So for the last month I’ve been doing a count-down to opening weekend - only to discover that I was out by a week - and NOBODY corrected me. It seems the long weekend is not THIS weekend, but next - May 16th - 19th. In my enthusiasm to get there I skipped a week.

On that same note, I received my Cottage Life e-newsletter. In it is an Opening Weekend check-list . No offense to Penny, and the good folks over at Cottage Life, but I won’t likely get around to doing most of the things on that list - this whole summer. UGGGGG - like cottages aren’t enough work?

The more my cottage resembles a home, the more work I create and the less I enjoy it. Listed below are just a quarter of the things they recommend you do:

• Find out why pads under deck posts are shifting
• Make ring game for kids
• Sharpen blades on trimmer and chainsaw
• Put up the flagpole and replace worn halyards
• Clean barbecue
• Fix tippy dock
• Inspect flotation in floating docks
• Fix friggin’ potholes in lane
• Tighten or reinstall loose dock cleats and rings
• Hammer in raised nails on dock and repair loose boards
• Inspect life preservers for damage; make sure there are enough for everybody
• Do kids’ lifejackets still fit?
• Make horseshoe pit before family reunion!!!
• Clean and set out porch furniture
• Sit down, have a beer

With the exception of the last item, I doubt I will do any of these things.

I’ve actually come up with my own list, designed for those folks living in western Canada, who might consider themselves to be a little more laid back then their eastern counterparts.

A Westerner’s Guide to Opening up the Cabin

1. Call and make a ferry reservation for the long weekend - chances are if you haven’t done it by now it’s too late
2. Call the marina and check on the boat - arrange a time to pick it up
3. Upon arriving at the cabin, walk around and find out who made it up for the weekend, spend most of the morning visiting with them and arrange for happy hour later in the day.
4. Make sure fire-pit is cleaned out and ready to go for evening’s campfire
5. Quick trip into town for plumbing supplies, marshmallows, beer and appetizers
6. Make a list of everything that needs fixing for the season and solicit advice over happy hour
7. Grab a bucket to prime the pump, making sure valves are all closed, and get ready to spend the next 2 hours on your back in the mud swearing at anything and everyone.
8. Haul out the deck chairs and rest - what didn’t get done today will still be there tomorrow - as long as the toilets flush, God will look after the rest.

Cheers,

Julie

It’s 8 p.m. when my five-year-old daughter, Jillian, spikes a fever of 103 degrees. Her cheeks are flushed pink, and her eyes are glassy pools. Rinsing off the thermometer, I realize I’m not prepared for this. Luckily the friends we’ve invited over for dinner haven’t yet left their cabin. Quickly I dial Jean, an ex-emergency room nurse’s cell phone to see if she has any Tylenol, fortunately she does. Arriving at our doorstep with emergency kit in tow, I’m given a lesson from an expert on First Aid Essentials 101.

Cottages are often miles away from the nearest town. Getting to a drug store is one thing, it being open is another. A well stocked first aid kit will not only save time and money, it could also save a life.

Jean’s kit has several versions depending on the season. There is a mini one for mountain biking and hiking in addition to the main kit. Here are the staple items that no first aid kit should be without.

First Aid Kit Essentials

• Children and Adult Motrin or Advil (pain, fever and inflammation)
• Gravel (liquid and suppositories)
• Benedryl (antihistamine)
• Assorted band aids including: liquid and teflon band aids
• Claretin Tablets
• Kaopectate
• Thermometer
• Nail clippers
• Small scissors
• Rubber gloves
• Lifesavers or gum for distraction - a child can’t cry with a candy in their mouth
• Saline with no preservatives to rinse wounds (Jean loads a squirt gun with it and uses it to flush out wounds)
• Baush & Lomb’s eye wash kit -make sure it contains an eye cup
• Preparation H - cream not the ointment - anti-inflammatory that relieves swelling
• Sliver Kit: Tweezers, needle, magnifying glass, orajel (topical antiseptic)
• Ice packs

Since that night, I’ve come to appreciate the importance of a good first aid kit. Our little green rubbermaid kit goes with us everywhere. Ironically last weekend, I left it behind. The folks we were staying with were both doctors. ‘They’ll be well prepared,’ I thought. When their little guy spiked a fever at 9:30 at night, off to town they went in search of a drug store.

Cheers,

Julie

It’s here. It’s finally here. After months of searching, negotiating, and many faxes, today we take possession of our new recreational property, a three bedroom townhouse at Creekside in Whistler, B.C. I must admit, instead of feeling excited and elated, I am feeling a little overwhelmed.

I have no idea what the previous owners have left us, so I am preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. This means I’m running around my house shoving pillows and sheets into big green garbage bags. I am however, resisting the urge to go to Costco and just start buying stuff, something we did when we bought our cabin on Horne Lake, B.C.

