Monday, July 31, 2017

Monday, July 31, 2017

Good morning! ☀️How do "they" know? Our Scotties are not permitted, nor do they ask, to jump on our bed except on "sheets day." Well, they both jumped onto our bed at 6:30 this morning ... and it is laundry day. 



The dirty deeds, er duds are clean and put away. Yay. Kyle was hoping Mark would go fishing 🎣 in the Crestliner this afternoon but ... 



we have weather moving in from the northwest; and it's pretty hot today. 

Today's happy hour was at 3:30, an hour ahead of the storm. As you can see, we had plenty of laughs.


Gavin, Kyle, Wayne, Sue and me. It was pretty hot ahead of the storm. (Gavin must've been bopping around in his chair!) After happy hour, the boys popped into Chippy's to see the "additions" and visited. 

While Mark was walking Robbie and Belize on the road, they encountered a Labrador retriever, evidently on the loose. The dog circled them with its hair bristled up on its back. Fortunately, no one nipped and Mark was able to get the Scotties back into our cottage without incident. Sue came down with a leash and took the dog up to their garage where she checked the dog's tag and notified the out-of-state owner. Visiting folks arrived to pick up the dog a short while later, unaware that there are wolves in the area!!! Duh! 

Wayne cooked hamburgers on the barbecue while Sue put french fries in the oven. Mark had prepared mushrooms with onions and vermouth; a wonderful adult addition to the hamburgers. It was a delicious feast ... enjoyed inside as it was still too hot on the porch! The thunderstorm knocked out power for almost 1 hour so we played Mexican dominoes in the dark til nearly 10 o'clock ... with many sing-song antics. 😜🎢


Kyle had a giggle as younger brother Gavin began a funny schitck of 'puttin' on the ritz' with a plant hanger as his dance cane. Hilarious. 

We had great fun and silliness til Mark and I were sent home at 10. 🎢🀣

Tomorrow morning, the boys are going fishing about 9 o'clock. 

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Sunday, July 30, 2017

Good morning 🌞! At 9:15 we picked up Sue and Wayne and went for breakfast. Our usual waitress was there, no small talk, just efficient service of a good breakfast. Afterwards, we all went to Canadian Tire for a new ladder that was onsale. Mark and I bought a few things for Chippy's; aqua blue bathmat set, shower stall caddy, flexible cutting boards, a stainless 2 quart pot (on sale) and a zapper fly swatter! Ka-Ching! That's a great store, love it. 

Today Kyle and Gavin arrive for a week at the cottage! There will be lots of fishing, boat rides and after-dinner games. πŸ‘πŸ»

At 4 o'clock, we met on the dock for happy hour. It was pretty hot; we watched the neighbors' children learn to waterski; they look to be about 6 years young! 


Mark, Sue and Wayne with Shorty Hot Pants on the dock. 

It was Sue and Wayne's night to cook. We were waiting for Kyle and Gavin to arrive and put brats on the barbecue at 6:15. Shortly after, Kyle phoned to say they couldn't get a ride until tomorrow morning. Sue, Wayne, Mark and I played crazy eights count down to freshen our minds before the boys arrive and want to play. (It's supposed to be a quick game, but after having gin at happy hour we weren't very quick!) 🀣


Cocktails, pre-dinner at Big Bear's ... it's all fun 'n games here. 

It was dog grooming evening so we headed back to our cottage at nine-ish. Tomorrow, it's washy-Monday as we have nothing to wear; and shopping for dinner items. Ta Ta til tomorrow. 

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Saturday, July 29, 2017

Good morning (just!) Mark and Wayne installed a scare light on the upper path while I repainted devil rocks at the dock's picnic table. It's a gorgeous day!


Robbie and BeeZee liked poking about on the rocks. 


Nose in the water πŸ’¦ ... fearless Mz Bee. 


Ha! It's the same temp here as at home. Crazy. 

At 4 o'clock I was prepping dinner when Wayne stuck his head in Chippy's door to call for ice and mix ... it's happy hour! 

