The Learning Curve...

Ever look at a new mother with her first baby in arms? See how natural they look? Even if you yourself are a mother, you know that she is experiencing all kinds of new things, problems, getting organized. Still, she looks like she knows what she's doing!

It is the same with us! I suppose we had quite a few distractions when packing up the house, the kid and the car, all going in different directions, and only now are we getting a feel for our new lifestyle. But here we are , enjoying our new "baby", getting to know her and each other, both live and very much up close.

The nice part of living this way is setting your own pace. The troublesome part is that the needs of the baby come first. Jim has lived aboard for two summers now; I have not. He knows her; I do not. This shall come with time and practice.

Anyhow, we have enjoyed some spectacular scenery along the way, and met up with some great people.

Day One saw us entertained in the bustling burgh of Burrit's Rapids by the Boesveld borough! (Z'at enough B's for you?). We walked from the river course, where we actually threw the anchor down in 7 feet of water, to their home. We could hear them. We could practically smell them! But we had to ask another neigbour, Thank you Morrisons! where they were. They were at yet another neighbour's house, making merry! We jioned right in and had a great time. Burrit's is a lovely place to tour through, no matter how briefly.

The next day, we stopped in Kilmarnock for the evening. Knowing we would be here, we lovingly chatted up Doud and Catherine Moir, Citizens of Kilmarnock, beforehand, and secured a shower. Afterwards we had them on board for a glass of wine and heard the story of their beautiful home on the Rideau Canal system. It seems they were looking to perhaps downsize their home after their son, Chris, had left home. They had been looking rather non-commitally, when Doug came across a fellow mowing the lawn on this beautiful property. Apparently, this was the fellow's mother's house, and after dicovering Doug's surname, invited him to come for a look sometime, but not today, as his mother was unwell. It took about a year before the Moirs did look into it, but since then , the matron had passed away. To make a short story, the house ended up being built originally by Doug's greatx3Grandfather, John Moir! They promptly bought the place and are presently rebuilding sections of it. We got a close-up of the bath, and wowie! Has Catherine got good taste or what! The whole house had such a simple, relaxed atmosphere, but had so many lovely surprises, like a reading area with two tasteful plaid sofas with a fireside settee that featured a red leather couch! The view of the bay we later anchored in was quite lovely.

The following morning, we took the 10 minute walk to kilmarnock Orchard. I traded my last copy of my new cookbook 13 Dessert Recipes, from the Yellow Canoe for some apples. We chatted with owner Myriam Belot for a while and discovered what a really busy lady she is! Besides Applefest, which I belive takes place Sept 16, there is "Let's get Creative"; a day full of local chefs, strutting their culinary stuff, wielding apple-corers and juicers to bring new ideas to the dining table. What a neat place, close by on Kilmarnock Road.

The next night we were in Smiths Falls, where I needed to cash in my old licence plate at the DMV. I realized that a friend of mine, Nancy Mantle, and her husband Dave, worked right next door, so we stopped in to see them. They accepted a dinner invitation, and we feasted on a curry dinner. Nancy requested the recipes for the Cashew & Date Couscous and the curried lentil dahl, so I'll put them on the side-bar for the blog post. They have just bought a wee daysailer and have already taken a trip down the Rideau to Ottawa, way to go! The morning after, we ran into Nick, from Ayling's Boatyard in Merrickville. We had him over for a quick pint, and he smartly told us that he is about to launch his sailboat! (both of us thought you look far better in a boat, as opposed to only working on a boat, Nick!) Happy cruising you all!

And then we all alone! No more friends! We tailed some kayakers who were on the same route as us, so we bid them hello whenever we could. Tried not to run them over! We anchored out in some beautiful places at the top of the system, Mortin's Bay on Whitefish Lake, Hudson Bay on the Big Rideau.

Then we came into Kingston, where we met up with my mum, and are waiting to get together with Jim's kids for a farewell dinner. Then it is off to upperNew York State & the Oswego Canal. Enjoy the snaps!