Post Torch Blues, and a New Job!

Hello Loyal Readers!

We apologize for the hiatus, things have been pretty crazy around here. To the update!

The last few days up North were a blast. Right after our last update, the Ingham County Animal Control and Shelter called and offered me a job, and wanted me to start before we even returned from Torch. I explained that it would be a long commute, and they set my start date for last Tuesday.

In the meantime, Nate was randomly checking facebook and realized that our friend Duke was 20 minutes away, in Elk Rapids, visiting from Portland, OR. His father's family has a boat in the Elk Rapids marina where they stay during the summer, and he was here to visit. We called him up right away and made plans. Then he let slip that he really wanted to see our mutual friends Adam and Lauren Coulton, and so we secretly called and invited (begged, bribed) them up too! On their first full day there, we had to wait for Duke to be done with family stuff, so we went to the Hat store in Traverse City and had a very serious time.

Afterwards, we surprised Duke with unexpected friends, grilled out back at the cottage and then headed off to Elk Rapids. Elk Rapids is normally a small quiet tourist destination, but that day it was overflowing with people there to celebrate Harbor Days. There we met Duke's family, took a tour of their awesome boat, and were given tickets to ride on some of the carnival rides that had been set up just down the street. As it grew dark, we grabbed unhealthy carnival snacks and headed back to the boat to watch the event's fireworks. We had prime seats on the boat's bow and the show was spectacular. An amazing number of fireworks were shot off and the show lasted for around an hour. It was an excellent way to wrap up our trip to the north!

As an added bonus, during my morning commute I heard on the radio that Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore was voted the most beautiful park in the USA this year. Very cool!

So, I am now working at Ingham County Animal Control and shelter, which will henceforth be referred to as ICAC (I say I-C-A-C and Nate pronounces it I-kak, so take your pick!). I am working full time, which is new for me, Tuesday through Saturday. I am currently in a temp position, which runs from the beginning of August to the end of October, so I may have to be job searching around Halloween, but for now it's just nice to have somewhere to be. Also, I get paid almost DOUBLE what I was making at HELP the Animals, and have a lot less responsibility, which is super nice.

This photo is one that I pulled off of my camera from work; this is Winnie, the Pekingese who was most likely a puppy mill dog. It is so rewarding and so stressful at the same time, working with animals, trying to preserve lives. I have spend the last few weeks just getting acclimated to the shelter environment and the computer system that they use, and am hoping to take on a few more responsibilities and do some grant writing in the new future.

In our free time, Nate and I are plotting and planning, looking at houses and trying to figure out where we want to live and what we want to pay for it. We are also enjoying our friends, including canning with Adam and Lauren, and playing games and having bonfires with Pete and Perkins. We keep remembering how nice it is to be near to family and to people our own age, and we are so happy!

Hope all is well with everyone! Love you all!

Another year at Torch!

Its both great and terrible that you lose track of so many things during vacation. Last week Sunday, I told myself that I would be dedicated enough to pack, make the drive, and then sit down once we got to Torch Lake and write out a blog post. It makes me laugh, to think about it now.

We have had a great combination of families up here at Torch. Nate and I were very excited to be able to spend the full two weeks up here, relaxing and hosting, and we've gotten to be a part of the familial comings and goings. First, on Monday, Tom and Jennifer arrived in the motor home (and had quite the adventure trying to get it back down the cottage driveway) before settling into their spot in Barnes Park. Tuesday, Joan and Alister arrived, with Cricket in tow, and the next day Graham and Kate appeared. It was a lot of fun to be a part of the arrival of so many people who had never been at Torch, and experience the view of the lake and cottage for the first time again with them. We have gone on all of our normal, yearly adventures twice; once with the Bell/Newtons, and the second time with the Kahler/Brett/Smith group.

