Summer days and other stuff

• Last week we had three whole days of warm, rainless weather. Is summer finally here? One hopes.
  
  
• I am proud to say I have read all five of this years' Hugo-nominated novels. By far, my favourites were the YA novels, with The Graveyard Book edging out Zoe's Tale by a fairly slim margin. And it's not just because I stalk both of the authors, either. Little Brother is a great teen novel, with a likeable protagonist, realistic rebelliousness and some real tension. Anathema was a fascinating world-building novel but ultimately not as engaging as I hoped. Saturn's Children was not my cup of tea, I slogged through it just because I hate to leave books unfinished. They haunt me. This one may not have, but I still finished it.
  
  
• Lucy has been getting a bunch of tests this week. She hasn't been eating very much, and is drinking a lot of water. It could be kidneys, or diabetes, or nothing at all, but the vet is checking everything out carefully. She now takes four different kinds of medicine (one antibiotic for a limited time) and may have more before the week is out. I tell her that she is nearly taking as many pills as her human grandmother, which is appropriate as, according to the chart at the vet's, they are approximately the same age.
  
  
• This morning I decided to wear my former engagement ring on my right hand. It is a beautiful sapphire ring with channel diamonds on the band and I hate for it to just sit in a box. Grant has no problem with me wearing it, but I am not sure exactly how I feel about it. I figure I will wear it for 24 hours and then make a decision.
  
  
• See you guys in about two weeks. Yes, we are off on yet another holiday. Such is the life of a teacher Lots of vacation now, but full price for any travel over Christmas and March break, no long weekends except on statutory holidays and hence no great travel deals. Karma is such a bitch.
  

Off the Back of the Boat:: Special Nephews edition

We're back!

I have some pretty great BOTB photos to share, but right now I am eating a lemon meringue pie that is taking up all my attention.

Tuesday tunes: Lyle Lovett

Y'all, meet my boyfriend. Yeah, I know he has scary hair and all, but if you listen to the music, you can hear a great sense of humour, a beautiful sense of lyric and some damn fine music.

The Road to Ensenada is my favourite Lyle album. The whole album is a musical re-telling of his relationship with Julia Roberts (see, Julia has good taste). Trust me, it's a good thing. This is the title track.



And since I am not actually here, but off at the boat for the week, I thought this one might be just a bit appropriate.



And if you see Lyle, tell him I got a boat and he is welcome on it anytime.

Sunday morning blogging

A bit of a lazy Sunday planned today. I was rousted out of bed by a husband who apparently couldn't feed two hungry boys by himself. Okay, actually, he knew I had planned on feeding everyone a giant Chelsea bun that we bought at the Farmer's Market yesterday, so he really did need me. Presently, we are happily sated with said Chelsea bun, scrambled eggs and real bacon (not my usual chicken bacon) and coffee. The boys are downstairs watching classic cartoons and we are watching the end of the Open Championship.

The visit has been great so far: we went to see the Blue Jays vs the Red Sox on Friday night. Sadly, there was a threat of rain, so the roof was closed. The Jays lost, which made half our party sad and the other half happy. Before the game, we went to the top of the CN tower where I actually managed to stand for a brief moment on the glass floor looking down the 446.5 metres to the ground(1,464.9 ft for you Americans!) before my irrational fear got the better of me. The boys had no such fear.

Yesterday we spent the day in downtown Brampton; first the Farmer's Market, then a tour of the new theatre and Grant's offices. Finally, we watched the Classic Car parade: nearly 50 cars ranging from the 20's to the 80's. We all picked out our favourite car. I liked the 50s red and white Corvette convertible.

Today is just a lazy day. The boys are looking forward to playing with the Wii and my sister and I are looking forward to digesting the ridiculous amount of food we have consumed. Off to the boat tomorrow. Let's hope the weather stays nice!

Off the Back of the Boat plus special bonus material

Not much to see from this weekend. We had a lot of things that required doing in dock; new dinghy, new motor, reinstalling the couch (divan? bed? whatever) inside the boat because the re-upholsterer attached the hardware on the wrong piece. It all took much longer than expected, so we never made it out.

The view is our new marina. We moved the end of last season for various reasons, but mainly because it is a hop, skip and a jump from our favourite place to cruise to. Views all around.

