Living off the grid toast is considered a luxury, simply because you have to start the generator before you can plug in the toaster. It’s easier just to eat cereal, or at least it was.

On a recent trip through Canadian Tire my husband discovered a camp stove toaster. Made by Coghlan’s, this little metal looking pie plate with metal frame makes great toast. We just place it on top of our propane stove burner, turn the gas on to heat it up and then put the toast in place. About a minute per side and it’s ready - warm crunchy toast.

The frame is wide enough to cook bagels too. For $5 we are enjoying some of the luxuries of home.

If you live off the grid and have any tips you’d like to share with me please leave me a comment.

Cheers,

Julie

The new dock, suppose to be finished by Monday, is still sitting on our gravel beach. My husband, suppose to be back at work on Tuesday, is sitting on the beach along with the new dock. Renovations never go the way their suppose to do they?

The project ran into its first snag when the flotation devices were out of stock - not a good start.

The second snag was the game plan. Bill had lots of advice, but no plan, at least nothing in writing. He’s now making it up as he goes along, guided by whoever comes along and gives him their opinion. Fortunately, those giving him advice actually know what they’re talking about.

The goods news? There’s no shortage of folks willing to pitch in and give us a hand. As you can see from the photos below what started off as a simple little dock extension has now turned into a full blown dock re-float complete with new hardware (about $600 worth).

This is one of the most expensive holidays I’ve been on in a long time (including wood, hardware and flotation about $5,000), and I’m doing all the cooking and cleaning. As I write this from the Starbucks in Parksville, I’m laughing and banging my head at the same time. This is what cottaging is all about. We truly are a breed of do-it-yourselfers (a similar dock built by an outside company would have cost $18,000).

We’re not alone in our renovations. Up and down the bay, the sound of paint sprayers, saws, and hammers can be heard clear across the lake. Everyone is hard at work holidaying.

My chi latte is all done and I still have another trip to the hardware store - more lumber and drill bits. Here’s hoping next year’s holidays are more relaxing.

Cheers,

Julie

Getting ready to head to the cabin, especially for a long weekend, requires planning and precision packing.

I was always impressed by my Aunt Helen who worked all week, come home Friday night and turned around and headed off to the lake. She not only brought home the bacon, she cooked and packed it too.

Due to the remoteness of our lake, food requires careful planning, otherwise we’ll end up eating hot dogs and potato chips all weekend. That actually would be Bill’s ideal food weekend, but I like a little more variety. If you’re scrambling for food ideas here’s what I’ve planned for our weekend:

Menu Ideas

Saturday

• Costco Kettle Ribs (pre-made just have to re-heat)
• steamed baby potatoes drizzled with fresh dill and butter
• corn-on-the-cob

Sunday

• Roast Beef marinated in oyster sauce cooked with baby potatoes, carrots, onions, parsnips
• Wild Blueberry crisp (re-printed from Penny’s Blog www.cottagelife.com)
• Wild Blueberry CrispFilling:
  5 cups (750 g) wild blueberries (1.25 L)
  1/4 cup (50 g) sugar (60 ml)
  1/2 tsp grated lemon rind (2.5 ml)
  1 cup (2 medium) diced peeled apples (250 ml)Crisp:
  1/2 cup (100 g) light brown sugar (125 ml)
  2 tsp cinnamon (10 ml)
  1 tsp nutmeg (5 ml)
  1/2 cup (65 g) white flour (125 ml)
  1/2 cup (65 g) chopped pecans (optional) (125 ml)
  1/2 cup (50 g) rolled oats (125 ml)
  1/4 lb (115 g) butter (60 ml)Preheat oven to 325°F/165°C. In a small bowl, combine wild blueberries, sugar, lemon rind, and apples. Mix well and place in a well-buttered 8″ x 8″ x 2″ (20 x 20 x 5 cm) pan. In a medium bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, flour, pecans, and oats. Rub in the butter with your fingers until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Spread evenly over the wild blueberry mixture. Bake 45 minutes or until the crust is brown.

Monday

• Pasta with grilled sausages - I use smokies, or Freybe’s Turkey and Sun Died Tomato, or something spicy
• ( dice and saute one sweet onion, salt, 3 cloves of garlic, 2 - 3 pounds of fresh diced tomatoes, dash of red pepper flakes heat all the ingredients for 5 to 8 minutes add cooked chopped sausages and serve on a bed of linguine topped with grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese)
• Caesar salad

With the food out of the way I can now turn my attention to packing. Here’s my cottage check-list:

• Clean Linens (usually stored in a garbage bag)
• Dog food and leash
• XM Satellite Player
• DVD Player and DVD’s
• Laptop and camera
• Clothes, shoes, coats
• Food (perishables and non-perishables)
• Drinks - kids and adults
• Kid’s activity bag - pastels, colouring books, word puzzles, paints and brushes
• Good book to read (just finished Three Day Road by Joseph Boyden about to start Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali)

Just getting all this stuff together and into the Jeep takes about half a day. My hat goes off to my Aunt Helen who made it all look so easy.

Happy long weekend everyone!

Cheers,

Julie