Building The Love Shack

One of the things I like about having this blog it gives me a look back of each year as it passes. Like all years in life, this year gave us some good and some bad.

This year gave us some life experiences. These ones were hard. Starting with the bad and remembering those we lost.

We had our first experience of losing someone at the lake to drowning. That was an experience that will stay with us for a long time. It also gave us a reminder that the lake although beautiful, can be a dangerous place.

Mother Nature also reminded us how strong she could be with the storm that flooded and damaged many of the cottages.

We also had two personal deaths this year which I did not share with the bloggers. One of our Weekend Warriors lost her Aunt in a fatal car accident coming home from the cottage and I lost a childhood friend to cancer.

So like everyone else, life happens. It’s not always good. But like all other humans, we made it through and dealt with the tragedies and losses.

This year, year four of owning the Love Shack also brought us good.

We spent more time at the cottage this year and much of it was not working but enjoying the time there. This gave us more time to get to know our cottage friends. Two have become very special people in our lives.

I spent time alone there this year for the first time, just me and the furbabies.

While I was there I had time to work on my cookbook, The Cottage Cook Book and my novel, Only With Him. The novel is almost at the end of its second edits and I am now actively looking for a professional editor to get the book ready for publication.

We added two new Weekend Warriors. Our friends we met seven years ago on a cruise ship, who have become our travel partners and close friends, came to Canada this year and helped us put in the new gardens.

Personally, on the home front, we have also had some old friends come back into our lives. We look forward to sharing the Love Shack with them this coming season and adding them to our Weekend Warriors.

The Love Shack got some reno’s this year. The drywall got hung in the main room.

 

 

Then it got painted and received some new curtains and window dressing.  My happiest moment was when the new flooring went in and the last window was put in. I have learned to love the words last one!

 

 

The back deck got added to and made it much larger with room to entertain and gave Romeo and Juliette more room to play. They love the fact that they can run through the cottage and go out to the deck on their own as they have mastered opening and closing the screen door by themselves.

 

 

Besides the gardens that were planted, holding gardens have been started for the plants that will be going into the new gardens once the front deck has been built.

And for Christmas, the cottage received a new stereo system for the inside and the tree of life received three new birdhouses.

 

 

Our year has been mostly good and as always we are thankful for the gifts and the people who make our lives richer with their presence.

And of course, let’s not forget the Mouse in the House… Yes, we ended the season with another dam mouse who got in. My Goal for this next year is to figure out how that one dam mouse gets in each year.

That’s the only goal I will tell you about today. What’s next is a whole other blog.

I would like to end this blog today with a big thank you to the Warriors. As I look back at each year and around the Love Shack, what I see is them. I see each gift they bought for the cottage. Each item they picked up because they thought or seen we could use it. But mostly I see each area where their hands have touched and built and added to another part of the Love Shack.

The Love Shack would be just another cottage on the lake if it was not for our Warriors.

We have now stepped into 2020 and are only a few months to opening up again. We still are doing our checks on her to make sure she is safe over the Winter. As the countdown has begun to opening our lady back up and so has the worklist.

And that’s looking back at 2019. Thank you again for following our blog. The blog post was down this year but our followers have increased. I consider that a success.

With Love

Lacie, Husband, Romeo, and Juliette