Friday, April 21, 2017

First time Airbnb Hosts

After a full year of prepping StarBase, we finally put the cottage on Airbnb at the end of February.  Preparations included changing the battery, staging the place and taking photos, coordinating with our neighbours,  clearing out clutter, and writing up the listing.  It was definitely not a small amount of work.  To my surprise, the listing had overwhelming response.  Last weekend, our first guests stayed over and it turned out to be such a positive experience.  Our place has hiccups and even more so during the colder months.  Thus I only opened up the calendar from April to October.   This April has been surprisingly warm but not warm enough to go without heat. The house, with its radiant in-floor heating, has always been tricky to get hotter than 17 degrees without starting a fire.  Our guests were good sports and with a few simple instructions managed to get the place to stay at a balmy 21 degrees all weekend.  We breathed a sigh of relief when the weekend was over.  But now, we eagerly await our next guests in May.

Speaking of colder months, here is a picture that I forgot to post from back in February.  The boys managed to do a bit of minimalist ice fishing sans hut on the few days that the Bay of Quinte froze over.  A few perches were caught but nothing substantial enough to write home about.  Maybe next year, we will have better luck with the Bay freezing and with the catch.

Poor Perch!

Wednesday, April 19, 2017

Family

This was a post from last year that was sitting in Draft mode!!

Whenever we head to the cottage with our families (Nick's parents or my sister and brother-in-law), we are extra thankful for the extra pairs of hands to help wrangle our kids. Can you blame us? Kids are tiring!  When you want to nap, they don't.  When you you want to sleep in, a toddler is crawling on your face.

But no matter what, they will grow up quickly and we have to cherish all these little moments.




Tuesday, August 30, 2016

Food and Habits

Sebby knows the weekends at the cottage mean lots of deliciousness.

He is generally a good eater and StarBase is the perfect backdrop for him to dabble in different foods that our guests bring.  There he is below sampling the different dips with his Greek pita.

We try to make sure he tastes everything at the table before he makes a decision on whether he wants to eat it or not.  The rule is, he can't say no unless he has tried it. I felt like I had a small win the other day when he did not want to have my smashed cucumber salad. With a little bit of persuading, he was finally willing to take a bite. Boy was he glad he did.  He ended up finishing a lot more and is now a smashed cucumber aficionado.

We also have him help (where he can) with the food preparation.  He seemed to have taken quite the liking to shucking corn with his little pals.  It is great watching him feel accomplished when he can finish little chores.

Lastly, we want him wait for everyone to be at the table before he starts eating.  But obviously with the last picture, he snuck in there for some kalbi and just couldn't wait.

Enjoying Greek pita with the different dips. 
Unpaid child labour at its finest. Humphrey also snuck in on the shot.
Someone is hungry.





Monday, July 25, 2016

Passing Time

I've taken a very keen interest in watches over the last couple of years. This is partially due to my affinity for toys....a way to collect interesting mechanical wonders without needing a whole lot of space. 
It also reminds me to pay close attention to time. Actually, it's mostly to the passage of time. There is something so tactile about winding the crown of a watch to set the time, and then playing with the crown in its different positions to adjust the date, day or whatever complication I may have on my current treasure. 


What I have really noticed about Starbase is that the passage of time doesn't happen due to the cycle of the seasons. Rather, it's our existence in these cycles that marks events in our lives. For instance, Teddy obtained his first experience with the Jolly Jumper. This was a moment spent at the doorway of the first floor bedroom, giggling at his own ability to move vertically with just a twitch of his legs.



I also notice how Sebby has gone from being a baby, to a little man. His personality has really come out, and he has traits of both Catherine and I.... that is intelligent, strong willed and extremely mischievous. That being said, nothing makes him happier than a nice meal and time spent with friends (pictured below with Nam). 


The most wonderful part about all of this is the backdrop to our lives that Starbase provides us. The view is perfect.







Monday, July 18, 2016

Gratitude

Last weekend, we had our friends from Shanghai over at StarBase. They reminded us to be grateful for the things we so easily take for granted.  The small things like nature, fresh air, and blue skies are not readily available everywhere in the world like it is in Canada.  Especially in a time when there are so many terrible things happening around us, we should take time to reflect and show gratitude.  Be happy for friends and family. Enjoy life and truly live.

