keeping your fingers crossed.

My brother’s visit was success and we had cool temps and very windy weather which kept us off the lake, but it was wonderful to visit and catch up in person.

There is always something to do and I have been going back in time on the blog and finding things which need fixing. When I started blogging in 2010, I was learning blogging and using WordPress. In the sixteen years since I wrote those posts, much has changed on the internet. I’ve discovered many of the images on MtDC’s older posts are not visible because the link has changed or some other reason, so I’ve been going back to restore the images and update each post – it’s time consuming, but fun to go back and realize how far I’ve come with MtDC.

When I began, I wanted to practice writing and put my words into action. One of first blog projects, after going to France with my step-mother and brothers in early June, was blogging while I was at summer camp with my son and his Boy Scout troop. I posted daily and sent an e-mail home to share. Blogging from camp  was a hit and I continued for the following two summer camps.  A form of it still happens on the troop’s website.

When I go back, I cringe at the writing, and I see how I’ve grown.  I also can see where WordPress has evolved as well.

• Day 34: Flags – edited (post #26)
• Day 35: The Mile – unedited (post #27)

It is also amazing to realize who far those scouts have grown, too.

Time moves quickly, especially when it is summer. Today is day nineteen of this year’s summer break and in a lot of ways I have made the days count, and in others I could have done better.

So make every minute count, jump up, jump in, and seize the day,
And let’s make sure that in every single possible way,
Today is gonna be a great day!

Making the Days COUNT, one day at a time. 

How is your weather?

While I was writing Wednesday’s W^2 post, I was sipping coffee at a Starbuck’s because a thunderstorm had knocked our power out. I figured I could charge my devices, create an overdue post, and maybe collect my thoughts from an already busy week.

I finished my post and my coffee, then stopped to grab dinner and head home.

The power had not been restored; fortunately the storm brought relief from the heat and humidity, so sleeping without power came quickly.

The power was still out when I awakened Thursday morning. I checked with the power company – the update stated that they planned to have power restored by Saturday at 3:00 PM! I knew that our outrage was relatively small – only a 100 customers. According to the power company, they had more than 200,000 customers without power, so I understood the three-day timeline.

No power meant no coffee. So, I left the house to grab a cup of coffee. I had a lot to think about.

Thursday’s forecast called for two more waves of severe storms, with the latter being the strongest.

Besides the power being out, I planned to be at  lake the following day , but I couldn’t leave the house without power including a full refrigerator and freezer. I had a lot to think about and do.

My first thought was to get a generator, which I quickly realized made little sense. Then it shifted to empty both freezer and refrigerator, clean them, and restock later when the power was restored. Finally, it dawned on me I could donate the salvage the frozen food and donate them to the food pantry, while tossing the what couldn’t. To do the salvage and donate, I needed to borrow a cooler from my son, so I left the house to pick it up and passed the cause of the power outage where I discovered two power company repair trucks parked and waiting. So maybe, power might be restored after all. I got the cooler, anyway, and was back a half-hour later.

When I returned, the power company was starting to stage the repair by closing off the two lane road before beginning the repair.

I took a walk to inspect, and be nosey. I took a few photos, too. On the way back I ran onto a few neighbors and I shared what I had learned.

So, I waited. I took a short nap.

The first wave of thunderstorms rolled through, then power came back on. We had been without power for twenty-three hours.

We still had one more wave of weather to roll through and it would be the most severe of the week, possibly the season. But I was relieved and I could start thinking, again.

The last line of storms passed through with the worst of the storms passing south of our home. And the electricity stayed on.

Friday morning, I drove to the lake, stopping along the way to visit my brother and his wife at their campsite in Holland, Michigan. Yesterday, they joined us at the lake for a visit and dinner. Today, we hope to take a ride on the lake and finish the day with dinner.

Until then, I need to get moving and jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Today is going to be a great day. Making the Days COUNT, one day at a time, slowing down to restart thinking.

