Sandy Waves

We are only being brushed by Sandy's long fingers, and are thinking of those who's lives and homes are in her path.

Her winds are blowing up choppy waves here.  The Californian in me says "Pshaw, this is nothing."  But after living on Lake Michigan for 5 year, I know this is a rare sight.  Even more unusual is the sound.  How I miss the crash and roll of ocean waves.

I'm between knitting projects at the moment and have been pouring over Raverly for inspiration.  I'm in the mood for a shawl or scarf.  These are in my favorites now:

This, in cooler tones

Ruffles in green maybe?

This one, just the way it is.

Although this hat would be quick and warm too.

I picked up a patter for a Henley pullover for Craig at my LYS.  Not sure what I was thinking since it will be a lot of work with uncertain outcome.  Craig said he'd be happy with slippers.

Happy Halloween, I'll post pictures of the kids tomorrow!

Afternoon Delight

Thankfully I was wrong about having had our last beach day.  The weather and light have turned distinctly autumnal, but this afternoon the air was warm.  Long shadows cast a calm feeling across the water.  Audrey and Colton were so happy to be in the sand and water.

Sand Cliffs

We are hanging on to these last weeks of summer with both hands; we've spent three of the last four days at the beach.   We are sandy and a little sun burnt and thoroughly tired.  The kids are so much fun at the beach.  They entertain themselves and each other and me for hours.  Audrey's little hands make "drip castles" on everything.  Colton runs without fear into the water no matter the size of the waves.

Every Friday we've been heading to Lee St. beach.  It has been fun to see how this one beach has changed over the summer.  In June the water was calm and there was a long low sand bar.  Then the waves grew.  And grew. And grew.  Audrey is an expert jumper of waves.  And on Friday when we arrived we found these cliffs of sand.  

Repeat

Are you getting tired of summer yet?  Nah, us either.

Dunes

We spent a few days camping at the Warren Dune State Park in Michigan this week.  For a first family camping trip, I would call it a success.  There were the requisite camp moments: campfires, roasted hotdogs, long afternoons on the lake, sticks, dirty feet, and mud, mud, mud.  

Does a boy need anything more than a stick to be happy?  Not this boy.

Craig spent his childhood summers here.  I can't imagine a better way to grow up.  We're so lucky to be here together.

4th of July

A day at the beach
A backyard barbecue
Baby's first taste of Slurpee 
Fireworks watched from our window

Summering

Last week found us digging in the sand at the beach, running in sprinklers, dancing in the grass at an evening concert and in the company of friends. 

On Friday, we picked up some take out and headed to the lake front.  We were right by the dog beach, and the parade of animals walking by was so entertaining.  After dinner on our stroll home we came upon a troop of Marimba-ist.  Their music was soft, but strong and the sound of the seven of them together was like a wave gathering to its full height, then spilling out across sand and rocks.

Yesterday, Craig and I went kayaking out of the Evanston boat house. The water was perfect, blue and clam, showing only the wakes from passes motor boats.  There was hardly any wind, but we were cooled by the splash of our paddles and by dipping hands and feet in the water.  There is a small shipwreck just off the shore (that neither of us knew was there!), a 100 year-old, wooden schooner.  It was eerie to see it's bow reaching toward the surface, especially since Craig and I just finished reading this book about deep-water wreck diving. Without a doubt, we will be kayaking again this summer.  In fact, we will be doing all of the above all summer.