Cottage Thoughts
"Cottage Thoughts" was a writing program initiated several years ago Its incarnation as a binder of loose pages invites disregard and neglect. Perhaps a new manifestation in the form of this blog will revive some of the original spirit that was intended
Cottage on the Bruce - Lake Huron shore, Bruce Peninsula, Ontario, Canada with new stairway Summer 2019
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UPDATE July 2020
This SARS-CoV-2 pandemic of 2020 (aka Covid-19) requires isolation and physical distancing to prevent the further spread of a very contagious and deadly virus. As a result, I have had time at home to revisit many thoughts, ideas, and creations of bygone years. While revisiting some of my favourite old books I found a few long forgotten pages I scribbled years ago and inserted in this math book I must have been reading at the cottage. There were a few pages of diagrams, arrows, and equations of abstract nonsense, plus a little story intended for the now long failed and defunct project of "Cottage Thoughts". So over a decade later, for whatever it's worth, (obviously not much) here it is:
December 29, 2009 at Pike Bay
Escaping back pain and the end of another year
A Cuppa Murkey
Making coffee in the dark is a cottage experience worth reliving. Dark not because there is no power or couldn’t find the light switch, but dark outside because it’s too early to even find a restless bird with a flashlight.
The predawn adventure of making coffee is truly a catch-22: can’t function until coffee is consumed, can’t consume coffee without at least functioning at the minimal level of making something that might resemble coffee. But the cottage venue adds yet another twist. The marginal functioning predawn state is slightly ameliorated at home by being able to stumble around with eyes partially closed and still locate the necessary materials. This is not so at the cottage where items, even relatively large ones, constantly find new and different hiding places as if they had an evil will of their own, playing some sadistic game on the infrequent family visitor. The eyes closed option of making coffee is, therefore, not available.
But it goes from bad to worse. The overwhelming need for coffee finally drives the mind to consider improvisations the likes of which could not be considered rational under other circumstances. Sure, why not try to chip a few chunks out of the freezer of what could have been spilled coffee grounds, and attempt to filter whatever it is through a tea towel in a sieve. Desperation really sets in during the hunt for a kettle, eventually resolved by using a stove-top Dutch oven which may still have in it a few remnants of dinners past.
Eventually perseverance is rewarded with the production of a warm brown liquid. Some might politely call it a cup ’a Joe, but not knowing who the heck Joe might be, I just call it a cuppa murky – soooo good!
Al Vilcius
Air Conditioning required. July, 2020
Summers are hot now; every year there are more days we are uncomfortable. It’s reached a point that Cory prefers to stay at home. This is unacceptable. So, I bought an A/C unit to install. That was the beginning of an adventure.
Who knew the unit would weigh 80 lbs. I can no longer lift that weight. (I do not mention getting it into the car at the store, out of the car into the garage and back into the car to take it north.) But Cory and I had to get it upstairs into the living room.
Wilson’s Home Hardware supplied not only the fridge cart to move it but also some 1” foam required to seal the open window. But we lacked the human power to get the unit upstairs until Kristin arrived. The combined muscle of three was sufficient to hoist the A/C unit up the new front stairs. Then the fun began.
Casement windows create an unique problem: the whole window is always open. So, one must cover the large area not occupied by the 6” vent. Also, the vent should not fall out of the opening. Should I leave the screen in place? Or, should I remove the screen? Would the 1” foam panel block the opening without the screen? We needed the A/C asap. I decided to leave the screen in place. What would be a permanent solution?
The large panel of foam was not pretty. I painted it camouflage to solve that concern. While it looked OK, no amount of Gorilla tape would keep the foam in place; it practicaly blew away.
Phase two: find a cardboard box to replace the sheet of foam. The cardboard was an improvement but only temporary.
Plexiglass would provide the required seal over the window for the summer months. It would look prettier. But how to cut it and to what dimensions? The window crank, blocked by the exhaust vent, would not turn. The window could not be closed while we are away. Hmmm. No small cranks at the hardware store. How do I hold the plexiglass in place so it would not blow in but also not obstruct closing the glass? So, dial up Amazon and await delivery.
For the plexiglass, I searched the Home Hardware website. They had the plexiglass in stock in the plaza across the street. But the man at the store said I was wrong; they would have to order. I persisted; he found the right size in the back. A minor victory.
Phase three: install the plexiglass. Well it must be the right size. The size depended on placement of the vent raised enough from the bottom of the window that the (new) window crank could turn. So, I would have to cut the plexiglass to the correct size. How? A YouTube video showed cutting with a special jigsaw blade. The hardware store not only had none in stock, the supplier had discontinued the item (another wasted trip to the store). Success at the tool supplier on Monday – 2 days later. But to continue I must wait until our next visit to the Still.
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