So I've got these three friends see... the GarGoyles, aka The GGs. [
explanation of GG later] I brought them down to the cottage right after we made the offer and were waiting the counter... the agent let us in. They fell in love with it immediately, could absolutely see everything I incoherently told them to see. And these wonderful women, even with whatever they were before, have been a support, sounding board and liquid lifeline to me since. Every weekend in the hot September of 2009, two would come from Chatham, pick up the 3rd in Wheatley and bring wine and chips.
As the weather chilled, we sat in the living room... on four old upholstered chairs left behind, on the threadbare oriental. Kee built us raging fires and skeddadled out, leaving us to rant and ramble, as the red and white wine went down... relive our fabulous 12 day Yucatan road trip of the year before; constantly deconstruct, reconstruct and bury the bodies of the Board of Education; commiserate with some honking major boulders currently on each other's paths and generally relieve my tension of working at school, working at home, then working down at the lake. We'd stay latelate.
Everytime they came down - Peggums, Juanita and KweenReen - we had something new to show them.... the amazing recovery of the walls, then the so-fitting paint, the glowing reclamation of the wood floors, the day they walked in to find the kitchen gutted to the studs in some places. What a squad of cheerleaders they've been for me.
Late one frosty, winey February night, as J & R were "debating" on who was DD next time, I looked around and thought, what we have going on here is our own little playhouse, a girls-only mentality... it all doesn't seem real, because they know when they go home, I'm going back to my real home tonight too. And I'm looking and thinking, jeez, I'm going to miss these "Friends of Renovation" visits. We'd had serious lookers on our house.... soon, this renovation would have to be an on-site one, we'd be living here. When I said that aloud, Reen wondered what we'd do - when Kee was here, full time, at our GG Playhouse... small shared moment of apprehension..... a full time boy in the playhouse? Selfish bitches, eh?
But we - and Kee - have adapted just fine. Because he's shaved and refitted the french doors between the living room and the sun room to a nice tight fit - he can ignore our rants that rise as the wine level lowers - and watch the sports tv that he loves. At a GG visit, he takes his accolades for the latest reno-miracle, takes his bows, takes a beer and beats a retreat.
During a spring 2010, Michigan shopping trip, at Costco, I was with the girls when Reen's BB rang. It was Kee and she handed it to me. The house had sold. We jumped and screamed in the middle of the busy main aisle. They were happy for me that one of the major concerns of this rocky road of real estate load had been solved. It was perfect that they were there when it came about.
Projects continue. When they walk in the door, first we hug, then we wine-up, then do the "What's New Tour".... then we rant.
This summer, we did what every middle-aged party of females do -
when they're 16 - we pierced Juanita's ears! How can you be our age and not have pierced ears?! She couldn't get our vacation-memory-trip-bonding-purchase - the matching Mayan calendar earrings in Valladolid because of those virgin ears. Little did we know, all it took was a bit... well, a lot, of bebidas alcoholicas. Downing margaritas, enjoying lunch, wine and Bailey's at Peggums, we noted that while J could borrow an outfit, she couldn't complete the look with the matching earrings - because her ears weren't pierced. KweenReen suggested that we could remedy that immediately and we all thought, why yes, how easily we've solved this concern. My hookback crystals were off and dropped in boiling water, a thin needle went in, a lime went behind J's ear and we all took turns tunnelling. It was perhaps the first operation where all participators and observers were anesthetized! Eventually the lime went in J's mouth, as we felt she was squealing a bit toooo much, but in they eventually went, completely level. We celebrated by semi-skinny dipping at the cottage and drinking tea late in the evening. Juanita wore the earrings a couple of months and now has more and more danglers each week.
And.... this summer we wine-toured the Lake Erie North Shore District, picking out dozens of wine..... visited a lavender festival in Chatham, won $150 on the Michigan MegaMillions while shopping over the river..... had loads of laughs and fed each other food and support throughout the year.
I'll never think back to the chapter of the first year here without the support of these women. GGs Rule!
Origin of the Term GG: years ago, after a workshop in Sarnia, and after a short, uneventful hour at the casino, the four of us were going to go out for supper. I suggested going over the St Clair River, on the ferry, from Sombra to Marine City, Michigan, to a nifty little neighbourhood bar called Gars. Gars has the biggest, juiciest hamburgers, goldfish-sized bowls of beer called boombahs and bowls of popcorn shrimp that you can consume quantities of as you watch lake freighters plow up and down the river. Others were invited, but just us four went over the water.
We already had a slightly tighter connection - a similar bend of humour and a snickering view of the "tea lady" mentality of a few of the elementary school office supervisors of our job group group. But on the positive/nonbitchy side, also the building of friendship and respect for each other that grew when we undertook the long rewrite of our job group's formal Job Evaluation, that resulted in the successful raise of the elementary office job points and subsequently, the pay. We still regard that work as a job well done and for the real benefit of many.
As we sat there, I said, in my bestest Noo Joisee accent: Y'know, we're jist a bunch of goyles, sittin' at Gars, dat makes us Gar-Goyles!" And it stuck.
One of the most lovely art deco features are the two ceiling lights, in our bedroom and the smallest bedroom, in the original 1932 portion of the house. We immediately knew we should restore these. I had found some beautiful faceted bulbs, as there'd be no shades over the lights, to enhance the fixtures... these bulbs, put on dimmers, look fantastic on full force or gently lowered.
Kee and I take off all the knobs and plaques, spraying them. The colour suits perfectly and reflects beautifully the facets of the old glass knobs we buy at Habitab for Humanity. 
