Archives for the 'Life at the lake' Category
The last weekend at the lake
Wendy, Mark, Ollie, the dogs and I just got back from a freezing weekend at the lake. We went up on Thursday and got back not that long ago. Despite the incredible wind, we had a pretty good time and managed to close up the cabin as well.
It was most definitely our last weekend of 2008. We got up to the lake and Mark and I took Maggi for her traditional swim in the lake. I was tossing a stick to her and wouldn’t toss it into the water in case she didn’t want to go in. After the second toss near the water, she grabbed her stick and just jumped in. Once she goes into the water for the first time, she turns into a different dog. She is relaxed, laid back, and sleeps for hours. Every morning I try to take her down to the water. If you don’t she is constantly on alert in case one of us may try to sneak a swim in.
Arlington Beach was incredibly quiet on Thursday. For a long time the only thing I heard was the crunching of leaves under Mark, Maggi, and my feet. Mark and I always do a couple of things when we are at the cabin. We take Maggi for long walks where we can talk and him and I will play some games on my PSP. This weekend we managed to do both. The game of choice was SOCOM. Through both of our combined efforts, democracy is safer all over the world.
After supper on Thursday the wind picked up and it got quite cold. That night I almost froze to death. Despite three space heaters, it was COLD up there and the temperature dipped down below freezing with an intense wind. It was awfully cold in our uninsulated cabin. While Mark and Oliver had lots of quilts and blankets and slept fine, Wendy and I underestimated what we would need. On top of that both dogs decided they were cold and crawled into bed which shoved me up against a series of 2×4 studs only some plywood keeping me from the elements. It’s a 3/4 bed which isn’t big enough for Wendy and I let alone a large dog who likes to stretch out. It definitely isn’t large enough for Wendy, myself, Maggi and then Hutch. On top of that Wendy decided to move the heaters around so we had three space heaters on one breaker all night which kept tossing the breaker. I was too out of it to know what was going on but it meant all night we were listening to the breaker go off and with it the heat.
On Friday we drove from Arlington Beach to Regina which is about an hour and it takes you through part of the stunningly beautiful Qu’Appelle Valley. As we were driving through the town of Bulyea, Wendy yelled out Boo Yeah and that sadly was yelled by her or Mark every time we saw the sign to the town. We took in Cornwall Centre and Chapters. We did some Christmas shopping and picked up some books. Mark picked out a book of 1001 unbelievable facts and was determined to read each and every one of them to us. I picked up Fiasco by Thomas Ricks and also Big Russ & Me by Tim Russert. Wendy surprised all of us by seemingly surrendering to the household of guys by picking up a book on World War II.
Friday night I pulled out every blanket that we owned (we have quite a few quilts up there for this very reason). There was so many quilts and heavy blankets on the bed, I could feel them pushing me into the mattress. After waking up and feeling like I was sleeping on the surface of the sun, I scaled back the mound of blankets on the bed and was okay. A re-arrangement of the heaters made the cabin a lot more tolerable as well. The dogs were given a choice between sleeping in front of the heaters comfortably or sleeping in a crowded bed with Wendy and I. They chose the bed. We even tried to get them to sleep with Mark but they would get out and sleep with us.
Today the wind was just incredible. We heard it was around 100 km/h. It was a battle just getting the garbage out to the dump. I did manage to brave the wind to take some measurements of our cabin and some decks of cabins around us. The plan is to build a 8×10 deck on the back of the cabin and a small 10×4 front step on the front. Neither will be very expensive as we plan to use simple post and pier construction on concrete blocks. The end result is that we should have 120 square feet or 25% more usable space next year. I think I posted this before but the decks are inspired by these buildings.
With some sadness we cleaned the cabin up, secured the barbecue cover around the grill, locked the place up and said goodbye until next spring. The winter will be spent pricing out insulation and our new decks. Mark is trying to get me to spring for a flat screen television but his chances of that happening are about the same as the Leafs winning the Stanley Cup this year.
