Just John and me...and oh ya, the doggies.

The cottage as viewed from the lake.
John has since stained the docks and chairs so it looks really nice.

John and I have spent a lovely week at the cottage, just the two of us.  Both Anne and Kate are at summer camp and so we decided to spend this week here, enjoying the lake, the views, the occasional paddle and relaxing by the water.  With no set schedule we have found ourselves having lattes at 11 am, lunch at 2 or 3 and dinner at 8.  Everything is pushed back as we stroll through our days.  

Another amazing sunset.

We have had the opportunity to visit with a few of John’s cousins too, this week.  Heather and Walter invited us for dinner on Tuesday evening.  This is so nice, not just because they invited us for dinner, and not just because Heather makes the best cheesecake in the world, but also because it was a workday for them, but they still managed to have us around.  Heather and Walter live in what John’s family calls “the Big House.”  It is the house where John’s Mom and most of her siblings were born and grew up.  It is a classic old Ontario Red Brick Victorian, with green shutters and high ceilings and the most amazing woodwork ever.  The mink ranch that Walter runs is behind the house, and just beyond that is a lovely little lake called “Cedar Lake.”  There is a cute change hut down at the lake, a nice beach and a fire pit.  We met Walter and Heather down there and were joined by Julie (Walter’s sister and also John’s cousin) and her husband Karl, and by Sharon (another cousin-in-law).  The breeze down at the lake was most welcome, and some of us went swimming too.  When we returned to the house we had wonderful mile-high lasagna that would make Garfield swoon and the promised cheesecake for dessert.  We shared a lot of laughs.  

Heather loves to do all kinds of things and is often organizing people to go to this or that.  She loves the show “Downton Abbey,” and recently had a Downton Abbey party.  All the guests dressed up for a garden party.  In order to make sure that everyone had just what they needed, Heather ended up making several (dozens?) of gowns for the ladies to wear.  She found hats etc.  She went up to the walk-up attic in the house and found all kinds of paraphernalia from the first world war period, including letters from John’s grandfather stationed in Egypt.  These artefacts were arranged in the front hall for guests to see and to evoke the period of the show.  The last time I visited, Heather was astounded to hear that I hadn’t seen Downton Abbey so this time guess what she had for me?  Exactly right, a DVD of the first series.  We have already watched 5 episodes and I must say that I am hooked!  All very fun.  

Julie, John and Karl on a typical summer's afternoon.

John and I had talked about taking a cruise to the other end of the lake, and just as we were trying to figure out when to do that, don’t we get an invitation from Julie and Karl.  Now Karl’s parents bought a place up at the opposite end of the lake, back in the 1950s.  They owned the farm up at the road and 5 cabins down at the lake.  They used to rent 4 of those cabins to people for the whole summer.  The remaining cabin they kept for themselves.  Karl now owns one of the cabins and has converted it to a lovely cottage, and his sister owns the neighbouring one.  Julie and Karl invited us for lunch, which was lovely and was topped off by amazing raspberry pie.  

It took us about 45 minutes by boat to get to Julie and Karl’s.  Loughborough Lake is quite interesting in that it is almost like two distinct lakes.  Our end, the East Basin, is pure Canadian Shield with big rocky islands, white pines and lots of shoals.  As you motor along you eventually get to a road bridge that crosses over a narrow section of the lake.  It is this bridge that separates the West and East Basins.  The West Basin is Kingston Limestone with flat sections and some very steep sections too.  The water is very deep, 120 feet deep in places, with very few shoals.  It was my first time heading up to that end of the lake, although I have driven over that road bridge a few times.  It was a beautiful afternoon with sunshine and just the right number of fluffy clouds.  The breeze was light so travelling up the lake was comfortable, with very little choppiness.  It was a great afternoon out!

The Canadian Shield of the East Basin.

Tomorrow we head to Guelph, stopping en route to pick up the girls.  It will be so wonderful to see them again.  Kate has been gone a whole month, and Anne has been gone two weeks.  I'm sure they'll have lots of camp stories to tell!  Then it is a busy week of getting ready for school, but our plan is to return to the cottage for Labour Day weekend.  Yahooo!!!

