We have had a great week and are now having a very quiet weekend. There seems to always be something going on. The weather was wonderful so Edie and I spent every morning at the club while she had story time and a swim lesson and then the most important of all, building roads on the beach. I certainly got my workout each day pushing her carriage up the hill of the driveway and then a mile and half into town. I really got my work out this way while enjoying every minute with this precious grandchild. The last day she was here we had rain which meant that other activities happened. She had her first exposure to musical chairs and her cousins helped her out.

Update on Jenny Lane

This week saw a lot more trim being installed in the bathroom and doorways. Unfortunately the door that was ordered for the laundry room came in the wrong size so still no doors. Amazing how the finish trim really brings everything together. I am looking forward to getting back there for a couple of days to see everything in person. Hoping that our wonderful plumber will be able to squeeze in a visit and hook up the shower and the laundry room sink. We are sooooo close to having it done. Then it will be up to us to do the painting of the trim everywhere. Well, we need projects to keep us going through the fall and winter. The other thing that happened this week was the front garden. Months ago we started by rebuilding the stone wall after taking out the old worn-out rose bushes, putting in new dirt and mulch and preparing the garden for a weeping cherry tree and some miniature lilacs and, I hope, some peonies. The tree came and the lilacs were planted. Eventually it will fill in and look less rough but I am excited to see the tree there. Meanwhile the zucchini are taking over the world along with the lettuce in the vegetable garden.

Projects at Lakeside Cottage

John continues to keep busy repairing things around the cottage. Almost three years of little or no attention really catches up on you. The fan in one of the upstairs rooms was broken so John got a replacement and installed it this week. Not an easy thing to do but with a little help from me he was able to get it installed. It even has a remote control which is way too fancy for this house but it is what it came with. Very satisfying when we turned it on and it actually worked!

If it Breaks – Fix It!

While we were putting the boat away after a lovely trip down the lake to see the kittens with Edie, I was raising the boat up on the lift and a cable snapped. Yikes, scared me to death. The back end of the boat – ok, the stern, dropped into the water. We called the greatest dock person ever, Jonathan, and within minutes he was there. He secured the boat and said he would be back the next morning to fix it. He was. At 7:00AM. This entailed taking the boat off the lift and then taking it partially apart. While doing that they found there was a bad pulley which entailed a trip to go and find another pulley. Suffice it to say, after a few hours the lift was repaired and boat secured back in its berth. We haven’t taken it out again since. While this was going on I had the pleasure of going to the bureau to register the trailer and get a plate for it. The person who bought our old boat needed to do the same with our old trailer so we went together. This was a good thing as he helped with translation. Turns out they found my original driver’s license number still in the system – it’s been 10 years since I had a Quebec driver’s license. Anyway, it all went well and we are now legal to pull the boat on the trailer.

Zucchini and Yellow Squash and more…

We have been eating squash at almost every meal. Some of it was made into the most delicious zucchini bread I have ever had. We are still eating it and sharing it. Here is the recipe and I hope you enjoy it as much as we have.

Zucchini Bread from Just a Pinch

Ingredients

1-1.5 c. packed shredded zucchini
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 large eggs
3/4. c. buttermilk
1/4 c. melted butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 c. all purpose flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease bottom of 9×5 loaf pan and coat with flour. Combine sugar and eggs in a large bowl. Beat well. Stir in zucchini, buttermilk, melted butter and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves and salt. Gradually add flour mixtures to zucchini mixture and stir til moist. Pour batter into loaf pan. Bake approximately 50 – 55 minutes.

This week was another week with a beautiful full “buck” moon. So I leave you with this image from the porch.