October, 2013

Is this a great life, or what?
This is where we take our beach walks near our house

Home sweet home

Well, we are back home in California.  After the usual week of 'closing up the island' chores, we boarded the plane and headed home. We have the routine down so pat, we could do this blindfolded. Toss one set of car and house keys in the travel bag and pull out the next. I traveled with one set of underwear, socks and shirt only because we had an overnight in Syracuse for scheduled medical check ups for Janice before flying out. Otherwise, everything we will want or need (except my airplane) is here.

Once again, our return here will not be all fun and games. Last year we did a total makeover of the interior of the house over the 4 months we were here. This year calls for my re-roofing the house. Considering that a dome is 85% roof, it will be quite a task. Heck, while we are at it, we will replace the fireplace and some appliances too. Next year promises to have its own set of projects but like the Bee and the house in France, the biggies will be out of the way, allowing for way more free time.

We spent the first week getting ourselves organized, ordering supplies and working out the logistics. There was also the issue of getting my workshop put back together after it had served as a storage unit for all of our furniture as well as my tools over the previous 8 years while the house was rented out. 

Much to my dismay, I spent days clearing out 'stuff' that I had hoarded in silly expectation of 'possibly' needing some day. I would hold anything I came across the way a clothes dryer holds lint. When you are a serious DIY guy, no bit of wire, wood or metal is ever seen as trash, only reserve stock that 'might' serve a purpose....some day.


Fair enough, but when you have enough stuff hoarded for 3 lifetimes worth of projects, it was time to get my head out of my a**, it is not a hat.

I never used the building as a workshop last year as I was strictly working on my hands and knees in the house, laying what seemed to be acres of Travertine floor tile over the entire main level of the house. But now, I am ready to get down to business.

San Luis Obispo Farmers market

We are enjoying getting back into the swing of things here, like hanging out at the Thursday night farmers market In San Luis Obispo. A bit of a misnomer, as it as much of a market (After all, California is the land of 'fruits and nuts') as it is a street fair. The main drag is closed to vehicles and thousands of people turn it into a 10 block party. Home to some of the best BBQ on the planet, it is accompanied by street musicians and  all manner of vendors hawking their wares. And yes, every religious zealot and fruity loop organization known to man was there to make their pitch. 

Including Democrats, of course.

I had one ask me to sign up and I said "Great! That way we could go down together with all the warmth of companions locked up in the steerage compartment of the Titanic".

The Little Free Library

Revisited

Last month, I wrote about the Cottage Life Magazine folks who came out to do an article on the Bee for next next summers edition of the magazine. However, there is another very popular online magazine in the area called "Thousand Island Life". With a subscription base of 5,000 readers, it is targeted to the hard core Thousand Islanders. Our friend Kim had written an article about the Bee back in 2009 and after the little blurb in Cottage life last month, the editor of Thousand Island Life asked us to write about the Little Free Library for them also.The result, as seen below, was published this morning. You can also read it online HERE.

 Final thoughts for season

Shortly before we left the Bee, a friend asked me if I was ever put in a situation where I had to choose, which home would I prefer to live in? Over the years we have been asked this by folks on both sides of the Atlantic and our answer is always the same.

"It would be like asking us which one of our kids would we save if they were all drowning?" we say. The day may come where we will have to pull back some, but it is not today or as far out as we can see. We simply cannot envision being in one place year round. Once we had a taste of this incredible lifestyle, we simply couldn't go back. 

Try to imagine your life being reduced to a third of what you currently have. That is how we would feel if we stopped doing what we do. Shudder the thought. 

One thing I did discover this summer though was just how much fun Jet Skiing is. We had always thought that is would be a blast but other priorities and our usual state of abject poverty kept us from finding out. Finally, at the end of last season we picked up a pair and I rode the tar out of mine this summer. I have to say that it is second only to flying on the thrill factor and I intend to do much more of it and farther afield next summer. It is an absolute rush!

Second only to flying in fun and usually easier to land

September, 2013

A lazy summer day at the Bee

Cottage Life visits Honey Bee

Last month I wrote that a photographer from Cottage Life Magazine came to take pictures of our Little Free Library for this months edition of the magazine. It was a kind of  "look at this cute little thing these folks did at their cottage" sort of segment that you can see below. 

While here, the photographer snapped 'scouting' pictures of every square inch of the cottage, inside and out. After the editors reviewed his shots, they called us and asked if they could send a writer to spend two days with us to rake us over the coals ...eh...interview us all (Cassie, Steve and Kayla participated also) and pry one war story after another out of us regarding the multi-year construction and rehabilitation project that was the Bee.

Janice being interviewed

After talking the writer's ear off, the photographers showed up a day later to spend another two days with us to shoot the pics they would use in the 10 page feature article to be published next summer. (They work a year ahead)

Photographers using reflectors 
to light up their subject "just right".