Dermot and Pippa love canoeing--there's so much to see.

Back at the cottage.

My week at Kripalu was amazing!  My program involved learning about how to use yoga in the classroom and also about helping teachers use yoga techniques.  It was very practical and I will be using many of the techniques right away.

The people in my course were lovely.  They ranged in age from about 60 to 29.  They were all so interesting.  Sara, the 29 year old, was from Northern California and was my go-to person for information on which yoga teachers to try, what their style was, and what other events were best.  She was great.  There were social workers looking to use yoga techniques with the at-risk population they serve, classroom teachers and yoga teachers.  We really got a wealth of information and experience from each other.

There were four other Canadians in my course, including my instructor.  another attendee, Leonora is from Toronto and we may try to bring our show on the road, doing workshops for teachers in Ontario.  That would be fun!

The food at Kripalu was amazing, fresh, local and largely organic.  The weather was great most of the week and so we ate outside at picnic tables a lot.  What conversations we had over dinner!  There were some fascinating people and presenters there.

I did a minimum of two yoga classes per day plus usually an evening event such as attending a comedy show or doing a rest and relax type workshop.  All that was in addition to the 40 program hours I put in to get my Yoga Ed certificate.  It was busy!

The natural environment around Kripalu is beautiful with lots of opportunity to hike in the hills and woods and to go swimming at their private beach.  It is located very close to Tanglewood, an outdoor venue for musical performances.  The Boston Symphony Orchestra practices there and you can bring your lunch, sit on the lawn and listen to their rehearsals.  Yo yo Ma was there last week.  The Boston Pops also practice and give concerts there.  Neat.

Sunday morning I got up early and was on the road by 6 am.  It meant for clear sailing along the highway, through the toll booths and no line-up at the border either.  I arrived back at the cottage at 11am.  The dogs were there to greet me, but John was out getting groceries.

Aunt Virginia came over in the afternoon with a beautiful dresser that someone was throwing out that she cleaned up and refinished.  It looks amazing in our hallway.  It certainly is nice to be so close to John's extended family.

So now it is just the two of us plus the dogs, hanging out for a few days on the lovely shores of Loughborough Lake.  Nice.

Kripalu

I know that this is supposed to be a cottage blog, but I've actually left the cottage to come to the beautiful Berkshires of eastern Massachusetts to the Kripalu Yoga Centre.  I am here taking a week long course called Yoga Ed for grades K to 8.  When I am finished the course I will be qualified to teach yoga in my classroom and to teachers, so that they can use yoga techniques in their classrooms.  I'm very excited about the whole thing.  I think that I'll be able to use the tools I learn extensively in the classroom.  More and more there is a need for the calming and compassionate elements of yoga, along with the opportunity for movement.  I'm hoping that using yoga in my classroom will reduce the need for behaviour interventions.  We'll see!

I just arrived today, (Sunday the11th) after a six hour drive from Kingston.  There is another woman from Kingston in my class!  I jumped in right away with a yoga class about an hour after arrival.  Bliss!  Then it was off to dinner, which was amazing.  It was served buffet style and there was a wealth of choice.  I opted for the fish option (since I never get that at home), accompanied by the freshest, most organic salad I've ever had.  There were oven roast potatoes, and a couscous thing, and yummy poppyseed loaf for dessert.  Of course, the total bonus is that I didn't have to cook or do dishes--just enjoy!

Tomorrow morning there are three options for morning yoga.  I'm thinking about the outdoor sun salutations.  Doesn't that sound wonderful?  And that's before breakfast!

Early Morning Paddle

Although I am decidedly not a morning person, the dogs are morning dogs. At first light they can't wait to get up and out and start exploring.  I think they realize that the early morning is when all the interesting creatures are up and about.  The other morning, when John got up to let the dogs out, he decided that it was a perfect morning for a paddle.  The water was still and there was a gentle mist rising up from the lake.  All was quiet and lovely.

