It doesn’t matter what time of day you arrive, everything always looks the same. Granted, the trees are taller and wildflowers seem to be growing everywhere. But your family cottage is the same to you today as it’s always been.

Cubby holes filled with trinkets and treasures
While waving hello to neighboring friends you realize every family cottage and summer home is as different as the memories gathered by families every summer. Each cottage has a special cubby hole filled with trinkets and treasures from sandy beaches and hiking adventures through surrounding woods. Weathered hinges guarantee screen doors will squeak open and slam shut right on cue announcing that this is summer. It’s easy to get caught up in the moment of racing down to the lake and assuming every summer will be just like the last.

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Create lasting Thanksgiving memories by topping your table with memories. All you need is a plain white tablecloth and some indelible fabric markers. Before your Thanksgiving meal begins, have everybody write down what they are most thankful for and then also have them write the date next to the message. Wash it and use it again next year. You will have a treasured keepsake that you can use over and over. One of the things to be thankful for is having begun the process of creating a cottage succession plan to keep your family cottage in your family for future generations so all can enjoy family holiday traditions.

Make sure you are camera-ready and the battery is charged. Snap photos of your guests throughout the day and then create an online photo album, and e-mail it to everyone after your Thanksgiving dinner feast!

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Spike continues to be a topic of interest around The Depot and from first time visitors.

One of the most popular questions and points of confusion is how a soft looking and fuzzy haired yellow cat acquired the name “Spike.” A consistent mindset is because of The Depot being connected to the railroad, and hence “Spike” because of railroad spikes.

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“Make one person happy each day, and in forty years you will have made 14,600 human beings happy for a little time, at least.” -Charley Willey

Who can you make smile right now? That is your challenge of the day. We all need laughter in our lives. Giving people a little humor and entertainment leaves them with a good feeling of upbeat enthusiasm. It can be great for businesses, families, and friends.

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Are you a multi-tasker? I would like to think I am. I came across an empowering quote:

“The greatest things on earth have been done little by little” –Thomas Guthrie.

I started thinking about that word multi-tasking, after reading that quote, and I really began to realize that I try to do to many things at once. I recently read an article on being a multi-tasker, “The secret to doing more is doing less.” While this may seem odd, in research from the University of Michigan it shows that while we think we’re doing all the multiple tasks on our list of to-do’s we are simply forcing our brain to rebound among two tasks. This reduces our productivity by 20% to 40%.

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They like their dishes really clean

Oops I missed a spot!

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Do you belong to the circle of kindness? This means, to belong, you do something kind for someone. Kindness costs you nothing. It is a friendly gesture that you don’t think twice about. There is no ulterior motive. You never know when you are going to make a difference in someone’s life.

Remember that people won’t remember what you say they will remember what you do. If you belong to the circle of kindness you don’t run around with a badge or a sign saying, “Look what I did for so and so”. You just do your thoughtful gesture because you want to.

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Our summertime friends helped us celebrate Casey.

Conor and The Rose Lizard Club sign

Casey named this club the “Rose Lizards.” We made special friends at the family cottage. These friends are people you don’t see on a daily basis and sometimes they may be just summertime friends. I love these friendships, because you pick up where you left off and never skip a beat in conversation or in sharing a story or two.

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Summer began as usual at the family cottage. The dogs, our chocolate labs Jake and Ginger, and our two cats Max and Joey and the three teen boys plus a friend were all settled in for a glorious summer at the cottage.

A few days later we discovered that our pets were not the only critters at the summer cottage. We had a family of skunks living under the shed in the back of the family cottage. There were 5 skunks to be exact. A mother skunk who was not happy we had invaded her space and her 4 babies. I did not want her spraying the dogs. We had that happen before to our very first dog Baily, a yellow lab. It was awful -the smell smarts your eyes. I believe we used tomato juice and hydrogen peroxide to get rid of the smell. I absolutely did not want her spraying the boys.

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A cottage in northern Michigan is a way of life. It is a place with a purpose. It awakens the heart. There is passion and dreams at a cottage. There are water bays, beaches, bonfires, friends, family, pets, and vineyards with great wineries. A cottage is a feeling of peace. This becomes a beautiful place to be, especially when you don’t want to be anywhere else.

Cottage-law stands for:

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