Somebody came to visit!

Just thought these were so cute! Mr/Ms Raccoon paid us a visit Thursday morning. I'm sorry to say there were no treats available on our front porch, just some flowers, so our visitor was gone by the time we took this pic. We are hoping he/she has not taken up residence under said porch (or the back deck, for that matter).

This weekend will be a bit hectic, but enjoyable: my nephew Les is tieing the knot with his lady love Janice. Nuptials to take place at our cottage. Exciting! We are hoping the predictions of rain are exagerrated, but if not, well, we do have the gazebo!

Next increase: taxes

Anyone else unhappy with their property assessment? We saw a huge increase in our cottage property: up about 120% over the previous amount. We owe it all to having waterfront, or so I understand.

We love the place, but Iain will be more than happy to tell you about all of the work that needs to be done on the cottage and outbuildings! People seem to be desperate for waterfront, however, and that is driving the prices up in the valley.

If we get another algae bloom next year like we did this one, however, I may have to contest the assessment after all.

Completed Swing

Well, almost. The roof will go on next year, and we'll paint it then too, but it is ready to use. And Iain decided to try it out. But he won't let me put the picture here, because he doesn't like it.

Judy's Fish

Just have to show off another example of Judo Kuno's talents! Judy has a home near our cottage, where she is happy to try her hand at all sorts of creative pursuits. Above are two of her latest efforts. A friend of hers showed her a fish made from a large plastic soft drink bottle, and she decided to try to make them herself. I think she did a great job!

Grrr..Telus is making me very angry.

For my birthday, Iain bought me a lovely new phone from Telus, an LG Keybo. It's really nice, and I thought I'd be very happy with it, but I'm starting to wish I'd stuck with Bell.

I'd heard good things about Telus, and thought I'd give them a chance. Plus I like the ads: brightly coloured reptiles and meerkats bring a smile to my face.

When purchasing the phone, one of the questions I asked specifically was "Can I use Windows Messenger?" The answer was yes. They lied. Or, at least, they exaggerated.

After trying to download the damn program about 10 times (yeah, I know the definition of insanity) I finally gave up and called Customer Service. After getting dropped once and going the round of the automated system about three times, I finally got someone who knew the answer. The answer was kind of like this:

"Oh, well, the Keybo, they don’t have messenger for it just yet, it was supposed to be ready by end of August, but it isn’t out yet....I can’t give you a date, unfortunately."

And the email (which also refused to download)?

"Yes, unfortunately it is also not available yet."

And Telus Navigator, which is supposed to be available for short periods, or for a modest extra monthly fee?

"Actually, that isn’t available for the Pay and Talk."

But your website says it is.

"Unfortunately, it is not available."

So, it seems I own a phone which is supposed to have a number of very desirable features - but it doesn’t really have any of them.

So now I have to cool off and try to decide whether to go back and demand a refund, or just be patient. But I’m not happy.

Labour Day weekend always seems to end up being very, very busy. Why is that? Well, partly because it's Kyle's birthday on Friday, my birthday on Sunday, and my mom's birthday on the 3rd (and due to the busy schedule everyone has with the Renfrew fair, we had cake and prezzies for her this evening), and much celebrating must be done all round.

I'm happy to report that Iain spoiled me on the whole weekend, starting out with a raspberry mousse cake, suitably decorated for the occasion, on Friday night. Saturday we attended a couple of auction sales, at one of which I purchased a very decrepit (but usefully large) cocktail shaker. Saturday night we had the best prime rib roast ever, barbecued by Iain using the Weber and with the assistance of an interesting bit of technology supplied by Carl.

On Sunday we came home from the cottage, dropping Mom off and heading into Ottawa to see Kyle and Sheila. First however, a little shopping! Iain gifted me this little item, and I am still getting used to how to use it. Lots of bells and whistles to explore.

Sheila treated us to a great dinner and we hung out for the evening, heading back to Renfrew this morning. Today was rest and relaxation!