Unbelievably, they took a total of 3,700 pictures in two days. All this to end up with a dozen pics or so they will use in the feature.  Rather serious about it all they showed up with lights, reflectors, step ladders (to shoot from a higher vantage)  and a plethora of other equipment. They even took pictures of us swimming from under water!

When it rains, it pours!

We Have been bracing ourselves for this all summer. First, we had daughter Cassie and husband Steve join us from the West Coast for a week. This was Steve's introduction to island life and to put a face on Cassie's stories about all the work she helped with in our early years here. Just as important, they took little Kayla away after 75 days with Nana and Papa. Whew!

Days later, cousins Monte and Cinde showed up from their Nebraska farm for a look see that was planned when they came out to visit us in California last December. During their short visit we saw Fort Henry (The Canadian West Point) in Kingston and managed a day in Ottawa, Canada's capital where we toured the parliament buildings and the Rideau canal. Now if we can only get them to France...

Monte and Cinde at the Parliament buildings in Ottawa

Speaking of France, last but certainly not least, village friends Philippe and Evelyn came out for an 11 day adventure and first visit to North America. We picked them up in Montreal and and are in the process of giving them the grand tour of the extended region on both the US and Canadian sides of the border. 

Philippe and Evelyn at the top of Whiteface mountain at Lake Placid in the Adirondaks

Finally, Janice and I sneaked off for a visit to Brimfield Massachusets. Recently, we read an article about an antique show held there 3 times a year. It turns out that the Brimfield show is the largest antiques show in the world with over 6,000 dealers and 130,000+ visitors. 

It runs about a mile along Route 20, on both sides of the road, extending several hundred yards back from each side of the road. Most show their wares inside large tents, and all fields are contiguously located next to each other, so seeing everything is an easy stroll.

Calling it an antiques show is a bit of a misnomer as you can find everything from a transformer on a power pole to a door from the Paris subway. It is a splendid place to find the eclectic one of a kind art pieces we love. Years ago, I missed out on buying a two foot (60cm) piece of a stalactite from a cave because I was too stupid to appreciate that it was available. 

Then, over the years I missed getting a 16th century silver chalice because I was too aggressive while trying to negotiate for a better price. I missed getting a 14th century Portuguese Venetian sailing ships wooden rudder that Janice wanted to use as a coat rack because we were DI-5K-BAH-FB (Double income, 5 kids, building a house and flat broke)  Same-same for the steel entry gates to the Houdini estate.

We are now exploring ways to have that 500 pound (225 kilos) 4'X8' (1.3M X 2.6M) steel door from the Paris subway seen below shipped to California. Covering it with a piece of glass would make a fine office desk, don't you think? OK, so it is not for everybody, but it is us, to a T.

Pirate days on the river. We take our fun very seriously
 around here and make sure to keep the pirates hydrated

As I close, we are but a week away from our trimester countdown. That's the last week we are in this house having to close up and head to the airport for home. Let's see... if this is mid September, we must be heading to California! Meanwhile, we have a plane, car, boats, jet skis and a house to tuck in for the next 8 months. It's a lot of work having this much fun.

Stewards of paradise.
Sunrise from our bedroom at the Bee makes it all worthwhile

OK, now for this month's parenting advice:

August 2013

Welcome to our world

We are thrilled to welcome James Wyatt Lindor to the family. Born August 6th to proud parents Vance and Amy, he joins his 5 other brothers and sisters in the menagerie. We couldn't be happier that everyone is doing well. You go, little man!

One in 130,000

In 2008, Janice began spilling the beans to friends that I was going ahead and would learn to fly. Many (including you, perhaps) thought I was crazy. When she added that I would build the airplane to learn to fly in, you knew for sure I was crazy. 

I was determined to build it in one summer (2009) and be flying before my 60th birthday in 2010. Alas, the best laid plans of mice and men.  Once finished,  I did get to fly it for a few hours in 2012 thanks to Ian, but my instruction finally got of to a start in late June this summer. Last month I wrote that I was progressing  but I was  not quite ready to apply for a job with American Airlines. 

A month ago I was a know nothing wanna be. A month later, I know just enough not to be dangerous. That is, a wet behind the ears, low hours sky pilot. My instructor was fond of reminding me that when together, we had 4030 hours of experience in the cockpit. When I went off on my own, we had 30 hours of experience in the cockpit. It makes a difference.

 I am thrilled to report that the deed is done. I flew solo on August 13th, 2013 and I am beyond the moon! It took me 23,220 days on this earth before I reached the point where, on my own "I slipped the surly bonds of earth, put out my hand and touched the face of God". I felt the fluttering in my heart, an inexplicable sense of excitement. I was as happy as a puppy wagging two tails.

Of course I would never tell anyone but you of those inner demon fears that could have haunted me. Like that I would have built an airplane that in the end could not even fly, even though 3,500 others identical to it do. Nor would I ever have said anything about the fear that the plane would fly just fine but as a pilot I would simply never get the hang of it and wash out. Still, I continued to push myself way out of my comfort zone. I could not have lived with myself had I not.

