IT'S MY PARTY

It was the inaugural smoker event yesterday.  We finally got our new smoker going and smoked two pork butts for a pulled pork dinner.  One butt was fine but the other was almost all fat so I had to cook up a couple of pork tenderloins in order to have enough food for the approximately 30 invited guests. It was the right call because I had very little left over.  The party was a success!!  The weather was perfect.  Not too cold and not too hot.  We had the fire going and everyone gathered around as it did get a bit chilly in the evening.
Sorry I didn't get a picture of the food table before the masses swooped in.  Joanne made her famous beans and people brought snacks or salads or desert.  We had Linda's world famous rice krispie squares and Lisa made her popular butter tarts and blue berry tarts.  Linda and Sandy brought some watermelon.  It was a great dinner.
We sat by the fire (using my indoor firewood I might add) and survived a bug hatch on the lake.  These tiny little winged bugs swarmed us for a little while - more of a nuisance than anything else.  But this morning I noticed that our clothes had all these little bug bodies on them.  They were everywhere.  One of the hazards of living on a lake.
People cleared out by 10:30 and everyone made it home safe and sound.
It is always fun to have friends over for a party!  A great time was had by all!

ALL SET UP

Made the trip up the highway to get the trailer set up at Hinkler.  Continuing his habit of scooting past the exit point, Rejean missed the Hinkler road.  We had to travel up the highway to find a road to turn around.  I must admit I missed the gravel pit which is a signal that the road is not too far beyond that point and I did see the Hinkler sign but it was about 2 1/2 feet before the road and with a big 5th wheel trailer behind the truck, you couldn't just slam on the brakes.  All was good and we got the trailer placed and ready for our first adventure in a few weeks.  Over the winter our little roof over the fire wood became unhinged on one side.  A project for the guys on our next trip.
It is a beautiful spot to escape to every once in a while and bird season opens September 15th which isn't that far away...

KAYAKING ON THE RIVER

It was a beautiful day yesterday, for kayaking on the river.  Twelve of us met at LaFoe and headed downstream.  Everyone except Shane was fishing and a number of fish were caught - one walleye and the rest were bass.  I caught two - one smaller and one BIG.  Always fun to fight them and then net them in a kayak.  Mitch had his new fishing kayak out and it seemed to handle great.  He is tall and this kayak had a good seat on it that kept him comfortable.  The river was down and we did hit some spots that you had to step out of the kayak and move to deeper water.  One fellow had a great big sombrero and had tunes going all the way down the river.  It was fun to be beside him when a good song was playing.
Everyone just went at their own pace and it took us about 5 hours to cover the distance.  We had an incident at the end where you are supposed to stop because any further and you are on your way to Tunnel Lake - about 22 miles down river.  Well, just say that someone who should have known to stop, didn't.  2 other people followed him down the river.  I saw them going but it was too far away to yell at them to stop.  Long story short, we "rescued" them up at Snowshoe about an hour later.  We had to strap the kayaks to a four wheeler to get them up to the road.  This will be a story that will live on and on.  AND to add insult to injury, Rejean injured his finger and we found out today that it is a torn tendon and that he needs surgery to fix it.

I have been negligent in keeping up with my blogging but it has been a busy few months.  Joanne and I were in Abu Dhabi for 3 weeks then we had Charlie and Monty here for 3 weeks and then trying to catch up with our regular chores.  I have lots of pictures to share of my adventures in the next few weeks.  Stay tuned...

FUN ON JOBAM

Joanne and I went halfers on these two little sit-on kayaks for the grand kids.  Joanne's grandsons come after ours go so it works out perfectly.  We surprised Charlie and Monty yesterday at Parker's and they were off and paddling.  It is amazing how fast they caught on - especially Monty.  He could do turns and paddled backwards.  They were hard to keep up with.  The wind unfortunately picked up during their paddle so it was a bit difficult for them.  But we will take them on Cheney today where it is a bit calmer.  Jodie and I will be in our kayaks and Rejean will follow us with the big boat.
They sure had fun in them.  A great deal at $69 US at Meijer's in the states.

QUIET TIME

Freezees after dinner on the swing with their beloved “Mina” after a busy day at Parker’s.  The adults in the sunroom with our “freezees”. 

FISHING

I got the kids fishing rods before they came.  Spiderman for the boys and Frozen for little Elsa.  We gave them to them yesterday and they practiced their casting.  They took a few minutes but they soon had it down pat.  The boys are naturals and Elsa is pretty good too.  Today, they went out on the water.  Rejean took Charlie out with a floating lure on the Spiderman rod.  They were out for about 1/2 hour and caught a small bass and then a beautiful walleye.  He reeled them in all by himself and he was so proud and excited.  I took Elsa out but put a hook and split shot and a worm on her Frozen rod.  I also pushed the barb down.  It took 2 minutes from the time we left the dock to the time the fish was in the boat.  Another beautiful walleye and she reeled it in all by herself as well.  She was done and didn't want to fish anymore.  Mission accomplished!!  Just saying the girls know how to fish and what to use for bait to get the job done.  Ha ha.  Monty was sleeping during all the excitement so he gets his turn tomorrow.  So much fun to see kids get their first fish and the excitement and joy in their faces.  Almost as much joy and excitement in my face.  They are hooked for life!!

HOMEWARD. BOUND

Hard to believe that three weeks have passed already. Seems like we just got here!

Our flight out of AbuDhabi leaves at 2:35 am tonite and flies to Munich where we get our connecting flight to Toronto where we meet up with Jodie’s best friend Al and her little girl Elsa. All 7 of us on the flight to the Sault where we arrive finally at 7:38 pm on Wednesday night.  It will take 2 trucks to collect us. Plus the guys will need todo some shopping before we arrive. 

It is going to be a busy three more weeks!!

The bread in the first picture is of Arabic bread Dave brought home last nite. It is the best bread I have ever tasted and I blew my whole 2 months of Cheeto Keto on it. When you are going to cheat, cheat with the good stuff!!  I did!