Saying Goodbye from a Distance

This past week, my parents moved from their lakeside home on the shores of Lake Muskoka, a special place that has been part of our family for about thirty-five years. They purchased the cottage when I was in my early twenties. In those days, I worked and lived in Toronto so I would often go there on weekends and during my summer holidays.

When my parents retired, they rebuilt the cottage into a beautiful four-season residence and moved into it on a permanent basis. Although it had changed completely from its simple beginning and use, we continued to refer to it as 'the cottage' in our family. I moved to Montreal when I was in my early thirties. The eight-hour drive from Montreal to Gravenhurst meant that visits were much less frequent but the cottage continued to be part of each summer. Emma and Chloé, now 20 and almost 16, got to know it from when they were babies.

I had really hoped to go and help my parents with their move and to say goodbye to the cottage but, by the time Chloé's final school exams were over and we could have travelled there, it was too late to be of help.

If you are on Instagram and Facebook and noticed a reduced presence on my part in the past couple of weeks, it was because I was barely looking at my feed. Every time I saw a photo posted by a family member from the cottage, I would start to cry. So I stopped looking. I'm sorry if I missed other things.

As one friend noted, not being there means that my memories of the cottage will not be of its packed-up, empty state but the way it was over the years. Among the layers of things I will remember will be swimming out to a big submerged rock with my younger sister, Karen where we could stand and dive--'our rock' we called it. I'll remember laying on the dock on my stomach with Emma and Chloé when they were little, catching minnows in a fish net, observing them and then putting them right back in the lake. I'll remember the camaraderie and group nuttiness of the cousins--Emma, Chloé, Duncan, Mac, Katie, Erica and Sydney. I'll remember the beautiful sunrises and the late-night stars. Falling asleep to the lapping sound of the lake and the occasional haunting call of a loon. Reading books sitting in the big Muskoka chairs on the dock with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine.  The boat rides to get ice cream and long walks with the family dogs. I'll remember the gatherings, the chats and the laughter.

The cottage and its gentle natural surroundings have also figured frequently in my art over the past thirty-five years. I have painted many Muskoka scenes, some in oil and then, in recent years, in watercolour.

I spoke to my parents yesterday. They are in their new home in town, a place that is more suited to them now. They said that the family who bought the cottage seems to really love it so it is in good hands. I have managed to write this blog post without crying so that's progress. We will be visiting my mom and dad's new place sometime soon. As for the cottage memories, they will always be ours.

Midsummer Mosaics

Where did the month of July go? Well, part of ours was spent in the beautiful Muskoka region of Ontario.

Meeko is always up for a road trip. He will often hop into the van before we even get a chance to pack it. He's like a space marker. "Don't forget me!"

We spent nine days with family (cousin time!), reading, walking, cooking and swimming. We visited the lovely Wednesday farmers' market in Gravenhurst. Always a treat.

Meeko swam in the the lake and then swam some more.

We saw some forest creatures--several deer and two sweet fawns (in the photo above). I got a fabulous photo of a toad. Who would have thought that a photo of a toad in a rusty old wheelbarrow could be so beautiful?

I did a bit of painting while I was there. There's something wonderful about painting on a screen porch while listening to soft music and accompanying waves.  Chloé made a video of me. I didn't realize what she was doing. I'm very camera shy and probably wouldn't have cooperated if I knew what she was up to. Then she posted it on my Instagram account. The rascal! You can see it here. I'm not looking particularly glamorous but I am definitely deep in the painting 'zone'.  At the end of the video, you will hear a steam whistle. Meeko barks every time he hears it--even when I play the video. :) It's the whistle of the historic Segwun steamship that is North America's oldest operating steamship. It tours Lake Muskoka on a daily basis during the summer months.

I'm always amazed how much a garden can change when you are away even for a short time. It looks great thanks to our wonderful neighbours who water my flowers when we are on vacation. The garden is definitely in the billowy midsummer curve towards fall. I came back to hydrangeas blossoming and echinacea is in full bloom.

