Living off the grid toast is considered a luxury, simply because you have to start the generator before you can plug in the toaster. It’s easier just to eat cereal, or at least it was.

On a recent trip through Canadian Tire my husband discovered a camp stove toaster. Made by Coghlan’s, this little metal looking pie plate with metal frame makes great toast. We just place it on top of our propane stove burner, turn the gas on to heat it up and then put the toast in place. About a minute per side and it’s ready - warm crunchy toast.

The frame is wide enough to cook bagels too. For $5 we are enjoying some of the luxuries of home.

If you live off the grid and have any tips you’d like to share with me please leave me a comment.

Cheers,

Julie

The new dock, suppose to be finished by Monday, is still sitting on our gravel beach. My husband, suppose to be back at work on Tuesday, is sitting on the beach along with the new dock. Renovations never go the way their suppose to do they?

The project ran into its first snag when the flotation devices were out of stock - not a good start.

The second snag was the game plan. Bill had lots of advice, but no plan, at least nothing in writing. He’s now making it up as he goes along, guided by whoever comes along and gives him their opinion. Fortunately, those giving him advice actually know what they’re talking about.

The goods news? There’s no shortage of folks willing to pitch in and give us a hand. As you can see from the photos below what started off as a simple little dock extension has now turned into a full blown dock re-float complete with new hardware (about $600 worth).

This is one of the most expensive holidays I’ve been on in a long time (including wood, hardware and flotation about $5,000), and I’m doing all the cooking and cleaning. As I write this from the Starbucks in Parksville, I’m laughing and banging my head at the same time. This is what cottaging is all about. We truly are a breed of do-it-yourselfers (a similar dock built by an outside company would have cost $18,000).

We’re not alone in our renovations. Up and down the bay, the sound of paint sprayers, saws, and hammers can be heard clear across the lake. Everyone is hard at work holidaying.

My chi latte is all done and I still have another trip to the hardware store - more lumber and drill bits. Here’s hoping next year’s holidays are more relaxing.

Cheers,

Julie

As you can tell by the photo, we have a rolling dock - largely due to the floats - we’re missing some. This weekend, in addition to being a long weekend, is also raise the dock weekend. Using muscle power and car jacks, the intent is to prop the dock out of the water, flip it over, and install new flotation devices.

We also want to build an 18 foot extension, so we can moor the new boat along the side. Despite the use of mooring whips, Princess is taking a beating ( Yes, I call the new boat princess, and it’s going to cost $600 to give her a fiberglass facial).

Building a dock is an art-in-itself. Hammering the wood together is one thing, actually getting it to float is a science. Our neighbour, Don, designed our extension right down to the floatation requirements. For anyone who’s interested check out Eagle Boat Docks Floatation Requirements - they do the calculations for you.

Finding the right hardware to the secure the boat is another matter. We sourced cleats through a manufacturer in Ontario, Dockedge. Fortunately, our local marina is able to order the parts for us.

The photo on the far left is our dock, the middle two pictures are the hardware we’re going to use and the photo on the far right is Don’s dock - a facsimile of the one we’re hoping to build.

I’m not sure how it’s going to turn out, but I will be taking notes and lots of photos and will report back on Monday - make that Tuesday.

If anyone else undertaking a cottage project this weekend I’d love to hear about it; leave a comment.

Cheers,

Julie

Last year cottagers in the Kawartha Lakes area of southern Ontario, particularly Shamong Lake, started finding 100’s of dead carp rotting on their shoreline.   

This year cottagers on Rice Lake and Lake Simcoe are also starting to find the dead carcases dotting their shoreline.

Between 12,000 to 24,000 carp have died, at least 1,200 of them were found on Rice Lake and the canal between Trent University and Little Lake.

The virus, one of the factors being attributed to their death, is called the koi herpes virus.  The koi virus, new to Ontario, is believed to have been introduced to the water when hobby fish for backyard ponds, such as carp or koi fish imported from Asia, were thrown into the lakes according to a spokesperson from the Ministry of Natural Resources.

