It works!

We Skyped M&D today!  Fantastic!  We were able to potter around the house and garden, all the way down to the road, and they were able to "see" the place for "themselves".  That was just brilliant and what we have always wanted to be able to do.

The man came today to quote for stripping the paint off the cottage - "It IS green" he said - It is!  He will begin when we are back from Ottawa.

We have started stripping window frames; pretty good progress by means of an evil chemical and the jet washer.  We decided to call it quits when the thunderclouds rolled in - and then it RAINED!  I'd left the boat on the jetty so, when it calmed down, I went to collect it.  Hard work lifting a boat with 3" of water sloshing around in its bottom :-( 
I've modified the trolley with some padding to accommodate the keel, and two stainless carabiners to clip the ties to the axles - the previous hooks kept falling off.  Bad design.

On lesson 22 in "French once a week," Book 2!  Pronouns.  Blehhhhhh!

Oh!  and we now have internet at the cottage!

Coming home.

Another beautiful day in the Laurentians.....  (Sorry to rub it in and all that L ). 

Sunday; although we’re surrounded by trumpeting evidence of God’s glory, it’s difficult to stop wandering off into pleasure-seeking.  Paddling, fishing, simply gazing at the trees, or being amused by the antics of our resident chipmunks – bolder by the day and now openly interested in shelled peanuts that we (sad people!) have bought for their express use!

But Sunday being Sunday, we went to Church.  Our local church is Catholic – they nearly all are up here – but no-body minds or questions and the welcome is the same whatever.  The service is very close to Family Communion, with an enthusiastic, older lady leading us through the bits of music both ahead of time, and throughout the service.  A special diocesan booklet printed for the day, so we could follow the service without too much trouble (it’s all in French of course).  I should think that our priest was North African – rounded vowels instead of the pinched sounds of Quebecois – with a gentle, simple message of sharing, following the Gospel story of the loaves and fishes.

And we all take communion - bread only here.   And the sense of return and the flooding of welcome were palpable.

Work’s stopped on the new canoe for the moment – I’d like to stain the wood before I begin to build, but I don’t want to apply anything that will affect the glues!   So I’m waiting before we go to Ottawa later in the week in order to search out stores there.  But I have constructed some suspended – possibly temporary – seats for the existing boat.  My knees and back were complaining!  We ended the day by going out for a paddle together in almost flat water with no wind.  Just the most perfect end to a beautiful Sunday.

The highlight of the village social calendar has arrived!  Is it a Ball, is it a Casino, is it a concert with the Montreal symphony orchestra?

No!  It's the annual garage sale!  All of this starts at the crack of dawn - well almost.  We were up at 6.00 to use our truck to take K&D and a trailerfull of stuff down to the village.  They don't have a tow-bar, we do.

K & D ( well, K mostly) have spent days getting ready for this.  Garage sales are so big here that shops sell price tickets for people to use on there items.  There's a lot of rubbish, but some extraordinary deals as well. 

I bought a virtually new tenor recorder for $5 (about £3) and a wood plane for $6.  The former is all intact and in its case; the latter is now resharpened and works beautifully.

And we bought a child's bed for $25 and nearly new child's lifejacket for $3.  So we're ready for small visitors.


 So, 1t's 14.00 Canadian now - Olympics on the TV, and I'm off to the boat.  Love to you all.

Green and pleasant land!

We are of course 5 hours behind you, so we are still up and about after watching that amazing thetrical performance that was the opening ceremony!

We had a British buffet, and all of us got together at Karen and Denis' place.

So we're full - and very proud!

And even more proud of  G2 who has - with her "team", made her own Olympian journey.

We All raised a glass to you, girl!

 

Making a start on the wilderness.

All those cute little conifers that were here when we first bought the place; the ones that make us (even more) mad at the cost of Christmas trees in England?   Well, they grew.  We are in danger of being overtaken by the ones near the house – particularly the ones in the hillside behind the house.  So today we made a very small start on trimming them back.  Please don’t panic, there are PLENTY more where they came from, believe me.

No pics of that today (P balancing up a ladder in the embrace of a Scots pine!) but pics instead of breakfast – sadly lacking any bacon! 

 
– and some wildlife.    

A rather splendid beetle on the window frame, 


and our Groundhog! (Marmot),
 about six yards away in the usual place, twenty yards away from the house, munching clover – of which we have plenty.

Warmer and sunnier today, up to 30 degrees at 13.00 but clouding over now at 7.00pm sand down to about 24!.  The crickets are chirping; very little bird-song.

Excitement!

The screen-room tent – some will remember it – is presently outside the back door as we have no screen room.  We had breakfast in there this morning after coffee at 6.30.  From lunch-time onwards (well.... it was a late lunch!) the sky clouded over.  The late morning temperature of 29 degrees C seemed to rise and rise as the humidity went up.  And now, at 8.00 pm,  the thunder rolls round and round the hills and we have already had one brief power cut, as the rain teems down.

