Sean asked if I wanted to go get tacos and the obv answer was YES. We took a nice drive up to Port Carling and had a late lunch at Tilo’s Taqueria which used to be Grand Electric Muskoka. The food was great, the booths were outside and distanced. It was quite cloudy but the rain held off enough to still sit on the covered patio. Tomorrow Jen Kirsch is coming up for a couple of days, our first guest! Looking forward to surprising the Vinyl Night crew when we show up on the Zoom together.

I can’t believe it’s been 125 days. I started this Daily Diary part of the blog thinking it would be a couple of weeks, months, maybe? Sometimes I’ll be doing something and totally forget how the world is so different now. Then I remember and feel overwhelmed. One minute I’m doomscrolling and having anxiety and another times social media gives me a great place to escape. I feel uncertain about everything today. Given that the world has changed so much in the past six months, it’s impossible to predict what will happen next. What tragedy or terror will we face? Apparently the worst hurricane season is on its way, there are UFOs, and second waves of are COVID happening in multiple countries. I’m grateful to be at the cottage and have Sean by my side but everything comes with challenges. What you see on the internet is only a small slice of someone’s life, the curated version. I haven’t posted much on my Instagram this month, I just haven’t felt like it. I’ve been a rollercoaster of emotion since June and I’m really hoping this ride slows down a bit in August. If you are reading this any feeling any of the same feelings, please know you are not alone. I welcome you to reach out if need/want someone to talk to, I’m a great listener and am usually good for a laugh. Send me a DM on Instagram, a Tweet, or an email. I’m almost always on the other side of the screen, wherever you are, right here in your phone or on your computer. We will get through this and we will be ok.

We’re hading back to the city today for most of the week. Sean’s dad is coming to spend some time up here. It’s gonna be nice to be home. i have a few dates planned with friends, at safe distance of course. Over the last few days, we really worked together as a family team to make the cottage look spotless. When we first came up here in March we packed up a few things we thought we needed and over the months we’ve made it feel more like home. This week we cleaned up some of the clutter we don’t need and packed a few things to take home. I’m really into this simple concrete/wood bookshelf Sean and I made. We also got some new chains to hold up the hammock, it’s very relaxing. Great for reading!

The last few days have been spent cleaning the cottage top to bottom and doing odd around the place. Sean’s sister is coming up for the week with her family and we want to make sure it’s clean and ready for them to enjoy. I went over to Leslie’s place for a girl’s night in the evening and we boated around the lake a bit and hung out on the dock. It’s SO NICE to have cottage friends on the lake! This board suit has become one of my fav cottage outfits. Last summer I could hardly even fit into it! Huzzah!!!!

Sean called me outside when he was checking the boat after the storm to catch this family going by. We’ve watched them grow since the spring. I really love being up here in the words. I think it’s changing me for the better. For so long I’ve been running from one thing to the next, the next job, event, project, I didn’t realize how tired I was. This isn’t how we pictured our summer but I’m grateful for the opportunity to be spending more time here.

Sean has been cleaning up the Corvette (1982 Stingray) today. I love this car so much but it’s been sitting in the garage, unused, for years now. It’s been in his family since he was a teenager. I think he finally has a buyer! My parents used to have a very similar model when they moved to Canada in the late ’70s. It was the first brand new car they ever bought. It was really sunny today and I’ve been working on my tan. ? Always nice to end the day with a sunset boat cruise. We’ve had a bit of a tough time w/ Emily the last few weeks and after a few good family chats it’s was nice to see her smiling on the boat today. This quarantine and lockdown has been hard on kids, no friends, no school, and being stuck at home all the time. Let’s hope for a another day with lots of smiles tomorrow.

Today we made our way back up to the cottage with Emily for a few days. In the afternoon I went to town and pick up supplies. This is one of my fav masks by Evan Biddell. Crazy how masks are a fashion statement now eh?! I chatted with mum and I feel like each day she has a new excitement about being retired. Yesterday she said she was looking into learning Maori again as she spoke it when she was in New Zealand. Reckon it might be a bit harder for me to learn but there are always a few things I remember from learning when I was little or talking with family. ‘Kia Ora‘ is the most commonly used Maori saying in New Zealand, a way to say ‘hello’.