We had many laughs at happy hour and watched the neighbor's boats coming in from afternoon adventures. It was a perfect day! After happy hour, we all went to feed and walk our doggies. At 6:15, Sue and Wayne arrived ready for Chinese food night. I made stir fried rice noodles with vegetables, Mark made teriyaki chicken and jasmine rice. We've decided no dessert for awhile as we are getting too phat. 😱  Wayne was in the mood for Mexican dominoes, so we tidied up and headed up the path to play in the screen room. Meanwhile, Donna and Dennis phoned to invite us all for dinner on Wednesday night. YeeHaw, super fun! Wayne phoned to see what we could bring, but Donna said "nothing." Ha, we'll think of something! 

Mark was the winner of Mexican dominoes, by a longshot. He won 9 hands in a row! (Who's the man?) I had so many tiles on one hand that super-Wayne had to add them for me! 

By 10 o'clock we were back at Chippy's Hollow to walk to walk the Scotties. Three different wolves have been spotted right around our cottage. Yikes! Aroooooo ... 😳


Friday, July 28, 2017

Friday, July 28, 2017

Good afternoon y'all. We're just back to the cottage from seeing Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Kenora's waterfront. πŸ˜ŽπŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦


Say what you will ... he's an eloquent speaker with a warm personality. Sue muscled her way to the front and took this picture. 

Cute, eh? 😜

Afterward, it was weekend grocery shopping ... then a dock party tonight. 

At 6 we left for the PARTAY, well underway when we arrived. There were various hors deourves followed by hot dogs on the grill; delicious. 


I counted 42 on the docks! 


We knew about half the attendees ... plenty of guests were having fun too. 

By 9 o'clock we were home, worn out. Thanks B & H ... great time. 

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Thursday, July 27, 2017

Good morning sunshine ☀️ ... we saw Rick walk past Chippy's with a coffee in hand heading to the dock. That was good timing on his part as Mark had just begun cooking bacon and eggs ... so Rick was 'vited! (Scrambled eggs with feta cheese and ketchup ... yup, I'm known as the condiment queen.) πŸ‘Έ By 11 o'clock Rick and Daisy were on the road to Winnipeg and their next adventure. It was fun to spend time together ... and hopefully we'll see them both over the winter (in warm Florida.) 

Sue and I have been gathering things for "It's a Dog's Life" online auction which means we've been tidying up around the cottages. It's amazing the superfluous items that gather, unused. So, I took some towels to uphill to Sue and she just came downhill with towels for me. Haha. 


Robbie and auntie Sue πŸ’•

While I'm writing this Blog Mark's assembling our new kitchen cart! 


Oooo I can hardly wait to tidy cabinets and move stuff around. 

Mark was beginning the assembly as Rick was leaving. Why do I mention such a mundane thing ... well, Mark needed a hammer πŸ”¨ so I broke into Peter, Paul & Mary's song ... 




Chippy's new cabinet is assembled and already in service! WOWSA. At 4:30 with met Sue on the dark with Gordon's (Dad's) gin for happy hour. It's exactly 80° and no wind! Perfect. 

At 6:15 we walked up to Big Bear's and enjoyed Wayne's garlic herb chicken on the BBQ, Rick's leftover linguine and a salad. Rose popped in for a visit after dinner and kept us quite entertained.



Well, it looks like Mark was the main entertainment here. LOL

It was a beautiful day and a lovely evening. We walked down to watch the news just before 10 o'clock. Tata. 

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Good afternoon! 🌞It's a lovely warm and sunshiny one. Rick's been visiting Bruce and Heather for a couple nights but will be here tonight. He's cooking dinner "up top" at K's cottage. I baked a triple chocolate bundt cake for dessert. 

Mark greased the RV bearings for the eventual haul home early this afternoon. Then, Sue called to say that she had found a kitchen island cart that we had been wishing for at Chippy's. πŸ‘πŸ». So, we took a drive to Canadian Tire and picked up the last one the Kenora store had in stock. Perfect, and, it was on sale! Tomorrow, Mark will put it together. 

At 4:30 we met on the dock for gin and tonic or gin and ginger ale. We had a toast to dad, as this was a bottle of his Gordon's Gin squirreled away at Sue's house in Pompano. Rick had been busy cooking, so arrived closer to 5 o'clock for happy hour. 

At 6:15, we are headed upstairs for dinner. Everything was good ... I loved the fettuccine with baby spinach and artichoke sauce. 

