The Ontario Building Code bible is thick, real thick. Why So? Three short words: for your safety. No matter whether you are renovating or building in Muskoka or not, it serves a very good purpose. Yet, there seems to be this notion out there to skip the hassle of permits in general. Yes it will extend your timeline, add a little more to your cost [...]
Bizarre is the only word thats top of mind with this winter's weather patterns in Muskoka. In late November I was still boating, top down, in a t-shirt. December we got walloped in a 48 hour period and it was as picturesque as a snow globe. January started on a chillier edge but between a totally unexpected overabundance of sunshine followed by drizzle - on repeat - I [...]
I could NOT be more proud of the Muskoka community this holiday season. Remember my plea to make a shoebox for a special lady in a Muskoka shelter this holiday season? That's right: that's Joanne Buie, Penny Burns and Barb Baldwin and a sea of shoeboxes. We did it; with a target of 500 and requests from shelters for 775, the tally rang a whooping 653 (and a [...]
Recall my love for Annie Sloan's chalk paint and all my furniture projects, then get a load of this brilliance. Painted Tree Sometimes you just don't have room for a tree that eats 75 feet of ribbon (!!) like mine did this season. Odds are you've got twigs or branches outside the door, and some rope kicking about. Voila.... Dry the wood and trim the branches [...]
As much as I love big box staples, here's a tip from one entrepreneur to the next no matter where you live: suggest a cool place to go for a business meeting and you'll set a good first impression. Here are my 5 go-to staples when talking shop in Gravenhurst, Muskoka. 5. Oar & Paddle Business is busy but everyone has to eat. Thankfully Robbie and her [...]
We all say the struggle is real and we're last on our list but as a bunch of Muskoka lovers lets be honest, we've got it pretty easy compared to the daily happenings in the rest of the world. That being said it isn't all lakes, cottages and laid back living. It's a problem and while Muskoka collectively works through it one day at a time, there's a [...]
With the holidays quickly upon us lets forego the consumer cash cow frenzy and take this opportunity to slow down and reflect on what we're thankful for, and more importantly do kind things for others. At the center of that all is simply one thing: happiness. This will, of course, mean different things to different people and is the farthest thing from a constant in anyone's daily [...]
I had intended to tell you which Muskoka town I decided to call home the day after I told you who I was and suddenly we're midway through November (though it's hard to tell based on the weather we've been having!) That was my view Wednesday afternoon; so heavenly compared to the sea of boxes I sat in a week earlier when I went back to Toronto to [...]
In the online world faces always help. So who am I? I am a life long Lake Muskoka cottager who has been extending what's known as 'cottage season' since I had my drivers license! Always the business lady, even when I had a job where I had to go to an office downtown, one could find me on Hwy 400 in the wee hours of the night commuting [...]
Spring may have sprung, or in the case of last weekend, summer, but today is far more exciting than any day yet because docks have resurfaced on Lake Muskoka! That's right no more this ... While it could have been alot worse in the end, and very few folks will arrive to find scenes like this rather more like this, it just's a reminder that this [...]