The virus is weakening the fishes’ immune system, leaving them more susceptible to bacteria.  Spawning and higher water temperatures are also putting the fish under increased stress.

While the virus poses no threat to human health, continually bagging and removing the dead fish carcuses has angered cottagers in the Peterborough area to the point where they have staged a protest at the Ministry of Natural Resources local office. 

If you have a cottage that is connected to the Trent Severn Waterway system and are starting to notice dead carp washing up on your shoreline, you’re asked to to call 1-866-929-0884.

Cheers,

Julie

Some things are worth repeating especially if you have a dog with a bad memory.

Despite getting sprayed by a skunk last year, on Sunday night Daisy managed to come under fire again.  I smelt the first whiffs come through the window and as it gradually got stronger I knew we’d been hit.  The little stinker sprayed the back of the house.  Of course all the windows were open and within minutes our house was filled with the pungent aroma of burning tires.  While there is nothing I could do about the house, other than leaving the windows open to air out, I happen to have a great de-skunking recipe for the dog.  I highly recommend printing this off and taking it with you to the cabin.  These three simple ingredients quickly restored Daisy to her former glory in no time.  They are:De-Skunking Recipe

• 600 mls of hydrogen peroxide
• 1/4 cup of baking soda
• Scented kids shampoo or Sunlight liquid soap

I mixed them all together in a bucket, donned a pair of latex gloves and went to work with an old rag and scrubbed her from tip to tail.  Afterwards I hosed her down with cold water. While Daisy did not enjoy the process, she was grateful to be relieved of the eau de skunk.

This recipe actually works better than some of the store bought varieties I’ve tried.If you have any other remedies that worked please leave me a comment.Cheers,Julie

Our cottage neigbours, Ted and Maria, have lost their wooden retaining wall. The stacked wooded poles that held their infill lawn in place gave way this spring; the result of too much rain and poor construction. Their buckled front lawn is pouring into the lake.

It seems the previous owner wanted a level lawn, so he poured dump truck after dump truck of fill onto his lot and secured it with a round wooden poles stacked on top of one another. This lush green lawn is now a crumbling mass.

The cost to fix the mess is pegged at $10,000 - the cost to bring in a bobcat to move the dirt and secure the wall.

For many cottagers, managing erosion takes time and money. And then there are the environmental regulations. Ted and Maria won’t be able to restore their lawn to it’s original structure, but with the help of a product called, Deltalok, they can build a sloping lawn for about one third of the cost to bring in a bobcat.

The Deltalok system uses a GTX soil bag filled with dirt held in place by metal connectors. Over time, the bags allow vegetation to grow, and the structure becomes even stronger as plant and tree root systems grow throughout.
It is used extensively on banks, slopes and walls.

This product is fairly new to Canada, but due to it’s low cost, ease of installation and ability to protect the environment, it will no doubt be a popular alternative for cottagers seeking bank, slope and wall protection.

Cheers,

Julie

We recently celebrated our 12 wedding anniversary, and despite our ups and downs, Bill and I have a good marriage, or at least we did until this past weekend.

The issue - laminate flooring. OK I confess, it was my idea to rip up the old dog stained carpet and put down oak laminate flooring. Every body I spoke to said how easy it was to install. Clearly they’ve either paid someone install it for them, or they’ve actually know how to operated a maitre saw.

I knew we were in trouble when Bill came home with the biggest saw I’ve ever seen, along with a few other ones. Grinning from ear-to-ear, he looked like the cat who’d just swallowed the canary.

I personally find renovations take patience and more patience. Two things I’m sorely lacking.

We started ripping apart out the basement flooring first thing Saturday morning. By Sunday at 10 a.m. I was ready to call the flooring guy back, the one who quoted us $1,600 dollars, and beg him to complete the job. It wasn’t that we weren’t progressing quickly enough - we honestly didn’t have a clue how to install laminate flooring. Call me pragmatic, but I didn’t want to waste a square foot - even if it only cost $0.79.

