Luxuries: ice and a garage

The tractor is running again! Now we can get a few things done around here.

One thing that needed to be done was a special delivery. Our neighbor, Lowell, was one of the saints who hauled logs and cement bags out to the island last winter, while Gary was undergoing radiation and chemotherapy. Lowell's the kind of guy who, if you tell him something isn't working, he sees it as an opportunity to solve a problem and won't rest until it's solved. To repay him, in part, for all his help over the years, Gary hauled our aluminum boat lift over the ice to Lowell's this afternoon, to replace his old iron one.

Just like the foxes around here, our territory becomes much bigger in winter, making these kinds of things possible. How do islanders cope in places where it never freezes? How awful to be stuck in some paradise without ice, huh?

Neighbors Bernie & Gayleen have been generous too. As I menioned earlier, they're letting us park our cars in their garage this winter. This one humble gesture is making life so incredibly good for us that we don't know how we ever survived without it. Words can't even express how wonderful it is to have an automatic garage door opener, no wind, no ice scraping, and overhead lighting. Just like downtown!