Sunday 27 May 2012

A Day Chez 106

Spent a fun day at Iain's Mom's place on Saturday, just puttering in the garden and doing a bit of shopping.  Sheila has several nice Hostas among her plants.
I needed to photograph this one, with its huge, huge leaves!  I forgot my camera at home, so of necessity these shots were taken with my phone:  2 megapixels doesn't do it justice, I fear. 
Sheila's back yard is a quiet, lovely spot:  just the place to sit and have a nice beer after pulling a few weeds and putting down some soil and fertilizer, among other little jobs.  The new patio set was very comfortable!
Very nice!

I had fun pulling out the windchimes and bird feeders and finding places to hang them.  I don't know if Mom really wanted them all out, but she was very indulgent and let me do whatever I liked.
Yummy sandwiches for lunch!
We did a tour of Lee Valley to find a new wheelbarrow (and ran into Jessica A. while we were there; apparently she was in need of a set of pruning shears to tidy some things at her new house, and what better place to find them!), and went elsewhere to pick up a few plants for the vegetable garden.  Afterwards, Mom bought some steaks for us to barbeque, and Kyle joined us for dinner.  What a great day!

Tuesday 22 May 2012

Long weekend!

Well, THAT was a gorgeous weekend! I know we need the rain, but the sun and heat were very welcome.  

Iain and I hauled away more garbage, and are mostly done that now; just the pile of wood needs to be sorted through and removed.  On our way back from the Brudenell dump, we had to stop for a cattle crossing.  The wee calves seemed to be enjoying the change of scenery.
This weekend, at long last, the crabapple tree bloomed when Mom was there to see it!  The tree was just about a foot high when we transplanted it from the garden where she'd started it.  After many years of tending it, we had a nice crop of apples last year, and it looks as though we may have that again this year.
Mom sitting in front of the bloomin' tree!

She had a very enjoyable, albeit tiring, weekend!

The tree was full of bees, especially Bumblebees.
Carl and Irene were up at their cottage, and Carl took time from his schedule to help Iain put up that pesky ceiling fan.  At first it wouldn't work; then Carl noticed there were rubber stabilizers attached that prevented it from running (no mention of that in the instructions, of course).
Installation is a two-man job, done at great height.

Sans-rubber-stops, the fan runs nicely!

Tuesday 15 May 2012

The weekend that was

We have some new arrivals at the lake: the pair of geese that decided to stay have three little goslings.  The family hangs out on the road at Mud Lake (as we call it), probably trying to keep the little ones away from turtles.  This means that every time you drive past, they are there - which also means lots of photo opportunities.
How cute is this?

This weekend was my Mom's first at the new cottage, and she approves of it.  I like the fact that there is lots of room for her walker (at the old cottage we had to leave it at the back door and use it outside only).  It was wonderful having her up; she said it was the best weekend she'd had in a long time.
Relaxing before dinner.

Construction/destruction continues:  Iain removed the old pump platform (left over from the boathouse-cum-machine-shed, now on Dodie's property).  It certainly improves the view from the gazebo!
Iain found about six huge dock spiders every time he removed a board.
The platform became, at Dodie's wise suggestion, a temporary entrance-way step for the cottage.

Iain had to take off work on Friday to finish up some electrical stuff and have the building inspector and hydro inspector both in for their approval:  and they gave it!  Which means we have officially passed all inspections (and the well water tested completely safe, also)!  This takes a big burden off, because Iain ended up doing a lot of the electrical work himself, and he was worried that he'd miss something; but all was well.

Tuesday 8 May 2012

Finally, most of the work is done!

Okay, here it is - ta da! The kitchen is finished, and so is the whole cottage, and we are, well, more than a bit happy, that's the truth.  And we're ready to enjoy ourselves a bit.

Here we are in the kitchen.  Do we look happy?  We are!
Iain made sure I took these pics before we moved in our sad old Harvest Gold appliances.  They're 40 years old, but hey - they still work; and buying new appliances is not on our horizon just now.

You can see we left room for a dishwasher on the left.  Can't afford one right now, but, thankfully, we have my Mom, who is pretty happy to get her arms into the sink.
Moving in furniture took no time at all, with Dodie and Myles helping us.  Iain loves this spot on the couch.

After getting the major stuff moved (table, chairs, and appliances), it was martini time!  Iain sets up the bar.

Dod took this shot of us getting ready to have our first sit-down meal at the table.  We're so blessed and grateful!

Spoiled? No, our cats aren't spoiled!

Having a neighbour who loves your cats is especially appreciated when we are away!  Cassie makes a trip across the driveway to give them a snack and loving attention, and then leaves a report on how things went.  As you can see, the furkids have developed a taste for the chicken dinner she brings from time to time.

Monday 7 May 2012

Ahhh, the sweet smell of spring!

The cats were very excited to sit in the open windows and enjoy the scents and sounds of the back yard, when the weather turned warm last week.
Onyx saw something....
We have a fine crop of dandelions in our yard.  I like them.  If not for them, we wouldn't have much lawn.
Snaps sniffing.  Something smells interesting!
Onyx is so very alert when he is looking outside.
I see something edible which also moves slowly enough for me to catch!

It's Winter....

 Not a fan, but winter is something one survives (hopefully) so that spring may occur. I miss Stitches, very much. Fortunately, we have Jasp...