Friday was blustery, so I was the only one who walked down to the lake in the morning. The wind was fierce off the lake, but the waves were very impressive. I stayed for about 5 minutes and took some photos, but I was not dressed with enough layers to stand the wind for much longer than that. It was weather that, in terms of water temperature, Mom would describe as “invigorating.”
The day was again mellow (I do enjoy low-key long weekends). Mostly people read, and the ever-vigilant English teachers graded, as they do. I started C.S. Lewis’ Till We Have Faces, a book I have wanted to read for a couple of years. It is very well written and engaging, but I only got a couple of chapters in when I felt the call of a nap. This was a bit unfortunate, because as Mer and I just refinanced our house, and Mom and Marc are looking to do the same, I ended up having dreams that Mer and I were refinancing again and I could not figure out why. It was not the most restful sleep ever.
In the mid-afternoon we headed up to St. Joseph, a town a short drive from Mom and Marc’s place. It is a very pretty town, up high on bluffs that overlook the lake. It has a very cool downtown, with pedestrian-friendly shops and restaurants. We went to a glassblowing studio that has an outreach to local at-risk students, and seems like a very cool place. The studio is actually in Benton Harbor, right across the river from St. Joseph. The glassblowing studio has a store that sells the art, which helps support the artists. It also has a small gelato (Italian ice cream) store that benefits the studio as well. Marc volunteers at the gelato place once a week, and wanted to show us the place. I am a big fan of glass art, so I was excited to see it. I also happen to like gelato, so that was a nice bonus as well.
The glass place was a big hit. We liked the various wares in the store, and you are allowed to stand on a catwalk that overlooks the kilns where they heat the glass. We watched a master blower working on mugs, and he made it look really easy. I suspect working with molten glass is anything but easy. One of the two founders of the studio was even kind enough to let me, Mer, and Ellen tour the new small but up-and-coming foundry, where they are beginning to teach iron-working as art. I’m also a big fan of metalworking, so that was cool.
Mer was so impressed with the place, she let me buy a glass-faced nightlight. We use a nightlight in our bedroom to keep the monsters at bay; plus, we can see when we go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Mom bought us a Christmas ornament, which is a tradition of hers. It was nice to buy beautiful things that helped support a good cause like the studio.
After the studio tour, we swung by another art place that showcases local artists, The Box Factory, but we just missed their closing time (they close at 4:00). So, we headed down to the beach to see the waves. I’m afraid Marc’s car got rather sandblasted along the way, but the lake was really cool. The waves were huge, and the wind was still really strong off the lake. Mer and I got out to look and take some pictures, but for some reason Ellen passed on her opportunity for another installment of the Ellen-cold-with-the-Riordans series. It was cold, but it was really pretty too.
We headed back home where we munched on leftovers. Marc and Mom had some movies that they had rented, so we ended up watching the newer James Bond film, Casino Royale. I had not seen a Bond film in a few years, so I did not know what to expect. It turned out to be a really good action film, with one of the coolest chase scenes I have ever seen (it was a long chase scene too). Oddly, Ellen knew all sorts of fun facts and trivia about the making of Casino Royale, and could not quite remember why she knew all that she did. It was a good film.
On Wednesday, Dad had an operation to get some plaque removed from an artery in his neck, and on Friday evening I finally heard from Shannon that Dad was doing fine. Another thing to be thankful for.
Saturday started out quite well with breakfast at the excellent diner Sammie’s. Sammie’s has really great diner breakfasts – hearty, huge, tasty, and affordable. Mer was able to solve her always-ongoing breakfast issue of sweet-versus-savory food by sharing two breakfasts with Ellen – one sweet (waffle) and one savory (egg skillet). Mom and I walked the mile or so from the restaurant back to the house, which was a good thing after a hearty breakfast.
We then headed back up to St. Jospeh, so we could go to the now-open Box Factory. Since it was the weekend of a holiday, most artists were not there, but you could still see their art hanging on walls or by looking through windows. There was some excellent art on display. Also, the building itself is interesting since it is huge and has lots of exposed beams and such, and they also had a special display going of multiple sets of model trains. That was fun.
We then headed into the shopping section of St. Joseph. I wanted to visit a jewelry store that Mom and Marc like. They had a gold necklace that I had admired for some time, and I wanted to see it and maybe see what it cost. Sadly, it was gone. Mer took the opportunity to get her wedding and engagement rings cleaned, a service they do for free. It made a huge difference! Her rings looked brand new again. While that was happening, I spied a necklace that I took a fancy to. We decided to wander over to an art store, which was nice, but nothing in there grabbed me, so I went back to the jewelry store. I asked about the necklace and found it was affordable, so I bought it for Meredith. In a funny coincidence, over the Thanksgiving weekend, CVCA gave out a bonus to us as a thank-you for all the extra work we had been putting in with all the new changes at the school. It worked out to be within five dollars of what the necklace cost, so I was able to assure Mer that I could afford it.
We then headed back to the house, where Ellen, Mer and I packed up and headed out to go back to Ellen’s. It would make the return home for me and Mer over two hours shorter on Sunday, and I like shorter drives. We stopped at Culver’s for supper. Culver’s is a local area fast food place that has pretty good food, but also has good custard, which Ellen likes. Mer and I like most desserts, so that was fine by us. We got back to Ellen’s at around 7:30 or so, and we managed to squeeze in a game of Dark and Stormy, a game about books. Mer won. I really need to start playing some math and science games.
Mer and I headed out early on Sunday, and had an uneventful trip back home. We were back by noon so that Mer could start in on her grading and so I could nap. An unfair but not unusual way to end our vacation.