Wednesday night, hours after they arrived, we packed Graham and Kate up in the car and took them to Interlochen to see The Decemberists in concert. Nate and I were excited to see them because we love their songs, but were ecstatic to discover they put on an AMAZING show. Graham and Kate, who bought their most recent album only the day before, also enjoyed themselves despite not knowing most of the songs. We were already planning how to attend another show when we discovered they would be playing in Charlottesville, VA on August 3rd. Nate sent a text to Dad letting him know and his reply said they bought tickets to see their second show! Last night we got a call from Dad where, faintly in the background, an enthusiastic rendition of The Mariner's Revenge could be heard playing. We're so proud of the new groupies!

But back to events in July: Thursday we took the Bell/Newtons to Sleeping Bear Dunes. When planning the trip, they expressed that they had seen dunes before, and was this really what they should do while they were here? No, we explained, these are REALLY BIG. We did the driving tour, hiked the Cottonwood Trail, and generally enjoyed the day hiking on sandy trails, learning about the park and watching people attempt to scramble up breathtaking slopes. We closed out the day with pizza and a well deserved rest.

Then, on Friday, we took the day off to relax in the sun and swim. Tom and Alister (with Joan squeezed in) took turns sailing around the lake and Tom and Graham tried out a friend's jet ski. We tried our best to delay their departure, but eventually Joan and Alister had to start their trek back to Maryland. For dinner that night the rest of us went to Pearls, a local Cajun restaurant with long waits, but excellent food. That night we also said goodbye to Tom and Jennifer. 

That weekend we had a major switch; the Bell/Newtons headed out, and Anna and Chris came in. Then we added Todd, Jenny, and 16 month old Claire to the mix, and the mornings got a whole lot more interesting. The first morning that Claire was here, I was in the lake with her. Swimming. At 9 am! Who would have guessed? But we've had a great time with Claire, and it's been a real educational experience, spending so much time in such close quarters with a baby. Luckily, she is very personable; we went for dinner at Pearls again, and Claire made friends with everyone on the patio while we waited for our table. Last night we baby sat for Claire, Sammy and Elliot (nearly 4 and 2.5 respectively) so their parents could make a trip out to Shorts for beer, pizza and some long needed adult time. It was an eye opening experience, albeit a fun one. We played trucks, airplane, croquet, changed diapers, had successful bathroom breaks and watched videos. It was a fun (and exhausting) time and interesting to see the kids in their various stages of development and see how much difference a year makes!

In the time that we've been here, Nate and I have read Outliers (Nate), The Omnivores Dilemma (Justine), and Justine just started Animal, Vegetable, Mineral. We've been trying to eat local, which is a lot easier around here. We picked raspberries at King's Orchards with Graham. We made our own salsa, with the intention of canning salsa at the end of the season if we find a recipe that we like – PS Graham: you left your Salsa recipes book. We are putting it to good use, and will send it to you soon! We're also planning our garden for next summer.

The last few days have been cloudy and rainy, so we've spent our time reading, working (Nate) and willing the clouds to pass. Today things are sunny once again, so it's time to get back in the sun and water and celebrate Anna's birthday!

We have a few updates from friends to pass along:

Jay and Kyla Pitts-Zevin, who's wedding we told you about in January, are expecting a baby in late February! We are looking forward to a baby shower, and hopefully to getting to travel down to see their current home that weekend. We are so excited for you!

Ashton and her boyfriend are either still on Croatia or have just returned, and are having an amazing time. They just added a second kitty to their family, little orange tabby Mango, who helps mom with the dishes. She loves her job, working for former Congressman Benjamin Gilman, and she's starting her Masters in World Politics in the fall at Catholic University. She and Mladen say hello to everyone!

If you feel motivated, send us a little snippet to share with everyone!  We are excited to share not only our news, but yours as well!

Also, read my posts at examiner.com (http://www.examiner.com/animal-advocacy-in-lansing/special-programs-at-ingham-county-animal-control).

Love to you all!  Everyone travel safe!

-Nate & Justine