My husband and I power shopped our way through Nanaimo, stopping at every big box store enroute to the cottage. We forgot that our cabin didn’t have power, so the coffee maker and toaster were a complete waste of money.

I’m also conscious that unlike our cabin, our new townhouse will be in a rental pool. While I prefer pretty, functional and long lasting are going to be a better choice. Heather Bayer, my favourite blogger, gives the following recommendations in her article, The High Cost of Buying Cheap:

1. Buy a self cleaning oven - spend the extra $200- it will be worth it in the end
2. Buy a good vacuum cleaner
3. Invest in good glasses - as cheap ones chip easily (Ikea makes a great box set)
4. Good coffee maker (and spare carafe) and coffee bean grinder
5. Good Quality knives - Heather’s guests often commented on her poor quality ones
6. Good sheets - avoid the really cheap ones and the really expensive ones because they wrinkle coming out of the dryer
7. Good Bedding - comforters, blankets
8. Good mattresses - most important

The lesson here is to buy good quality items the first time down the isle. Heather found buying cheap ended up costing more because they had to replace it. I’m also going to make a list of everything we need and then go shopping. Here’s to getting it right the second time.

Cheers.

Julie

Technology is a great thing, but when it fails, stand back. Such is the case with our email alerts. For those great people who subscribe to our notifications, I sincerely apologize for the barrage of emails you have been getting from us. I know how bad it is because I get them too, sometimes two a day. UGGGG.

Emails can be overwhelming, kinda like a child tugging on your leg, saying, “mom, mom, mom,” over and over again. Like a ringing phone, we can’t seem to ignore them. This is stressful, confirmed by the number of people who canceled their email alerts this week. I totally understand.

As one reader wrote, “7 is too many.” So we have temporarily canceled our posting notifications. Going forward, we will not be sending out an email alert everyday, but rather one a week, highlighting the week’s stories. If you see something you like, click on it, if not - that’s what the delete key is for.

Like a cottage, we are a work in progress. We are continually striving to make CottageDaily.com a fun experience - your daily escape.

Once we get everything sorted out, we will open up the Hammock Give-Away contest again.

Thank you for your support and patience.

Cheers,

Julie

PS - We have had a lot of great feedback coming in from the Chic-Choc Mountain Lodge Granola Bars - They’re a hit. You can alter the ingredients, just keep the proportions the same.

Looking up at our roof in Whistler, where there’s about 3 feet of snow squarely packed on top of it, I often wonder if someone shouldn’t be shoveling it off.  I think the same thing about cottage roofs.  We used to make an annual winter trek to our cottage on Rice Lake lake to shovel off the roof.  Should cottagers be concerned with their roofs caving in this time of year?

I came across this exact topic on the Cottage Life website recently.  According to the article, Taking a Load Off, “A cottage roof built to building-code specifications and properly maintained will stand up to the worst winter can throw at it.” If your cottage was built in the last 20 years, it’s not likely going to collapse.

The article goes on to state that more people are injured or killed every year trying to shovel roofs than from the roofs falling on them. Shoveling and walking on the roof can also cause the shingles to crack and in some cases you can damage roof vents.

If you’re bound and determined to remove the snow from your rooftop, you may want to invest in an snow rake. Avalanche Snow Removal, based in the U.S., makes one that can be used from the ground.

If you’re up at your cabin, it’s also a good idea to take a look inside your cabin’s roof to make sure there’s no water damage, split or sagging rafters, or cracked drywall where the walls meet the ceiling.  These are all signs of roof damage.

One last cautionary note, check your johnny-on-the-spot, boat house, and tool sheds roofs, as they may not have been built to code, or their roof’s may have a shallower slope, putting them at greater risk caving in.

Cheers,

Julie

Oh how I’d wished I’d researched this story before today…. It’s January 1 - the day after New Year’s eve and I am dying. Done in by three or was it four, deliciously sweet-tart Cosmopolitan martinis. It seemed like a fabulous idea at the time, but as I feel the alcohol burning a whole in my stomach today, oh how I wish I’d exercised more restraint.

Upon further examination there are steps I could have taken before retiring last night to prevent the ratty feeling that has descended upon my entire body today, and food that I should have eaten for breakfast upon rising. According to Life in the Fast Lane, here’s what would have worked on my natty hangover:

• Bananas or kiwi - either before I went to bed last night, or for breakfast this morning, they would have replenished my potassium
• Gatorade or fruit juice - to replace my body’s severely depleted electrolytes
• Egg for breakfast -cysteine in eggs breaks down the toxin acetaldeheyde found in the liver
• Lots of water - both last night when I was drinking these deadly martinis and today
• Sleep - nothing worse for a hangover than children who wake up early and want breakfast
• Time - body needs time to repair the damage caused by the alcohol and it’s toxins

If you have hangover cures, please feel free to add them to the list.

