Category Archives: The Cottage

Share Your World 2016 – Week 35

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…..thanks to Cee for hosting Share Your World

List 2 things you have to be happy about?

There are many things to be happy about, good health, being mortgage free, being married for 41 years, having a great job, etc. but two things do stand out for me. The first is that all my children are in happy, loving relationships and the second is the joy that our granddaughter brings us.

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If you could take a photograph, paint a picture or write a story of any place in the world, what and where would it be?

There are many places that I would love to paint, photograph and write about but the one place that I seem to blog about a lot is the cottage. Our little residence in paradise has brought us much pleasure and fond memories and I look forward to my stay there every summer.

Should children be seen and not heard?

Children should definitely be heard but there is a difference between being delightfully vocal and miserably disruptive. We were always very lucky with our own children. We could take them out to dinner and they knew how to behave in public. Too often parents ignore bad behaviour and often condone it and have no regard for the people around them who have come to a place to relax or enjoy a quiet meal.

List at least five of your favorite first names.

Girls names I like:

Winnie, Katherine (Kate, Katie), Abigail, Lydia, Willow, Josephine, Christina, Alessia

Boys names I like:

Michael, Brendan, Mark, Paul, Peter, William,  Jack, Christopher

Names that can be either male or female:

Gaelan, Andrea, Josie, Avery, Morgan

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 a small but wonderful birthday party that my children and husband hosted for me. It was just the immediate family but the food was amazing and the gifts that they showered me with were very thoughtful and generous. More and more, time spent with family is becoming increasingly important to me as I get older.

I’m also grateful for four days spent with my daughter and daughter-in-law at the cottage.  We swam, sun bathed, read, played board games and cooked up some great meals. We also attended the Pow Wow and stopped at the Cookstown Antique Market on the way home.

This week I’m looking forward to getting my nails done with my good friend L and hopefully having my hair cut and coloured before I start back to school next week.

Opening the Cottage in August

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….I was dreading going to the cottage on my own to open up for the season

Before we left for Italy I was hoping to open the cottage so that it would be ready when we returned. Unfortunately that didn’t happen for too many reasons to go into to.

When we did return home from our amazing trip it took me a couple of days to recover from jet lag. My husband was still recovering from his gastrointestinal problems so a couple of days were spent visiting his doctor and then a specialist. One thing was for sure;  going to the cottage meant going on my own. My husband didn’t feel well enough to be at the cottage, my daughters couldn’t make it until later in August and my friends were busy with elderly parents and health issues of their own.

Last Sunday I finally packed up the car and made the trip on my own. Leaving on a Sunday meant I missed all the weekend traffic and the line-up for the ferry (barge) was short. One of the other reasons I was hesitant about going up alone was because the regular car ferry had been taken off the lake forever and a temporary barge was transporting eight to twelve cars at a time (normally 20 cars were on the old ferry). The fear of the unknown kept me in the city longer than I had planned.

Everything went fairly smoothly crossing the lake. When I got to the cottage my neighbour’s adult children had already removed the plywood panel from the back door and had moved my propane fridge from inside to the deck outside. It was evident that the mice had moved in last fall after we left or early in the spring. It’s been worse. I quickly cleaned up the mouse poop in the kitchen and removed all the cushions from their protective storage bags.

Every day that I was there I tackled a new job or two. This way I didn’t kill myself trying to do it all in one day. After four days I had wiped down all the surfaces, washed most of the dishes I would need, swept and washed the floors on the main level and opened up the sofa bed to make sure nothing was living inside. Outside I raked the leaves from the pathways, swept the deck and set up the outdoor furniture and the barbecue.

While I was there I had some fun as well. I visited with my good friends next door, celebrated a birthday down the way with cake and a bonfire, learned a new board game, went for walks on the beach and actually swam in the lake, two days in a row when the water was calm. I was able to get some reading done and finished a novel I had started earlier in the year. I’m now on a second book that I hadn’t finished from a couple of months ago.

On Thursday when I left I luckily got the last spot on the barge for my car and had a leisurely drive back to the city. It felt good knowing that the cottage was somewhat visitor ready and that next time the trip would be less stressful.

The other fun thing that I found time for was taking photos that I will share with you over the next few days. You may have already seen some of the flower shots that I took of my neighbour’s garden.

Share Your World 2016 – Week 20

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….thanks to  Cee for hosting Share Your World

When do you feel most connected with others?

I feel most connected to people during those quiet one on one conversations over a cup of coffee or tea. I like that intimate personal time with people where you can really get to know them.

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Tea and Panettone

What daily habit would you like to introduce to your life?

I would like to do one creative activity every day. I paint and read sporadically  now but I’d like to be more consistent. I’d also like to do some volunteer work.

What one mini-little-adventure would you like to have in the coming week?

This week I’d like to visit the art gallery or the museum. It’s a long weekend here in Canada and sometimes it’s a good time to visit places in the city because so many people head north to open their cottages.

List things or events that changed your Life: It could be as simple as a book or meeting a certain person?

• meeting my husband 43 years agowedding photo

• the birth of my childrenIMG_8312

• graduating from university and becoming a teacher

• the death of my mother

• meeting my best friends AB in 1976 and LC in 1989

• learning to drive when I was in my 20s

• my first art class where I learned how to paint with watercolour

• building a cottage next to my good friend DM

• the birth of our first grandchildIMG_6535

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 being able to continue on my weight loss journey and for the support of my husband and my friends at work. My husband has lost 26 pounds and I’m down 18. My new passport arrived this week and I can check off one more thing from my to do list before I go to Italy in July. I’m also grateful that my photo isn’t the worst passport photo that I’ve ever taken. I have to live with it for the next 10 years. IMG_8311

For the rest of the week I’m looking forward to our girls’ soccer tournament on Friday, visiting our daughter and her family in Hamilton on Saturday and seeing my older daughter on Sunday or Monday. Since it’s the long weekend here I’m also looking forward to planting some things in the garden and firing up the barbecue for a meal or two. It’s also suppose to be a spectacular weekend, weather wise.

