April 27th: Official 2013 Season Launch!

I swear by the ghost of Don Cherry (wait, is he...?) I didn't realise there was so much maple in New Scotland.  Since Christine returned from her trip to Halifax, I've been eating maple taffy, white chocolate with maple crunchies, maple blueberry jam...I think that if (when) I cut myself shaving I'll bleed maple syrup.

In an attempt to determine whether one can actually overdose on this tasty tree tinkle, we toasted our first evening of the 2013 season with maple-flavoured sparkling wine.

Damn yummy.  We were concerned about whether it would keep well, so we killed off the bottle that evening. It made for a convenient excuse, anyway.

Because we weren't being stereotypically Canadian enough, Christine made poutine that evening.

Don't anyone else ever bother making poutine for me.  I'm terribly spoiled now.  Your poutine will be like bitter ashes in my mouth and I'll just end up throwing it in your face in disgust.

You could argue that this is rude, but I would actually be justified.  Christine's is just that good.  I'd never had poutine before Christine made it for me (with mushroom gravy, for those who may be wondering) and I will have no other.  If Christine ever leaves for another planet, like she wants, and I'm stuck here, for all intents and purposes I will live on a poutine-free world.

I had built up a wicked hunger too, earlier in the day.  We were getting low on cut wood for the stove in the living room, so I decided to attack one of the logs at the end of our yard.  They are the result of two tall, dead trees being cut down by the previous owners as a condition of sale.

Now as a kid, when I did those tests in school to determine what occupation would suit me best, I don't recall "lumberjack" coming up often as an option.  I have a clearer understanding of why now.

I must have taken a half hour to cut one damn log.  Wasn't even a big one!  Just a stubborn sumbitch.  First my axe got stuck in it, then I got the wood splitter stuck while trying to get the axe out!  What the hell do you do??

You go into beast mode, that's what.  Grrr!

I can't go into the chilling details of my combat against nature, save to say that I won (evidence at right) and I'm convinced that Mother Nature continues to hate me despite all my sucking up to her.

That ugliness aside, we can update the dining room upgrade project with a couple of gifts.  Nanny made the red and white afghan on the back of the now-covered couch.  The couch itself may not last much longer, but the afghan will.

Also, the frame on the piece of furniture at left was given to Christine by her mum during the Halifax trip.  We have yet to fill it, but sooner or later, something will strike us (and by "us" I mean Christine).

Boys weekend.

With Christine having left for Halifax earlier in the week to hang with three generations of women in her family, dad, Oscar and I went up to Crow Lake on Saturday.  This was the first overnight'er of the year.

So of course, it hailed before we left.  Then wet snow on the way.  Then snow flurries throughout the day Saturday.

Didn't really matter though. We still prettied the place up (to the highest standard that two straight guys and a daschund of questionable orientation can) for next week.  Christine and I took the Monday and Tuesday off so we can open the place up for good.

Look how pretty it is:

Isn't that cool?  This is the adult (?) equivalent of sleeping in Star Wars sheets as a kid. 

We had a ridiculously dry summer last year which is now underscored by the high water level. Compare this picture from this past September...

To this one, taken yesterday:

While we did see some folks walking around their own cottages, I doubt these people chose to have lunch at the picnic table or at the gazebo.

So we mostly spent a relaxing day inside, chatting, munching and messing with the fire.  And perhaps dozing off on occasion.

We headed home early on Sunday to pick Christine up at the airport.  She was on an Air Canada flight and, in a shocking turn of events, arrived on time.

Lean Mean Red Machine

Had some unexpected fun at CFB Crow Lake today.

My dad and I were planning a trip to the dump to get rid of an old couch, a bed, the carpeting we pulled up a couple of weeks ago, etc (this isn't the fun part).  Dad joined us early in the afternoon in his van.

I'd forgotten that dad hauls my old bike around in that van.  This is the beast I used to ride on (for the most part) da mean streetz of North Bay when I was about 10-12 years old.  It's somewhat shocking that it's still in one piece in light of the extreme levels of punishment I put that thing through back in the day.

How I've never broken a bone is unexplainable, though I did think I'd busted ribs one time when I accidentally found myself trying to go UP concrete stairs on it.  Physics don't work that way, dawg.

I'd come home and dad would look at its bent tire rims and handle bars and ask me if I ever used my bike to jump off stuff.  I would respond in the negative, which was borderline...well...complete bullshit.  But in my own defence, I never did this kind of thing:

These things need to be properly defined.  There are "jumps" and there are "jumps".  I don't read minds.

In any event, Christine and my pappy were about to head to Sharbot Lake to buy quarter-round for the master bedroom.  That gave me a golden opportunity to terrorise Crow Lake on my rad wheels for a while.

"Eastern Ontario 4 Life, yo!"

A short while.  Turns out I run out of breath significantly faster now.  Not sure how that happened.  Must be some sort of lake effect.  Whatever.  It's...not important.

I did have a pretty intense flashback moment though.  I'm so used to the brakes being on the handlebars on my current bike, that when I started down the cottage ramp, I actually forgot how to stop for a  second.  I thought I was going to plow into our deck fence.

Here's the one set of skid marks I can show you.  Trust in my judgement on the other ones.

I'm sure a little lemon juice and baking soda will get that right out...