Our luck took a turn for the better when I ran into my friend’s husband. Lucky for us, he’d actually installed several laminate floors. Pleading my case, he took pity on us and gave us a hands- on tutorial. Thank God he did. Bill confessed he was feeling overwhelmed and didn’t have a clue how to tackle it. With our his help we cut, hammered and butted our new flooring into place in almost a day.

Yes, laminate flooring is easy to install, but if your a novice like we were, here’s a list of things I found useful:

1. The plastic covering or underlay should be placed with the sticky tape side facing up (not down - wasted a whole roll on that mistake)
2. Either rent, borrow or buy a compound sliding mitre saw and a laminate flooring blade (the blades cost $80). A jig saw also comes in handy.
3. You will need a work bench, ruler and a pencil
4. Invest in a Flooring Installation Kit that includes: tapping block (do not use directly on the flooring you’re tapping into place - it will chip it - use a spare piece of wood in front of the actual piece you are installing), pull bar and spacers
5. Have a broom, dust pan and garbage bags standing by.
6. A sense of humour - good if you both have one.
7. Extra flooring for mistakes
8. Good quality flooring - you pay for what you get - ours kept chipping when we tried butting it together

It took us a day to prep the room which included:removing the furniture, ripping out the old carpet and underlay, removing the carpet nails and installing the plastic sheeting.

We also found it really helpful to have someone standing by to get us started - a flooring coach if you will. It gave us the confidence we needed and prevented us from wasting a lot of wood.

Fortunately our marriage has survived another renovation, and the new flooring looks awesome. Personally, I think Bill was just looking for an excuse to buy some new toys, if you could call a maitre saw a toy…..

Cheers,

Julie

So for the last month I’ve been doing a count-down to opening weekend - only to discover that I was out by a week - and NOBODY corrected me. It seems the long weekend is not THIS weekend, but next - May 16th - 19th. In my enthusiasm to get there I skipped a week.

On that same note, I received my Cottage Life e-newsletter. In it is an Opening Weekend check-list . No offense to Penny, and the good folks over at Cottage Life, but I won’t likely get around to doing most of the things on that list - this whole summer. UGGGGG - like cottages aren’t enough work?

The more my cottage resembles a home, the more work I create and the less I enjoy it. Listed below are just a quarter of the things they recommend you do:

• Find out why pads under deck posts are shifting
• Make ring game for kids
• Sharpen blades on trimmer and chainsaw
• Put up the flagpole and replace worn halyards
• Clean barbecue
• Fix tippy dock
• Inspect flotation in floating docks
• Fix friggin’ potholes in lane
• Tighten or reinstall loose dock cleats and rings
• Hammer in raised nails on dock and repair loose boards
• Inspect life preservers for damage; make sure there are enough for everybody
• Do kids’ lifejackets still fit?
• Make horseshoe pit before family reunion!!!
• Clean and set out porch furniture
• Sit down, have a beer

With the exception of the last item, I doubt I will do any of these things.

I’ve actually come up with my own list, designed for those folks living in western Canada, who might consider themselves to be a little more laid back then their eastern counterparts.

A Westerner’s Guide to Opening up the Cabin

1. Call and make a ferry reservation for the long weekend - chances are if you haven’t done it by now it’s too late
2. Call the marina and check on the boat - arrange a time to pick it up
3. Upon arriving at the cabin, walk around and find out who made it up for the weekend, spend most of the morning visiting with them and arrange for happy hour later in the day.
4. Make sure fire-pit is cleaned out and ready to go for evening’s campfire
5. Quick trip into town for plumbing supplies, marshmallows, beer and appetizers
6. Make a list of everything that needs fixing for the season and solicit advice over happy hour
7. Grab a bucket to prime the pump, making sure valves are all closed, and get ready to spend the next 2 hours on your back in the mud swearing at anything and everyone.
8. Haul out the deck chairs and rest - what didn’t get done today will still be there tomorrow - as long as the toilets flush, God will look after the rest.

