Question of the Month (June'13) What Do You Do For Fun

[rendean]

WHAT DO YOU DO FOR FUN THIS TIME OF YEAR? WHAT ACCOMODATIONS DO YOU MAKE FOR VACATIONS, FAMILY GATHERINGS OR TRAVELING?

It's June and this season usually means special plans.

It doesn’t matter if you plan to travel far, take short week-end and day trips or stay home enjoying simple treats such as family cook-outs or dipping your feet in a kiddie pool.

We’d like to hear about your travel tips, cook-out secrets or special vacation spots so we can enjoy our own plans AND each others summer fun!

Our Monthly Question focuses on a specific topic. There are no right or wrong answers - we just want to hear about your experiences, whether you’re a veteran of this forum or are new and have been lurking, waiting for inspiration to share your thoughts.

Community members are encouraged to let a Co-CL (purple flower) know if there’s a question you’d like considered in a future month.  

Thanks for sharing and caring,
~Your MS Community Leaders

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[PastorDan]

I'm doing it now!

[Guitar_grrrl]

For me, it's water fun, bike fun, and camping.  I've done one whitewater kayaking trip already in early June, I'm taking the kayak up to Serene Lakes (near Truckee, in the Sierras) next week, and then more whitewater kayaking for a couple of days in August.  I rest every two sets of rapids by getting out of the kayak, and sitting directly in the water.

I rode my bike for the first time in about 4 weeks last Sunday, and it felt so good!  Even though my feet and legs go numb, and my hands start to spasm, all those symptoms resolve when I cool down.

I enjoy gardening in the mornings when I'm not working or babysitting.

[maxthecat43]

My husband and I visit family in other states once a  year or so; and sometimes we take weekend trips alone.  Travel is getting more difficult, but we won't give up.

[rendean]

Raz,
It sounds like you are making the best of a bad situation! I admire you for that.
Yes, first wet the ballcap , then put in the freezer. Many on the forum do this and they report good results.

I had my first ride on the motorized scooter at the grocery store when my friend took me just before my knee surgery.  She is single and said she had to use one after her knee surgery and insisted I do a trial run. Was kinda fun. More fun in reverse where the speed increases and you can do spin in circles (aka "doing donuts) !

Thanks for sharing!

Ren

[RazCarver]

I've enjoyed reading all the things y'all do. Shows me I sooo need a life. Ha. I'll have to try the baseball caps in the freezer. Just any cap? Wet them 1st or what?

When its cool enough I sit on the deck and watch the squirrels, cats and birds. Use to walk around with my dog :( I miss that. I draw, write,and still try to carve a little but its getting to hot for that.

Some times I get to play skipbo with friends. Once on a while I go to a friends house who has a studio and we paint.

I am working on fixing my wheelchair so I can get out more. Assuming I dare. Its a little small but comes apart and even I can lift it.

When I had internet I played games and talked with family and friends. Limited what I can do from phone.

Did go to Walmart late night and rode. cart around looking at everything. Sad I guess that it was a fun outing for me. But hey  it out me out and I had fun. :) perspective is everything.

[rendean]

*bump*

[LisaJF]

Hey Ren!

What a fantastic post and lots of uplifting positive responses!  Just what we all need!

For me, my fun is waiting for my baby shorebirds to be born.  Right now my focus is on the American Oystercatcher babies.  They are adorable!  Next will be the Piping Plover babies and most people refer to them as puffballs because they are!  The next will be Common Tern babies then Black Skimmer babies.  I look forward to every Spring when shorebirds migrate to my beaches, find a mate, lay their eggs, incubate and hatch.

I find observing birds in their natural environment and how they interact with one another as well as with their offspring is quite relaxing!

That's it for me right now, but its a lot to look forward to!

Much love to you all

Lisa

[rendean]

No one else has fun this time of year? No cook-out secrets? No more vacation hideaways?

Please share what you do to have fun with us....

[Jacksmom516]

Unfortunately fun has been in short supply lately -   My days are pretty much work, housework and work!  The 7 day a week thing has been going on for 3 years now so I try and fit something in in the afternoons on the weekend but usually feel guilty about what I should be doing...... Also with working so much I like to be home with the animals -  Jack is not the same since I started working so much.    So my time with him is the fun in my day!

[sllowe]

I haven't been on a formal family vaca in so long :( and want to desperately. We use to make long weekends, or at least just plenty-of weekends mini vacations when my Mom lived 3-4 hours away. It was great.  

My kids are going in multiple directions between school and work, seems we can never get something together. We do however, make a mini-vaca out of anything, i.e., barbeques, weddings, or just days out on the lake in the canoe. No special accommodations, just plenty of sunscreen and water, food and snacks.

