When we are up at the cottage, life is so simple. My brain rests and then the creative juices start flowing again. Lists fill pages and I am anxious to return home to get things going again.

This last weekend was quieter than usual. The campground always settles in a lazy pace after the annual campmeeting week in the summer is over. There was a potluck and special music by a four man quartet on Sunday night which gave campers a nice time to visit and wish the summer goodbye. An empty seat at the picnic table and beside me at the concert reminded us all of the presence missing. No offers of extra sausage or discussion over who was making the deviled eggs. The job was mine to carry on the tradition.

The absent camper, my mother-in-law, was carried off the campground over a month ago in a stretcher. Testing, emergency surgery on a perforated ulcer, cardiac complications and measures for a further infections kept her in a local hospital for nearly two weeks, after most everyone at the campground had returned to their own homes. From there she went to my sister-in-law's for a couple of days of recovery and finally home again.

She is just now realizing the extent of the damage to her body and knows time will heal but did not chance a return visit to the campground this last weekend. She has been a institution in this place, having grown up nearby and coming since she was a little girl. She tells the story of her parents actually meeting here when her dad stepped off the train that used to run through the woods beyond the meadow. He met a group of girls on the walkway that included her mother. The rest is history and a fascinating one too!

My husband has been working all summer to clear the old nature trails and build bridges to help campers enjoy the experience. I believe he would be a boy scout again if he could.

With all the quiet time, I enjoyed reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover. Inspired, I am now on a quest to complete Baby Step #1. Keep watching this week for a review of the book and more details on what that step is.

On our TV at the cottage, we get only about two channels well. While I was cleaning up to leave, I caught a glimpse of Elizabeth Gilbert on Oprah. She wrote the book of her journey in Eat, Pray, Love. I just finished it on audio tape and want to write up a review on that too. She has inspired many people but I have some serious issues with the way she went about "finding God" but I'll leave what I really think for a post dedicated just for it.

And of course, we managed to watch news on Sarah Palin and the impending hurricanes.

GO SARAH P. (the other GOP Sarah P.) Lovin' it! Now to start tackling those lists!