The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1911-11-25
Closing the
Summer Cottage

ANY one would think" remarked
the woman who had Just got back to
town, "that after a person Of ordinary
intelligence had gone through the az
ony Of closing up a summer cottage
every year for years and years she
would be capable Of doing 1t with her
hands tied behind her back and blind
ers on her eyes, but It isn't 80. There
II something about tho last few days
Of staying in any place that Is dis
tracing, but the country II the worst
Of all. After getting every last thing
done you always need a full day to
do the other things you hadn't thought
about.
Il always allow for that. Henry
never can see why, II he calculates
that we can leave Thursday. I always
explain to him that we will leave Fri
day.
with everything done!' he roars
at me in protest Why do you think
we want to sticR around here with
nothing to do and everything packed
and the fireplace cleaned out 80 we
can't have a fire and the rooms full
of porch furniture? It's ridiculous!
I've will leave Friday, Henry I
tell him soothingiy.
Then everybody works like mad.
Thursday morning Henry always
comes in dragging OF his work gloves
and sits down with a thump.
"'Well.' he says I've finished up out
side. I've covered the flower beds with
q mulch of leaves and burlapped the
honeysuckle vines and spaded up the
garden. I've put away the hose and
laid board over the chimney
go right up and take 1t off!'
tell him, severely, How do you sup
pose we're going to cook lunch and
dinner and breakfast and lunch again
with the chimney stopped up?'
Henry has forgotten all about the
fact that we still have to eat. so he
sheepishly chambers up on the roof
and throws the board down. II gets
split up for kindling by the cook an
hour later, and there never is another
that will exactly fit, so the next sea-
son we find chipmunks and mice and
other wild creatures sociably room
Ing In the cottage when we get there.
and are irritably disturbed at being
turned out
at don't see,' Henry pursues after
he has disposed Of the chimney board,
why we can't take the evening train
tonight. Your trunks are all packed
"All but the curtains and soft pill
lows and the candlestick and most of
my Clothes l remind him. by the
way, have you wrapped those dishes
for packing in the barrelr
THAT keeps him occupied for some
time. Then, too, he finds punch bowl
that we borrowed from the Perkinsons
and forgot to return, so he has to walk
two miles with that. Then he has to
attend to the man who comes to set
out shrubs and then tell him about
two places In the roof that leak and he
has to get asphalt and mess around
and fix them. Usually he still grum-
bles at supper time about the foolish
ness of our remaining over till next
day, but I'm so busy fixing the canned
fruit to ship back to town, folding
away curtains and putting away
lamps that don't mind him.
I'm the morning I ask Henry brisk
ly II he has remembered to take on
the window screens and take down the
porch screens, bring in the spade and
the rake and nail up the broken place
in the fence. That makes him Jump
hastily and cry out: BY George! II
hadn't nearly forgot that
Then when he tries to turn OF the
water and drain the pipes he breaks
valve or something and he has to
make special trip to the village for
help while the cook and / pile rugs
and bricks on the leaky places and get
soaked and catch awful colds.
Usually, just as we are locking up
the house remember that I haven't
emptied the tank Of the kitchen stove,
and that reminds Henry that he has
completely neglected to empty the hot
water boiler. He comes dragging In a
watering can, two flower pots and
carpet beaten which have been left
outside.
However, we finally lock the last
door and start. Half way to the launch
I ask him II he put out the next door
neighbor's cat, which had wandered
in that morning. Henry is peevish by
now and demands to know II think
he has nothing to do but play nurse
maid to a cat. so we drop the suit
cases and go back and unlock the