I'm back from the Big and Beautiful Batchawana!
It wasn't long enough considering it takes a day to get there and a day to get back, but it's always worth the drive.
Amazingly, i took 80 pictures which is highly unusual for me because i rarely take pictures (i mostly enjoy smiling for them) and even more unusual for such a high ratio of pictures-to-vacation-days. However, i have been inspired by all of you and your wonderful photography abilities. PLUS i had several adorable subjects: mainly my 2.5 year old niece, Fiona and my doggies...hehehe.
I can't post them just yet cause they need a bit of cleaning up. I had the wrong setting on my camera when i took the outdoor pics and they all have a blue haze on them.
The trip was good. Mat and i didn't fight one little bit on the car ride there. Except for when i got mad at him because i specifically asked him to make me a salmon sandwich and he made TUNA because he didn't want salmon. I don't care what YOU want, i asked for salmon! If i knew you were going to disobey me, i would have made my own sandwich! Anyway, the tuna was ok, but not what i was hoping for. The doggies were good, sleeping the whole way in the car, and we only stopped 2 or 3 times.
When we arrived in the Batch at my brother's and sister's cottage, we were given the whole guest house to ourselves. It's awesome and the perfect way to spend a vacation. Not to be mean, but it's so nice not to have to share living quarters with anyone except your dearly beloved. The guest house is one huge room: think cozy loft apartment. Mat and i were able to sleep-in without the noise of anyone else waking us up, sneak away for afternoon naps, and put the doggies away when they were tired or needed a break from the sun and sand.
I got a lot of knitting done! I'm still working on my very first project (a winter scarf) but it's coming along nicely. I would say i'm about half way done for the super long length that i want.
Sarah: I started reading eat, pray, love. I'm not very far into it, but so far it's an easy read. I'm not sure if i like her "funniness" because it comes across as forced and i've certainly read way funnier things on people's blogs. Also, i couldn't really get into it because i was concentrating too much on someone who stayed at the cottage who said how much she LOOOOOOVED it, and i wasn't thrilled that this person was there, so i think it was affecting how much i was loving it too....more of that later....
What else...the weather wasn't perfect. We had a few cloudy days and a few sunny ones but i did get sun burned on the first day which was somewhat cloudy, so that's ok. We did almost all of the things i usually do when i'm at the cottage: take many trips to Agawa which is a store that sells native arts and crafts etc. I love that place. It IS Batchawana. They now have an online store at http://www.pancakebay.com/ it's not the same as the store because you don't get the smell of leather and rabbit furs nor do you get the sweet sound of native throat singing and drums. I bought a total of 30 maple sugar candies at 50 cents a pop...expensive, but worth it. 20 of them i shared with everyone, while i kept 10 in the car for myself and Mat (sorry Stu...).
I also bought a pair of mukluks. I desperately needed a pair of winter boots and although these aren't hip and pretty, i think they'll do the job. They are tall, brown leather boots with a big, thick rubber sole that comes up over the sides of the boot a bit. They are lined with sheepskin and lace up the front. I think they'll work better than any other boot i've owned...they'd better!
We also managed to take a trip over to the island and another trip to the sandy beach across from the poplar motel. We had 2 campfires and roasted marshmallows and made smores...mmmm....we ate like kings thanks to Stu's cheffing.
Can you believe that i did not drink one glass of water the entire time? I kid you not. Seriously...all i had to drink for the entire 5 days was coffee and beer and the occasional glass of wine. How i'm not dehydrated, i have no idea. And i had lots of beer. I almost polished off a 2-4 by myself. How i can fit into my clothes today? also have no idea....strange. meh.