Here are a few photos from this past week.

 

I’m Still in the City

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….I woke up with every intention on leaving for the cottage today

I woke up fairly early and started to gather up the things I need for the trip to the cottage. My husband left with the dog to visit our daughter in Hamilton. He has an appointment tomorrow so he wasn’t able to join me on this trip. After he left I started looking for the cooler to pack my food. I couldn’t find it. There was an old one here but it needed a good cleaning. Then I couldn’t find the drill. Without it I won’t be able to get into the cottage.

I texted, emailed and phoned my husband. It took awhile before I heard back from him. The drill was at our daughter’s place and the cooler was in the back of his car. He said he’d hurry back after lunch but I told him to take his time. The drill needed to be charged anyway.

So I packed my clothes, wrote a letter to a friend in the U.S., cleaned the kitchen, did more laundry, put away some clothes, and cooked dinner. I then walked up the street to mail the letter and pick up some fresh berries and vegetables to take with me tomorrow.  I also ordered tickets for the Pan Am Games. We’re going to see three women’s soccer games with our daughters. The last one will be the finals. There has been so much pessimism about these games that we felt we really had to support them. Maybe we’ll pick up a couple more events when the Para Pam Am games start in August.

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I also found the time to upload three new books to my e-reader. In the past I’ve had issues getting the books from my computer onto the Kobo but today I added wifi to the devise and the transition was seamless. Ahhhh, technology. I love it when it works. Now I also have my summer reading at my fingertips.

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So I thought I had used up all my excuses for not getting up to the cottage. Hopefully there won’t be anything else keeping me here in the city.

No More Excuses!

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….well I can always find more excuses 

I’ve been looking forward to going to the cottage for months and I’ve been off school since Friday and I still haven’t made it up there. What’s wrong with me? Well nothing actually. I have some good reasons for not being there yet.

On Sunday my very good friend, AB, was having one last party at her house before she moves to her new condo. She’s been in that house for over 30 years and we’ve had many a celebration there. It was great seeing a lot of the old faces from past parties and we also celebrated AB’s birthday.

On Monday we had to wait for the guys from the appliance store to determine if our new washing machine should be replaced. They were there less than 5 minutes but it was at the end of the day. They delivered the new machine today.

Before the appliance guys arrived I did some shopping and I purchased flowers for my containers in the front and back yards. I don’t know why but I always leave my planting till well into June. Of course I couldn’t go to the cottage with that weighing on my conscience. I also renewed my membership for the concert series and mailed the cheque.

Today I filled up the car with gas. Tomorrow is a holiday in Canada so I wasn’t sure if the Costco gas station would be open. The store is closed for sure. I also filled one of our propane tanks to take with me and I purchased two large bottles of water and a few supplies that I will need for my trip.

At home I cleaned the bird cage, cleaned the debris off my lawn (branches and leaves that had fallen during Sunday’s rain storm), pulled a few weeds, and swept the porch, sidewalk and the street in front of our house. Actually I couldn’t believe that I was compelled to sweep the leaves off the street. It seems that I kept finding jobs to do that kept me from getting in the car and driving north.

After the new washing machine arrived today I did a couple of loads of washing. It seems to be working just fine. I went for a long walk with the dog, helped my husband make dinner and then watched the FIFA Women’s World Cup game.

Well I think I’ve run out of excuses to not go to the cottage. Except that my oldest daughter called tonight and thought I was driving her to the airport tomorrow night. She’s okay with me not doing it but I’m feeling a little guilty.

My husband won’t be coming with me tomorrow and I hate opening the cottage by myself. I have to take the board down over the main door, move the fridge and connect it to the propane tank and set up the BBQ. Then there’s checking all the rooms for evidence of rodents and possible water damage from all the rain. I have to clean out the water barrel and fill it up and put away the food, make the beds and sweep the floors.

Once this is all done I can relax, assuming that no problems are lying in wait for me to fix. Of course I could stay home and not go up until my husband is able to join me but that could take another week or more. I think I’ll have to chance it and go up on my own. Wish me luck. By the way, I have no electricity or wifi connection so it may be a few days before I can post another article.

Places – The Beach, Hands Down

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……the beach, mountains, forests or somewhere else entirely?

Today’s Daily Post asks us to choose where we would like to be.

I’m happy anywhere where I can relax, explore and learn. I worked for a summer in the Alps in southern Germany, skied in the Rockies and drove through the mountains in Yosemite and up Mount Washington. There is something magical about waking up in an area where you are surrounded by the majesty of these beautiful mountains but it can also be somewhat claustrophobic.

I love the coolness and freshness of being in the middle of a forest. I’ve hiked through the forests of Vermont and New Hampshire and camped in Quebec and Ontario. My cottage is nestled inside the forest but I’m only 100 steps from the beach and that is where I prefer to be.IMG_2350 P1040208

I seem to be naturally drawn to water. According to Chinese astrology I am a water dragon. My home in the city is only 50 metres from the shores of Lake Ontario and I feel blessed to be able to walk down to the park by the lake and look over the entire city. I love how it changes with the seasons. It’s always a little cooler here in the summer and slightly warmer in the winter. IMG_0975 IMG_3886

I’ve been on the beaches of Hawaii, the coast of Maine, the wharfs of San Francisco, and the east and west coasts of Ireland. I haven’t travelled extensively but the places I remember most fondly were bordered by an ocean or a Great Lake.