Okay two updates in one day.  I have to respond to the two comments that were put up on the previous blog.

To anonymous-When you ask me how many inches of snow is here what would you like me to do.  Trot outside with my yard stick and measure. When eight inches of snow fall today it settles into four inches of snow tomorrow.  I write descriptively not specifically.  When I say if you haven't had your cottage driveway plowed you will be walking in picture  in your mind how much snow that would be!!!  If you are a sledder and they are grooming realize that that is enough snow to go sledding.  I could measure the 1 to 3 foot snow banks (depending on where they plowed or the 1 inch left in the driveway.  I am slopping through the side yard to measure.  If you want specifics call Frankie whats his name from BT and ask how many inches have fallen.

To the guy that wants pictures you have not read previous blogs where I talk about being technically challenged.  It is all that I can to to sync my iPhone and iPad.  I do take pics and if I figure out how to load them I don't know how to get them back later.  I never figure out what a jpg1234566789 is.

I will try for pics because it does look beautiful and if you are not able to come  up it would be nice to see.

So people keep in mind that I am a dotty owner with a sharp tongue and no patience.  I do not run the LSP weather station.  I will do my best to keep you informed.  Keep the comments coming though they do amuse me.

Thank you for letting me rant once more.  (Smiley face here if I knew how to do it).

Cheers
Nancy

Well all of the festivities should be over but not at my house.  Due to kids with various work schedules and other activities we still have three more family dinners this week, and guess who gets to cook them.  Oh well there is not travelling involved and we get to see almost everyone eventually.

The snow continues to fall.  Not lots just snow.  Not too  much yesterday but we are expecting more today.  It is however COLD!  -8 is the high for today.  -19 when I got up at 7:00 this morning.

I am seeing by the number of hits the site is getting that I had better step up to the plate and update more often.  But with Brian M here for a week that will lower the hits by half I'm sure.

Here's a shout out to the truck driver that Brian met in Brockville or somewhere down there while they were both making deliveries at the same location.  Small world they got chatting about things and realized that the both sledded and ate at the diner regularly.  So if you read this one say hey the next time you stop in.

I'm told that grooming is to start today so I will update on where when I hear more.  I will check with riders in today (and there better be some) to see how trail conditions are.

Well that's it for today.  I have to get ready for work.  I am opening up this morning so the staff can have more time off.  What a great boss I am.

You will see some  new faces around the diner this winter. I have 2 new cooks and two new servers.  Every one is fitting in well and we should have a great season.

Back in a day or two.

Cheers
Nancy

It's still snowing and hasn't stopped since Thursday.  We have a ton of snow.  If you don't have your driveway plowed you will be walking into your cottage!!!!!

It's looking really pretty up here and if I were more tech savey I would post some pictures to back me up.

No grooming yet but lots of sledders in.

Merry Christmas, happy holidays and safe drives for everyone.

Cheers
Nancy

WE HAD OUR FIRST SLEDDERS IN.  YEEE HAW!!!

Even though we have been snow covered for quite some time it was a welcome sight to get the dumping of snow that we got overnight.  This will be the first time in a couple of years that I will have to have the lot plowed twice in one day.  But today is the day.

Both Mink Lake and  Lake St. Peter are frozen over.  Now I wouldn't be ice fishing just yet but if it continues to stay this cold it won't be long.

The sledders in today said that the trails were great but then they were the first ones on them.  If the snow keeps up like this they will be grooming before we know it.

Not much new or exciting in LSP.  Same on stuff just covered in snow now.  Town is as busy as an August weekend today.  It seems that Christmas sneaks up and surprises everyone not just me.

On a sad note the big white duck (Sherman) that lived in the pond next to the diner is no longer with us.  It seems that a fox or martin slipped in and snatched him up.  Poor Sherman.  I'm sure that most of you were just like me and you looked for him every time you drove or walked by the pond.  He was always there sitting on the log or the dock.  He was kept very busy this summer trying to protect his food from the geese that would visit the pond.  They were always trying to snitch some of it. 

The diner will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day but open Boxing Day from noon til 7:00 pm.

Have a Very Merry Christmas.  Safe travels and lots of fun.  Hope we see you over the holidays.

I'll be back next week, sooner if they start grooming.

Cheers
Nancy

Well it was beginning to look a lot like Christmas around here until the rain Sunday hit.  Now it just looks like the end of March.

It is to be mild for most of the week.  So let's all get out there and do the snow dance.  We need snow.  This mild damp weather is painful!!  Come on people shake what your mama gave you.  I can't do this all by myself.

The new Case groomer arrived back in LSP on the weekend.  It was looking good until Lionel went out to start it so that the engine would be warm when they unloaded it from the float.  When he shut the door of the groomer the front window exploded out all over the front of it.  Some assembly required before grooming. 

Don't forget the Santa Claus Parade in Maynooth next weekend.  5:00 pm and lots of activities going on in town all day. 

