With gas prices topping $1.52 a litre here in B.C., conserving gas is on everyone’s mind, especially cottagers. There is a general consensus among our neighbours that boat traffic on our lake is way down from previous years. Is it the high price of gas or the high price of real estate that is deterring recreational enthusiasts?

Lindsay, from DiscoverBoating.ca has some great advice on how to lower fuel consumption. Here are five things she recommends to help trim fuel costs:

1. Minimize the amount of time you idle on the dock. This also applies to motor vehicles. With fuel injection systems, cars don’t use as much gas getting started, so if you’re idling for more than one minute, it’s worth shutting off the engine.
2. Travel at slower speeds and accelerate gradually.
3. A well tuned engine uses less fuel.
4. The proper use of trim tabs reduce drag, especially while accelerating up to planing speeds. See Trimming Your Boat for more information.
5. Check your propeller. If your boat is slow “out of the hole,” or lacks top-end speed, you might have the wrong propeller.

If the high gas prices are driving down your fun take heart. According to Lindsay, the average boater uses the same amount of gasoline for an entire summer that it would take to fill an SUV three times.

Cheers,

Julie

PS Our new boat, Sea Ray 176 uses way less fuel than our old 2 stroke outboard engine. Having a newer engine, ideally with a three star rating, will definitely save gas.

“Nothing matters but the weekend…from a Tuesday point of view….Like the kettle in the kitchen…I feel the steam begin to brew. Switch into glide” Remember that tune from the Kinks?

Just hearing that song makes me want to escape to the cabin. But surprisingly enough, not everyone feels the same way I do. As a young professional living and working in downtown Toronto, I started plotting my escape to the cottage or a friend’s cottage on Tuesday. By Thursday I was packed. On Friday, ideally before noon, I was on the 401 heading eastbound, all in an attempt to beat the holiday traffic. I wasn’t alone.

There’s an energy around weekends, especially long weekends in the city. But Vancouverites, unlike Torontonians, don’t seem to have that restlessness to get out of town. My friends often comment on this. They’ve heard about cottaging back east, but they don’t understand the underlying emotion that surrounds it.

I liken it to skiing. It’s a place where you go, play and have fun. It’s just that simple. For the folks back east, their playground consists of a lake, a boat and a cottage. For those folks living west of the rookies, our playground consists of mountains, skis, bikes and a condo or chalet. Very rare and very privileged are those folks who have both.

If you’re escaping this weekend or staying in the city, I wish you a happy Canada Day! There are so many great things to do, east or west.

Cheers,

Julie

Oh the buzz has started. School’s almost out and the kids are raingy. The warm days and long nights have us staying up later and later. Cottage season kicks into high gear this long weekend and I’m excited. After months of being pent up indoors, I’m looking forward to getting to the cabin and playing hard.

One of my favourite play toys is our XM Satellite Radio. I can’t say enough good things about this gadget or the service. The technology continues to improve and the price keeps dropping to the point where we are now considering getting one for our boat.

While I love peace and quiet at the cabin, I also love my music. This week I’m doing a count down to Canada Day and today it’s all about the music.

Below are tunes I’m downloading onto my iPod taking to the cabin. If you have a favourite - leave me a comment.

iTunes Play List

• Viva la Vida - ColdPlay
• Money Honey - State of Shock
• Crazy - Gnarls Barkley
• Shake it - Metro Station
• I Kissed a Girl - Katy Perry
• Camp Rock - Jonas Brothers (for Jillian)
• Underneath - Alanis Morissette
• Dirty Little Secret - The All- American
• Never Too Late - Hedley
• Vertigo - U2

What are you listening to this weekend?

Cheers,

Julie

I’ve written a lot about hosting guests at the cottage. We’ve had some interesting experiences and we had some awesome experiences. This past weekend was a guest experience of the awesome kind.

One thing I’ve come to realize that doing everything yourself, the cooking, the cleaning and the entertaining is NOT the way to go.

