Thursday, July 4, 2013
The New New Cottage, 2013
After a 2 year hiatus from cottage blogs, we are back with lots of pictures after our extensive renovations on the New Cottage. The Lui family and friends (and contractors & work force) were hard at work starting in the fall of 2012 and continued all year. Finishing touches were only just completed. And without further ado, là voila!
Saturday, July 9, 2011
Animals
Once again, my pet insects have produced some "eww yuck" reactions with their picture front and centre on the last post. Sorry folks, sometimes I forget they are not viewed as cute and cuddly by others.
But for the last few days I have been captivated by the moths and other various animals that are easily found at the cottage. Tell me what you think of the following critters.
Moths
There have been fuzzy brown moths, large camoflage moths (Sphinx sp) and moths with legs that look like twigs.
Have I mentioned lately how happy we are with our new dock? The other evening I was relaxing in one of the Muskoka chairs after an evening swim and dozed off in the warmth of the evening sun. I woke up when the wake of a passing boat rocked the dock. But then it meant that I was awake when I heard someone breathing.
The thing was no one else was around. It was very quiet except for this breathing. So who was making this noise? I looked around and saw the nose of a turtle poking out of the water. I couldn't get to my camera in time and only caught the wake of his descent into the water. I did manage to see another painted turtle the next day swimming past the dock, so we can just pretend that it's the same guy.
Our next door neighbor had a different type of visitor yesterday. There are a pair of great blue herons that sweep through the Bay on occasion. I guess they also take the time out make the rounds of everyone's docks. Hope they stop by ours soon!
On my way home today, I stopped off at the dump to throw out the trash. Who was hanging out at the dump? A hungry, hot and panting black bear. Makes it fun for folks to actually see a bear in real life, but they are still wild and dangerous.
To wrap this up, here are some of my other favourite pictures of the wildlife.
But for the last few days I have been captivated by the moths and other various animals that are easily found at the cottage. Tell me what you think of the following critters.
Moths
There have been fuzzy brown moths, large camoflage moths (Sphinx sp) and moths with legs that look like twigs.
Have I mentioned lately how happy we are with our new dock? The other evening I was relaxing in one of the Muskoka chairs after an evening swim and dozed off in the warmth of the evening sun. I woke up when the wake of a passing boat rocked the dock. But then it meant that I was awake when I heard someone breathing.
The thing was no one else was around. It was very quiet except for this breathing. So who was making this noise? I looked around and saw the nose of a turtle poking out of the water. I couldn't get to my camera in time and only caught the wake of his descent into the water. I did manage to see another painted turtle the next day swimming past the dock, so we can just pretend that it's the same guy.
Our next door neighbor had a different type of visitor yesterday. There are a pair of great blue herons that sweep through the Bay on occasion. I guess they also take the time out make the rounds of everyone's docks. Hope they stop by ours soon!
On my way home today, I stopped off at the dump to throw out the trash. Who was hanging out at the dump? A hungry, hot and panting black bear. Makes it fun for folks to actually see a bear in real life, but they are still wild and dangerous.
To wrap this up, here are some of my other favourite pictures of the wildlife.
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
Insects
I love insects. I have pet insects. I stop conversations when I tell people about my Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. Ok, so maybe I’m not exactly normal.
So what do I do at the cottage for fun? Apart from all the usual cottage activities (swimming, eating, napping!), I am trying to find and photograph the fun, cool and colourful insects.
Here are couple of “firsts” for me: actually seeing a lunar moth and catching a firefly in a jar. The lunar moth was on the other side of our screen door and disappeared before I could get a great picture, but I was none the less ecstatic.
The firefly was flashing his green bum, but I never got a clear picture of it, so you’ll have to use your imagination with this fuzzy picture.
This wonderful moth also caught my eye with his white spots. Haven’t got his name just yet, but I left my identification book at home.
There's nothing like making new insect friends that make me want to search for more!
So what do I do at the cottage for fun? Apart from all the usual cottage activities (swimming, eating, napping!), I am trying to find and photograph the fun, cool and colourful insects.
Here are couple of “firsts” for me: actually seeing a lunar moth and catching a firefly in a jar. The lunar moth was on the other side of our screen door and disappeared before I could get a great picture, but I was none the less ecstatic.
The firefly was flashing his green bum, but I never got a clear picture of it, so you’ll have to use your imagination with this fuzzy picture.
This wonderful moth also caught my eye with his white spots. Haven’t got his name just yet, but I left my identification book at home.
There's nothing like making new insect friends that make me want to search for more!
The Dock
The Dock
It’s here! The moment we’ve all been waiting for… the new dock at the cottage has arrived!
Let’s take a little walk down memory lane first. Grandma and Grandpa built the cottages near or right on the water’s edge. The “new cottage” had two docks bracketing it for years. In general, one dock was reserved for tying up boats and the other was used for swimming and as an extra boat tie-up area.