So would you like me to tell you about this woman who was staying at the cottage at the same time as me? There's really not much to tell, so it shouldn't take long. She's my sister-in-law's cousin. She's 40ish - ? She's born and raised in California. She just spent 6 months in India learning how to bring meditation to the west. I find her phony to say the least. I don't know her very well, but i just find that she tries too hard. But the real reason why i don't particularly care for her is because she treats me like i'm 8 years old. Hello...i'm 26, and quite frankly you're treading on my territory here in the great north miss california who thinks 20 degrees celsius is cold and bugs can be averted without using bug spray. So ya, she treats me like i'm 8. Quite condescending and i'm pretty sure i don't act like i'm 8. So on top of her being phony 24/7, she did things like this to me during her stay:
background: all of the food in the cottage is for everyone. no one has their "own" stuff cause my bro bought it all and divies up the amount (or so i was told).
scenario: 3rd day at cottage. lunch time. phony one (henceforth referred to as L) in the kitchen making lunch. roz enters kitchen to also make lunch.
unfolding of events:
roz: (to no one in particular) looking at the bowl holding 6 avocados "i wonder if the avocados are ripe"
L: "no, i don't' think they are"
roz: picking one up to look at it. avocados are dark dark green (almost black) and soft "um, yup, i think they're ripe. i'm going to make guacamole"
L: "i don't think there's enough"
roz: staring at the bowl of 6 avocados "oh, are these for a recipe?"
L: "no, but i eat them like, every day for every meal" (which she does. she helps herself to one avocado every lunch and dinner).
roz: "well i just need one to make guacamole"
L: clearly not listening and only concerned about having enough avocados for herself "Well, can you at least leave One or Two???"
roz: slowing down her speech so that L can hear her "i saaaaaid.....i'm only using ooooonnnnneee"
L: no response.
Then THIS happens (can you tell i'm still peeved??)
As i'm in the middle of making my guacamole, she comes over, TAKES THE FORK I'M USING out of the bowl, and says "i know it's not ready yet, but i'm just going to take a bit for my sandwich" W.T.F???? Excuse me? did you just take the fork i was using away from me and help yourself to MY lunch??? is it ok for me to just pick up your sandwich and take a bite?? no, i don't think so.
So you see, this is how she treated me the whole time. On top of that, she doesn't eat "real" food so she never helped in making the communal meals like lunch and dinner. I helped a bit (Stu did 99.99% of meal prepping and cooking) but i cleared the table and washed the dishes every night. L did nothing. She made her own meals, ate WITH us, and then left her dirty dishes for me to clean. thanks. you're a great guest. btw: when she did wash some of the dishes she used, they were still dirty. i guess she hasn't realized that when you're cottaging, dishes don't get washed in a dishwasher.
Oh, and did i mention that she did nothing except type on her laptop? She even claimed one of the chairs in the cottage as "hers". A big armrest which she not only hogged, but asked me to vacate so that she could work on her laptop. give me a break lady. go home already.
Further, she would not stop complaining about all of the bug bites she got. The only problem was that she refused to use bug repellent. She insisted on using her hippie, all natural, lemon grass "bug spray" which clearly does NOTHING because she was covered in bites. I tried to tell her that those natural things do nothing and that you have to use a bug spray with deet. Mat, Stu and I had no bug bites....hmm....
Anyway, it's just too bad that she was there the entire time i was.
There were a few things that I was not able to do on this trip such as waterskiing (kinda chilly), Salsburger Hoff – an amazing German restaurant that we go to at least once a year, visit my “original” cottage, and fishing. I’m blaming it on the fact that our trip was too short…
So i think that's all for now. I will edit this post if i think of anything else, and i will also post some pics once i've cleaned them up.
later gaters!
It wasn't long enough considering it takes a day to get there and a day to get back, but it's always worth the drive.
Amazingly, i took 80 pictures which is highly unusual for me because i rarely take pictures (i mostly enjoy smiling for them) and even more unusual for such a high ratio of pictures-to-vacation-days. However, i have been inspired by all of you and your wonderful photography abilities. PLUS i had several adorable subjects: mainly my 2.5 year old niece, Fiona and my doggies...hehehe.
