I almost didn’t make my annual trip to Muskoka this year—didn’t want to wear out my welcome; I’d visited twice last year, once for my parents’ 60th wedding anniversary, and again at Christmas. Happily, all it took was one phone call from my big sister to change my mind. Guess I was looking for a push. The cottage fills me with childhood memories of when we were water babies, snow babies, and bonfire aficionados.
First stop: Toronto
This year, my vacation didn’t quite sync with my sister’s time off, but it meant I got to spend some time in downtown Toronto, which I haven’t done for years.
I love the old stone buildings and the towering spires of the Cathedral Church of St. James is a beautiful example.
Red brick is a Toronto staple and found everywhere. I snapped a pic of the Flatiron building with the Trompe l’ceil wall on the rear.
City Hall made me pause. I remembered finishing a ten-kilometre Miles-for-Millions walkathon there when I was a pre-teen (though I can’t remember where the trek began or what we were raising money for).
I stopped to watch dogs and their owners enjoy a whimsical spouting fountain in Berczy Park that made me wish I still had my dogs.
The St. Lawrence Market hasn’t changed, though the pork chops weren’t piled sky high in the butchers’ cases like they used to be.
Next stop: Cottage Country
At the end of the week, we headed up to my sister’s cottage, which is our grandmother’s former home. It’s next door to our parent’s place on the Manitouwabing River.
I had a terrific visit with parents, sisters, a brother, a great aunt, cousins, nieces, and many friends. We spent time reminiscing, as we inevitably do, and adding to each other’s memories.
When I was young, I didn’t appreciate the cottage like I do now. It wasn’t that I didn’t enjoy being there, but the drive up was torture. I got terribly car sick (still do) and it was a four-hour slog. I hated leaving my friends in the city and missing all the weekend parties (good planning, my folks would say!).
These Muskoka visits take me back in time to magical summers, winters, and weekends. We were water babies, snow babies and bonfire aficionados. I treasure the memories and look forward to going back each year.
On the writing front
Not many words made it to the page during my time in Ontario, but Emelynn’s next book sits at 65K. It’s coming along and I’m looking forward to getting back to it this week.
Another note on the rebranding front: at the August long weekend’s Denman’s Saturday market, after his wife bought Awakening, her husband, Frank, told me he’d avoided my table because he thought I was peddling religious material. That’s yet another vote for rebranding!
This was my second reading at the McKellar Library, and once again, Maxine and Joan did a tremendous job of hosting the event. Not only was my reading announced on the Township’s roadside billboard, but they also advertised it in the local paper and even announced it on 103.3, Moose FM.
The wedding came off with only the one (expected) hitch. The bride was stunning, her groom handsome. Vows were spoken, cake was eaten, toasts were made, but it was the first time I’d seen a drone taking photographs.
When we were kids, we’d see maybe one boat go by each day, and when it did, it was an event. It didn’t matter that the boats were almost always canoes or small aluminum fishing boats. We’d run to the shore to see who it was and shout out, “Having any luck?” Sometimes they’d hold up their catch and we’d wave. Because of the falls, the river’s a dead end, so the boaters would all have to come back our way. We’d wave again and call out “Good luck,” and they’d disappear around the bend. Today, over the course of a day, a dozen pontoon boats or PWCs might motor past.
McKellar is in Ontario’s cottage country. It’s one of those towns people in Toronto refer to as “up north,” which covers a lot of ground. For me, McKellar, Broadbent and Parry Sound are places where I spent considerable time in my youth. Grandparents, aunts and uncles had homes and cottages in the area. My parents have lived there for many years, and one of my sisters has moved into my grandmother’s house and turned it into her cottage.
The library does an outstanding job promoting local authors, even ones like me who have moved away. They encourage library usage through innovative measures – did I mention the fishing poles? Not only do they loan out books and current issues of popular magazines, they also have a large collection of DVDs, videos, large print books and talking books. They offer free Internet and wireless service and if the mood strikes you, you can borrow a pedometer.