A story of unending kindness....

I see I haven't written since Tuesday.

Well, we've been a bit busy!  Wednesday the 29th of July was a "getting ready" day.  It was fiercely hot, to the extent that we once again had to stop everything involving physical activity between noon and about 4.00 pm.  Well over 30 degrees with a high humidity, too.

But we shopped late afternoon, took the dead boat-battery to Marcel - to order a replacement, did some more work on Burlesque in the blessed coolth of the basement, and noticed that the brake warning light was coming on as we drove home.

Nothing to worry, it's an old car; stuff happens.

Thursday morning, 30th July, up early to clean loos and make final preparations; away by 09.15, the brake light now constant.  So we stopped by Marcel at the garage.  The brake fluid was low; he topped it up and left me the rest of the bottle, "just in case".

In to St Jovite to pay the car insurance and exchange the rear wiper blade for the right fitting.  On down to Prevost for lunch with Denis and Karen, but not before the most wonderful stop at Norwest Canoe, on the main road right next to their street, for a fabulous meeting with the present owner-manager, grandson of the founder, who told me that he could likely provide all that I needed to build Beckie and Lucas' canoes!

I just need to make a shopping list.
 
Arriving at K&D, I checked the brake fluid reservoir.  It took about another half of the bottle.  We decided to leave the car to be inspected whilst the four of us headed out for lunch.

Returning, it would be about 3 hours and cost $!!!  OK - you can't argue with safety.  But it wouldn't be ready for us to go to collect B&M&N&A from the airport.  "No worry," says Denis, "take my car, collect yours on the way back up and leave ours at our house in Prevost".

Unutterable kindness.  So we faffed about doing a lot of shopping and then took them home to their place and headed south for the airport - to meet a huge queue on the 13.

But we got there only minutes after they had come through the arrivals gate.  They seem to have had a good journey, great service from KLM and the boys had been helpful throughout.

So, on up to St Jerome again, to find that the car was not ready and would not be until today, and a message from Denis telling us to take his car home and he and Karen would come up to 107 the next day.  Amazing.

So we did that; a last stop for loos at CT in St Jovite, boys in to pyjamas, onward in the falling light to a fabulous sunset over the hills behind la Minerve.

Home.  Noah was dead to the world and was carried, senseless, from car to bed. Finis.

Abel whizzed around for maybe another hour before he finally succumbed.  Wish I had some of that!

And it all started up again at 04.00, today, Friday the 31st of July, apparently.  But they were still pretty good, and certainly quiet, although I think that Bryony had a lot to do with that.

7.00 and Ali took over, and then I joined her and the whole gang met up again at about 09.00
And of course, football with Dad on the meadow ensued....

I had to go in to the village for various commissions and then we all headed for the dock with the intention of the kids just paddling. 

Hey, this is a water family! 


 Paddles become swims, become dock-side pass-times, become trips out in MarRon!

And so home for lunch - ham sandwiches as I recall, and then preparation for supper - not before this pitch invasion!

So, Denis and Karen arrived with the truck, and stayed for a lovely, protracted supper.  We owe them so much.  Bless you both.

And so to bed.

More to do tomorrow!

HOT!

Yesterday, 27th of July,  was pleasantly warm; warm enough to make hole-work reasonable, and warm enough to make resin-setting on the fractured ribs in Burlesque lightning fast.

The bugs and beasts were out and about. Some of them biting, most of them interesting!


Ali's continued with work in the Cabin, hampered by the lack of water, and still further by the lack of electricity.  And then Gilles turned up, puzzled over the unmarked trip-switch on the control board here in the main house; decided that 60 amp must imply the Cabin and barn, flicked it - no sparks - and lo and behold, the power was back on.  So that's one more labelled on the master sheet!

But the water.  Simple answer to that; turn it on in the main house cellar, go and look.  A veritable fountain of water flooded from a fracture in the pipe beneath the floor in the Cabin.  Hero!  I had thought that the pipe must have been broken somewhere in the re-modelled field.  Fortunately, I was wrong.

