On Friday morning, we left for Mayne Island planning to catch the 10am ferry. We dropped the kids off at school and arrived in Tsawwassen with plenty of time to spare. Much to our complete shock, we couldn't get on the bloody boat. It was full. And this has never happened - we've never required a reservation on a Friday morning unless it's a long weekend. Rather than go home, we opted to go to Victoria and catch a connecting ferry. What a long day, but we spent a nice afternoon walking around Sidney, looking in the shops, and then stopping for lunch. We didn't get to Mayne until 5pm which was frustrating as we had so much we wanted to have accomplished by then. Anyway, we got to the cottage and the first thing I noticed was all the trees missing. What a difference. And then I noticed the quiet. No matter how many times I go to Mayne Island I am always stunned by the peace. I walked around the property listening to the birds, breathing in the clean pine-scented air. This is the view from the back deck looking south-east. I am already mentally planning how I want to landscape this area. I want to have blossom trees, wildflowers, and perennial ground covers, such as sweet woodruff, that will cover all the spaces under the trees. There is deer-fencing already in place on one side, but we are going to fence in the whole property. This will keep our dog safe as well as allow us to grow all kinds of plants and flowers that won't get eaten by the deer. They're lovely creatures, but they can devour your whole garden in a single day...

Once inside the cottage, I took in the new windows. What a transformation. The main floor is a construction site, but the change in the light and the views out the windows is astonishing.
The last time I was there, you had to turn on lights even in the daytime. Now, the cottage stays bright until evening...

The first thing I did was make our bed. There was no cover on the duvet and no bottom sheet. I suppose guys don't worry too much about these things. When I saw the work my husband has done upstairs, I almost got tears in my eyes. He has worked so hard, and it looks so nice, even though it isn't painted yet. The upstairs has a clean, woodsy smell, and with the carpets gone it feels completely different. You can actually breathe without inhaling putrid carpet fibers. In case you're wondering, the gap beneath the window is for a baseboard heater...

We set up a double bed in this room for my brother when he comes over to help next weekend. After that, we ate some dinner, and listened to the frogs singing their hearts out. This is something new - last year, there was no frog song at all  - I guess chopping down all those trees may have done something, but who knows. In any case, it was the most wonderful sound; a chorus of croaking that seemed to fill the sky. I wanted to go out with a flashlight and investigate but I was too tired. The next day, we were up early and got to work. Lorenzo finished wiring the upstairs...

While he was doing this, I removed about five thousand staples from the floors in the bedrooms and hallway. The previous owners decided to staple the carpet underlay to the subfloor. I had to use pliers to get them out and it took up most of the afternoon. My knees are still sore. Then Lorenzo installed the new pine material for the walls to fill in all the areas he had to expose. It looks great. Here is how it looked before...

And here is how it looks now...

Once this was done, we hauled out all of the old furniture that the previous owners left behind - two dressers, an old dressing table, some chairs, etc. Carried it all down the stairs and out to the front lawn to be removed. Then I organized the upstairs bathroom because all the bathroom stuff was in boxes on top of the piano. I hung the new shower curtain which was pretty exciting - we can bathe! I should have taken a picture of the main floor once it was all cleaned up, because it's a huge improvement. I vacuumed every nook and cranny, brought all of Lorenzo's tools down to the main floor, gathered up stuff to be washed, etc. We listened to music all day on this amazing little stereo we bought. It's a Yamaha TSX-140. It plays cd's,
i-pod, and has am/fm radio. The sound is fantastic and it can fit on a book shelf. We popped in my i-pod and had continuous music all day which really keeps your energy up...

We worked until about 7pm and realized we hadn't eaten all day. We were so hungry I felt ill. So we cleaned ourselves up and headed into Miner's Bay for some dinner. We went to the Spring Water Lodge, which is the longest-running hotel in BC's history. It was built in 1892 and is the most delightful place to have a meal and look out across the ocean. On some of the other gulf islands, there is no waterfront place to eat a casual meal. This is one of the many reasons I love Mayne Island...

The Spring Water Lodge is an old, and somewhat rickety structure. The floors are sloping, the paint is peeling, and thick moss has spread in furry clumps over several parts of the roof. Time and salt-water have taken a bit of a toll but it only adds to the overall appeal. If it ever gets torn down I will be absolutely crushed - I love it there. It must have been a beautiful home for someone a long time ago, and you find yourself wondering about all the stories those old walls could tell. One of the waitresses happened to mention that it is haunted and was very casual about it. Apparently, it is a well-known fact - doors open and close for no apparent reason, and foot steps can be heard moving about upstairs when no one is there. I guess this explains why the rooms only cost $40 a night!

The weather was glorious on Saturday - we sat on the deck and ate fish and chips...with lots of malt vinegar.

The only time I ever drink beer is at the Spring Water. I treated myself to a glass of Piper's Pale Ale, which Lorenzo says tastes like swill, but I love it, and it's perfect cellar temperature, not freezing cold like most beer you get in a restaurant...

Here is my husband..drinking freezing cold beer...

This is the view from the deck looking down Georgina Point Road...

After our meal, we went upstairs to check out the haunted rooms. We didn't encounter any ghosts, but it was interesting to finally see the upstairs of the lodge. After this, we drove over to David Cove, then took a cruise around the island. I noticed something rather strange. Many of the trees in that area have a ghostly white appearance and what looks like stringy cob-webs attached to limbs that are showing no signs of life. I stared at them for a long time and I wish I'd taken a picture. We saw many trees like this and I wonder what this means. I hope someone is looking into this.
Back at the cottage, we made a fire in the wood stove and turned in around 11. It was so nice to get into our king-sized bed! The next day we caught the 8:40am ferry home. The kids said they had the "best weekend ever" which gave us pause...In any case, everything seemed to be in good form. Our neice stayed at the house with them but I think they enjoyed greater freedom than they're used to. Bye for now...