THE BEAR FACTS

My friend Helen who is a few cottages over had a guest from Switzerland visiting on the weekend. Of course the weather was rainy and cold to boot. Anyway, while getting ready to return home on Tuesday morning, Helen looked out her window and saw movement in the trees in front of the cottage. Yep a huge black bear was poking its head in the bush about 20 yards from the door!

What a shock! This is an island, not very big either, so not much food for the poor bugger except maybe a human or something like that....grinning here....Anyway, their friend was absolutely delighted to have seen a black bear and lived to tell the tale as the saying goes.

Those that follow the bear thing, say that there isn't enough food source here and that it was probably in transit to the main land. I hope so as we have our dog here who would be in danger if a bear is around.

I know that the bear hasn't been here long because I have been keeping the garbage bins outside at the back door and there has been no disturbance of any kind at this place.

They saw the tracks on the little beach near them when they went out later and said that the tracks were "deep" indicating the weight of it.

Exciting heh?

There has been so much rain since last week and it looks like we may get a bit more in the next couple of days, but at least it's not cold. Damp but not cold. The next few days we should be in the mid 70s right where we are supposed to be.

I don't know where my brains went in the past week but I forgot some sewing attachments at home and today when I was sewing my bags, I thought I would zig zag....Doesn't work if I don't have the right foot. Thank goodness Mary and Bob are coming back and I shall have her get some attachments for me. And can you believe I actually travelled here with fabric and didn't bring a stitch picker? I looked everywhere for my little tupperware box of goodies that I use and I know just where it is at home...

Last night I made homemade Pizza. The recipe for the dough would make two or three large pizzas and so therefore I have leftover dough. I have tried to put it in the fridge and see if it will keep for a couple of days....it does...but it also doubles in the fridge, so I must keep punching it down and so I thought one day...what about a loaf of bread? OMG....it is so good.

So, I may post this recipe which is so super duper easy. I think I could also put cheese in it to make it a cheese bread...But for now, we are enjoying excellent homemade bread.

Thank you all so much for your comments about Courtney! She was a tired girl, but said it was a great experience...17 races in 3 days I think it was. My daughter, as you know will correct me if I make a mistake...She has read your comments (Courtney) and thought it was nice of my friends to say such nice things.

Oh, just to finish, the black bass is still sitting in the water guarding her eggs. She is alone now, no male around....you know how they are....there she is a single mom doing the best that she can for her young ones...and the hummers are all still here, which makes me happy.

Life is good.

OLYMPIC DREAMS!

This is one of my granddaughters. She has a
dream.

She wants to go to the Olympics, hopefully,
London, 2012. If not that one then the next will still be there for her.

She has just made the Ontario Provincial team coming out of the unranked to be one of the top
girls in Ontario.

We are so proud, brought to tears by the joy of her accomplishments in the last year. She has been dreaming this dream for about 3 years when she started sprint kayak racing. She races alone, with one partner and also in a 4 person kayak. She has a talent that will hopefully move her to the Canadian Team in preperation for the Olympics.

To go with all of this, she is a good student, has good friends, has time to tutor so is generally a good all around girl.

The photo was given to her at Christmas by her mother who also works hard, making many sacrifices in search of the "big dream" for her daughter. Her dad and step mom are also there for our girl.

When we hear of our youth endeavouring to be the best that they can be, to achieve it, there are many many sacrifices made by many families to help realize the "dream".

Isn't this just the best news for today?

A PS to you all. We are off to the cottage tomorrow. Hopefully we will have better weather than last week. I am taking up my sewing table too. This will help get me going on projects.

I have 5 seat cushions to cover. The result will really change the sunroom. I am so looking forward to showing you the result. I am taking "before" and "after" for when I post in a couple of weeks from now when we return.

I bought the fabric for $5.00 per metre. (40") at Fabricland. It is outdoor fabric and I just loved it. I bought lots of extras to do other cushions too. I also bought some other fabric to make shopping bags. One cannot go anywhere now without paying $.05 per plastic bag. So I am making a bunch of them for me and friends too. I have ambition don't you think?

It has been so nice to have been back for these few days, checking all the blogs and just catching up. Isn't it funny that we don't know each other face to face but it's like old friends getting together to give encouragement and to say "well done" for all that we do. I'll miss you all for the next couple of weeks. Knowing that I am thinking of you, I remain....a quilting friend.