I simply decided to take Mark Twain's advice. "Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover"

There are roughly only 1 pilot for every 1,300 people in the US, with a similar ratio of airplanes.  8% of the planes are built in a non commercial setting and only 1 in five of that small number were built and are flown by their owners. That being the case, there are only 1 meticulously hand crafted, exquisitely custom built airplanes (what some disparagingly call home built's) actually built and flown by the owners themselves for every 130,000 people in the country. I am incredibly grateful to be one of them.

What a spectacular retirement this is.

Fun, fun and more fun

For the past umpteenth years, we have regaled you with stories of one household renovation project after another. While we obviously enjoy them, it would be understandable if you thought that I was simply incapable of not doing any and of just spending time goofing around.

OK, so you are mostly right. After 10 summers of doing serious work around here with little time to lollygag about, this summer is the exception. Yes there are still projects to do. Some pretty good ones too. But, this is the first summer where to date, we have just visited places (to some extent because we have Kayla), entertained, goofed off, Jet Skied around and of course, I fly.

Is it legal to have this much fun?

Again?

Five years ago, Cottage Life did a little write up on our dock bench. This is a Canadian publication that covers all manner of cottage living pretty much anywhere. With a subscription base of 900,000 people, they are the definitive resource for the lifestyle. We had brought our sons old surfboard from California and I turned it into a dock bench by adding a few legs to it and they wanted to share the concept with their readers.

  
Last summer, the local papers here took turns doing cute little write ups on our Little Free Library. This summer, we got an email from Cottage Life Magazine again.

They too wanted to do a short write up on the only boat access Little Free Library in the world, which happens to be at a cottage. Ours. So they sent a photographer all the way from the big city of Toronto to little old us and he shot pictures of the library to his hearts content. That story will be published in their magazine at the end of this month. Then, he spent hours shooting pictures of every inch of the island and the house.  

Shortly thereafter, we got a call from the magazine's editor who had reviewed his portfolio, and asked if they could send a couple of their people for two days to photograph  and write a full feature story about the Bee for a 2014 publication date. Cottage life publishes 6 times a year so they have months of lead time for each edition.

It would not matter when they came as we would always feel that we are not quite ready, there is always more to 'finish', improvements planned, and better, nicer, yada yada to come. What they will get is where we are at at this stage and time.  Next year, as is the case every year, we plan to make it better.

Pee Wee's Big Adventure
(Nova Scotia or Bust!)

I made a quick trip to Nova Scotia this month. I was invited by my flight instructor to drive there with an other fellow ( he is a wanna be pilot also) who had purchased a plane identical to mine and wanted our instructor (Claude) to fly it back.  By tagging along, the owner and I were able to split the 2000 mile (3200 Km) drive and fly time back.

 

I wish I could say that I was invited along due to my superior flying skills, but as Claude reads this blog also and is now probably laughing so hard he is choking, the truth is that I was like the fat kid picked last on the playground to join a game as there was no one else available.

No matter, I was thrilled to be part of the invaluable experience of cross country flying, new airports, navigation and all of the details involved in this kind of flying. We flew 5 hours a day for 3 days to get back.

The view from the magic carpet

I felt like a Peeping Tom, peering in everyone's back yard from 1-2,000 feet (3-600 M) for hundreds of miles. For the geographically challenged, Nova Scotia is a Canadian Province (its like a State) on the East Coast, located on the map due South of the North Pole and West of Iceland. Regionally, it is also East of Maine and West of of a place called Newfoundland.

Meanwhile, this was our second week of island rental for the summer so Janice and I set up a home exchange that we initially thought we would spend the week at until this Nova Scotia thing came up. Janice and Kayla spent the week at  a 3500+ sq ft stunning home (325 sq M) on the water across from the Canadian capital of Ottawa. 

With a beach outside the dining room window and a place big enough to get lost in, they were pretty comfortable during my absence. 

Meanwhile back at the Bee, the girls get snuggle time

Out exploring the secret garden

There is magic in the air 

Its hard to explain what magic is to a 4 year old. Fantasy and reality all blend together and its pretty much all the same. But, Kayla got a real wake up call this month. I was explaining to her that it was possible that fairies could move onto the island but she didn't believe it. 

So, we had  her sprinkle some fairy dust near a tree by the cabin door and rest her magic wand next to it overnight. She came out the next morning and to her stunned amazement found that they had indeed moved in. Now a true believer, she spent the day trying to turn us into frogs with her powerful wand. 

We too were shocked when on a subsequent day we found a note that had been written by the fairies. Proof positive  that they exist and live here. Don't believe me? Just ask Kayla.

Click once on the photo

 Aunt Mandy is to be thanked for coming up with the idea when she is not too busy running the law office she works at.