June 18th - Progress Inside the Cottage

The first meal in the new dining room - catered by the Johnsons

At lunchtime on Thursday, Di and I were thrilled to have Cathy and Peter Johnson arrive with a magnificent platter of sandwiches as well as carrots, pickles, wine, juice and home-made cookies. A fantastic meal that Cathy insisted was just a picnic. All I can say is that the first meal in our new cottage was a veritable and delicious feast where glasses were again raised and toasts made.

Heather Calhoun arrived about the same time and Sue Garland came back from Montreal a little later, so many more boxes were unpacked that afternoon. We stored things as best we could considering that shelves and cupboards were being constructed around us as we worked. Nonetheless, great progess was made and we'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

Meanwhile, I would like to mention that I don't know what I would have (or could have) done without all the support and help from everyone involved - including all those of you who called, emailed, thought of us and sent good karma.

Looking through the living room to the lake as you come in the front door

The living room into the dining room with the front hall on the right

A happy (albeit tired) client with her contractor

The kitchen from the living room

The kitchen from the doors to the screened-in porch

The workstation counter through to the living room and dining room

Ground floor bedroom

Upstairs hall

Nancy's bedroom

Other 2nd floor bedroom 1

Other 2nd floor bedroom 2

June 18 - Outside Progress

Back porch, steps and screens

The back porch is looking very fine with all the screening (even the screen door) installed. The front porch stairs and posts are completed, and the flagstone path from the driveway is almost all done. And you'll see below that some of the leftover field stones were used to echo the original cottage's stone chimney.

The ice house looks as good as new, and the driveway circle is back with an added drop-off extension leading to the back door for easy suitcase and grocery delivery.

Jean-Marc and crew have laid sod around the house hoping that this will help keep the floors clean. Meanwhile, we're sowing it with clover in the hopes of making it environmentally friendly and in keeping with our cottage heritage.

Front porch

Stone steps and path

A stone chimney for the fireplace

The icehouse is back on its pins and there's a new lane to the back door

JULY 17TH - THE MOVE AND THE MOVERS

Sally and Doug McDougall provided Di and me a 7:30am breakfast

The move was a success beyond all imagining. It started with Di Nancekivell arriving on the 16th in time to steady nerves, to help with lists for the movers and with the final packing.

Wednesday dawned cool but bright and beautiful, and was never too hot all day. Sally and Doug McDougall arrived around 7:30 with croissants, coffee and tea - just in time to watch the upholsterer finish scotch guarding the refurbished sofa. It had been snatched away from him on Tuesday evening in a panic to get it here by moving day, but before he'd had a chance to scotch guard it at the shop. So he called to see if he could come by Wednesday a little after 7 and then did!

The Anber Moving team of three arrived a little after 8am - and they were superb. Rolls and rolls of tape, inestimable moving blankets and a wonderful sense of humour were the order of the day. Nothing was too difficult, but if and when it came close, they found a way to make it fun and/or funny.

They stopped at our storage unit in Ste-Adèle, and by some miracle, they were able to squeeze everything in - well, everything but the queen-bed frame which was simply strapped to the back of the truck...problem solved.

Sue Garland and Heather Calhoun met us at the cottage to help Di and me unpack boxes and direct traffic around Duval workers who were busy in the kitchen, basement and beyond. All reasonably chaotic but no one seemed to care too much.

The last three pictures are really the most important - nothing like unbelievably good friends and unbelievably good movers to make what should have been a difficult day (on almost every level) a happily memorable one.

It ended at the Garlands where Sue, having spent the afternoon working at 1010, magically provided a delicious dinner of salmon and asparagus, and glasses were raised in a toast to the cottage and our return to the Lake.

Loading up from 318 Kensington

The storage unit in Ste-Adèle - Before

The storage unit - After

Not a square inch to spare

Unloading at 1010 chemin Chartier

A weary Camille with a VERY empty truck

Partners-in-crime on a very recently scotch guarded sofa

One fantastic move-in team

Pedro, Luis and our faithful leader Camille:
The best of the best from Anber Moving and Storage

"Le Look" #3 - Readying the house for THE move - June 17th!

Fireplace and the beams

It's been an unbelievably busy week for the Duvals - and this next one will only be more so.

