We Love our Lake Cottage Life

We have owned our Lake Cottage for 37 years now, and we still love it.  We opened it up yesterday, and it truly feels like coming home when we pull up to the dock.

 It is not a very fancy place. We have the only cottage located on a tiny island in a gorgeous river/ lake system that is about a 2-hour drive north of our home. It is only a short distance from the mainland shore with other cottages, but the only way to actually get to our island is by boat. We rent a dock on the mainland at a tourist campground.  We arrange to leave the boat there over the winter and in the summer we park the boat at a dock, and when we are there, we leave our car in their parking area. We own the cottage itself and pay taxes to the local municipality, but the property is technically that of the government, and we have a permanent lease with the provincial government. It is considered to be on a navigable waterway because it is an island, and that changes the status of the property so that it can not be owned outright by us.

The cottage itself is rather primitive, and it's showing it's age. We purchased it for a good price off a man who had kind of pieced it together with odds and end of reclaimed construction materials that don't really make a cohesive look to the place, but we always found it kind of fun and funky. We have a lot to do to keep up the repair but Bob, my husband, is fantastic at keeping everything going one way or another. In our first years out there, he set up a solar electrical system with a small back up generator. The stove is propane, the toilet is a composting one, and our primary source of heat in the cooler months is a fireplace. 

Going to cottage country is being discouraged by the provincial government right now because of COVID19. We were careful to follow the recommendations they made that if you did go out you needed to be prepared and minimize your contact with others and try not to utilize their local health care system. We went out there with everything we needed and did not interact with anybody. Heck, we didn't even see anyone on this long weekend Monday!

 Our immediate family, despite some ups and downs,  has done pretty well with being quarantined.

We think that this cottage where we have spent so much time over the years is so isolated that we are kind of used to keeping ourselves occupied and we can be quite self-sufficient. I also think we have learned to spread out and give each other some physical space when needed. The cottage truly is a sanctuary where you can listen to the loons and songbirds, hear waves against the rocks and learn to relax in your own thoughts.

Propeller

Our boat propeller has taken a beating over the summer. 

We have a brand new one on order.

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OOPPPS!!
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I was aiming at putting this post on my lake blog but got myself confused and uploaded it to the wrong blog!   Well I hope you enjoy my pretty photograph.  I just love the grays of the water.

I am having a tired, mistake making kind of day. I have been too busy lately. I do that. I have trouble finding my limits and gadging my energy level until it is too late. I am lasting through longer days, but I find the next day I am tired and cranky and make a lot of mistakes and drop a lot of things. 
I had swimming therapy group at 9:00 this morning and I wasn't at my best there either; I lost my balance more than once. One time I wound up with the aquatic therapist grabbing me from under the water to try and get me upright. She told me "It is not wise to keep smiling when you are going under.. close your mouth!".

I think I will go have a nap before I try and do anything more on the computer today.

How my Lake "to do" list went.

As usual,  I was a bit over optimistic with my plans, but it was still a great weekend at the Lake. The weather was absolutely perfect and having time alone with my husband was very very nice.

My favorite place to be.

We got the laminate flooring down on the screen porch and the difference is unbelievable. We have had an unfinished wood board surface and it was starting to rot a bit around the edges.  We have gone back and forth about what to do about that floor for 25 years now .. we think it is not worth installing good wood planking  but we are still a little worried that laminate won't hold up to weather exposure.

The way this worked was I bent over, picked up a board, waited until I stopped feeling dizzy and then hauled in one laminate plank at a time from the other room. My husband fitted them together, marked and cut them and then I helped him guide the far end of the board into the right spot for a final click into place. I also sat on a chair a lot,  supervised, and admired Bob's hard work. Bob wouldn't let me play with the power tools-- this time.

The dock partially cleaned.

The next big job was the dock.  I actually like  power washing. You stand there and the water pressure does most of the work and it is so satisfying to  see the color of the wood changing. We took turns cleaning  but the work load was a little more even with this project. Mainly I held the sprayer with my strong hand and waved it around and I would switch to my left when my right got tired ---- and 2 minutes later think that was a bad idea when the water started spaying around randomly in the air and I would switch hands back again.  We got the first third of the dock done. I hope the nice weather lasts long enough for me to get the rest of the dock finished. We need to get some sealer/preservative on the wood and repair some weak spots in the planking.

Home exercise was planned.. to heck with that silly idea!  I had done lots of real life exercise and sore enough to prove it! I did do my leg and hip stretches because they actually help lessen my pain.

Guitar.. nope ..... I didn't even take it out of it's case...

