Cottage Life

A new website

2006-04-20T20:55:00.000-04:00

Hi folks, I just wanted to introduce you to my other great cottage blog. Cottage Life - news, stories, guides, recipes, and cottage improvement tips. Similar concept to this blog. Mostly cottage news and cottage tips/guides. Check it out!!

Small cottage, big ideas

2006-04-18T19:13:00.000-04:00

Sometimes the homes featured in Cottage Living stretch the definition of "cottage." Not so the 800-square-foot California home in the April issue.

From the street, the house with the low-pitched roof and white picket fence could almost be mistaken for a garden shed. Shabby chic rules inside, from a galvanized bucket full of hydrangeas to a kitchen table and chairs wearing battered aqua paint.

The artist owner had some interesting ideas:

*She liked but couldn't afford stainless steel countertops. As an alternative, she wrapped plywood with large sheets of galvanized steel.

*On the patio, a very vintage rowboat stands propped against the wall of the house. Boxes of flowers rest on the seats.

*The owner painted the vinyl floor tiles in her kitchen in an effort to make them look like old linoleum. It's hard to tell from the photo how they look, but if you're interested, she used a turkey feather duster to get the effect.

Elsewhere in the magazine, the owners of a Florida beach house enjoy a fabulous ocean view from their glass-walled master bedroom on the second floor. To share the view with their friends while maintaining some semblance of privacy, they situated the bed in an alcove that can be closed off with translucent panels.

WIDE-OPEN SPACES

Our caveman ancestors would have hated the airy, open floor plans currently in vogue. It's hard to curl up and feel cozy and safe in a room with 20-foot ceilings and floor-to-ceiling windows all around.

The April issue of Inspired House has some suggestions for wall-free ways to separate spaces and add intimacy to today's caves. Most of these ideas would be easiest to incorporate during the building process, though some could be done as retrofits.

*Use posts and beams to hint at enclosures that aren't actually there.

*Change up the flooring. A strip of slate tiles, for example, can help separate the living area from the dining area in a wide-open space that's floored in hardwoods. A change in flooring also can imply a hallway or a foyer.

*Partial walls do their part to enclose a space while keeping the view open above. These "wing walls" are common in old bungalows, and they often have shelves or bookcases built in to boot.

*Lower the ceiling over an area, such as a dining room or an inglenook, to make it feel more intimate.

How to clarify butter so it will keep at the cottage

2006-04-17T04:10:00.000-04:00

One of the problems with cottaging is keeping the fridge well stocked so that you can come home to it without having to do the grocery shopping right away. Clarifying your butter is a simple way to get it to keep for an extremely long time at the cottage. That way you won't have to purchase fresh butter every time you decide to stay at the cottage for a few days.

Clarified butter is the clear yellow butter that you might most easily recognize as the "drawn butter" served with lobster. When butter is clarified, the milk solids are removed, leaving a clear yellow liquid. This liquid has the added advantage that it will not burn easily (those milk solids are what make butter brown so fast after melting). This is a valuable technique especially when you wish to sauté several batches of something, without having to stop between batches to wipe out the pan (otherwise you'd risk burned butter particles in the next batch or a burned flavor in the next batch of food). Butter, when it is not clarified, burns at a lower temperature than other fats. Clarified butter also has the advantage that it will keep almost indefinitely in the refrigerator (tightly cover the container, though - like any butter, clarified butter will easily pick up odors from other foods stored nearby).

To make somewhat less than 1/2 cup of clarified butter (about 1/3 cup): melt 1 stick (1/4 pound) of butter in a small saucepan over low heat, or in a glass bowl in the microwave. Allow the melted butter to stand for 2 or 3 minutes to "settle." Skim off and discard the foam from the top (white foam will rise to the surface when butter has melted). Carefully pour off the clear yellow liquid that remains - leaving behind the milky residue in the bottom of the pan or bowl. This clear yellow liquid is clarified butter, and can be used for cooking without over-browning or scorching, since the milk solids have now been removed. Store leftover clarified butter, tightly covered, in the cottage refrigerator, or freeze it for up to 6 months.

ALTERNATIVE METHOD: After melting the butter, place it in the fridge until the top layer hardens. This layer can then be removed, and the middle (clear yellow, clarified) layer can be carefully poured off, leaving the milk solids in the bottom of the container behind.

Cape cod cottage rentals heating up

2006-04-16T14:04:00.000-04:00

A wave of renters longing for lazy days on Cape Cod is pushing advance bookings so high that some oceanfront escapes are already sold out for the season.

Realtors warn the prices are better now, before the sun really heats up the market. They happily all agree last year's red tide, which scared away renters, is now proving to be just a bad memory.

"To date, we're running about 33 percent ahead of last year for all of Cape Cod," says Jeff Talmadge, owner of the Cape Web rental site.

The upscale options are driving the market, an early indication the season may make a big splash. A few examples: A trendy three-bedroom in Truro is fetching $6,700 a week; a four-bedroom on the water in East Orleans $5,000; and a bayfront condo in Brewster $5,500.

"Orleans and Chatham are the first towns to book up the fastest. But they all do well,".

"This is my third season here and it's by far the busiest I've seen. Some houses are already completely booked for the whole summer," she added.

Don't need waterfront? There are more reasonable alternatives. A three-bedroom in Chatham with a view of Oyster Pond is going for $2,000 a week. And there's a two-bedroom cottage in West Harwich at a bargain price of $750.

These prices are for the most sought-after week, which agents agree is Aug. 5 to 12 this year. One warning: for those hoping for a few weeks in a row, you better jump in soon. "The longer people wait to book," said Ken Kornelson with Cape Vacation Rentals, "the less chance there is of getting the price you want . . . It's also more difficult to get multiple weeks."

Florida government renting cottages?

2006-04-14T20:45:00.000-04:00

Apparently the state government of Florida is renting cottages to temporarily house foster children.

The Department of Children & Families has rented a two-bedroom cottage after a lawsuit last week accused the agency of temporarily housing foster kids in a conference room.

The suit said DCF placed up to 10 foster children at a time in an agency conference room, forcing them to stay without adequate bathrooms and food, medical care, bedding or enough beds.

"We as a state really need to step up to the plate and take care of these kids, and we're not doing it," said attorney David Abrams, who represents the foster children.

"This is a very challenging problem."

After a judge's order to stop placing children in the conference room overnight, the department rented the cottage.

Homesteader Act to keep Ontario cottage prices down

2006-04-14T20:41:00.000-04:00

A grandfather who's made his Muskoka cottage the centre of his family life says he feels like weeping at the thought of selling it.

Bill Boughner's property assessment on his Lake Joseph cottage has gone up three times since he bought it in 1993, including a 60% assessment hike this year.

"The only people who are able to pay ... are the hockey players and the movie stars," said Boughner, who bought the 80-year-old wood cottage with a buyout at retirement and lives on a fixed income.

HOMESTEADER ACT

He's joined a chorus of property owners across Ontario supporting a private member's bill that would cap single-year assessment hikes to 5% unless the property is sold. Tory MPP Tim Hudak's Homesteader Act has received some powerful backing from the Canadian Snowbird Association, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, Waterfront Ratepayers After Fair Taxation and the Confederation of Resident and Ratepayer Associations. Hudak said his bill would also allow homeowners to make up to $25,000 in home repairs and improvements without facing an assessment hike.

"It would provide that seniors and the disabled would not pay property taxes on the first $10,000 of assessed value for the principle residence," Hudak said.

SKYROCKETING

Waterfront Ratepayers executive director Bob Topp said the Ontario dream of owning a piece of lakefront property, however modest, and passing it down within families, is being wiped out by skyrocketing property-tax bills. Hudak said homeowners in urban centres like Toronto and Ottawa are also facing skyrocketing assessments.

Vaughan Mayor Michael Di Biase said homeowners -- including seniors and others on fixed incomes -- have seen assessment increases of 35%-72%.

Eleven members of the Liberal party voted in favour of second reading of the bill yesterday, but Finance Minister Dwight Duncan told reporters it would not be receiving government support.

From the Toronto Sun

Muskoka region cottage price trends

2006-04-13T20:06:00.000-04:00

"In the last 12 months, it's been more of a buyer's market than a seller's market," says Steven Curry of Re/Max Muskoka Realty in Port Carling. "We're seeing fewer multiple offers, which is good for buyers. Vendors hoping to add 10- or 15-per-cent value to their property, or expecting the market increases to continue, will have to adjust their expectations."

The popularity of fractional ownership and the development of several new golf resort residential projects are giving potential buyers many options to choose from in the area.

While prices on the big three lakes (Rosseau, Joseph and Muskoka) remain out of reach for most buyers, properties on smaller lakes are attracting families looking for more peaceful surroundings.

Price summary

Low: $275,000 to $375,000 -- for a small island property on Lake Muskoka with 100 feet of frontage and a cottage in need of renovation, or a larger year-round cottage on a smaller lake, with road access.

Mid: $400,000 to $700,000 -- for a three-bedroom cottage on one of the big three lakes with a 100- to 200-foot frontage.

High: $800,000 to $1.5-million -- for a 4,000-square-foot, year-round home with plenty of frontage and privacy on a small lake; $2-million plus for a brand new cottage on one of the big three lakes, with five to six bedrooms, 200-foot frontage, docks and a boathouse. Incredibly, the going rate for a cottage on Lake Joseph is $3,579,000. Wow!

Eastern Muskoka and Haliburton cottage price trends

2006-04-12T15:28:00.000-04:00

The market in the Dorset and Lake of Bays area is described as being "hot," with prices up marginally from 2005.

"It's a strong seller's market again this year," says agent Ellen Wiley of Coldwell Banker. "Our biggest challenge is shortage of supply."

Price summary

Low: $150,000 -- for a basic two-bedroom seasonal cottage with a 100-foot frontage and water-only access.

Mid: $400,000 -- for a 1,500-square-foot, year-round cottage on a mid-size lake, or a basic cottage on a larger lake. For example, a property on Otter Lake goes for on average $479,000.

High: $750,000 plus -- for a 2,000-square-foot, year-round cottage on Lake of Bays, with a frontage of 150 to 200 feet.