We have another short trip planned before the girls go back to school. When I was young, we would never go back to school in Ontario until after Labour Day. In Quebec, schools start in late August. I can never quite get used to that.

Hope you all had a beautiful July. I'll leave you with some photos of my mid-summer garden.

The photos in this blog post were all taken with my iPad. I did the mosaics with a cool little app called 'Picstitch'.

For Ginger

Well I guess life won't throw you one curve ball when it can throw you two.  I got a very sad email from my parents saying that they had to say goodbye to their 12-year-old (almost 13) Golden Retriever today.  Ginger was operated on this past summer for a tumour and bounced back rather beautifully. Unfortunately it returned recently and in a way that did not leave treatment options.

You know the old adage 'A picture is worth a thousand words'? You just have to look at the above photos sent by my Mom and Dad to know the dog that Ginger was.

Ginger was a gentle soul, a worrier (oh my, did she worry) and a devoted companion.  She was beside herself when my father went anywhere without her. She did not like when anyone was in the lake--kind of a difficult attitude for a cottage dog. She loved her people and they loved her. She liked being with the other dogs whenever there were family gatherings and was always a very gracious host.

Ginger and I developed a special bond this past summer when she realized that I always have dog treats in my pockets (a necessity for the owner of a wayward puppy).  All of a sudden, she was trying to outspeed the younger family dogs when I asked for a 'Sit' or 'Lie Down'.  It was pretty cute.

Marlowe, Ginger and Meeko.  Not in the photo: Mabel.

A huge hug to my Mom, Dad and sister Karen.  Ginger was so loved and well cared for.

And if they could be there with you right now to offer a little canine comfort, I know that her buddies Meeko, Marlowe (my brother's family dog) and Mabel (my sister's family dog) would be.

I think it is hard to hear of a pet dying without feeling the weight of all past pets.  So in this moment, my thoughts are with Ginger but also our childhood dogs Peppi, Mitzi and Toby, my cat Mackenzie King and my sister Karen's cat Whiskers.  I give thanks to all pets everywhere for the wonderful comfort and companionship they bring us.

Until one has loved an animal, a part of one's soul remains unawakened.
Anatole France

*  *  *  *  *

I wanted to close this post with four lovely photos kindly sent to me by Émilie who is from Brittany, France. As she said, these rainbows are not in the sky but they are beautiful all the same. Beautiful indeed.

Mucha stained glass in Prague, Czech Republic

Windows in Manchester cathedral

Painted horse in Rotterdam

Cathedral in Jumièges, Normandie

When I look at these photos, they say to me that rainbows are all around us.  We just have to look for them to find them.  And I guess on some days it may be a little harder to see them.  Merci Émilie!

Thank you to all my blog readers for your kindness and thoughtfulness. You warm my heart.

Joni and Leonard and Light

As I continued working on my Muskoka morning sunrise painting today, I had my beloved iPod Touch playing.  I think it may be wrong to love an object as much as I love that sweet rectangular music box. There are some days when Shuffle can send you the weirdest, most disconcerting choices (let's say, for instance, the chorus of Hawksley Workman's Addicted as you are driving your daughter somewhere) and others when it can be in absolutely perfect sync with what you are doing. Today was one of those perfect sync days.

As I painted the clouds and the rays of morning sunlight breaking through them, two songs played in succession--first Joni Mitchell's Cotton Avenue:

 A red sun came rolling down a grey sky 
And the frogs and dogs and night birds then 
Started up singing sweet country lullaby... 

And then this one:

The birds they sang 
at the break of day 
Start again 
I heard them say 
Don't dwell on what 
has passed away 
or what is yet to be...

Ring the bells that still can ring 
Forget your perfect offering 
There is a crack, a crack in everything 
That's how the light gets in.
 (from Anthem by Leonard Cohen)

Oh Leonard, your lyrics and sense of timing are beautiful.

See a video of Leonard Cohen singing Anthem here.

