Madame Muriel goes to the cottage

I will let Muriel tell her story of visiting my family cottage.

Hello Everyone. I had a very adventurous trip to the Ayotte family cottage for 2 weeks. The drive there was quite long - over 7 hours. The cottage is way off the beaten path as in gravel roads (not liking those) and trees. I have seen more evergreen trees than I could ever imagine.

We finally arrived late afternoon. Here is my view of the cottage when we pulled in.

Hmm - I think I can handle this for two weeks.

What a busy two weeks it was. I spent a lot of time on the card table in front of the window. My view from there was spectacular.

There were gorgeous sunsets!

The dock was always busy with some activity or another.

I even tried my hand at fishing.

I learned very quickly that I am a better stitcher than fisherwoman. I will leave the fishing to the young folks.

One day, my hostess sat me on the window ledge above the sink. 

Thank goodness she didn't hand me either a dish towel or dish rag. I would have been exhausted and had dishpan hands in no time. I have never seen a sink so busy. The nice thing that I noticed while perched here was the women did the cooking and the men did most of the dishes. I like that plan!

And the food - OH HEAVENS! There was pork tenderloin, turkey and all the trimmings, steak, hot dogs, hamburgers, spaghetti and meatballs, fresh corn on the cob, bbq sausages and salads galore. They caught enough fish - walleye and smallmouth bass that one night we had a fish fry with coleslaw and homemade french fries. I can still taste that wonderful fish.
My hostess is quite the baker and there were coconut macaroons, peanut butter cookies, gingersnaps, birthday cake (for the BIL) blueberry cobbler and twice - blueberry pie. 

And visitors - Wow these people like guests!
My hostess BIL and his wife were there for the two weeks as were the two grandsons Jack and Hunter. Those boys were busy. They were swimming, fishing, taking apart an old dock,

playing cards or Rummoli, playing on their DS or tablets or eating. The world seemed to revolve around them. I did my best not to be jealous of them.

And then it was Friday evening. People started pulling in. The boys parents arrived to lots of hugs and kisses. In came the cousins and more cousins and again more cousins. There was a big travel trailer, a tent trailer, a tent and numerous cars and trucks. Soon the place was filled with hugs, kisses and lots of laughter. There were children - more cousins. We were all introducted to baby Ella who is 4 months old. You should have heard the fuss they made over that baby. These people LOVE to laugh and talk.
There is a sauna here and it was well used on the weekend when all the relatives were about.

I heard the ring of horseshoes, the clinking of ice in glasses, the pop of the beer caps, the crackle of the bonfires and the late night hooting in the sauna and the lake. 

Other family and friends dropped in and out for the two weeks. That old screen door slammed a lot.
I heard my hostess warn the grandchildren "Slam that door again and you will be going home tomorrow". I wonder if she meant it. 

The blueberries - let me tell you about the blueberries. It was a very plentiful year. The DH and BIL picked and picked lots. The grandchildren pretended to pick (as did I). 

There was enough for that cobbler and those two delicious pies. The family all took some home to freeze.

All in all, it was a wonderful time. We are back in Trenton now and I must say it is quiet and restful here. This will be my resting spot until our next adventure. My hostess is not giving me a clue as to when or where. 

My hostess has informed me that she will post her stitching progresses in a later post.
Until next time

Madame Muriel signing off!