Cheers,

Julie

It’s 8 p.m. when my five-year-old daughter, Jillian, spikes a fever of 103 degrees. Her cheeks are flushed pink, and her eyes are glassy pools. Rinsing off the thermometer, I realize I’m not prepared for this. Luckily the friends we’ve invited over for dinner haven’t yet left their cabin. Quickly I dial Jean, an ex-emergency room nurse’s cell phone to see if she has any Tylenol, fortunately she does. Arriving at our doorstep with emergency kit in tow, I’m given a lesson from an expert on First Aid Essentials 101.

Cottages are often miles away from the nearest town. Getting to a drug store is one thing, it being open is another. A well stocked first aid kit will not only save time and money, it could also save a life.

Jean’s kit has several versions depending on the season. There is a mini one for mountain biking and hiking in addition to the main kit. Here are the staple items that no first aid kit should be without.

First Aid Kit Essentials

• Children and Adult Motrin or Advil (pain, fever and inflammation)
• Gravel (liquid and suppositories)
• Benedryl (antihistamine)
• Assorted band aids including: liquid and teflon band aids
• Claretin Tablets
• Kaopectate
• Thermometer
• Nail clippers
• Small scissors
• Rubber gloves
• Lifesavers or gum for distraction - a child can’t cry with a candy in their mouth
• Saline with no preservatives to rinse wounds (Jean loads a squirt gun with it and uses it to flush out wounds)
• Baush & Lomb’s eye wash kit -make sure it contains an eye cup
• Preparation H - cream not the ointment - anti-inflammatory that relieves swelling
• Sliver Kit: Tweezers, needle, magnifying glass, orajel (topical antiseptic)
• Ice packs

Since that night, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of a good first aid kit. Our little green rubbermaid kit goes with us everywhere. Ironically last weekend, I left it behind. The folks we were staying with were both doctors. ‘They’ll be well prepared,’ I thought. When their little guy spiked a fever at 9:30 at night, off to town they went in search of a drug store.

Cheers,

Julie

It’s here. It’s finally here. After months of searching, negotiating, and many faxes, today we take possession of our new recreational property, a three bedroom townhouse at Creekside in Whistler, B.C. I must admit, instead of feeling excited and elated, I am feeling a little overwhelmed.

I have no idea what the previous owners have left us, so I am preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. This means I’m running around my house shoving pillows and sheets into big green garbage bags. I am however, resisting the urge to go to Costco and just start buying stuff, something we did when we bought our cabin on Horne Lake, B.C.

My husband and I power shopped our way through Nanaimo, stopping at every big box store enroute to the cottage. We forgot that our cabin didn’t have power, so the coffee maker and toaster were a complete waste of money.

I’m also conscious that unlike our cabin, our new townhouse will be in a rental pool. While I prefer pretty, functional and long lasting are going to be a better choice. Heather Bayer, my favourite blogger, gives the following recommendations in her article, The High Cost of Buying Cheap:

1. Buy a self cleaning oven - spend the extra $200- it will be worth it in the end
2. Buy a good vacuum cleaner
3. Invest in good glasses - as cheap ones chip easily (Ikea makes a great box set)
4. Good coffee maker (and spare carafe) and coffee bean grinder
5. Good Quality knives - Heather’s guests often commented on her poor quality ones
6. Good sheets - avoid the really cheap ones and the really expensive ones because they wrinkle coming out of the dryer
7. Good Bedding - comforters, blankets
8. Good mattresses - most important

The lesson here is to buy good quality items the first time down the isle. Heather found buying cheap ended up costing more because they had to replace it. I’m also going to make a list of everything we need and then go shopping. Here’s to getting it right the second time.

Cheers.

Julie