Painting continues, visiting Crofton and a Boat Ride.

Monday morning we woke to sunny skies but very breezy. Today will be cleanup day from all the company. Kristi and Jason still have a two more days of their holiday before they head back to Nanaimo. The two of them went out for a kayak ride later in the morning before they tackled getting all of the peeling black paint off our stairs and then pressure washing them.

And they are off!

As the stairs are treated wood they should never been painted with regular paint as it started peeling off almost immediately. Thanks Jason and Kristi they look so much better. Ray still needs to move the front stair tread slightly out so the stairs will drain before screwing back the rubber slip mats. This was done incorrectly by our contractor.

The painter did not show today, apparently having a sick day. There is a very nasty cold going around which both Ray and I managed to get, so don't blame him for staying home. Cliff's guys came and finished replacing the cupped boards on the dock.

I counted 77 new boards. Looks fabulous with the button washers to prevent any more boards lifting hopefully.

The gardener came and finally got our weeds under control and pruned the cedar hedge that was taking over our woodpile. With all of the alder trees around we constantly get seedlings started.

We spent the afternoon on the deck and I barbecued a prime rib for dinner. Yumm. Of course yorkshire puddings were made to go with.

Tuesday morning was foggy but warm. Everyone was up shortly after 6 am. Jason left first for Nanaimo as he had an appointment, then me for my next vaccination shot. No painters again today as Gerry is still getting over the flu. I was back around noon and then Kristi headed out to visit a friend while her pooches stayed here. While she was gone, Ray took me out for lunch at Jakes for a treat. Very busy over there and a lot of tubers on the river.

Kristi returned shortly after 2pm and headed back home with said dogs ... her vacation is over. We are on our own again after a very busy week.

Wednesday morning sunny and the wind is calm finally. Amazingly quiet. lol Painter is still sick so no work today. Ray went into Duncan for some shopping and I puttered around for the morning. The afternoon alternated between clouds with sunny breaks so we managed a little time out on the lawn out of the wind. As usual by 4:30 the wind died off and the sun came out so after dinner we sat down on the dock for an hour and the rest of the evening on the deck. Another great relaxing lake day. Freya slept most of the day, with her leg injury and trying to keep up with the other two dogs she needed the rest. No more sticks for her to be thrown, except into the water to get her to swim for her new exercise program. She is not happy with the change.

Thursday, cloudy with sunny periods with a little wind. The painters (4) of them, showed up and started work by 8:30 am. Starting on the front as I suggested. I need them out of the way when our other painters show up to do all the fir posts in the front of the house and the doors, gazebo etc. August 5th. The soffits look so much better painted instead of mouldy looking wood.

Ray took the boat over to the marina to fuel it up before the weekend traffic. He snapped some pictures of all the houseboats.

Friday ... Happy Birthday to me. Lots of birthday wishes and phone calls. Only Gerald showed up to paint today. After Freya's early morning Vet appointment (yes her butt problem is better), and after dropping her back off at home, Ray and I headed back into Duncan so he could take me out for lunch at OJ's.  They even gave me a complimentary piece of "dirt pie" for my birthday.

It was such a beautiful warm sunny day I wanted to spend the afternoon on the dock. The temp at around 3pm was 29C. The warmest yet. First time that I actually swam in the water this year. Although a couple of times this past month I did float in my lounger. The clouds came in around 4 pm so we migrated up to the sundeck.

For dinner we'd picked up some fresh crab at the local fish market. Yumm.

Cook you crabs!

Saturday, surprisingly it rained in the wee hours of the morning and we woke up to cloudy skies. By 8 am though it had cleared off and remained warm outside. Unfortunately the wind came back up and the clouds moved in ... Ray puttered downstairs as I puttered in the kitchen. Later in the afternoon I suggested we go for a drive since it was too cool to sit outside in the backyard.

Off we went to Crofton to have a look around. First up though, was lunch at the Brass Bell Pub, located a couple blocks up from the ferry terminal to Saltspring Island. It just so happened that their special for Saturdays was a loaded homemade cheeseburger with all the fixin's for $8.50. Even the pattie was homemade. Wow great price and a delicious burger. We sat outside on the deck and could see the ocean.

 After full bellies, we took a stroll along their boardwalk. What a beautiful spot.

Old Schoolhouse Museum

The start of the boardwalk.

The sand is really black and sparkles.

You walk past the Osborne Bay Resort Campsite.

Back home we relaxed outside for a bit as the wind had died down somewhat and the sun was out. Another great day.

Sunday morning was bright and sunny with very little wind. After filling up my coffee mug it was down to the dock for an hour enjoying the quiet. Ray busied himself with finishing off the stairs ... moving the outside stair tread forward so it will drain and then reapplying the rubber mats on top to prevent slipping. Thanks to Jason and Kristi again, for stripping all the paint off the stair treads.

At noon we decided to make a picnic and took off in the boat for a cruise. The wind remained just a slight breeze so it was a great day to go. We wanted to do this for a month, but the wind was up every day. We started out with Freya but it was so hot on the water, she would not settle. With her leg I did not want her hurting herself, so we turned around and brought her back home. Glad we did, as it was so hot, I had to go for a swim before we started out again. lol

Today's cruise took us to the Youbou arm of the lake. Absolutely gorgeous. Lots of beautiful houses interspersed with old summer cabins. Lots of people enjoying the water. Ray and I swam off the back of the boat a few times to stay cool, that's how hot it was.

Looking down towards the end of the lake.

This house has a roof similar to our gazebo. I wonder if our house was supposed to look something like that before they decided to use the gazebo structure as an outside feature instead of build in?

Very cute house with the rockwork.

Swimming off the back of the boat. It's hot out!

Trailer park ... glad we have the house.

The Community Park

The rest of the afternoon we spent on the dock in and out of the water. An awesome day.