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Late afternoon light on south-side of sandstone home of MLH |
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Reno Work - Before, During and After :) |
First up, on-going renovations included a total gut and rebuild of the downstairs bathroom in January and February. New flooring was also put into the kitchen and the living room. Then, surprise, three exquisite beds I designed and made in the1990s arrived in near-perfect condition from a retiring island cottage in Georgian Bay! Their arrival necessitated some juggling in the three bedrooms upstairs. Today, they fit-in perfectly!
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| New 'Old' MLH Fine Furniture BEDS in Guest Rooms |
As the summer unfolded, work began on the river front. I had to clear out all the overgrowth on an old 150-foot drainage trench, set-in new gravel and add fresh top-soil - and then landscape it anew with earth-holding grasses and flowering plants, (30 Siberian Iris bulbs and berry-producing low-ground junipers now dot that upper tier!) The worst job - by far, ever - has got to be shovelling gravel. Absolutely hated that job. But, even in the sizzling swelter of July, it got done.
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| The new pool deck was MOVED DOWN to the river for new 'marine storage'. Centre image is trench. |
Then, an unexpected bonus, I caught wind of a 'deal' on a 12' aluminum boat with a 9.9 Mercury engine. I jumped at it. Premature, really, considering where I am with the 'front' ... Yet, the boat-on-trailer was promptly delivered by the owner who drove it down the day after purchase from Spencerville. The boat's official launch was mid-August via the iconic Hudson's Point with neighbours and friends helping out. That first 'zoom' over the twinkling waters to MM's dock was the RUSH I knew it would be ... It was totally exhilarating - and what I am AIMING for, overall: ready access & easy exploration of the mighty St. Lawrence River!
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| With a little help from friends & neighbours, the putt-putt boat LAUNCH! |
Sadly, after that thrilling inaugural run, the wee 9.9 Merc pooped out. My shiny putt-putt was grounded for the remainder of the season as that dang engine, (after various on-boat fixes didn't fix it), went off to Arnie, local boatman mechanic extraordinaire, who has ASSURED me, it'll be ready-to-go next year ... SOOOO .... here's hoping!!! Fingers crossed!!!
With luck, the bottom end of my river front will be complete by the end of April 2026 with the 'marine storage' finished for the boat. (I got the 1" jute railing rope for it this week.) Literally, it's moving forward inch-by-inch down there ... Two steps forward, one step back ... Still, river access is a rare privilege and, long term, I know it will be divine.
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| Life on the River: Present - Past - Present |
All to say, it does take time to SETTLE ....Hard to believe, but, amazingly, after two full years here, and after turning the big 7-0h! in April, I finally swam in the river. - I even managed to convince MM, my good-natured neighbour, to go in too! It was the first time she had been in the river in over 16 years. (Imagine that: 16 years of living ON the river and not going IN to it - ?!? - Kind of incomprehensible to me, really, but then, everyone has to go at these initiations in their own way ... Long widowed, MM had seemingly settled into a "very quiet life on the river" ... Then, well, I arrived!... :) -- Poor gal!
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MM & me, in our 70s, frolicking in the river, pool and roaming the countryside ... o'yeah! |
I have since managed to entice and insist we "tour the area." MM has been a very good sport about my enthusiasms. She's been most obliging and very informative during our often unpredictable day-jaunt escapades. In total, we made eight (8!!!) 'day-trips' this year, starting in February with a meander up to Westport on the Big Rideau Lake after a wild back-roads trip to Robert McEwans 'sugar shack', a 3rd-generation, 3200 maple-tree bush-farm tucked away back of the back-of-beyond ...
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| Sugar Shack Backwoods Adventure somewhere on Big Rideau Lake |
Other jaunts included attending the 'Tall Ships Festival' in Brockville in sweltering heat - [trivia insert: did you know the phrase 'a loose cannon' comes from an 'untethered cannon rolling around on a ships deck'-???] ...
