For the Memorial Day Weekend in 1998, I invited elsaf, judiang, araymond424, two others from the Columbus area, and a couple of others who were interested in meeting in person since they got on so well on IRC. This would be a safe place for the young woman and young man to meet up. When the weekend finally arrived, the LJers I mentioned above and the two for Columbus were able to make it. The couple who’d hoped to meet in person bottled out at the last minute. Still, the six of us had a blast at mom & dad’s cottage at Lake Loramie.

So, the next year comes around. The couple are still interested in meeting and they figure, this time for sure. So, the girls and I meet up again, but the other three from the first year can’t make it. And once again, the young couple opts out. Still, the girls and I now had the makings of a TRADITION. And you just don’t mess with TRADITION. 🙂

Since 1998, the girls and I have gathered each Memorial Day weekend at my folks’ cottage. The cottage itself has changed from a “fisherman’s cottage” to a “froufrou cottage” and now a “froufrou cottage with three-season room.” Elsa brings down lovely meals that she prepares, I grill stuff over an open fire, and Judi does dishes. It’s a perfect match for a perfect weekend. And this year, thanks to Elsa’s weather mojo, we had perfect weather to go with it. OK, so last night’s drenching while Elsa & I were grilling lamb chops was a bit of a downer, but we finished cooking the chops in the oven and they were wonderful.

Last night, we were buffeted by a storm that lasted hours. It was cool sitting in the three-season room and listening to the rain pounding down and seeing the lightning and hearing the thunder. We had two windows open to get a cross breeze, but it didn’t rain in. I got the flashlight and lantern ready, but the power never went out. (It did go out in my town, however, so my poor little computer got shut off and all my clocks are off again.)

Around midnight, we got ready for bed, but then the girls decided they weren’t actually sleepy. So we put The Second Coming on so they could see who this Chris Eccelston was (the next Doctor Who, you know) and after awhile, we all petered out and actually slept.

This morning, Elsa was up at 7am, me at 8am, and Judi at 9am. So, our usual… I made sour dough pancakes with mom’s sour dough (and her recipe, too). Mmmmm! My favorite – so good you don’t even need syrup! I think I’ve convinced Judi that sour dough recipes are a good thing. 🙂 (She was turned off sour dough by some potent sour dough bread, apparently. The coffee cake & pancakes have convinced her otherwise.)

We went on a morning walk and even went to the point across from our cottage (so Elsa could take pictures). Lots of goose poopies on the point! I think we managed to avoid most of ’em. After the walk, it was time for more goofing off and playing on the computers. It wasn’t long before lunch came around and I attempted to make a fire. The wood was wet and the lighter sucked and the wind was blowing very strongly, so I cheated by pouring some lighter fluid on the wood before lighting it. I got enough of a fire so that Judi and I could each roast a hot dog. And we followed those with leftovers. I went for tuna & sushi rice. We also finished up the flank steak. There was still a bit more tuna, potato salad, and 3-bean salad left, which I suppose the folks can have when they return to the cottage this week.

After lunch, Judi cleaned the dishes and I cleaned the cottage. Elsa, meanwhile, was packing up to go. Awwwww! When it was 3pm, she headed up north. She should have gotten up to where Floyd is being watched an hour ago. (Judi, meanwhile, had better be in the air on her way to Chicago by now.) Judi and I had an hour and a half to snooze or whatever and I spent a good deal of it sitting outside enjoying the breeze. Judi started out that way (even without having 3 layers of clothes and a blanket on!) but her laptop called to her after 15 minutes or so, and when I returned to the cottage, she was typing away at something or other.

At 4:30, it was time for us to go as well. Alas! So we packed up the car and drove to Troy where we’d arranged to meet the ‘rents at Friendly’s for supper. Since Judi and I were dressed alike that day, we ended up eating alike too. 😉 We both got fried clams and fries. She had a strawberry shake, so I tried the Reese’s Cup “Friend-Z” (which is their version of a Blizzard, for those of you who know DairyQueen). Dad paid for supper – how sweet! and then we headed off to the airport while the ‘rents went to the new Super Walmart.

Judi’s check in went smoothly and there wasn’t a huge line at security either. I love Dayton International. Her flight was at 7:50pm, so as I said earlier, she ought to be in the air as I type this.

So, the weekend was wonderful. I had a great time with my two best friends! And we’ll next meet in Chicago for the Taste of Chicago and fireworks at Grant Park. (Judi, meanwhile, is pondering another visit to Lake Loramie, so I meet see her even sooner.) Thanks for the great weekend, girls!