It’s the last night of camp and I finally felt well enough to wait for the sunset. I had seen glimpses of it all week. All of them were spectacular. This time I was willing to wait it out with my camera. It took awhile and I’m not very patient but eventually it went down and touched Lake Erie.
While I was waiting for it to get lower I took this shot through the gliders at camp. I love this one! The theme of Camp Pioneer is a Warm Place in the Son, the photo captures that I think.
Here we are Niagara Falls-the American side. I am terrified. I just want to get off those slippery steps and away from what I consider a huge risk! I mean look at that water and what’s keeping it in place? A bunch of rocks! Sure it’s been fine for hundreds of years, but what if this is the day the rocks start to slide? My friend, Marty calls this the honeymoon shot.
Isn’t it amazing the way the water just seems to float in the sky? I was impressed.
Lots of projects were completed at camp. The gliders were a memorial gift to the camp. They weren’t a kit! Several adults and lots of teenagers helped build these gliders, chairs to match and planter boxes from pieces of wood. I’m sure there is a technical name for that wood–like 2×4’s or something. There was another group that built nice wood platforms to set them on. And the placement in front of Lake Erie is perfect. I’ll show you that in another blog post. I have amazing sunset photos to share. This is the huge project Marty, Mandy and I worked for hours reorganizing. This craft shed hadn’t been cleaned out since 1998. Now if you have your own craft room you can probably come close to knowing what this looked like before, but before you picture it imagine 20 camp counselors every year coming in and digging through boxes and not putting things back. Wait, there’s more! Now imagine a mouse community–population size unknown making homes within those boxes. Okay now I can see you backing away from the monitor. You have the picture! I had the photo but because my memory card was full I had to delete a lot of them. We had about 5 wheelbarrows full of trash to cart off as well. Looks good doesn’t it. The cabinets in the back weren’t there when we arrived. Another group of helpers (thanks, Dave, Dave, and Ed) that found them and brought them in for us to use, they even made a counter top. Yet another project was to paint Leah’s house. That’s my friend Lauriann on the ladder she paints every year, behind her is Laura, she paints too. Self prounoucned project manager Gary has climbed that ladder yet. The house looked much better after scraping and painting. New trim was made and installed too. This firepit was in another place. They moved it further away from the edge of the cliff. Lots of sand in wheelbarrows. That’s Ed in the left corner and Dave with the rake.
Some of the other projects were painting and repairing a back stop. I helped with the paint and had sparkly arms for a week. I didn’t mind, I like sparkles! Another fence was installed in front of the camp, a basketball hoop, tether ball pole and flag pole were concreted in place. A bathroom was remodeled, cottages were stocked with dishes by Darla and Gwen, steps were built and I’m sure a lot of other things I didn’t see were done.
I know a huge military tent was set up for the campers coming after us. Kids with a deployed parent get the chance to come to camp and during their stay spend some time in a barracks tent much like the one their parent’s are staying.
Can you tell by my expression that I’m not sure what camp is going to be like for me? This is our first night and I was ready to bolt, run to the truck and take off back home!
I’m glad I didn’t. After breakfast every morning we sang praise songs, Pastor Vern and Marty played guitars the first day, later they were joined by their daughter Kristen on drums, Gurdy on a beatbox and Richter and Danny on more guitars.
These are the preschoolers, look at those faces! We had so much fun learning about putting on the armor of God!
Kidz Corner all cleaned and organized. Mandy helped Marty and I get it back into a safe place to play for the kids above and those who come after them the rest of the summer. Like my shirt? It’s my favorite. I use it for all things messy! I like having that YardLines logo, kind of like having Ed with me all the time.
Our worship leader, Pastor Gary used these videos from one time blind for discussion.
They are still making me think about how I’m living my life.
If you have time hop over to Crystal Laine Miller’s site and read about me when I was a kid. And there’s a book give away too, so leave a comment and an email on her blog!
I spent last week at Camp Pioneer in Angola, New York. My church goes there every summer for a servant event. They do odd jobs and big jobs to get the camp ready for summer campers. This was my first trip there. I wasn’t sure what to expect. I had heard about refurbished cabins, cottages being built and beautiful sunsets. No one told me about the daisies. They are my favorite flower and they were everywhere.