Another Painting in Progress

Today I painted another scene from my cottage vacation. It is a morning scene. We had very changeable weather when we were away. This particular morning, the clouds were dark and low. I was sitting on the dock thinking that it might not be the nicest day when all of a sudden rays of sunlight broke through the clouds near the horizon. A very pretty moment.

I have always loved clouds and enjoy painting them although they can be challenging.  It can be difficult to convey drama, contrast and softness all at once.

I also worked on my Inuksuk painting today.  It wasn't quite finished after all.  I added little more detail in the trees and clouds.  I'll post the final version in the days ahead.

A Castle in the Forest

Have you ever watched your children do something and you have been totally amazed and interested by what they have done? You're not sure that you could have done the same thing or even have thought of it. You are just a happy witness to its splendid execution.

My daughters and their cousin said that they wanted to go into the forest. We are spending the week with my parents who live on the edge of a forest on the banks of Lake Muskoka. I wasn't certain what they had in mind. They are two pre-teens and a teenager who no longer require constant supervision.  The forest they wanted to explore is on our property.

What did they do?

Well, it took more than a day. It is beautiful and amazing and could belong in an art museum if there were an art museum for forest creations.

A large rock and the roots of a fallen tree were used for its back wall.  At least a hundred branches were then leaned and woven together.  Long pieces of grass were braided to form rope which was then tied to create a moveable door or flap. The floor is carpeted lushly with ferns.  Flowers and more ferns adorn the walls, grass ropes and door.

I asked them what I should call it and gave them a number of suggestions:  tee-pee, lean-to, dwelling, wigwam, shelter, abode, fort.   The oldest of the three thought for a moment and then said, 'Castle'.

Muskoka Morning

On the dock in my beloved Toms shoes (one of several pairs I own)

Tuesday had the perfect beginning: calm water, beautiful sunrise, a loon in the distance; my canine companion, a coffee cup and book nearby. Meeko often tilted his nose upwards to catch the lovely early day smells. A duck and her ducklings lingered close to the dock as if begging for a photo but I think it is more likely that a neighbouring cottager is feeding them.

Yesterday's weather was more unsettling with a tornado watch most of the day and evening but thankfully we only experienced light thunderstorms.

I am working on a painting today and will post it in the days ahead.

Cupcake Cousins

"Too many cooks spoil the broth."  Perhaps that's true where broth is involved, but more than one cook can work very nicely especially if they are two creative cousins collaborating on cupcakes.

After a search for a cupcake recipe and a discussion about artificial colouring not being the best thing to use for icing, my youngest daughter and her cousin came up with the idea of making lemon cupcakes with blueberry frosting.  They decided to use fresh blueberries to colour and flavour their icing.  Like two mad scientists, they laboured over their experimental bowl of icing--blending the juice from squashed blueberries with icing sugar, butter, lemon rind, lemon juice and then adding more icing sugar to thicken their mixture.  In the end, what they had was more of a glaze than icing but what a glorious glaze it was.  To build on their berry theme, they decided to decorate the cupcakes with bits of fresh strawberries.

The result?  Beautiful and delicious lemon berry cupcakes that could have been served with pride at the very nicest restaurant.  Cousins baking together in the cottage kitchen?  A very good idea indeed.

Muskoka

We are enjoying a week on beautiful Lake Muskoka--a week of family time, reading, walking, arts and crafts, and lake activities.

The weather is a little cooler and rainier than we hoped for but it doesn't diminish the fun.

My youngest daughter Chloé went out in the kayak and was greeted at the dock by our dog Meeko. (Meeko loves to swim but hasn't mastered a kayak yet.)

Meeko spent ages swimming in the lake with his best buddy and super dock-diver Marlowe.

On one of the rainy afternoons, we sat around the big dining table and made rubber stamps using a method taught to me by the wonderful Mexican artist Geninne. (I was lucky enough to attend her recent workshop in Toronto but she also has a free tutorial available on her lovely website). My daughters, niece and nephew made many, many beautiful stamps. I made a few and even got my dad to try making one. So we had three generations working together at one time!