The new guys have taken over the Arlington Hotel in Maynooth.  They are planning some events including live music on Dec 8  in the evening after the parade.  If you can imagine it will be opened during the day and even on the weekends!! Go figure.  Good luck guys I hope you do well.

They will also be open to sledders for accommodation and drinks.  Limited food for now but gas just accross the road and lots of parking for trucks and trailers.

I am going away next Friday for one week so no updates even if it does snow.

That's it for now.
Get that shopping done.
Cheers
Nancy

It looks like fall may be coming to an end.  We have woken up to snow three or four times so far, but the last time it stayed.  We got a couple of inches on Tuesday and there is still some on the ground in places that don't get the sun.  It has been beautiful.  Cold but sunny and now sort of snowy.  If it's going to snow it should snow and stay, not come and go.

The bridge work on 127 is now completed.  Lights have been down for a couple of weeks now and the paving is done also. 

The bridge replacement at Mink Lake is also finished ahead of schedule.  The residents were to be out for three weeks and they had it replaced and finished in less than two weeks.  A good job and a great bunch of guys.  We fed them three times a day and you couldn't have asked for a nicer group.

Snowmobile permits are selling.  Don't forget to get yours before December 1st to get the lower rate.  I have decided that we are going to have lots of snow this winter so the sledding season should be awesome!!!

The Santa Clause parade in Maynooth is Saturday, December 8th at 5.00 pm.  It is a great parade for a small village with a great turn out.  If you can make it up you won't be disappointed.

This is the end of the deer hunt for most people.  Some had good luck, some not so much (sorry Brian, better luck next year).  It's good to hear that the women are all holding up their end this year with great success.  In one camp four were shot in one week, three by the same lady.

I finally had to take my sandals off last week.  I don't know why, I just did.  I miss my sandals already.  Now its back to sorting socks again.  Grrrr 

Well again it took me so long to post that if there was a touching story or a bone head play I've forgotten it (socking) so I will end now.

Back I hope before the end of the month and for sure when the snow flies.

Go Argos Go!!!!

Cheers
Nancy

Well not only is labour day long gone but now Thanksgiving is only a memory.  It was a good thing that it came early because the changing leaves came early also.  Most of the colour is gone, just the yellows are left but it still looks pretty driving down a narrow side road.

Snowmobile season must be just around the corner.  We have permits to sell and a sign out front saying so (which was recently moved by the road workers, they said it was too close to the hwy).  Funny I have had a sign advertising propane sales, ice sales and the permit sign up for years and no one has ever had a collision with all the reading available out front but we must take them all down anyway.  You crazy drivers we must protect you from yourselves!!!  But I digress.  I know that snowmobile season is coming soon because we have had snow about three times so far.  Nothing to get all excited about.  I am still wearing my sandals, after all it is still only October.  But it has been enough to remind us that Mother Nature is getting ready to challenge us all again. Bring it on lady.  I'm ready for you.

This week is Moose hunting week.  Things are pretty quiet around here.  Not the normal table of gossip and BS with most of the old boys out trekking through the bush.  There was an accident yesterday.  A hunter fell out of his tree stand (no this isn't the start of a joke) just off the Mink Lake Road and was hurt.  It was difficult to get him out of the bush but they did so and he was airlifted to hospital in the ORANG helicopter.  No word on how serious.

After the moose hunt there is a week in between and then the deer hunt starts for two weeks.  Another quiet time except for the wives that treat themselves to dinner with the husbands away.

The work on the bridges is almost complete.  One bridge had the barrier down and just cones now.  The other will not be far behind.  Just another couple of weeks I think.

Well not much to report that I can remember.  It is so long between postings that I forget all the good stuff by the next time.  Oh well.

That's it for now---oh and by the way---Hi Dave!!!!

Cheers
Nancy

Holy moly.  I can't believe that September is almost over.  I'm sure it was just labour day a week ago.

We were crazy busy on the long weekend and then the wheels fell off.  It's been like that all month.  Either so busy it's hard to keep up or so slow I get a serious case of drop ass.  Which is why there have been no updates.

September has been a great month even though it is getting pretty cold at night.

The bear hunters did not do too well this year.  There were lots around all summer and then all of a sudden they must have gotten the memo and all disappeared.

The bone head play of the week goes to guess who--Pick me, pick me.  I was changing my clothes to come to work the evening shift and thought I'd be clever and do a load of wash first.  When I got back to the diner and was looking for my cell phone it occurred to me that I had left it in my pants pocket.  You guessed it, the ones that just got washed.  Sadly two days in a bag of rice did not fix it and I am now going to get another.  I was happy being a dinosaur with my iPhone 3.  I don't need a 5 and the 4rs are almost as much as a 5.  Oh what to do.  My smart ass son said, "I guess iPhone doesn't have an app for everything."   What does he know he is a Blackberry snob.

On a sad note our weekend morning server Shelia's husband passed away after a brief illness this week. Our thoughts are with her and she would like to come back to work after a few weeks.