A pie recipe that's great for Easter

2006-04-11T19:01:00.000-04:00

Italian Easter Pie

This hearty pie has a definite Italian flair to it! This recipe is certainly not for the vegetarians or the faint of heart.

Ingredients: Pastry of your choice 1 1/2 lbs. hot Italian sausage 1 tbsp. salad oil 3 eggs 1 1/2 lbs. (3 c.) Ricotta cheese 1/2 lb. Mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/4 inch cubes 1/4 c. Parmesan cheese 8 slices Prosciutto ham, coarsely chopped (1/4 lb.) 1/4 c. chopped parsley 1/2 tsp. salt Dash black pepper 1 egg yolk

HINT: you can replace the cheese with cottage cheese to lower the calories in this recipe, but it'll still pack quite a wallop of fat!

Prepare pastry, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 10 inch pan (and flour) or pie plate. Slice sausages 1/4 inch thick. In hot oil in medium skillet, saute until lightly browned on all sides. Drain excess fat. In large bowl, beat eggs until well blended. Add Ricotta, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese, along with Prosciutto, parsley, salt, pepper and sausage. Mix well. Fit pastry into pan. Trim edges. Turn filling into bottom crust, place top of pastry. Brush with egg yolk beaten with 1 tablespoon water. Bake 35 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden.

Yum!

Hamburger Casserole recipe

2006-04-11T18:56:00.000-04:00

This is a crock-pot/slowcooker recipe that yields 10 good-sized servings! Great for days at the cottage like today, when the weather is a bit chilly and you just can't wait to get a meal to warm up your insides.

Ingredients:

4 large potatoes, peeled and sliced 3 stalks celery, sliced 3 lbs lean ground beef, browned and drained 6 medium carrots, sliced 20 oz green peas 20 oz tomato sauce 3 onions, sliced 1 cup water salt pepper

Place the vegetables into the slow cooker in layers in the order in which they are listed in the ingredients. Season each layer with salt and pepper. Make a layer of the beef on top of the layer of celery. Mix the tomato soup with the water. Pour over. Cover. Cook on LOW for 7 to 9 hours, stirring occasionally.

A couple of recipes for today

2006-04-11T18:51:00.000-04:00

Hiya folks, I've got some great new recipes to post shortly. Came up with these ones myself, and they are very hearty indeed!

My mouth is watering just thinking about them!

Kawarthas cottage price trends

2006-04-11T18:18:00.000-04:00

For Carl Edwards, associate broker at Bowes and Cocks Ltd. in Lakefield, February was his second-best sales month for recreational properties in his 34 years in real estate.

"Sales are up 10 per cent, especially in properties priced under $250,000," he says. "It's a vibrant market and the demand is generated by the interest in properties that are already year-round or have the potential for winterization. I've never had so many questions about heat lines and insulation."

Given the region's proximity to the Greater Toronto Area, prices there have been pushed upward. Mr. Edwards says buyers will find few properties listed under $150,000. Most entry-level cottages start at $200,000.

Price summary

Low: $200,000 to $250,000 -- for a seasonal cottage on one of the smaller land-locked lakes in the region, such as Greens Lake, Oak Lake or Kasshabog Lake.

Mid: $250,000 to $500,000 -- for a year-round cottage on one of the smaller lakes or a smaller cottage on one of the larger lakes. Cottages on Papineau Lake are going for $329,000.

High: $500,000 to $1-million -- for a comfortable year-round recreational home on one of the larger lakes in the Kawarthas; $1-million plus -- for a large year-round home with plenty of privacy and frontage.

Lake Simcoe and Orillia cottage price trends

2006-04-11T08:34:00.000-04:00

"The 2006 market will be strong and there will be growth, but it won't be as dramatic as 2005," predicts Mark Rousseau of Re/Max Orillia. His market includes Lake Simcoe, Lake Couchiching and Sparrow Lake, areas where he says waterfront property is expensive and in short supply.

"Mortgage rates are creeping up and that is impacting the affordability of recreational property," Mr. Rousseau says. He is witnessing a growing demand for country acreages, however, where people moving toward retirement can build their dream home with a little more space and privacy.

Price summary

Low: $300,000 plus -- for a handyman's special on a small waterfront lot.

Mid: $400,000 plus -- for more frontage, privacy, deep water for boats and a sandy beach.

High: $500,000 plus -- for a property with maximum frontage, a boathouse and a great beach. Lake Simcoe properties are selling for $589,000.

Eastern Lake Erie cottage price trends

2006-04-11T00:26:00.000-04:00

Once the favourite summer haunt of Americans, Lake Erie's north shore is being revitalized thanks to a growing interest in property from people in the Greater Toronto Area. Fed up with the northbound traffic, people are discovering they can reach Lake Erie within 2½ hours.

"Prices are going up like crazy," says broker Donna Linn of Norfolk Real Estate in Delhi. "Two years ago one cottage sold for $108,000, and is now listed again for $147,900, and it's not even on the water."

Turkey Point is drawing families from Cambridge, Hamilton and the GTA, and the agent expects even more demand with the expansion of Toyota in Woodstock and Simcoe.

"Turkey Point is an undiscovered gem," says Ms. Linn, who has been practising real estate for 23 years in the region. "We have beautiful beaches and lots of trails for hiking and biking. Boating and fishing are excellent. We're not overrun by people, and we are within an easy drive of the GTA.

Like many recreational areas of Ontario, the biggest challenge is inventory. There are plenty of people interested in buying, but not a lot of property available.

The hot area for year-round recreational property in this part of the province is the picturesque community of Port Dover where year-round properties on the channel are selling for an average price of $350,000. Several new developments are also under way in Port Dover, including a golf course residential project.

Price summary

Low: $130,000 -- for a small two-bedroom inland cottage, 10 minutes from the beach.

Mid: $175,000 to $200,000 -- for a larger inland cottage potentially with a lake view. To give you an example, a cottage on Turkey Point will set you back about $259,900.

High $350,000 to $400,000 -- for a three-bedroom waterfront property.

Rich at any age: choosing a vacation property

2006-04-10T19:59:00.000-04:00

In summer weekends, Canada's urban centres become virtual ghost towns as city slickers - and their tag-along family and friends - flock to cottages for a little R&R. While you may have spent your 30s and 40s being one of those tag-alongs, your 50s could be the right time to think about a recreational property of your own. After all, your mortgage may be paid off (or close to it) and you're probably starting to think about what you'd like to do in your retirement years.

"We get plenty of people buying a cottage to use now, and by the time they retire they plan to expand it or tear it down and build a year-round retirement home," says Robert Hamersma, a RE/MAX agent specializing in cottages in Ontario's Kawarthas region.

The boom in second homes is extending far beyond the standard lakeside cottage. The population of many mountainside towns has grown exponentially as developers build chalets and condos for outdoor enthusiasts and their skis, bikes, fishing tackle and other gear. Beaches are another big draw, with buyers looking for small "summer homes," often in subdivisions a short walk from the sand.

The fractional cottage has become the latest trend for recreational property buyers. With prices starting in the $60,000 range, these work much like timeshares. Owners buy the right to return to the same property for a set number of weeks each year. Unlike renters, these buyers actually own, and can later sell, their fractional stake in the property.

How do you find the property that's right for you? Start by thinking about access. You'll probably want to buy relatively close to home so that you can take advantage of the property. Each additional half-hour you have to drive is going to substantially reduce your usage and enjoyment of a second home.

If you want to use the property year-round, make sure that the jarring dirt road you drive down in summer is passable in winter. If you're considering an island home, consider not only the present but the future. Sure, it's fun to boat or snowmobile to the property now, but do you really want to be doing that in your 60s? Think, too, about your health in another decade or so. If you have any worries, you may want to buy near a community with an emergency hospital.

Second homes are called that for a reason. Just as with your principal residence, you have to budget money for utility bills, furniture, appliances, and perhaps yard work as well if you don't want to do the chores yourself. Even a modest property will eat up a couple of thousand dollars a year, on top of the mortgage payments and property taxes, in general maintenance expenses. If you don't want the fuss of maintaining your property, consider buying a condo or fractional cottage, which usually include maintenance in their fees.

Your biggest financial hurdle may be finding an affordable place to buy. Prices for recreational properties have soared in recent years and bidding wars on choice properties are common. Royal LePage's 2005 Recreational Property Report found the average price for a waterfront property nationwide was almost $236,000, a $30,000 increase over the previous year.

Property taxes are rising as well, with five-figure bills not unheard of in some of the tonier locations. Some cottages have gone on the market because the long-time owners can no longer afford the tax hit. In an extreme example, in one municipality on Lake Huron, property assessments increased by more than 75% between 1999 and 2003. Some owners had tax bills that doubled from one year to the next.

One way you can offset costs is by renting out your property for a few weeks or weekends a year. The downside, of course, is all the additional wear-and-tear on your property, as well as potential liability issues.

In the end, a cottage is as much an emotional investment as a financial one, with its real value being that it's a place for family to gather. As Hamersma puts it: "A person can buy a painting and see it appreciate in value. But are you going to gather the family around a Rembrandt or a Picasso and spend the whole weekend admiring it?"

Cottage Living opens a door on comfort, style and simplicity

2006-04-09T18:35:00.000-04:00

Eleanor Griffin knew in her gut that there was magic in the word "cottage." Whenever "cottage" was used in the title of an article, readership soared. But what did cottage mean to female readers? And could the right cottage concept work for a new magazine?

Griffin, then editorial director for corporate management for Time Inc.'s Southern Progress subsidiary, collected notes and tearsheets, lugging them in a milk crate to meetings with her development team. Soon, those random ideas were transformed into foam-core boards speckled with Post-it notes.

Once the team members had a vision, they spent a year traveling around the country to explore what triggered female readers. They met with women in private dining rooms of restaurants to share dinner, wine and ideas. The women said many design magazines were out of touch. They wanted a "house with a soul." They didn't want magazines that told them everything in the house had to be perfect. They didn't like seeing furnishings that were expensive and hard to get.

