Weight Loss Camp

I tried a little experiment this weekend. I weighed myself at the start of the weekend, and then weighed myself tonight....Just as I figured, I lost a little, actually about 1 pound, or 2.2 kilograms...it sounds better to say 'kilograms' cause there are more of them!

So I am declaring our cottage, a fat camp! It's not an intentional thing, but I think it works, probably because I am so active at the cottage, not so much through the week, when I am writing. We all know how many trips we make back and forth to the boat, to the shed, to the camp, to the outhouse, to our buddy's place next door, and so on. Not to mention, usually I am carrying something, from tools for fixing the water pump, to outboard motors and gas tanks.

Add to that the fact that whenever we are at the camp, we usually end up taking a walk, this weekend a two mile walk along the country road, and I get more rest because I am usually too tired from the fresh air to stay up too late. We typically eat a little lighter fare at the camp too, so it figures that I might lose a few pounds. I suppose tomorrow when I go to the greasy spoon diner for lunch at work, I will gain my lost pound back, but there is light at the end of the tunnel, when I finally get to be at the camp for longer periods, I'm gonna drop some pounds...who knows, after I retire, I might change the place into a weight loss camp and make some money getting fat camp customers to carry my outboard motor, cut the grass, work on the pump, paint the exterior, cut firewood....people will pay for the experience....they will love it...I will love it....

Water Pump Woes

Hi! How are you doing tonight? We're just back from a fun filled weekend at the cottage. We had some friends down this weekend, which made it nice, particularly as the thunder and lightning and heavy rain last night kept us inside most of the evening. We did have a chance for a short walk on the country road, something I always enjoy.


This year's heavy rains and high water has done yet another number on my wharf, it's completely apart now, but no matter, it's coming out of the water as soon as I can get it out, and into the campfire. A new wharf next year is on the list. I can't be bothered trying to fix this one again.
We got through the weekend in fine style, and then around supper time today, Wendy said, "We have no water."

"No water?" I said, "Uh-oh" and sure enough, turn on a tap and nothing comes out. So I checked things out, the pump was running, but not pumping water. I pulled the hose in and looked at the footvalve, to discover it wasn't holding the water back. A footvalve is a 'one way valve' water will come into the hose, but the valve closes behind it, so the water cannot run back out of the hose. Water was running out of mine when I pulled it up. Luckily I had a new one on hand, (can't have enough spare parts at the camp) So I installed it and tried priming the pump. After a bunch of attempts, still no water. We had to head for home, so I shut it down and we came home.

I have a suspicion that the wharf may have been floating up and down on the water line and rubbed a whole in it somewhere, which would let the water run back out. That's my suspicion, not necessarily the answer. I am going back down some night this week to pull it up and inspect it for pin holes etc.

It's always something.....The Chevy Tracker is still not working, still in the Chevy Tracker shop, clinging to life precariously....but our friends were driving a very nice Ford Ranger 4X4...I sat behind the wheel....I liked it....I want one....

We had a nice barbecue of ribs, topped off with potatoe salad and cole slaw, rolls, cheese bread, fresh strawberries and apple pie for dessert last night...here is a little joke we played on the girls just before we got the barbecue lit!

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Almost forgot...remember the mouse that had me up all night armed with a BB gun trying to end his career as a house mouse? Well, poor little feller succumbed to the lure of peanut butter and got himself done in by a snap trap.....RIP

Screen House

We went to a birthday party last night for a friend who was turning 50, not unlike myself a couple of weeks ago. It was a mild evening, no rain, but not clear either. Sitting out back on their deck, beside the swimming pool, I remember thinking how pleasant it was, in part because they had one of those screen tents set up.

These have become super popular these days, infact, looking around the neighboring backyards I could see three more in addition to the one I was under. We have one ourselves in our backyard. They are simple to set up, although it works better as a two person job. But once they are up, you have a comfortable, screened place for a picnic table, or some chairs. They make a great place to sit in the evenings away from the bugs and out of the rain, if it is raining.

I have ours tied to a fence, and our house, to withstand the windy days. It's been up in some pretty dramatic storms and withstood them all. In fact, we have owned this one for around 4 or 5 years now, without any problems.

The sun is fading the top, but otherwise, it is still in good shape. I get a kick out of people who say, "Oh no, I am going to sit out here in the sun, I don't want to be in there in the shade." Then after they sit in the sun for a little while they are dragging their lawn chair under the canopy....the sun isn't what it used to be, and sitting in it for any length of time can be downright dangerous for your health. That's one of the reasons why these screen tents are so popular nowadays.

We are thinking about getting a new one for home, and taking the one we have now to the cottage, although I don't think it's necessary because we have a roof over our deck at the camp, which does a fine job of keeping the sun and rain off, although, it isn't screened, but there are no bugs at the camp........LMAO!!!