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Tall Ships were an essential part of the opening-up of the St.Lawrence River via commerce & war. |
... We continued on with an early morning breakfast run at the incomparable and family-centric Glen Resort on the St. Lawrence River followed by a tour of the charming mini glass museum in Mallorytown; we took a memorable night-time river cruise during the inaugural St.Lawrence Writer's Fest; and took detours and explorations of the massive Moses-Saunders power dam and various lock system that control the St.Lawrence River - with a fascinating side-trip to the 'Lost Village' and the glorious Long Sault Parkway. [After construction of the impressive St.Lawrence Seaway in the mid-1950s, a number of villages along the river bank were flooded by rising waters so that ships could navigate through the otherwise treacherous rapids and tumbling waters. As a result of the dams and lock system, most homes and businesses were re-located, but, for many, early settler family homes and memories were submerged forever ...]
We wrapped up our touring this year with several fall festivals and fairs, starting with a double-decker ice-cream cone at the famed Opinicon Restaurant at the Caffey Lock junction on the Rideau River and ending with an impromptu raclette spread in the quaint village of Perth after attending the chilly, yet lovely & quaint Country Fair on the Tay River, a tributary of the Rideau River. - Phew! For two old gals, we sure packed it in during 2025!
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| Exploring ... East to Cornwall, West to Gananoque and North to the Rideau Lake System |
Aside from these domestic adventures, I was lucky to have Scottish and Toronto-based relatives visit through-out the year. Helen and Brian arrived late June: booted & spurred. We clambered over rocks at the river, swung golf clubs in my backyard, and eat & drank WELL for four days straight. Dear cousin R and husband T dropped-by too. Next up, an old pal from Switzerland, darling Janie, stayed over. Time has sure aged us both. Yet, thankfully, beneath our well-worn wrinkles & visible battle scars remains the bright-eyed spark of youth. After decades of living, it seemed just like yesterday as we reminisced about that seminal year overseas in 1974 ... We managed to channel-in our two other Suisse house-mates, Jane & Deb, via an inventive mash-up of Zoom/Facebook & iphone hybrid cross-wiring while polishing off a delicious cheese fondue. Finally connected, the 'Battista Babes' babbled on happily for hours like the teenagers-we-once-were. Priceless and memorable: then and now.
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| Relatives stay, 'Apollo's Moon Shot' (painted by me) & the 'The Battista Babes' connected on-line |
Two gentlemen callers also passed through this year. Dear 'Apollo', who after several stiff martinis went a-wandering at midnight under a starry-lit, full-moon night and ended up, head first, in the pool ... and then, dependable Doug, on route to the East Coast. He arrived with plenty of gossip from Toronto that I never knew I missed.
The fall wrapped-up with a lovely lunch and walk-about with old family friends from Port Hope. Our familial roots go deep. Conversations are so much richer when there are several generations familiar to us all swirling between the words we shared. All those long-gone 'grand ones' live on within the vivid and fond memories from our somewhat enchanted childhoods.
On the MLH art-producing front, well, honestly, not that much this year. Only four paintings this year. -- BUT -- a new children's book is now in-the-works (- with tentative release in 2026). I'm also looking forward to doing much more painting as I settle into the snow-bound winter months ahead.
In truth, I'm STILL settling in - to my very own 'Sweetie-Pie Sweet-Pea Home!' (Not sure yet how to turn that into a memorable house name ... but I'm working on it.)
Season's Very Best to you all - and a Very Merry Christmas. - Ho! Ho!
-- Margaret Lindsay Holton
p.s. If interested in my recent novels, TRILLIUM, an award-winning, "epic" multi-generational tome set in the Niagara region of southern Ontario, or the re-released Gilded Beaver - or my first short story collection, STICKS and STONES - kindly consider the format you prefer - (ebook, softcover or audiobook) - via this Book Link (... And thank you all very much for your much appreciated on-line reviews. They do make the world of difference.)
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| Merry Christmas! -- Here's to a Happy & Healthy New Year -- One & All! |