My Christmas crafting  is slow and gradual and satisfying. Next week it will involve a hot glue gun.


I wish I could show you a picture of the big pile of branches I clipped for the fire place (no axe or chainsaws involved).. but we burned them as we cuddled by the fire each night. It is now Fall in Manitoba and the nights are getting very chilly.

My dock, ladder and old blue boat.

Last on my list was the swimming. Well, I did climb down my new dock ladder  and I got on to the rock at the base in waist deep water with Bob watching me for safety.  I chickened out of actually swimming, partly because it was freaking cold, and partly because I didn't want to go swimming by myself. Bob apparently figured out the cold part long before me and wouldn't get on a bathing suit. Getting out of the lake was a LOT harder than getting in and involved some panicking on my part. It is very obvious that I still need to work on getting a whole lot more strength in my weak left arm and hand. I don't think I will try this again any time soon.

The approach to my beautiful old swimming spot.

Summer at the Lake

I am spending a fair bit of time at the lake right now. Cottage life is a real gauge for me of how much I am improving. You tend to not see changes when you are dealing with your day to day life, but at the cottage I am comparing my activities to what they were last summer.  I told a lady at my Stroke Recovery Support Meeting that I was going to the lake and her response was something of a harsh .. "nice for you just getting to relax at the lake.".  It couldn't be farther from the truth. I don't want to spend my days just relaxing,  I want to cook fun meals, I want to chop wood for the fireplace.  I want to go swimming,  hiking and boating and I want to be helping with the work of repairing and maintaining the cottage. I work very hard to towards those goals and I participate as much as I am able.

My cottage is a little primitive to say the least, but it is the place in the world that makes me the happiest. It is the only cottage on a 5 acre island, and is run on solar energy with a propane stove and BBQ and no fridge. We have had the place for 28 years now and mainly we putter with it making tiny changes each summer. Now we are at the point where we are starting to redo the repairs we made when we first bought the place. The walls are creaking, the paint outside is peeling, the floor is slanting a little, and dock boards need replacing.

 Last year I literally had trouble walking over the floor because of a little slant. This year I only notice it when I am overtired. The 5 steps to get in the cottage are a bit rickety and steep but this year, as long as I am holding the rail I do okay. Midnight trips to the outhouse involved waking up my husband to get me down the back stairs and over a few feet of rocky terrain, This year we understand my problems so much better. We have changed the step and added a whole lot of solar lighting and I can cope on my own much to my families "night time relief".



My other huge issue has been getting in and out of the boat at the docks. We have just resurfaced the mainland dock and there is a dock pole in the just the right spot to hang onto. The dock still needs a bit of leveling but having an even, secure surface is just wonderful! Both docks are solid docks, not floating, and once I get up on it I stop and take a minute to stop feeling dizzy from the upward move.  Getting in and out of the dock is not the simple matter of hopping over the side that it once was and now I need a hand getting out, but this year it doesn't involve 2 peoples help. Last year we needed one person in the boat with me acting as a counter weight and supporting my hip and someone on the dock pulling me upward. It usually wound up with me crying and wanting to vomit.

Next weekend I am going to try swimming in the lake again. Last year I got in the water only one time with great difficulty and once I was in the water I found myself unable to tolerate the movements of tiny little waves against my body. 

A couple days ago my husband installed a swimming pool ladder onto the end of our dock. When he  put it in we found it actually touched a flat rock at the bottom so when I climb  down  I will only be in at thigh deep on about a 2 foot wide rock platform.  All the rest of the way along the dock is deep enough to dive off of.  I think the ladder will make all the difference in my being able to get in and out of the water.  When I was doing pool therapy last year my physiotherapist and the aquatic therapist felt it was a safety issue for me so we put a lot of energy into figuring out how to  use a ladder and get in and out of the pool safely using a ladder and not just ramps or steps.


Here is my to do list for next weekend:

• cut up some more kindling with my clippers

• go swimming using my new ladder

• help lay laminate flooring on my screen porch

• do my at home physio exercises

• practice Guitar. (I have hardly practiced all summer)

• play a card game (think cognitive therapy-- still very hard for me and not a lot of fun)

• work a bit on a little craft for Christmas

• If time and weather allows- help husband paint small bedroom OR power wash our huge dock

Linda-- Fall 2010

And yes, I will still find time to lounge in my adirondack chair on the dock while reading a magazine, and we will sit on our screen porch and enjoy a relaxing candle lit dinner while watching the sun set.

Accessible Overnight Campout

I went on an overnight camp this week with the Independent Living Resource Center in Winnipeg.

