Open Water

After a brutal winter and a snowy November, a green Christmas for 2014 was not a disappointment. The day after Christmas, my granddaughter Avery and I went in search of open water.  I wanted to see how high the waves were on Lake Michigan and instead of high waves we found sunshine, blue and green water, a cold wind, fishermen on the Pentwater pier and a beach filled with flotsam and jetsam.

Avery didn’t think she needed a coat as the outside temperature was registering 45 on the car thermometer.  But her ever concerned grandmother brought a red parka for her to wear along with gloves.  Despite the temperature, I knew the winds coming off the lake this time of year would be chilly.

 We watched the water spray up on the pier on the other side of the channel.  Lake Michigan was choppy and at the end of the pier we were walking on, we saw fishermen in warm camouflage, fishing for whatever they fish for this time of year...maybe coho salmon.  I’m guessing as I know nothing about fishing.  One fisherman had caught three large ones while another had a fish on his line.  As he reeled it in slowly we saw the silver fish jump above the water.  Then there was a shout from the fisherman as his catch broke free.  Avery told me later that she wasn’t sure how someone could murder a fish so she was glad it got away.  There is something special about a grandchild who roots for the fish.

At the end of the pier the water was spraying on the rocks and spewing up close to us.  We both used the camera to try to get a picture of the splashing.  It took patience to wait for the crash of water and we shivered in the wind.

As we walked off the pier enjoying the sunshine, I asked Avery if she would like some hot chocolate.  Never a girl to turn down a good thing she enthusiastically said yes.  It was a day to revel in and I knew the open water would soon be a thing of the past.   January snows will come and cover the beach and the lake will freeze around the edges.  The open water will be further out or not within sight at all from the beach.  The pier will become a dangerous place to walk.

We will return in the spring to search once more for open water and collect bits and pieces off the beach.  The wind will be softer and we will watch the waves and feel the change of seasons. We will dream of summer and the carefree days it brings for a grandmother and a granddaughter who enjoy each other’s company. However not much could beat the day after Christmas experience we had just had.  May there always be open water between us.  

Making A List and Checking Things Twice

I sat in the eye doctor’s waiting room last week and made a list. It was unlike any list I had ever made in my life. On the top as a title I wrote:

FIND. Then I listed the things that were missing and needed to be found as quickly as possible because I needed them.

#1 - Pencil sharpeners

At Highclere Castle in England I had picked up five small plastic pencil sharpeners to give to the grandchildren at Christmas time. They were

fairly inexpensive, but they had a picture of the castle and also the name imprinted on them. I knew I had put them in a special place in September, but where that special place was, I had no idea.

#2 - Gifts for A & B

Every year we put up an Advent quilt for the three grandchildren that live down the road. It contains pockets with the numbers 1-25 embroidered on them and are big enough to hold little presents. When I asked Jay, Avery and Carter if I should stop doing the calendar, there was an emphatic, “NO.” Then Jay said, “Why would we want you to stop giving us presents?” That from a twelve year old.

But Adrianna and Bella in Novi do not reap the benefits of this daily present giving so I collect things I can give them as we usually go to their house at least once before Christmas. A bag with those small items was missing.

#3 - A gift similar to four others.

I can not be specific on this as it would give away a big Christmas surprise, but I had four of the same thing and was missing the 5th.

#4 - Two CDs

I had bought three CDs at Target for three different people and I had ordered one off Amazon. I had opened one from Target to listen to. The one from Amazon had not come yet and I was missing two. Math problem...how many CDs would I have if I had all of them?

#5 - Two pair of gloves

I have a pair of red wool gloves I bought at a sliver of a store near St. Stephens Cathedral in Vienna, Austria in 2011. I wore them in November when we had so much snow. I can’t find them now. I also had a multi-colored pair I bought at Menards in Muskegon which were also missing.

#6 - A small book

This was a present I bought in England for someone who shall remain nameless and it too was missing.

#7 - One alpaca sock

I found one under the bed but the other had vanished into thin air.

When I got home from seeing the eye doctor, I decided to start the search. I had just cleaned and straightened the shelf in the back closet, but looked there one more time. I went through my stuffed desk drawers and came up with nothing on my list.

I had already divided Christmas presents into sacks for each person, but I looked again in those sacks. Then I went to the big attic and opened a big plastic bin but nothing I needed was there. I noticed a smaller bin

under some sheets and pulled that out. BINGO! There were #1 and #6.

I found granddaughters Adrianna and Bella’s missing gifts in a stray bag in my craft room. I could cross number #2 off my list.

My granddaughter Avery found one of the missing CD’s near an attic door in our bedroom. I then opened the attic and found the Target bag with two more CDs. Hurrah for Avery and taking care of #4.

My husband was cleaning out the car this weekend and found my Menard gloves. However the Vienna gloves are still missing even after I searched coat pockets. I haven’t given up hope yet though. So that left half of #5.

As for #7. I put the socks on in the middle of the night when it was so cold in our bedroom and when my feet got warm enough I must have kicked them off. But why was one part way under the bed and not the other one? I used a flashlight to look beneath the bed and when it wasn’t there I decided to check under the blanket and voila….found sock!

I found #3 (one of five) on the floor of my craft room after I had looked there at least six times. I swear there is someone who follows me around and bothers me just to get my goat. Don’t laugh. I was sitting at a concert in Hart last Friday night and even though the wonderful woman pianist was playing Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, I could hardly keep my eyes open. Then someone poked me several times in the back. I knew that the people behind us had left at intermission, but I turned slightly anyway to see if they might have come back. Nope….nobody. Same thing at home….nobody, but some gremlin is there always haunting me and hiding things. That is why I am now having to make a list like no other so I can feel satisfied in checking the items off when I find them and keep my sanity. However I gave up on finding a cell phone I misplaced over a year ago. Some things just can't be checked off and since I have a new one, I'll let the gremlin keep the old.   

Myrna's Song

Two young girls

float through

a meadow of

tall grass

on their way

to a creek

beyond the field

Bright eyes

splash on eddies

where rivulets circle

and flow into

pools and over

stones

Musky earth

with white

trilliums

greet their senses

from the dark woods

behind the water

Lily pond,

moonstones,

cinnamon pool

giggle off their

tongues to name

and make the place

their own.

Away from their

mother’s demands

their innocence

slips the banks,

thrilling to

freedom in their

bodies and souls

Touching their toes

in the stream,

very far from home

they blink

at the sun

and shadows,

feeling so right

with their own interpretation

of a natural God

Winter Morn

The dark was all pervasive

With cold lurking

On the other side of

The frosty pane

Snuggled under quilts

Like a rabbit In a hole

Who didn’t want fur to freeze

Seemed a reason

To stay in the underground depths      

But thoughts of a fire,

The sunrise from my kitchen window

And hot coffee in a mug

Put my bare feet on the floor

To slowly walk into

The winter morn