cottage country

[aurillia]

Just a quick post before I take my weary self off to bed. Had a nice weekend in Muskoka, though the weather was almost as cold - definitely as wet and miserable - as the last time we went a fortnight ago. Still, it's was wonderful to get out of the city, just the two of us, and getting away from the cats too

Comments

[kat_nic]

I could almost be jealous, except that I've always prefered beach houses to cottages in the woods. And ha ha! I just happen to be moving to the beach for college. :) I went today as a matter of fact...was just going to post about it. I can say now that I am definately going to the Gulf Shores Culinary Institute! (And not just because of the beach!)

[aurillia]

Yay! Wonderful news!

Oh I've always been a beach shack person too - hell, I'm Australian, we all live along the coast and even when we live close to the water we still have a beach shack in another place by the water! (We still call them beach shacks but these days they're more like small-scale mansions of weird architectural design - a far cry from the scary 70s cement-and-tin things we used to stay in when we were kids!)

Mostly, it's weird for me not to live near the ocean - even though I grew up on a farm in the middle of northern Tasmania, a good two hours from the nearest beach, I've lived coastal a lot too and I get this awful hemmed in feeling, almost like claustrophobia, if that makes any sense. The Muskoka thing is something I've actually had to accustom myself to, cause despite the beautiful scenery and peacefulness of it all, it took me a while to really appreciate it :)

[kat_nic]

Hhhm, I guess maybe my preference for ocean views came about because to me, the whole cabin by the lake thing is just so...commonplace. I mean, we rented in a cabin every summer (and you're right, "cabin" just really doesn't do those structures justice...). And I live smack dab in the middle of the freakin' woods, and there's a lake at the bottom of the hill to boot. Okay, it's very small, but still scenic. So I just sort of take that kind of setting for granted.

[aurillia]

Funnily enough I've never grown tired of ocean views - I don't think anyone does. But I know what you mean. My main problem is the spookiness factor. The beach/ocean is never spooky, even when stormy - it's emotional, and turbulent, and spectacular etc. etc., but never spooky. The whole "cabin in the woods" thing, even if it is by a beautiful lake, can be downright spooky, especailly when it's not sunny.

[kat_nic]

*grin* When we moved out here, it was summer, and at night we could hear crickets and frogs chirping. Well, the first night in the house, we still didn't have electricity yet, and my dad, who loves a good joke, told my brother (who was only nine at the time) that if he ever heard the crickets and frogs stop chirping, to go into his closet and not come out until dawn, no matter what he heard. Guess who's room he slept in that night? :D

So, yeah, it can be spooky. I had a friend in high school who hated coming down our driveway at night. Whenever we all went out together, he dropped me off first, because he didn't want have to drive it alone!

[aurillia]

At least you had lots of people around your first night in the house, it really helps. I never find the cottage spooky when there's more than me and Adam there, but last weekend when it was just the two of us it was too quiet and a bit eery, like when you have a huge house and you keep thinking about all the empty rooms and whether they are actually empty... and give yourself the willies :)

I would never want a too-big house with lots of useless rooms. Give me an open-plan kitchen-living, enough bedrooms to be comfortable - though doubling up is a good idea - one bathroom and one ensuite. Oh and of course a big library/study for me ;) Cosy, has to be cosy. I don't like these stupid pretentious houses with rooms that are never used, like formal dining rooms and formal lounge rooms. Complete waste of space.

[kat_nic]

I don't like these stupid pretentious houses with rooms that are never used, like formal dining rooms and formal lounge rooms.

Couldn't agree more. The house my sister and I rented had a great room; the kitchen, dining area and living area were all one big room. But it had hardwood floors. I hate hardwood, it's a bitch to keep up. Give me carpet anyday. You can get away with not vacuuming for a week or so, but you have to sweep hardwood everyday, more than once day if you live on a dirt road like we do. Plus in winter it sucked stepping cold floors. And wearing socks wasn't much of a help, because then I slipped.

[aurillia]

I know what you mean about hardwood floors. They look great but yeah, walking on them in bare feet is the grossest thing. We have them and we don't clean them every day, so I guess I shouldn't complain, but please, who has time to sweep them every day?? Carpet can look great too and contrary to what other people say, with my hayfever I prefer carpet cause the cat hair and dust and shit doesn't float around like it does on wooden floors. I have worse allergy problems with wooden floors. As far as I can make out though, carpet just isn't fashionable in Toronto anymore.

[kat_nic]

I don't think carpet is fashionable anywhere anymore. I used to clean houses before the job I have now, and not a single one had carpet in more than two or three rooms. Usually the bedrooms.

[aurillia]

I once looked at a flat to rent that had carpet in the kitchen - it was one of those old houses that had been divided into flats and the kitchen was just shoved in where one shouldn't go, just a counter with a sink and an oven. Carpet is nonesensical in a kitchen or bathroom, or laundry, or entrance/hall, anywhere where you need to wash the floors! It'll have a come-back though, it always does.