There was a dirt bike under the cottage that the previous owners left behind.  Dad's decided to make that one into a recovery project, meaning that "my" bike and I are now reunited after about 30 years.  (30??  The math can't be right on that...I'll work it out later...).  It'll have a pretty mellow retirement.

Mind you, with a good head of steam, I'm pretty sure I know a really fast short cut to our beach...

Cottage and Backyard Show

First things first, I'm not convinced that "backyard" is really only one word.  I think it's one of those deals where so many people got it wrong anyway that it just became accepted, like "fishes".

So we dropped by this little event today.  We figured we should since, after we finally got the keys to CFB Crow Lake last year, we were shown the secret handshake you need for them to let you into these (Well that, and $12).  May as well use it, even if the guy who took our ticket seemed unprepared for it and thoroughly confused. Don't they train these people?

In any event, here's the resulting pile of fliers.  To give perspective, they are displayed next to a sleeping sausage.

My oh my, how it all adds up! We'd frequently chat about a few things we want to do, but you know...never all of them at once.  There's little project duplication in this pile, so it's a good visual checklist.  Winterising, solar panels, roofing...

On the flip side, some of it arguably falls more into the "want" than "need" category.  For example, perhaps a "tiki hut paradise" is not a true necessity.  But who's to say?

I understand that the 6/49 payout is 55 million so with a little luck, we might be able to work our way through about three quarters of them.

Lunch at The Maples

This post is brought to you by...Mechanix Wear gloves!

My dad bought me these a few months ago to prevent thumb scuffing while paddling the kayaks.  Yes, I know that sounds quite diva-like but it's more irritating than you'd expect.

Anyway, they're basically a second skin when I'm out there.  Hell, I'd wear them in the shower, if we could ever get that friggin' curtain up.  I've worn them so much that they now smell like feet, which is somewhat puzzling, now that I write that out...I'm sure I'm doing it right...Anyway, they're awesome.

So...Dropping by CFB was kind of a last minute decision today but we're quite glad we did.

I didn't say anything about it at the time, but last week we stripped the Sun Room and replaced the carpet with the indoor/outdoor variety (indoor/outdoor?  How does it know??).  It's difficult to tell the difference, and there's still plenty of work to be done in that room, so I didn't get into it, but here it is for now.

This time around, we cleared an area right to the left of the front door.  That spot doesn't appear on any listing pictures.  Why?  Because it wasn't particularly attractive.

There was a small freezer there.  Sounds handy on the surface, but for our purposes, not really.  The fridge is plenty roomy for us and the freezer's location caused it to become nothing more than a convenient place on which to drop something as you walk through the door.  So why not put something there that actually serves that specific purpose?

Several weeks ago, we bought a very simple (i.e. cheap) shelving unit to put in the freezer's place.  We finally got around to putting it together today.  It went great and...we now have more freezer space at home, where we're more likely to need it, because the little guy actually fit in the car.

Nothing fantastic, but a bit of a space saver and we also got to use some of the leftover indoor/outdoor (how DOES it...) carpet to rest it on, so are getting a bit more of our money's worth there.

We made a couple of stops in Sharbot Lake prior to heading home, including The Maples.

We tried this bad boy...

Hot Italian Ciabatta Sandwich: Delightful roasted red peppers and tomatoes tossed with garlic and pesto, laid atop slices of provolone cheese and fresh tomato, on a fresh toasted ciabatta bun.

And will again. And again and again.  That restaurant is one of those places that whenever we'd drive by I'd say that I'd like to try it some time.  Nice to check that one off the list and to know that it's worth taking someone to if we have guests.  Good, simple family restaurant, all of 15 minutes or so from the cottage.  Something to bear in mind.

Easter Weekend 2013

You know what guys just LOVE?  Shopping for carpets!  Am I right, boys??

The only thing less pleasant than shopping for rugs for the floors would be shopping for one for the top of my head.  I dodged a bullet where the dining room is concerned though.  Christine went to Lowe's, happened to see one she loved, and bought it.  Badabing!  In a similar situation a few weeks ago, she held off until I got to see said rug and what do you know, by the time we made our way to that store again, it was gone (The rug, that is.  The store was still there).  Disappointment and profanity ensued.

So we brought her up.  Here she is:

Still needs to settle down a bit as, apparently, do the squirrel and bunny stuffies on the table.  I know it's spring, but let's keep this thing PG a'right?  But the rug itself is pretty cottage-appropriate.

That couch has seen better days, and it will soon see even worse ones because it's dump-bound in the next couple of weeks.  At least that's the plan; damn thing weighs more than a station wagon. I wish Nanny was here to help; she did a splendid job hauling in the floating dock last fall.

In other heart-stopping news, the shower curtain project is progressing along nicely.

Fish!

In truth, the only reason the curtain isn't actually up is because we know we'll have the plumber in to get the water flowing again soon(ish), so we're keeping the area clear(ish).  So far all intents and purposes, that's done.

And while the going is slow, we ARE getting there.  Here's the beach (we own a beach!) these days:

Still pretty solid, but I don't know that I'd have the stones to do this:

We did notice that we never saw them return...Maybe we should have acted on that...But you know, we wanted to go have dinner in Westport...I'd run out of that yummy dill mustard and wanted to buy another jar, so...