Togas and Cottages

Phew!! What a weekend! Going to work is much easier, I am sure. Gord is in Arizona until Wednesday so I am alone with the girls. We did not go to the cottage this weekend as our dear friend J had her 10th birthday party, a Greek Mythology theme where all guests had to wear togas. Fine if it is 25 degrees out... not so much if it is -25 out! So we got up early in the AM and pulled out all our white sheets and tablecloths. I have not done this since I was 18! Alexia donned a card table tablecloth as she is little, Cara-Li had a slightly larger one and I wrapped myself in the largest tablecloth I could find. Lots of safety pins later and this is what we came up with.

J's parties are always the best! Her Mom always goes way out to convert their house into whatever the theme may be. So there were lots of columns and lots of flowing fabrics and lots of gold stuff. Of course, lunch was everything Greek from souvlaki to Greek salad to tzatziki... well you get the picture. For dessert, baklava and a chocolate fountain. Oh, of course, there was a birthday cake too! For entertainment, bobbing for olives (really large black grapes), Greek mythology quizzes and wonderwords, pin the eyeball on the the cyclops etc. There was a caricaturist on hand for all little guests to get their portrait done. Cara-Li's and Alexia's turned out so well that I already framed them and are ready for hanging. By the end of the said event, I dragged my 2 poor little tired children home (luckily we live just down the street) and dropped them into their beds. They were spent as I was!

We were supposed to lay low the next day but when I woke up to a wonderful and sunny morning, I convinced Cara-Li to go skiing. So off we were by 9:30 to get to the cottage to pick up our snow suits and then to the slopes 10 minutes from there. Only problem is once we got to the cottage (after we stopped at Ikea to get frames for the portraits), I discovered upon entering that our furnace had broken. Yup, saw my breath again. Twice in one week... I am seeing a pattern here. It was below 0 in the house and everything that is supposed to be in a liquid state was frozen solid. The question was, do I turn around and pretend that I was never there? After all, the damage is done. But the responsible side of me said no, you must assess the situation. So I dragged my 2 tired kids into the friggen igloo while I went into the basement to try to start the furnace. Need I remind you that Gord is sitting in balmy Arizona while my fingertips are falling off looking for the reset button on the furnace. It started at the flick of the switch and well, instead of watching the cottage thaw, we went skiing for a few hours. Once at the hill, I forgot about these recurring cottage troubles and picked up my new skis. Yes, I broke down and bought them. They were waiting for me at the pro shop as I had ordered them by phone. All is good with a new pair of skis. Upon our return to the cottage, all had thawed nicely except for a leak in the basement coming from the bathtub above which I think might have been there prior. Now, I believe that this is the 4th or 5th time the furnace has crapped out on us over the years. The furnace is new so I don't know exactly what causes it to stop. Well, it hasn't crapped out on us, it's always crapped out on ME in particular. Mysteriously, Gord is always out of the country and is usually somewhere very warm when all this happens. So I will be ordering the Freeze Alarm ASAP as I have asked Gord to do so so many times in the past. This little gizmo will alert you by phone when the temperature in the cottage drops below a certain degree. Happy Birthday, Gord! You just got yourself a early birthday present!