I would like to say that next time I drink I will take these things, but sitting here today, I have totally sworn off alcohol, at least for now.
Cheers,

Julie

If you’re planning on visiting the cottage over the winter holidays, be careful. You’re quick trips in and out could actually cause mold, mildew and rot unless proper care is taken.

Moisture forms in the cabin when the temperature between the inside and the outside rises dramatically. Arriving at the cabin and cranking the heat, causes the inside temperature to rise. Cooking and taking showers compound the problem by filling the air with more moisture. When people turn off the heat and leave and leave, the cold air can’t hold as much moisture as the warm air, so the moisture condenses out, especially where it meets cold surfaces i.e. windows, doors, walls. This excessive moisture can cause paint to peel, insulation to deteriorate, damage window sills, and door trims.

Insulated cabins make the problem worse, because the temperature inside versus outside is much greater. The result is condensation. The solution is this problem is to have adequate vapour barriers, in addition to insulation, to separate the the warm moist air inside from the cold, dense air outside. A well insulated cabin, with proper vapour barriers, snug fitting windows and doors, helps to prevent condensation from forming.

But if you don’t have the cash to winterize your cabin, a simple solution, according to Cottage Life’s Jo Currie, is to turn off the heat while you are packing up to leave. Open up all the doors and windows for at least 20 minutes to allow the air inside to become as dry and cold as the air outside. Other ways to manage condensation is to leave the windows a bit during your stay. If you have exhaust fans in the kitchen and bathroom run them while you are there. You could also consider investing in a dehumidifier. Don’t store firewood inside, the wood holds moisture that gets released as it dries.

The only way to prevent condensation is to keep the heat at a low level year-round. Make sure that your cabin is well insulated, with proper vapour barriers and snug fitting windows and doors.

Here’s to winter cottaging, and I thought summer cottaging was a lot of work!

Cheers,

Julie

Although it’s only 10 a.m., the sun’s rays are starting to burn my forehead. Bits of rock, grass and dirt are swirling around me as I lunge my weed wacker into the tall grass. Hacking away at the dense growth, I keep my eyes peeled for long black slugs, seeking shelter in the moist earth. ‘Don’t want to hit one of those,’ I think to myself. Once the wacking is done, I will “tidy” up the beach front. Unaware of the path of destruction I am causing.

It’s ironic that all my hard work is actually dirtying my lake, speeding up runoff, contributing to soil erosion, and destroying fish habitant. This according to B.C.’s Sarah Weaver, co-founder of the Living By Water Project, and co-author of the book, On the Living Edge: Your Handbook for Waterfront Living, “Most times people who convert their shorelines don’t know the impact of what their doing.” Clearly I am one of them. Weaver adds, “I run the risk of damaging the thing that attracted me to it in the first place.”

She explains the shoreline, where water meets land, is where your waterfront property is the most susceptible to erosive forces. Erosion is a natural process causing a gradual wearing away of land surfaces by water, ice and wind. Left unchecked slumping, surface runoff and silt deposits can cause major property and building damage.

It is important for cottagers, like me, to understand the value of the “buffer zone.” By cleaning up my beachfront, i.e. removing rocks, small shrubs, logs and driftwood, I am actually damaging the riparian area, that narrow strip of land located along shoreline. Unbeknownst to me, where land and water meet is a unique and often highly productive ecosystem.

Allowing deep rooted vegetation to remain and planting additional grasses, shrubs and trees that are indigenous to the area, I can help buffer my shoreline from erosion. The Living by Water website states that if a buffer zone is properly maintained it can:

1. remove up to 50 percent or more of fertilizer chemicals and pesticides
2. remove up to 60 percent or more of some bacteria
3. remover up to 75% or more of sediment (soil particles)

Leaving driftwood, rocks and fallen trees in place along the shoreline will help absorb wave activity, and help minimize the impact of the large wakeboard boats, that I have grown so fond of.

This is great news. I now have a legitimate excuse to relax and take it easy at the cottage. As I gaze out from under my hat, good book in one hand, cold glass of lemonade in the other, I can take comfort in the fact that doing absolutely nothing is good for the environment.

Cheers,

Julie

Update on my environmental challenge: we have stopped buying bottled water and now just keep a jug of cold water in the fridge. I am still trying to wean myself off zip lock bags, this is proving to be harder than I thought. I am trying to consume local produce and meat/fish. Now if only they could grow mandarin oranges in the Okanagan.

What do you call a group of 46 guys sitting on a couch watching the Grey Cup?