I arrived at camp sick. Not fair! I had a terrible cold most of the week making it difficult to have a good time. Ed, had lot of fun though. Since he can eat regular food he was able to go to the dining hall for his meals. He said there was a lot of singing before and after each meal. I like to sing. While he was doing that I was in my room with my gluten-free meal and a book. Since I felt awful that was a nice break.
The first day I and my friend, Marty worked with the preschoolers. I love working with kids that age. When I started my ‘career’ I intended to get a degree in early childhood, the college I was at didn’t have that program so I switched to a degree in learning disabilities/behavior disorders and minored in psychology. I clearly strayed from my path. Working with the little ones gave me such joy (even while feeling terrible!) Later that afternoon we tackled kids corner. What a mess! It hadn’t been used since last summer and a lot of inappropriate things had found there way inside, like an electric shaver! That could have been fun for some budding barber!
How cool is this? My own lemonade stand. Delightful Dwelling nominated me for it. So now it’s time to pass on the blog award to 10 other talented bloggers who display great “attitude and gratitude.” It’s hard to pick just 10 but here they are:
Slice of Book Pie keeps me entertained with her clever wit and photos.
Shabby Chic Cottage has a terrific L that she made. I want to try this project too! Writer Unboxed never know who will turn up on this blog but it’s always interesting to read.
Inspiration for Decoration great ideas for my home and for the places my characters call home! Camy’s Loft always fun to read and she gives away books!
I’ve had this fabric sitting in my stash since May. I love the weight and bold print but wasn’t sure if I wanted a dress or a skirt.
I decided on the skirt. I followed the directions and messed it up! The pleats are wrong but I like the way the turned out. I love those flat flower pins. I discovered those at a quilting workshop last fall. They are longer than normal pins and they lay flat which is great when you’re trying to mark the fabric.
I watched a youtube video on invisible zipper installation and managed to put it in backwards. So there was ripping involved.
Eventually I got it all together. I love how it fits and how it feels. I wish I had made it earlier this year!
The pillows I made my daughter-in-law are now on her couch. You can see them here As always please check out Kootoyoo for more fun creative spaces this week.
In a blast! I think this is our 7th day of a major heatwave. We don’t usually get these until August so everyone is complaining about how hot it is. Upper 90’s if you’re wondering with a nice dose of 90% humidity!
So what is the perfect summer temperature for you?
I like it just warm enough to hang out by the pool, if we still had one. Around 80 is good, and zero humidity would be nice. So this week is a good week to stay inside and read.
So what are you reading now?
I’m reading another Charles Martin book. I like his work. As a writer I like to read books that teach me how to write better fiction. His work is filled with excellent examples.
This week Margaret Daley has an interview with me on her blog and there is a chance to win a book if you leave a comment oh her blog so check it out!
I’m thrilled! I actually completed a sewing project. These are the pillows–now covered that Sara requested. Last week I had a photo of the fabric up for Creative Space, not sure if I would find the time to make them.
I forget that there are projects that can be made quickly this is one of them. Now I’m thinking about recovering a few of my own pillows…thinking because I have so much stuff in my sewing room that needs to be done. Anyone else like that? If I don’t get the t-shirts and skirts made I won’t get to wear them this year.
As always please check out Kootoyoo for more fun creative spaces this week.
I’m joining the garden party, except it’s a party for one! Me. All it took was some scooting of furniture to a better arrangement, some soap and water a few things found inside and a vase of flowers from target. Now I can say– Summer is here! A friend of mine mentioned she saw a firefly making it officially summer for her.
For me it’s getting the porch clean and ready to relax with a glass of tea that’s so cold it drips with sweat. A good book to read and I’m ready to enjoy my summer.
Last night was my official start of summer. We went to the Cardinals baseball game. If we are lucky we get to go in June. The day had been rain-filled and I thought for sure we wouldn’t get to go. By game time it cleared and the game was on. It was a little humid and hot, still the cotton candy tasted amazing. Is there anything that says summer like cotton candy and the crack of a bat against a ball?
A little boy of about 3 sat behind us. He asked his mom if they could go home. He said, “I don’t get this.”