Rain, Ikea cabinets, plugging away...

 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.







I took this shot of the upstairs railing to send to Iron Age Manufacturing in Vancouver, who made it. (Again, apologies if I've blogged this before. It's just a bit more interesting that bits of window trim that I'm currently working on.)




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.

And... our Indian summer finally came to an end. Today we had rain.

But... the Ikea cabinets arrived in good order via our local trucking company. Only took a week from Vancouver; not bad. So I now have about a week of cabinet assembly ahead of me (a rough guess). I think I'll wait until after my Thanksgiving break visit to Walla Walla and the new grand daughter. 

Surprise Appliances...

 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.





 Nice fridge....
















Nice dishwasher...









And... here's our shower enclosure. It was a b--ch to install but with a bit of a workaround, I got it functional.

The Co-Captain!!!

 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.

This lady is absolutely the better half of the partnership that has endured, discovered, dreamed and worked together... and through it all has become a team and that is still evolving...
 And here is Gwyneth's Captain in his "Not A Tilley Hat" (Hey that just might be the best marketing idea I ever had:)

Lights, Carpet, Action!

Today the electrician installed and connected all the lighting and now we have light!

Eddie the carpet guy  did a great job upstairs but...

...the last piece to be installed turned out to be a different type of carpet! Because so much was already done, I had Eddie install it anyway. But today I will have a serious chat with the folks who sold it to me and said the two pieces were the same carpet.

Getaway on Gwyneth

For the past two nights, Gwyneth, her captain and her first mate have enjoyed a wonderful getaway cruise around Desolation Sound. The first day we sailed and motored into Okeover Arm to the legendary Laughing Oyster restaurant.  We enjoyed a great meal, listened to some decent live music and even sang a song (and got invited back).

Next day we headed back out of Okeover and Malaspina Inlets and turned east to Prideaux Haven, another legendary spot famous for its warm waters, fabulous views, safe anchorages and wild parties.
Luckily the silly season has just ended and we found it quite quiet and lovely.

Here's a shot of Gwyneth and her first mate.

 

And here's one of those legendary views....
 


Today we had a brisk sail back in 20 knot winds... fun!

Tiles Done!

 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....

Blue Moon Regatta

 The Blue Moon Shark Spit Regatta took place August 31st and once again, my boat Gwyneth was there to compete and be part of the fun. Luckily the event coincided with a visit from my son Elgin who crewed on the race. Like the first regatta, we got an awesome start and sailed a good race but... ran out of wind towards the end and retired before we fried in the hot sun.


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!

After a great pot luck supper there was a beach fire and of course, music. Both Elgin and I sang a few songs. But the highlight of evening was when the whole group howled like wolves, first at the setting sun and a few minutes later, at the rising moon. It was a quintessential Cortes moment!