Marie and I had a wonderful Thanksgiving this year in Montreal with Phil, Fer, Lara and Chad. Fer treated us all to a chicken and duck dinner, Lara and Chad arriving later from their weekend in Vermont.
That's a nice view of Montreal you get as you cross over the Champlain Bridge.
Marie and I had spent the previous few days at the cabin as we finished putting up the vapor barrier inside and prepared the place for winter - packing up all the cans and food we didn't want to freeze, removing the water barrel from beneath the downspout and running up the van one last time. 
The weather was great, cool at night but sunny during the day. We walked up the other side of the mountain and got some great views of Mt Megantic and the hills rolling off into New Hampshire. That's a picture of Marie on top of our new well we had dug last month - see previous blog for the details! We'll be going back next month to pick up the larch/tamarack flooring we ordered from a local mill - it's a little more durable than pine. Hopefully the weather will still be nice!
We also took a day trip into Maine and drove down to a little town called Stark, just north of Farmington, to check out a company that specializes in "Off-Grid" power production - solar power systems. As this will be our source of electricity we wanted to compare prices and see just how viable this sort of system will be for the cabin and the house. It's expensive but do-able for our northern location. The drive from the border along SR 27 is one of the most beautiful drives one can possibly find anywhere and in the fall, absolutely spectacular.
We also took a day trip into Maine and drove down to a little town called Stark, just north of Farmington, to check out a company that specializes in "Off-Grid" power production - solar power systems. As this will be our source of electricity we wanted to compare prices and see just how viable this sort of system will be for the cabin and the house. It's expensive but do-able for our northern location. The drive from the border along SR 27 is one of the most beautiful drives one can possibly find anywhere and in the fall, absolutely spectacular.
Earlier in the month we attended the opening of the Selections 2009 at the Shenkman Art Gallery in Orleans where I have the painting I had mentioned in my last blog.
I have entered three other paintings for the Ottawa School of Art Alumni show, to take place later this month as well. I am busy at the Art School most days and feel very comfortable working in watercolours for the very first time. I am doing one now I started this weekend - it's a view of one of the roads in the Domaine, near our cabin. As you can see by the photo I have this thing for birch trees!
I have entered three other paintings for the Ottawa School of Art Alumni show, to take place later this month as well. I am busy at the Art School most days and feel very comfortable working in watercolours for the very first time. I am doing one now I started this weekend - it's a view of one of the roads in the Domaine, near our cabin. As you can see by the photo I have this thing for birch trees!
In December we are off to Mont Tremblant Resort for a week - that's where Liam Neeson's wife, actress Natasha Richardson, suffered a fatal head injury in a skiing accident earlier this year... Must run but will leave you with some more pix of the area - this is a view from chemin Grand Duc, about a 15 minute walk from our place. And some photos of the woods/rocks on our property. Till later, have a great week and stay healthy! gws