The result was Cottage Living, a magazine more about feeling comfortable than looking fashionable. It focuses on a trio of needs: comfort, simplicity and personal style. Griffin, the magazine's editor in chief, recognizes that the name may be a misnomer, evoking images of kitschy country decor or a lakeside second home.

But "cottage" is not a decorating look. It's a lifestyle. Think bare feet, convertibles, furniture with slipcovers or upholstery in worry-free performance fabrics. And cottages can be any size -- a 4,000-square-foot, $1 million home as well as a simple $150,000 bungalow.

"The power of the word 'cottage' is one of the real indicators of how people live," she said recently during Wintermarket at the Design Center of the Americas in Dania Beach.

"It's not about money. It's about how they choose to live. Readers want to be recognized as individuals, and they want their homes to reflect themselves and their families. Cottage Living is not duck, geese, little old ladies, tea cups, Goldilocks and the three bears. It's about escapism."

And that sense of escapism may differ depending on where the folks live, according to Griffin. Los Angeles cottages are sleeker and well-edited. East Coast cottages have more quilts and family pictures. Key West cottages are funky.

"Readers say they have more enthusiasm than confidence," she says. "They say, 'Show me how to put it all together.'

"This magazine has no velvet ropes, no decorator du jour. We are living more informally, and cottage is synonymous with informality."

The personification of the "no velvet ropes" is illustrated in the magazine's photography of real people in real-life situations. They're lying down on a sofa with their feet in the air or jumping on a bed. Pets are everywhere.

"Our stylists get paid to put back imperfection," Griffin says. "We put back the house keys and the remote. . . . We photograph what we see. We want the reader to say, 'She's like me,' not that 'she spent $40,000 and is up to her eyeballs in debt.' "

Everything that is featured is available to the public without going to a designer. The magazine names the flea market, Web site, toll-free number or retail store.

Some magazines preach style from faceless editors. In Cottage Living, the staff is shown with their projects. You'll see production manager Amy Lowe Mitchell sitting on the arm of a hand-me-down chair she updated and recovered, and style editor Heather Chadduck explaining that applying the gimp and nailheads to her chair saved $100.

Griffin says one of the problems with many magazines is they are trying so hard to teach that readers feel uncomfortable. "The magazine isn't preachy and has a relaxed voice," she says.

Cottage Living is 1 1/2 years old, and the editors are still learning. "Fill in the Blank," a feature that used yellow crime-scene tape to illustrate what needed to be done in a room, was dropped because Griffin says it didn't resonate well with readers. She gave the space to "The New Old House," the most-read column.

Griffin has decided the magazine's success reflects two trends: Readers connect cottages with good times and coziness -- she calls this choosing "happiness over hugeness" -- and they want a home that tells a story and reflects who they are.

"Cottages have character in their DNA -- much more so than many cookie-cutter homes that look like the one that's three doors down the street," she says.

The results are in...

2006-04-07T20:07:00.000-04:00

The best golf course in Ontario's cottage country is Deerhurst Highlands, according to results released today at the annual Toronto Sun Golfers' Choice Awards. Deerhurst Highlands, co-designed by Robert Cupp and Thomas McBroom and located just two hours north of Toronto, took "gold" in the category of "Best Course in Cottage Country."

"It's truly an honour to receive this award, especially since golfers do the voting," said Tyler Rafter, Head Professional at Deerhurst Resort.

"There have been a lot of quality courses built since Deerhurst Highlands introduced world class golf to Muskoka in 1990. Awards like this re-affirm our belief that Deerhurst Highlands should be at the top of everyone's 'must-play' list."

Opening Dates Set Deerhurst Highlands will open the 2006 season on Saturday, May 6 with spring golf rates ranging from $55 (Adult Sunset) to $125 until the end of the month. Summer rates kick-in June 1 with green fees ranging from $65 - $160 per round. Deerhurst Lakeside golf course will open its season on Saturday, April 29 with rates from $40 (Adult Sunset) to $65 per round.

2006 Golf Packages Stay and play packages are available for either of Deehurst Resort's 18-hole layouts with spring prices ranging from $126 - $177 per person per night, based on double occupancy. Packages include greens fees, cart, club cleaning and select accommodation.

New at Deerhurst Resort this year is the introduction of ESPN Golf Schools programming, a first in Canada. Golfers can select from a variety of programs, which include equipment or apparel from Nike golf free with tuition.

Curriculum is designed by Hank Haney, Dean of Instruction for the ESPN Golf Schools, who will offer his two-day Signature School at Deerhurst Resort June 22-23 and August 5-6. Haney coaches several top touring professionals and is recognized by Golf Digest magazine as one of the top five golf instructors in the U.S.

Comments

2006-04-06T20:31:00.000-04:00

By the way, as the viewership of my little blog has been increasing daily, I am a bit disappointed to discover that nobody is leaving me any comments. Please do take a moment to say hello, ask a question, or suggest an idea. I'd be thrilled!

Ontario Cottage Price Guide

2006-04-06T20:30:00.000-04:00

I'm going to begin a series of posts over the next few days aimed at prospective cottage buyers. I plan to outline some of the prices and trends for Ontario cottage country.

It looks as though prices for traditional waterfront cottages may stabilize after a frenzied rise in 2005. But even so, demand will still far outstrip supply, ensuring that the recreational real estate market will continue to be strong in the immediate future.

Purchasing a cottage with eyes wide open

2006-04-06T13:03:00.000-04:00

By Carolyn Leitch of the Globe and Mail

There are lots of stories of love at first sight -- and probably nowhere are these tales more plentiful than in cottage country.

A couple heads to a lakeside inn for a long summer weekend. Three days and several sunset cocktails later, they can hardly remember the stress of the city. Every weekend should be this relaxing.

It's in this somnambulant state that they start the drive home and notice a "For sale" sign outside a charming little cottage -- right on the same lake.

A quick call to the agent and they're in.

By the time they hit Highway 400, they've decided to put in an offer.

Perhaps this impulsive gesture will result in many more idyllic weekends and years of happy memories.

Or maybe they'll learn two months later -- after the deal has closed -- about the overloaded septic system, the asphalt plant the local quarry is building, or the toxic algae bloom that arrives in the mid-summer heat.

Douglas Hunter, who makes his home year-round on Georgian Bay's Severn Sound, hears many of these harrowing tales first hand from people in the surrounding areas.

"I do know areas up here where you always see cottages for sale, and it's because people saw it on the wrong day."

In The Cottage Ownership Guide, published this month by Firefly Books, Mr. Hunter offers advice to prospective cottagers on topics from making the initial purchase to bequeathing the property. He covers buying, selling, owning, renting, sharing and retiring to the cottage.

Mr. Hunter understands as well as anyone what an affair of the heart buying a cottage can be.

But the way that prices on most lakes have skyrocketed, Mr. Hunter thinks buyers need to be exceedingly cautious.

"The last thing I need to do is buy something that has huge issues I didn't think about because I was too busy admiring the view from the dock."

Stories abound in cottage country of vendors selling lots they didn't own, or buyers finding out that their newly purchased cottage is actually on the next door neighbour's property. Then there are the issues of septic systems, noisy neighbours and boat traffic.

Prospective cottagers look at a property on a quiet, Thursday afternoon, for example, then wake up their first Saturday morning to see 40 boats in the picturesque bay in front.

Buyers have to realize, Mr. Hunter says, "they own the cottage; they don't own the water out in front."

James Ireland of Toronto-based Stark Ireland Architects Inc. often starts with untouched land when he designs cottages for clients in Muskoka or on Georgian Bay. Purchasing the right piece of vacant property is paramount, he says.

Prospective buyers should judge a property not just on the beauty of the surrounding landscape but also on the lot's suitability for building. How wild is the topography? Is the land at the water's edge a rocky outcrop or sandy beach? Does it accommodate boating and swimming? Are people planning to arrive by car, boat or plane, and does the property suit that mode of transportation? And how gentle or precarious is the path from the cottage to the lake?

Buyers should also pay attention to how close the neighbouring properties are and whether there are trees that offer screening for privacy.

Taking best advantage of the views is one of the first considerations for Mr. Ireland when deciding where to place the cottage.

He adds that exposure to the elements -- both psychological and physical -- is an important factor because the weather can become so wild in rugged areas of Northern Ontario.

But even there, the air can become hot and still at the height of summer, so he recommends orienting the cottage to catch some of the summer breezes.

"Unless you get the siting right, everything else that follows is in the wrong place."

Mr. Ireland also advises people to be aware of setbacks required by local building codes. On an island or a narrow point of land, for example, the setback may be coming from two different directions. It's important to understand those restrictions when buying a vacant piece of land.

Mr. Hunter says many people also don't realize how complicated the nature of the land is.

There are hassles with private roads, water access and easements. Cottages that share a private road also share the cost of maintaining it.

To avoid catastrophes, it's essential to have an up-to-date survey, Mr. Hunter says.

A "western view" is considered a prime asset in many cottage areas, and even more prime if that view is also over the water, Mr. Hunter says. Because the sun sets in the west, watching it melt into the horizon at the end of the day can be a quintessential cottage experience.

But he adds that the property's relationship with the sun changes through the seasons. If, for example, it's really important to you to sip your morning coffee on a sunny dock, you should spend some time researching the sun's path.

He also recommends taking on the role of "lake detective" to determine the safety and quality of the water, as well as its suitability for your favourite activities.

A few years ago, Three Mile Lake was the location of Muskoka's first toxic algae bloom, which can make even entering the water unsafe for people and pets.

Mr. Hunter advises a call or visit to the local planning department -- survey in hand -- before putting in an offer.

A good home inspector is essential to check out the land, septic system and the condition of the building. People may not realize how much patchwork has been done in the past.

"It's still handyman central up here."

Those wild-west, do-it-yourselfer practices common 10 to 15 years ago may have created problems that only come to light for the new owner after they've taken possession of the cottage.

One issue people need to approach with their eyes wide open is the septic system.

Previous owners may have built a cottage that is too big for the size of the septic bed, and the new purchaser may be unable to obtain a permit to build one of the proper size.

"At that point you have a $300,000 camping site."

