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The Washroom

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The big project is building an outdoor washroom. The current facilities are a pit toilet and lots of trees. The goal is an 8x8 structure containing a shower, sink, and sawdust toilet. Water will be gravity-fed from the water-catchment system on the cabin. Some of the water will go into black hose coiled on the washroom roof, which will be heated by the sun for hot water. Therefore, the location needed to meet various criteria: mostly level, downhill from the cabin, with a southern exposure. We found such a spot, staked out the corners, and trampled down the grass. Now the fun would begin. In researching the type of foundation to build, we learned about the concept of frost heave, where the ground freezes and expands upward - no good for buildings. To avoid having the building move around, footers need to extend below the frost line, which around here is 5 feet. We planned to use a product called a footer tube, which is similar to a 5-foot, rigid, plastic traffic cone. Actually, fou...
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First Impressions

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Camp du Caro is my summer camp, project, and sanctuary for three weeks. The approach to her camp passes farmland (lots of corn) and woodland. Canadian highways 1 and 2 traverse the area. After leaving the highway, paved and then dirt roads bring you to her driveway. To walk her driveway would take about 10 minutes, from the public dirt road to her cabin. The driveway is a single, two track lane that winds through woods of birch, maple, spruce, fir, and cedar. Lots of them. She owns the roadway and a narrow strip on each side, so the closest paved roadway is quite a way away, resulting in no car, truck, or motorcycle noise at the cabin. The driveway emerges from the woods into a wide, open clearing filled with wildflowers, covering about 2-3 acres. At one edge of the clearing about midway is a deer blind, which looks like an outhouse in a tree. At the far end, is the camp, consisting of five structures - the cabin, behind it, the workshop/sugar shack, beside the cabin is the well hous...
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Manoir St. Andre

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Manoir St. Andre is a great halfway point between Montreal and the cabin. The B&B is run by three friends and ex-housemates. Overlooking the St. Lawrence, this charming, historic inn embodies turn of the century (19th) elegance and class. Flo and Alex have great plans for the place.
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Artemis

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Artemis is a female Australian Shepherd. We picked her up from a family north of Quebec City when she was about 10 weeks old. She has one blue eye and one brown eye, which is characteristic of the breed, as are her big feet, snout, and stubby tail. As a puppy, she has two settings - on and off. When she's awake, she enjoys joining in whatever is going on. She plays with some stuffed animals, chew toy ropes, and a ball. After play time, she has lessons about voice commands - come, sit, lie down, etc. When she's ready to rest, she'll cuddle a bit and likes her soft fur petted. In the car, she's a very patient passenger.
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