So, this morning, Tuesday the 28th of July, already very hot at the cottage,

I made it in to the village, all sorts of commissions and chores, not least a call in to the Bakery - where the baker, as welcoming as ever, was busy making a vast quantity of their swirly buns!  As he said, "it's not a body under here"!  to which I replied that it resembled a mortuary!  See what I mean?

Home to mend the split pipe in the Cabin, crawling in the 4 foot high underspace, scooped out of the earth - easy-peasy!  Water and power now restored!

By noon, it was VERY hot.  It was too hot to be unshaded out in the boatyard!  For me to be driven away from the boats - that's hot!

But why the Union flag, you ask?  That was so that the gentleman selling the Norwest boat would know where we are.

He duly turned up and delivered this!

I think - at least of their modern models - it's a Norwest Marquette.

It has been thoroughly used, but not abused.  It should do them well!

I did some more work on the hole - too hot.





Cheese, onion and potato pie for supper - a long time favourite.  I can remember eating this on a boat on the Ouse on a school trip to York aged 10 or 11.

And then off for a paddle in the Kayak - Kit - in the gloaming.  The water is very warm; the boat's a bit tippy, especially when you don't sit centrally, but it clips along.  I shall have to do something about the thwart - it presently digs your back.

Ceiling fans on all evening.  Definitely warm.  22 degrees at 10.30.

Feeding five thousand.....

... well, not quite!

Yesterday, Saturday the 25th of July, I spent an inordinate amount of time indulging myself!  After an early start working on Burlesque I went in to the village to find - the garage sale in full swing.  I had forgotten :-(  Still, rather more tat and less items of interest than last year.  Of course, last year we were there from 06.00.....

Several commissions later I went to meet the man with the ash wood from earlier in the week.  And he does have a Nor-west canoe in his garage loft and he is willing to sell it and I know some-one who is willing to take a risk on it.  So that's done!

 The rest of my day was spent back at the boat-yard (as the back lawn has become!), surrounded by steam and cedar and clamps and fun!

Supper was sausage and home-made oven chips and a couple of beers.

Great!

But the evenings are shorter already......

Today, Sunday the 26th, we went down to Grace Anglican church in Arundel again.  Same, warm welcome, slightly joshing; caring people.

We were pressingly invited to the Parish pic-nic at Wanda and Ray's place way back where.

And food was provided; graciously, un-fussily, generously.

And there was plenty left!

Thank you.

We ended by playing a gifting - robbing game.  Simple to play but impossible to explain.  Like cricket really.

I had a chat with the Archdeacon and it seems that the new Archdeaconry of the Laurentians might be able to welcome an itinerant Lay Reader.  Which would be good.

As I was quietly planting a trough with radish seeds (as you do) at the back of the house, a little, bumbling procession of turkey chicks with three street-wise matriarchs pottered across the lawn and in to the woodland behind the screen-room.

They rustled their ways amongst the underbrush before wandering off to the meadow where they busied themselves - not least in taking a dust-bath.

Wonderful!

 Teryaki salmon and mushroom noodles for supper.  Not bad either.

The full Monty......

... is, or was originally, a northern English phrase meaning "the whole thing".  Hence the title of that brilliant, tragic but triumphant film.

Yesterday, Thursday the 23rd, was really more of the same, with Ali finishing the first clean of the Cabin, and myself being very busy with - well, I'm really not sure what I was busy with, but I'm sure I was busy.....

In the evening, Michel from along the road came to supper.  We had a lovely, long-drawn evening of dinner in the French fashion - lots of small courses - and chat and cold white wine and more chat.  We sat out on the deck until perhaps 18.30; relatively warm and bug-free.  Terrific.


Today, Friday the 24th, I made a determined attack on Burlesque, covering the "goo" with polythene to stop its drying too rapidly.  I think it was helpful.   At any rate, the stripping is now finished - hence the title of this page.


But before I reveal the boat in all its glory, Yves came at 14.00 to dig a hole!

He likes digging holes!

This must remain a mystery a bit longer - there is a lot more heavy work to do in this hole......


Meanwhile, parts of the meadow are looking glorious.  I suspect that some of the other flower seeding has disappeared beneath the new grass; but the part that remains is looking quite lovely.

But I promised a big reveal - well, here it is!

Lots of colour correction needed; the grey wood needs bleaching, the new wood needs stain ....