Sue was "sous chef" ... Rick's delicious sauce was made in his RV. (It was pretty funny, Rick wondered if he had actually remembered to put the artichokes in the sauce!) 🀣 He did. 

After dinner we played Farkle; Wayne won the first game and Mark the next two. I doubt we will ever get Sue play this game again; she was not lucky. 🎲 

I think my triple chocolate cake was a hit for the birthday boys. Wayne, Rick and Mark all celebrated milestone birthdays this year! 


Each had a candle ... Haha ... good job Marky. πŸ’•

It was a very good evening; lots of fun! 




Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

Good morning. It rained and it rained and it rained first thing this morning. Robbie and Belize were busy watching the red squirrel leap from the deck railing onto the birdfeeder. Last night, Sue suggested we hang a safety net there for the squirrel. This morning, I decided to put the feeder on the table and let him have at it. Ha ha ... boy did that keep the kids busy; but I have a door window to wash. (There are plenty of nose prints at the lower level!) 

Sue and Wayne went to Canadian Tire or a new coffee pot. Sue brought one from Florida, but it hasn't lasted two months. Kaput; or a Sue says Cupoot. πŸ™„

I was enthused by the rain and did some deep cleaning of the recliner and sofa ... no change found ... but a few corn flakes and potato chips. πŸ€”

This evening, we are invited to Bob and Jill's for dinner along with Sue and Wayne. Sweet. 

WOWSA! 😜 ... Bob and Jill put on a fabulous barbecue dinner. There were hordes of delicious ribs, chicken, potatoes, vegetables and salad. (Bob's barbecue skills are perfect!) What a fun time we had. 

Yes, I was a poseur, everyone else was reasonably serious. (I guess they did not get the memo.) πŸ™„



Oops ... did WE drink that? 😱



Oh yeah we did. Dinner was fantastic! Stories were told, and retold and we all laughed. Jill had seen a medium and had a visit from Linda.  We all listened with deep interest.


 The bird? Or cheers? We'll never know, but we certainly had a lot of fun with Bob and Jill. Dinner was great, and it was a wonderful time. ❤️πŸ‘πŸ»πŸ˜˜

We arrived home in time to walk the dogs. The next partay with Bob and Jill is here. Mark and I will be cooking! 😊

Tata till tomorrow. πŸ’•

Monday, July 24, 2017

Monday, July 24, 2017

Good morning 😎 sunshine. Oh my aching head! Mark's hurt too ... evil Scotch! πŸ™„ Apparently there is such a thing as too much fun! 

Mark cooked breakfast for Rick and me ... great leftover potatoes plus eggs and sausages. Last night I suggested Sue and Wayne might like to swap carpets! Well, we did! That was a fun thing ... we each got something "new" for the cottages. 

About 1 o'clock, Wayne took us for a lovely boat ride to see Jim's property from the water. 


Rick and Mark, hamming it up; Daisy looks embarrassed. 🀣


Cruising along enjoying the scenery. K's boat was redone this year ... 


and looks like New!

Daisy sat with Sue and me at the table, out of the sun. 

Who looks happiest? 


The ride was further down Clearwater Bay than I had imagined. It's a good thing Mark and I didn't attempt it with the Crestliner. Jim wasn't at the lodge today so we just rode by. 

Rick left mid afternoon to see Bruce and Heather and spend a couple of nights there. He will be back Wednesday to stay in his rig on the driveway. Fun. 

Sue and Wayne cooked tonight's dinner ... coconut shrimp, filets (perhaps?) and potatoes. 😊 (No dessert as we're getting too pudgy.)  After dinner we played Farkel, a dice game. It was a good day! 

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Good morning. It is an absolutely gorgeous sunshiny day here on Kendall Inlet, Clearwater Bay. After breakfast, Mark went to Ted's no-frills in Kenora for tonight's dinner ingredients. I am so lucky that he enjoys cooking, as I did not ... and it showed. πŸ™„ Well, first, you open the box! 😳

Where oh where is our pal Rick? We half-way expected him yesterday ... but perhaps fishing at Malakai was excellent and he stayed. Anyway, we have plenty of food for tonight's dinner, just in case. 

