Think of the things that make you happy. Create the fuel that destroys depression. Do not think of things that make you sad; think of things that make you happy.
· Think of the blessings that surround you.
· Think of your friendships, people who love you, who care about you, who are there for you.
· Thinks of the gains that you have made in life. You may have had some setbacks, but you have also made progress. Think about that.
· Think of the good that is spoken of you. People who love you and care for you say good things about you; think about those things.
· Think of the days of health, vitality, pleasure. The more you think about that, the more those things are going to come back into your life.
· Think of the days that were filled with sunshine. Do not look at the clouds; look at the sun. Do not look at the despair; look at the good. Think of yourself taking a walk in the sunshine.
· Think of the hopes that lie before you. There is a greater future. Never live in the past. There is another chapter being written for your life, another tomorrow. The page is going to turn.
· Think of the service that you still can give if someone needs you. Someone needs the gift, the skills, the abilities, the wisdom, the knowledge that only you can give because you are unique, one of a kind. There is nobody else like you.
· Think of the happiness of others, because there you will find your own happiness. Think about how you can bless other people. Life is an echo: whatever you send out is going to come back. You can have everything in life you want if you help other people get what they want.
It’s that time of year again where fall is well underway and the overnight temperatures are getting close to freezing. That means it’s time to get the cottage ready for winter.
Boats are away for the winter
The boys, Eric and Scott come out with me Friday night to execute the Closeup Checklist. The main focus is taking care of anything that will freeze. We empty the fridge and remove food that won’t survive 6-7 months of sitting around in the cold.
Three big tasks are putting away the boats and cleaning up the dock, draining the water system and winterizing the septic field. We get started, after coffee ☕etc. around 9am
The boys do all the heavy lifting while I handle septic system. I won’t get into the details but it can be a bit yuckie if you think about it too much.?
The 3 of us move through the task quite quickly. May hands make light work.
By about 1:30 were done and heading into Kenora to pick up lunch and drive home.
We have a pretty big apple tree in the back yard that Shirley planted when the boys were quite young. Over the years it has produced a lot of apples and this year has been no exception. In fact it’s probably been a bumper crop this year.
Picking has taken four half days and produced many 10lb bags that we’ve (Shirley) have given away. There were still some apples on the tree but I’d had enough with picking.
So, we went to the lake for 4 days and before leaving I’d cleaned up the yard and there were no apples on the ground. We came home to this.
Sadly, once the apples hit the ground they are bruised and not so nice or, half eaten by wasps and rabbits or just dissolved into mush.
With renewed energy I picked another 10 bags today. There are still a few (I hope it’s just a few, they are good at hiding) in really hard to get at places. But, I’m done. Nature you win
On the September long weekend Len K. tackled the wood pile and split all the logs that have been stacked up this year and from several previous years. Thanks Len!
I saved this and it must have resonated with me at the time but now I’m not sure. Hmmm.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,” Philippians 2:3 NIV https://bible.com/bible/111/php.2.3.NIV
The helpful AI Assistant says I should:
Consider providing your personal reflections on why the verse resonated with you initially and why you feel uncertain about it now.
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A practical implication would be to try and think what others need or want. An idea would be to really listen to the other person. Give them feedback to confirm with them that you’re really understand. Re-phrase what you heard and get a confirmation. Do this before trying to get your message across. This would help show that you “blue others (them) above yourself
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Jesus, I trust You. I don’t need to understand everything that’s happening—I just need to be still, and know You. You fight for me. You died for me. You are for me. Thank You. You are enough for me, and so I will place my hope, trust, joy, and future in You. I believe in You. Amen.
I have had a Fireball sailboat since 1970 and it has seen a lot of nautical miles over the years. However, it may have just seen the last sail.
Our neighbour at the cottage on Brereton Lake got a Y Flyer sailboat one year and that was the beginning of my teenage sailing adventures. I learned sailing with them and pestered them at every chance to go sailing.
The Y Flyer – Gary Wilstrop and I
One weekend we went to West Hawk lake to watch some sailboat racing. In the day there were Y Flyers, Lightenings and Fireballs. The Fireballs were fast and exciting racing boats and I started working on my Dad to get one. Then, one summer weekend in 1970, it arrived.
I sailed on Lake Brereton with my friend Gregg for many years just sailing around and racing any and all boats we could find.
Relaxin’ Solo
With the move to Lake of the Woods it was mainly solo sailing and the boat spent a fair bit of time on shore. I tried to get Eric and Scott to sail when they were young but a very windy first sail put an end to that. With Grandkids I thought I’d have another change to sail with this generation.
I got the ramp for the sailboat into a workable position and Eric & friends got the Fireball into the lake and up on the ramp. This would be the first time back in the water since 2019.
Easton was willing to go sailing so one Saturday afternoon we went out in a light wind. However, a few minutes in the wind stopped and Scott used the Sea-doo to push us back to shore.
Easton and I on the Fireball – Photo Credit: Mandy
The following day the wind was still fairly light so Easton and I set out again. Before going out I made an adjustment to the centreboard mounting that I thought would make it more secure. But, a few minutes in two of the four screws holding it in place pulled loose. I thought we’d still be OK for this sail and I could fix it later. However, this turns out to be a bad decision.
After a few tacks back and forth across the bay we were approaching the far shore right across from our cottage. As we came about we were slow to get to the high side and I’d left the main sail cleated (bad) and we caught a gust of wind which caused the boat to capsize!
Both Easton and I are in the water and the mast and sails go straight down and we are in a full “turtle” position. Well, all is not lost, I’ve been in this situation a few times over the years and all you need to do is climb up on the bottom of the boat, pull on the centreboard to get the sail back up to the surface and when it breaks free of the surface, quickly get into the boat before it carries on and capsizes again in the opposite direction.
But there is a problem. I’m no longer strong enough to haul myself up on the bottom of the boat. Easton can but he’s too light to pull the boat and sail up. Fortunately, there is a family on their dock right close to us and they offer to come out and help. They arrive in a nice boat with two adults, two twenty something guys (sons) and four grandkids who don’t want to be left out of this adventure.
We try to use the motor boat to pull the sailboat upright but that’s not working so we opt for towing to a nearby dock. As the water gets shallower the mast is now dragging on the bottom and the wind indicator is broken off along the way. At the dock we eventually get the boat upright and I’m thinking we can just sail home. However, the centerboard brackets have come fully loose and are now somewhere at the bottom of the lakes. We now need a tow across the bay to get the sailboat home.
At this point Shirley, Mandy and Clark have been watching from our dock and trying to launch a rescue attempt. But, nobody can drive the Sea-doo or motor boat so they call Alan Smith and he comes out with his boat and tows us home.
We all end up safe and sound back on our dock after spending over an hour in the lake wrestling with the sailboat. I’ve lost my Crocks and the centreboard brackets but kept my glasses. The sad part is that I now realize that my sailing days may be over. If I can’t right the boat after a capsize this could be a very bad thing especially if there is nobody around to come out and rescue me. It’s a sad day after over 55 years of sailing.