Grateful to share precious memories with the people closest to us.
Grateful to enjoy a tasty meal with friends old and new.

Grateful for the moment of reflection during the twilight hours.


Sunday, July 3, 2016

Finally found our groove

It feels like after 3 years, we finally found our groove with StarBase. A big part of that is the new battery bank.  We recently replaced it with 16 Surrette 415ah deep cycle AGM non maintenance 6 volt batteries. The house originally came with 12 flooded, industrial lead acid batteries.

Now on to why the new batteries are better than the old ones.  The two primary risks from charging lead acid batteries are from hydrogen gas formed when the battery is being charged and the sulfuric acid in the battery fluid. With hydrogen, there is always a risk of explosion which is the last thing we want to happen at anyone's home. The corrosive sulfuric acid also posed a risk for Nick when he was required to water the battery every few weeks. The previous owners wore gloves when water just to prevent skin burns.  All those worries went away when we replaced the battery bank with a non maintenance one. So now we can enjoy ourselves even more when we are there.

Here are a few pictures over the last few weeks in the County with friends (not worrying about our battery).

Enjoying some grilled meats in tube form.
Having a few local brews at the new County Beer Company.
Picked up a few souvenirs at Norm's.

Sunday, April 10, 2016

50 Things to do at StarBase

We often get asked what we do here, so the following list has been compiled to show you all that is offered to our guests:

At The Cottage

  1. Curl up and read a book or a magazine
  2. Enjoy the sunset by the shore
  3. Fishing / Ice Fishing
  4. Visit our neighbour and explore their gardens
  5. Go for a walk or a run - it is a 5k round trip if if you head east to hwy 49 and back
  6. Play bocci on the lawn
  7. Skip some rocks on the Bay of Quinte
  8. Play a game of badminton
  9. Bring up the telescope and star gaze on the roof
  10. Bir watch - look for turkey vultures, loons, gulls, herons, and geese
  11. Pick herbs in the garden - we have sage, rosemary, thyme, mint, tarragon, and maybe even a few lavender bushes
  12. Enjoy the perennials 
  13. Play one of the many board games
  14. Knit/Crochet
  15. Write a guest post on our blog
  16. Start a fire on the stove
  17. Hit the beach at Sandbanks
  18. Do some colouring (giant Paris colouring poster in the master bedroom)
  19. Craft with the kids
  20. Go kayaking and even bring the dog along (he has his own life jacket)
  21. Hot pot
  22. Fondue party!
  23. Barbecue
  24. Picnic out back
  25. Blow some bubbles with the kids
  26. Make everyone a cocktail
  27. Go for a bike ride
  28. Visit wineries and/or breweries and do a few tastings - the closest one to us is Three Dog Winery - less than 5 min drive
  29. Pick up some cheese at Black River Cheese Company or Fifth Town Artisan Cheese
  30. Eat pizza outdoors at Norman Hardie
  31. Do a little shopping in town - some our favourites include Zest Kitchen Shop, Coriander Girl, Oak Clothing, and Kokito.
  32. Visit a farmers market
  33. Brunch at Drake Devonshire
  34. Visit a few art galleries
  35. Go see Lake on the Mountain
  36. Take a cooking class at the Waring House or Maison Depoivre
  37. Have some homemade ice cream or milkshake at Slickers
  38. Go antique hunting at Dead People's Stuff
  39. Pick up some fresh produce at Hagerman Farms
  40. Enjoy the spa at Claramount Inn
  41. Dine at one of the many restaurants during Countylicious
  42. Attend the Great Canadian Cheese Festival
  43. Soak in some sun at one of the patios around the County - Huff Estate, Drake, Agrarians, Three Dog Winery
  44. Go roam with the kids at the Wellington Playground
  45. Enjoy the Lavender Festival in July
  46. Try cross-country skiing or snowshoeing at the Sandbanks trail
  47. Pick up some bubbly and have some oysters too at Hinterland Winery
  48. Go find the Picnic food truck
  49. Watch a movie in Picton
  50. Grab a coffee at the Vic Cafe, Tall Poppy Cafe, or the Bean Counter