30 years on the water...

How many things have you done for 30 years straight? Not counting bathing, eating dinners, and habitual worrying, there are not too many activities that I have done on a regular basis every year since 1983.  House boating is one of them.

Every Fall a small group of friends congregate on the lake for a few days of relaxation and fun. We have made home movies, fished, skied, dressed up in costumes, broken bones, choked, fallen out of bunks, drank too much, ate too much, floated, cruised, hit golfballs, shot BB guns at cans, spotted deer and bear, made giant bonfires, lost our moorings, got sunburns, run aground, lost our generators, played cribbage and other games, overflowed our sewage tanks, broken a window here and there, and many other exciting adventures. We've lost a few husbands along the way, had a divorce or two, celebrated a few marriages, lost family members, lost and gained jobs, celebrated births and weddings...you know, all those life events that happen over a span of 30 years. We have laughed at ourselves, witnessed an occasional spat, had some lively discussions on the two no-nos - religion and politics.  But mostly, we just got along.

Most of the wild stuff happened in our early years, when we were daring, energetic and probably stupid.  These days, we are a little calmer, we read more, we talk, we float in the water, we fish...An occasional "party" might spontaneously break out, but for the most part, we are just getting older.  We take a little more care negotiating the stairs under the influence, we count our pills in the morning even though we hate talking about our ills, and we chat about our retirements, our trips, and how wonderful our grandchildren are...

In all those years, we have had bad weather only once or twice and this year promises to be awesome again. For me, it's a chance to enjoy the best of what God has to offer...

Stunning sunsets on the water...

 

 

Being with my baby...

Enjoying great meals....

 



 

Waking up to crisp mornings...

Maybe catching a fish or two...

 



 

And of course...KNITTING!!!!!

The houseboat trip is where I started to knit. They all made fun of me, mainly because I NEVER finished anything...not one sweater...ever.  But these days I do actually make garments, so I will probably take several projects aboard and work on them all.  I can't imagine a houseboat trip without some needles in my hand and a glass of wine by my side.

Laurel. Gone fishing.