Ah, summer...

Here I sit on a Monday morning, reading various blogs, listening to On Broadway on XM Radio. I have a list of things to accomplish, but there is no particular hurry because it's officially SUMMER!!

The last day of school was a week ago last Friday. And as soon as possible, we packed up the car, the dog and ourselves and hightailed it up to the boat. Hence my non-posty-ness last week. There should be Off the Back of the Boat photos, but we keep forgetting the damn camera. This weekend, I promise.

I love these early days of summer holidays. The summer still seems to stretch out ahead of me, with plans and projects yet to experience and accomplish. It reminds me of being a kid, when time slowed down to a crawl and summer lasted forever. Now, of course, time moves much more quickly and I realize that before I know it I will wonder where the summer has gone. But today, September seems a mile away.

Today, I have a house to myself and nobody to tell me what I should do. So many choices: reading, writing, chatting, crafting, cooking. Or maybe doing lots of nothing at all. Time well spent, indeed.

Random

Remember when the phone ringing was the most exciting thing ever?? Remember when having an answering machine meant you never had to miss a call?? Now, I rarely answer the phone because it's nearly always a telemarketer and I can let that message alert blink for practically ever. Seriously, if you want to get my attention: email me.

I have various food obsessions from time to time. Sometimes it's a spice, sometimes it's actual food. I had a love affair with cumin all of last year. This year, my passion is ruby grapefruits. I will peel them and eat them segment by segment, no sugar, just the grapefruit-y goodness. I tried to explain the attraction to my co-worker and the best I could come up with was that it was like a surprise explosion in my mouth of sweet and sour, but that sounded kind of dirty so I left it alone.

I haven't had a period in four months. My doctor says I am in official menopause, but it doesn't really count until I haven't had a period for 12 months. I was surprised to find out that I missed the old Aunt Flo. At first. Now, I am getting used to the idea. I think I want to make a longer post about going through menopause, but I promise to warn the men in advance...

The boat is in the water, but the weather has been sucky of late. High winds and cold make for less than pleasant weekends. But we persevere.

I am thinking of what I should be called when I officially become a grandparent. (November 28. Wheeee!!) My grandmothers were Grandma and Mimi. For some odd reason that I can't quite put my finger on, I find myself leaning towards Granny Allison, but Grant thinks that sounds like I am a crone. I dunno. What do you think?

I have to go cook dinner, which reminds me: Grant has lost over 25 lbs. I have lost 7. Apparently my thyroid is hypo-active. So I am having a thyroid scan tomorrow. Which means:

I am currently radioactive.

Of corn, dogs and autumn leaves

Okay, so I haven't actually spent the last 10 days husking corn, then slicing off the cob, then scooping it into small ziploc bags and freezing it.

It only felt that way.

Word to the wise: corn is entirely too easy to pick. Before you know it, you will have 7 large canvas bags full of ears piled up in the back of you itty bitty SUV. And you will be all chuffed with your bad corn-fed self. Until the husking, boiling and slicing begins. Until you remember that you don't have a deep freezer in your basement. Until you would rather die than look at another ear of corn.

Anyway, most of it is frozen. Some more of it was given away. I look forward to enjoying it again someday.

In other news, in the last month Lucy has fallen off the dock and off a sheer bank into the lake opposite our dock slip. Both at night. She managed not to die of shoc and seems no worse for the experience, for which we are grateful. But, let me tell, clambering down that same sheer bank, retrieving an elderly dog and finding a way to get back up that same bank with said dog in one's arms is difficult at any time of day, but is particularly difficult at 5:30 am while suffering the after-effects of too much vodka from the night before.

Three more weekends of boating left. The weather was spectacular this weekend and the trees are just starting to turn to gold, crimson and orange. I hope we are just as lucky for the next few weeks.

I also hope that Lucy manages to stay out of the water.

Off the Back of the Boat: Trent-Severn edition

Oh black water

River water is mottled green and black. It reflects the granite rock, the thickly forested banks and the shadows in between as it meanders through the landscape. It only becomes blue when it widens into a lake. Even then, the blue sparkles in the sunlight so it becomes nearly more gold than blue. Our boat cuts through the current, rarely moving faster than 10 km. We often encounter other vessels, but the overall feeling is that we are insulated from the world. It is astonishing to realize that just beyond that bridge or that road, is actual civilization; although the shores are dotted with cottages of every shape and size, it doesn't actually feel like a people-place. It is the river and it is itself alone.