It’s better than fireworks here – as long as nothing in the ultra-dry woods catches – then we may have a different problem.  The house next to ours – on much higher ground, was said to have burned down two years ago as the result of a lightning strike – but strangely, a number of items of value were never traced....  Still, they must be a hundred feet above us – so here’s hoping.  At any rate, I’ve not plugged this in!

We have a pair of insect eating birds feeding hatchlings – which we have not been to see – in the old hen-coop by the pond.  We have finally agreed that they are Eastern Phoebes.  I painted this copy from the bird book.

BIG crash 1 ¼ miles away!  Signing off.

Happy to say that the storm went away and we have obviously survived the night.  Temperature down to 16 degrees at 06.00; the loons are calling on the lake.

 Busy day - in to Tremblant this morning for shopping and stuff.  Home to plant window boxes and hanging baskets and start a new boat! http://www.selway-fisher.com/Opcan15.htm#KATE .

Supper and now at Karen and Denis' to upload this.  Sad news about the internet here - not until Monday next :-(

Settling in.

The Seven (Route 7) cuts straight through part of Ontario, from Peterborough, north east of Toronto, to the outskirts of Ottawa.  It’s a delightful road, sometimes winding, sometimes arrow straight, linking together essentially rural communities and rising to the watershed between the St Lawrence and the Outawais – the Ottawa river.  There are lovely changes of scenery, none of it on a very grand scale.  This is essentially farmland, in places carved out of more rugged “Shield” land, but the kind of country that you might imagine if you think of Canadian Settler farming.  This is NOT prairie!

We drove up on Saturday by the Seven.  It’s a much more direct, and much more restful route than the sometimes 8-lane divided highway which plugs interminably along Lake Ontario from Toronto to Kingston, before turning north for Ottawa.

We made an all-too-brief visit with P & N in Aylmer; the Quebec – and thus French-speaking – town to the north-west of Ottawa, with generous provisions and cool beer for some.  But we had the migratory gene deep within us and were impatient for “home”, so we pushed on north east, on the 50 to the turning for St Sixte and  the dirt-track run all the way up Lac Labelle; to home in the last glimmers of the day.

12 hours on the road, but not really much faster than 100kph (60 mph) anywhere, so pretty rested really for such a long day.

It’s still difficult to stay asleep in the morning!  4.45 on Sunday L  But who minds waking up early in this place?  It’s been a very hot and dry summer so far; our lawn – such as it is – is brown in places; the weeds in the patio slabs, painstaking cleared in May, have sprung up and flowered; the woodland begins to crowd us – we shall have to slash back to regain some of our views.

In the afternoon, we visited with M & S (the latter has been – and continues to be – very poorly; but she looks great and has an indomitable spirit).  They have recently bought a “pontoon” boat.  These are a big feature of the lakes up here.  They are essentially two tubular hulls with a deck between, but that’s just for starters.  On that foundation there are easy chairs, sunshades, bars, even loos on some!  And all is driven by a huge outboard.  So, we pottered around the lake, in the sun, amply protected by the sunshade top, talking of this and that and indolently – and typically unsuccessfully – trolling a spinner behind the boat.

This is Cottage Country par excellence – although the term probably arose in the country of the Seven – but this is the Quebec equivalent.  Although what you and I might think of a as a cottage is not what Canadians think of as a cottage!

 A lovely day – Sunday patisserie on the veranda and then home to supper and an early bed, shattered.

Toronto.

Big city, bustling, diverse and gentle.

Second day here, starting to timeshift a little better.  Went in to town with G1 when he went to work.  Joined a moderately packed subway train; very clean and courteous passengers.  A LOT of walking; this is a big place.  We ended up in the Eaton Centre http://www.torontoeatoncentre.com/EN/centreinfo/Pages/default.aspx after passing through the historic Hudson's Bay Company - "The Bay".  We have topped up the watercolour paper, A has bought a tapestry to sew.  Off tomorrow towards Ottawa and then the cottage.

Toronto - early morning.  Well!  seems like late morning since we're now 5 hours adrift from the UK!  Long day ysterday with an easy flight from Base to Amsterdam and a speedy, helpful connection there.  A bit restricted for space in Economy; hot when you crossed your arms and limiting when you stretched them out in front. But two good films - Salmon fishing in the Yemen and Tinker, Taylor...

We flew a very northerly route, actually crossing over the southern mainland of Greenland - but arrived early nevertheless.  Big queues in immigration and a long wait for baggage but on to a cheerful, noisy diner; good beer, fun N. American food (pulled pork sandwich and a Caesar salad - Lila had milk ;-) ) before bed at a respectable time in Canadian terms, albeit shatteringly late as far as the UK is concerned.


A huge Thank You to all who made our week "Ooop Noarth" so memorable, and to Jack for driving us to the airport!

Flapping a bit.

Well; not really!  Just a lot still to do and not much time left in which to do it.  Never mind; it'll get done, then up North (UK) to start the first part of the trip :-)

This will be a sort-of diary, sort-of running newsletter from 107.  It should mean that family and friends can keep up with us even when the time-difference is unhelpful!