Family Unity
Wendy snapped this photo of Mark, Oliver, and I playing Madden 07 on my PSP. The bed we are all flaked out on is a 3/4 bed which is crowded enough with the three of us on there but the photo doesn’t show both Maggi and Hutch sleeping on the bottom of the bed as well. It was crowded enough that we could not all exhale at the same time.
I am not a big gamer. I generally use the PSP to watch videos on more than anything but at the cabin I tend to game more. It’s a combination of a lack of television, Internet, and the fact that Mark loves to play as well. Although as the photo shows, Mark and I may soon have some competition in the future.
Reflecting on the summer
I have posted some rambling thoughts on the summer that was here. Nothing profound (as if any of this ever is).
Out for a drive
We took some gravel roads while heading to and from the lake earlier this week.
The Cabin Weblog
I used to host this site on my site but since I migrated to WordPress, it was just easier to host this at Blogspot. After playing a bit with it, the cabin weblog is more or less online. We wanted a place to post the changes that we are making over the last couple of years and since quite a few friends have used it this summer, we needed something that we can give to people to find Arlington Beach and also so they know what to bring along with them. It is also a place for Wendy and I to post some links to some design and architecture sites and articles that we find interesting.
The Long Weekend
After working this last long weekend and then seeing too many doctors, we got away to the cabin for a couple of days of nothingness on Monday afternoon. Wendy packed the car while I got a couple of hours of sleep. We got away a little later than normal and I had thought that we were coming back Thursday (more about that later).
We arrived at the lake and unpacked some stuff. While Wendy was arranging things and taking care of Oliver, Mark and I went outside and put up our new gazebo. I hadn’t thought we needed a gazebo but we got one at the Centre to provide some shelter out back. The one we got was a heavy duty one and quite nice. By the time I realized we could set one up at the lake, Superstore was out of them. We later saw some temporary ones at Jysk but decided that $119 was too much to pay for something that was wobbly even in the store. After talking about it, we just decided to wait until next spring and get one as it wasn’t that high of a priority. While getting something from Wal-Mart the other day, they were blowing out the same kind of gazebo for $40. After thinking about it, we decided to try it out and if it only last the summer, we would only be out $40. After seeing it had some guy wires, we also decided to pick up some heavy duty plastic tent pegs so the total cost was about $45. It does give Wendy and I some shade to have a coffee in the morning and relax a bit at night. It also gives us about 90 more square feet to live in.
Mark and I had it up in about 10 minutes. Wendy joined us for some of it but I think one person could get it together pretty easily. It said in large letters that it needed to be taken down in extreme weather conditions but what is extreme weather? A good gust of wind or a typhoon? I am still not sure what the answer is but the next day when a blustery thunderstorm blew and rained quite a bit on it, it held fine although I think part of it was because those tent pegs were not going anywhere.
That night I finished James Howard Kunstler’s novel, World Made By Hand. I don’t know if I would recommend it or not. It was supposed to incorporate the ideas from The Long Emergency and depict a life after the oil had run out. It kind of does that but it also shows life after nuclear bombs have been detonated in Los Angeles and Washington D.C. (after a war in Israel) and a couple of coup’s have happened in the U.S. In the end it is a kind of post apocalyptic novel that describes small town life after a nuclear war, after a series of epidemics, and the oil having run out. While the book was interesting, it reminded me a lot of Pierre Burton’s book, The Great Depression which may be a more accurate look at what life would look like in a devastated economy. While I agree with Kunstler that our belief in technology may be naive, I think he underestimates regional ingenuity to deal with some of the problems that we are facing. You can find more about the book on it’s website or check out the trailer for the book here.
The next morning the Pederson’s all came out for a day of exploring, eating, swimming, and chilling out at the lake.
Of course Mark also showed of his incredible fashion sense while at the beach.
Of course even after I showed him this photo, he still thought he looked pretty cool.
That night we managed to use our washer drum barrel fire pit. After burning some holes in our lawn, I realized that if I put it on a cinder block, the grass does better and Smokey the Bear can calm down and get off his stress medication.
While we were up there, we installed a replacement to the antique cabinet that was hanging on the wall in the kitchen.