Our journey is one that were we to drive would take us two and a half hours to complete. Instead, we will reach Bobcaygeon on our fourth night of travel and return to Penatanguishene on Sunday night. Along the way, we stay overnight at the locks. Often we are the one of a few boats. We talk to the people we meet; sharing our destinations and plans. We stock up when we reach the towns along the way; trading our shiny coins for goods and food. I find myself appreciating the determination it took the native people and the European interlopers that followed them in navigating these waters. Grant and I have charts and GPS to find our way along this natural river and man-made canal system. We have helpful government employees to help us through the many locks and lift systems we encounter. I try to imagine making this trek without those things; not knowing what is around each river bend; portaging my canoe and all my supplies past the waterfalls and rapids; battling the mosquitoes without the benefit of Deet. The mind boggles.

We have beautiful weather, for the most part. In Fenelon Falls, we are surprised by a thunder shower that sweeps its way across the lake faster than we expect. We are drenched as we struggle to put up our canvas covers in the wind. While crossing the largest of the lakes we meet, the waves pound across our bow and we are soaked again. We lose a canvas bag holding a hundred dollar electric cord that hangs from our bow, and nearly lose one of our kayaks before making the decision to turn into a haven from the waves. We are shaken, but have learned from the experience.

Our trip takes a shorter time than we expect, and we return to familiar waters for the second week of our holiday. But the river has caught our imagination now, and we will follow her again-- perhaps to her end.

Hello again!

I am home, albeit briefly. We have laundry to do, email to catch up on and errands to run. Oh, and golf. We have golf, too. Then we will sneak out of town on Thursday morning back to the boat.

I have a entry to write about my wonderful holiday, but more importantly, I must now go pay iTunes so I can watch Dr. Horrible. Yes, I must pay. Didn't Joss realize I was going on holiday???

Double Rainbow

'Til we meet again

There was supposed to be another post between this one and the last, but somehow, I never managed to get around to writing it. And tomorrow we leave for Ireland, so the post-in-between will have to wait for another day. In the meantime, another Off the Back of the Boat:






The first picture shows the unobstructed view we had of the bay.We moored at a dock called Little Dog, an apt name, as 4 of the 6 boats docked there did indeed have a canine crew member (or two, in some cases!) The view often included small boats speeding their way into a small channel on their way to various cottages nearby. The second photo features the BBQ setup that Grant and I Macgyvered. It only takes a minute to set up and is quite handy for cooking.

It wasn't quite the lovely Canada Day weekend we had hoped for. The wind simply wouldn't let up and although the temperature wasn't too bad, we found ourselves stuck in the boat for most of the weekend. Not much wildlife this weekend, perhaps due to the cottagers speeding by, although we heard a loon calling several times. I actually saw more wildlife when we got back to our marina. The estuary near our slip had an otter, a blue heron and several Canada geese in it.

I read nearly three books in that time, so it wasn't a complete bust. What books? you ask? Well, I finished the last of my Pern books and then started and finished Armistead Maupin's latest (and most likely final) chapter of Tales of the City: Michael Tolliver Lives in 6 hours. Actually, a bit less than that, if you count the time I spent making and eating dinner. Needless to say, I can recommend it heartily.

Then I reread HP and the HBP. I thought I should, just before the new one comes out. It still makes me tear up at the end. Anyway, that took another day and brought me no closer to formulating any good theories about what will happen next. I doubt Harry is a Horcrux,but I am still a bit worried for Neville. And finally, I started Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope. Figured I should see what the fuss is all about. It's well-written and so far, I have found only a few things that I disagree with him on. We'll see...

I have a stack of books to take with on holiday. This time I made a conscious effort to have the books I take be in paperback form. But I still need to take a lot with me, as you can see from my reading speed when reading is all I am doing.

So, off to Dublin and Counties Cork and Kerry for the next 12 days. Here's hoping for clear skies and safe journeys. And a happy return.

Off the Back of the Boat- June 23

This was a really nice spot. It's called Lost Bay and is on the other side of where we usually go on Beausoleil Island. The weather was perfect and we had nice company, too. The picture itself was one of those happy accidents; I didn't even notice the shore reflection until I looked at the shot on the camera.

