October 17th 2012
Started the day with a breakfast/ smoked salmon packing session at David’s. We bought the fish – chum salmon -- directly from Gary, the fisherman who had his boat at Mansons dock. I helped fillet it and David did the smoking. We had dual (dueling) FoodSavers (vacuum packers). It was fun and I came home with a bunch of very delicious smoked salmon.
Today I completed the T&G wall by the entrance. Very happy with this project. The T&G is 2 x 6 pine, premium grade and is lovely stuff.
Christian came by and worked on the bath tub. It is now almost operational and if I knew which breaker to turn on I could have a hot bath!
I also worked on the stairs down to the living room – installed the two metal stringers and cut temporary treads. More work on this tomorrow.
Today I also installed the rotating shelves in one of the kitchen counter corner units. Now I’ve overcome my anxiety about tackling this job I feel confident to move on to the other two. BTW I love Ikea instructions. They are so clear and so beautifully wordless.
I was invited to play music with Rick and Brian but am too beat to drive up there and back.
Instead, I am enjoying a (another) quiet evening at home in my trailer. Supper tonight is three cheese tortellini with fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic and kalamata olives. Plus a touch of Thai red curry paste. What can I say? It’s heavenly! My salad is a mix of different lettuces with grated carrot and red onion. The dressing is a store bought Blackberry and Fig concoction that gets a thumbs up from me.
After supper I plan on playing a little music on guitar, flute and my newly acquired accordion.
Oh and I forgot to mention the wine… tonight I’m drinking a 2010 Portuguese red from Perequita, the oldest winery in Portugal and the first to put wine into glass bottles. It was a recommendation from Amy at the Squirrel Cove store as a low cost wine that actually tastes good. I concur. Thanks Amy.
My time here on Cortes Island is drawing to a close for this year and I confess to being a bit sad about leaving, even though my lovely wife Danielle is waiting patiently for me in Vancouver.
I guess I’m growing used to this place where you can buy fish straight from the fisherman who publicizes his dockside sale on Cortes Radio and pays the DJ in fish! Where my young friend Russ is starting an enterprise to sell his homemade chocolate that is simply the best I have ever tasted – and I’ve tasted quite a bit. Where the walking group meets at 9am Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays all year round for a two hour walk. Where we have one of Canada’s first community forest association which manages a big tract of forest in partnership with the local native Indian band. Where my 85 year old neighbour just commited suicide by paddling his kayak out on the ocean and deliberately flipping it. (He left a note at his home stating when the bed linen had last been washed). Where the quiet is so deep you can drink it and the air is so clean it wakes your sinuses up with a big “Howdy!”
And of course, Cortes Island is just another scene of human drama, stupidity and ego. Oh bla di, Oh bla da!
Much love, Andy
A couple of weeks ago, Danielle and I spent a few days on Cortes and, for the first time, slept and cooked in our new house! Not having furniture, we brought our "zero gravity" lawn chairs into the living room. It was very cozy!
With our house at May's Garden safely put to bed for the winter, I am now back in beautiful Burnaby (suburb of Vancouver) for the winter months. Our condo here is very cosy and I am busy gathering bits and pieces to take up to Cortes on our next visit, which looks like it will be in a couple of weeks.
Yesterday and today I've been doing THE BIG CLEAN UP. After removing all my tools I swept, vacuumed and mopped the wood floors and they're looking pretty good. 
This is a view of the entry showing the new dividing wall that hides the fridge and kitchen cabinets.
Today was a big day because the wood stove inspector came and gave his stamp of approval to my installation work. So I celebrated by lighting a fire of course!
I've been "off-island" for 10 days during which time David, the local craftsman who built the treads for the staircase, came and installed them. I knew they would be beautiful because David's workmanship is legendary, and I was not disappointed. 
Big day today... the electric baseboard heat was turned on so now we have a heated house! Timely too because there;s starting to be a bit of a chill in the air.
And here they are... vanity, sink and upper cabinet all from our good friends at Ikea. I actually like putting their stuff together. The instructions are brilliant; no words, just pictures and yet they are far better than most wordy instructions.
I know I'm repeating myself but I like this shot of our spiral staircase, even without the final treads; which, by the way are ready and should be installed next week. I have no doubt they will be beautiful because David, who is making them, is a legendary craftsman on this island.
And here is the pedestal sink I have created for the the upstairs bathroom. The ceramic sink was a gift from Michelle and Patrick. My plan is to get JP the tile guy to make a tile backsplash.
A big truck arrived quite unexpectedly today with our appliances. I thought they'd be delkivered next week so I had to scramble to make space for them and clear a path for the delivery guys. But it all went smoothly and now we have our stove, fridge and dishwasher in the kitchen and the washer and dryer outside waiting to be installed in the utility room.
Here is a fine look at Gwyneth's first mate and the Queen of May's Garden. Doesn't she look lovely? This was taken in the area around Prideaux Haven in Desolation Sound. We enjoyed a wonderful few days exploring and enjoying the amazing cruising grounds right in our own backyard. 
And here is Gwyneth's Captain in his "Not A Tilley Hat" (Hey that just might be the best marketing idea I ever had:)
Today the electrician installed and connected all the lighting and now we have light!
J.P. the tile setter departed today after spending a month tiling the kitchen and bathroom. It was kind of a working holiday for him and many days he just put in a few hours and then went to the lake. Also, he worked 4 days and then went home to Quadra for 3. While here he camped out with his dog Monk and set up a camp kitchen next to the house. It was fun having him around! And the results are beautiful!
Meanwhile, life around my trailer continues to be very pleasant. Here is my family of wood splitting tools for my camp fire.
And these old timers had lain buried for many years before I dug them up. Don't they look like old friends? 
This is my trailer camp. The living room is outside. The kitchen and bedroom inside. But as the weather gets colder, that will change.... 
On the beach after the race we ran into my old pal Bernie who was there with the little boat Maya that he hand built on the beach out of found materials. She is beautiful!