That'll keep me busy!

I wouldn't want you to get the wrong idea.....

.... it does rain here.  In fact, we've had a series of thunderstorms and some days when really heavy rain has alternated with brilliant sunshine.  We are in the mountains after all! 

Yesterday, Tuesday the 21st, we managed to get down to the cabin to begin the clean-up, and I was able to repair the fly screen on the bathroom, but with regard to chasing down the old plumbing, or finding the fosse septique, no.  No sooner had the sun come out than it rained again.

Hmmm.


But when the sun DID come out, it was lovely.


































So; Ali shortened the curtains for our bedroom, I scraped some more Burlesque inners, and started to remove the seats.

Today, Wednesday the 22nd, we had a phone call from Mark that got me out of bed, to suggest meeting up with Janis and himself at Giselle's for lunch.  Who could refuse?  So we had a very happy lunchtime with them and then caught up on various commissions - more wood cutting (I met a man who was having some beautiful wood cut, some Ash, from his own land.  He's going to make a table from it as a surprise for his son and daughter-in-law).

And we bought more soil, and some cordage, and milk.....  All the usual bits and pieces of country living.

As we arrived home, these three were in the meadow - eating the flowers!  They didn't really leave with any urgency, even when we got out of the car.


Later in the afternoon, Ali made some firm-set Strawberry jam - to put me to shame ;-) I had a little snooze (!) and then this....

Can you tell what it is yet?





Someone across the road keeps starting up a quad bike, reminding me of the way Denis would be forever popping around the place on his.  But it's not him.

We miss you guys.

A round of visits.....

Sunday, 19th July.

To Arundel to church.


I know; it's over an hour's drive away, but it's an Anglican church in a bizarrely Anglophone enclave in predominantly French-speaking Quebec.  And we just had to go and see.

And it was like being back in England.  No-one questioned our having driven an hour or so, no-one was amazed by our English accents; no-one spoke to us in French. 

Here in the lowlands of the Laurentians we found - a corner of England; with intercessory prayers for Archbishop Justin Welby.....

Weird.

And weirder still, the main lay-person in the congregation, who offered the intercessions and was obviously a major player in the Parish - had been to Ali's school, Godolphin!

I mean!   WHAT a small world.

Before service (we arrived an hour early) we stopped in a very well stocked nursery where we found Mountain Ash trees - and other items, of which more later - that we may buy for the meadow.....
Home via Rona in St Jovite and the nursery in Labelle... Plants, plants.

A late evening stripping the Langford canoe (me) and then watching Lewis on DVD (us).

Monday, 20th July

Which meant that, at last, we were woken by a phone call at 08.45 by the man from the nursery to discuss transport of the Mountain Ash tree(s).  I rang back later!

Lunchtime to visit Yves and Janine, Claude and Claire and Dianne (Gilles is off Quad biking....)   This really felt like coming home!  They had had a brutally cold, but little snow, winter here.  And now all the flowers are well established or already over!

This evening to Lorne and Audrey's to be regaled with wonderful tales of Quenca in Ecuador, where they now have an apartment, and to eat delicious sweetbreads followed by ribs and salad and sitting out in the evening warmth - no bugs! 


Welcome to the Laurentians in high summer!

Saturday night......

... in the silence!

Yesterday (Friday) we were up early; me because my clock is still "wrong", Ali because we were off on an expedition.  Which gave a perfect chance to ring my father to wish him "Happy 93rd birthday"!  Many happy returns, Da!
Out by 0750; first of all, up to Marcel at the garage to have the wheels changed over; winter tyres to summer.

Then, we were going SHOPPING!.  Burlesque, the repair canoe, now needs its insides stripping.  I don't know whether you've stripped paint with chemicals ever?  It's a gross job, just gross.  And this time I wanted something that didn't make my eyes water, my kidneys shrivel and every aberrant DNA twist in my body shout "whoopee" before rushing to make lots and lots of baby aberrant DNA and lotser and lotser of aberrant DNA containing cells!

