Sunday, July 8, 2012

Back from summer vacation

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We rented this rustic storybook cottage on the edge of a lake in New Hampshire. I was ready to really take a week off after launching my store these past couple of months.  Even so, I did miss blogland and keeping up with all of you~so here is a quickie version of my family vacation.  Hubby and I along with the kids headed up for a week of R&R....we went to the same lake hubs has vacationed on since he was a boy~he has a skiboat on this lake that he keeps at his friends dock, so it was convenient to move it over to our dock for the week. 
 This is the back of the cottage that faces the lake...it has a nice screened in porch that a wonderful breeze blew through~the owners had edged the back of the house with cut down tree trunks...not sure I would have done that...at first I thought a forest had been planted in a line and cut down!
 From the cottage the only negative was this hilly trail down to the waters edge...all of our calves were feeling it after two days. But once you got down the hill, the dock revealed itself and there we spent many hours.
 It was shady in the morning~and then sunny all afternoon long.
 We came up with this trailer that had hubby's motorcycle and
room for our bikes, as well as room for any antique treasures
I wanted to drag back to my shop!
We brought just about everything you could think of...bikes, chairs, beach umbrellas and even air conditioners (since last year was brutally hot inside the cottage we rented).  However we never needed them, it was pleasant and warm in the day but cooled off at night where you needed a blanket.
 This was the first morning....I went down to the dock with my magazines,
and you can see I still had my sweater on~it was very peaceful on the edge of the lake.
 By the afternoons the sun would come out, and here I would sit with some more magazines, including this fun new one, Vintage Style! The water is so clear and sparkly at this lake~we would dunk Tobey and Dillon as they are not big fans of the water, but in they would go to keep them cooled off.
 One of the last days I decided I would try to waterski, as Colin was trying to master the one ski...I had not been up in 6 years....but I decided I would do it the next day~and after a couple of vodka tonics I felt quite sure I still had what it took, to rip off the waterski challenge!  It has been just as many years since I quit playing team tennis, and although I wondered if I had the physical strength and fitness I used to have,  I thought I have to at least try.  After all I had been doing this year with the store, maybe it was the year to be a little more fearless when it came to this sport...you see hubby is a great water skier...I skied as a twelve year old and had not seen skis until we started dating when I was age 47!  So of course I had to ski then..and I did, but truthfully I was scared of falling and wiping out in the water, with the water up the nose etc....not my favorite thing.  Well I hadn't been eager to get back on skis since our dating days.  However with everyone skiing this vacation I thought it was time to JUST DO IT!! The next morning I was quite determined after spending the night imagining getting up on skis and finding it to be easy as pie.  Thats what I do when I want to accomplish something, I visualize myself doing it, and then I reinforce it with positive self thinking....
Wanna see how I did? 
 You will hear me yell "Hit it!" which is the instruction for hubby to take off~Colin is video taping me from the boat. You can hear him cheering me on!  First try I was so eager I stood right up and fell right out of my skis...Hubby told me to stay in the seated position longer...and I did and got right up. Mission accomplished~and it felt exhilarating! 
 I'll admit I still worry about wiping out! 
I had to trim the video for it to go on the blog,
but right after this section I did flips and tricks.
Hubby is a good water ski coach~
and fun to vacation with 'cuz he is always in a good mood!
So we had lazy days spent in the water 
together~and it was very fun! 
Colin was having a blast, and even my 
Swedish MIL came and stayed for 3 nights.
We had cookouts with our NH friends, Judy and Lance, and Bridget, who owns Rustique.
Bridgets adorable son came and played at the lake
for two days~he loved every minute of it...here he is driving the boat!
We were soooo tired from  all that good fashioned fun~
there was no TV and no internet (besides phones) at the cottage.
We enjoyed a bike ride or two...tons of swimming and lots of eating.
No dieting this week~we had the kitchen stocked with fresh fruit and 
lots of naughty things like fresh blueberry pie and Klondike bars!
Big fat sandwiches at lunch with Lays potato chips~yum!
Our cottage was down at the end on a large private lot,
accessed by a private road in the woods.
The only bad thing that happened was that Dillon escaped one evening as 
we sat outside with our cookout at the picnic table! He had been gone an hour
before we noticed he was missing!!! It is our biggest fear, to lose him, as he is 
a dog that will just follow the scent of a trail and be a wild child.
We always have him on lead, he is not the kind of dog that sits at your feet.
It was awful...we noticed a screen had been popped out of the window in the bedroom and suddenly our cookout turned into a manhunt for Dillon.
We all spread out, Lance and Judy were there with us too. Hubs jumped into his truck and took off down the road, Colin went into the woods, and I started down the road on foot. We were calling Dillon's 
name~it was so scary to think we might lose him...and then all 
of a sudden I heard Lance yelling "WE GOT HIM"!!! 
I ran back to see this~
Here he is just coming out of the woods, all muddied up~
fresh from his adventure.  Colin heard his neck chain tingle in the 
air and he followed the sound and spotted Dillon sniffing around in the woods. 
It was the best way to end our vacation, 
as the next day we would be leaving and if we hand't found him 
I am not sure what we would have done...but it all ended happily!
Dillon got a bath in the lake, which he hated,
 and we hugged him up good.
Of course I got to go on the antique trail as we stayed right off of
Route 4, better know as Antique Alley, the longest 
stretch of antique dealers in New England~
 I will be blogging about the Scandanavian Antique shop I visited,
where I found more than a few Mora clocks!!
Stay tuned~

Photobucket

28 comments:

  1. This looked like a fantastic vacation trip I soon hope to do the same with my boys one day shear country bliss, well done for getting up on those water ski's you did amazing I bet you was pleased you did it. Also those clocks are beautiful I bet you was think Annie Sloan as you was looking at them, I have never seen a clock like that in England I must find one otherwise a hefty shipping fee will be in order from Maison Decor. x

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  2. Amy,
    You are so brave to water ski.I tried it once and never again.I am too clumsy and uncoordinated LOL.What a lovely trip.You deserve it with all the hard work you have been putting at your shop.
    ((Hugs))
    Anne

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  3. Way to go! I haven't skied in over 20 years! I think I would also be afraid of the wipe-out. I hated it back then too. LOL What a wonderful cottage. It looked cozy and everything one would imagine for a lakeside cottage. Glad you had a good time.