Even when they've done their homework, people who make the leap and buy can still find the potential for unending conflict.

"There are lots of ways to get on people's nerves in cottage country," Mr. Hunter says.

Many areas have good cottagers' and ratepayers' associations that are a treasure trove of information about things such as taxes and municipal services. He suggests combing through the association's newsletters and the area's community newspapers.

"A lot can be going on at an association level that you might want to know about before you buy. Occasionally, the issues may be so serious that you might decide to look elsewhere for a property."

Mr. Hunter notes that each lake has its own character, and finding one that comes close to your own vision of the cottage idyll will lead to happier experiences in the long run.

"If there's a thriving wakeboard community, don't show up with your kayak," he advises.

Over all, people need to ask the difficult questions, just as they would when they buy a house in the city, Mr. Hunter says.

Once prospective buyers find a place that appears to offer everything they are looking for, they then need to ask: "What don't I know?"

"At the cost that waterfront properties are, you want to give yourself the luxury of having done the research."

Cottage Charm

2006-04-05T22:18:00.000-04:00

A lovely cottage designed by a leading early 20th century architect of country houses, Aymar Embury, is one of the historical residences highlighted on the Southern Pines Garden Club House and Garden Tour on Wednesday, April 12.

Embury was responsible for the design of several homes in the Weymouth area, due to his close friendship with James Boyd, one of Southern Pines most illustrious citizens. The cottage, now owned by Richard and Katie Walsh, was at one time used as a rental unit by the old Highlands Hotel, a Southern Pines landmark that was destroyed by fire in the 1950s.

The Walshes, who bought the cottage about two years ago, were attracted by the balance of the house.

It is very whimsical and laid out in an odd, even quirky, fashion, says Katie Walsh. Several of the closets are triangular because they fit the layout.

Built in 1913 before the days of air conditioning, the front door opens all the way through the living room to another entrance, providing splendid air circulation.

I loved the sweep of the front porch which really faces the back of the property, says Katie Walsh. We did away with the screens that were in place when we bought the place because we wanted to emphasize the graceful pillars and play up the extra doorways off the porch leading into the dining room and another bedroom which has been turned into the office.

Coming from Connecticut, the couple had lived in an old house of the Civil War era. However, the cottage with its original floors, plaster walls and distinctive moldings, needed a lot of work. The walls were replastered, new ceilings installed, and the cottage was repainted inside and out.

When my brother first saw it, he remarked that the lot is great, but the house is a tear-down, Katie says.

After spending the last two years working on the house, Katie Walsh now is concentrating on the gardens. Starting with the placement of attractive lead urns lining the walkways, and cutting back some of the plantings that had become overgrown, she says she takes delight in pulling weeds. The property with beautiful camellia trees, azaleas and dogwoods was landscaped by a former owner who was a wonderful gardener.

The welcoming living room is graced by a magnificent breakfront and a comfortable sofa in a light beige and crimson print fabric.

Katie Walshs love of American folk art is evident in her varied collection of drawings, sculptures and artistic pieces that add a special touch to the ambience of the cottage.

Right inside the front door is a striking sculpture by Leo Sewell, called Found Objects. The sculpture is assembled from everyday items, such as parts of a camera, a clock, a xylophone and a globe, a pair of gloves, buttons, pencils and bits of hardware.

Over the mantel, a painting by James Rizzi, who has refined the process of 3-D construction, is bracketed by two wire sculptures done by Ty Verek, an early New York City artist. On a nearby wall hangs a lithograph of one of a triptych that hangs in the New York City courthouse done by Ralph Fasanella. This primitive folk artist specializes in depicting the joys and trials of working people in customary situations.

A formal dining room is made inviting with Charles II chairs and an elegant table from the High Point collection of European antiques of Randall Tysinger. Large Oriental plant containers are from Dick Walshs family home in Palm Beach, as well as some fine Chinese porcelain pieces on the sideboard. An unusual antique candelabra sconce graces one wall, and noteworthy is a hunting lamp chandelier from England.

A wonderful slanted butlers pantry, reminiscent of the days when the cottage was first built, has been fitted into the space between the dining room and the kitchen. As Katie Walsh points out, it is a plain little cottage with pretensions of glamour.

She got rid of the old-fashioned linoleum floor in the kitchen and a 1950s preparation aisle in the middle of the room, but she kept the original cabinets, put up some wainscoting, and bought all new appliances.

I used wood for the countertops, because I didnt think Corian really looked right in the setting, she says. I wanted to be sure I kept the feeling of the age of the house.

The adjoining breakfast room has an old American dough trough table, with one piece of wood forming the top.

The theme of American folk art is carried out in one of the guest bedrooms with an old trade sign that hung outside a bicycle shop used as a decorative touch, alongside a grouping of vintage dolls. On the bed is an old-fashioned quilt in shades of tan, russet, and yellow, offset by small floral print strips. It is an exact replica of one made for Katie Walshs grandmother by her great-aunt.

In the other guest bedroom are family portraits done by a Russian émigré who lived in New York City. A portrait of Katie Walshs son pictures him as a teenager holding a pet African gray parrot. A stunning brass bed by Charles Rogers is an eye-catcher. The Brunswick fabric in colors of slate blue and rose forming the bed hangings and spread are the work of Katie Walsh, who loves to sew, and who also fashioned all the drapes and the valances throughout the cottage.

A glance into a guest bathroom reveals that the old tile has been retained, although the 1950s cabinets were replaced by period fixtures. In another guest bathroom is a marvelous footed slipper tub, and a chest that was in the gardening shed of the Walshs Connecticut house. A painted relic, with good lines, it was stripped down in a combination effort by Katie and Dick, and the natural wood blends in with the color scheme of the bathroom.

The master suite on the other side of the cottage is enhanced by a superb four-poster bed, fit for a king and a queen. And as a matter of fact, it was made by a couple in England who have provided beds for the royal family. The husband, who is French, crafted the bed itself, while his English wife hand-stitched all of the silk hangings, in gold and terra cotta tones. The quilted valance is a woodblock print from a medieval pattern, and Irish and English antique chests complement the regal look of the master suite.

The cottage is just right for us in our retirement, says Katie Walsh. Dick has retired from the family-owned American Flag Steamship line. However, Im still keeping my hand in, doing development work for the Sandhills Area Land Trust and also working as a Realtor. The cottage may be much smaller than some of the really fine homes in the Sandhills area, but it fits our lifestyle beautifully.

200-year-old thatched cottage to become protected structure

2006-04-05T22:17:00.000-04:00

A 200-year-old thatched cottage at Corluddy, Ireland is in line to be added to the list of protected structures in the county.

The detached 4-bay single-storey thatched cottage, built around 1800 with later single-bay extension at Carrigeen, Corluddy is to be added to the list.

Neato!

Gardening at the Cottage

2006-04-02T00:35:00.000-05:00

Whether you call it a cottage, a bungalow, a saltbox or a cabin, at the end of the day it is simply a small house. And, in the tradition of not-so-big living, these house's gardens literally pack them in, overflowing with semi-controlled floral chaos. Blossoms big and small in a riot of colors are the kind of joyous mix that people cherish.

The budget gardener's trick to growing satisfying summer flowers is to do it from seed. Those you can sow right into the freshly prepared soil have been cherished for generations as easy, living heirlooms. Our ancestors gathered the seeds at season's end and sowed them again the following year for free. Many of the seeds even naturalized, self-sowing on their own. You can still find most of these flowers at seed racks at garden centers or in many different catalogs.

For the new gardener, the plants are easy because they germinate right away and grow up fast before the bugs can get to them. However, it's important to distinguish when to sow because these old favorites are divided into two different germination preferences.

In the north and east, and very early in the south, spring conditions are cooler. Therefore annuals that prefer cooler temperatures to germinate and grow will do best in the early season.

They may fade with the onset of midsummer heat, but if you sow warm season seeds in between these early beauties you will have a second wind of a garden after June.

Bachelors button, known as cornflower for its iridescent blue flowers, is a stand up plant reaching 30 inches tall.

Annual Larkspur produces three-foot-tall spires bearing the poor woman's version of finicky perennial delphium.

Sweet peas, fragrant and vine-like, grow onto cottage walls if you hang string or net to support their cherished multicolored blooms.

In the South and West the heat comes early and soils warm to temperatures that make seedlings jump out of the ground just days after planting. They cannot be sown until after the last frost date in your area.

These big, bold flowers are what truly give these gardens their characteristic charm. It's because no highbrow gardener would consider such a crass display, but for those of us who love flowers and color they are just the thing to make a cottage stand out beautifully.

Sunflowers, be they giant Mammoths or the riot of smaller branching florist cultivars, are as Americana as cottage gardens get. You can never have too many.

Tithonia, with its tangerine orange flowers, is a west side performer that takes sun and afternoon heat in stride.

Zinnias, with their day-glo colors, are scorned as "common," yet produce the most fabulous blossoms on plants that do best in brutal southwestern dry heat.

Before planting, remove all weeds and debris from the soil. Then turn it with a spading fork. Enrich the broken soil with liberal amounts of steer manure and compost to a depth of one foot.

Before you sow, read seed depth data on the package. Sweet pea seeds germinate a lot faster if you soak them in water for 24 hours before they are planted. Zinnias need light to germinate and do best when simply raked in. Use a "rain" diffuser nozzle to water seed and seedlings.

Later, water large-leafed plants by flooding on ground level. Watering on leaves or large flowers may cause breakage or topple the plant.

Fertilize every two weeks during peak growth with any water soluble product such as Miracle Gro. Cut off spent flowers before seed can form to generate more new flowers. Close to the end of the season, let seeds form to collect for next year.

Cottage gardens have never been the realm of the rich or the worldly. They are the true people's gardens, created with little more than labor, earth and a dollar pack of seed.

More about the Cottage Life Show

2006-04-02T00:34:00.000-05:00

If this is spring, then it must be close to cottage season. And even if the shutters are still up at your northern palace, for many cottagers visiting the Cottage Life Show is almost as good as being there.

The 13th annual event is created by cottagers for cottagers, and is on today and tomorrow at the International Centre, 6900 Airport Rd.

