♫ Good things Gro-o-ow, in Ontario! ♫

Holy guacamole, look at my garden!!

It's growing like gangbusters! This picture shows plants that are 15 days old.

My folks stopped by the Lodge to water everything for us the weekend that we were away. It's a darned good thing they did, too, because temperatures the following week were craz-zazy! 37°C with humidex that made it feel like 48°C. *wheeze* They also planted the tomato plants that they've been babysitting for me while they waited for me to dig my garden.

I fully expected to return to a garden that was crisp. Not for lack of care on their part, but simply because it was so incredibly hot. There's no way the garden would've survived two weeks with no water or rain.

The big bucket o' herbs was a little parched and my chives were mostly dead (but chives are incredibly hardy, so I'm sure they'll bounce back.). The cucumbers were easily 6" tall, and the radishes were 2-3".

(Celsius and inches? what kind of unit-of-measurement freak am I!?)

Whee! I'm gonna have veggies!

So..... very..... close

We've been needed to wrap up work on the bathroom reno for some time. It feels like, ever since we got the shower to the point we could use it, the wind has dropped from our sails.

I'm almost getting used to the roof joists and pink insulation for my bathroom ceiling. That's bad. Very bad.

So we went to Home Hardware in town and ordered up some 12x12 tongue-and-groove Armstrong ceiling tiles. Why 12x12 tiles? 'cause they're cheap. That's why. They're $1.19 per tile (plus tax).

We put them in the bathroom to let them acclimate to the harsh bathroom environment (honestly - don't ask me - I was just following the instructions) and left them there for a week or two. Not because they needed to sit there that long, but because we were away from the cottage for two painful weeks.

We wisely used that time to do some googling, and realized the furring strips the Captain added to the ceiling were in the wrong spots, so that would need some adjusting.

Once the strips were moved, we got to work measuring and measuring and measuring (again, following instructions) to ensure the ceiling tiles would be square. I'm not sure why - it's not like the bathroom is even remotely square. But at least the ceiling tiles will be!

After the measuring, we cut some border tiles and stuck them up with PL adhesive. Then we stuck up a few full tiles. Then they all came crashing to the floor in a sticky heap. ARG! Note: do not use PL adhesive to install your tiles, no matter what the nice man at Home Hardware tells you. Use. Staples. Which we didn't have with us because we were planning to put the tiles up with adhesive.

End of project.

In a fit of pique, I put my suit on and went for a swim. That'll show you, stupid ceiling tiles.

Pink insulation isn't that unsightly, is it?

Turtle Swag!!

Remember when we spotted that painted turtle at the marina and I registered the sighting with the Ontario Turtle Tally?

Well, we got the kit of Turtle Swag at long last! (Stupid postal strike).

It's a little lack-lustre [insert sad trombone here], but the kids had fun pulling the goodies out of the big envelope and fighting over the poster.

There are stickers, magnets, pamphlets, posters, and info on frog species too!

I also recently received some turtle spam in my inbox, it was full of fun facts. I learned that there have been 1330 reported turtle sightings so far this year, 1178 of which have been painted turtles (the kind we saw). There have also been 14 stinkpot turtles spotted. Eww.

Did you know that turtles can't stick out their tongues? And that the shell of a turtle is made up of 60 different bones connected together?

See, if I hadn't reported that wee turtle, we'd all be just a little dumber today.

Out with the old...in with the gently used

You may have noticed I'm posting a lot fewer reno stories on the blog. I guess that's because we're doing a lot less renovating, and a whole lot more sitting on our collective butt and enjoying ourselves.

There are still a few little tweaks here and there to attend to.

Last week, I removed the classy brassy octagon light from the main hallway. (Main hallway? There is but one!)

Why? 'Cause it's ugly, that's why.

I opted to replace it with a less conspicuous and  only-slightly-less-ugly boob light* that I scavenged from the bathroom demo.

I nominated the captain to do the heavy lifting. What?! I had to hold the camera. *cough*

With the old light removed, we found traces of our Arch Nemesis, Dr. U - electrical super genius. If I ever happen to meet that man I'm going to smack him! No, wait. First I'm going to hand him a package of murettes, then I'm going to smack him.

Old light out, new light in.

A quick flick of the switch to test his handiwork, and it appears it's another job well done.

---

*Thank you, Tommy Smythe from Sarah Richardson's design shows. I will forever think of this style of light as a boob light, due to its unfortunate shape.

Get out your spork....

...cause I've got more sunset pictures for you!

Naturally there isn't much back story to these photos, just a bit of a retrospective of our West-facing cottage evenings.

So, without further ado, I give you:

SUNSETS

(please note, all of these shots are SOOC - straight out of the camera - there is no tweaking, except to straighten some slanted horizons.) 

 

Waterskiing, part II

... in which our protagonist hydroplanes.

This year, waterskiing is a big hit at the cottage.

We picked up a pair of trainer/kid skis at Crappy Tire (which isn't very crappy, so I don't know why we call it that. *puzzle*) in the hopes that the wee lad and the princess would give it a shot. They are short skis with deep rear blades, and they have a string which keeps the skis together at the back.

So far, the princess is NOT SURE about this whole waterskiing thing. She'd rather ride in the bow of the boat like a little diva.

The wee lad, though? He's all over it like a fat kid on a Smartie.

He's made several attempts to get up on the skis, and he is so close.

He's nervous though, and just as he pulls out of the water and the resistance drops, he pulls on the tow line, his feet shoot out from under him, and SPLOOSH, down he goes.

But this time, finally, he was able to get up and managed to travel about 25 metres before...

the line went slack briefly and he lost his balance and fell.

That one semi-successful attempt has fueled his passion though.

