Another year ends, a new one begins.

A break at the cottage, especially when it's a visit with Irene and Carl, is always fun!  We were there for four days, which gives you some idea of what excellent (and patient) hosts they are.

Irene and Carl; taken on a walk over to our cottage.

Tim and Clio were there for a few days, so we got to enjoy time with them as well.  Clio has calmed down a bit (only a bit) since her puppy days, but still needed to be taken skijouring to get tired out.

She really is the cutest dog! Like a big stuffed toy.

Much of our time was spent in puzzles, games, eating and drinking.

Serious work!

The full moon on Sunday morning was still quite high around 7:00 a.m.  Iain braved the cold to get a picture.

 

Dodie and Myles joined us on Sunday, and we had even MORE fun!  Sorry, no pics.  On New Year's Day we headed home.  I took the picture below on our way out the road.  The way the snow was making balls on everything just kept catching my eye.

And now, after a long hiatus...

I'm finally blogging a bit. I don't really have any reason to not have been blogging for the last month, but I also don't really have any reason FOR blogging at any time, so, well, there it is.

Christmas turned out to be pretty relaxing this year, after much concern as to how we'd fit in adequate time with both families.  We weren't able to see as much of Craig and Karen as we'd have liked, but we made do, and had fun.

This is just before we sat down to the meal that Sheila's three sons prepared!  Well done, and we women were glad of it. 

This was one of the snowiest Christmases for a while.  The sun rising behind Mom's back yard was magical.

A few days at home gave us a chance to relax and spoil the pets a bit. 

What has caught Jezebel's eye, you ask?  She seems intent on something...

Aha!  Onyx playing in the paper!

Dodie and Myles hosted the Stevens family dinner, and I was so thankful to get to spend another Christmas day with my mom - that makes 58!

Mom giving me her most patient look.  I love you, Mom!

Lots more to blog about, but it's for another day!

Just a note: Sunday

Having a nice early Christmas with Mom, Kyle, Craig and Karen.  Wish it could be longer, but they have to head back to Toronto today.  We expect the driving to be better than it was for their trip up on Friday, thank goodness.  Iain had a white-knuckle trip to Renfrew and back to retrieve me, that day, as well.

There's nothing better than time with friends and family.  Yesterday, some old friends of Rod and Sheila came over for a little visit.  Bev used to teach at the same school as Rod, and her husband  Orville is an international consultant to governments on their healthcare needs. Very interesting and intelligent people, who it was a pleasure to meet.

Today we are having a slow, lazy wakeup:  lots of coffee and snacks required.  We did our best to sleep off the huge turkey dinner we ate yesterday evening.  Compliments to Iain, Craig, and Kyle, who prepared the meal!  We had to take a break before enjoying the plum pudding; we were just too full.  Bedtime came early as well; we hit the pillow before 10 p.m.

December the first

We are having a great weekend!

Friday night was just Iain and me fun - finished Lego Star Wars (as far as we plan to take it; we aren't doing the bonus rounds) and are looking forward to loading another game onto the PS3:  probably Lego Batman next.

Today we had a day of shopping for Christmas presents, hitting Carlingwood and Bayshore, among other shopping places.  We did accomplish a fair bit; got gifts for a few people and have ideas for others.

I love shopping for Christmas.  I enjoy buying little gifts for people.  It's the one time of year you can see something that would make a nice surprise for someone and not feel silly buying it!  I love wrapping things up in shiny paper and putting pretty bows on top.  It's the best!

It isn't about spending a lot of money.  I just want people to know I'm thinking of them, even when they aren't around, even when we haven't seen each other for ages.  I wish I could buy a present for every person who fits into that category, but there are so many!

Tomorrow, it is Christmas Tree Erection Day!  I'm really looking forward to that.

A quiet weekend at home

Not much to report in our little world.  Iain and I are puttering around the house this weekend - though we took a quick trip to the lake on Saturday, due to forgotten garbage (duh-oh!) which would have left the place pretty smelly if we hadn't gone for it.  We also checked the water line to be sure it was draining back to the well, and we are pretty confident in it now.