The shelves weren’t that hard to install but I did have to do a bit of painting to replace the brown void where the cabinet used to be. With the shelves and the storage containers under the table, Wendy feels as if she has enough space now to work and maneuver. I needed to pick up some more screws but the next time we go up I plan to add a couple of book shelves but the interior is coming along. The big thing now is to keep painting an interior wall or two every time we go up.
Before we left, I made Mark help me barbecue some hamburgers. This was kind of life changing for him as last week he wanted to be some sort of eXtreme sports star, now he wants to be a chef. Tonight he offered up all sorts of commentary on Wendy’s cooking while trying to figure out how to make salad like his mom.
We got back in the city on Wednesday night. I had thought we were staying until Thursday but Wendy only packed enough stuff for two nights. The end result was we came home and got up this morning ready to go to the Saskatoon Exhibition. I generally end up enjoying the Ex when we go but in July when I think of the carney’s, the crowds, pickpockets, and the heat, I think that there is a better way to spend a day. It is a big deal to Mark so I promise Mark that we can go every year and we have a good time. This year was no exception.
This was the first year Mark was tall enough to ride on the adult rides. He was DEVASTATED last year when he wasn’t tall enough to go on the bumper cars and had to suffer the indignity of riding with his mom. Him and I scouted out the rides and all he wanted to go on was the bumper cars. After I assured him that no matter what happened, I would get him more tickets to go on the bumper cars, he went on the Tilt-a-Whirl with Wendy.
Then it was off to the bumper cars because the rides either scared him a bit or he heard stories of kids tossing their cookies on them and he didn’t want to risk not going on the bumper cars.
After a couple of times of him trying out the bumper cars, I realized that he will never ever drive a vehicle I own. He gets too much joy out of hitting other drivers. We then made our way to the food area where all sorts of really unhealthy and tasty things were being offered up.
The Ex was a lot of fun but the acclaimed Canadian Pavilion was a little odd. RCMP and military recruiting plus a big display on how the borders are being patrolled. I couldn’t figure out if this was Canada or a police state. What happened to celebrating multiculturalism, diversity, and making fun of ourselves? We did get a big map of Canada and a 1-800-O-Canada ruler out of it though.
Gone fishing
I am off to the lake with the family. I can’t see myself posting much from there.
It came from the blue lagoon
Maggi grabbing her football out of the lake. She lives for the water. While we were up at the lake, she would get her leash, get her football, and go and sit out in the lane trying to guilt me to take her to the lake for yet another swim and a game of fetch in the water. Despite standing well back from the water, she manages to bring the ball to me before she shakes off the water ensuring that both of us are wet within minutes.
Driving out to the lake
Mark was clowning around in the back seat and somehow got Maggi to wear her water dish long enough to take this photo.
Mark learning to skimboard
Now on YouTube. For those of you who are sure I am a horrible father, I did check out his injuries and they weren’t severe enough to stop him from trying out his skimboard for another half hour or so.
A Bridge Too Far
On the weekend Wendy, Mark, Maggi and I left Saskatoon and headed to the cabin to get away. Mark and I went exploring with Maggi and along the way Maggi realized it was far more enjoyable to go under bridges then over them. In case you are wondering, the video makes it look like there is a current but it just a channel between the marina and the lake and there was a bit of a breeze. Maggi was in no danger of being swept away. Wendy has more about the weekend on her blog.
A bed for the cabin
I made the mistake of showing this to Wendy the other day. The next thing I knew she was commenting that a smaller version of this is what we need at the lake. Despite me lacking the same enthusiasm that Wendy has for the project, it will quite a bit cheaper to build than purchasing a new bed although for this summer, we will be using a queen sized air mattress to sleep on. With Wendy being off work on medical leave, she has turned her attention to getting organized for the cabin. If you care, her complete to do list for the lake can be found here.
Our Cabin Weblog- Recently listened to music
- David Gray – Be Mine October 19, 2008
- David Gray – December October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Knowhere October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Real Love October 19, 2008
- David Gray – Last Boat To America October 19, 2008
- Recently additions to my library
- An error has occurred; the feed is probably down. Try again later.
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