Man's Spa X - The Finale

Finally, a roman numeral I can easily remember!  2019 marked the tenth annual Man's Spa. We had to move the date up so we could squeeze it in before the cottage was sold.  There was the usual great feast, drinks and music late into the night, but also lots of reminiscing with stories of past Man's Spas. We've built quite a history of good times together! I was left with a satisfying sense of closure and comforted by Billy's plan to carry on with the Man's Spa tradition at his cottage starting in the fall of 2019.

These guys are great friends. They helped a lot at the cottage over the years and I am most appreciative.  I've known them all since high school and some of them since kindergarten. How many people in their retirement are hanging out with friends they've know since they were five years old?

Tim, Billy, Laddy and me on the dock

Al, me and Billy trying to mask the melancholy

From the time of his first visit, Al had a special fondness for the place. Here he is stretching out on the dock, taking in the surroundings for the last time. 

Signs of the Times at the Cottage

One day in June of 2019, I realized we've acquired quite a collection of signs around the cottage. Here are some of my favourites....

This Welcome sign was a gift from Laura. She knows I have a thing about moose. 

This was a retirement gift from Mark and Brenda. I have followed these instructions many times.

Fortunately, this never happened, but they were hard at work. Thanks Lise.

This fridge magnet was a perfect gift from sis BA. Good one.

 WHAT? Yep. I know this last one is a surprise. It's hard to believe we've reached this point, but it has been over ten years since we built the cottage. There have been many great memories created there, but after long deliberation, we've made the painful decision to move along to make way for other adventures.

We Got a Shed at the Cottage

That's the title of the original song spontaneously produced around the campfire at Man's Spa 2018 edition.

"We came in from the city...for a really big deal...we had a plan...
We got a shed at the cottage....We got a shed at the cottage..."

Just give a group of guys some wood, some tools and screws and watch how all their cares get tucked away. It's cheaper than therapy.

"We built a woodshed at the cottage..."

The project was pretty simple: a mini-woodshed built with re-purposed materials such as deck railings and left over deck boards.  This year's participants not only built the shed, they sang songs about the shed, they decorated the shed, they designed architectural finishes for the shed and then chopped enough wood to fill the shed. And typically, they added a feature so the shed can also serve as a stand for a video screen that enabled us to watch videos of the campfire the night before in the great outdoors.  That's a lot of fun work and creativity for one weekend.

Shed builders Pat, Bill, Alain, Tim, E and me

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The finished product with seasonal decorations 

Relaxing after a day of shed building

IX at Man's Spa VIII

Sunday Mornin'

Man's Spa VIII (not IIX) had the largest turn out since the first Man's Spa in 2010 and the best weather ever!  Newbies Laddy and Don joined John, Tim, Emad, Pat, Al, Billy and me for this super fun weekend. So total attendance in 2017 was IX!

Other than at our high school reunion 15 years ago, we hadn't seen Laddy in 38 years. So obviously there was a little catching up to do.  We also welcomed Don back to Canada after his last overseas posting (Vienna) as a Foreign Service Officer.

The weather was unseasonably warm and sunny for September 23rd. Seizing this rare fall opportunity, some of us went for three or more cooling dips throughout the days.  The highlight was the kazoo orchestra that accompanied Tim and me to our rendition of Wagon Wheel.  Actually. there was an even greater  highlight.  Hands down, the greatest feat, perhaps in all the history of Man Spas, was the late night interpretive dance by the fire with Emad rotating while raising Tim above his shoulders.  That was one scary and hilarious sight!

On Sunday, Tim, Emad and I were the last to leave. We loaded up the car and went down to the dock for one last swim.  Then the car wouldn't start. and everyone else had already left.  Fortunately, I could hear neighbour Neil's generator going and was able to get a boost and all ended well.

It was great to see everyone. Thanks for coming.

Music in the afternoon at Man's
Spa 2017.  

Strawberry Fields

Lots of wild strawberries this year. A by-product of a very wet spring I assume.  I was startled when I went around the corner of the cottage and found two wild turkeys in the berry patch behind the cottage. They ran, if you can call it that. Trotted (?)   

Productive 2017 Already.

After a harsh winter and spring, and the highest water levels we've seen, it wasn't surprising to find our dock in need of significant repairs. I took this opportunity to expand it so it extends 6 feet further from the shore.  That will give us more sun exposure when drying off on the dock.

MAN'S SPA VII

At this year's event, five guys (Tim, Emad, Al, Bill and their host, yours truly) survived 48 hours of quiet serenity infused with kale smoothies and meditative poses and...  Wait! Sorry. That was a bad dream!

In reality, the same five guys survived a typical traditional man's spa, complete with chain saw and axes in action, an overdose of meat and a steady beer tasting competition.  Horseshoes were thrown too, mostly at a pin covered with a bright red work glove so we could better see it. That work glove somehow raised just one finger at us as we tried to hit it.  Imagine! Must be the internet of things.

That night, the horseshoes were adapted for percussion instruments (Cool beat Emad) as the quality of improvised musical arrangements soared to new levels  next to a great campfire under a clear sky. (Nice fire Billy!)

Saturday morning brought the great crisis of 2016! After everyone had a few shots of coffee, we realized we were all out.
Alain, who was driving up that morning, saved us by answering our desperate calls for more coffee.  He was so determined to come to the rescue that he risked and received a parking ticket while he waited in line at Starbucks.  That's taking one for the team. Coline de contravention! He also packed an elaborate brunch for Sunday to go with the coffee. Thanks Al!

And there was storytelling. We've become really good at this over the years, which shouldn't come as a surprise considering we tell the same damn stories every single freakin' year! What is surprising is how much we enjoy hearing them again and again. One year seems to be just enough time for the memory of a good story to fade to a level at which a refresher is welcome. Thanks for the refreshers guys. Okay, I'm mostly talking to Tim. Thanks for the refreshers Tim!

Saturday brought rain for most of the day and we spent the evening indoors playing music.  This was my first year playing guitar to support Tim with his guitar and harmonica.  Others joined in with voices and more percussion.  Tim's John Prine renditions were at their finest and we played the tunes we had practiced together over the last few months.  It worked out quite well, especially considering there was alcohol.  Actually, maybe the alcohol is why it went so well, or why I THINK it went so well.

Not everyone at Man's Spa is retired. If you have to work remotely, this is a pretty good hot desk. 

Unfortunately, Pat and John weren't able to make it this year.  Guys, you were missed.  Imagine how much you'll enjoy hearing those stories next year when you haven't heard them in two years!

You'll note in the official group photo below that we are sporting new Man's Spa identification tags.  This is useful in case one of us gets lost and he can't remember his name. So if you find one of us, and he can't remember his name, you just look at the name tag.  It's brilliant! You might want to take the opportunity to ask him to tell a story, cause even if he can't remember his name, I'm sure he'll remember those stories.