Home Again, Once Again

For the past six days, we've been at Mayberry Cottage, setting up house for the most part and enjoying the lake for the other part. It was touch-and-go that very first day..... we got there to find that the electricity and water hadn't been transferred from the seller's name to ours, so we spent that first night in a local motel after un-loading as much of the U-Haul truck as we could. Had the cottage been air-conditioned (thank you for electricity, Mr. Edison), we would have been able to finish, but we just couldn't take another breath without cool air and cold water.

We locked up the truck that day and went to the local electric company offices....... as we were filling out paperwork, the mail lady came by and there was the application that I had sent in last week. (Just how many days does it take for a letter to go one hundred miles?)

The next morning, the electricity was on, the water was running... and all was right in the world of Mayberry. Out came the rest of the stuff from the truck and I started to unpack. It was like Christmas.... I'd forgotten just what I had packed in all of those boxes. I was determined to get everything unpacked and in place within two days, and I did just that. Dishes were in the cabinets, clothes in the closets, pictures hung up on the walls, furniture placed in the rooms. We still need more furniture here and there, but it all looks comfy, cozy, and home-y.

We bought new mattresses in a local store up there, and had those delivered. Ditto for the fridge, washer, and dryer, so those are all in place and running. We browsed through the local antique shops and found a bigger and more sturdy table and chairs for the kitchen, so the little yard-sale kitchen set that we had bought here is now in the "game room" of the cottage.... we can use it for cards and puzzles.

Our young friend C couldn't come up to the lake this past weekend because she had band practice at the high school, but her parents drove up and they were there for Saturday and Sunday with us. We all had a great time.... catching some catfish (which we tossed back into the lake), going to Wal-Mart and Lowe's (my endless list of things for the cottage), and we went to two restaurants up there..... one for dinner, one for lunch. We enjoyed the serenity of the lake, and watched a spectacular sunset on Saturday night. Then the four of played cards till well after midnight.

The next time they drive to the lake, C will come up with them and she'll be busy with her own unpacking.... all her boxes are there inside her little cabin, waiting for her. And Mayberry is waiting for us also..... as are the egrets, ducks, beavers, and did we mention the alligators? Our lake neighbors told us that there are three alligators in the shallow part of the coves. No lie.... we saw them with our own eyes as they floated along on the water. The neighbors tells us that as the lake gets back to full depth, the alligators will find more shallow water. The water's depth in our part of the lake goes from 14 feet to 23 feet...... not shallow in my book, but "shallow" in the alligator's mind.

Mayberry feels like home already...... the cottage is quiet at night, the lake scenery changes every hour, with different birds and ducks always flying and landing and fishing for their own meals. The people of the lake area are plain old country folks, friendly and neighborly, and the ones we met were happy to see us.

The lady who lives next door to our cottage reminds me of our dear Miss Frankie. She hugged both of us, called us each "baby" (as Frankie used to do), and has a ready smile and a good sense of humor. The locals call her the "fisher lady," since she knows so much about fishing the lake up there. And she loves to read, loves going to the library and the bookshop in town. (Just like Frankie, I swear.)

Next time we go to the cottage, we won't have so much work to do. Now that everything is all set up and running, all that's left is to just enjoy everything. (And, of course, take some drives to the lake antique shops and see what treasures are there for the cottage.)