Monthly Archives: July 2014

The Summer is Half Over

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…..so much I wanted to do and can’t seem to get to

I’ve been to the cottage three times and the last time it was down right cold. I haven’t been swimming once this summer. Hopefully August will be warmer.

I’m back in the city at the moment. I’ve come home to visit my aunt in the hospital, catch  up on my emails, start on my ‘Summer Camp’ art projects and do a little more gardening. This morning I started my day by going for a walk with my husband and the dog. I actually ran for the first time in about a year when we got to the rugby pitch. I only ran 1k but it’s a start. In total I walked and ran 4.9k.

This weekend is the long weekend in Ontario (civic holiday) and I’m going to avoid the rush to get back to the cottage. I will probably head back up on Sunday when some people start returning to the city. I actually like spending time in the city on weekends. There’s always a lot to see and do. This is the big Caribbean festival in the city that attracts over a million visitors. I’ve never attended this event because I’ve always been at the cottage. Maybe this year I’ll change that.

I can’t believe I forgot the main reason for coming back to the city when I did. I just got a call from a good friend of mine, reminding me that we were suppose to meet at her house so that I could help her clean out years of stuff. In the next year or so she wants to sell her house and move to a smaller place. In the meantime she has to start parting with some of her accumulated treasures.

Well I’ve loaded up my car with some of A’s things that she’s willing to part with. Tomorrow morning I will drop them off at the Goodwill and next week I’ll come back to the city and help her get rid of more things. We also checked out a couple of antique places today that may be interested in some of her belongings. I’ve promised A that I would take photographs of some of her more interesting pieces and send them off to these stores to see if they’re interested in purchasing them.

I didn’t get over to see my aunt today. After tomorrow’s walk I have to drive my husband to our daughter’s place to pick up his bicycle (we were there for dinner tonight) and on my way back I’ll stop off at the hospital to visit with my aunt. Hopefully I can start on some of the art projects that I’ve missed. I’ve read about 100 emails today but I still have 110 to go. As for the gardening maybe I can pull a few weeds tomorrow.

Till tomorrow, cheers!

Waiting in line to get on the ferry to go back to the city.

Waiting in line to get on the ferry to go back to the city.

 

Painting on Cedar Shim

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…..painting birch trees on a piece of carpenter’s shim

I’ve recently taken an on-line course called Paint Your Garden where most of the projects were done on birch plywood. I loved using this surface for painting. While at at the cottage I noticed that we had a lot of shim left over from a recent building project so I chose a piece and primed it with Gesso.

I’ve always loved birch trees and since I’m surrounded by them I decided to use the forest as my garden for this project.

Acrylic paint on 8 x 18 inch cedar shim.

Acrylic paint on 8 x 18 inch cedar shim.

Close-up of tree on the right.

Close-up of tree on the right.

Close-up of the base of one of the trees.

Close-up of the base of one of the trees.

To finish this project I’m planning on drilling two small holes at the top and adding wire to hang.

Harvesting the Garden

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….we’ve had a bumper crop of lettuce this year but today we picked beans, peas, zucchini and jalapeno peppers

As I was weeding the garden this morning I noticed that the purple beans and the sugar peas were ready to pick. Looking at the garden the night before I didn’t notice anything hanging from the pole vines but in the light of the morning sun they stood out like a sore thumb. photo-31

We’ve been keeping a close eye on the zucchini and picked three the night before and one more this evening. The jalapeño peppers were also ripe for picking. photo-32

Three of the four vegetables made it into our stir fry tonight (will save the jalapeño for another time) and to our surprise the purple beans turned a dark bright green. Everything was so fresh and delicious.

Cottage Life (July 24th, 2014) – Waaboos Lane

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…..waaboos is Ojibway for rabbit

I don’t know if I’ve ever mentioned that my cottage is situated on a First Nations’ reserve. The island is one of the largest islands on Georgian Bay and is approximately the size of Bermuda.

Over the years we’ve seen very little wildlife and I’ve often said that we have more wildlife here in the city of Toronto. In the last couple of years bears have moved to the island and we’ve had some issues with Fishers but for the most part one would be hard pressed to see animals other than squirrels and chipmunks. One other animal that I saw when I first started coming to the island were rabbits.

When the roads that lead to the beach and our cottages were named I thought that the name of our road was very appropriate because I had seen a rabbit there once. Waaboos is Ojibway for rabbit. This summer we’ve seen a Jack rabbit that is not the least bit shy and frequently comes up to the deck. Recently he was sitting by the side of the road and didn’t jump away as I moved closer to take a picture.

photo 3-189

 

Share Your World – Week 29

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….as with everything related to my blog lately I’m posting later than I normally do

Have you ever been in a submarine?  If you haven’t, would you want to?

No I’ve never been in a submarine. I might try it for a very short period of time, like an hour. Anything longer and I think I might become claustrophobic. The idea of being trapped in an enclosed space under water is a bit nerve racking.

Are you a listener or talker?

I think I have a good balance between talking and listening. Over the years, especially after taking my guidance course I’ve become a better listener. My husband on the other hand thinks I’m more of a talker. I do like to keep a conversation going and feel uncomfortable when all talking ceases in group situations.

Do you prefer crunchy peanut butter or smooth peanut butter?   Anything with your peanut butter?

I prefer crunchy peanut butter but my husband likes smooth and because he eats more of it than I do we tend to buy the smooth variety.

Have you ever been drunk?

Unfortunately I have but it was a long time ago during my first year at university. After that first year the novelty of drinking to excess quickly wore off and I drank more responsibly. Today we enjoy the occasional glass of wine with and after dinner and I really don’t like how I feel the next day if I’ve had too much to drink. I also find I get too emotional if I’ve had more to drink than I normally do.

Bonus question:  What are you grateful for from last week, and what are you looking forward to in the week coming up?

I’m grateful for six wonderful days at the cottage last week. I’m also grateful that the mice haven’t returned (not yet anyway).

I’m looking forward to another long stay at the cottage. I’ve come home to visit my aunt, do a bit of gardening and tackle one or two chores that need doing around the house. I’m hoping to drive back up to the cottage tomorrow.

For more Share Your World posts check out Cee’s blog, here.