Our summer fun is also typically devoted to getting together whenever possible for cooking out and some games of baggo (well some may know it as cornhole, that's what we call it, but didn't want anyone who don't know it to think I was losing my mind w/that crazy name, lol) - love it! And, we don't go to a barby w/out our boards!
-Shell

[rendean]

No, actually there is NOTHING better!

[kwarendorf]

"watch our puppy, golden retriver mix that we rescued, frolic in the shady backyard chasing bugs and chewing up sticks."

Is there anything better? :-)

[rendean]

My summer activities are morning gardening, before the heat and humidity hit, and spending evenings on the back patio sipping cool beverages or eating dinner with DH and admiring my fledling gardening. dinner often includes the organic veggie I /we grow in our backyard.

When feeling well enough we visit family in Florida and spend lots of time in the swimming pool!

Our huge umbrella on the back patio serves to provide much shade and comfort while I watch our puppy, golden retriver mix that we rescued, frolic in the shady backyard chasing bugs and chewing up sticks.

Ren

[HVAC]

I garden, I ride horses, I train dogs, I read, I swim, and, I paint animal prtratits I go to outdoor concerts. I do what I can in the morning or at night. I have a cooling vest and a/c in my studio. I ride, garden, and walk dogs when I wake and have the most energy. When it gets to humid and hot I just read. Oh and drink cool beverages. I keep baseball caps in the freezer and wear them.

Alex

[supermum_ms]

We holiday on the Murray River, on the boarder of Victoria and New South Wales (Australia), we've had a spot in a holiday park with our own place, since our youngest was a toddler. In the winter months i read by the open fire and the boys are motor bike riding but in summer its all about the beach, water sports are our thing, we have a wake boat and spend as much time as we can arrange, getting on the water.

Due to me, lol we set up on the beach with way too much stuff (we could camp out for a week), the shade/shelter is always the first thing to get set up, with out it i just can't be there. Its huge, it has 2 side walls we move around to keep the sun out, we also set up low chairs into the water so i can keep cool. The Murray is a cold fast moving river, i have to wear a life jacket because i don't have the physical strength to fight the current.

I have to plan out if i'm going to take a turn wakeboarding, i'm usually either first up or last one for the day, because of the physical reaction my body throws out. There is one area on the river I prefer, the water is smoother and there is less boat traffic and because i only have a short window, we try to set me up with the best environment possible. We always have an adult spotter, someone ready to either get me back into the boat or swim out to catch me and drag me into shore, though i'm pretty sure most people on the parks beach know me and would help me out if i was floating off lol.

DH knows the signs of when i've just fallen and when my muscles have gone out, he says i fold up like an accordion and passed out, definitely caused some spectacular test dummy crashes lol he's typically freaking until he gets the boat back around and he can see the smile on my face. I have little to no control afterwards, I 100% love it but i can't even get words out of my mouth, or get my body to cooperate. Its my dead fish moment, not pretty but i simply don't care because i'm still doing it!

We're set up with aircon inside and overhead fans outside, full shade over the top and we're under the gum trees with the koala's ;o) if there wasn't the aircon i wouldn't be able to enjoy the holiday at all. I've usually fallen asleep down the beach for a few hours, wake up with a wet cotton sarong draped over me and Hobo (golden retrever x lab) by my side and he's watching and waiting for my eyes to open lol if my tremors have got me really shaking he plants himself on top of me, i seriously think he's trying to keep me warm lol he weighs a tonn but he's in full protective mode and there's no moving him or he whimpers and gets distressed.

We spend the holidays living in our bikini's and board shorts, no real plans other than getting down the beach, eating healthy and having fun.

Cheers........JJ      

[AvaQ]

In Australia we have a product called a 'Halti-collar' - it's very similar to a horse halter. The lead snaps on under the dogs chin, and when the dog pulls the front straps pull the dogs mouth closed (not sharply or painfully). When they stop pulling on the lead, the tension relaxes and they can open their mouth again - which dogs MUCH prefer.

I have an Australian Cattle dog, who is quite strong and he walks like a baby on the Halti-collar. My partner, who is a fit and strong guy, won't walk him without it - it really makes a difference, and it takes only a few minutes for the dog to figure out how it works.

I'm guessing you have the same thing in the US. They're quite cheap, and highly recommended by a lot of trainers and vets here. Once your dog is used to the collar, and the command to 'heel', you should be able to walk her without it. But carry it with you - if she doesn't listen, put the collar back on for a while. Pretty soon they figure out that you're the boss and 'heel' means 'heel'!

