Year Two Day Fourty - First Sleep Over at the Cottage

Dear all, 

We are up at the cottage FOR THE WHOLE WEEK!

And what a week it turned out to be. Darren and I met Darren's Dad and Nephew, Ryan up at the landing and after a fair few trips backwards and forwards across the lake shipping tools, food and a kitchen, we are ready for action. The weather was fantastic and as soon as we had finally disembarked, I assembled the deck chair cushions on the dock and we were off!

Today was all about getting established - Darren got the fire going and we started to burn through the enormous pile of brush and logs that seems to be growing daily. 

Uncle Gerald had kindly donated a battalion of life jackets for our use at the cottage so my next task was to wash and dry them ready for storage (here seen on our new found washing line that was soon to be dismantled as the wire was causing the precious bark beneath the cord to rot which would in turn eventually kill off the majestic pine)

Ryan and I were then given a rather more hazardous mission of cleaning up the front of the cottage. The tarp used to prevent storm damage had completely disintegrated leaving a blue straggly mess out front. While Ryan held the ladder, I scaled the heights of the cottage and tore away the blue. As you can see, the end result is quite a major improvement. 

Darren and his Dad continued to zip backwards and forwards getting some more supplies from the local hardware store while Ryan and I continued to clean out the cottage. 

I think these pictures show how beautiful it is up there! Darren and Bob in the boat while I take pictures from the shore. The weather was just fantastic!

...And I managed to have a quick ride in the boat too [after I had swum across the lake... it was a marathon swim but sadly didn't get any pictures] FYI I sadly lost my sunglasses to the lake on this very expedition... it confirms my rule to never spend more than $5 on a pair of sunnies!

We did so much clearing on the first day and managed to get the cabin ready for sleeping - Bob had one of the side rooms with the newly assembled bunk beds, Darren and I had the other room and Ryan had the best seat in the house in the sun room.

It's a great start and major acheivment sleeping up at the cottage for the first night. We are still yet to get power but hopefully that will all be hooked in soon ( we are currently borrowing hydro from Dennis next door - everyone is so friendly in the area ). There are many more pictures and adventures to follow... we are now off to Owen Sound for the holiday weekend! Happy Long Weekend to everyone in Canada!