We do have some extended family having severe health issues, and our thoughts and prayers are with them constantly, as we hope for healing there.

At our place, though, not much is going on.  Iain raked the last of the leaves - well, the last we are going to bother with - and bagged them, today.  I'm doing this quick blog while he throws together some nachos for dinner.  Today's pic:  the kitties relaxing in front of the fireplace.  You may notice that Snaps doesn't really fit into his cat bed, but he doesn't seem to mind.  It's nice when they all get along, and this seems to be the case lately (unless Onyx is in one of his "moods").

All loving the fireplace.

That was Thanksgiving

Ah, Thanksgiving weekend!  Food, friends, family:  what it's all about, and we had all three.

Iain and his mom on the dock.

 

 It was particularly nice to have Kyle and Sheila up for the weekend.  Poor Kyle had to sleep in the old place, but a space heater kept his room cozily warm.



The leaves are really coming down, but it was still lovely.

We went for a few walks, and saw three cormorants that are (hopefully) just passing through on their migration route. 

Not a great pic, but you can see the long necks; I think most of the Loch Ness sightings are actually cormorants.

It was a bird count weekend, of course, so Dodie had us out looking, but we didn't see too many for her.  It was nice to see the heron, but I guess the bitterns have already left.  We took down our hummingbird feeders, too - they left a week before.

 

 

Thanksgiving dinner was wonderful - we loved having most of the family there, and would have liked to have more of them.  For fun, I made a timelapse video that you can see here.

Weekend work.

Autumn is wearing her fancy clothes, in the Opeongo mountain range.

On the road to Quadeville

Big construction in little Quadeville:  they're replacing the culvert beneath the bridge.  I don't think they'll have to worry about it washing out, come next spring.

They're obviously trying to get it done ASAP, as they were working Saturday.

Small construction on Big Eneas (ha ha ha).  Roger helped Iain tear down the walls and let the sun shine in.  Big improvement to a small space - it feels a lot bigger, now.

There has been some suggestion that this could become Iain's "man cave".  Hmmmm.

A much tidier storage and work space.  And the view is good, too, he says.

Happy stuff!

Onyx has decided that our bed is indeed the best place to spend not just all night, but most of the day as well.  I don't think he will ever be a lap-cat, as he rarely jumps up for pets and, when he does, will not lie down at all; but he has become a bed-buddy, usually curling up by Iain's feet.

Biiiiiiig stretch and.....flip onto head!

Black cats seem to gravitate to Iain.  Phantom used to sleep on Iain's ankles.  Onyx sleeps at his feet but on my side of them, so I can feel he's there, too.

The other cats tend to sleep on my side, and it's usually only Stitches who will stay most of the night.  Jez comes and goes, and Snaps - well, when he's on the bed you can't help but know, because of his squeeky purrs.

After about 10 pictures, Onyx was giving me the evil eye.
 

Although I didn't take pictures at Mom's 95th birthday party, my cousin Carl got this nice one of Mom, Elva and Irene; I had to let you see it!

Golden girls (Irene's a bit young in this group, though).

Wood Work

I didn't blog about the long weekend, though it was a lot of fun; my birthday, and my mom's birthday (for which we had a nice party) made for a good time. No pictures: I was feeling very lazy and I don't think I took any! I'll have to get some copies from the others who were there snapping Mom's picture.

Last weekend Iain decided to have a go at the old cottage, as we are tearing down one bedroom wall to make the space more useful.


He removed the door and trim with little trouble.

It was touching for me to see wood exposed that hadn't seen daylight since my grandfather nailed it into place 70 years ago.

Removing the wall is a bit trickier: the nails are hidden by the ceiling, and he'd rather avoid tearing that down.

Although our original thought was to remove the cottage ceiling, we changed our minds because of the heat that is kept at bay by the insulation there.

As it turned out, the blade on the saws-all is not long enough to reach the nails, from above or below, so until a longer one can be purchased we can't go further.

Up in the attic, checking out the wiring (shudder).  It needs....replacing.

