#WeekendCoffeeShare: Memorial Weekend 2019

Good Morning and thank you for joining me at the campsite once again! We are here at the Portage Lake campground, in the Waterloo State Recreation Area. It’s early, the birds are chirping and it looks to be the start of another nice day!  Grab a coffee and a chair!

This week Bill surprised me with a kayak for my birthday, a 10 foot Pelican Ultimate 100! I have been dying to get it in the water ever since. My current kayak is the inflatable kind, which works better when taking it camping, but I intended to graduate to a hard plastic kind eventually, and a roof rack. This is the kind you sit on, not sit in, and exactly what I wanted. I’m a newbie kayaker, but still would like to explore our local rivers without the concern of popping a hole it in on a tree branch and sinking!

Her maiden voyage was yesterday and being two feet longer than my inflatable, made a difference in maneuvering – I can move along faster and not have as much of the back and forth shifting of the bow as I paddle. Such a relaxing peaceful day.. I found this canal at the far end of the lake, but it eventually became narrower and narrower until I decided to paddle backward until I could turn around!

I had a great day exploring the lake here and also came upon a family of swans.

However, in my excitement I didn’t think to apply sunblock so I spent yesterday afternoon and evening dealing with the aftermath of a pretty bad sunburn, after only being out for a couple hours. I intend to go back out today, but may bring a beach towel to shield my already fried legs.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’m thrilled to report that I passed my Lean Six Sigma Green Belt exam! Huge relief to have that milestone in my rearview mirror. I now have a case study to complete with my group and then the project itself at work to which I’ll be applying what we learned in class.

It will be a busy summer and that means it will go by so fast. Today is May 26^th and the whole summer is ahead of us, but in a blink of an eye, I’ll be writing my Labor Day post from another campsite! I think this needs to be the year that focus on mindfulness (really, this time!) and not letting my thoughts get out of control.

Example: I have some work to do for my case study before our next meeting on Tuesday. The end of this week was super busy with added responsibilities at work and getting ready for the camping trip, so I brought my work with me. Yesterday during a brief rain spell, I prepared as much as I could, in hopes that it I could get it off my mind and enjoy the rest of the weekend. But around the campfire last night, my thoughts were preoccupied with, you guessed it, work and this upcoming case study. How I envy those who can just flip a switch in their brains! Do what you can do, then put it out of your mind until you can do more.

If we were having coffee, I’d tell you that I’m thrilled to be back in touch with two friends that I met this summer, 35 years ago!!  In the summer of 1984, my folks and I went camping to Port Crescent State Park, in Port Austin, Michigan, right at the tip of the thumb. There I met a group of kids and we hung out the entire week, playing on the beach, riding our bikes and visiting each other’s campsites. We left, exchanged addresses and wrote each other for a while, but eventually life moved on. Thanks to Facebook, I found them, and was so happy to learn that not only did they remember me, but my one friend still has some of my letters. I’m looking forward to meeting up with them soon and reconnecting. We had a ball that summer and I truly thought I’d never see them again. A huge YAY for social media!

Well, I’m looking forward to hearing about your week!  Join us at Eclectic Alli’s Weekend Coffee Share and tell us about it!  Have a safe Memorial Weekend and remember those who fought for our freedom..