Sue and Wayne are on their way back from Elma.


From left to right ... (I give up!) but I see Penny, Ron, Kyle, Gavin, Cody ... Wayne's sister Terry (in red) and his brother Grant with a big beard. 

Ha ha, well that was exciting. Mark and I were pulling our rig out so Wayne could back theirs in. As we were pulling out, Wayne was waiting on the road. Sue came running up "stop!"  Mark had not unplugged our extension cord ... I had not done a walk around (to doublecheck) because of the damn flies! 



No damage done ... here we are, parked again. 

Rick arrived about 230 and came to Chippy's for a visit. He will park on the driveway for a few nights! 



Mark cooked a delicious stuffed chicken dinner for us all. Rick brought a bottle of scotch which livened up the party considerably. 

After dinner, we sat on the dock for a while and apparently had another scotch.



Do you recognize the yellow hat?



Haha. 

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Saturday, July 22, 2017

Good morning. Just as we were going to do laundry, the sky opened up and a one hour thunderstorm began! Egad! It was sunny 10 minutes beforehand! What a change about country. So, we got the puzzle books out and began brain challenges as the satellite service went out on the TV as well. 😱

Sue and Wayne went to Elma for Grant's 60th birthday party. It rained here but maybe they'll have good weather ... fingers crossed. 🀞

After chores, we poured wine and sat on the dock watching the loon, kids on paddle boards and the inside of our eyelids. Rick M "might" arrive today ...

Fast forward to 7:30 ... we've eaten dinner ... it's still raining but the neighbors next door are swimming! 😳 I'm obviously an American; only real Canadians swim when it's 65F and raining! ☔️ 🏊 Brrr


By 8 o'clock, the rain was done the sun came out and a rainbow appeared. That's how we roll.  πŸ˜Ž






Friday, July 21, 2017

Friday, July 21, 2017

Good morning! It's forecast to be a hot afternoon for the dock party at Barb & John's at 5:30.




Right now, Mark's still asleep at 8:30 ... I took the doggies out at 7 and now they're snoozing again. What a lazy place! 

Robbie asks for his meal by standing on his hind legs and putting his right paw on my hand ... then sticking his tongue out. Haha. Nothing subtle about his wants. πŸΎπŸ’•


Hahaha ... this can't be real ?!


Hahaha ... a homemade party barge. If they were wearing Kenora dinner jackets I'd be impressed. 😜

At 11:30, Wayne and Susan drove their RV out for the trip to Elma tomorrow for Grant's birthday party. Afterwards, we all drove into town, them to Anicinabe and Mark and me shopping. At Home Hardware we bought a few things for Chippy's ... retiring some older pillows. on the way home from town, the rain began in earnest. I had a feeling it would continue based on the NOAA weather radar. 


The doe disappeared into the brush; her fawn watched us and then took off after mom. πŸ’•

Well, the dock party was canceled due to heavy rain. But, by 6 o'clock if at all cleared up and I took this beautiful picture of two loons in our bay. 



We ate pizza, the dog enjoyed "pizza-bones" and we went upstairs to play Mexican dominoes with K's. Tomorrow morning they are off to Elma. The Rogers were 1st and 2nd Place tonight ... Mark won. 







Thursday, July 20, 2017

Thursday, July 20, 2017

Good morning. We were up by seven to prepare for the day. After breakfast, Mark put fuel into the Ranger and packed a snack kit for the fellas. Me? I spent time sorting out my Citi MasterCard which had been compromised in Wisconsin Dells and subsequently replaced. Somehow, there was a $41 charge on it which I received an unsatisfactory answer from customer service. Hmmm ... I know what to do when we're home from traveling. 


Panoramic view from Jim's deck. 😎

Sue and I went on a mission to find Mexican dominoes for Tony to take to his parents. He really enjoyed the game and is looking forward to teaching them. Sue and I found bargains at home hardware; two colorful toss pillows for Chippy's for $8.50 each! (That's a real bargain in this part of the world.) On our way home from shopping we stopped at the chip truck for lunch and brought some home for the guys. 

Wayne, Tony and Mark arrived home at 1 o'clock with a few pickerel to clean. 



Tony took their fish home to cook for his parents! πŸ’•

At 7:15, we went to Jim's for the cocktail party.

