Seems I'm still on vacation

Friends, it's been a while.

I know it's been a while when Blogger doesn't even remember my sign-in anymore.

And I don't have much of an excuse. I have an iPhone. So although the kids tend to use the computer as a t.v. during times when I could actually sit down and post, I could still be crafting a post. And it isn't like I don't have things to say. We've been doing a lot; having lots of fun; I've been observing, noticing things, things I would normally post about.

And yet here I am. Silent.

I think that I just want a little break. No obligation to say anything at all. So perhaps I'll keep that up for a while, or maybe not. We'll have to see how it all unfolds.

In the meantime, here is a quick synopsis of our week at the cottage: The weather was crappy at the beginning (where is summer this year?) and then nice at the end. The girls have really figured out what it means to play on the beach this year, the result of which is that I can sit in a chair by the water, knit, drink tea or something with a bit more kick (my new drink of the summer is the Palm Bay Vodka Pineapple Orange.... mmm), and relax. Or I can get down and dirty and show them how to build a fish pond with streams connecting to other ponds.



The week with Beth, Kate and Graeme was fun. And of course Sara Martin was there too - a friend of Beth's (and now mine) who joins us every summer. That was great fun.

We roasted marshmallows twice, cooked hot dogs over a fire for lunch one day and stayed up really late in front of the fire one night hanging out with our neighbour, Guy.


We hiked up the back hill/cliff area searching for wild blueberries. Last year we hit the payload. This year, not so much. I think they deer got to them before we did.


I built Emily another obstacle course. She was keen on the idea but less on the execution. She loved it last year; this year she had other interests. But she played long enough for me to capture it on camera.


On our last night before leaving for home the girls and I (and Sara and Beth) did face masks. It was a girly-bonding moment. Until Hope freaked out and cried for 15 minutes before insisting that I take it off. Hope's was chocolate flavoured which I thought would be a big selling point for her. She smelt like a sundae for a day afterwards.


We finished our week with supper at my dad's place in Gravenhurst. His house is now almost completely finished and it's beautiful. I plan to have a sleepover there in the next few weeks with the girls. And spend my evening in the hot tub on the deck sipping something or other.

We go back to the cottage next Wednesday for a weekend with our friends Pam and Jim and their kids. That will be great. Since leaving Ottawa I haven't seen them of course so it will be a great chance to reconnect and show them a place that is as much home to me as any place else.

We also still have a visit to Santa's Village in the future on an overcast cottage day.

And that's my synopsis. Perhaps I'll get something more coherent up over the next few days. Here's hoping!