Lake Life Will Be Great

Yesterday was a great Sunday. After church, Z and I came home, packed a lunch, and went to the lake house to eat on the back porch. It was beautiful – birds chirping, squirrels running around, ducks on the lake. After eating, Z tried to see if any fish were biting in the lake, but it was a little too chilly, I think. Then we raked the back yard (those pine trees better enjoy it now before I chop them down) and decided to go back to the apartment to get the inflatable boat I blogged about in May. You remember, we took it out on the river on Memorial Day weekend and rescued that large boat stuck on the sand.

Anyway, we haven't used it since then because it has been so hot, but yesterday was perfect. We went home, changed clothes, got the raft, and went back to the lake house. (Keep in mind that we do not have possession of the house yet, and there's still a realty sign in the front yard, so some neighbors probably think we're crazy people.) We sat in the backyard and blew up the raft then quickly used the neighbor's pier (we're not actually lake front) to get in the water. We paddled leisurely (more like floated aimlessly) around the whole perimeter of the lake, which took about 2 hours or so. We had ducks following us and a few people in their yard looking at us, but other than that, it was totally secluded.

At one of the farthest points from our house, we noticed a flat sandy area that looked like a great beach to use. So we decided to get out and see if it was someone's yard or just city property. If it was city property, it would be perfect to swim off of (the lake was crazy deep immediately off the shore). So Z gets out, drags the raft onto the sand, and I get out too. We walk up the embankment and see five horses staring at us – it's someone's pasture! They were so pretty, but they seemed pretty surprised to see us standing there. So we got back in the raft and paddled away. We got a little sun, but the water was cold, so it felt great. It was so much fun, but getting out of the raft at the end of our cruise proved troublesome. We don't technically have property on the lake, so we were going to have to use someone's pier or walk up someone's bank (lots of the yards just slope into the water). We haven't gotten a feel for the people who rent the house directly behind us, so even though we used their pier to quickly get in the water, we didn't feel comfortable climbing out onto their pier (Let me clarify – the pier is outside of their fenced-in yard, so I'm not even sure if it's their pier at all, or the city's.) Anyway, we decided we might offend fewer people if we walked out onto a "beach" at another neighbor's yard and quickly walk/carry the raft up the fence line to our backyard. I felt like I was breaking so many rules, but nobody seemed to care too much. Of course when we live there and meet people we're going to ask before doing that again. Another neighbor, the one who talked to us the first time we went to the house, told us we could fish off her pier because she and her husband don't use it, but it's in their fenced-in yard, so I would feel weird about it. (Also, she doesn't even know we bought the house, so she might not even remember us.)

Today is yet another day at work with no lunch break. It's becoming excruciating to stay here. We're not really supposed to eat at our desks, but other people eat in the small kitchen and watch TV. If I can't leave work for lunch, I at least don't want to have to make small talk with coworkers, so I stay at my desk. But since that's not allowed, I eat in about 10 minutes, or as quickly as I can. So all of a sudden I'm not just taking lunch at my desk, I'm really not taking lunch at all. Nine hours seems so much longer than eight… After this week (Z's swearing in and our house closing) I'm never asking for time off ever again. It's not worth it. I've only made up 7 hours of time, but today makes 8 hours. I've got to reach 10.5.