Cyrano, our cottage neighbour's Bayfield 32 gets to fly her geniker on the last leg of our journey south to Bayfield. We had sailed her north to Tobermory for the long weekend so that our good friends Doug and Jane Dotzert could experience a wilderness weekend on their boat.
At ninety I hope to be doing as well as my mother. She came to the cottage for two weeks this summer.
Rob and mom enjoy a paddle in the lake.
With Gayle's help mom was able to enjoy both great dinners and good care.
The glass arrives by trolley piece by piece. The stairs look great after several coats of varnish.
Some guests got carried away in their enthusiasm to decorate the bonker tree???The decorating was not meant to be a contest; however the men seemed to feel that higher was the challenge.
The host and hostess look very festive in their Deck the Trees party wear. This year's annual beach bash was a festive occasion and to celebrate we decorated one of our trees in fish floats that we flew home from The Bahamas. In The Bahamas many islanders and in particular those who live on Cat Island decorate their trees and homes with these floats as a way to ward off evil spirits. I think we can safely say that we are well protected from the spirits after this decorative extravaganza. 
The bonker tree looks very good as do the bonker stars. 
It really is quite amazing what people will do at a beach bash.
The maple flooring is laid and the saws have now been banished from the living room. We are busy getting the cottage ready for my mother's visit later this month.
Choosing boards is more complicated than it sounds.
Christine collapses on the couch after a long day of laying flooring.
Rob uses his new air compressor nailer to nail the maple flooring.
To celebrate this year's anniversary we had a delicious lunch at Thyme on 21 in Goderich. 
A mother deer tells a new born fawn to stay still by the side of our cottage road.
The birthday boys of May....Bob and Doug.
The nasty weeds stopping the flow of our creek don't stand a chance.
We have some good storm watching in the spring as the weather changes.
A sure sign of spring at the cottage are the trilliums in the bush. Another joyful sight has been seeing loons on the lake on their journey further north. What a wonderful time of year this is.
A pizza and a glass of wine tastes good after a busy day on the job site.
The antique washstand looks fabulous. The captain has a way with wood.
The railings look great....lots more beautiful pine wood to varnish.
Soon after we were home in mid April it was back to the lake to begin working on the cottage. The first thing Rob did was frame the walls upstairs followed by drywall. Rob spends most days there while I try to catch up on things at home at the condo. I am also chief researcher and shopper! 
The stairs up to the loft were an exciting addition this week. Unfortunately there was a glitch in the design so they are not finished yet; however our stair builder Dave has assured us he will be back soon with the problem rectified.
The fan adds a tropical feel to the cottage and will be very practical once summer gets here.
This is an antique wash stand with a vessel sink. As if we don't have enough to do we have to strip the wash stand and varnish it. The good thing is that we will be varnishing the stairs at the same time.
The loft frame before the drywall was hung. Rob working on the closet in the back room. This area will have the upstairs toilet and wash stand.
The slanted loft ceiling is a challenge for closet space but with a little ingenuity we should be able to make it work.
Once the drywall was done in the loft it was time to get the paint brush out. 
Framing and drywall were first on the spring agenda.
The bonkers that came home in our stay sail are ready to be hung with care. When I look at the pile that we carried home from the beaches of The Bahamas I can't help but think that we are perhaps going a little bonkers ourselves? That being said Lynn and Peter also collected bonker fish floats and managed to fill their forward cabin with quite a few. At least they floated their bonkers home and didn't have to air freight them or explain to U.S. Customs what the round things were in the luggage?! According to the Cat Islanders who practise voodoo the McGuffins and Forgoshes will not have to worry about evil spirits in their homes by the water any time soon.
