HOL, the Adirondacks Version

[And now, a review of all of the things I didn't have time to blog about during dissertation revision season...Part 1]

Once upon a time, 

I climbed into my car,

and drove off into the mountains.

I arrived at a tiny cabin in the woods,

unloaded my things, and called it home.

I explored a bit,

 and found a view quite stunning,

and a scene quite mine.

I settled in, pulled out my revisions, 

and proceeded to conquer them, lakeside.

The breeze blew through the quiet air, and the lake hummed in gentle support of my presence.

I basked, I drank of its welcome; 

I was the happiest of women.

After the sun reclined, 

the revisions and I moved inside, the quaintness of the cabin surrounding us, the tune of the cabin next door accompanying us.  [Apparently, the memo regarding peaceful Adirondack get-aways didn't reach all members of the camp...]

Diligently I chipped away at the task before me, motivated by the incentive that soon Lisa & Geoff would arrive, and Summer HOL [Adirondacks Version] would officially begin.

Arrive they did, and talking late into the night commenced.

And then, the rest of the weekend unfolded, according to loosely defined HOL requirements.

Since early mornings are my HOL introvert time, the next day I awoke, got up, made coffee, revised for a few hours,

 and then wrapped myself in morning and the rising of the Sun, until a man in a tractor started dumping rocks down the side of the hill right outside of L & G's bedroom window [speaking of peaceful Adirondack get-aways...]

We then leisured over breakfast,

talking, talking, talking,

before unfolding ourselves from our little home away from home in order to explore the surrounding area.

We found:

 the most delicious tasting olive oil store,

 the requisite iced beverages over which to talk,

and scenery,

mixed with a bit of shopping.

We then returned to our lake,

for a bit of reclining,

for talking, talking, talking.

The next day was more of the same,

but included:

 a visit to the place where Lisa & I first bonded,

 street-side fairs and freshly squeezed lemonade,

 quintessential scenery,

[Lauren & Frankie secretly bonding time],

snacks

[over which to talk],

and treats reminiscent of childhood.

The day long and hot, we returned to our cabin and cuddled up on the porch with books and quiet,

as rain fell and cooled us off,

as sun set and brought us into night.

The rain cancelling all of my campfire plans, we gathered inside and reveled over one last meal,

before turning ourselves in for the night, barely facing the fact that the next day would bring a return to real life.

The next morning we awoke early, packed up cars, and hugged good-bye, thinking:  Ah, HOL.  You never cease to offer us time to Hash Out Life with raw and real, with peace and tranquil.  

With Good.