#378 - Cottage Thanks!

I was well rested when I awoke at nine AM this morning and felt well.

I had a ten AM meeting with our art director and my supervisor called in sick for the second day in a row. I spent most of the first hour putting out fires. The first hour of the morning is always a crazy time, even more so when the boss isn’t there. All inquiries, comments and complaints end up on my desk instead.

It took nearly the full hour to get that all sorted, leaving me five minutes to make a cortado before meeting with the art director. With just the two of us in the call we were able to have a good conversation about how we might move forwards in the coming weeks. Implementing some procedures to reduce the stress and workload on my department.

After the meeting ended, I had some file to render and stragglers to track down. It took me until lunch to get the rest done and then it was time for a walk in the park. The weather was a bit warmer today. Every once in a while, a very warm breeze would blow up from the bottom of the ravine, like passing in front of an open sauna door. The sun dappling through the yellowing tree leaves was dazzling to look at. We were walking in natures cathedral this afternoon.

We’ve noticed a lot of small snakes along the path the last few times we have been out there. It must be an important time of year for them. Perhaps the are looking for their winter home to hibernate. It felt good to get some steps in and breath outdoor air. The cooling temps keep reminding me of what is yet to come, but I don’t want to think about bitter winds and snow just yet.

Back home I made a quick lunch of a microwaveable breakfast bowl and sat down to prepare for another meeting at three. I had to watch the animatic, review all the designs and try to anticipate any issues my department might face without having all the designs finished. It’s a bit of a laborious process, but each department has to do it before the meeting starts so we can discuss it together and make plans or adjustments.

The meeting went well and we even managed to have a few laughs along the way.

I ended the day rendering the last of the approved files and was pleased that we were able to finish another episode. It was one of our painters last days and we all said a heartfelt goodbye to her and wished her well. Animation is a small enough industry that we will likely see her again on another show.

I let the team leave a bit early today as it was the beginning of a long weekend as we celebrate Canadian Thanksgiving on Monday. Robyn and I had plans to head up to Parry Sound for the weekend to celebrate Thanksgiving with her sister’s family and the kid’s grandparents. We are also using this opportunity to test out whether Robyn can work from the cottage, so we packed up her computer and monitors into the car. We all had to pack and get ready for the drive. Robyn had to work until eight, so we planned to leave when she got home.

We are responsible for making the breakfasts/brunch on Saturday and that meant packing the car with a cooler full of food and bags of groceries. Along with Robyn’s computer gear and the luggage, we needed to take my car with the extra space in the roof cargo carrier.

I still had to pack my bags, which I did while Robyn went to work, and pack all the groceries.

We left on time but had to stop for gas first and of course the obligatory Tim Hortons.

I filled my car up from empty to full using a slow pump before the Tim Horton’s order was ready.

The highway was busy as we merged onto it and stayed that way until we got onto the 400 North. Driving on the 401 is never a good time. It’s always busy and dangerous.

But having said that, the drive went faster than usual, and we didn’t stop until we came to an En Route stop in Barrie. Normally, we stop in King City earlier down the road, but we were making such good time I kept going and no one in the car really noticed.

I got a turkey sandwich and then ordered a double buddy burger from A&W. Robyn had Popeye’s chicken tenders and fries. It was a quick stop, and we were back on the road in no time. The highway from this point on was quiet and we made really good time. We arrived at the cottage around eleven thirty, and my brother-in-law John came out to help us unload the car.

The car was emptied in no time, and his extra height came in handy for the roof rack items. We chatted with Shannon and John until about one AM, me sipping a cognac and John enjoying a beer. Both John and Shannon have two little ones, and they looked like they were ready for bed. We said our good nights and made our way to our room.

I unpacked and then headed back downstairs to do some writing. I still have to keep my blog streak running and make the 2026 words per day quota. I also have a mentor story assignment due this weekend and need to do some work on that.

I may stay up late tonight to work on it if I can muster the energy.

This morning, before kiddo #2 went to school, he was downstairs making a cake for his best friend. It was quite an elaborate affair that he spent a good amount of time on. I asked for a cake for my upcoming birthday and once again received stink eye.

