August 19th, 2007: There we were, in the pretty little resort village of Shell lake. We were following the Thickwood Hills Artisans’ Tour in the area. Artists, wood carvers, potters, stained glass artisans, children’s furniture makers, and all very accomplished.
I even took time to write a Report for August 12th, but couldn’t find an Internet outlet. By the time we got to Saskatoon on Monday, the battery on my computer was played out and I had forgotten to bring the power cord. It was Tuesday before we got home, too late for most of the papers, so I decided to leave it until today.
One of the highlights of the tour was a wood turning demonstration put on by (I think) the Sask. Woodworkers’ Guild, headed up by Al Bakke, who almost everyone knows. He sends greetings to Merv Miller – they have had many contacts over the years.
Also demonstrating was Duncan Birch, formerly of Porcupine Plain. He spotted me right away, but I had trouble recognising him without his beard. We had a great visit.
That is a beautiful part of the world, rolling hills, thick brush (but not very high), lots of lakes and sloughs. I hadn’t dreamed there was so much recreational lake property around there.
There had obviously been a lot of rain in the past few days – puddles were evident on the golf course and water was lying everywhere in the campgrounds. Crops looked pretty crappy, mostly, I presume, because of the long hot summer. Most were looking ripe, so this rain won’t help a bit. We saw a lot of swathed crop but very little combined.
We had been kind of looking for a motorhome just a bit newer and a bit longer than ours, with a bed that didn’t have to be made up out of the dinette every night. On the way into Saskatoon, we spotted a nice-looking one beside the road with a “For Sale” sign beside it, so stopped and took a look at it. Just exactly what we wanted! No newer than our old one, but in much better condition inside. Next day, we went out and bought it. We have had several nights in it since, and find it very comfortable and nice to drive. Lots of little flaws are showing up, of course, but we’ll get them ironed out.
Another cottage bites the dust! The Robinson cottage, kitty-cornered from our place, succumbed to Brian Lund’s bucket last week. We understand a new one is planned for this fall. Looked like Brian was having trouble finding a place to haul the remains to, as his truck was still parked there when we left on our tour, but now it is all cleaned up ready for construction.
In Tisdale, we saw that our old building is gone, gone, gone. The Town deemed it a safety hazard (which it certainly was) and hired  Triple T Construction (Ted Schwanke & Sons) to demolish it. They did it in good order; didn’t scratch either bordering wall and swept it clean, all ready for the skateboarders. It sure looks a lot better than with the west half fallen down.
Connie at the Beach Café tells me the fireworks last Saturday night were a huge success, with up to 1,500 people watching, many of them from boats. Viewers were highly impressed with the quality and length of the display. The day was so cold and rainy that the volleyball tournament was cancelled, but there were several entries in the sand castle competition.
At the curve where Highway #38 meets the Chelan Grid, a family of geese must have found it a bit chilly in the morning – they were spread out on the highway, sitting down and enjoying the sunshine. A parent was standing guard nearby. As we approached, they slowly and reluctantly moved off the pavement. I thought the parent would threaten us as we passed, but it ignored us.
I haven’t talked to anyone from the Cove since we got back from our tour, but there seems to be lots of activity; several cars and trucks, mowed grass, and a sign announcing that the Cove is closed but will be opening soon.
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