Pinery Traditions

This is our 24th summer at our cabin. Over the years, we've created many traditions. Our two daughters and one son-in-law joined us for five days this week, days filled with traditional breakfasts of blueberry pancakes and huevos rancheros, bike and kayak trips, family cookouts culminating in s'mores, trips to Grandma and Grandpa's house and to some local craft shops, games of yahtzee, badminton, croquet, and cornhole. We enjoyed some sunny days, some drizzly rains, and some drenching downpours. Even the skies seemed to be trying to cram all of summer into just 5 days.

My daughter Kathe and I have been looking forward all year to making jewelry together for a few hours. She leaves tomorrow. So this afternoon we opened up the craft box and strung beads into necklaces and earrings. We started indoors as the rain came down, and then moved outside to the picnic table to sit under the white pine tree. Tradition.

Nearby is my husband John's current project, an Earth Oven in which to bake bread and pizza. He built the foundation of river stones and sand, then a round of bricks surrounding the insulating layer of glass bottles, sawdust, and earth. New traditions of baking await!

Inspired by the raindrops dangling from the trees, I made this necklace and then matching earrings. I look forward to wearing the earrings that Kathe made for me under the white pine tree. Tradition.