Bruce and I ... it was a warm evening!


Sue, Wayne, Rose, Heather in the background, Dennis and me. 



John and Jim ... Dennis, Wayne and Heather in the background. 

While we were sitting on the deck, a seaplane flew past and we all waved ... and a big puff of smoke salute from the pilot. 🀣


In this picture, the plane looks far away, but it seemed like we could reach out and touch it. 😜

What a lovely evening we all had. ❤️


Wednesday, July 19, 2017

Wednesday July 19, 2017

Good morning! Well, it's now 5:20 and another day got away on me. Ha! It was rather cool and gloomy; not summery at all. Mark caught a jack fish off the dock which excited BeeZee to no end. 😎

Wayne's cousin Tony (Taiwan) arrived at noon and we popped in to say hello on our way to the RV. (I needed fancier clothes for dinner tonight at 901 plus for Jim's cocktail party tomorrow at his cottage. πŸ₯‚πŸΎ

WOWSA ... dinner at 901 Westside was THE BEST we've had on our 2500 mile trip. Mark had the walleye fillets ... me, the Rib-eye steak! πŸ‘πŸ»❤️ We'll be back ... thank you owner Brenda. 


Sue, Wayne, Tony, me and Mark. πŸ₯‚πŸΎπŸ˜Š

After dinner, we went back to Sue and Wayne's cottage to play Mexican dominoes. More wine was consumed, and rum! There were plenty of laughs ... Wayne was the big winner! πŸ‘πŸ»



Tomorrow, the fellows are going fishing on Wayne's Ranger; meanwhile, Sue and I are going shopping in town. Yeehaw. So that was it, in a nutshell. πŸ₯œπŸ˜œ



Tuesday, July 18, 2017

Tuesday, June 18, 2017

Good evening! Ha! Today got away on me. Darlene and Marianne left at 9 for a morning of downtown Kenora shopping and lunch at the "fire hall." Sue was home keeping little Foxy happy along with Julius and Shorty Hotpants. 

Mark and I took our Scotties for a ride to town. They walked around while I ran in and out of shops picking up "stuff." It was just a perfect day ... although I still say the sun here bites my skin unlike Florida. πŸ€”


Darlene and Foxy, ready for the drive to Winnipeg. 

Darlene and Marianne arrived back just after 2 o'clock with gifts for Sue and I ... which we both liked, very much! We were surprised ... she'd already brought 3 bottles of wine plus meat and Key Lime pie! What a great guest. 😘

Tonight, Sue and Wayne are coming to Chippy's for wine and Crazy 8's Countdown. 


As we were playing with a double deck of cards, Sue and I worked hard to shuffle them. Then, we plunked the cards down and Sue turned the first one over. Ha ha. Wayne put that card back and we yelled at him. But, we had forgotten to deal. LOL OMG ... Old people get goofy! 

Tomorrow, Wayne's cousin Tony arrives from Taiwan for a visit. He'll be here overnight and we plan dinner out in Keewatin. That's our day in a nutshell. πŸ₯œ 

Monday, July 17, 2017

Monday July 17, 2017

Good morning! Mark, Darlene, Marianne and I went to Kenora's Lakeside Inn for breakfast then a shopping stop at the Blue Heron. 


Yes, that's water πŸ’¦ outside the window. Some of the shop is wharf! We girls all spent $$$


Overlooking downtown Kenora on Lake of the Woods ... good breakfast. 

This afternoon, Sue and Wayne took Darlene and Marianne for a boat ride down Clearwater Bay in the Windsor craft. It was lovely and warm.



Mark and I were busy coring apples for a baked dish to accompany the pork chops. We ate dinner on the porch, talked and drank wine. It was lovely. Around 9 o'clock Mark and I headed down to Chippy's to walk Robbie and Belize. (I was worn out ... but Mark wanted to go fishing.) Being a compatible couple ... πŸ’€ and 🎣. πŸ’•

Tomorrow, Darlene and Marianne are going downtown Kenora for breakfast and shopping. They plan to head back to Winnipeg around 4 o'clock. Sue and Wayne will have little Foxy while they are away! πŸΎπŸ’•

So that's it for tonight. 😘