There are such paint strippers in the UK, but they generally don't work very well.  Surely Canada, with its low toxicity ethos (er, let's not talk about ruptured pipelines for a second shall we.....), surely Canada would have come up with something Eco-friendly?  Well yes, they have.  It's called EZstrip and it was well reviewed on line....  And Home Hardware have it.  The trouble is, our nearest Home Hardware store is in St Jerome; about an hour's drive away.  Still, needs must...

And of course, when we got there, we found a whole stack of other things we needed, including such delights as double-boiled linseed oil (more of this in future days), a standard lamp to knit by with more than a glow-worm in residence; a new living room carpet; oh! Looooads of stuff!  Of course, we missed Guy's help of previous years in stacking up the van!

But then, joy of joys, on to Canadian Tire - a really BIG one this, with lots of delights including those ever essential party-tables for when visitors come!

Phew!

Back home by about 4.00 to start the mammoth jam-making session.

Saturday, 18th July.

There's a "foire d'Artisans" in the village this weekend; so we went!  It has obviously been a very long winter; folks have had too much time on their hands!  But some real talent; no tat.

We came home, after lunch at Giselle's in the village;  Club Sandwiches Minervois, and BLT (without the L!).  Absence of L notwithstanding - scrumptious!

Ali caught up with a snooze once we arrived home; I made jam - and marmalade - lots of it; rhubarb and ginger from Karen's rhubarb; Strawberry in the North American style ( a bit runny) and Marmalade by MaMade1

Busy boy!

Add caption

When Ali woke, we got Burlesque out of the basement and began the "Big Strip".


Delightfully, the stripping goo is only faintly odoured and doesn't take the skin off your eyeballs.

So I ploughed on, after Ali had cooked a very welcome supper, and installed the new living room carpet, by the light of  head torch.

Pleasant but slow (the stripping; not me!).

Settling in

Yesterday - Wednesday - slipped by almost without notice!  

I woke at four-something and came downstairs.  Ali woke at about 8.00.  I don't know how she does it.

We took down the forest of supports within the screen room;  this will be the first season with its being available!

We pottered around unpacking things and finding things!

A very leisurely day; sausages and fritata for supper.  I was very ready for bed at 10.00



But I still woke at 5.00; still, I suppose it's getting better.....

Thursday, 16th of July.  A busier day today.


In to the village for more timber for the repair canoe in the basement.  Glen found out some lovely Eastern cedar for me; virtually knot-free.  Brilliant.  

Glen's partner runs the plant-nursery next door to the wood yard so Ali picked up some plants for troughs and hanging baskets.


With the  screen-room available and promising to be bug-free, I sanded off the worst of the scratches from MarRon (see September last.....) and then moved it inside.



 





We had bought a new sprinkler for the  Spring-seeded meadow.  It works well and, of course, the water's free.

 


Ali re-filled the bird-feeder in the meadow - big birds, Eh?!










After supper - Sea-food pizza ( a bit too enthusiastic with the topping....) I laid a coat of Helmsman Polyurethane varnish on the canoe - MarRon.

And here's one of Ali's hanging baskets....

Bye for now!

By for now

All Change!

Flying from Home to Here is becoming routine; heaven knows what it's like for those people who do it twice a week or more; the folks who move to the front of every queue, who are dressed in casual, comfortable but subtly expensive travelling clothes, who turn left as they enter the plane......

Well, the connecting plane from home to Amsterdam was fine; the wait in Amsterdam was pleasant enough.  They're re-fitting much of the shopping space.  Move down towards F gates and a bit further for the biggest choice.

We had a tasty, light lunch at a Dutch "local" food bar near the turning for the F gates. 



We were late leaving Amsterdam - a passenger failed to turn up and their luggage was off-loaded.  Then the plane wasn't balanced and four people from Business had to move for take-off to the back of the plane!

Long flight - a couple of good films and an amazing view of Greenland!

Pretty comfortable really; a bit of turbulence but nothing much.

Karen and Denis met us at the gate, took us to their home and fed us on beautiful barbecued salmon and a great rhubarb desert.  Bed was welcome!

 



Car out of the garage, timber out of the screen room; swathes of ladybirds cleared from the floors!  We're home (again).  Step out of one door in to another.  All Change.

Oh; the soccer field is coming on.  Not as well as we might have hoped, but it's definitely an improvement.  Now. I wonder who might like to use that........