As you can see, the cedar beams were stained and installed as were the matching mantles. Most of the Duval-made kitchen doors and shelves are up as are their custom-made and gorgeous counters. Jean-Marc told me that the work station is pretty much finished so it should be in by the time we get there on Wednesday. The appliances are to be delivered on Tuesday as are the new beds. The bathroom vanities are under construction in Jean-Marc's shop, and they along with their sinks should be in by early next week. The basement bathroom shower frame has been installed and awaits its fittings, ditto for the bath on the ground floor - tiling is to be done there this week too.

Outside, the porch screens are made and some up on the kitchen/dining porch and the screen door needs one final coat of paint. The front door porch has been constructed and is to have stairs this week. Two storage areas under the lakeside porches are being completed. Gilles is planning to do some final landscaping of the driveway and parking areas.

There are so many finishing touches being done and there is so much activity on the go that it is hard to keep track. Nonetheless, Jean-Marc and his team seem to have everything well in hand and it all seems to be coming together well.

Meanwhile, the movers are coming to 318 Kensington on June 17th (TOMORROW!) at 8am to pick up all the furniture and boxes from here. They will then pass by our storage unit in Ste-Adèle en route to the cottage. So the next blog posting should be filled with photos of wrapping paper and general chaos as well as the wonderful friends who are free and have offered to pitch in and help.

The kitchen is ready for the appliances and to be stocked!

Lee Valley knobs and pulls are on order

Screened-in and back porch almost done - painting the lattice will be a summer chore

This week's lake view

This week's driveway view

"Le Look" #2 - The First Week of June

Stairs to the second floor

Same stairs - from the 2nd floor down

"Le look" continues to develop. The first week of June saw the installation of the stairs, the slate floors at the front and back doors and a great deal of preparation work in Jean-Marc's garage - including the kitchen cupboard doors. Jean-Marc brought one of the completed ones over so that we could check out the "cooking apple" green.

Janice Farrell and Kim Smith (no picture, alas) and Betty Jennings and Cathy de Solla paid us limited visits - Jean-Marc was in at 6:30am on Sunday to put a coat of urethane on the ground floor, so touring was limited to the basement and peeking from the front hall.

Nancy's favourite boyfriend guarding the front door on the new slate floor

Slate at the back door too

Jean-Marc showing off a cupboard door

A visit from Betty and Cathy

"LE LOOK"

Front doors are in - trim, siding, porch and lamps will complete "le look"

You know you are getting onto the home stretch when ‘le look’ seems to gain over-riding importance in every decision and is mentioned in every third or fourth sentence. As in: est-ce que ça va avec ‘le look’? Or: qu’est ce que ça ajoute ‘au look’?

How to design the stairs and banisters, what should the kitchen cabinet doors look like, do we want the vanities to have drawers, cupboards or both, what kind of handles should we put on everything that swings or pulls, this tile or that, slate or ceramic for the entrance, curtains or doors for the bedroom cupboards…???

It seems endless sometimes, but because there are so many of you willing to listen and help with decisions, it has ended up being fun too. So huge thanks to the family, good friends as well as Jean-Marc and Chantal for advice and input. Creating ‘le look’ would likely still be fun, but it certainly would be a much more stressful challenge without all of you.

Slate for the entrance and back door hall to the kitchen

Ceramic tile for the basement

Apple green for the open shelving and cupboard doors in the kitchen

Open shelves and brackets for the kitchen

The stairs are ready to install having been made, stained and varnished in Jean-Marc's workshop

The driveway circle will change little from the original one

A first load from Montreal - albeit stored in the playhouse

Cécile, Victor and Barb Drury with Bondai

This last weekend, Cécile came from Paris to lend a hand packing which was wonderfully productive. Amongst other chores we packed boxes and boxes of books as well as organized all the tools and garden implements. The Druries were kind enough to deliver the tools to the playhouse which marked our first load (and it was a HUGE one) for the cottage that didn't go to the storage unit in Ste-Adèle. They were rewarded with the deluxe 25-cent cottage tour and a wonderful lunch provided by Dave, Tassy, Cath and Peter next door.

The Drury's station wagon filled to the brim with a load of tools of all kinds

The latest cottage photos:

View from the McEntyre's road

View from the path to the tennis court

View from the Lake