Australian Cattle dogs are notoriously difficult if they aren't well-trained. I had my dog for 4 years before I met my partner, and while the dog will do anything I say with a word or a gesture, he doesn't think my partner is 'boss' enough to listen to if he doesn't feel like it (he's more a playmate and running pal). I finally pulled out the old Halti-collar for my partner to use on the dog after I realised how badly he behaved when my partner walked him.

Good luck!

[doublevision1]

I spent many holidays in NB.  Some of my earliest and best memories are of the beach in Shediac.  I have lots of family from that area.

[doublevision1]

I cured one of my dogs from pulling like that by simply stopping each time he would pull.  Then start walking again and each time he would start to pull, just stop.  It was tedious but he was cured within a couple of days.  You can even try changing direction each time she pulls ahead.  Also, retractable leashes are the worst.  The dog should never control the walk.

[Ojibajo]

Oh we don't have the pow wow at the fairgrounds in Lowell anymore (Restoring the Circle Through the Buffalo Pow Wow). But yes, I used to go to that one. I was a nice small and laid back pow wow. Grand Valley North American Indian Lodge used to get a grant to put that one on and they either no longer receive the grant or the funding for the grant was cut. So we haven't had it for several years now. They do still sponsor the pow wow at Riverside Park in Grand Rapids every September though.

This year I am having surgery this summer, so I will miss some pow wows, but I am hoping to make it to one in Saganing, possibly Athens, Michigan, then I will probably be home all of July and then I am hoping in August to go to pow wows in Mt. Pleasant, Peshawbestown, maybe Harbor Springs, and then Dowagiac on Labor Day weekend.

But yes it is my dog who needs to learn to walk better on a leash. She pulls so hard that she gags herself and sometimes ends up walking on 2 feet because she is pulling so hard as I hold the leash. She looks like a circus dog!

[Cann1980]

Doublevision... I am from New Brunswick ..Neighbor to your friends in NS :)
.. And we have a 7 month old puppy... My only advice: don't use puppy pads. :)

Ojibajo... I miss pow wows... I spent time in northern Canada on reserves and consumed myself in all community activities like this I could. I can still hear the drums. It was a Cree Indian village I lived in... 3 of them .. Loved it!

We as a family camp seasonal with our camper ... We have 3 girls age 7 5 and 1 .. Fun times :)

[Sailorsong]

I am hoping that now that I have a cooling vest I'll be able to go out to see nature somewhere. Just need to find some handicap accessible trails in order to reduce the chance of falls. Though I would like to see some falls, Water type that is :) .  

I suspect that I'll have to go to another state in order to find a place to go.  But what is a few more miles with the rate I'm piling them on with my doctor trips.  At the current rate I'll hit 25,000 before the end of this year.

Dennis

[doublevision1]

This is our first summer in our new home, in our new city, though growing up I spent many summers here, so it feels a bit like home already.  My in-laws are visiting from the East coast later this month, and throughout the summer we have friends and family coming from Nova Scotia and Ontario.  We plan on getting out of the city and spending some time in the Rocky mountains especially during Stampede Week.  Too busy and too many cowboys, lol.  Our new black Standard Poodle pup arrives this month; we will go meet her/him in July and s/he will be ready to come home with us in August at 8 weeks old.  It's been a long time since we had a young pup around so I'm doing lots of reading on training so we ge started out on the right foot/paw.  We may do an impromptu weekend away, maybe to San Francisco, before puppy arrives.  Once s/he is here we won't be traveling for a while.

As for accommodating in the summer, I just try to stay as cool as possible.  Keep the AC on, stay in the shade, go out for walks in the morning and nap in the afternoon, and cool baths when the neuropathy is really bad.  

[Mike_Shuswap]

We moor our 34 year old boat in the local marina and spend a lot of time fishing and camping on it. We often take guests out for swim cruises during the hot summer months.

I had to sell my truck and camper a few years ago because it was too dangerous for me to go up and down the steps, so we bought a small class c motorhome. It's small enough that we can still get into most of the remote spots we enjoy. We take along a small boat and I love fishing whatever waters we can find. We just bought a folding boat that mounts on the side of the RV because my wife does most of the driving and doesn't like to tow a trailer.

We often camp with our kids and grandkids, and other family members and friends.

I keep cool with dips in whatever water we happen to be on, and I take naps as required to try and make sure not to over do things.

Mike

[maestro1959]

One question:  If you are wanting to learn how to better walk on  leash, Does that not mean the dog is walking you?  LOL.  Sorry,  I could not resist writing that when it popped into my head.

Do you go to the pow wow at the fairgrounds near Lowell, Michigan?

Beth