I miss my high-speed connection

Just a brief note to say that Jeff and I just got home from our cottage visit, but it looks as if we're not going to have high-speed access for a little while. Hopefully Bell will be able to sort things out soon, but until then I'll be using dial-up.

This means minimal Web surfing and image uploading, and less time online. Please don't use Facebook mail to reach me; the Facebook interface is agonizing slow on dial-up. I can access my Gmail account on my iPhone, so that's the best way to reach me by e-mail right now.

Now to unpack and try to catch up on e-mail/snailmail...



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Cottage visit with Helen and Dan

Happy birthday to my friend Paul, and Happy Fourth of July to my American pals. In fact, general Happyhappy vibes all around.

Thanks to Helen and Dan for giving me permission to post some of the pics I took of them during their cottage visit. I always try to be respectful of people's wishes re: being photographed as well as public posting of photos; a couple of my friends have asked me not to take any photos, regardless of whether or not they're posted.



I get immense enjoyment from portrait photography and also am trying to improve my skills, however, so I was delighted (and grateful) when our friends Helen and Dan said they didn't mind at all. At the end of their visit, I gave them a CD of all the photos I took.

And, of course, this meant I had to be cooperative when they wanted to take MY photo. :-)



In fact, the whole week was wonderfully laid back, with much reading, napping, saunas and swimming, writing, drawing, dancing, paddling, making music, playing board games, and general lazing about. I especially enjoyed getting to know Dan better; I had only met him once before, very briefly. Such a funny, smart and sweet guy!



We celebrated Helen's birthday during the week. Jeff and Dan prepared a special breakfast that morning, with Dan's German pancakes with fruit and a sprinkle of icing sugar on top, fresh fruit, champagne and orange juice.



I made Butterfly Cakes for Helen's birthday from scratch; I was a bit nervous because I don't do much baking, and the cottage oven is unpredictable, but I was happy with how they turned out. Sadly, I forgot to take any photos. Butterfly cakes are also known as Fairy Cakes, and are basically cupcakes with the tops sliced off, filled with buttercream, and then the halved tops replaced on top to look like a butterfly's open wings.

SO not good for you but SOOOO good.



We certainly ate well at the cottage. Dan specialized in breakfasts, and Helen also cooked several wonderful meals, including Cornish pasties from scratch (above photo).

She also improvised a cake for dessert one night on whim, from ingredients she could find in the pantry and fridge, and served it with warm custard drizzled on top. Yummm....



It rained several times during the week, but the four of us didn't care; we read, played games and napped during the day. And (when there was no thunder or lightning) we also went swimming in the rain.

One of my favourite moments: floating on my back in the lake during a gentle rainstorm, watching the clouds slowly drift by.



You can see more photos from our cottage visit here.

Babylon Five Virgin update

SPOILER WARNING: The blog below focuses on my reports while watching Babylon Five for the first time. An LJ feed is also available. If you haven't seen B5 yet and don't want spoilers, please DO NOT click below.


Season 4, Episode 79: Rumors, Bargains and Lies
Season 4, Episode 80, 81, 82: Moments of Transition, No Surrender, No Retreat, Exercise
of Vital Powers




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Back from the cottage

On the morning of Canada Day, I crept out of our cabin at around 6:30 a.m. to let Jeff sleep in, grabbed a bowl of cereal and milk and went to do some work in my dad-in-law's cabin. Glancing out the window, I noticed movement beyond our cabin by the lake's edge and at first I thought that perhaps one of our guests had woken early...but then I noticed the antlers.



I managed to snap the photo above with a telephoto lens before the moose casually sauntered deeper into the lake and swam away, a swarm of bugs trailing behind him.



Moose trivia: A male moose grows and sheds its antlers each year; apparently moose antlers are the fastest type of growing bone, and a moose can grow a set of antlers weighing up to 25 kg in just five months (for more info about the moose, see this page).



Above: this loon was floating past our dock one morning. I love these birds, and their calls across the lake are one of my favourite cottage sounds. Unfortunately loons calls are overused in movie soundtracks, often in highly inappropriate settings (like in the middle of a desert).

More about our cottage visit in an upcoming Blathering when I've had a chance to finish unpacking and catching up with e-mail.



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JEFF! and the cottage trip...

Happy Valentines Day! Jodi, Allison and I had our first Urban Tapestry practice at Allison's and John's new house. I can see why A & J called it a Tardis house; it's much bigger inside than it looks from the outside. Anyway, it's gorgeous, with lots of storage space which is STILL EMPTY despite the fact that they're nearly finished unpacking (!).

The photos at the top of the page were taken during our winter cottage visit, when we stopped to eat at 3 Guys And A Stove. The food's good, but one reason we tend to stop by is the JEFF FACTOR.



A while back, the restaurant was bought by Jeff Suddaby (pictured at the top of this page to the right of my Jeff), who is the host of Who's Coming For Dinner.



Jeff Suddaby pushes his personal brand in the restaurant very hard. You can get JEFF the coffee. JEFF The Rhubarb, Strawberry, Peach Jam. JEFF The Hot Red Pepper Jelly. Plus lots and lots of other JEFFs. You can sample JEFF products at each table, and shelves of JEFF stuff for sale on the main floor.



Not only that, but there are JEFF ads and posters everywhere (including the women's restroom), plus a giant tv screen running a video all about (of course) JEFF. And just in case you were hovering on indecision about whether or not to buy some JEFF, there's even a big sign letting you know the Top 10 Reasons To Take Jeff Home:



Anyway, the whole JEFF thing was pretty amusing (and only a tad creepy). Plus I admit the brainwashing marketing worked - I was buying a bottle of JEFF The Maple Cranberry Salad Dressing before I could stop myself.

And suddenly I realize that I never did talk much about our cottage trip in Blatherings. One of the highlights for me was how absolutely quiet it can be. There's pretty much nowhere in the city that you can find such peace unless you lock yourself in a soundproof room.



Of course there's no running water up at the cottage during the winter (the pipes would freeze), so Jeff and one of my nieces chopped a hole in the ice for water. We brought some water in jugs from the city, but also boiled lake water. Packing for winter cottage trips is always interesting because you're always aware that you pack has to be pulled on a sled across the ice. The more weight there is, the harder the crossing will be.



Other pics/highlights...

A bonfire out on the ice:



A marten spotted outside the cabin window on our last morning:



My sister and my nieces improvised a birthday cake for Jeff (much easier to smuggle/carry cupcakes across the lake than an entire cake):



Making ice candles:



Running out on the frozen lake in the snowstorm:



In case you're wondering, we have no indoor plumbing at the cottage; there's an outhouse up on the hill. A tad cold in the middle of winter but it just adds to the adventure.

And the bonus: no mosquitoes, woohoo!



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Snowjump

Above: me, on a frozen lake in northern Ontario during a snowstorm this past weekend. Photo by my sister.

Ack, way busy. Jeff and I had a great time at the cottage with my sister and her family, but there's a ton to catch up on and I'm trying very hard to get control of my rapidly expanding To Do list.

More on our cottage trip later this week.

Video O' The Day

(thanks to Rob Wynne for the video above)



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