I can't post them just yet cause they need a bit of cleaning up. I had the wrong setting on my camera when i took the outdoor pics and they all have a blue haze on them.
The trip was good. Mat and i didn't fight one little bit on the car ride there. Except for when i got mad at him because i specifically asked him to make me a salmon sandwich and he made TUNA because he didn't want salmon. I don't care what YOU want, i asked for salmon! If i knew you were going to disobey me, i would have made my own sandwich! Anyway, the tuna was ok, but not what i was hoping for. The doggies were good, sleeping the whole way in the car, and we only stopped 2 or 3 times.
When we arrived in the Batch at my brother's and sister's cottage, we were given the whole guest house to ourselves. It's awesome and the perfect way to spend a vacation. Not to be mean, but it's so nice not to have to share living quarters with anyone except your dearly beloved. The guest house is one huge room: think cozy loft apartment. Mat and i were able to sleep-in without the noise of anyone else waking us up, sneak away for afternoon naps, and put the doggies away when they were tired or needed a break from the sun and sand.
I got a lot of knitting done! I'm still working on my very first project (a winter scarf) but it's coming along nicely. I would say i'm about half way done for the super long length that i want.
Sarah: I started reading eat, pray, love. I'm not very far into it, but so far it's an easy read. I'm not sure if i like her "funniness" because it comes across as forced and i've certainly read way funnier things on people's blogs. Also, i couldn't really get into it because i was concentrating too much on someone who stayed at the cottage who said how much she LOOOOOOVED it, and i wasn't thrilled that this person was there, so i think it was affecting how much i was loving it too....more of that later....
What else...the weather wasn't perfect. We had a few cloudy days and a few sunny ones but i did get sun burned on the first day which was somewhat cloudy, so that's ok. We did almost all of the things i usually do when i'm at the cottage: take many trips to Agawa which is a store that sells native arts and crafts etc. I love that place. It IS Batchawana. They now have an online store at http://www.pancakebay.com/ it's not the same as the store because you don't get the smell of leather and rabbit furs nor do you get the sweet sound of native throat singing and drums. I bought a total of 30 maple sugar candies at 50 cents a pop...expensive, but worth it. 20 of them i shared with everyone, while i kept 10 in the car for myself and Mat (sorry Stu...).
I also bought a pair of mukluks. I desperately needed a pair of winter boots and although these aren't hip and pretty, i think they'll do the job. They are tall, brown leather boots with a big, thick rubber sole that comes up over the sides of the boot a bit. They are lined with sheepskin and lace up the front. I think they'll work better than any other boot i've owned...they'd better!
We also managed to take a trip over to the island and another trip to the sandy beach across from the poplar motel. We had 2 campfires and roasted marshmallows and made smores...mmmm....we ate like kings thanks to Stu's cheffing.
Can you believe that i did not drink one glass of water the entire time? I kid you not. Seriously...all i had to drink for the entire 5 days was coffee and beer and the occasional glass of wine. How i'm not dehydrated, i have no idea. And i had lots of beer. I almost polished off a 2-4 by myself. How i can fit into my clothes today? also have no idea....strange. meh.
So would you like me to tell you about this woman who was staying at the cottage at the same time as me? There's really not much to tell, so it shouldn't take long. She's my sister-in-law's cousin. She's 40ish - ? She's born and raised in California. She just spent 6 months in India learning how to bring meditation to the west. I find her phony to say the least. I don't know her very well, but i just find that she tries too hard. But the real reason why i don't particularly care for her is because she treats me like i'm 8 years old. Hello...i'm 26, and quite frankly you're treading on my territory here in the great north miss california who thinks 20 degrees celsius is cold and bugs can be averted without using bug spray. So ya, she treats me like i'm 8. Quite condescending and i'm pretty sure i don't act like i'm 8. So on top of her being phony 24/7, she did things like this to me during her stay:
background: all of the food in the cottage is for everyone. no one has their "own" stuff cause my bro bought it all and divies up the amount (or so i was told).
