I just Skyped with my son in Israel. How can you not love technology?
This weekend is Visitors’ Day out at my kids’ camp, so we’ll be flying out east to see them. Getting to see/communicate with all four kids within four days, that to me is very sweet indeed.
Hope you are all enjoying the sweet days of summer.
What’s sweet to you?
I am very happy not to be writing about spotting deer, bears, moose of foxes. As much as I love spotting deer and moose I worry about hitting one with my car. I don’t want to hurt them and even more I don’t want them to hurt me. I don’t want to see them when I am out walking. Animals have their own minds and are unpredictable. I never, ever, ever like to see bears. I would just rather that we not know of eachother’s existence. Last night a guest at our cottage said that she doesn’t worry about bears because really they’re more afraid of us than we are of them. I don’t think they really know how afraid of them I am because I am sure that I’m the winner on this one.
Foxes are sly enough to keep themselves hidden so I am always sure that if we see one on our property it must be rabid. Have I ever mentioned that I grew up in the city?
I’m happy to see little birdies, loons and chipmunks.
Every day the birds wake me at about 5a.m. Usually I manage to fall back asleep. However, not being a morning person I really have to wonder what there is to sing about at 5a.m. every-single-day. Still, I can forgive the birds. I realize that it’s nothing personal against me. Birds just gotta sing. This morning as I was alone I could not help but notice the sound of stones hitting my cottage windows. Knowing that there was no one else with me and therefore there could not be any unrequited lovers trying to get my attention with a few well thrown stones, not to mention that my bedroom is on the main floor and if someone wants my attention he/she can just knock on my window (but pleasse don’t, you’ll just scare me). I soon realized that those weren’t stones, but birds hitting the windows. Geeze! How many did I hear? At least five. What was with the birds this morning? Fortunately there were no dead birds lying on our deck. When birds get stunned do they see little people flying around their heads?
We’ve noticed that there aren’t as many chipmunks as usual around our cottage this year. There is one particularly gutsy chipmunk who manages to show up after each and every meal. I know that it’s the same one because he/she has a particularly mangy appearance. His tail is scraggly and his fur appears a little moth eaten. My neice said that he’s had a tough life. My husband and I think that he’s murdered all of the other chipmunks. My husband told me to “stay away from that chipmunk.” My husband also grew up in the city.
I love watching the loons on our lake. They’re such mysterious birds. Their calls at night are positively haunting. I like watching them disappear into the water and trying to guess where they’re going to resurface. My daughter and I don’t like going into the water until we’ve seen where the loon has resurfaced. We worry about coming face to beak with a loon underwater. My daughter is not growing up in the big city but it would appear that her mother’s craziness is contagious. I won’t get going on how she feels about beavers – that one has nothing to do with me.
Ah the cottage, so much wildlife to enjoy.
Not that long ago I wrote about my son’s interest in all things low-tech; typewriters, film cameras, records, record players etc. I ranted that it’s easy to enjoy them as a novelty but that the fun wears off when there are no other options.
Now it’s time for my admission. There is a low tech gadget that I adore. I love the telephone.
I was on the telephone with my sister complaining (there is no one better to complain to than a sister) that I was at loose ends without the kids around and with my husband at work. I ran, I walked, I swam, I read, I even tidied. Now what? I have so much time and a need to fill it. We discussed filling it with things that I want to do Not with things I feel I should do. I do not feel like pressure washing our sleep cabin. At least not by myself. So I’ve decided to work on my writing over the summer.
This is all an aside to my phone love. In the middle of our conversation a long distance beep came through. I quickly said good-bye to my sister and switched over to the new call. Then I heard the voice that I thought for a moment was his father’s, “Hi Mom, we’re in Jerusalem now.”
It’s hard to explain how and why the sound of a voice can bring such immediate and pure joy to my day. There was no need to see him because through the telephone he was right there in the room with me. Israel was no longer thousands of miles away but just at the other end of the phone line.
The kids on the trip from Vancouver are ‘sick’ – don’t feel bad for them ‘sick’ is a good thing.
The stay in the Bedouin tent was cool. Their tea is sweet – literally and figuratively.
His roommates are really nice.
Camels smell no worse than horses – somehow I expected them to smell a lot worse.
The air conditioning on the bus broke down – Yikes!
Everyone on the trip is really great.
I called my sister back so I could share my happiness (there is no one better to share happiness with than a sister). There was no answer but really it was O.K. because I got to hear my son’s voice and all is now well in my little corner of the world.
Thank you Alexander Graham Bell. I love your invention. Thank you to whoever came up with call waiting so that my son didn’t get a busy signal and I got the highlight of my week.
No, I don’t want my kids to come back from camp already. They’re having too much fun and I’m not that selfish.
The camp posted their first video of the season on their website. This was the music in the background, although not this version, and I just loved it.
I thought that the group was from the East Coast because of the very Irish sounding fiddling. What a surprise when I rooted around a little on the web to discover that this is an Israeli band. I should have known that the camp would go to Israel first for its music.
If anyone has travelled out east, Cape Bretton in particular, you know that it feels like a completely different country. With roadsigns in Gaellic and the Celtic influence everywhere it’s easy to forget that your’re still in Canada.
Well I know that my kids are having a great time and now that our move is over I may also manage to have a bit of a great time without them. I always hate to rush time as it already feels that it moves too quickly but I am looking forward to visitors’ day and then to my kids coming back to me.
Hope you all enjoy the video and are enjoying your summer.
Does this song make anyone else’s heart yearn to be in Israel?