There are more than 475 exhibitors showcasing everything from boats, docks and cottage water toys to environmentally friendly products and services.

In addition to the more than 40 builders, architects and contractors on site to answer your questions, visitors will also find numerous products and cottage decor ideas for indoors and out.

Bullfrog Power is providing the juice to the entire show and is known for its environmentally friendly and self sustaining methods of producing wattage.

Show highlights include keeping the cottage out of the tax man's hands and how to keep the bears at bay. For more information, visit cottagelife.com.

Express yourself at home

2006-03-31T20:36:00.000-05:00

It doesn't matter what your home looks like on the outside, you can make it your definition of warm and comfortable on the inside.

Cottage decorating should be about fantasy and your family's personality, rather than imitation or rules. You should surround yourself with things you love, rather than what your neighbors say you should have. Start with what you have and then define your lifestyle. It's not about the size or the structure, it's about the soul of a home.

Here are some of suggestions on how to make your home reverberate with cottage style:

. Plan seating the way you really live. If you find your family of four fighting over the same comfortable chair in the living room, get one of those chairs for each of you and put them around a round table.

. Upholster doors for a fresh, modern look. It's a newer idea. Add tailored dressmaker details to the door and you'll have a city cottage look.

. Try gray or beige cabinets with white china. Cottage Living editors love the look of white china in open shelves. The essentials don't have to be expensive. You can find them at sites such as Crate & Barrel or roomandboard.com.

. Personalize. Monograms aren't the only way to put your stamp on something. For instance, use numbers on the back of chairs or on house towels. Another innovative idea is to spell out your last name, using one letter on each throw pillow.

. Ban the chintzy brass chandeliers that contractors put in houses. One fresh alternative is a drum shade, which hangs like a pendant with a huge shade over a dining table.

. Try darker trims on windows or bookshelves. The trim should be four to five shades darker than the wall.

. Bring outdoor touches to indoor rooms. Wicker can be used in every room.

Rental Cottage Resort Centered On Dogs

2006-03-29T18:50:00.001-05:00

"The Other Place" is spread over 550 acres of pastoral, oak-dotted hills overlooking the Anderson Valley, and it's got everything a vacationing canine could desire: vast expanses of open grassland for off-leash exploration, a smorgasbord of intriguing scents and an inviting pond with a seemingly inexhaustible supply of old tennis balls.

For dog owners, there are stylishly designed cottages in which to savor the silence, sip Pinot Noir next to a crackling fire, or plop down in an Adirondack chair to enjoy the views out over the Anderson Valley and the red-tailed hawks wheeling overhead.

The Other Place will be instantly familiar to fans of Sheep Dung Estates, the dog-friendly Anderson Valley resort whose bungalows were sold off last July to former guests. The Other Place, which began with one cottage in 1999, has the same owners, same interior design in the cottages and nearly the same landscape. The three cottages, however, are a bit larger and come with phones and satellite TV, which are easy enough to ignore. They're also a bit more expensive.

Like Sheep Dung, the Other Place was designed specifically as a retreat for canine visitors and their owners. "You don't have to come here with a dog," said office manager Colleen Curtis. "But just about everybody does."

Spring is a good time to visit. The hills are green, the temperature is neither bitingly cold nor broilingly hot, and you stand a decent chance of arriving, as I recently did, between the two major seasons: mud and dust. There are fewer burrs and foxtails this time of year, but plenty of ticks.

Getting there isn't quite the adventure that driving to Sheep Dung was. On the outskirts of Boonville, an unmarked dirt and gravel road led through a vineyard, crossed Anderson Creek on a narrow bridge and climbed for a mile or so to the property. My Honda Civic had no trouble negotiating it.

Alas, the old Doggie Diner statue that used to welcome guests to Sheep Dung was nowhere to be seen. (It's on the property, in a place not easily visible, and will eventually be moved to a more prominent location, said Curtis.)

The cottages are close enough to Boonville for you to pop into town for groceries or a meal, or to do some tasting at Navarro, Husch or some of the other Anderson Valley wineries. Yet when we were on the property we felt dozens of miles removed from other people.

There are only three cottages. From ours, called the Buckeye, we couldn't see either of the others, or any other manmade structure save for a fancy house on a distant ridge and an old barn-like shed on the little knoll right out our back door. As a colleague once put it, it's a nostalgic view of old California, before the coming of the tract home.

Unlike at Sheep Dung, each cottage is enclosed by a fence. I expected it to feel confining, but it wasn't. Curtis guessed our lot was about an acre, but it looked more like three or four.

"A lot of guests are happy for the fences," she said. "That way they can let their dogs go out and explore a bit without worrying they'll go running off after a rabbit."

After Tucker bounded out of the car to reconnoiter the grounds, my wife, Jeri, and I unpacked in the cottage. Nearly every wall had floor-to-ceiling windows framing million-dollar views of the chubby green hills.

The decor is nearly identical to Sheep Dung: a vaguely Scandinavian minimalist look, with tile floors and leather furniture to ward off dog hair and fleas. Next to the fireplace waited a big stack of wood and kindling.

Tucker led us down a dirt road, past a tempting creek and oaks draped heavy with Spanish moss, to the large, manmade pond that serves as the resort's social center. No one else was around on this midweek day, canine or otherwise, so I repeatedly tossed a tennis ball into the pond for Tucker to retrieve until I feared I might need rotator-cuff surgery.

The network of trails isn't as extensive as it was at Sheep Dung, but we did go for a stroll on one, called Gina's Trail, past a picturesque old barn and up a grassy dale with expansive views of the Alexander Valley. Tucker loped along with his tail up and nose down, pausing every few steps to scrutinize a new smell.

At one point we found him on his back, writhing in ecstasy, feet kicking in the air, as he rubbed himself all over something dead and disgusting. A dreaded bath awaited him when we got back to the cottage, but for now Tucker looked as if he had died and gone to doggie heaven.

Spring Cottage Life Show 2006

2006-03-29T18:50:00.000-05:00

What a weekend!

What: The summer cottage season kicks off at the 13th annual Spring Cottage Life Show. A must-see for cottagers, it's the only show of its kind featuring more than 475 cottage-related exhibitors and interactive feature areas and seminars. Explore the world of bears, bugs, and other animals in the Cottage Wildlife Centre, get hands-on tips in the Cottage Workshop, or shop for some of the most unique cottage-country gifts available under one roof in the Trading Post.

When: Friday, March 31 12:00 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. Saturday, April 1 9 a.m. - 7 p.m. Sunday, April 2 10 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Where: International Centre 6900 Airport Road (at Derry Road) Toronto, Ontario

Admission: Adults: $15 Youth (13-18): $8 Children under 13: free Weekend Pass: $22

How to live large in a small space

2006-03-27T20:30:00.000-05:00

Adapted from CaNesha Gordon of the News Examiner

If you have the right tools and use the right design concepts, decorating a small space is as much fun as decorating a large space, local decorating experts say. If done correctly, no one will ever know your space is all that small to begin with.

Bart Coker, assistant property manager of Colonial Village at Hendersonville, said the key to decorating a small space is to pick out scaled-down pieces. "It gives the illusion of more space," he said. "You don't have to be afraid of large pieces in a small space."

"They just need to be in proportion. You should also try to pick a theme and carry it through the home."

The idea is to keep your eye from starting and stopping. "You will have one continuous flow," Coker said.

Jill Baker of Winchester Cottage Studio Gallery said there are several ways to decorate a small space to make it look larger. "The best way of making a small space look large is to cover one wall with mirrors," Baker said.

Suggestions of how to accomplish this include working with mirror tiles or with other items that will reflect the space.

Don't have a lot of clutter in a small space, Baker said.

"Have see-through furniture like a glass table or wrought iron." The concept behind this is to give a sense of airiness that doesn't block vision.

"If a space is small, have everything in proportion to the room," Baker said.

Another option Baker recommends when working with a small room is to put small pieces of artwork on the wall. "No horizontal in small spaces, only up and down," she said. "What that does is draw eyes up and down."

Using color correctly is also a key when creating a successful small space.

"You don't want dark colors because they close you in," Baker continued.

"You want to open up the space so you use light colors, like a creamy white. It brings light in the area, and light bounces off light walls.

If you want to put up wallpaper in your small space, don't use big patterns because it can look oversized for a room.

Additionally, mirrors, wallpaper, or a mural work in a small space when used on only one wall.

"The rest of the walls should be a light color," Baker said.

Floral painter turns her cottage into a canvas

2006-03-26T23:40:00.000-05:00

By Cindy McNatt of Orange County Register

For years Christie Repasy struggled with her romantic roses when there wasn't a market for them. Now she lives the perfect life.

You enter her world at a picket gate that leads to sandy wooden steps, through neatly pinched geraniums, and climb to her seaside cottage with a clear ocean view.

It is all perfect -- a sparkling day, the house done in neat taupe paint with clean white trim, the breezy balcony for painting plein-air garden scenes -- and find a blonde, barefoot artist loading her brush.

Like a character in the scene-setting chapter of a dreamy novel, Christie Repasy lives the life of an accomplished artist in Laguna Beach, Calif. It's the life we all want when we run away.

''I have an incredible life right now,'' said Repasy. ``My art is selling well, I have my home the way I've always wanted it, I am painting what is in my heart.''

It wasn't all fantasy for Repasy, an artist since the second grade. For years she struggled with her romantic roses when there wasn't a market for them. But in the mid 1980s it clicked.

``The shabby-chic design scene met with my art and finally I discovered that I could live like I painted. I found my niche and my art found a purpose.''

Because Repasy painted subtle florals for so long, she not only embraced the soft slipcovered look of shabby chic, she excelled at it. But where many designers in this genre use white on white, Repasy chose colors from her canvases.

Her plaster walls are painted in buttermilk tones. Gentle shades of pink, blue and yellow bounce around the living room in fabrics and accessories. Her soft color palette transitions seamlessly from room to room in her tiny cottage.

''My muted palette is not a conscious decision on my part, it is just the colors that make me happy,'' she said.

In typical country style, Repasy chose vintage English chintz for window coverings that are heavy, but don't interfere with natural light.