Heading into the weekend I was so tired I was actually kind of dreading it. Turns out my worries were unfounded. While the gals, myself excluded, ended up cooking most of the meals, everyone pitched in and helped out.

It was great. I know some people like to fuss over their guests. I want my guests to have a good time and not fuss over them. I think the secret for me is inviting people to the cottage with whom I feel comfortable and can ask them for help.

Despite finding a dead mouse in the bed and dead spiders underneath it, my guests were undeterred. The weather was awesome, the new boat worked and the food - red berries and all, was fabulous.

Here’s to great weekends and great friends to share them with.

Cheers,

Julie

The above photo is Jean and I enjoying ice cream at the Coombs Country Market - a great start to our weekend.

What’s better than going to the cabin with the kids? Going to the cabin without the kids. Yes, this weekend we will have the rare opportunity to enjoy the cottage sans children. With all the crazy year-end parties taking place right now, Bill and I, along with two other couples are sneaking away to enjoy some R&R at the lake. I call it my sanity break before school lets out for the summer.

The opportunity to sleep in, stay up late and indulge in the company of my good friends is only made better because we’re hosting them at our cabin. Fun people in a great setting. I haven’t even bothered to check the weather forecast, besides, there isn’t a darn thing I can do about it anyway.

I’m just savouring the prospect of watching the “men” cook for us - one of the conditions of the weekend. Even though the husbands are in charge of the food, I know their wives have secretly done all the shopping and menu planning - cheaters!

I on the other hand have collapsed. I’m worn out from all the last minute kids activities. I handed Bill the Costco shopping list and told him to fill his boots. I didn’t care what he bought. The result? Three hundred dollars worth of Costco junk food, sirloin steaks excluded. Is it just Bill or do all men shop like five-year-olds?

While I’m not looking forward to eating cashews for breakfast or red gummy berries for lunch, it doesn’t matter. I’m at the lake with my friends and someone else is doing the cooking or in our case - the opening. It’s all good.

Here’s to an adult weekend - well almost.

Cheers,

Julie

I must confess, when it comes to figuring out the trim button on our boat I’m lost. I know to raise it when I get into shallow waters, or when we’re taking the boat in and out of the lake, but the rest of the time I leave the little button alone. Which is likely why we ended up getting a new boat.

Bill, my loving and understanding husband, experienced my “trim frustration” first hand. As the official boat driver, he was often on the receiving end of my snarky comments. They usually went something like this, “Why were you driving so slowly? It was all I could do to pull myself out of the water?!!!” The situation was worse the more people we had in the boat. We weren’t sure where the trim should be when pulling a water skier or a wakeboarder.

According to ClubMarine.com: To accelerate to planing speed, nearly all hulls like their tabs down, and/or their drive leg trimmed in. So, to start our familiarization process, trim the leg all the way in, and/or apply maximum downward angle of the tabs, then give the throttle a burst to boost the hull onto the plane. It’s important a boat be trimmed in if it’s full of supplies or people. Start with the trim down to help get the boat to plan, then trim up gradually as you gather more speed. If you don’t trim in, your guests are going to get wet.

If you’re alone in the boat, the boat is lighter - trim up to go faster. An engine trimmed up forces the bow higher at speed - trim up, drive leg out. Be careful, too much trim will cause the boat to porpoise and you will go bouncing down the lake.

If you are pulling a water skier or a tube or anything else - start with the trim all the way down. As the boat starts to pick up speed - trim up gradually. If you have a load of people in the boat - try to move them to the front or make sure the weight is evenly dispersed.

We’re heading to the cabin this weekend. I’m going to start playing with the trim on our boat, so if you have a cabin on Horne Lake and see a boat bobing up and down in the water, be sure to wave.

Cheers,

Julie

What do most people do right after they buy a new home or cottage? They start renovating. We’re now on our third vacation property. This one is located in Whistler B.C., and like all the other vacations properties we’ve bought in the past, we’re seldom happy until we have made it over or “made it our own.”

