….thanks to Becca Givens for hosting Sunday Trees
Sometimes you can’t see the trees for the forest. I love August when the trees are full and lush and you can’t tell where one tree starts and another ends.
Sunday Trees – 252
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Category Archives: At the cottage
Two Birthday Parties and a Trip to the Antique Market
…..as promised in my last post, Last Four Days at the Cottage here is the rest of that weekend
Going to the cottage with A and J is always a lot of fun. This year my birthday happened to fall on the last of those four days. Our good friends and neighbours at the cottage were also up and they invited us over for dinner on the Saturday. It turned out to be a little bit of a celebration. They toasted A and J’s wedding which took place earlier in the year and to my ‘last year of being young’. This was in reference to the fact that next year I will be officially declared a senior. I personally don’t think that I will all of a sudden become old just because of a number attached to my age. I never tell the students at school how old I am because I know they will automatically think that I’m ancient. They think that 40 is old.
The next day, which was my actual birthday, we packed up to go home. I’m sure that my daughter was given instructions by my family to be back by a certain time. When we got to the ferry dock we were the last car put on the barge so we had enough time to make a few stops on our trip back to the city. We stopped at Wendy B’s in Lafontaine and picked up a few snacks to enjoy on the trip home and the girls picked up a birthday present for me from her small gallery in the back corner of her store. 
This lovely bracelet also came with a pair of beautiful hand painted earrings.
On the way home we were approaching an antique market outside of Cookstown that I’ve always wanted to stop at but never have. This trip we decided that we had enough time to stop and have quick tour of the place. We weren’t disappointed. I love collecting old bottles and found a few to use as subjects in my paintings. I also found a rack of new linen tops that were on sale and I treated myself to a beautiful orangey button down blouse that I can also wear like a jacket. Here are some of things that we saw there:
When we got home there was a parcel waiting for me from my friend, D, from the cottage. She ordered me a new game called King’s Cribbage.
My daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law were already there. My husband and son-in-law were busy cooking up ribs. We had a glorious outdoor meal with the family. The baby is walking holding onto things but she has managed a few steps on her own. I received a gift certificate for an art store (always appreciated) and my husband combined my anniversary gift with my birthday gift and bought me a great macro lens (which most of you already know I’ve been using a lot).
Last weekend my husband and I made our final visit to the cottage to close the place up for the season. I know it’s early but this year is an exceptional year with milestone birthdays in October.
Cheers!
My Last Week at the Cottage
….a Pow Wow, a birthday dinner and a flea market
My last week at the cottage before we closed up for the season was very memorable. For one thing I spent four lovely days with my oldest daughter and my daughter-in-law. A and J are great cottage guests. They are so laid back yet very helpful. We all took turns cooking and they usually got the dishes done before I could get at them.
J had never been to a Pow Wow so I decided that it was an event everyone should experience at least once. I, myself hadn’t been in several years. I was glad I went. The venue for the Pow Wow had changed from the school yard to a more scenic setting next to one of the two lakes on the island. We got there in time to see the little ones dance. We walked around the perimeter of the outdoor stage and checked out the vendors and their wares. We sampled some food, shared a giant lemonade and I bought a pair of moccasins for my granddaughter from Velma.
Velma is a long time resident of Christian Island and I have been going to her store for over 20 years. I always take my visitors to her so that they can see and buy her authentic indigenous crafts. She handcrafts the most beautiful sweetgrass boxes and hand stitches her moccasins. I bought a pair for myself almost 20 years ago and I still have them.
As we were leaving the Pow Wow I came across a booth where two lovely ladies were selling raffle tickets for more than 50 prices. I bought a sheet of tickets and two days later I got a phone call that I won a handmade cloth bag. More about my last four days at the cottage tomorrow.
Cheers!
New Flower (Sept. 6, 2016) – Red Gladiolus Then and Now
….last week it was barely open and this week it was already withering
Growing anything on the north shore of the island is always challenging. The sandy soil and the shade from the forest makes growing sun loving plants almost impossible. That didn’t stop D from trying. Had her garden been on the opposite side of the road she would have had a completely different outcome.
More Night Shots at the Cottage
….thanks for all the encouragement the last time I posted night shots
This week my birthday/anniversary gift arrived in the mail. I received a macro lens for my camera and I couldn’t wait to try it out. Once again I walked around the cottage and the beach just as the sun was setting to find play with my new toy. Here are some of the shots I took last night.
New Flower (Sept. 5, 2016) – Pink Aster
….taken with my new macro lens
Thanks again to my neighbour at the cottage for planting such beautiful flowers.
Sunday Trees – 251
….thanks to Becca Givens for hosting Sunday Trees
Late August – Wind, Waves and Rain
….can always tell when August rolls in
The nights get cooler in late August but it tends to warm up during day. On this last trip to the cottage the winds picked up and we had huge waves. I’ve never known the waves to come up the beach as high as they did. On our little section of beach the waves came up over a wall of sand and created an new lake in the middle of the beach. When I took these pictures the wind and the waves had already died down somewhat but the little lake remained.
Luckily we had gone swimming the day before and the water is still quite warm.
Hopefully when I go back tomorrow the winds will stay away for awhile. When the waves are too high the barge won’t run and that means we would be stranded on the island. Not a terrible thing but my daughter has already lost one day of work because we couldn’t get off the island.
Back Into My Painting Groove
….seems like I need complete solitude to paint
I’ve found in the past that I get my best work done late at night when everyone is in bed. At the cottage it is more difficult to do because the light isn’t good after the sun goes down. Today I found myself all alone at the cottage. My neighbours had left for a few days and I didn’t have a lot of things to pack before I left for home.
I got out my paints and set up my brushes. I had a large canvas that already had the background done. In fact the background had been done for two years and I just wasn’t sure how to finish it. Then I remember hearing these wise words….” it’s only paint”. In other words don’t worry about messing it up, just go for it.
I knew that I wanted to paint pears and I had a vision in my head how I thought it might look. I lightly sketched two pears and then started adding colour. I like to work quickly and I use brushes, rags and my hands. Two hours later I finished my piece and am quite happy with it.
New Flower (August 12, 2016) – Yellow and Red Lily
…..from my cottage neighbour’s garden
Mama Cormier 