To understand the title of this entry you will have to read the end (don't cheat). Summer is fast slipping away and it has been a busy one. So far it is the coolest summer on record here. Anyway, the bread business has exploded into other items. We now make about 20 pies each week for sale to individuals and one lodge in the area, (Lesley assembles the pies, yours truely does the actual baking), about 60-75 loaves of bread each week, scones, and the latest idea of Lesley's is pizza parties on Thursday and Saturday nites. That idea has taken off as of late. For $10 you build your own pizza (all toppings and base provided), get a salad from our garden, and a sip of Lesley's liquors served at the end. Kids do smores, etc around the campfire. She is presently working on a wedding party on Labor Day weekend as well. I have been forced to start cutting wood again as we now go thru quite a bit.

The best part of all this activity around the house is all the neat people we meet. It is facinating to watch total strangers mix and mingle making pizza and sitting around a campfire. We have met folks from around the country, all walks of life, each with their own stories to tell. We have had up to 14 people at a time for the parties. The success of these parties has been a total surprise. Many are tipping generously, saying our price is too low. Someone dropped off a tip in our mailbox the other day thanking us for a great night. Another dropped off some scrap wood for the fire yesterday.

The deck screening in project has been completed and there are no other major projects planned until winter, then it gets busy again. Lesley's "honeydo" list never gets shorter, just what is on it changes as I complete projects, new ones appear on the bottom. We have three bathrooms in a house with two people, but we seem to need an outhouse. Also a root cellar is being talked about and a sauna. Did I mention paneling the upstairs?

All of this has cut into my fishing time, but I still find time for some each week. I bought a smaller boat with an electric start motor which will be nice for the day when I can no longer pull it. The cool summer has led to some great fishing. I love it.

Lesley's mum from New Zealand is here until the end of the month and has had little time to rest. She will go home to rest.

Lesley, mum, the dogs, and a neighbor lady and her kids have gone blueberry picking today, I must get the fire ready for pizza tonight, stack wood, etc.

It is also an exercise bike riding day which I now do everyday getting my pulse to around 120 and holding it there for 20 minutes. I had to change my HBP meds because I was getting A fib in the heart, so now on a beta blocker (whatever that is), and I have slowed the exercise down a bit to keep myself out of A fib. I do the Bowflex exercise maching three times a week for about 45 minutes. I must admit I feel more fit than I have for some time. I still wear my AFO in the woods, and still know I had a stroke, but life goes on.

One final story I must tell. At one of our pizza parties a doctor and her husband came. One thing led to another and she complained about working out all winter and still being unable to lift their canoe alone. I took her over to our canoes, gave her the kevlar (the lightest I have) and asked her to show me how she was lifting it. As she started, I immediately saw the problem, had her put it down and showed her the proper technique. She then lifted it on the first try. I then said let's try the aluminum which is much heavier. She was able to lift it also. The smile on her face as she proudly showed off to her husband her new found skill was, as the saying goes, "priceless". I shared her joy with an understanding only those of us who have overcome adversity know. They left a generous tip, even though we told them "no charge", seeing her smile of achievement was enough payment.

Now it is time to get busy, the coffee cup is empty, but the fire and woodpile await as does the exercise bike.