''I shop at flea markets,'' she said. ``But I hardly ever envision a piece for what it is. Instead, I always imagine what it could be.''

For instance, her chunky soft white coffee table was once a black '80s piece with a smoked-glass top.

''I could see it in white with ceiling-tile tins and clear glass top,'' she said. Just as it is now.

The sunny kitchen with clean white cupboards, vintage appliances and plaster walls is where she works when she is not in her studio.

''The north light is perfect for painting,'' she said.

Daughter Cherise's bedroom is the most dreamy of all. With windows on three sides covered with light-defusing sheers, and vintage floral fabrics for the bedspread and pillows, and antique cutwork for the bed skirt, it is a vignette worthy of its own frame.

''I use old fabrics as much as I can. My favorite haunt is the Long Beach Veterans Stadium flea market,'' she said.

Repasy doesn't cycle her furniture in and out. She has learned to know herself, passing up many pieces to focus only on the things she loves. And she lives with her things a very long time.

``If I see something that speaks to my heart, I don't hesitate. But that doesn't happen all the time.''

Repasy says that it takes time to cultivate a home the way you like it with the stuff you really love. For her, it's second-grade dreams, all grown up.

Spring Cottage Life Show

2006-03-25T23:30:00.000-05:00

A must-attend for both current and future cottage owners. The Spring Cottage Life Show at the International Centre, Mississauga, ON, March 31st to April 2nd, 2006. With over 475 cottage related exhibitors, there is something for everyone. Drop by and say hello!

It's not hard to create your very own 'cottage style'

2006-03-25T01:36:00.000-05:00

By Charlyne Varkonyi Schaub of the Knight Ridder Tribune

If Eleanor Griffin had a theme song, it could be "Express Yourself." The editor of Cottage Living says it doesn't matter what your home looks like on the outside, you can put your personal stamp on it to make it your definition of warm and comfortable on the inside.

Here are some of her suggestions on how to make your home reverberate with "Cottage Style."

Plan seating the way you really live

If you find your family of four fighting over the same comfortable chair in the living room, get one for each of you and put them around a round table.

China shop displays

Cottage Living editors love the look of white china in open shelves. Try gray or beige cabinets with white china. The essentials don't have to be expensive. You can find them at places such as Crate & Barrel.

Edit

Editing furniture gives it more importance. Griffin takes the Diana Vreeland rule of dressing well and translates it into furniture. Instead of dressing and taking one item off, take one piece out of a room. In both cases, editing makes better design.

Personalize

Monograms aren't the only way to put your stamp on something. For instance, use numbers on the back of chairs or on house towels. Another innovative idea is to spell out your last name, using one letter on each throw pillow. Ban the chintzy brass chandeliers that contractors put in houses. One fresh alternative is a drum shade, which hangs like a pendant with a huge shade over a dining table. Try darker trims on windows or bookshelves. The trim should be four to five shades darker than the wall paint. Put a hall space to work with built-ins, such as a bookcase at the top of the steps or in a dead corner of the kitchen. Bring outdoor touches to indoor rooms. Wicker can be used in every room.

Gated waterfront resort offers more than a cottage

2006-03-25T01:30:00.000-05:00

By Sydnia Yu of the Globe and Mail

Developer Eric Kerzner started out to build a lifestyle community in Orillia -- one his parents would like. But that initial plan evolved into a waterfront resort project for empty-nesters that, unexpectedly, is attracting interest from all manner of cottagers and retirees. Even he and his family have purchased a house there.

The president of Toronto-based Signature Carleton Inc. didn't intend to live at the seven-acre site -- called Sophie's Landing. But "we had a [cottage] in Collingwood, and it became more and more difficult to travel there," he explains.

What this project offers is more like a true home than a cottage. Each dwelling will have an attached garage, main-floor laundry room and gas fireplace. There will be nine-foot ceilings -- vaulted in some rooms. Standard finishes will include ceramic tile flooring, 5½-inch baseboards and laminate countertops.

For people who want to run a business from the resort, there will be high-speed Internet service, as well as space to set up a home office. As for location, Mr. Kerzner says: "It's very convenient. I can jump on the highway and be in [Toronto] in an hour."

Named after the youngest of Mr. Kerzner's four children, Sophie's Landing will be a high-end, gated community located where Lake Simcoe meets Lake Couchiching, about 140 kilometres north of downtown Toronto.

"Orillia is grossly underdeveloped," says Mr. Kerzner, who builds custom homes and resorts. "It's surrounded by lakes. It's south of the black-fly belt, so in the summertime there are no bugs. It's on the Trent-Severn Waterway, so it's great for boating and skiing. [And it's] close by golfing and the casino [Casino Rama], so there's tons to do there."

The community will consist of 90 freehold residences along Atherly Road and Invermara Court on Smith Bay. The first phase of 49 bungalows is nearly sold out and half occupied. The second and final phase of 41 townhouses -- three-storey homes or bungalows with optional lofts or Muskoka rooms -- will be ready by fall.

Amenities will include a clubhouse, pool and espresso lounges, plus more than 1,000 feet of waterfront trails with gazebos, benches and barbecue areas. A recreation centre with fitness facilities, hot tubs and a spa will be added in the second phase.</p><p>Local amenities include live theatre, shops and historic sites such as the Stephen Leacock Museum.

As in phase one, purchasers can customize floor plans. The homes will have Muskoka or French country exteriors constructed from any combination of stone, Cape Cod siding or stucco, and will feature steep rooflines, covered porches and balconies.

The community will be tied into the city's water, gas and sewer systems. The monthly fee for the maintenance of common elements will be about $125. Owners can buy a separate maintenance package, as well as private docks for planes and boats.

A simple cottage by the sea

2006-03-23T04:35:00.000-05:00

By Stephanie Foster

If you were lucky growing up, you had a grandmother with a house like this one, and spent your summers building sand castles on your own private beach and playing in the waves. When you got swimmed out, you'd wander over to Allen Harbor and watch the boats come in or stroll into town for a cool lemonade. If you always wished you had that kind of childhood, or would like to be that kind of grandma today, this property is for you.

The house is a gray shingle, no frills, six-room home. Don't look for fancy landscaping, double sinks, granite counters, huge closets or top of the line appliances. It's simply a nice, pleasant home, the kind that people used to build once upon a time, even when the location was on an ocean bluff. What puts it into the $2 million category is the priceless view of Nantucket Sound.

Although it is a year-round home, the current owner has only used it as a summer retreat. About a 10th of an acre is upland, so the yard is small - all the less grass to mow. Who needs a big space when the backyard is literally as big as the ocean? The actual beach frontage, down a private flight of stairs, is 84 feet.

The house is at the end of Wah Wah Taysee Road. According to the realtor, the name means "firefly." On one side is a small public beach, but no parking is allowed, so it is used only by neighbors who live within walking distance. Named "High Seas," the house is spread out on one level with a partial basement that is accessed outside through the bulkhead. The laundry and hot water heater are located there and there is also room to store outdoor furniture or other bulky items.

One passes a small brick entry and enters though the front door which has a small fan window which lights the hallway. The floors are oak except for the kitchen, bath and bedrooms and the walls a neutral linen white. The living room is located on the left of the hall and features a fireplace with a brick hearth and pine mantle. A bay window adds cheery light to the room. Puffy floral valences cover the tops of the windows and are included with the house.

This room leads to a sun room/dining area which one steps down into. The floor is flagstone and the room has windows on three sides: two sides have 8 over 8 pane windows, the other a picture window flanked by two 6 over 6 pane windows. Aside from the step down, the room is divided by a low, build-in, pine cabinet. The effect is to keep the spaces flowing and open in the living/dining area.

To the right is the kitchen. A beige and blue tile linoleum covers the floor, the sink is stainless and the cabinets are a light almond as is the refrigerator. Formica counters follow the same color scheme. One of the counters is actually a built-in desk where the telephone is located. There is also a small counter that sits two for informal meals. A French door leads to the backyard and a flagstone patio with the ocean just steps beyond a wind buffer of rosa ragosa. On a clear day there is a view of Chatham and Monomoy.

The other end of the kitchen leads back to the front hall so there is a U-shaped flow to foot traffic. A set of pull down stairs in the hall leads to the attic. An ample closet is also located there.

The wood trim has been stained a natural honey-wood color and doors match. There are two cute little bedrooms that are virtually the same with beige carpet and two windows. There are no closets in either. They share a bath with pink tub/shower, toilet and sink, tile and cabinet.

The master bedroom, which faces the ocean, also has beige carpet and a private bath with beige fixtures and a shower. It can be closed off with a pocket door - and there is a closet!

Outside there is an irrigation system to tend to the hydrangeas, yellow day lilies, rosa ragosa and the lawn. The plants chosen are hardy and carefree, giving the owner time to pursue other pleasures. On the side of the house there is an enclosed outdoor shower that probably gets a lot of use from beachgoers.

There is also exterior lighting, insulated doors, security system, window boxes, a picket fence with onion lamppost and a garden shed. Other amenities include wind instruments and built-in thermometer and barometer with read out instruments visible on the fireplace wall.

It's a nice neighborhood that's convenient to a marina, golf course, shopping and walking - and it will make you the most popular grandmother in the world.

Thought of the day

2006-03-22T02:45:00.000-05:00

"Do not build your dwelling-houses like temples, churches or cathedrals. Let them be, characteristically, dwelling houses...let the cottage be a cottage."

Andrew Jackson Downing (writing in The Horticulturist, 1848)

Wish I was here!

2006-03-22T02:41:00.000-05:00

What an incredible cottage, graced with equally incredible surroundings. This particular cottage is located in Norway. Just one of thousands of such quaint and marvelous homes to dot the landscape. Really makes me wish I was there!

What cottage life is all about

2006-03-22T02:09:00.000-05:00

The following is an autobiographical story by Dave Pollard. I chose it because it vividly captures a brief moment in a boy's life. Without a doubt, it was an experience made all the more poignant because of the surroundings and feelings associated with being in a natural environment. Forging lifelong memories like these are exactly what cottage living is all about.