The canoe and swimming dock and the group use facility in the background.

 I read about this overnight event  last year, but I really wasn't sure it was suitable for me. Beginner camping skills? Heck, I have as of this week completed 20 years as a Girl Guide leader and have the pins to prove it. I have taken endless training about camping and spent more nights camping with groups of kids that I like to think about.  Why on earth would I need a beginners Guide to camping? At the same time I have been really missing camping over the past few years and I was looking for a a new way to get out there again.

I saw that they were having a day with an orientation to their summer programs so I went to it mainly because I wanted to learn about their picnic and outdoor community walk days. They had a pretty full house and when they discussed  basic camping skills I felt like I had a lot to add on certain topics and thought that I might even be a bit of help at the camp. On the other hand I also realized that there is a lot I don't know about making camping accessible for myself or others. I think there might be interest in the future for SAM members (Stroke Recovery Association of Manitoba) to go camping and we regularly have special needs girls in Guiding that we take to camp.

After my recent camping adventure with Guiding I realized that, while I am doing very well with my recovery, I am still not able to carry my own weight at camp and I most certainly could not camp without a lot of support. What else could I learn about camping with a disability? I handed over the incredibly low fee of $25 and filled out the paperwork.

We had about 12 people camping who were "consumers", a few caregivers and a whole lot of staff. It turned out that this is a bit of a staff summer celebration too with some of the staff's family members camping as well.

Transportation was provided to the camp site that is just outside the city limits in a great educational nature reserve called Fort Whyte Alive. 

When I got there I was shown where the "girls cabin" was. It is very nice with 5 bunk-beds and was heated and had electricity. There was a wheelchair ramp to get in and it was not that hard for the wheel chair users to maneuver around in there. The attached bathroom with a composting toilet was another matter in terms of accessibility, but the lodge space  just a few yards away has an accessible toilet.

The fire-pit and central hub for the camp

Once I got my stuff dumped on my bunk I headed outside to sit around the fire pit and listen to a truly excellent guitar player. He played folk style songs for a hour without stopping. ( or peeking at music!)
One of the staffs little 10 year old boys told me that he is working on learning guitar and I told him me too! We agreed that by next year we will be able to play a song or two at the campfire! lol

The meals were good with opportunities to cook wieners over the fire or to roast marshmallows to make smore's.

I went sailing and absolutely loved it.. (balance issues aside--  it was still fun and I can't wait to go again). I rode around on an electric golf cart to get from place to place, toured the nature center and the little gift shop and I even hiked a little bit. I was hoping to canoeing in the evening but it began to rain and was just kind of cold and yuckky so I settled for staying on the deck and watching a few other brave people canoe.

Cabins in background and tent camping was also an option.

I talked to a lot of new people and even traded a few email addys with people that I hope to keep in touch with.
I found it very different to camp with this group compared to Girl Guides or Scouting. In Guiding the kids grow up getting different skills and there is an expectation for HOW things should be done. It is great to have our "Scouting Skills" but it is nice to see how the other side does it for a change. It was wonderful to be the participant for a change and not the person who has to be up worrying about broken tents or getting breakfast started. I am definitely going to try and go again next year.

 Below is information from the Independent Living Resources Website:

This Camping Trip is for People with Disabilities:
• Who want to learn or improve their camping skills
• Who want to have a fun time and participate in activities
such as sailing, hiking, setting up a tent, cooking, camp
safety and fishing
• Who want to sleep lakefront in a tent or accessible cabin
• Who are able to follow the Independent Living Philosophy
and can direct their own care 

(two days, one night)
Location: Fort Whyte Alive
Cost: $25

Our Dock is getting more accessible

Our new, easy to use, mainland dock space.

Today my son and my husband repaired our "new dock". We have been trying for years to get a decent spot to leave our boat on the mainland shore. I can't believe we finally have a spot! There is a new owner at the closest campground and he told us last week we could rent the space if we fixed up a broken dock ourselves. You see the "before repairs" picture above.

We finally have dock space for our boat!

We have been launching our boat every time we go out and hauling it home with us every time. It takes extra time both coming and going from the cottage, and it is really exhausting and sometimes pretty scary to me when I am getting in or out. The dock space we have been using is a very high dock and it has been very hard to do since I have had mobility problems.

I find our cottage dock easier to use, but I still could not possible get in or out of the boat without someone to help pull me and steady me. I must admit it is going a lot easier this year than it was last year, and it is getting a little easier with every trip this year. I guess practice makes perfect.

The long and curving dock at our cottage with our boat, "Big Blue".