woodpile revisited

(Edited and expanded 10:31 pm EST)


First of all, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my sister Ruth! :-)


Rainy and cold here at the cottage. Perfect for indoor activities, of course...yesterday, I woke up at 5 am (jetlag effects) and worked on my writing for eight hours without once wishing I was outdoors. Wrote 1000 words for my novel (not much, but I'm ramping up, eh? :-)), spent the rest of the time trolling job databases, freelance writing assignment listings, potential markets.


In the afternoon, Jeff and I decided to go to the Nature Artist Exhibit in Algonquin Park, then a quick lunch at the park Visitor Centre. When we got back, we discovered that the power had been off for a few hours (judging from when the electric clock in the kitchen had stopped). We lit candles and built a fire in my dad-in-law's woodstove, snoozed and read by candlelight for a while (I snoozed, Jeff read). We were almost disappointed when the power came back on. :-)


More cold wet weather today...we're leaving in a few minutes. I was up at 6 am; the boathouse was so cold that I had to start a fire before my fingers warmed up enough to type. Note to self: remember to bring gloves up for Thanksgiving weekend! We had used up our kindling over the weekend; building a fire without any kindling was a bit of a challenge. Solution: lots of newspaper and patience.


We cleaned up the cottage, packed up perishables, emptied the garbage. I chopped some kindling to stock up for Thanksgiving weekend. It was still raining, but I stood under the overhanging roof and swung the axe very carefully to avoid inadvertently chopping supporting timbers. :-) I became extra paranoid about axe blades ever since Jeff accidentally chopped off the tip of one of his fingers years ago when we lived out in the country.


One of my favourite cottage chores is chopping kindling. I love the smell of cedar, the feel of the wood splitting, and the knowledge that every piece of kindling will be used eventually. Funny how I keep getting back to my woodpile philosophy. I've reprinted this on a separate Web page, incidentally, and added a feedback forum in case anyone has their own woodpile comments.


Not looking forward to the motorboat ride across the lake in the cold rain, but I'm wearing so many layers of fleece and Gortex I doubt the weather will matter. :-) (what a temperature change from Tokyo!)


Jeff's ready to go, so must upload an abnormally short Blathering today.





Update: 10:37 pm


We got home around 2 pm, giving me about ten minutes to get changed and grab stuff for my meeting with my corporate tax lawyer. Looks like the Inkspot tax stuff is actually starting to wind down, the loose ends being tied up. I can't even begin to explain what an agonizing process this whole thing has been. My mantra again: I am never going to sell a company ever again. If I ever even start hinting that I'm thinking about it in the future, you all have permission to slap me silly.


Went to my sister's to celebrate her birthday with my family, had cake, rehashed our Japan trip a bit with my Dad (he's going to Tokyo in a few weeks).


Dead tired, but happy. :-)





Today's Blatherpics:


- Sara in the motorboat at the cottage.


- Reading a book to Sara and Annie at the cottage. They've recently gotten in the habit of jumping on the couch beside me with a book and asking me to read it to them. I am VERY tickled at their love of books, of course, so always say yes. :-)


- This photo was taken at the ryokan in Kyoto.


Today's Poll:



Do you consider yourself good at keeping secrets?