BIRTHDAYS AND FISHES

We were getting ready to leave on thursday morning while the lake was calm, and we looked down to the left of our docks and there were these two black bass making a nest and mating.

If you look carefully you can see the fish one on top of the other, the third is just the reflection of the sun. The fish go round and round, scatter the stones around and then the female will guard this spot for about a week.

All we ever see of the result is a bunch of tiny black fish swimming under our docks. As the summer goes on and they get bigger and venture away from our docks, and the surrounding rocks, the loons will come close enough to dive and have a bit of a feast. Now the water has to be calm for the loons to come close and if you look at a few previous postings, calm is not a word we use frequently describing where we are on the lake. So our little black bass are usually a source of joy for the kids to lay on the dock, look in the calm morning waters and see the little bass and sometimes the larger ones that they catch and release. Yeah they like the fishing part, but I tell you now, Nana does not remove fish, do the worm thing so they must learn to gently remove the hooks from the fish as a first lesson from their poppa. Gloves are used to secure the fish and voila....the fish live!

We went to the birthday bash for my sweetie's best friend's 60th. I did take photos, but they shouldn't be published! So much fun was had. Years ago, about 15 I think, this guy and my sweetie were going to someone's 50th birthday. They saw and Elvis head with lights all over the collar part of the bust and thought Peter would just LOVE this! As much as the girls protested, the boys were more adament. They wrapped it up and gave it to him with the instructions that it must be displayed for a year in a promonent place, therein Peter would never have to have it in his possession, but that the head should be passed on to someone with the same promise made.

Well my sweetie got the head back for his 50th and he made a prominent shelf in our garage so that Elvis could be seen from the street. With a Corvette in the garage, and Elvis head on the shelf displayed prominently for the year, the thing went it's way to the next person.

Well, last night Elvis came back to haunt Rod twofold. He got TWO of them. The original and one with the black hair and eyes etc. Everyone just howled. His wife was horrified (lol) that now she would have to look at the thing for the next year. It was very funny to see the cheering from his friends who have had to endure Elvis.

It was a fun night needless to say and seeing friends from years ago who congregated together for this party was wonderful!

COTTAGE PHOTOS AS PROMISED

Who knew when I took this photo on Sunday morning what was to follow. I was actually trying to get a shot of the little hummer who sits on the railing and fights anyone coming to "his" feeder.

It was cold but so bright that I took a few photos of the lake and our views from the deck. Then about 5 minutes later, I looked to the west and saw what was to be the storm of the spring.

Just a note to say how hard it is to put photos where one wants them when posting...ssishh

Anyway the next photo is of the storm that came so fast that it was like second photo just a few minutes after taking the first one.

Was I lying about weather? See the flower pot is still outside and my sweetie rushed to bring them in because of the storm and it was so cold

We had our neighbours up for a week with their

dog Quincey and here is a photo of both the

puppies getting ready to go for a boat ride.

We have had "boat coats" for our dogs for years as it is such a safe way to transport them to and from the cottage. The handle on the top of the coat allows one to grab and position the dog when travelling by boat. It also helps to lift them into the boat.

Whenever our dog sees his coat he knows that life is about to get interesting. He knows he will be going for a ride and be able to feel the wind in his face..

Remember when I said I had spent a fortune of my hanging baskets for the cottage? Well here is one them. You can see why it was expensive!

There are two of these and two others that are orange daisies and purple verbena.

Leaving the cottage for a few days is a chore as all the plants must be brought to a central spot, and the sprinkler positioned so that when the timer (which is connected at the taps) is set, the flowers will be watered a couple of times a day . Isn't that clever? We bought this little device at the hardware store the second year we were at the cottage. Now, I have no idea, I mean it, no idea how it works as my sweetie sets it up and reminds me when I remove said item from its storage spot...."don't touch the dials" and he does the work of setting it up. I hope nothing ever happens to my guy as I have no idea how this contraption works so I would be unable to have flowers such as this.

This last photo, (shiiiish) was taken while riding up to the deck. I think this gives you an idea of the lift that I have been talking about for so long.