He's dying to get out there and try it again.

Waa---oooooohhhh ....

Wuhhhhhh....

SPLOOSH!

He's usually good for 3 or 4 attempts before he gets frustrated and wants to stop, but that only lasts for a couple of hours then he's itching to get out and try it again.

His dad is every bit as keen.

He just needs to rope someone who is NOT ME into driving That Damned Boat ™.

So he can make a splashy entrance.

Great Blue Heron

I used to think herons were majestic and rare.

I still think they're majestic, but they're surprisingly common on the lake. You can usually spot a pair of them in among the rushes near the marina, and last week we had two of them on neighbouring docks, pacing back and forth in a heron turf war. I suspect they mark their territory with giant splats of heron "whitewash". At least, that's how our dock appears.

I happened to be on the dock with a camera in hand when this guy (gal?) swooped in with a fish in his beak.

He was planning to enjoy his snack. Little did he know he was going to have an audience!

He stood in the water near our neighbour's dock for some time, flapping his wings, craning his neck,

and checking things out.

He stuck around until he was spooked off when we tried to get closer pictures.

Dangit!

I was glad for my long camera lens, I got some neat pictures!

Poor man's bug light

Around this time every summer, the no-see-ums LOSE THEIR MINDS and swarm the windows of the cottage  at night, drawn toward the light.

It's rather disgusting if you have any kind of a bug aversion. Which I do. Thank you very much Shawn McConnell for stuffing a 3" grasshopper down my t-shirt when I was 4.

Contrary to popular opinion, no-see-ums also bite; at least the females do. Bloodsucking midges! I seem to be a tasty treat for all blood-sucking insects.

To thwart the daily bug invasion, I've resorted to various countermeasures. The primary problem, of course, is that the cottage is about as water-tight as a colander. The bugs march in through screens and through cracks around doors and windows. I've tried taping up the cracks, but then they come through the screens. I've trying closing all the windows and pulling all the drapes (this is reasonably effective, however the cottage gets very stuffy if it's warm out).

The last time we were at the cottage, I decided to try eliminating the bait: turn out the lights, and sit in the dark with a single candle lit.

In the dim light I couldn't see if the bugs were swarming the windows or circling the kitchen light (probably a good thing) but the candle acted as buggy beacon, luring in the bebittes before zapping them with a satisfying *snap*. 

It reminded me of the bug light at my grandparent's cottage.
I wonder if you can still get those? Look out, bugs. Your days are numbered.

Bouncy poop

Now there's a blog post title you won't see everyday! Only here, on HPL, can you expect such refined commentary.

Over the winter, some idiot mice (clearly unrelated to Chippie the clever chipmunk with the cute butt) decided to gnaw on the screwdriver handles in the garden shed.

The handles, of course, are rubber, which means the idiot mice were eating rubber. And when you eat rubber?

You got it. Bouncy poop.

Idiot mice. [shakes head]

OK, this is just silly

Pontubing? Really?

This is just silly.

Although, I suppose if you're lily-livered* pontubing might be just about the right speed. It seems like a waste of a good tube to me.

Do you think they'd donate it to our cause?

No?

Ah, nuts.

---

Whence "lily-livered"? 

Etymology is puzzling stuff. 

According to one web source (and let's face it: the Internet knows EVERYTHING but its veracity is suspect) "Lilies are usually white, liver is full of blood and should be dark red/brown. to be "lily-livered" is to be lacking in full-bloodedness" Though what that has to do with courage is beyond me. *puzzle*  *scratch*

Call me capricious

Remember the hooks for the cottage? These ones?

You all voted overwhelmingly (all 17 of you) to keep the pegs indoors. Thanks for your contributions.

And like the good listener that I am, I going to be a dink and ignore you completely.

Sorry! Don't hate me!

It's not that I don't value your input. Honest! It's just that I found some hooks in the bunky that fit better in the bathroom - smaller, protruding less into the back of the bathroom door. Not quite as wide... these hooks:













I'm still going to use the shaker pegs, mostly likely in our bedroom, or at the back door if they're too big for the bedroom wall.

The hooks that I found were nice hooks, but they were attached to a natural wood board. Bleh. That won't do.

A coat of paint on the board...

And some spray-paint on the hooks themelves...

And voila! Bathroom hooks!

I'm very pleased with them. It's so nice to be able to hang up your towel after having a shower

*giggle*

Sorry - the fact that there's a cottage shower still makes me a little giddy.

Waterskiing!

The best part about working our tails off at the cottage last summer is that we have a lot more time this year to kick back and just enjoy our time on the lake.

After last-year's boat motor tune-up, we now get enough speed to pull a skier behind the boat. The big boys each took a spin around the lake. Go ahead. You can admire our Zexy retro water skis. I'll wait.

[whistles for a bit]

First up was the captain. A life-long alpine skier, he's also a proficient water skier. If we had a slalom ski, I'm sure he'd be out there on one ski.

Please note: I am not driving That Damned Boat™. I will not drive That Damned Boat™.

Thumbs up from the Princess; good driving Mr. Clark!

Next we cajoled Mr. Clark to give it a shot. He got up behind the boat with minimal effort and zipped along in fine form. But first, he had to hike up his shorts. ("butt first..." bwahaha).

Looking good!

Until he bailed as the captain executed a sloppy turn in the boat.

Kasploosh!

It was spectacular! It was photo worthy! And now that wipeout is immortalized on the web courtesy of this blog. Teehee.

We dragged him back to the cottage a bit wetter than he started out and possibly with a minnow lodged in his sinuses, but all-in-all I think he had fun.

Stay tuned for the second exciting water skiing installment, in which our protagonist hydroplanes! Ooooo!!!