The leaves are turning quickly and are beautiful.  It's a good thing that Thanksgiving is early this year.  If it was much later there may not have been any left.

I was planning to be opened last Sunday during the planned power outage.  But after much fiddling around the generator finally pooped out.  It is not old just cranky I guess.  So about 12:30 I threw in the towel and took the rest of the day off.  All went well and the power was back on by 7:00.

That's about it for now.  It's kind of sad to see the cottagers leaving for the season. But soon the sledders will be back and we will be on to the next season.  Oh I can hear the groans from here!!!

I hope you make it up for the long weekend and we have a great one.

Cheers
Nancy

I have been scolded for not updating often enough so here goes again. 

Bye the way---Hi Dave!

I can't believe how fast the summer has passed.  It must be officially over because the Christmas Wish Book is out already.

August has proved again to be busier than July.  It seems to have been that way for a few years now. 

I finally have an amusing story to tell.  There have been many this summer but most I am not able to share over the internet.  It wouldn't be good for tourisim.

However Matt and Penny Nichol from Highland Wilderness Tours on East Lake Rd were in for dinner last night.  They have a great opperation there.  They offer snowmobiling and ATV tours as well as horsebackriding and they even offer a week long riding camp.  Matt was telling me that a woman called up to inquire about ATVing. Her most urgent question was how fast do they go.  She wanted to know that she could go fast enough that she wouldn't be attacked by a bear!!!  Matt assured her that he could gaurantee 100% that she would not be attacked by a bear while ATVing.  After asking a few more questions she then asked if she got a larger group together would it be even safer still concerning the bear attack.  Matt replied  again that just like the small group a larger group would not be attacked by a bear.  That was the last he heard of her.  I am thinking that this lady should NEVER leave the GTA.  Bowmaville to Oakville should be her limit and no farther north than Steeles Ave.  Even Hwy 7 is too far north.

Oh by the way--Hi Dave

Our float down the lake, although amusing, was not as successful as we had hoped.  Who knew that two men with a total weight of 550 lbs would not be able to control a paddleboat very well. It seems they work better when they sit higher in the water.  We did get rained on but we were lucky enough to find refuge in a friends gazebo. (Thanks D.B.) Each time we struck out to head back to the truck it would rain again.  Finally Doug just walked back to the truck (while we had a bevvy in the dry gazebo) and picked us and the various floating things up and we came back home for a BBQ and a post mortom on the day.  Oh well another chapter in the book and we will try again next year.  Back to the drawing board.

Oh by the way--Hi Dave

This will be the last year for the loggers games in Maynooth so if you haven't been over the last 20 years you should give it a look see this year.  The Mud Dawgs will be holding there event on the Sunday as usual.

The great weather is back again so I'm sure it will be a busy weekend aroung the village this weekend.  There sure are a lot of trailers driving by every day.  Algonquin must still be hopping.  I know the LSP park is still busy.

Well that's it for now.  I have to take the stinky dog to the groomers for a bath.  He smells like the dried out swamps he has been finding all summer and I can't stand it anymore.

By now you must have figured that it was Dave that scolded me.  He said that even if I wasn't updating could I just say Hi Dave once in a while.  So Hi Dave.

Have a great weekend and long weekend if I don't get back before.
Hope we see you soon.
Cheers
Nancy

Whew-The long weekend has come and gone and it feels like August is almost over.  I notice it getting darker in the evening and the mornings are duller now.  I came over this morning about 5:45 and it was barely light. 

We are finally getting the long needed rain this week.  It is not enough to life the fire ban yet because it just rains for such a short time then stops. 

The internet theft continues and so do the games that go with it.  I wonder if this could ever be an Olympic sport.  Now sneaky thieves are coming to the diner after 8:00.  Do they not think that I won't come over in my PJ's and unplug the system.  A woman came by three times yesterday.  Twice during the day and once after 8:00.  Now wouldn't it just have been easier to come in, spend $5.00 do whatever it is you have to do and be done with it.  It was a lovely day.  Who wants to get in the car and drive over here three times just to steal internet.  Really some people do not put enough value on their free time.  Just like the Olympics ending so will this game.  I am learning how to change the password and will do it regularly.

But just when you think you have seen it all, and I really should know better, someone comes in to add to the list.  I had a couple in here to use the internet this morning and they wanted to share a cup of tea.  Seriously how do you share a cup of tea when you both want your own cup to drink from?  Give me strength before my head explodes!!!!!

Our second annual float down the creak has to be rerouted.  There is not enough water in the creek to float down.  So we have decided to float from the culvert at the north end of Lake St. Peter down to the culvert on the South Rd.  So if you see a bunch of yahoos this Saturday (weather permitting) you can either join us or just wave knowing that we will be gone soon.  I hope the weather cooperates we have been looking forward to this for a long time. 

That's it for this week.  If I don't drown on the weekend I will be back next week.

Cheers
Nancy