Yikes, Fall Already?

The colours on the hillsides are wonderful and the eavestroughs are filling up with leaves again so it must be fall. The autumn routines have started up and soon Richard will be back at  work most days. It has been an incredible summer.

Part of what made it incredible was that we had two separate holidays. The first was to Newfoundland and Labrador and I've posted photos of that trip here on the blog.  The scenery was spectacular; the people were interesting; and the opportunities to learn were abundant. Besides we got to ride in Zodiacs and that's always fun in my books.

The second holiday was very different.  We spent a week with a friend on his island. The pace was leisurely but we got a lot done. We helped with various chores around this island and when there was a two-person job rather than a three-person job, I got to sit in the shade and carve spoons from freshly cut wood. It reminded me of some of the canoe trips we once took during our summers, only this time, we had a cabin to sleep in rather than setting up a tent every night and if the weather was nasty, we could stay inside.




We cleared brush and stacked firewood. Richard and John worked on plumbing and wiring and roofing. I hid in the shade while they soaked up the sun. We started our days with coffee, tea and conversation, sometimes until noon; sometimes until early afternoon, a rhythm that suited Richard and me just fine. I sat on a rock near the shore and played my ukulele, a birthday present this year. I also did a few wood projects. I made a large handle and latch for the doors over part of the electrical system. It was an interesting challenge to improvise holding systems and figure out how to cut curves without a jig saw.

When the time came to leave the island we got to spend a few nights on the road in our new-to-us camper van. Despite the problems with Flopsy we had living in her pretty much down to a science and it will take us some time to attain the same comfort level with Vinnie. We don't quite know where to put things yet or how to best make up the bed. It's brilliant, though, not to have to kneel down on the floor and peer into a little gap to see whether or not the fridge is lit each time we gas up. Also, dumping grey and black water is a new experience for us. We want to take off and spend more time on the road but we also love being at home, seeing our friends, singing in choirs and taking music lessons, not to mention the days I happily spend in the shop. So, even though we're enjoying the start of a new term for many of our activities, we're looking back at the fun we had this summer, and looking forward to adventure possibilities for next summer. There is no shortage of experiences, remembered, lived and imagined and for that I'm grateful.