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  4. What a fabulous vacation! I have not water skied in 30 years! I haven't played tennis for 2 years. I am calling the tennis club this week and joining....I used to be a 3.5 rated player, but after my rotator cuff surgery who knows what I will be-lol.

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  5. Looks like so much fun and relaxing too you look so happy
    xxoo
    Pam

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  6. Oh Amy, I'm so glad you were able to vacation with your family. Good thing you found your pooch.
    Looks like everyone enjoyed themselves.
    xo

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  7. Love that video. What a great family vacation. That pic of you by the dock looks so peaceful.

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  8. Your vacation sounds like it was a blast! I love lazy days at the lake. That cabin is so charming and it looks like the water was nice. I've never been able to ski. I don't have the upper body strength to pull myself up. You're a strong woman! Glad that you found Dillon before you had to leave. I would've been heart broken to lose my dog like that. So glad that had a happy ending! We go on vacation next week. Going to the beach in FL and staying in a condo. Can't wait!

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  9. What a lovely vacation! Love seeing your dog in alot of the pictures. Great job water skiing! You must have been in heaven with all those clocks!

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  10. Wow! Look at those clocks! It sounds like you had a very relaxing vacation, Amy. You really needed it, I think. You look very relaxed on the dock with your magazines. : ) Sounds like you had a great time {except for the missing dog}. It looks a lot like an area in Maine that we rented a house in one year. Very relaxing, quality time family vacation. Until my husband sunk the row boat.

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  11. Amy, what a fantastic and restful vacation. It looked so relaxing by the lake. I laughed when I saw the truck and the trailer. Hope you got a lot of treasures up on Antiques Alley! Those clocks are lovely!

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  12. Sounds like the perfect relaxing vacation. I would love to rent a place like that somewhere.

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  13. Glad you all made it home! those are the kinds of vacations my family took when I was a kid. Dillon was just wanting a little extra fun! Can't wait to see the antiques shops you visited.

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  14. the best comment ever...."she still got it". what an encouraging hub>>>

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  15. nothing like the woods, a cabin, lake and just plain nothing but fun!

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  16. Looks like a perfect vacation. I can just imagine your relief upon finding Dillon. I'm sure he thought he was having the best adventure ever! I know exactly the feeling of panic you had. What a bad bad dog...but yes...I would have hugged him and hugged him too. So nice that you had friends over to the cottage too.

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  17. Amy- It looks like you had a wonderful time and I think you actually even relaxed a bit. What fun! I hope you have a refreshed spirit to go back and start working again. Thanks so much for sharing your family time here with all of us- xo Diana

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  18. Looks like an amazing getaway for the family...it's nice to get away from it all! xoox, tracie

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  19. Amy i so missed you last week and was wondering what you all were up to and thinking i bet they were having a great time,well now i feel like i was there after reading this post.
    You did totally amazing on the water and i love it when Colin? says "she's still got it!" haha totally cute.
    What a beautiful place to stay for your vacation....so happy Dillon was found,we have the same thing with our dog she always wants to sneek off for an adventure.
    Now show us your haul of treasures Mrs Maison Decor! xx

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  20. This post reminds me that I soooooo need a real vacation! Love the video and the comment "She's still got it!"

    You look so relaxed sitting on the dock with your magazines...I'm jealous.

    Happy the dog hunt ended well..you must have ben frantic.

    And those clocks!!!!!!!!

    Janet xox
    The Empty Nest

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  21. That sounds like the perfect vacation. Or retirement spot- I'd love to have a cabin by the water some day...!

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  22. OMG I love the Mora clocks!!! Were you able to purchase any that you didn't have to sell the kids for? Glad you're back. Marian

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  23. What fun, Amy! I loved seeing that video of your expert water skiing adventure!! lol! You did great,girl!!! Looks like you had a well-deserved good time together. What a gorgeous lake!

    Hmmmmm....I see ASCP instructional videos in your future..... hehehe!

    xoxo laurie

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  24. YAY! You're back!!! Now... wait a minute... you're saying that right after that video you did flips and tricks????
    Thank goodness you found Dillon too!
    Sounds like a relaxing vacation, it's always great to be near the water, and the cabin is really cute. I love screened in porches, what a great place to hang out...
    and... ummm, i see a Moira clock in that last photo that is crazy wonderful, can't wait to hear about the shop where you photographed it!

    Cindy

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  25. jeeze louise, what'd ya do, drive right by my place on the way to camp. i love antique alley. let me know next time you're coming up and we can shop together. so glad you had a nice 'downtime' week. you deserved it. cottage looks fab.

    water ski tricks and flips and everything huh? too bad that didn't catch that on film. ;)

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  26. Amy, it looks like a perfect week. I'm glad you found some time for shopping :)
    Stacy

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  27. Looks like a wonderful vacation Amy. Welcome back, can't wait to see what you will do next!

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  28. I'm going to stay in a cabin for 4 nights in the San Bernadino Mountains. It's near 2 lakes and the place has tons of cabins and there is even a pool, which is unusual for the area. Your MIL, from Sweden, must have loved the place you stayed since it was the same color as the Swedish Stuga's (cottages). Glad you had a great vacation. :)

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