Cottage Getaway!

From August 6 to 12, Rob, Freckles and I relaxed at his uncle's cottage on (well, almost on) Thunder Beach, just off of Georgian Bay, and nowhere near Thunder Bay, ON!!! (Here's a map.) Although we had some fairly windy and cool weather toward the end of the week, the sun was almost always shining. Our friend Lorne joined us for most of the week, and Cari came up for a day, arriving on the 9th and leaving on the 10th; read her thoughts on her visit here.

Much fun was had by all, lying in the sun on the beach, swimming, playing Scrabble and Mille Bornes, and EATING! I'm looking forward to going up there again soon. It was beautiful and relaxing.

Sad good-bye to a good friend

On Saturday, August 5, Rob had to have his dog Patch put down. Patch had developed some sort of liver disease--the vet thought it might have been a cancer of some sort--and the merciful thing to do was to have him put to sleep. Patch is survived by his sister Freckles, who is looking quite lost without her fraternal twin brother. I'll try to add a picture later.

Pictures from our trip to the Algonquin Ecolodge

Here they are at last, selected pictures from our trip to the Algonquin Ecolodge. Rob took them, of course. (Go figure: I, the son of a professional photographer, have very little interest in taking photos. A camera on vacation feels like a ball-and-chain to me.) Since Rob took over 75 shots, I won't post them here; however, you should get a feel for the rustic character of the lodge--and for Rob's skill as a photographer! Just click on any image to see a close-up view.


See the dragonfly?


Anyone know what kind of butterfly this is?


Our very messy, and very cosy, room!


Rob and Mike happily await breakfast.


The lodge in all its glory!


Amanda and Robin prepare supper while Tasman (the dog) watches hopefully....


Hammock chairs ROCK!


Ditto!


The beaver pond (Rob even saw a beaver!)


Pickerel weed and water lilies


View of the waterfront from a peddleboat


The beaver dam, part of the boat, and Michael's knee!


Buffy the Mouse Slayer!!


Another view of the beaver pond, as Michael heads to the hammock chairs to read


A lurking leopard frog....

More images to follow. The website is giving me trouble, and I'm sleepy....

Back to work, and blogging

Today I returned to work after an 8-day vacation, to the news that one of my co-workers, our book buyer (I work in a religious bookstore) has resigned, as of the first of August. That's going to put us in a tricky situation, although another co-worker will be covering the position, and I hope he'll apply as the replacement.

Spent the evening with my friend Cari, working on her blog and teaching her what little HTML I know. We spruced up the header, adding a second line and a picture (in a table!). Check it out here.

Rob stayed in the back room reading Until I Find You by John Irving. He's on page 300! As for A Tree Grows In Brooklyn, I'm at page 314, and very much enjoying it.

Boxercise Rocks!

I just returned from my fourth boxercise class at Wayne Bourque's Centre Ring gym. What a rockin' workout! I've never sweated so much in my life! My partner Rob joined me for today's class, and he was duly impressed. Now I'm going to relax for the rest of the day, and read some more of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn by Betty Smith.

My first post!

Thanks to my friend Cari, I'm trying my hand at creating a blog here on blogger.com. There's nothing remarkable to report at the moment, but check back soon for some scintillating commentary! MSW