Slice of Life Story Challenge #4 - Hello Lighthouse

 My focus this month is to explore writing invitations, mostly through newly published picture books, but possibly some other mentor texts as well. 

 

 

 

 

Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Beautiful! Another Caldecott winner for Sophie Blackall. Lighthouses are so intriguing - brings to mind the adult book, The Light Between Oceans by M.L. Stedman. This book may lead kids to wanting to know more about lighthouses. Great invitation for research!




Invitation: Describe a special or unique place.

 

 



     Many of you might already know this story and have seen some of these pictures.  However, our new (to us) home is definitely a writing territory for me, so this condo comes to mind now whenever I describe a special place. I have to say, too, that I am so fortunate to have loved all the places I've lived for various reasons and different stages of our lives. But today, I'll describe this one.

 

     When we decided to downsize when both our daughters were in college, we looked at many places.  Smaller homes, condo communities, patio homes, etc.  Since I grew up around this area, I also knew about a special neighborhood on a medium-sized lake.  We decided to contact a realtor who lived in the neighborhood to be on the lookout for us.  She would call us and let us know when one came up for sale.  One of the first ones we looked at was not directly on the lake.  We were intrigued, but it wasn't perfect.  We kept looking at other places. 

 

     Then the realtor called us with one on the lake!  We were WAY more interested, but it had been updated, which bumped up the price, and the updates weren't perfect.  As we left that one, I said to my husband, "If only one would come up for sale on  the lake that we could update ourselves."  Guess what happened?!  Yep, our realtor found one that hadn't even hit the market yet.  It was a disaster, but when we walked in, we knew it was the one.  You could see the expanse of the lake on two sides of the condo since it is on  a corner of the water.   There was a large fireplace, wall, and door that blocked some of the view, but when we called a contractor to look at it, he said the wall wasn't load-bearing.  That did it.  After some negotiating, it became ours.  The above picture of our sunrise is one of many.  They are different every morning and never cease to amaze us.  It's like being on permanent vacation.

 

     That wall came down, opening up our kitchen, dining area, and living space, and we enjoy looking out at the lake through large windows and glass doors in all kinds of weather.  We have a walking trail that goes around the lake that's a perfect 2.5 miles. And oh, the geese, ducks, blue herons, and various water birds!  Joy.  I could go on and on.  I can relate to Sophie's lighthouse keeper. The key word is "light".  Our home enjoys the light.  To experience sunrise after sunrise is something we will never take for granted.  It's something special when you know your home is a part of you.

 



Ben, captain of the pontoon...