The B.C. Lions.

On a more serious note, I was watching Peter Mansbridge on the CBC last night, and my heart went out to those folks living in Ontario. Brrrrrrrrr. While here on the west coast we are experiencing frostier temperatures, (+6) they are getting hit with the first major storm of the season. Being involved in an accident while in the midst of a blizzard would be quite simply, horrible.

I’ve always wondered how the police and hospital staff notify next of kin and relatives in the event of an emergency. In B.C., our phone numbers are printed on our driver’s license. I’m not sure if that’s the case in other provinces. I recently read in a magazine about ICE - in case of emergency, It was conceived in the mid 2000’s, and promoted by British paramedic Bob Brotchie. It’s purpose is to get people to key their emergency contact numbers into their cell phone under the name ICE. For example, ICE1 - Mom, ICE2 Husband. This enables first responders, such as paramedics, firefighters, and police officers, to identify victims and contact their next of kin to obtain important medical information.

Coincidence?

How often do two bloggers talk about the same subject on the exact same day? All the time. Recently, Heather from Cottagenews.ca posted a great blog on Preparing for a Winter Trip to Cottage Country the exact same day I posted Winter Survival Essentials for your Car. Heather included links to two websites that are very useful, Environment Canada and the Weather Network.

Reviewing Environment Canada’s Emergency check list there I realized there were some items missing from my list. They are:

• Sand, salt or kitty litter
• antifreeze or windshield washer fluid
• tow rope
• jumper cables
• small shovel, and scraper

Update on Shortbread Cookies

I would like to thank Debb for responding to my SOS for a good shortbread recipe. Debb often leaves me comments and they are all appreciated. Here is her response:

Debb’s Mom’s Shortbread Recipe

The key is to not over mix the dough. Ideally, you want to mix gently with a mix-master, but I have been know to whip up a batch in a food processor without too much damage to the dough.
I like to put the dough into a cookie press. Each Christmas I make trees, stars and flowers. You can decorate them the way you would sugar cookies, but I like to put a smal bit of candied cherry on top or just leave them plain! You can also roll them into tiny balls, then press them on the cookie sheet in a criss-cross pattern with a floured fork. It’s also fun to make cookie bars and then dip one end into melted chocolate!

Mix together 3/4 cup soft butter
1/2 cup corn starch [this is what makes the shortbread short!
1/2 cup icing sugar
1 cup flour
Bake at 300º for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges.

Cheers,

Julie

It’s minus 20. The road is barely visible, obscured by blowing snow and darkness. The icy conditions have scared away other drivers, leaving the snow rutted highway void of traffic. Suddenly the 4 x4 goes into a spin and loses control. It plows off the road into a deep ditch. The taillights, dusted with snow, form a white camouflage making it invisible from the road. Unless the occupants of this vehicle are prepared, there is a strong likelihood they will die of hypothermia, if left undiscovered.

“What most people don’t realize,” explains David Arama, owner and chief instructor of the Wilderness Survival Challenge and School, “Is that cars are full of metal. They draw heat away. If the temperature is -20 or colder, you will likely freeze to death in your car, or suffer severe hypothermia if you can’t produce any heat.”

When asked what is the most important thing people should carry in their car during the winter, Arama replies, “A sleeping bag, good for minus 20, and an underpad.” He also recommends if people are able, to get out of their car and go into the woods and build a lean-to. I must admit, I’m not convinced on the last point. I personally think trying to build a lean-to in a raging blizzard is more likely to kill me than staying in my car. However, I do not teach wilderness survival skills for a living.

As we head into winter, we’re likely to encounter bad road conditions, especially on the way to the cottage or cabin. Simple things can save lives. “Most people are unprepared and don’t think it (getting stranded) can happen to them,” states Arama. He recommends you be as prepared as you can, starting with your car. Here is his list of essential items for your vehicle.

Wilderness Survival Essentials

1. Sleeping bag rated -20 degrees and an underpad
2. Wool clothing i.e. hats, mitts, long underwear as well as wool/fleece blankets
3. High energy snacks like granola bars, nuts, or trail mix
4. Water or water purifying tablets
5. Road Flairs
6. Cell Phone
7. Candle - nice to have but doesn’t warm you up much
8. First Aid Kit

Another important point is to let people know where you are going and when you are expected back. Arama recounts a story of a man in the Muskokas who went out driving in his SUV. He took a wrong turn, got lost and ran out of gas. Unfortunately he waited 9 days for help that never came. Eventually he made his way out to the highway, where he was discover, but suffered severe frostbite. People were looking for him; they just didn’t know where to look.

Given that our family will likely be spending more time on the sea-to-sky highway this winter, this is one piece of advice I am going to take. I hope you will too.

Cheers,

Julie