Beginnings and endings...

Summer is my favorite season. Maybe that's because I'm a Leo, but mostly I think it's because all the good things in my childhood were associated with summer: the ocean, birthdays, sleep away camp, the slowing down of time and lengthening of days. But now that I leave the city regularly on weekends to go the lake, I'm especially appreciating the autumn, especially when the foliage is reflected on the water.

The view on my twilight run, today. Nice.

Which reminds me how lucky I am, to have both a city and a country life, in this dual domicile marriage. Last night, my husband and I went to a swank cocktail party in the city, at the very elegant apartment of a college friend. There was beautiful art, sweeping ceilings, a capacious terrace with a city view and waiters serving bite sized smoked salmon slivers and lamb sliders. Friday nights being what they are, I wasn't exactly energized to go to the party, but promised myself I would have a drink and say hello. We ended up being among the last to leave, along with the waiters and bartenders. I talked to a college acquaintance about his 9 years in the military (marines! infantry!), met a very cool woman who I liked, even when she blatantly flirted with my husband (I guess blatantly is better than surreptitiously, because we all laughed and my s.o. got an ego boost). Then, once we recovered from all the partying with breakfast at Malecon the next morning, (for the record, it's the best little Spanish coffee shop with cafe con leche to die for) we took the train up to CT, stopped at some very rural-ish antique shops along the way, then headed home where I got to inspect all the progress on my hubby's gazebo project, a monument to art, persistence, perfectionism and, soon, I hope, lots of cozy nights by a roaring fire and days looking out at the lake with a burbling stream at our feet. (In case you're wondering, that is a hole you see in the floor by the couch, below. It will be covered by thick glass and down-lit, so you can see the water rushing beneath.

The gazebo and our new couch, not-yet-unwrapped.

The entire structure is built with beautiful local cedar logs, all meticulously de-barked, to reveal the gorgeous grain of the wood.

I've occasionally been cranky about this gazebo project (lots of time, energy, resources, etc., etc.) but seeing it now, I have a renewed appreciation for my husband's perseverance and vision.Wouldn't it be nice if I could adopt all his great qualities and he could adopt all of mine? I guess that's an idealistic view of marriage, but if I learn one thing from Randy, I would like it to be the ability to persist in the face of obstacles, optimistically and energetically. Not necessarily in my DNA, being of neurotic Jewish stock, but a girl's got to have something to strive for.