Quiet Days at the Cottage

It is late afternoon, overcast but not cold, with the recently fallen snow already melting.

I am alone at the cottage, can almost touch the silence with my hand, except for those determined drips outside the living room window.

I spent the previous week here with my sister Branka, then Joe and Jeff came for the weekend.

The weather was spring-like and sunny until Friday, so the two of us sisters spent hours walking with Kaya, my sister’s Siberian Husky, on the sandy beaches of Lake Michigan.

Girls at the lake

Then, tired from exercise and fresh air, we idled, talked, read, watched movies. I finished knitting one scarf and started another. Branka worked on an ambitious quilting project.

A quiet corner of the cottage

We listened to old Serbian folk songs on YouTube.

We cooked – meat and vegetable stew, chicken noodle soup and a sauerkraut casserole that most people in our family dislike (except for Sam, who has excellent taste in food.)

Branka baked Serbian peasant bread, almond cake and three kinds of strudel.

Lazy days stretched ahead, isolating us from the outside world.

On Friday, we went to buy more knitting yarn and heard that a blizzard was coming our way. Hoping that our husbands wouldn’t be derailed by the snow, we also bought a turkey to roast.

Cottage on a snowy day

Kaya on a snowy day

Jeff and Joe arrived safely by early evening, despite the wind and snow. After all the worry, we were giddy with joy to be together.

Glasses of wine in hand, we sat, ate, listened to John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman and talked for hours.

Delicious feast after a stressful drive

Days spent with my family at this quiet, simple place feel like precious pears strung together in a pattern that only we appreciate.

But I am also looking forward to being here alone.

I am staying at the cottage by myself for another week.

A new year has started, a new season of my life and I crave a bit of time for quiet introspection.

A few more pearls – a gift to myself.

Note: Special thanks to my sister Branka Holtzman for taking these beautiful photographs.

Tagged as: changes, introspection, quiet time, sisters, time for thinking