scenario: 3rd day at cottage. lunch time. phony one (henceforth referred to as L) in the kitchen making lunch. roz enters kitchen to also make lunch.
unfolding of events:
roz: (to no one in particular) looking at the bowl holding 6 avocados "i wonder if the avocados are ripe"
L: "no, i don't' think they are"
roz: picking one up to look at it. avocados are dark dark green (almost black) and soft "um, yup, i think they're ripe. i'm going to make guacamole"
L: "i don't think there's enough"
roz: staring at the bowl of 6 avocados "oh, are these for a recipe?"
L: "no, but i eat them like, every day for every meal" (which she does. she helps herself to one avocado every lunch and dinner).
roz: "well i just need one to make guacamole"
L: clearly not listening and only concerned about having enough avocados for herself "Well, can you at least leave One or Two???"
roz: slowing down her speech so that L can hear her "i saaaaaid.....i'm only using ooooonnnnneee"
L: no response.
Then THIS happens (can you tell i'm still peeved??)
As i'm in the middle of making my guacamole, she comes over, TAKES THE FORK I'M USING out of the bowl, and says "i know it's not ready yet, but i'm just going to take a bit for my sandwich" W.T.F???? Excuse me? did you just take the fork i was using away from me and help yourself to MY lunch??? is it ok for me to just pick up your sandwich and take a bite?? no, i don't think so.
So you see, this is how she treated me the whole time. On top of that, she doesn't eat "real" food so she never helped in making the communal meals like lunch and dinner. I helped a bit (Stu did 99.99% of meal prepping and cooking) but i cleared the table and washed the dishes every night. L did nothing. She made her own meals, ate WITH us, and then left her dirty dishes for me to clean. thanks. you're a great guest. btw: when she did wash some of the dishes she used, they were still dirty. i guess she hasn't realized that when you're cottaging, dishes don't get washed in a dishwasher.
Oh, and did i mention that she did nothing except type on her laptop? She even claimed one of the chairs in the cottage as "hers". A big armrest which she not only hogged, but asked me to vacate so that she could work on her laptop. give me a break lady. go home already.
Further, she would not stop complaining about all of the bug bites she got. The only problem was that she refused to use bug repellent. She insisted on using her hippie, all natural, lemon grass "bug spray" which clearly does NOTHING because she was covered in bites. I tried to tell her that those natural things do nothing and that you have to use a bug spray with deet. Mat, Stu and I had no bug bites....hmm....
Anyway, it's just too bad that she was there the entire time i was.
There were a few things that I was not able to do on this trip such as waterskiing (kinda chilly), Salsburger Hoff – an amazing German restaurant that we go to at least once a year, visit my “original” cottage, and fishing. I’m blaming it on the fact that our trip was too short…
So i think that's all for now. I will edit this post if i think of anything else, and i will also post some pics once i've cleaned them up.
later gaters!
4 comments:
WOOHOO!!! I am so glad you're back!! You know, I went to that website to find those candies that you're talking about and I can't find them. :-( I was seriously going to shell out some dough just to try them. They must be good at $0.50 a pop.
I missed your blogging!! You should seriously be a writer!! Thanks for letting me know about that book. I'll let you read more of it and get back to me on if you like it. :-)
L sounds horrible. I think I was getting mad just reading it. That would SO piss me off!! I'm surprised you remained so calm. I hate people like that.
YEA!! I love pictures (as if you couldn't tell by my blog). Is that your doggie? That is a great picture! It looks like it's done by a professional. Your niece is adorable. (that is your niece, right??).
thanks Sarah :) yes, that's one of my doggies, Bonnie.
And yes, the little girl is my niece, Fiona :)
welcome back roz!
first, you look gorgeous wearing pink bikini.
second, how cute bonnie. I can't resist the look =^.^=
prettyinthecity
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