I was pleased with how the place is standing up; no leaks visible.  Iain replaced the roofing (with a lot of help from family and friends) about 15 years ago, or perhaps longer.  At that time, he put ice barrier over the entire roof before shingling.  It has worked well.

And no bats.  That doesn't make me really happy, though - the decimation of the little brown bat by the "nose fungus" has me worried that they might go extinct.

Despite the pouring rain on Saturday, we had a lovely sunset!

Weekend Update

Thank goodness for birds planting seeds; otherwise I might have no flowers at all!  This sweet little Sunflower started growing in the lawn (hahaha lawn, that's funny - looks more like a lot of sand with a few tufts of green thrown in here and there for amusement).

A little crooked, but pretty!

Iain took this nice closeup.  I love the dewdrops!

 

Airmiles came through with our outdoor speakers, and after a bit of trouble locating the speaker wires (don't ask) Iain and Kyle hung them up and we tried them out.  Verdict:  these Yamaha speakers rock!

 

Just under the eave on the left and to the right of the door you'll see our speakers.

 

Kyle was up for the weekend, and enjoyed himself.  We had a big 'ol steak barbecue on Saturday night.

Kyle seems particularly ready to eat!

 

 Mom had an impossibly huge steak, but she ate over half of it!

Let me at it!

 

On Sunday we did a bit of decking.

Mom just about to reach for her water cup, I think.

Iain thinks he looks tired in this picture.  I think he looks great!

 

I had to get a picture of Kyle in his cool hat. 

 

What I Did On My Summer Vacation

Oh holidays, where did you go? Two weeks of cottaging, all too short.

The lack of rain and the dammed-up creek meant the lake wasn't flowing, and so the bottom became covered in algae.   Myles to the rescue!  He dragged the swimming area, stirring up the algae and taking away lots of sticks and clams as well.

Myles' bottom-dragger.

Look at the green goop on that.  Yuck.

On our way to the lake, we spotted a fire near Sebastopol.  Just missed getting a shot of the helicopter that was water-bombing it.

After much fiddle-farting around, I am finally done with the small cabinet.  Ta-da!

Lots of room for the rest of our glassware, and the cookbooks.

Summertime is puttering time.  Iain has been landscaping again.  Here, he has started work on a wee patio aorund the barbecue.

And here he shovels off the load of crushed stone which Myles was so kind as to bring from Renfrew.

We did a bit of goofing off, of course:  a trip into Pembroke for the fun of a tour and to get some groceries, for instance.


Had a snack at the marina, and noted this unique sundial they have there.

Baby loon is growing, and getting harder to tell from mom and dad.

More work for Iain; he was finally able to remove all the wood formers around the pathways.  It looks wonderful and my mom's walker rolls on them nicely.

Dishing the dirt.

We spent a lot of time just reading and having martinis and such.  I read The Hunger Games trilogy, and enjoyed it immensely.  Lots of good times with family, too, having dinners and playing games.  Have you ever played Rummikub?  A good game!

Some sad things happened too.  We noticed that our large tamarack is dying from the bottom up, and it appears it has been invaded by the Eastern Larch Beetle.  Unfortunately, the damage is invariably fatal, so barring a miracle over the winter, we will be cutting it down next year.  I can't tell you how unhappy this makes me, especially coupled with the drought damage that has possibly killed three other trees on our property.

See that little hole?  The beetle bores through the bark and makes these little holes all over the tree.  This is supposedly diagnostic of the Eastern Larch Beetle.

We were also sad when the adorable painted turtle we'd found on our beach died mysteriously.  He'd been much less shy than we'd expected, so he was probably ill already, but we were shocked when he died.



RIP Terry the Terrapin.

It was nice to see momma merganser and two of her chicks still hanging around, though.  They are almost as big as she is, now.

This frog is incredibly hungry.  Iain noticed he'll jump at ANYTHING, including other frogs just about as big as himself.

And we do have a tiny snapping turtle hanging about.  Here he is peeking out of the water; you can see his little body below the surface, and his little feet with their tiny claws.

On our way home, we saw a lovely hawk, I believe a Northern Harrier or Marsh Hawk.

We didn't really want to come home.  On the other hand, I was really happy to get to church this morning!