AUGUST THINGS

Quieter days, with wind blowing off the lake.  This past Thursday, I thought I'd take the dorey out for a wavy ride, but first wanted to secure the screening on the dock gazebo.  There was no movement, but my eyes were drawn to the rocks along the shoreline, a few feet from where I stood on the dock.  The second look, left no doubt that I was indeed being watched.  The snake was copperish and seemed to have a diamond pattern along its back - a back that went on forever I might add.  The snake was doing a cobra-look-alike and seemingly facing in my direction.  I left my task, and returned up to the cottage.  A reading and napping afternoon followed.  After our dinner, we went out in the motor boat to the other end of the lake, to try to catch a good view of the sunset at the other end of the lake.  There was not a magnificent view, or else we missed it. Nice evening ride though.



Walking Stick dropped in.



Friday was to be Christy, Zoe and Christopher's last full day at the lake.  I walked over to their cottage with Lanie, just in case there would be no other time to say goodbye.  They were not home nor were they packed so I assumed departure was not imminent:  Larry continued working on the ceiling repair, then sought out and repaired the shower stall leak, and followed that task, with wrapping the beaver protection fencing around the trees near the shore.
Suzanne had a bad day today. Don has been ill for some time and she has always sat with him at lunch and chatted when she goes there. This day, he was very sick and had been ill all night, but despite his weakness and pain, he wanted to see her. She put on her great smile and greeted him, her heart breaking for this couple. Don is dying from bone cancer.

 

The Grothiers were having a friend's party and we were invited along with Dave and Judy to join the group for martinis.  The usual crowd:  Bob and Judy, Dalt, Jim, Ted and Barb, and two other couples, Chuck Abrams and Louise [familiar] and Howard and Jean.  Howard is from my Hubbell Street neighbourhood and was a good friend of Nelson's during the Narrows Lane Road summers.  We got reacquainted and Jean and I had some conversation.  She had given my mother a perm and also did her nails, said my mom was a Lady and liked to look nice.  Yes, that is true.  Got caught up with Judy D. and noted that she was in much better health that the last time I talked with her.  Barb was lying down when we arrived.  Later she got up and I thought something had changed with her and later learned that she has stenosis and is on morphine.

After the Grothier martinis, we brought our cooked whole chicken over to Climenhages to be warmed on the bbq and shared at dinner. 

Yesterday, Saturday, began with warmer weather and sunshine, and some humidity as well.

Delta - the Mill on the left, heading toward
 the grocery store and the library

I went to Delta to check out the Paintings auction.  It was at the large corner house on King Street where for years a lot of items were available for sale - all appeared somewhat junky to us, and the items spread down the driveway, into the back yard and also filled the large front porch.  Likely there were gems there for someone with more patience than I, but now the house is being sold and the items removed.  Many of the paintings had been sold by the time I got there and what was being put up for bids was receiving none, or at best $2.00.  Not a large crowd and I suspect most were dealers.  Bored with that, I walked to the church sale down the road.  This was better.  I picked up an Elvis book for Larry which told his story up to 1976.  Also picked up two other books for me to read but when I got them home, found no interest after a few pages.  The dishes:  A platter, a spaghetti bowl, 2 casserole dishes, a glass fruit bowl, some demi-tasse cups for the girls to have for a tea party. A glass square vase. Skewers, package not opened. An oil painting.  Pretty good bargain for $7. I also went to the library to update my ipod and to the grocery store before returning to the cottage.



Delta Millstream

Larry worked on the ceiling again.  Final goodbyes to Christy as they headed out to the Ottawa airport.  The sky clouded over, and some rain mid-afternoon.  Suze had been in  a ball hockey tournament for the usual fundraiser for Cornfest and was on the couch with a book, a rising bruise on her forward and a strained ankle supporting a hot bag.  Soon she snoozed for a bit. We later went to Athens for a great lasagna dinner a la Rodger and finished up the evening with a game of cards. At the end of the game, I was in my usual place, lost and last.  Whyever do I think cards are fun!?

We had taken the computer with us and I downloaded a two month supply of upgrades to my ipod that would have taken something like 80 hours on dial up, but with wifi, only 25 minutes.  Sure miss wifi. 



Oil Painting from
 Delta Church sale



Storms overnight and a nervous Lanie.  This morning, Sunday the 21st day of August, it rains.  Bev called and suggested that I join her at the theatre in Kingston to see the movie "The Help".  I was feeling somewhat lethargic and also uncertain whether or not we were committed to attend a Band concert at Fort Henry with J and D. [Cancelled due to rain plus no tickets available.]  I called Judy and she also was non-committal, but now I definitely knew that I wanted to go.  Judy came along too and somehow we were able to get to Kingston via Hwy 15 and Bev via the 401 and meet up at the theatre before the movie began.  The line up for tickets was quite long and accounted for the delay that got us seated just after the movie began.  The show was great and we three who had also read the book were thrilled with it.  During the show, there were rumbles of thunder that at first seemed to be part of the movie, but we soon realized that that was not so.  Pretty heavy storms passed overhead while we enjoyed the film.

A tornado touched down at Goderich.



Some shopping and some food followed, then the return home.  Another cooked whole chicken came to our dinner rescue and D and J joined us at our cottage.  We completed the evening with yet another game of cards.  It behooves me to report that I had good cards, good luck, coming in 2nd, a comfortable place.  Guess that is why I play cards.