You can see the gate at the top and it has plexiglass inserts to keep one safe from falling when on the deck.

Oh it is so good to be home for a few days. I have seen my mother, who was in great spirits and although the nursing home had been under quarantine for a bug that had affected a number of the residents, I was allowed to see her. She said that she had been hit with the flu bug, been confined to bed and been served her meals in her room. She loves that part of living there. She says it's like having room service.

So that was good! Today, I am having my hair cut, having lunch with a girlfriend, doing a bit of shopping and will try to get into the quilting mode again.. I do think the weather has a lot to do with it and also because I am using up my grandmother's stash, the colours aren't me. It's hard to get excited about what I am doing. But really dear dear friends, I think you sustain me and since I haven't been able to read your blogs....I must be in a bit of a funk. So when I go back to the dial up....I think if I do it all manually, you know enter your blogs into google, then I can read your blogs.

I am getting my coffee, and am reading the blogs after this. Ahh, am so looking forward to that!

THE RETURN OF WINTER!

OMG. You just wouldn't believe the weather we had here yesterday! I was feeling like Nanoook of the North! Or a postman....We had rain, snow, sleet, hail, sunshine all in one day. It started out as a bit of rain which we could see about a half mile away on the other island and then I looked to the west and it was like a blanket was coming to cover us.

The rain was sideways it seemed and then in the span of about 2 minutes, we got hail, then we got the SNOW. I mean huge snowflakes that were so heavy we could hardly see our dock about 50 ft away! Unbelievable to say the least.

Now in the middle of all this....remember the flowers I bought last week? Well there was a fortune in those hanging baskets and my sweetie went out in the storm and brought them into the sunroom which was only about 45 degrees....did I mention that it was bloody winter? We put the heater on out there just so they would survive the day!

Of course the hummers were feeding in a frenzie and I looked out and there was this little guy, covered in huge snowflakes! They just kept feeding, I took photos of the storm, but just couldn't get the birds.

I kept feeding the woodstove all day, just to keep warm! It was a wild day and the guests at the cottage next door, who by the way were young, in love etc...arrived on Friday afternoon, and the guy...did I mention young?....jumped into the lake. He was moving so fast getting out that my sweetie who witnessed the whole thing said he was out faster than he was in...Water temp is about 42 degrees....well anyway they left early Sunday morning between storms. I assume they made it safely to the marina as we didn't hear from anyone....lol. After the weather we had during the past week, of course the water was cold! DAH!

My sweetie decided when the sun came out to go and work on the little deck he is building for the lift so that we can just walk up to it and not climb into it with our stuff. I looked down at the dock and then to the west I could see another storm. He said it was hard working in a snow storm, but was afraid to leave his tools in case they got blown away! He usually works with only one sweater on, while I have sweater and jacket doing outdoor stuff, but yesterday he wore two sweaters and said even then it was cold. Well, yeah, with the chill factor, we were below freezing!

I am so sick of the cold damp weather. I am not alone I know as many people have been experiencing the same, but we are ready for spring and summer days people.. Let's get the feeling going and enjoy the warm rays of the sun.

My friend who quilts and has a cottage a few cottages away is working on a quilt for her granddaughter. This is her last, she says, hand quilt. It's so beautiful and I shall take a photo the next time she brings it up. After that, she is going to make fun quilts and will learn to do free motion quilting.

Well, with 21kbg on the dial up, I am still unable to read the blogs. I am so looking forward to seeing what you have been doing! I see the sidebar notes and can't wait till Thursday when we get home to go online and see them.

Till then, think of me in the cold north of Ontario.

RAIN AND MORE RAIN THESE DAYS

I have had so much trouble with this dial up thing...24kgb is just not enough to work with. I tried to view my blog list as I can see that you all have been busy blogging, and I only managed to see Trish's blog which said she had had an other adventure at the Elton/Billy concert.

Trish is so funny when she writes of her goofs...I knew it would be fun to read. However, I could not read any more as the dial up thing kept booting me out.

So, I am in a bit of a funk. The weather has been bloody awful. English weather dear friends. Rain for the past 5 days, even the dog wouldn't go out. I just found it too depressing to even sew. I have been reading, watching tv, and playing my bridge game on this computer. It's not cold, but very very damp. With my fine blonde (yes) hair, I need to spray to keep the hair from looking like bed head.

