Day Eighty Three - Shingles on the Roof

Dear all,

Project Roof is still at the forefront today as Chris and I headed up onto the roof to rip off the old shingles and start laying down the new. This is certainly not a job for the fainthearted or those struck by vertigo.. but after my days on the open water skipping up and down 100ft masts.. I presented myself as the man for the job.

My favorite part of the task had to be the nail gun. I was struck by the force of the air compressor but then got quite into it and was firing away in an instant.

Chris was a superb mentor after all his years fixing up roofs and half the roof was shingled by the afternoon. More tomorrow.. and then we will move inside to try and repair the dry wall ( hopefully before the rain comes again... shudder)

Attached a brief video of my antics with the nail gun. Fun in the sun!

Day Eighty Two - Fixing a Hole

Dear all

The calm after the storm.. or maybe I should say, 'The storm after the deluge'.

After an earth-shattering night of rain, we thought the only damage had been the drive way (which had completely washed away) but it turns out that the ceiling in Room 3 had also collapsed leaving a room full of plaster and a 'water-feature' affect. Almost like it was raining 'inside'.

I was assigned to the clear-up. This involved moving all the furniture and giving the carpet a full clean. Chris then got to it on the roof to assess the damage (which was bad). The plaster was EVERYWHERE but I managed to get a hold on it and soon things looked a little brighter.

Many interesting tasks will follow from this incident in the race against time to repair the roof at the Pretty River Valley Country Inn before the next storm [Wednesday]. Life is certainly never dull.

And in other news:

1. Linda and I decided that the end of the art tour deserved a bottle of Verve Cliquot's finest that wonderful Mikey had bought for me when he came over to visit in January. Of course, the best place for champagne is on the the veranda in the sun... absolutely fabulous darling... .

Day Eighty One - Online Poker

Dear all

After sadly not winning the $50,000,000 jackpot in the Lotto Max on Friday, I decided to try my luck at Online Poker. I had never played poker online before so thought this would be an interesting addition to the blog and good training for any upcoming trips to Vegas.

I decided to try my hand at Texas Hold Em Poker, a browser game I found online through the omnipotent facebook. I was delighted that I received $9000 before even clicking on a button or handing or a credit card number ( The joys of monopoly money) so I charged on and started my first game full of the joys of pretend cash.

I was delighted with how quickly I became addicted to the online poker game. I met lots of very interesting players such as 'Bad Ass' and 'Dolly Parton' all of whom were very good at poker and came and went from the table like hot cakes.

It was great practice and especially good for improving mental dexterity as you have a set amount of time to play your cards to stop any online 'dawdling'. I really enjoyed it... and will be playing again! Hurray!

Day Eighty - Art Show

Dear all,

A day of high excitement here in the Pretty River Valley: The opening of my Art Show... EEEEEK.

After the compulsory last minute panic ( nb: Darren was brilliantly calming during this brief 'panic stage'), I got labels out, paintings priced, last minute 'touch-ups' and everything ready to go.

It's a funny thing having an art show - I suddenly felt quite nervous really, not having had my paintings being displayed en mass before and suddenly having them all together in a room [with price tags on them] was quite bizare.

After an hour or so however, a wave of calm decended and I decided not to worry about a thing. At midday I picked up Bob and Mary Lou and bought them to the show. It was so wonderful that they could come and they also fell in love with Ariel, a fabulous Yorkie who had also popped in for the show.

The show runs for three days so I will keep everyone posted on how it goes!

And in other news:

1. More cooking, more cooking, hurray, I love it! Darren had a brain wave in suggesting I use the chicken and ratatouille stock (combined) to make a veal meatball soup ( very advanced). So I did. AND it worked ( miracle) .

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,191,156169-232206,00.html

My congenital problem with portion control came rigorously into effect as I decided to also prepare a VAST pasta salad http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2994/deli-pasta-sala, the [now favorite] proscuitto wrapped asparagus and for dessert... a lemon and lime pie.. ( improved recipe with Lemon yogurt, lime jello powder, Lime zest + juice, Lemon Zest + Juice, Cream Whip, mix up, put in lovely biscuit pie case, sprinkle with honey Grahams and pop in fridge... ooo lalalalala)

Everything worked, hurray! It was so wonderful to see Bob and Mary Lou too. I was such a lovely couple of days.

Day Eighty - Ratatouille

Dear all,

Today was an absolute joy with Darren's Dad and Mary Lou coming up to visit and a great opportunity to cook up a storm. Darren took the helm with preparing the chicken ( I watched on from the sidelines in awe). He cut the [whole] chicken in half, scraped out the innards and started to snip away at the carcas until he had filled a large bowl with perfect chicken cuts. The meat was then marinaded and boiled before we could BBQ it later.

I set to work on the Ratatouille. Yet again my problem with 'portion control' came vigorously into effect when Darren exclaimed 'two eggplants?' whilst perusing the entire work surface full of ingredients. And he was right: a cauldron would have been better suited for this recipe. At least there will be lots of leftovers.

http://www.easy-french-food.com/ratatouille-recipe.html

It worked a treat though and tasted great - the fresh Thyme and Basil surely contributing to the mix of flavors. Delicieux. The chicken was supreme: moist with a fantastic flavor after receiving the Darren magic in the form of a saucy concoction of bone dust, marinades and secret ingredients. It was wonderful.

I decided to go all out regarding volume and made up a fruit platter and yogurt dip for dessert. It worked a treat. I added Lime Zest and Key West Lime Juice to a bowl of Lemon Meringue flavored Yogurt. The tart lime really made a fantastic addition to the dip: A great summer dessert!

We finished off the evening watching episode after episode of Fawlty Towers. A wonderful evening and lovely to see Bob and Mary Lou!

Day Seventy Nine - Collingwood Library

Dear all,

Collingwood is moving up in the world and none more evident than the opening of the new Library. I had yet to visit the facility but had heard nothing but great things and oh-my-goodness, its fantastic!!









It's beautifully designed from the inside out; even the gardens around the perimeter of the building look fabulous and it is obvious that a lot of thought has gone into it.

http://www.collingwoodpubliclibrary.ca/




The Bay School of Art will soon be moving into the complex which is very exciting and make a fabulous studio space. I just popped in this afternoon but I am sure its a rabbit warren in there and I have heard wonderful rumours of a cafe/ bar, office space and brand new computer suite. The children's section was decorated as if you were about to dive down into Wonderland and I am sure it will become a haven for small kids.

All in all, very cosmopolitan and fabulous: A very exciting addition to Collingwood!

And in other news:

1. Amazon.com got the better of me and I spent the morning watching Back-to-Back Fawlty Towers with Darren. Life doesn't get much better than that.

Day Seventy Eight - Cleaning Kimono

Dear all,

A strange and wonderful thing happened to me today. Whilst having a clean out, Linda found an old summer kimono and when I got back to Darren's place after art class, I decided to try it on, and a funny thing happened... I decided to clean his entire house. It must be my inner domestic goddess bursting forth and revealing 'Libby The Geisha'. It was most puzzling, more than most than for D. But I think it humored him greatly.

I am also modeling one of Darren's amazing Freezie wraps in the attached photo. I had a water-sports based injury but the wrap worked a treat! I would highly recommend it to anyone: http://www.mendmeshop.ca

And in other news:
1. I finished Painting 3 in Darren's Picasso collection: La Reve.