Molars, masts, motorcycles and good mates

As the adage goes, the best laid plans of mice and men so often go awry … and so it was with Ann’s tooth saga. After much backing and forthing, along with the constant draining of our little bank account, it was finally determined that the odious and vexatious tooth had to come out.

And so it did.

Of course this left a rather large hole in Ann’s head (and no, I’m not going to crack a joke here 😉 ). Luckily the dentist had a skeleton or two in her closet, so now Ann carries with her part of Bob-the-Cadaver as a bone graft to fill that big space between her ears (… must resist making any wise cracks 🙂 😉 ).

In all seriousness, it has been quite an ordeal for Ann. Happily the graft seems to have taken, and she is on the mend. The next steps are months away, so after a couple more days of convalescences at the Kathy/Mom hotel we were able to get back to the boat and get on with getting on.

In between another quick trip back to Ottawa to remove the dental stitches we worked on sorting and organizing the boat, and getting a few more projects done. This included a climb to the top of our mast (~50 ft off the water) to install our wind instrument and set up the lazy jacks.

In setting up the lazy jacks Ann found the early stages of new wasp nest being built. “Clearly we’ve been stationary for too long!” says Ann.

With the boat in descent shape we loaded our motorcycles and headed north to deliver them to our friends’ place near Rossport (Selim to be exact) on the north shore of Lake Superior. It was a 1,600 km ride from Belleville to Rossport, but we took our time and had a great trip. We stopped in Huntsville, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie and finally Rossport. It was great to get in one final long ride, and travelling the north shore of Lake Superior on our bikes was stunning and emotional — as usual.

    

We got to Cathie and Joe’s place which is a true slice of heaven on earth. Their house is right on the shores of the Big Lake, with a great view of some of the Rossport islands. It is stunning, graceful and peaceful — just like the owners. We both love spending time in that place, and with those folks — especially the one with four legs. Maggie Muggins is always so cute and so fun.

 

While in Selim we tried to earn our keep by moving some wood, playing with Maggie, paddle boarding (Ann), and playing crokinole (the boys whooped the gals three games in a row 🙂 ). So now our bikes are all tucked away, safe and sound. Thanks so much C, J and Maggie!

Sadly our time passed all too quickly and we were on the plane, back to Ottawa. Kathy picked us up at the airport and drove us back to her place. There we were greeted with this!

Apparently my 50th birthday has been noticed by others … and thanks to this display, pretty much everyone in their condo. Thanks ;-).

We spent a few more days hanging out in Ottawa. I was gifted some cards for Apple and MEC, so I got to play consumer buying new stuff. At MEC I got a new pair of pants, which I needed. And at Apple I got a new drone which I did not need, but like very much — although Hammi was less impressed.

 

Mom and Kathy took me out for a wonderful dinner, and the next day drove us back to Belleville and the boat. As always, it was so great to spend time with you both. You do so much for us. Thank you!

We came back to Belleville to get to back to the boat, but also to attend a small concert by folk singer extraordinaire Ian Tamblyn. The show was put together, in part, by Marvin, a new Belleville friend and someone well connected to the local art scene. But most amazing, our great friends from London days: Claudia and Ward — people we haven’t seen for many years (me) and nearly two decades (Ann) made the trek from Toronto just to see us. It was wonderful to reconnect!

We don’t deserve such good friends (and family is good too 😉 )…

So now we’re working hard to get the heck off this dock. The list of things to do before we can leave is long, but there is an end in sight. We are within a week, if not days, to heading off. Getting exciting, and kinda scary — just as life should be, right…???