Kiddo #1 has conformed she is going back to Halifax in a week or two until Christmas when she plans to return. She and her Halifax roommates are hoping to hear about some new animation work in a few weeks' time. If there is no work, she will return home and go to school in January.

I typed this in the great room of the cottage. A room with overstuffed brown leather couches and chairs. A wood stove in the corner of the room and big windows overlooking the trees. This is also the room my in-law’s dog, Teddy, uses for his bedroom at night. The pooch has huffed and sighed so many times tonight and given me such displeased side eye. He is clearly upset that I am in the room and making noise while he tried to catch a few winks on the floor.

 The two of us will be completely useless tomorrow.

I think there are plans afoot to have us all help close up parts of the cottage for the winter which includes placing some panels over the screened in structures and pulling all the Muskoka chairs out of the weather. And there are thirty or more of these chairs scattered around the property! And although they are made out of some kind of plastic, they are very heavy. You don’t have to worry about these blowing off your dock anytime soon.

We also are responsible for making breakfast as well and that means I won’t be sleeping in anytime tomorrow as well. There is never enough time in the day to do what I want and get some rest!

The weather up at the cottage, three hours north of our home, is significantly cooler. Back home it maybe hit fifteen degrees. Here it was five degrees by the time we arrived. The cold weather is definitely on the way.

It’s two fifteen as I sit in the great room of the cottage listening to the dog have a dream about chasing squirrels. I am looking forward to being able spend a week up here with nothing to do but watch movies, YouTube, read, write and eat yummy food. We’ll be able to take walks in the natural beauty of the property as well when we get a bit of cabin fever.

I could really use the break from work and just life in general for a while. When I get back from that week of peace and quiet, I will be all the more closer to taking over leadership of the paint team at work. I hope that all the things we are doing to make the job better are going to be in place by that time. It certainly gives me the impetus to get things going in that direction. I am feeling better about work these past few days as I’ve seen other people rally to help out. We just have to hope that it’s not too little too late. But I am more optimistic than I was before.

The cottage makes all kinds of sounds I am not familiar with and are a bit distracting this late a night. There are also ten people and one dog in the building, so plenty of opportunity for noises. I had to turn down the temperature of the room I was in because it was too hot. Maybe it was the cognac that made me warmer?

The great room has one of those wall mounted units like in a motel high up on the wall. It was set to 20 degrees, but it felt like I was standing in front of a blast furnace. I set it to 18 and now it feels more like the refrigerated section at a grocery store.

Maybe 19 was the lucky number.

The dog just got up and made a big production about getting up onto one of the overstuffed couches. I guess he got tired of waiting for me to leave so he could do it with nobody noticing. Or maybe that 18 degrees air I am pumping into the room was getting to chilly for his old bones. Anyway, he looks very comfortable curled up across from me.

I never had time to listen to the Dune audiobook today. It was just too busy, and all my tasks today required my full attention. I have really been enjoying ending my nights this way. I think it helps me fall asleep faster and my eyes enjoy the extra rest they get as I lay down and listen with my eyes closed.

My father-in-law is in his mid eighties. He gets up at five AM most days and goes to bed around as soon as he can. Often directly after dinner. Who can blame the man.

But that means there is a good chance he’ll be getting up just as I am going to bed today. And I f I’m not careful, he might try to rope me into doing some chores with him! Or try my hand at fishing, but I am a fishing snob and only like to fish off a boat. And I don’t care if i fish or not. If I’m not fishing to eat it then I don’t care too much.

Why fish off a dock if you could be sipping a tea and reading a good book instead?

I think it’s fair to say we have different priorities when it comes to dock usage.

It’s coming up on three AM, and I am sure not only will my father-in-law be up early, but the little rascals that are my niece and nephew will be up and about at that time too. They have no boundaries or volume control. Chances are they will be the reason I get out of bed. Their squeaky little voices will penetrate the boundaries of sleep.

I think I will head to bed soon and ask my subconscious to think about a story for my assignment. Sometimes when you ask your mind for something it works on it while you sleep.

This means I’ll be doing an all-nighter on Saturday to make sure I can get the story done for Sunday, since tomorrow is likely to be a full day either way I slice it.

Until tomorrow.