Have you ever had a moment like the sign read?

I took these photos five weeks ago and I have every Wednesday since go by without posting them. Until today.

I captured the images after a brief thunderstorm passed through Aurora, Illinois while I was volunteering at Loaves and Fishes.

Once the thunderstorm passed through, the skies opened, the temperature dropped, and we were able to finish serving our clients for the evening.

I have never seen a double rainbow despite the fact that they aren’t considered rare, according to a quick Google search – a one in five chance!

Rainbows are exciting to see and a double rainbow even more so, even if it’s not a rare thing.

It’s Day 12 of Summer Break and I’ve been, errr, I mean we’ve been, busy. We were at the lake last week and drove home Sunday afternoon.

I had scheduled some appointments this week and I had planned to carve away at a few of those ‘things I am going to do…’ But really, the appointments and taking of the house and yard were the big things we needed to accomplish this week.

The biggest thing was the making the decision to retire from teaching and yesterday, I put in my notice with my school district. The effective date seems far away, but I’ve had my eye on the date – June 30, 2030 – for almost three years. There were lots of factor that went in two making the decision, but this year was my 27th year of teaching. Four more years will get me close to full retirement of 35 years, and it’s time.

I am excited, and nervous, and giddy at the idea of being able to take a long weekend and explore places without sneaking a day off or writing sub plans.

Last summer, my youngest brother retired. Yes, I was envious. Before he retired he and his wife purchased an RV and have been traveling on the weekends and short vacations in Texas and a few of the western states.

This spring he called and let me know they were planning to visit the Midwest and planned to stop and visit with us at the lake for a couple of days. Last Monday, they left their home in southeast Texas and headed north. Their plan was to do a giant loop around two of the Great Lakes – Michigan and Superior before winding their way back home through Michigan’s upper peninsula, then Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, Kansas, and Oklahoma before getting back home.

I am excited to see them.

Somewhere over the rainbow
Skies are blue
And the dreams that you dare to dream
Really do come true

Saturday will be here before I know it and I have a few a lot more to do’s and a couple more appointments before they arrive, so I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count one day at a time, because that’s how it works.

Have you ever seen a double rainbow?

I was able to remember a few more of the promises I made about summer and acted upon a few before we left town for the lake. We arrived at the lake house very late Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. The dogs barked, but our daughter (who was already here) did not wake. We brought in the essentials before collapsing into our beds.

We fully unloaded Wednesday when we awoke to an amazing day.

We’ve been busy since. Thursday I ran to town for errands and got the fixings for dinner and thought I’d capture a few signs for this week’s post and I discovered one of the signs hadn’t changed since late April!

Friday was a lazy day. Truly, it was overcast and it rained.

This morning it was cloudy and wet from the overnight rain, but it has since cleared and the sunshines brightly. Which means my moments of writing are few and fleeting.

The local veterinarian always has good signs and I captured the signs below when we were here in February and the images were ‘out of date’ by the time I had time to write.

There was snow on the ground and it was much colder than it is today. There is a breeze on the lake and it promises to warm to the mid-70s (about 24-26C). Hopefully, it will trigger more memories of other promises I made about getting a few chores done.

It’s Saturday and it is going to be a full day and as I think back to my first post at MtDC I am reminded,

This could possibility be the best day ever!
(This could possibility be the best day ever,)
And the forecast says that tomorrow will likely be a million and six times better.
So make every minute count, jump up, jump in, and seize the day,
And let’s make sure that in every single possible way,
Today is gonna be a great day!

So I’d better jump up, jump in, and seize the day. Making the Days Count, one day at a time, because that’s how they come.

Do you have any promises you’ve made which are coming due?

I had thought this might be a funny sign of the week, but I think I might find one more appropriate for making my days count.

Thanks to Bushboy’s Last on the Card to enable the photo to find a use. I’ll be keeping my eyes open for another sign of the week.

In the meantime, I am going to make the days count, one day a t time.

What is the last photo you took?