I am loving Robert Crais as my new favorite author. Did I mention him before? If so, it's another praise. All his books are different, so I find myself wanting more and more. I read Nelson Demille like that. Just read them all and thought he was a lazy bloke for not writing one a week so I could be entertained....

We are coming home next Thursday so I will be on the speed mode again and will post some cottage photos. The flowers which I bought for instant gratification and cost a small fortune look absolutely amazing, so I don't feel bad for the indulgence. I was thinking I could have bought all the Moda colours if Ididn't buy the flowers. But...my little hummingbirds went nuts when they saw the baskets hanging off the balcony, so it was worth it.

Speaking of the litte buggers. They are absolutely crazy at dusk and it is taking my life in my hands to go outside at the feeder. I will try this week again for photos of 8 birds feeding. Quite a site.

I miss all your blogs and will catch up next week. Have a great weekend.

AT THE COTTAGE.CALM

Well, we have dial up finally connected after about 2 hours of me fiddling with it and not being able to know all the terms and numbers for the connection.
Bell was great with the patience thing...She must have been young...because mine was running out. I had to have peanut butter to sustain my energy!

We have been here 2 weeks and we have had all the weather that one can imagine, except floods. It was freezing for about 3 days, snow flouries for just show, then rain, then the sun came out and we had warm weather which brought out the black flies in abundance. I've never seen them like that before. I think it's because my sweetie raked all the property around the cottage so that when the weather warmed, well need I say more...And I got bitten which is unusual as this girl doesn't attract them very much. Oh well they will be gone in a week or so.

The hummingbirds are back, the males were waiting for us on the 15th when we returned and I now have 6-8 hummers feeding like crazy and doing the mating dances. Very fun to watch at dusk when the feeding frenzy goes on and the males do their thing by swinging and swooping to attract the females.

We had guests for the past week so I haven't been sewing, although I did cut out hundreds of 2 7/8" squares in preparation for my grandmother's left over stash that was given to me. I have no idea what to do with it all as it's blues and more blues. I am just piecing it all together.

Oh, I tell you it's so nice to be able to share my life on a blog. I have been missing this for the past couple of weeks. I can't download photos till we return home next week, but they are on the computer ready for high speed to get them posted.

My sweetie has had pneumonia and he was pretty sick for the first week we were here. Good thing we had amoxicilin in our meds bag or we would have had to return to the city. He is over it now, of course he thought he had a cold...men!

Memorial day in America. Today I watched the people at the Wall leaving flowers, touching names and just standing quietly appreciating the beauty of that Wall. A friend from Canada went to visit it and she was reduced to tears. So it's a day to remember.

THIS AND THAT

I received this card from Anya at Hills Creek Quilter. Isn't it just so cute? The note was written on the back. Anya won one of the prizes in my giveaway. My sweetie just couldn't get over the making of this in fabric! His question was "how'd she do that?" Thank you so much Anya!

Yesterday I received this rhubarb from Kelly. It was a very generous amount and so I cut it up, took strawberries out of the freezer and made

strawberry/rhubarb jam. I usually add apples

to make the pectin, but I didn't have any, so the

jam will be a bit runny, but it is yummy to say

the least. the berries were bought from an

Amish farm last year. Alex (granddaughter) and

I were driving home from the lake and actually

turned around to go back and buy the berries as they were just so beautiful. Organically grown, perfect berries. There was a box at the table, all the berries were heaped in the quart containers, and no one in sight. $5.00 for one quart, $20.00 for 5. We bought the 5 quarts, ate one on the way home, made shortcake etc with another and I froze the remaining 3 quarts.

So the berries were added to some of this rhubarb yesterday.

I also made the rhubarb coffee cake, which is really good to taste, but I made it into loaf pans as I wanted to give some to the generous person who let Kelly pick it for me. He will be getting a loaf and a jar of jam too!

Do you ever just not be able to do your quilting stuff? Yesterday, which was supposed to be bridge day, I didn't feel like that either....just too much to do....too many thoughts in my head and too much running around to get into the artistic (???) mode of quilting. So I baked and made jam in the afternoon.

