Eels Lake Inspiration

This post was supposed to happen last week and I had every intention of posting. Since there is no internet at Eels Lake, I took my I-pad with me thinking I could link to my phone to do my blog. All was going well until I realized I didn't have my passwords. It made me conclude that when you go on vacation, you should just leave your tech at home. So here I am a week late. I hope you missed me.

My sister and brother-in-law have a cottage on Eels Lake north of Peterborough, Ontario and since we didn't plan a canoe/kayak trip this year, I decided to spend a few days with them. They turned out to be the best days since it was HOT and HUMID and we could fully enjoy the swimming, paddling, chatting on the deck and sucking back Mike's Hard Lemonade slushies. The bugs? Well, they didn't want us up there and attacked us at every chance. Horse flies, deer flies and mosquitos. Comes with the territory and time of year.

Some inspiring photos from my stay.

I did get some sketching done as well.

My sister and brother-in-law are also both artistic in different ways. I have been trying to convince my sister to start sketching again. One day, I'll wear her down.
My brother-in-law's idea of vacation is vastly different from my own. He is always busy with another project. Many are upgrades to the cottage and regular maintenance and thanks to his hard work, the cottage is a comfortable, cozy place to vacation. But he has other wonderful talents when working with wood as well and below you can see his artistry.

This cedar strip canoe is a product of his talent. It is just beautiful! So much so that cottage guests are afraid to use it in case they damage it. It is truly a work of art and it carries and paddles beautifully.

Kevin also built the Muskoka chairs they are sitting in out of cedar that we used as firewood for our wood stove at the Garden Centre. They are the most comfortable seating. Also with that same cedar firewood, he built a hot tub. It is so cute-looking, sitting in the woods.