Cottage, here we come...

I'm frantically writing lists and checking lists and packing...

TOMORROW, the girlies and I are off to The Cottage.

Yes, I can hear those of you who know me: "What the HELL is she THINKING??!!"

Because those of you who know me also know that I am completely incapable of taking a "vacation" and actually have it turn out as a pleasant, restful experience.

Last year, our time at The Cottage was one of the hottest heat-waves on record. We actually had to "abandon ship" half way through, as I was vomiting from heat-exhaustion and my girlies were gasping and horking on their asthma inhalers for dear life. Luckily, my parents' air-conditioned house is about a two hour drive from The Cottage, and we were able to stay there for a couple of days while we all recovered.

We arrived back at the lake on the day that the heat was supposed to "break"... and it broke, all right. Ever weathered a full-force tornado in a two-story wooden cabin right on the water??! Neither had I. I saw those greeny-black clouds thundering across the water towards us, threw the kids in the car, and made for the house of a friend who HAS A BASEMENT. I flew through their front door, trailing little children behind me, shouting, "HEY, YOU GUYS!! How are all those RENOS ON THE DOWNSTAIRS BEDROOMS COMING??!! GEE, THE KIDS AND I WOULD LOVE TO SEE!!"

We feigned a "tour" of the construction site, in order to keep the children from freaking out about what was going on outside... And once all the weather had safely passed, our friends invited us to stay for dinner. Which, as it turned out, would have been a MUCH easier undertaking, with the power out and all, had their barbeque not been picked up off their patio and flung about five blocks down their street.

HOWEVER.

That said, when the weather co-operates, The Cottage is a truly heavenly place. The English Garden keeps me happily busy, watering, weeding and pruning, when we are not on the beach. And in the evening, THIS is the view my husband and I gaze out upon, as we sit on the deck and sip wine, after the children are all in bed.

So, I'm hoping for the best, while bracing for the worst...

We will be far, far out of internet range for awhile, and I will miss you all!! Keep in touch, and keep checking back, because who knows... I might just TRY and sneak off by myself for a couple of hours every once in awhile, and if I can find a cafe with wireless internet, I'll look in on you!

And I'll save all the stories of our escapades in a notebook as they happen, so I can write them up later, and you can read all about them, have a good laugh, and be glad you're not me...

Because, after all, The Crisis of Today Is The Joke of Tomorrow!!