We are not leaving for the cottage this morning due to the inclement weather. It's raining here and there too. It's not much fun arriving at the cottage on a boat that does not have a cover to protect the passengers and their gear. We may rethink this afternoon. I'm ok with it as I am sitting here writing, having coffee and am actually thinking the good stuff and will get some sewing done this morning.

There are a few of my blogmates who are away on vacations, unable to blog or may be in the same funk as I am. It's the weather I think.

Christine at "The cutting edge" made the Cowboy Bread recipe. Have a look on the blogroll and see her photo. It's partly eaten of course as you just can't help yourself when it comes out of the oven.

PROMISED...RHUBARB COFFEE CAKE

RHUBARB COFFEE CAKE...350 oven...9X13 pan...35 minutes baking.

Blend together

1/2 cup butter

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

Then add.....

1 cup buttermilk, or sour milk or half sour cream and milk mixture.

To the above add....

2 cups apps flour mixed with 1 tsp soda and 1/2 tsp salt.

Mix together till blended....

Add 2 cups chopped rhubarb (fresh or frozen)

Pour into greased pan.

Mix together....the following

1/4 cup butter

1 cup brown sugar

2 tsp cinammon

Sprinkle the above all over the cake evenly

BAKE for 35 minutes.

Now, I am telling you that if you are on a diet....DO NOT AND I MEAN DO NOT MAKE THIS CAKE. One piece is never enough as the brown sugar mixture goes through the cake and OMG it is so good.

I got this recipe from a neighbour who had a lot of rhubarb, had been given the recipe years back and had never tried it....she passed a piece over the fence and asked me what I thought...we both have been making it ever since.

I have a Phillips 4 in 1 processor, with a mixing bowl which I have had for years. It's convertible to processing, mixing and blending too. It slices, dices etc and I actually have two because when we bought the cottage, my youngest son and his wife gave me one for the cottage so that I didn't need to be bringing my favorite small appliance back and forth.

I have used it to blend pizza dough as it also has this attachment, but since I like to knead dough I don't use this very much. However the kids when making the dough will use it.

Today, I am packing up for a month at the cottage and am picking up a bunch of rhubarb from my Kelly who went and got some from a neighbour yesterday. This neighbour has a garden of about 10 X 30ft of just rhubarb....so generous to just supply the neighbourhood with rhubarb for free.

The weather which has been good for the past couple of days is going to deterioate overnight so we may not be leaving till Friday morning, although I will be ready. I'm taking some quilting with me and will be sewing hundreds of 2 7/8 triangle squares to make my new quilt. I'll be good at doing small stuff after this.

YUMMY AND SUPER EASY!

Here is the easiest and yummiest recipe that we make at the cottage.

It's called COWBOY BREAD but I don't know where they got the name. Because I love cinammon spice, years ago while surfing Recipes Only site, this was a recipe posted.

Here it is.

Oven at 375...9 X 13 Pam sprayed pan.

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/3 cups white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup marg. shortening, lard or butter
1 3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinammon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 cup sour milk, or buttermilk, or left over sour cream (1/2c.&milk)
2 large eggs.

Beat eggs and milk & marg till smooth, add dry ingredients till not lumpy,
Pour into pan...bake for 20 minutes.

Super super easy...This is one of the recipes that the grandkids, boys and girls alike just make at the cottage. If they could read this, they could make it. It usually lasts only till it's cool as it is loved by them all.

I never ice this, sometimes somebody will add butter and maybe a bit of jam to it, but usually the knife stays in the pan and the kids take a piece as they walk by. It's that good.

I don't usually post a recipe, but it is spring and rhubarb is in season so will have to post my all time favorite rhubarb coffee cake tomorrow.

Baking is fun for me and I don't think anyone outside of Canada knows of buttertarts, but here they are a recipe passed down to generation after generation. A bit fussy to make, but once done...oh my so delicious. And they freeze well too.

Hope you enjoy the "Cowboy bread".

A HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Today is the 17th birthday of Courtney, my daughter's little girl. She is now 5'7" and still growing, towering over her mother and her grandmother.

Being the daughter of a daughter, it's quite surprising how much personality she has that is similar to the two of us.

All the good stuff of course. She has drive and ambition, looking to the future of university and her dream of being an olympian. The olympian dream is strong to the point that she isn't home this year because of trials in Welland.