When it was decided that we needed to replace the oldest dock, we had a big decision to make. In the end, we decided to let the older, second dock go and replace and extend the newer dock attached to our deck.
When we are outside enjoying the beautiful weather, lounging on the deck or swimming off the rocks, we are pretty centered around the one side of the cottage, so it only made sense to go with a single expanded dock.
Joanna and I have been watching the dock get built bit by bit this past weekend. Just after lunch today the floating dock was brought over and installed. All it needs now are a couple of friends willing to lounge with us in our new Muskoka chairs (see previous post!) or dangle their feet in the water while we hang out together.
Here are a few pictures of the dock coming together.
The Lui cottage kids want to thank their Grandma Gee (Thank you Grandma!) for making the dock possible. All we really want now is for Grandma to come up and enjoy it with us. Grandma, looking forward to your visit this weekend! We can’t wait!
It’s here! The moment we’ve all been waiting for… the new dock at the cottage has arrived!
Let’s take a little walk down memory lane first. Grandma and Grandpa built the cottages near or right on the water’s edge. The “new cottage” had two docks bracketing it for years. In general, one dock was reserved for tying up boats and the other was used for swimming and as an extra boat tie-up area.
When it was decided that we needed to replace the oldest dock, we had a big decision to make. In the end, we decided to let the older, second dock go and replace and extend the newer dock attached to our deck.
When we are outside enjoying the beautiful weather, lounging on the deck or swimming off the rocks, we are pretty centered around the one side of the cottage, so it only made sense to go with a single expanded dock.
Joanna and I have been watching the dock get built bit by bit this past weekend. Just after lunch today the floating dock was brought over and installed. All it needs now are a couple of friends willing to lounge with us in our new Muskoka chairs (see previous post!) or dangle their feet in the water while we hang out together.
Here are a few pictures of the dock coming together.
Sunday, July 3, 2011
Canada Day Weekend with Friends
How does one relax at the cottage? Really, this should not be a difficult question to answer, but if one is a home owner or vacation property owner, you know that there is a lot of work required for general upkeep. So when you come to the cottage, there is generally a long “to do” list to get through.
Luckily my circle of friends include Dion, Ken and Marlene. Not only are they lovely, wonderful people, they are also extremely handy around the cottage! The three of them had five days at the cottage this week and when I arrived at the end of their stay, the entire “to do” list was done!
This list included basic things like fixing of a cottage step, windows and shutters, which are things that few people would notice (one generally only notices these things when they don’t work). But some of the bigger things, such as getting new mattresses and building new Muskoka chairs were immediately noted and very much appreciated or admired.
I think that Muskoka chairs are the symbol of an Ontario cottage. Our grandfather built 5 chairs, based on 3 different patterns many years ago. These white chairs have seen many sunsets and campfires over the years. But as with most things, there is a finite lifespan that these chairs will continue to provide comfort and support and they are currently falling apart.
Summer of 2010 we started looking around at all the available Muskoka chairs that are for sale. Ignoring the myriad choice of colours, we started sitting in every chair we saw for sale. Every time we were shopping with Dion, we got the comment from him that he could build a better chair. As we never purchased any chairs last summer, we took him up on his word. Upon arrival to the cottage, Dion and Ken had produced two gorgeous cedar Muskoka chairs.
Not only are they well-crafted, they are extremely comfortable to sit in. I think they look perfect on our deck at the cottage. (Note: I am sure that if you express an interest, he is willing to sell more upon order.)
With our new mattresses at the cottage, we have also improved the comfort for our guests’ sleep at night (and our own!). Also, our dock is in the process of being rebuilt and extended. With the expected dimensions of the new floating dock to be 8’ by 14’, I think that we will be shortly having our morning coffees down our new dock on the new Muskoka chairs.
I am not sure that life gets better than this.
We were lucky enough to have our friends celebrate Canada Dad weekend with us. The list of peeps at the cottage this weekend is: Ezra, Melanie, Ruthanne, Jennifer, Dion (girl-boy), Princess Pretty (Sara), Joanna and Christina.
Hot topics of conversation included: lichen (Ezra), pickles (Dion & Ezra) salt water crocodiles armour (Ezra), birth control, root beer float, the proper construction of Giant Smores, a Skillet Cookie, Ezra’s restaurant called “à la Dion”, the Capri Island (and being a beached whale on Capri Island), poop & pulling fingers, how to train your dragon, the difference between dragons and reptiles (Ezra), Kobo, competitive Sudoku (Dion & Christina – Christina won), cooperative crosswords (Jennifer, Ruthanne, Dion, Christina), power tools (Dion & Ezra), clubbing chipmunks (not really, but it was discussed) and the Notable Sawyer (Ezra).
Tonight, we didn’t get a rainstorm as predicted, but we did have a pretty pink and blue sunset.
Once again, I don’t think life gets better than this.
Happy Birthday Canada!
Luckily my circle of friends include Dion, Ken and Marlene. Not only are they lovely, wonderful people, they are also extremely handy around the cottage! The three of them had five days at the cottage this week and when I arrived at the end of their stay, the entire “to do” list was done!