* * *

Each summer my parents would take my brother and me to 'the lake' for our two-week vacation. 'The lake' was different from year to year, one of many lakes in the Whiteshell region of Eastern Manitoba, a couple of hours from where we lived in Winnipeg, or a little further East on the Ontario border at Lake of the Woods. In 1965 I had just turned fourteen, and my parents' choice that year was Green Bay Cabins on Caddy Lake. It had not been a good year for me, and like a lot of fourteen-year-olds I was pretty sullen. Two years earlier our cat Blackie had disappeared a few days before we left for 'the lake' and I had been distraught that my parents refused to cancel their vacation to look for him. Now going to 'the lake' had become an annual reminder of that trauma. That same year I had gotten my first glasses, and in the past year my acne had worsened (this was before retinoin and even tetracycline was prescribed for this condition). I hated myself, my genes, and my dependence on my parents and their stupid traditions. This year two couples, best friends of my parents, had agreed to rendezvous with us at Green Bay, and they had just arrived, their four children, all younger than me, in tow. The cabin was full and noisy and smoke-filled, and I took my transistor radio and fled, wandering down by the rocks and along the tiny beach of the resort. My interest in fishing with my father had disappeared, since I had concluded that the barbed lures hurt the fish, but I still collected the lures, dozens of them, displayed in my own tackle box. As long as I could remember I had collected things: Matchbox toys, bottle caps (if you timed it right the pop vendors would give you full bags of them when they emptied the machines), comic books (which I used to read and re-read, and then re-sort in the order I like them, writing down the lists with last week's and this week's ranking, just like the hit parade charts). And of course '45' records, which we kept in specially-designed boxes with handles so we could lug them to friends' parties. That year I'd bought Help Me Rhonda (Beach Boys, a disappointment), My Girl (The Temptations), Mrs. Brown You've Got a Lovely Daughter (Herman's Hermits), and my current favourite Tell Her No (The Zombies). Because everyone else was buying Satisfaction and every other Rolling Stones song, I refused to, just to be different. I was still thinking about getting What the World Needs Now, which seemed kind of wimpy to me, but I liked the message. The newest hit, one that I couldn't get out of my head and which got airplay everywhere, even in cottage country, was I Got You Babe, by Sonny & Cher. I was walking along the rocks singing along with it (another insult in my life was that my voice had changed the previous year, and my celebrated boy soprano voice had given way to a warble that was missing half an octave) and wishing it was dark so the more faraway radio stations would start coming in, like WLS Chicago with its R&B songs, that I listened to every night, the transistor playing through my pillow until I fell asleep. After I Got You Babe the cottage country radio station played the inevitable campfire song, Michael Row the Boat Ashore. I turned the radio around, trying to reduce the static, and sang: "Like a rose upon the shore, alleluia". Suddenly a girl's voice interrupted: "It's not 'Like a rose upon the shore', silly, it's 'Michael row the boat ashore.'" I spun around. She was about my age, maybe a year older, wearing jeans and an off-white fisherman's sweater. She was beautiful. And she was talking to me! I smiled, embarrassed, stunned. "No it isn't.", I replied. "That doesn't make any sense. Who's 'Michael' and why would he be rowing ashore?" She giggled, delightfully. My heart was racing and I was dizzy. She replied: "I don't know, but at camp we had all the words, and that's what they were. It's religious or something." Then, after a pause, "I liked you singing 'I Got You Babe' better." I blushed. She'd been listening to me. "It's a better song. But it's kind of confusing because their voices are so similar it's hard to tell them apart". We introduced ourselves -- her name was Barbara -- and wandered across the large rocks along the lakeshore. I was nervous, not knowing what to talk about, so I went faster and faster, sometimes slipping in the pools of water that had collected in the ridges of the rocks. It was like a tacit dare to see if she would try to keep up with me, but she did. At one point, I climbed onto a rock that was a couple of feet higher than the one before it, and I offered my hand to help her up. She accepted without hesitation. We were both breathless, and we stopped and sat on this, the tallest rock. I stared at the lake, and Barbara started telling me about lichens and other stuff she'd learned from reading about biology. For half an hour we sat cross-legged facing each other and talking about different things, mostly subjects she introduced. I hated myself for not knowing about anything interesting, for not knowing how to tell jokes, for not putting my Phisohex and my Acne cover-up cream on that morning. I tried not to stare, but at the same time I tried to memorize everything about her, not ever wanting to forget this moment or a single detail of her features, especially her waist-length sun-bleached brown hair. I was shaking, and it was not from the cool breeze coming in from the lake. Then Barbara said she had to go. They were packing -- this was the last day of their week here, and I cursed my luck and my parents for not coming a week earlier. But at the same time I was in a way relieved -- what would I have found to talk to her about for a whole week? She would have become bored and then I'd be even more miserable. She touched my hand as she rose to go, and said: "Maybe I'll see you here next year or something. Bye." I rose and watched her go, taking in every nuance of the movement of her body, and smiled as she turned back and waved. I raced back to the cottage, elated, making a mental note of the date and to ensure we returned to Green Bay a week earlier next year. I stood looking out the window at the rock we'd been sitting on as my mother offered me a Coke and some cheese and crackers. "Who was your friend?", she asked. "You two seemed to be getting along very well together." I told my mother her name was Barbara and that she was just packing to leave, and I moved away from the window to get some more cheese from the tray, left over from the lunch that I'd missed. "I can't remember seeing you sit still for that long at one time. Is she from Winnipeg, too?" my mother asked. "Did you get her address and telephone number?" "Mom, we just met", I replied. I was spinning around, pacing, sitting on the table kicking up my legs, singing:

Then put your little hand in mine There ain't no hill or mountain we can't climb, Babe. I got you babe, I got you babe. I got you to hold my hand, I got you to understand. I got you to walk with me, I got you to talk with me. I got you to kiss goodnight...

"Well it wouldn't have done any harm to at least ask for her address. You don't know if you'll ever see her again." She was right, of course, and this just made me feel worse. My mother was looking out the window. "There she goes, I think", she said. "She's carrying her suitcase to the parking lot. Last chance to ask her." Of course I did not move. I stood there leaning against the table, staring at the cheese, and trying to figure out what I could do, what I could say, that would have any chance of ending up any better than our already memorable parting. I came up empty. I was paralyzed, already nostalgic. Pathetic. For the next year I imagined what could have been, what might be the next summer. I sang a hit from the previous year "Wonderful Summer" in my head, and bought the '45' at a used record sale:

I want to thank you for giving me The most wonderful summer of my life It was so heavenly You meant the world to me And anyone could see that I was so in love I want to thank you for giving me The most wonderful summer of my life I never will forget That summer day we met You were so shy and yet you stole my heart away We strolled along the sand Walking hand in hand Then you kissed me and I knew That I would love you my whole life through I want to thank you for giving me The most wonderful summer of my life And though it broke my heart That day we had to part I'll always thank you for giving me The most wonderful summer of my life

At my insistence, we took holidays the next year a week earlier, and returned to Green Bay, but of course Barbara was not there. So I sang all the bitter, cynical songs instead: "It Ain't Me Babe" by the Turtles and "Like a Rolling Stone" by Bob Dylan.

Go lightly from the ledge, babe, Go lightly on the ground. I'm not the one you want, babe, I will only let you down. You say you're looking for someone Who will promise never to part, Someone to close his eyes for you, Someone to close his heart, Someone who will die for you and more, But it ain't me, babe, It ain't me you're looking for, babe.

Cottage Cheese Cheesecake!

2006-03-22T02:01:00.000-05:00

Yes, yet another cheesecake! I'm going through a definite cheesecake phase just now.... This one is also low-fat and my very first cheesecake with topping (although, it is the easiest topping in the world). The unique thing about this cheesecake is that the filling uses cottage cheese to minimise the amount of cream cheese needed. I was quite dubious about this, but it doesn't taste at all odd.

The cheesecake is smooth, creamy, firm (yet not dry at all) and amazingly it didn't crack at all! Actually, I've never had a cheesecake crack. I wonder if I'm doing something unusual?

Serves 12
WW points: 4.5 per slice (or 4 without topping)

Crust
6 reduced-fat digestive biscuits
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp plus 1 1/2 tsp reduced-fat margerine
2 tbsp finely chopped toasted pecans

Filling
650g non-fat cottage cheese (Sainsbury's sell a tub in this size)
2 8oz tubs extra light cream cheese, softened to room temperature (I used Philadelphia Extra-Light)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
200g caster sugar
3 tbsp cornflour
1 large egg

Topping
20 oz apple pie filling (original recipe called for reduced sugar, however I couldn't find this)

Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas Mark4.

Break the biscuits into pieces, place in the bowl of a food processor, and process into fine crumbs. Measure the crumbs, there should be 3/4 cup. Adjust the amount if necessary.

Return the crumbs to the processor, add the brown sugar and process for a few seconds to mix well. Add the margerine and process for about 20 seconds, or until moist and crumbly. Add the pecans, and process for a few seconds to mix well.

Coat a 9-inch springform tin with cooking spray, and use the back of a spoon to press the crumb mixture against the bottom and sides of the tin,, forming an even crust. (Periodically dip the spoon in sugar, if necessary, to prevent sticking.) Then use your fingers to finish ressing the crust firmly against the bottom and sides of the tin.

Bake for about 8 minutes, or until the edge feel firm and dry. Set aside to cool to room temperature before filling.

Turn the oven down to Gas Mark 3 if using a shiny tin, or Gas Mark 2 if using a dark tin.

To make the filling, place the cottage cheese in a large wire (fine mesh) sieve, and rinse with cool running water until all of the creaming mixture has been rinsed away. Using the bottom of a glass, push the curds against the bottom of the sieve to press out as much of the water as possible, leaving just the dry curds in the sieve.

Place the dry cottage cheese curds, cream cheese, cinnamon, vanilla extract, sugar and cornflour in the bowl of the food processor, and process until smooth. Add the egg and process to mix well.

Spread the batter over the crust and bake for 1 hour and 5 minutes until the center is firm to the touch (no jiggle!!). To minimise cracking, run a thin-bladed knife between the cheesecake and the collar of the tin. Turn the oven off, and allow the cheesecake to cool in the oven with the door ajar for 1 hour. Remove the cake from the oven, cover and chill for 6 hours.