Our Courtney is a good student, is organized and very thoughtful. Her friendships with childhood friends have been long and loyal. She is the apple of her grandfather's eye as she continues on her path of adulthood.

She is also the Easter girl that I made the mystery dress for. Her style will always be simple and classic....that's just her make up. Happy Birthday Courtney!

Mother's day was quiet around here, what with all the kids working or visiting friends, it's not like the old days of huge gatherings. Phone calls came in the morning to see who would be the first to wish mom her day. Ted won it hands down!

I am making 2.78 squares which will be made into triangles using my grandmother's scraps. She saved blues as her favorite colours I think. The blocks have been a challenge, finding the size in the scraps big enough to cut the required fabric.

I'm just making the little triangles, then will add a 4 1/2" square of colour to go with the blues. I don't know what the end design will be....depends on how many triangle squares I end up with.

The storms of the weekend have passed .....of course and the day is beautiful without a cloud in the sky...Isn't that always the way though, rainy weekends and lovely Mondays. There should be a law....no rain on weekends in the spring and summer months.

COTTAGE BLISS!

Did I tell you that our arrival at the lake this year was like this? Crystal clear waters, several loons on the waters and blue blue skies! It just doesn't get any better than that for a day.

We were loaded with our food supplies for about a week and all the other "stuff" we need to make our stay comfortable.

We arrived just as our docks were being put in, our neighbour was there also, having beat us to the lake once again this year.

The first thing my sweetie did was unwrap the funicular, known as the lift from hereon in and turn on the power and move $200.00 worth of groceries, clothing, tools etc up to the deck.

This is the deck as we saw it on arrival. Our neighbour had come over and blown all the debris from the winter off so that our arrival would be smooth. Isn't that sweet?

This is how the deck looked when I walked up to it, all bare, fabulous views of course, and warm for the end of April in the north of Ontario. As we were a week early opening, we dressed for the occasion, winter coats, hats and gloves coming across the lake because it was cold, the ice had only been out for a week, so imagine.

We then opened the doors and this is what the great room looked like when we entered. It was dark as we had shutters on all the windows, and we had piled all the outdoor furniture in there to protect it from the winter.

Most people who don't have a cottage, camp, trailer or somesuch have no idea the work it takes to just get the seasons started.

This room wasn't the priority at all. We had to get the water started, warm the cottage, by starting the wood stove, (I had left it ready for a match) .

Once the food stuffs had arrived up on the deck, it was an hour putting everything away, starting up the fridge....did I tell you that this 22 cu.ft is simple with no gadgets at all. No ice cube maker, the freezer is on top and it is so much better than the stainless steel one I have at home which cost 3 times what this white one costs. It's bigger for one, and the freezer is huge ...I love this fridge..

I had put an electric blanket on our bed last fall, turned it on to medium, went to make sure that all was well with the world regarding the water pump etc and took 2 chairs out to the deck and opened a bottle of wine.

Wilson, the wonder dog spent the afternoon hunting mice, wonder what he will do if he ever gets close enough....nah that will never happen.

We settled in early after a light dinner of salad and sandwiches. We had our books, the bed was warm, the cottage cosy. We slept like babies...

SEND ME BACK!

We have returned to the city for a few days for doctor appointments. I am coughing so much that my stomach is sore! I hold it while I hack! Ok, too much information there, right!

The weather at the cottage has been brisk to say the least. We have only about 640 sq ft to heat for the main part of the cottage, so I have just been using a little heater that I bought last year.

It's amazing how well it works, so I haven't had to start building fires in the stove each day.

There are only a few of us on the lake at this time of year. Brave souls only and of course the fishing fools as I call those that fish in the blowing lake, and rain storms....

We went to the waterfall yesterday, (Monday) and it is flowing like a good thing, so we did take photos which have yet to be downloaded. As we were leaving Jerry turned the boat around so that his back was to the waterfall so that I could take photos of him etc. I noticed what looked to be one of the biggest trouts I've ever seen in the water, then a whole school of them were swimming in about 2-3 ft of water near the edge of the waterfall stream! I will see how the other photos are and will post them later.