We jumped into the canoe, along with the dogs and set off to explore the east basin of the lake.  There are numerous small bays and many islands in this area, so it makes for interesting paddling.  Along the way we saw several Great Blue Herons, a painted turtle, numerous other birds we did not recognize but no mammals.  Sometimes when you get up early you are rewarded with a glimpse of a deer or even a black bear.

Over the last couple of years, there have been a few wind storms and we really noticed the trees that have come down along the shore. It is really changing the landscape of the shoreline.  It is incredible to think of the strength of the wind that can bring down large white pines. 

Speaking of the shoreline, John and I have become members of the Battersea Loughborough Lake Association.  The association was started 50 years ago and John's Uncle Norman was one of the founding members.  It is great to join an organization celebrating 50 years, because the meeting is short and there is cake!  We even got a copy of the book they have produced for the 50th anniversary. 

Settling in nicely I would say.  No pictures this post--I'm at the library using their computer and so no access to photos.  Next time though!

Water Skiing Extraordinaire

Nice rooster tail Anne!

The past few days have been cool and very windy.  That has not stopped Anne from wanting to water ski.  Plus it takes her mind off missing Kate, who is currently at summer camp.  Anne is slalom skiing and cutting an impressive wake.  It reminds me of my brothers and their friends who used to come to our cottage on Lake Wahnapitae.  It seems to me that they spent the entire day skiing.  My brother, Glenn, in particular was a superb water skier.  I must admit that Anne reminds me a little bit of Glenn out there on the skis.  It is nice to see.  I also got out water skiing, albeit on two skis.  It was fun.  If the stars are all in alignment, I’ll try slalom skiing later in the week.  

Just cruising along.

The motor on our boat is too small to pull John, so he has to wait until Bruce is here with his boat to get out skiing.  Actually, I’m relieved because although I have my boater’s license, I am reluctant to pilot a boat.  There are so many unmarked shoals on this lake, and wooden boats and shoals really don’t mix.  So I am a happy passenger and John looks forward to the day that the Chris Craft is ready and he can ski behind it.  (Big Question:  Will he expect me to pilot THAT big, powerful, scary, wooden boat?)  

50 is the new 40

Today is a lovely, sunny day with just a bit of breeze.  There is enough breeze that we have tried out the laser again, this time at a leisurely pace.  We zipped around back and forth in front of the cottage and just spent time getting the hang of sailing.  It’s getting back into the dock without bashing anything that is the trick.  So far John has had to jump out and hold the boat as we approached shore.  That works for me.  

Emily, Lydia, Nancy watch as Donna shoots

Pippa may not be a water dog,
but she is a boat dog!

It has been a very nice August holiday weekend, with lots of leisure activities and few “jobs.”  We even had John’s cousin Nancy and her family, Dale, Emily and Lydia for a BBQ.  I’ll attach a couple of photos of us playing Bocce.  It was cool for water sports that day, but the delightful breeze meant no bugs for our Bocce game.  Good Fun!

Problematic Poison Ivy

On the mend!

Well I may be the only member of my family who does not suffer from motion-sickness, but alas, I seem to be the only one who gets poison ivy.  Now, I have known since my summer camp days, that I am sensitive to poison ivy, and I keep a solid look-out for the plants whenever I travel in cottage/canoeing country.  Unfortunately I didn’t see the patch of poison ivy that we have on the edge of our property.  The end result has been the worst case of poison Ivy I’ve ever had.  Argh.

The offending plant!  Notice loonie for scale.

It all started out innocently enough with just a smallish spot of the itchy blisters on my calf.  Somehow that migrated to my right calf and to my left wrist and elbow.  Two weeks later and I’m still dealing with new blisters.  I eventually gave up on all the over-the-counter medications, although I will say that the Benadryl anti-itch spray was excellent at stopping the itching.  I went to the doctor and got a steroid cream, and things seem to be healing up nicely.  In the meantime we went anti-green and bought a giant bottle of “Poison Ivy Round-Up,”  which is only available behind lock and key at the hardware store.  John put on his bio-hazard suit and rubber boots and went out to eradicate the nasty stuff.  One spray application and there is no longer any sign of the poison ivy.  A bit frightening really, I mean what can possibly be in that Round-Up that it kills the most resilient plant going?  However, no complaints here.  Honestly, if I just look at the plant I seem to get blisters.  