Wildlife spotted: two loons, a blue heron, three mallards, a snapping turtle, a red fox, several gulls, plus the huge pike our friends caught and released. We thought it was history for a bit, as it sat just under our swim platform without moving for nearly 20 minutes. But then it was gone, so we hope it lives to be seen another day.

Off the Back of the Boat

I think this is the first travelling version of OTBOTB. We had friends up this weekend and it wasn't until we were heading back to the marina that I realized I hadn't taken a photo yet. So enroute, it is.

Almost that time again

The boat went into the water on Friday. We went up last night and spent the day cleaning and getting it ready for occupancy. Unfortunately, next weekend we have commitments that will keep us home for the weekend, but the following is the long weekend, baby!! And we are so THERE!

Then you can all expect additions to Off the Back of the Boat:

Or you could just come see it for yourselves!

Baby got back

Back from holiday


We had a lovely time. Didn't go much of anywhere, as we thought that Grant had to be back last Thursday for a meeting. We slipped out for a few days to Ojibway Bay, thinking we would have to come back after just 2 nights out. Happily, Grant got a call on Tuesday saying his meeting was cancelled, so we were able to stay out for the whole week. Ojibway is one of our favourite docks--one we haven't been able to get a spot on all season long--and were not only able to get a spot: we were by ourselves completely for nearly 24 hours!!

All by ourselves

The first few nights we docked facing the woods. That's my favourite spot, just us and nature.

Ojibway Sunset
Grant prefers the other side of the dock. He likes to watch boats coming across the larger bay outside of our little one. So after two days in my spot, we moved.

Sunset reflected

We spent five nights in all, through sun, wind and rain and came back relaxed and content. Still, nice to sleep in our comfy bed at home.


Back to school

After all that, I was not feeling the whole back-to-school vibe at all. Funny, when I was a kid, I really looked forward to going back. Now, as a teacher, my emotions are definitely mixed.

But I got in this week and got most of my office set up. No classroom this year; I am providing special ed support to three different classrooms. I had a terrific chat with one of the three teachers I will be supporting and suddenly, I got excited. I really do love to teach- being at school reminded me of that.


Back massage

Just got back from the massage therapist. All this time on the boat has not been particularly theraputic for my poor back. Boat manufacturers don't seem to spend enough time making sure the backs of boats are ergonomically beneficial. Yeah, I know: bitch and moan. And cry me a river while you're at it!

And finally...


I wanna be your Back door man

You Are Whole Lotta Love

You are interested in 2 things in this world: Love and sex. You are a complete romantic (and probably a big whore.) You just want to be loved.

You really value your friends and your family, but more than anything, you value your boyfriend/girlfriend/husband/person you are stalking.

You don't necessarily value yourself very much, but it's ok because you will find someone else to value you. Sad, but you're oblivious, so it doesn't matter.

Take the Which Led Zeppelin Song Are You? Quiz

Thank you (with pictures!)

I have the best stalkers ever.

Thank you for letting me bitch. I think I will let the holiday posts percolate for a bit. There are still a couple of things I want to tell you all about (and yes, I will have photos!) but right now I am going to let that go.

And now,
The Back of the Boat-August 3-5

I promised not to bitch about the boat, didn't I?

Okay, no bitching. Or moaning, for that matter. However, this weekend was a bit a of challenge. We had planned on spending the long weekend in one isolated spot, but the PTB decided to mess with us. Just cause they can. I will not bore you with our trials and tribulations because, at the end of the day, we still got to spend 3 nights on Georgian Bay and you didn't.

Weather: Gorgeous
Wildlife spotted: 3 loons, 2 chipmunks, 13 mergansers, 1 tiny green frog, various and sundry gulls
Wildlife not spotted by us, but by our friends who actually could get their anchor to set in a remote spot: 1 black bear
Fish and chips consumed at Henry's: 2 platefulls
Books read by me: The Wonder Spot, Seasons of Mist, The Mermaid Chair
Feet of chain purchased for our anchor: 15


Anchored Outside Ojibway Bay


Overnighting on the dock at Henry's Fish Restaurant


On the dock at Wanaketa Campground on Beausoleil Island