They were all about 16-20" long and there were more than a dozen of them. We turned on the fish finder and it showed the temperature at that part of the lake to be about 15 degrees warmer than the main part of the lake. That's why they were there, keeping warm. They are pretty safe as there aren't more that 4 or 5 guys fishing and they think trout like to be deep!

We noticed that there were a number of trees down on properties due to winter and early spring storms, but amazingly enough not one cottage was damaged...close though as we have a neighbour's small hemlock leaning against a bigger hemlock almost on top of the edge of our little bunkie...this weekend they are removing it.

Lots of docks are floating on the lake as the water is so high that when the ice went out the docks which were up on the shores were dislodged and they float down the lake and people will start looking for them when they come up for the May long weekend.

There are lots of wild turkeys around for some reason. I have heard them, but not seen one yet. I think they are on another island but it's hard to tell as we get so many echos out our way due to the winds and the islands being fairly high up.

I am glad to be back to pick up my quilting supplies. We are taking the table and new machine up next week. I must get organized for summer projects even though we will be back and forth a few times.

It's nice to write again, but we are going to try dial up next week when we return to our little piece of paradise, so that I can post. Don't know about photos, but I'm going to try.

TO THE COTTAGE WE SHALL GO.....

We are going to open the cottage this week. I have been shopping in anticipation. I have lists for lists, you know the drill, making sure I don't miss anything, and then rechecking the master list again.

Then there is all the stuff we brought back last fall to fix or use or whatever, that has to be packed as well.

It's a huge undertaking for us as we are not getting any younger you know. The really good thing this year is that we do have the new lift to take everything to the deck. The photo is where we used to sit when it was really hot and the ottoman is where the dog likes to be, hence the little rug on it. But now, the gate of the elevator is right there, so we are adjusting our seating plan and have been moving it around the deck to see what works for us. There is a large, I mean really large hemlock which overhangs on the deck and gives us the shade so desired when it gets really hot. I'm not fond of hemlocks as they are really messy, but for the shade of the deck and the breezes it affords us, it's great.

I know that for those of us who are fortunate enough to have a cottage, cabin, trailors, or mobile homes to go to for R & R its a place where sometimes we work harder and enjoy doing it more.

We have lots of company, friends, relatives, and just other cottagers that stop by all the time. I am a bit of a loner, however, at the cottage I love people dropping by.

I am looking forward to the hummingbirds arriving in the next week, so you know it's going to get warmer. The annual baskets aren't at the nurseries yet, and I am hoping that Kelly, my gardening daughter and Kate, my gardening daughter in law will make sure I have beauties as usual.

So, I will try to post, in the next few weeks, although we will have dial-up. Lordy, I do hate dial-up with a passion, but I must blog...it's in my blood now..

Oh, my restored quilt was delivered to my aunt and uncle this past weekend. It was a huge hit and I felt so good to give it to them. I even put a label depicting the original blocks made in 1966 and my restoration 2009.

WE ARE BACK!

We are back from Pennsylvania. It must be one of the most beautiful States to drive through. We enjoyed the scenery so much and the roads were like new...actually highway 15 has been redone and it was smooth driving.

This quilt that I am featuring is on my Aunt Pauline's bed in Williamsport. It was made for her in Grand Falls, New Brunswick, is machine pieced and hand quilted. It's a large double, and very light weight. She said it's supposed to be a summer weight.

I must ask if summer weighted quilts are done with poly batting. It really is light...And is this a "Ohio Star" pattern?

The funeral was one that I had never seen done here in Canada. My Uncle Charlie was a Korean war veteran, involved in veteran's affairs in his area, very involved in church and community.
There was a full military honour guard at the cemetary and 21 gun salute, then the presentation of the American Flag to my aunt. I had never seen this done and was so moved by it all that I wished we had such ceremonies here in Canada. Truly, truly a moving experience.

I hope that each and every soldier that returns from Iraq is afforded such a ceremony. The famiies of soldiers everywhere deserve it.

In Canada, we have, for our fallen soldiers, a "highway of tears", it is about 150 miles of highway from the base landing to the coroner's office in Toronto. People stand at the sides of the highway and on overpasses with flags draped in honour of these young men and women who have given their lives for freedom in other countries.

So, this past week, I have been given the honour of being present to a ceremony that I didn't know existed, and was moved to tears by it all.

Thank you so much for your comments of condolensce for my family.