Not very green I'll admit--but effective!

So I am reminded of the yin and the yang, and recognize that no matter how perfect a place may be there will likely be little glitches along the way.  In the meantime, I sit at the picnic table, in the gentle breeze, listening to the birds, the cicadas and the waves lapping against the shore, and I feel very lucky indeed.

Sharing the view with friends.

Stuart, Charlotte, Lucy and Rosie with the bass Charlotte caught

Dermot loves fishing!

As far as I’m concerned one of the best things about cottage life is the ability to relax, unwind and share time with friends.  A great thing about “The Shire” (still trying out that name--unless someone else has suggestions?) is that once we put in new floors and painted, we were ready for company.  No need to repair roofs, or jack up the basement, or put up additions or anything major like that.  The fact that it is only 2 bedroom could be a bit problematic, but really not a big deal.

Our first friends to arrive (after Bruce who is, of course, family as well as a friend), were Ang and Stuart and their 4 lovely children, Alex, Rosie, Charlotte and Lucy.  Alex and Kate were in kindergarten together and have been friends ever since.  Ang and Stuart are so laid-back and positive and a lot of fun to be around.  Their children are great too and we all had a great time.  I can tell that you are wondering about the 2 bedrooms with 10 people.  The Shire has a loft area with one bed, we have two couches and of course my personal favourite--The Westy!!!!!  We actually all fit in very nicely and got on very well.  In fact the tiny, no-room-to-swing a cat kitchen is trickier to navigate around meal times, but once again we all managed nicely.  

Yikes!  John, Alex and Kate
picking up speed

Of course the main events at the cottage are outside.  I’m pleased to say that Alex got up waterskiing while she was here, the other girls got out tubing, we all swam quite a bit and Stuart, Rosie, Lucy and Kate went fishing several times.  They caught some big ones too.  Kate, Alex and John also went out for a scary sail on the laser.  Alex was a trooper, but we may have turned Kate off sailing forever!  We also played a few games of Bocce, the Italian version of lawn bowling, which is fun until the deer flies get hungry.  

After Ang and Stuart, Arlene, Beren and their daughter Oriana arrived for a visit.  We haven’t really seen Arlene and Beren for two years because we were away on sabbatical in 2011-2012 and they were away on sabbatical this past year.  It was sooooooooooooo nice to see them again and catch up on all the happenings of the past couple of years.  We ate great meals and did all the usual fun outdoor stuff.  Arlene tried to get a run in, but was shooed back home by the nasty deer flies.  I’m happy to say that deer fly season seems to have abated and we haven’t been bothered by them at all since our return.

Arlene and Donna in the sunset.

After that my good friend Claire arrived with her two children, Giselle and Matthew.  Originally her husband, Mike was supposed to come too, but John and I had to switch dates and unfortunately Mike couldn’t switch his time off.  We felt badly about that, but Claire says that since Mike is like a “schlep-rock” (Flinstones reference) he would have hated the deer flies.  Note:  if you are like a schlep-rock, plan to come in late July or August!  Once again, so lovely to catch up with friends.  

The weather was hot and humid while our friends were here and so we spent a lot of time in the water.  John ran out and bought an air conditioner to replace the old one that died on the hottest day of the summer.  Once we had that running the cottage was so much cooler and drier.  All very nice.  

Gee Gee (Beren's Mom), Arlene, Oriana and Beren
enjoying fine wine and amazing Quebec cheeses

When we were driving home to Guelph, on yet another hot, humid day, a cold front came through and the heavens opened and the most torrential rain I have ever experienced pummelled us as were driving along the 401.  The weather reporters were advising people in our area to seek shelter immediately.  Yikes!!!  No shelter in sight.  Happily things moved on rather quickly and there were no tornados in our immediate area.  The weather has been cool ever since that event.  Today we got up to 25*C but no humidity, so very nice indeed.  At night it has been really cool, about 12*C.  All this has resulted in cooling down the lake temperature considerably, but still, all very nice indeed.