The Boat has Left the Driveway

My husband's catamaran is now up at the lake in the garage instead of in our driveway here. It will be nice to be able to get my car out of the garage again tomorrow. Both the boat and the trailer fit into the garage up at the cottage, so that was a surprise. When we're up there for longer than just a few days, the boat can be kept in the boathouse on our dock, but for now, it's tucked away and out of the water till it's time for its first sailing.

Speaking of sailing.... my husband and I went yard-sale-ing on Saturday. There was a huge moving sale at one of the other subdivisions around the lake, and we were there first thing on Saturday morning and bought a car-load of stuff for Mayberry. The biggest item was a 27-inch color television, complete with a swivel-stand and antenna. We said we weren't going to have a TV up there, but when we're up there for more than just a few days, we do miss knowing what's going on in the rest of the world.

The people selling the TV offered to drive it in their truck to our house, since there was no way that the television would fit into our car. They wouldn't even take any money from us for the gas they used, so I gave them some cranberry muffins that I had baked the day before. We put the TV into the game room of the cottage, which we're now calling the TV room. We didn't want it in the living room because then it would become the focus of the room, and we don't want that. We plugged it in and we can get just two channels without being hooked up with the local cable company. I'm hoping that those two stations are the ones that carry "Oprah" and "The Office."

We also bought an extra life-vest, and a float for the lake, and I found two cute little wood stools--- a pretty vanity seat with a padded cushion for our bedroom, and one made of maple slats for the living room. While we were there this time, I rearranged the living room furniture and we like it better this way.... the love-seat is by the windows instead of in the middle of the room...... the room felt cut in half before and now it's opened up and looks as large as it really is. They were selling a ton of kitchen things at the yard sale, but I just bought I few things that I needed for the kitchen there... some extra serving/mixing bowls and a few decorative pieces.

We found two lamps there... one with a carved wood seagull as its base, and one that looks like a soccer-ball-sized clear light bulb. When you turn that one on, you can see multi-colored rays of light. There's a name for that thing, but I don't remember what it is.... we put it in the TV room up there and it's sure to become a conversation piece. My husband also bought some surprises for young Miss C, that she can use with the boat. We didn't tell her anything... my husband just propped her surprise up in her cabin and she'll see it when she gets up there next time.

The handyman came on Friday to do the repairs that we had arranged... a $300 job turned into a $600 job..... my husband wasn't happy, but we paid the man. The guy told us we needed more wood than he thought, and he stained everything for us after it went up. Lesson learned: get everything in writing. We'll probably be looking for another handyman in the future, unless my husband decides to do everything himself as it's needed. My husband replaced five or six of the roof shingles... up on the ladder, with tools that we already had along with a couple of borrowed ones. It took longer than he thought it would, but it looks professionally done. (And it didn't cost us $600.)

I have to laugh because we both do chores up at the cottage that we don't think of doing here. But it's easier to find help here than up at the lake, so that's one reason.


I came home to find all the eBay packages with the Harry Potter things that I had ordered. They're all wrapped up now and on a shelf in my closet, awaiting our party lunch for the last book of the Potter series. We also decided to have Easter Sunday dinner here, so I'll be getting things ready for that this week. I've already got everything I need for that, except for some Easter candy for the little individual gift baskets.

Summer is popping out all over here, and up at the lake as well. Lots of pink and red azaleas were blooming at the lake when we got there, so they were a nice surprise. The cardinals are still nesting in the ficus tree on the back porch, and I saw a bunch of bluebirds this weekend. All of the trees that lost their leaves during the winter "freeze" are now all bursting with green buds and leaves again. The temperature is rising, the sun is shining, the days are getting longer and hotter.