This list included basic things like fixing of a cottage step, windows and shutters, which are things that few people would notice (one generally only notices these things when they don’t work). But some of the bigger things, such as getting new mattresses and building new Muskoka chairs were immediately noted and very much appreciated or admired.
I think that Muskoka chairs are the symbol of an Ontario cottage. Our grandfather built 5 chairs, based on 3 different patterns many years ago. These white chairs have seen many sunsets and campfires over the years. But as with most things, there is a finite lifespan that these chairs will continue to provide comfort and support and they are currently falling apart.
Summer of 2010 we started looking around at all the available Muskoka chairs that are for sale. Ignoring the myriad choice of colours, we started sitting in every chair we saw for sale. Every time we were shopping with Dion, we got the comment from him that he could build a better chair. As we never purchased any chairs last summer, we took him up on his word. Upon arrival to the cottage, Dion and Ken had produced two gorgeous cedar Muskoka chairs.
Not only are they well-crafted, they are extremely comfortable to sit in. I think they look perfect on our deck at the cottage. (Note: I am sure that if you express an interest, he is willing to sell more upon order.)
With our new mattresses at the cottage, we have also improved the comfort for our guests’ sleep at night (and our own!). Also, our dock is in the process of being rebuilt and extended. With the expected dimensions of the new floating dock to be 8’ by 14’, I think that we will be shortly having our morning coffees down our new dock on the new Muskoka chairs.
I am not sure that life gets better than this.
We were lucky enough to have our friends celebrate Canada Dad weekend with us. The list of peeps at the cottage this weekend is: Ezra, Melanie, Ruthanne, Jennifer, Dion (girl-boy), Princess Pretty (Sara), Joanna and Christina.
Hot topics of conversation included: lichen (Ezra), pickles (Dion & Ezra) salt water crocodiles armour (Ezra), birth control, root beer float, the proper construction of Giant Smores, a Skillet Cookie, Ezra’s restaurant called “à la Dion”, the Capri Island (and being a beached whale on Capri Island), poop & pulling fingers, how to train your dragon, the difference between dragons and reptiles (Ezra), Kobo, competitive Sudoku (Dion & Christina – Christina won), cooperative crosswords (Jennifer, Ruthanne, Dion, Christina), power tools (Dion & Ezra), clubbing chipmunks (not really, but it was discussed) and the Notable Sawyer (Ezra).
Tonight, we didn’t get a rainstorm as predicted, but we did have a pretty pink and blue sunset.
Once again, I don’t think life gets better than this.
Happy Birthday Canada!
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The Dock
Les and Phil, building the dock - year?...1976?
Having a lovely summer home on the water, usually means having a dock for the transition of land to water activities. When Grandma and Grandpa planned their dock, they had a relatively long stretch of rock that provided an ideal location for a dock. From here, the boats could be tied up and people could come and go easily to visit other friends or recieve visitors.
Putting in a dock, however, is not an easy task. A lot of heavy, awkward labour is required - often in cold water! In the end, the result is worth it, despite the chance of the spring ice melt tearing it away. Even if all goes well, a dock has a finite life span. The original main dock reached the end of it's lifespan several years ago and the remenants have been a bit of a safety hazard.
One of the hopes that our family has is that our original main dock will be ready for use come summer 2011. It has been a big item that we have wanted, but had to put off for a while. It would mean that we could return to having a boating dock and a recreational dock, where swimmers wouldn't have to worry about scurrying out of the way of incoming traffic, or give up louging space for the canoe.
Fingers crossed that the next picture of the dock will have it looking all shiney and new - just like when Grandpa and the familly installed it last time!
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Time in paradise
I think one of the hardest parts of sharing a cottage is scheduling arrivals and departures. Right now, only having a few years of ownership under our belts, the Lui-s aren't doing too badly - no fights, advance planning of vacation time at work and sharing cottage time together. But I know the time will come when we will need a more strict method of choosing our personal time at the cottage. I suspect that will come when we have families with children of our own.
Until then, we can relax and just deal with the fact that there are so few weeks in summer (9 weeks!) and many people enjoy our little piece of paradise as well.
The only days left available for rental in 2011 include:
Mon June 20 - Fri July 1
Sat July 16 - Sun July 24
If this interests you, please let us know!
From where I live, I see the ice melting more and more each day in Georgian Bay. I can only imagine that is happening as well in Pigeon Bay at the Lui cottage. Summer is coming!
Until then, we can relax and just deal with the fact that there are so few weeks in summer (9 weeks!) and many people enjoy our little piece of paradise as well.
The only days left available for rental in 2011 include:
Mon June 20 - Fri July 1
Sat July 16 - Sun July 24
If this interests you, please let us know!
From where I live, I see the ice melting more and more each day in Georgian Bay. I can only imagine that is happening as well in Pigeon Bay at the Lui cottage. Summer is coming!
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