We’re not alone. Pick up any home or cottage magazine and they’re filled with renovation ideas. The April issue of Cottage Life is no exception. “How to Choose Your Contractor and A Reno With Character” are just several of their feature stories.

I spent this morning going over the list of things we want to change on our town home. Among them are: a new kitchen, two new bathrooms, new flooring, new window treatments, new lighting and new furniture. The challenge with this reno, like all the others, is finding someone to do the work who is reasonable and reliable.

While some people prefer to do the design work themselves, I’ve come to rely on Architectural Designers. They have a degree in architectural but are also trained designers. Yes, hiring a professional to do the design work costs money, but after purchasing couches, chairs and end tables that were twice the size of our living room, I’ve learned they more than pay for themselves.

“Architect’s fees tend to run about 10% of the project’s construction value,” according to the Cottage Life article, Who do you Call? “But a well-designed project will increase in value.” That has certainly been our true with all of our property renovations. Also, they can advise you on where to spend your money so you get the biggest bang for your buck.

I’m not exactly looking forward to the next four months of slogging through Home Depot, running around looking at flooring samples or furniture shopping, but I am looking forward to enjoying the finished product. Done right, it will improve our property value. It’s also a capital improvement, so the entire renovation can be deducted off our capital appreciation when it comes time to sell. It makes spending money a little easier.

Cheers,

Julie

Potlucks are always a great way to try new food and scoop new recipes. Today’s muffins were a huge hit at a recent T-Ball brunch. People were raving about these wonderful little tidbits.

I’m planning on serving these to my guests at the cabin along with a plate of fruit for breakfast this coming weekend. They’re easy to make, and depending on the size of the crowd, you may want to double the recipe.

Breakfast Muffins

Ingredients

• 12 oz of cottage cheese (approx 2/3 cup)
• 2 tbsp white sugar
• 1/2 cup melted butter
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup of flour
• 1/2 tsp salt

Directions

Heat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease muffin tins. Mix all the above ingredients together and bake for 20 minutes. Makes 9 muffins - double it for a larger crowd.

Why is June the busiest month of the year? Just when the weather turns nice and the cabin is open and waiting patiently to be used, our social calendar fills up.

Baseball is into playoffs. There are piano recitals, barbecues and cocktail parties. It seems everyone wants to get together before the kids break for summer holidays. And there sits the cottage, and the new boat, begging to be played with.

I just look at our calendar and roll my eyes. At the rate we’re going we might not get there until August. Is it rude to say, “Not this weekend we have a cottage?” I’m free from September through till May. November is wide open.

I’m not sure why people feel this sudden urge to socialize. I have some theories. Once the weather turns warmer, and the days are longer, we want to be outside. Barbecuing and drinking beer in the backyard is a great way to entertain friends, especially friends with young children.

Our plan to spend Father’s Day at the cabin has been squashed. Baseball games, year-end activities and fatigue means another weekend spent in the city. Sigh.

For those of you who are able to say “NO” and not feel guilty - Bravo! I hope you have a great time.

For the rest of us, I’m taking orders for “NOT THIS WEEKEND -I HAVE A COTTAGE” T-Shirts.

What’s keeping you from your cottage?

Cheers,

Julie

This was sent to me by a friend here in Vancouver. It’s important that we don’t take ourselves too seriously.

A curious fellow died one day and found himself waiting in the long line of judgment. As he stood there he noticed that some souls were allowed to march right through the pearly gates into Heaven. Others though, were led over to Satan who threw them into the burning fire.

Every so often, instead of hurling a poor soul into the fire, Satan would toss a soul off to one side into a small pile. After watching Satan do this several times, the fellow’s curiosity got the best of him, so he strolled over and asked Satan what he was doing.

“Excuse me, Prince of Darkness,” he said. “I’m waiting in line for judgment, but I couldn’t help wondering why you’re tossing those people aside instead of flinging them into the Fires of Hell with the others?”

“Oh those….” Satan groaned. “They’re all from Vancouver. They’re still too wet to burn.”

Here’s hoping we dry out soon.

Cheers,

Julie