A cousin of ours has a lovely cabin near a lake and has offered us the use of it for two full weeks. The catch is, there is only running water to a stool, electricity by generator to lights and a refrigerator, and a small bottled gas cooking stove. No TV. No Telephones. No computers etc.   We have decided to accept the invitation. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -   As soon as we arrived and had our bus unloaded, we choose sleeping rooms and made up the beds, some had a single bed, some had bunk beds and some shared a big double bed. Each and every bed had a colorful hand made quilt. We added something we brought with us to signify our space. I had a fluffy stuffed Kitty. We pumped water for the dinner and to drink at the sink from an old red handed pump. Exhausted from the long ride , we had a quick meal and all went to bed to read, do crosswords and write cards home. We found out Alison snores with a whistle to it.   On day two some cut fire wood for the big fireplace in the common room and some gathered wood for a bonfire, then took a dip to freshen up. Jan brought back some really cool shells and made a nice display with them. That night we had hot dogs and smores by the fire pit and sang old songs. Someone yelled out in the night "More chocolate over here!" (sounded a lot like Sarah but I could be wrong.)   Today We all went swimming . We relaxed in the sun or shade . The little lake was crystal clear, quiet and so peaceful that Suzie fell asleep under a big Oak. KK and Ruthi buried Anniebel up to her neck in the soft beach sand. Good thing she was sitting up went they left to take another dip! Anniebel collected a huge bucket of clams and showed us how to cook them over the big open fire and Vicky whipped up a huge salad to go with them. Later we played bingo and won some great gifts that Nadeen had secretly brought with her.   We decided to hike the hill behind the cabin. It was breathtakingly beautiful at the top where we could see for miles. Everyone took pictures and we saw a lot of wild life ; squirrels, chipmunks, birds of all kinds and deer. On the way back to the cabin we found a cool stream and soaked our tired feet and chatted for a while. Everything was so perfect until Ruthi slipped on a wet rock and ended up on her butt in the stream. When she got up she spotted a huge patch of mushrooms and wild leeks. We gathered what we could and had leek and mushroom soup that evening.   We spent the day at the lake again. We even rented some canoes and paddled around the little lake. People waved and greeted us so friendly. For some reason Jan’s canoe tipped over several times. I think she wanted to swim more than paddle! That evening after a huge dinner (everyone was starved from all the exercise) we played charades and pictionary far into the night. Sarah’s team won Everything. Smarties!   It rained all day so we stayed in and played board games. Nadeen took the bus into the village and brought back several yummy pizzas and root beer floats! That night we sure were glad we had spent all that time cutting wood as it got cold and damp and a nice roaring fire in the huge fireplace was so cozy and the popcorn cooked over the fire was just the perfect medicine we needed.   After KK had morning devotions and prayer, we took a vote on what everyone wanted to do and fishing won. We gathered poles; bait and a big picnic basket filled to the top and spent the day fishing from the dock. That evening we had a big fish fry over the open fire pit and after everyone had eaten their fill, someone spotted some fireflies and we ended up seeing who could get the most light to shine. Jan won. She had so many in her jar I could almost read my book! That gal is fast!!   Snoopy Sarah found out a shed behind the cabin was filled with bicycles and everyone spent the day being a kid again. The ride down the hill from the cabin to the main road was a lot of fun but the walk back was very tiring. We ended up pushing our bikes the last few yards and telling stories of our childhood. That night we all sat out on the second deck of the cabin with a hot chocolate and watched the sun set across the lake. It was such a clear night that when the stars came out it looked like we could reach up and pick them from the sky.   WOW! Our aching joints! After a short dip in the lake, we spent the day reading and laying around in the two rope hammocks, a big tire swing and sharing the two lawn gliders. We made a huge pot of stone soup over the fire pit and baked biscuits on the stones that surrounded it.   Today we walked the short distance into the village. They had several little shops with hand made gifts, fresh fudge and a quaint bakery, set up like in old movies. Alison picked up a nice deep cheese cake for evening tea time. Everyone bought a hat made special for us with a picture of the cabin on it to take home. We had a delicious cone of homemade ice-cream at an outdoor dairy bar with tables and umbrellas.   As we were just cleaning up after breakfast, the village mayor stopped by with an invite to an outdoor theatre that afternoon. It turned out to be medieval times. Everyone was dressed in period clothes. Our favorite was the court jester. He was really silly with his jokes and aerobics and could juggle better that many I have seen on TV. We were all given a tankard with a pix of the village and the group was presented with a very large key to the village. What an honor! That night we had more smores and Vicky read a few ghost stories to us.   Rain Again! But this time it was soft and warm without any lightening or thunder. We all walked in it like we were kids again and later played cards while our clothed dried over a line strung in front of the fireplace. Our cousin stopped in to see how things were and offered one call home to each of us. Would you believe everyone hesitated? It had been so peaceful we never missed it. On second thought we all accepted. After he left we were surprised with a cake Alison had made to celebrate fives years as a group.   The sun crept out bright and early and by 10 am it was dry and hot so we all went back to the lake. Vicky and Ruthi packed a big picnic basket to over flowing and Nadeen stuffed a cooler with lots of drinks. At the lake we were treated with an appearance of sandpipers. They did a fancy mating dance right on the shore in front of us. When they stopped everyone clapped and I could swear they took a bow! Jan and Vicky walked along the shore line and gathered a lovely bouquet of flowers for our dinner table. It had some wild fern, cattails and wild geraniums in it.   KK had morning devotions again and said a prayer for a safe journey home. We spent the morning playing horseshoes, bad mitten and croquet. After a hearty lunch we cleaned up the cabin, packed the bus and headed out. We stopped in the village to thank them again and drop off the big key. The mayor had told us to return it to him when we left. I handed it to him and he said” I’ll trade you”. He gave us each a neck chain with a gold key and told us to never forget the village. We watched out our windows until our little haven disappeared from view.