If you are considering a screen tent for your yard, I would recommend this Columbia Sun Basin II FIRST UP Screen House 10-Foot by 10-Foot Canopy

It's a good size, 10 ft X 10 ft and not too complicated to put up, using what they call, "ZipFrame™ technology"
The Omni-Shade top offers sun protection of UPF +40 rating. A nice feature is a rain gutter system that helps eliminate water-pocketing and roof sagging and something ours doesn't have, but I wish it did, a removable screen curtain.
You can find out more about this screen house, Here!

30 Reasons Why I Love Canada

I think this picture, which is actually my header picture, symbolizes a good part of why I love the True North Strong and Free, Canada...On the eve of Canada Day, I thought it might be nice to write about my Country and why I love it......

So I thought perhaps I would start with a list....

1) Tim Horton's Coffee....nuff said....

2) Fishing. The fishing is great around here.

3) Hunting. The hunting is great around here.

4) Hockey. We are pretty good at our national sport. We invented it...and Wayne Gretzky...backyard rinks...lakes that freeze...

5) Not everyone is carrying a handgun.....but if we are...we are pretty good shots....(see #16 below)

6) Not everyone goes fishing or hunting...but we all pretend we do....

7) We laugh at our politicians as much as they laugh at us....they don't always know we are laughing at them...

8) We can tell our $5.00 bills from $20 bills just by the color.

9) Freedom...we have it...others want it...others say they have it...they don't...not really....not the way we do. (See number 10 below)

10) Topless sunbathing laws in Ontario...women aren't breaking the law to take their shirts off in public....gotta love that...tell me that we haven't got freedom!! Some countries won't even let their women take off the scarf on their heads....



11) Cottage Country...we invented 'going to the camp' on Friday nights.

12) Lakes and rivers...we got all kinds of them...

13) Nice Neighbors. We get along very well with our neighbors, both at home, at the cottage and across the border. We get along good with most everyone...except maybe some Taliban guys...they might say different, but they will have to agree with number 5 above.

14) Canadian Television. Rick Mercer, W5, Corner Gas, The Junior Forest Rangers, This Hour Has 22 Minutes, The Beachcombers, North of Sixty, the weather girl on channel 3....oh never mind....

15) Snow...we get it...we typically don't panic about it...although we did once in Toronto, but the army helped dig us out.

16) The Canadian Armed Forces...the toughest bunch of soldiers, sailors and pilots in the world...and good snow shoveler when need be....

17) The Spring and Summers....so nice following the winters....makes going to the cottage such a delight!

18) Snowmobiles. We invented them...tobogans....sleding down the middle of the street in January when school is closed for a snow storm....

19) Our flag...not sure why...I just like it.

20) The vastness of the prairie provinces...the majesty of the Rocky Mountains, the rugged grandeur of Labrador, the picturesque views of the Eastern Shore of Nova Scotia, the woods of New Brunswick, the family campgrounds in PEI, cottage country in Ontario, the fishing in Manitoba, Wreck Beach in British Columbia, gold mining in the Yukon, polar bears in Nunavut, downtown Montreal on a Saturday night, real cowboy singer Ian Tyson in Alberta....the fact that we have a place called "Nunavut"

21) The paintings of landscape artist Tom Thompson and The Group of Seven...the fact that we have a something called "The Group of Seven"

22) The evocative paintings of Alex Coville....especially the one of him and his wife and cat by the refrigerator at night...

23) The writings of Farley Mowatt, such as "The Dog Who Wouldn't Be" and "No Birds Sang"

24) Pierre Elliot Trudeau and his infamous finger and pirouette...and his legacy of a constitution....

25) The Inuit in the North on dogsleds and snowmobiles...

26) Robert Service and The Cremation of Sam McGee. "The night on the marge of lake labarge, I cremated Sam McGee"

27) Ancestors and immigrants from far and wide, making us a truly diverse country!

28) Health Care....we have it...we don't pay for it...

29) Ben Mulroony...um...not sure about this one....

30) We have a National television newscaster who is so old he proves our free heath care works!

There ya go, my top 30 reasons why I love my country Canada!!!

HAPPY CANADA DAY!!!!!

Floating Wharves

Floating wharves and high water.....not always a good thing...this is what happens when you haphazardly stick your old wharf in the water in the early summer and don't get around to fixing it up and securing it properly with pipes to ride up and down on. All I did was stick it together, tie it to the shore and hope for the best. I got the worst....LOL!! Oh well, it will give me something to do when I get a chance. In the meantime, it has given me an idea for my new wharf, I think I will have a turn in it like this is....


Mouse Update
The mouse is still in the house! I left out two of those sticky traps before we left for the cottage yesterday. He apparently is smarter than that....either that or seeing me sitting there on Friday night with a bb gun scared him to death!! I doubt that....