Saturday, September 24, 2016

Closing up the cottage

Today, Ellen, Jim and Mary went back up to the Common Ground Fair. I stayed back so that I could spend some time with my friend, Phil McKean. He and his wife, Deborah, are in the throes of closing things up here in Maine, to go back to Claremont, CA, for the winter. One of the tasks Phil needed to complete was the last bit of winterizing the family cottage in Friendship, ME. So he and I went over to the cottage. My job was to bail out the two toilets, both bowl and tank, using first a cup, and then a sponge to finish the job. Then Phil put anti-freeze in every drain, including the toilets. I reminded him to do the dishwasher, which is easy to overlook. He turned off the electricity, locked the door, we emptied out a couple of outdoor flower pots, and that was that. Then we went down the road to the shore, where I have in the past enjoyed many a lobster, boiled in sea water and seaweed in a bucket over an open fire, or embarked on a sail with the  McKeans in their sail boat. Many wonderful memories. We sat and talked about Betsey and about Deborah, who is coping with Alzheimer's, and is currently in a clinical trial. Much to share! Then we walked back to the car and came back to their lovely Cushing, ME home for lunch with Deborah. Now they are at Deborah's sister's place next door for a little celebration and I am enjoying watching the tide fill the tidal river in front of their house. 

          Phil in front of the cottage

A classic scene-the living room of a Maine cottage put to bed for the winter. 

Two old geezers down by the shore 

The fire pit that has seen many fires for cooking lobsters.

View of Friendship harbor from our perch, with fire pit on the left and little bath house on the right. 

              The view from the living room where I am now.


No comments:

Post a Comment