Summer is here - Voila l'ete

The blog has been left a little aside this spring. We just didn't do anything nearly as exiting as our fun hikes or skijor races. This spring has been more about boat work, the garden and kitchen renovation. I'd love to post a picture of the kitchen but don't want to until most have seen it in real...so that will be for later. I'm so happy with the result. We just had enough of the shaky counters, falling cupboards and mouse shit in the dishes. The kitchen has become quite classy...anything without mouse shit is classy to me at this point. Thank you Ikea.

What about the boat? Even though the kitchen took much of my time I have accomplished something on the boat. Ballast has been a bit of a puzzle problem. Not about were to position it but how to get it neatly contained in the right place. We can only have so much permanent ballast as the boat needs to be lite enough to be trucked, so as we position that weight we also have to consider how the trimming ballast will be contained a fastened down. I ended up making some sort of integral tanks to be filled with lead a and than sealed. We also didn't want to melt lead inside the boat so I made interlocking containers to be filled and then fitted in the tanks. Enough blabla, here's simply a picture.

The side tanks have there lids on each contain 3 containers like the lower tanks. A total of 24 odd shape boxes...don't mention boxes to me anymore...please. Next step melt the lead...

Visit from England

Good weather and good company made it for a good weekend. Marianne and Colins two day visit to South Mountain has for sure been a highlight of our summer. I'm still amazed how an English man made my Canadian home feel so much like a little bit of France for a couple days. Wine, petancle and expressive story telling, he does it perfectly. Now just look at pictures of this man, I am certain he spends hours on front of a mirror practicing every single movement and expressions enriching his daily activities.