The only place I can seem to really relax, the cottage

It's like Disneyland at the cottage for me, "The happiest place on earth"

this is only the second time the doggers have been there, I wondered if they would know where we were going. question answered: as soon as they saw me pull out the bins I put in the back so their seat is extended they went nuts!!!!

i've discovered it takes around two hours in the car before their even slightly relaxing

we got front seats on the ferry to my island, nice view while your riding

I usually go for at least three nights, lots of time to get every job I can think of either going or done

did a semi big cleanup and burning of debri and boxes, at least out front

noticed the hydro line going through the tree is laying on the tree branches, gotta take care of that






cleaned the basement and found all kinds of goodies, and, found this window in the back 40

a very prized possession for me. my favorite dog Cola died years ago. my Father made me a headstone because I had her cremated. the idea was I was going to bury her at the cottage because we spent alot of time here together and she really loved it. i've brought her over a couple of times and in the end can never dig that hole and put her in it. needless to say the tombstone has never been used.  i'm bringing it home and will find a nice spot for it

Mom got me this funky clock and bowling ball, perfect garden art

a big job on this trip, the whole front entryway is rotten, from years of having no roof overhang. Dave says it all has to be ripped out and rebuilt, while we're at it we'll kick out the bathroom which is behind the wall on the right and extend it. once that is done we can move the kitchen into the livingroom like a galley kitchen and have a second bedroom

you can see how bad the rot is

so bad that the door kickplate won't stay in place and it makes it hard to shut the door. I took out the long nails and put in longer screws but it was like drilling into wet cardboard

so I got to securing things as well as possible for the time. Dave said to leave the glass block in and just cover it up to secure the front from break ins. all the seals between the glass block were blown. you could have pushed it straight through to the house. it looks hideous though. looking at it now I should have at least painted it the same color as the house, oh well

of course I have constant onlookers, wondering, when are we going for a run?

I am my most relaxed here, just look at those bags! thats what you get when you drink coffee and drambui from morning till night while relaxing, heh heh

so I have this smaller fire pit out front

and a much larger one at the side of the property, just beyond to the left of my only arbutus tree, i'm very pleased even if I only have one. their so lovely

I was so lucky I did all the outside chores the second day, the third day I woke up to rain so converted to inside jobs, painting.

i've always been into darker warmer colors. i've learned from Mom though that lighter is the way to go. i'm so into blogs where everything is white so i'm making my way towards that, clean and fresh

I wanted to finish priming the loft and at least two inside walls

the guy I bought the place from is just a dick. used all crappy already used goods, whatever he could find. this tile has always driven me particularly crazy. weird different ugly tile all over the place. the wood burning stove used to sit in this alcove until it was condemned. I thought, self, paint that white, and I did

once the bathroom is punched out of the front of the house I can cut the wall on the right behind the stairs back and open up that space. this is were the galley kitchen will go. the kitchen right now is behind the wall on the left. that would be the second bedroom

after the painting I gave the place the cleaning its needed for years. the birds pooped all down this window. I really don't like this stupid window and can't wait until its gone

I made this bed years ago. I eventually got sick of sleeping on a mattress on the floor. silly me though, I built it in the bedroom and don't really think I could ever get it out now

the boys have their spot in the bedroom as well

after all that I went for drive along what I call my street of dreams. this street has some of the best sunsets i've ever seen

Oh look, a new house on my street of dreams, yeah i'm dreaming.... click on anyone of the pics to make larger

this little spot is so cute. the main house is way behind it and you can't see it. they sell many flower cuttings and plants and different nic nac's. its all on the honor system they just have a tin can in the shack to leave your money.

I was stealth like and didn't tell anyone I was in town. I made sure I had enough cigarettes, dog food, water, coffee and drambui to last me. I only had to leave the cottage once when I ran out of water. I made sure to go when I was sure I wouldn't run into anyone, success

this is the village, they call it the mall

when I got back home the sun was out after a good rain, look at that steam come off the roof, scared the crap out of me when I first saw it, I thought the place was on fire, heh heh then it kicked in, ooohhh

this is the shlopp I eat when I'm left on my own, not very gourmet, packaged dry garlic noodles with some cheese. and oh my gosh i'm getting rid ot those ugly plates!

this is a favorite painting my Beppe did, I just love it. everytime I lay eyes on it again I want to bring it home to the city. but then I realize I wouldn't be able to enjoy it at the cottage. It will stay there until I sell the place

my last night chillin, got alot of work done, i'm exhausted and need to get up really early to go home to the city

well all good things come to an end, time to go home. this is the Skol Pub, it used to be called the Whiteheart. Its great because you can park in the ferry lineup and have a bite to eat and a drink at the pub while waiting for the ferry. You can see the ferry come in and just jump in your car when they start loading

our second ferry at the larger terminal where they have a Quay

and home, miss everyone