We’re at the cottage. WE’RE AT THE COTTAGE! It’s been a weird summer for us. Between moving and renovating we have had very little time to enjoy the cottage or breathe. Now that the renovation is winding down and the house is sold, we moved to the cottage, which you could say is now home.

When I’m at the cottage the first thing I do every morning when I wake, is look at the lake. You never know what you’ll see. Some days it’s extraordinary, others it’s ordinary, but every day here is calming.

The world can appear to be completely chaotic, but if you stop to look around it’s really a beautiful place. Some time you just need to put social media aside, shut the phone off and just be.

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I don’t know anyone who hates Autumn. For most of us who live in the north, it’s our favorite time of year. There is a sense of change in the crisp cool air as the leaves on the trees change color. I like to think they’re giving us something to etch in our memory as we prepare for the monochromatic bone chilling months of winter. Y’know something to reflect back on when old man winter bitch slaps us.

Colors starting to change in Village de Val-David Quebec.

Autumn is the time for reflection. A time to harvest. A time to slow down and look back on what we’ve accomplished as we prepare for the new year.

Think of it as moulting season. A time to shed the past and embrace what’s to come.

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In the ever growing perfect world projected via social media, I find myself increasingly fascinated with the mundane. In the land of influencers pushing a perfect and unattainable lifestyle for most people, I ache for bland.

I find myself growing bored with the portrayal of a perfect life. What was once something to strive for, has become banal. What was once banal, is something to strive for. 

There is elegance everywhere. What some may consider hideous, I find beautiful. What some consider commonplace, I find interesting. When you pull back the curtain and there is nothing left to hide behind, the drab becomes magnificent. 

The endless projection of perfection is the manifestation of a life not being lived. Showing the chink in one's armor is evidence of a life being lived.  

Embrace the abnormal. Look for the drab. Live.  

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Before we get started, yes the title of this post is a reference to a Barenaked Ladies song. Now on to our regularly scheduled post. 

When I woke this morning the lake was "like glass". For those who don't know, the phrase "Like Glass" is a reference to a lake being so calm it looks like glass. But lakes are not glass, so yes you can jump into them without risking a severed jugular. Back to the post. I made coffee pulled up Duolingo on my phone and started in on my French lessons.

The lake kept taunting me as I worked my why through various ways to say "He has a big black bag". I start every morning with a French lesson and I wasn't about to break my streak because of some damn lake. 

After five lessons I couldn't take it anymore. I grabbed my camera, jumped in the kayak and headed out for a paddle. As I made my way around the lakes I kept feeling incredibly grateful to be able to enjoy this Canada Day on the water. After moving here a little over a year ago I am beginning to feel more and more Canadian everyday. So today I celebrate this Canadian life of mine with my wife as we begin life 2.0 year two. 

You can read more about why we moved here if you'd like.

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