July 13


Resting under the Maple Tree
It was another busy day even though it didn't get quite as hot as yesterday. I needed to drive across the border to buy a tool for removing those old White Cedar Wall Shingles. Coming back, the Canadian Customs officer told me that the lumber truck had been there but gone now. I really wondered why he would tell me that as I did not expect anything from the lumber yard today.


However, coming home that truck was parked right in front of our property and Bea had gotten our pickup out on the road. What was going on?? Well, it turned out that the lumber guy had a back-log delivery for me and had waited at the border for me to clear his passage. Bea told me the guy had called the minute I had left, then the customs office had called and everybody was looking for a green JEEP with me inside. Bea had then started looking for the delivery truck and when it had passed her she had turned around and followed it to our property. 


Wow, now I could make sense in the customs officer's telling me about the lumber truck. They had let the truck pass anyway as the value of the delivery was so small that they would not have cashed in, as they have a minimum amount of 3 Dollars before they actually ask for payment. What a great mix-up. But it all worked out in the end. And I could get busy with the extension of our porch deck.
At around noon our mechanic called and announced that the convertible was ready to be picked up. 

Of course I had to work up a sweat again today, and when I found out that I needed a rest, I got a cold lemonade from our fridge and placed myself in one of our wicker chairs under the huge maple tree. And here I sat for a while, pondering about this and that. Today the breeze came out of the North-West and brought some cooler air. It was not enough to be called a wind and brought just a slight rustle to the maple tree leafs. I leaned back, closed my eyes and had one of those moments we all need from time to time, a moment of total happiness. 

We got done a lot today and when supper time came around I suggested that our kitchen remains unused today and that we support one of our local restaurants.


And that we did. Took the big float and off we went to the Provincial Golf Course Restaurant. Had a great rib-dinner while Bea was having fish and chips. So don't look for one of her "dinner-for-two" stories today.


The day will end with our every-week-wednesday concerts at Lubec,ME. Not everybody traveling to another country for attending a concert, I presume.
Have a good one!

July 12


Amazing what a blog can do...
We have never prepared food in a too simple way, so it is not my point to insinuate anything like that. What I am getting at is the fact that my dear wife seems to have found, not only inspiration, but the interest for cooking. And that is thanks to her blog Dinner For Two at www.dinner-fourtwo.blogspot.com  The fact that she is using the NIKON on it, and tries to get the most appetizing pictures of the dish has led to the most appetizing arrangements on my plate as well. I would be lying, if I said it doesn't please me. 


Today, we had pan-fried Pollock, with cooked potatoes and a delicate cucumber-tomato salad. No top-prized restaurant in the entire gourmet-world would have made that dish any better than Bea. 


Besides of havin' a good time at the table, I had a h...of a time outside with my porch-project. Reason for that was the merciless sun combined with high humidity (it rained last night!). The water poured off my head by the gallons, and from time to time I had to take a refill in the kitchen. But finally the last post with beam toppled over and I was standing on a bare deck.

Neighbors walking by on the road were not saving their comments. Nope, they must have been thinking I am a real maniac, which maybe closer to the truth than they know.

Everyone who is reading www.thebayfieldbunch.com knows what trouble (and fun) Al has with his squirrels. We have squirrels too!! And Molly is the one being on the hunt for them. But, of course, squirrels are faster or smarter than Molly. That, however, does not deter her from sitting guard under a tree when a squirrel has taken up position on a high enough branch. Molly does not know that the squirrel can escape her attention by jumping onto the house roof and from there going into its nest by the dormer. But funny enough the squirrel sits in the tree and seems to have fun teasing our dog.

Then in the late afternoon I had to start the convertible, 'cause the island-mechanic was to put in a new choke tomorrow and desired to have the car with a cold engine next morning. But turning the key did not produce the desired rumble from the engine. It remained absolutely quiet in the garage. No power! Flat Battery! How could it be?  
In dark anticipation I fumbled after the light switch, and sure enough it was halfway out. Darn, I had forgotten to switch off the parking lights last time I put it into the garage.


The solution was putting it into neutral and pushing it out into the open. Luckily our garage floor is sloping a bit downhill, which makes it a ton easier to move that heavy float.  
Outside, I could bring our truck close, to use our heavy-duty jumper cables. When the engine finally sprang to life, I had to keep my foot on the accelerator, as the choke is no good. After a while the engine warmed up and I could slip up my foot.
Together with the new choke we will be getting a full tune-up of the engine. I am looking forward to finally being able to fully enjoy that old boat, even if most trips are limited to tours on the island.

July 11


Action
Yesterdays tranquil Sunday was followed by a day full of action. I had planned to continue tearing down the rest of the old porch. Starting with the remaining roof joists, one by one came down with a squeal of the old rusty nails. I plan to re-use these joists, so I had to clean them of all the nails. With a claw hammer and a crowbar I pulled hundreds of nails. many were so rusty that the nail head was coming off in the attempt. These had to be banged down into the wood. At 10.30 I got a phone call from the lumber guy, who had arrived at the Canada border with his load of materials for us. I raced down the 3 miles to meet him and pay the sales tax to the customs. 
He then followed me to our house and we started unloading the truck. The 6"x6" for the porch posts were heavy. I also had ordered a whole bunch of 2"x4" treated which are intended for the floor extension. 


When we were done we heard the rumbling of a nearing thunderstorm, but it never rained, and the black clouds disappeared to sea.


Until noon I banged and squealed with my tools, and made the neighbors looking over to this crazy guy who apparently was about to demolish his house.


The sun got out before lunch and the temps climbed to uncomfortable 75F. I say "uncomfortable", as we always have a relative high humidity and the felt temperature is a lot higher, which is especially true when one works hard.

Banged to pieces -- the old porch materials

Looking at the result of a good days work I at least have a feeling of having accomplished something.

Not much left after the day

New Materials