Spread the pie filling over the top of the cheesecake, extending the filling to the edge of the cake, and chill for an additional 2 hours. Remove the collar of the pan just before serving. Enjoy!

A warning to Cottage-goers about Blastomycosis

2006-03-22T01:46:00.000-05:00

During the few summer months in Canada visiting cottages and lakes is a frequent leisure activity. Access to a second home – camp, cabin, chalet or cottage, whatever we call it – has a strong cultural significance for Canadians. The cottage, for many Canadians, is a paradise where extended family and friends gather together, where there is time for leisure and contact with nature.

Pulmonary blastomycosis can be difficult to diagnose and only 18% of patients were correctly suspected to have blastomycosis in an endemic area and are often initially misdiagnosed and treated as community acquired pneumonia, malignant tumor or tuberculosis resulting in unnecessary surgery and treatment delays. Patients typically presented with overwhelming acute blastomycosis pneumonia within a few weeks after visiting lakes and cottages. It is important for the patients to provide their history of stay at the cottages and lakes and contact with wet soil and decaying woods and for the physicians to be vigilant and consider this diagnosis early and request appropriate testing to reduce associated morbidity and mortality.

There are no specific prevention strategies. However, activities that bring individuals closer to rotting wood or moist soil near water are associated with a greater risk especially in endemic areas.

A visit to cottages and lakes in the represents a paradise for many Canadians where they spend most of their summers relaxing and participating in outdoor activities that may expose them to Blastomyces dermatitidis. The purpose of this article is not to illustrate the drawbacks of these activities but to increase the awareness of blastomycosis to the public, visitors to endemic areas and healthcare providers.

Composting toilets are ideal for the cottage

2006-03-22T01:41:00.000-05:00

Often when one thinks of a composting toilet, they think of a cottage, cabin or one of the other terms used to describe a vacation home. Other common terms are chalets, camps, log homes, country homes, retreats, trailers, etc. This is especially true in North America.

Composting toilets have proven to be a viable sanitation solution for the cottage. As you probably know, composting toilets use little or no water at all and come in a selection of power choices, including non-electric, 12VDC battery and 120VAC electric.

Often, these spots are free of running water and electricty. But, they can also have all the bells and whistles of a modern city dwelling. Some are lakefront properties and some are deep in the woods.

Special Considerations

• Be sure to choose a system that will handle your family and your guests! Cottages & cabins will often have extra visitors so be prepared to handle them all! • Check local regulations regarding draining, if required. The rules usually are in place to make sure any drainage is a certain distance from any river, lake, well, etc. • Be sure to educate any guests on how to use the system, or more importantly, how not to use the system! Put a sign or instruction sheet up on the bathroom wall telling visitors how to treat your composting toilet system. Most things are common sense, like not adding cigarette butts or garbage, but better safe than sorry. This is especially important if you rent out your cottage or cabin.

Article of interest to buyers

2006-03-22T01:32:00.000-05:00

A new article published by the Toronto Star has some more good news for Cottage Buyers in the Ontario region.

"Buyer resistance to higher recreational property values has put the brakes on price appreciation in many Ontario markets,"

You can check out the whole article here: Cottage prices levelling off, reawakening ownership dreams

Looking to Buy?

2006-03-22T01:31:00.000-05:00

According to a new ReMax Report on Recreational Properties, cottage properties are still in demand, but the trend toward higher prices across Ontario is levelling off:

This is all good news to those seeking buy. And no surprise to anyone who's looked at the densities in the cottage country surrounding Toronto, the study also notes how a scarcity in good shoreline property is leading to an increase in teardowns and infill, but what might be useful for the sellers to know is how properties in our area are now tending to sell to foreign buyers.

WiFi at the Cottage (followup)

2006-03-22T01:27:00.000-05:00

At first glance, the idea of having a wireless hotspot at your cottage might seem appealing. Imagine sitting on the dock, taking in the sunset, all the while chatting away with friends on Messenger or perhaps even blogging. On the other hand, having a WiFi hotspot at the cottage strikes me as almost counterproductive. The purpose of having a cottage is to have a quiet, relaxing place to unwind. Maybe bringing the computer up to the cottage with you defeats that purpose. Just a thought, for your early-morning consideration.

WiFi at the Cottage

2006-03-22T01:25:00.000-05:00

For cottage managers and motel, campground or cafe operators planning to offer local area wireless Internet (WiFi), getting in the game just got a lot easier. All you need now is an old Pentium, a low-cost wireless router, and the ZoneCD:

ZoneCD is a bootable CD with software pre-configured to create a WiFi gateway.

You can find out more about ZoneCD and its potential uses at the cottage by visiting PUBLICip

A Recipe for Cottage Pie

2006-03-22T01:19:00.000-05:00

This one'll keep you warm and cozy on those colder winter nights up at the cottage. Cottage Pie For the filling: 400 grams ground beef or beef steaks (I ground half the meat myself in the food processor) 1 cup chopped onions and/or shallots 1 tomato, chopped 1 tsp fresh or frozen basil 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 3 anchovies 1 clove garlic, chopped finely 1 cup roasted tomato sauce (or your favourite tomato sauce) 3-4 Tbs Worcestershire sauce (it's hard to measure) 1/2 cup red wine 4 Tbs ketchup 1 tsp beef Better than Boullion paste 1 Tbs flour 2 Tbs butter dash of Lawry's salt For the topping: 400 grams potatoes 1/4 cup milk 4-5 Tbs butter Salt and pepper to taste Peel the potatoes and set them to boil in salted water. In the meantime, soften the onions or shallots in a deep frying pan with the garlic and the olive oil. Add the ground beef and turn up the heat under the pan to cook more quickly. Depending on the fat content of the beef, you may want to drain the meat and onions after this step. Then gradually add the rest of the filling ingredients, saving the flour for last. Let the whole mixture simmer for fifteen minutes or so to allow it to thicken. In the meantime, (providing they are done) drain the potatoes and mash them with the milk and butter. Taste for salt and pepper and be generous with both. Pour the filling into a deep oven safe dish. If you want, you could make the dish in advance up to this point and just refrigerate the filling and the potatoes separately. In fact, it does make it a little easier, as the cold filling can support the potatoes better. In any case, when your oven is hot (200c/375f) carefully spoon the potatoes over the top and use the back of a spoon to spread it neatly over the whole. Bake for about 35 minutes at 200c or a couple of hours in a slow oven if you are lucky enough to have an Aga!

Thomas Kinkade

2006-03-22T01:01:00.000-05:00

Kinkade is a painter best known for his cottage and nature scenes. It was nine paintings into his oeuvre that he attempted his first cottage scene. The Blue Cottage (shown at left) differs from much of the later variations on the theme because of its simplicity in its use of light and color. But it also contains something missing from almost all of his later cottage paintings: humans.

Kinkade justifies the absence of people in his picturesque scenarios because he doesn’t want to exclude any viewers from being able to step into the fantasy. "When you paint people, you limit people," Kinkade explains, offering the example of a hypothetical Vietnamese-American family. "Why would they want to look at a picture of a dozen white people sitting around a Thanksgiving table?"

Adults hang paintings of Kinkade’s paintings of cottages in their living room for the same reason that little girls put posters of unicorns and rainbows on their bedroom walls. It is pseudo-referential nostalgia; a longing for what does not exist in reality but exists in the fantasy realm of possibility.

No other painting epitomizes this nostalgia for a place that never existed better than Cottage by the Sea (shown at right). As Kinkade explains:

Though this cottage doesn't exist anywhere but in my painting, I think for many of us it represents an ideal seaside getaway. Of course, I had to paint the scene at sunset. After all, what would a seaside cottage be without a beautiful sunset to watch?

What is so inspiring about this painting is that rather than being created in order to be challenging, it's intended only to be comforting. It invites the viewer to enter a world of unnatural nature, a world where the “light” comes from within, and the warmth comes not from the receding sun but from inside the walls of the perfect shelter. The cottage is a self-contained safe place where the viewer can shut himself in and get away from the harsh realities of creation, particularly away from other people. The Cottage by the Sea offers a place where the viewer can enter the perfect world of Kinkade's creation -- and escape the messy world of Kinkade’s Creator.

A Poem

2006-03-21T16:45:00.000-05:00

A cottage small be mine, with porch Enwreathed with ivy green, And brightsome flowers with dew-filled bells, 'Mid brown old wattles seen. -- Daniel Henry Deniehy

Making your cottage comfortable

2006-03-21T16:20:00.000-05:00

For me, a cozy arrangement of comfortable furniture makes me feel "at home". Even the arrangement of the furniture takes a backseat to comfort. If I can sink into a fluffy chair with a cup of something devine and an engaging novel, the day will melt right away on me. The living room should be arranged more for conversations than for TV watching. Lots of light and fresh air coming in through the windows. Fresh flowers, wonderful smells from the kitchen, and kid’s art or snapshots on the fridge. It should be easy to start a conversation, even for people visiting your cottage for the first time, because it is full of the personal belongings that reflect the values and interests of the people who live there – books, art, collections, a sewing project, pet toys, a piano, or maybe a child’s science fair project. Sleeping on great flannel sheets in the winter, and cool crisp cotton in the summer. A quilt on the bed.

For the colder part of the year, there is nothing like a beautiful fire in the fireplace or woodstove and the smell of fresh baked sticky buns baking in the oven. I love berber throws in the winter and wicker in the summer. Throw in a glass of wine or a good cup or coffee, my favorite people and a few rounds of Monopoly and I'm having a great day. During the warmer months a big pitcher of lemonade served on the porch. Informal furniture, some antiques tossed in, and always a dog at my feet--any time of year. That's what makes a cottage comfortable. A true home away from home.

Howdy

2006-03-21T16:15:00.000-05:00

I've finally gotten together a blog, much to the delight of my friends and fellow cottage owners who have frequently expressed a desire to have a resource like this. I hope to keep this page frequently updated with ideas and articles related to the cottage life.