July 17: Today is the one-year anniversary of the day I signed the offer to purchase Regatta Island. It was a classic mid-Summer day in Toronto. The agent called to say that the offer had been signed back and said: “You sign this and you are the new owner of Regatta Island. Congratulations.” While I waited for the documents to arrive electronically (whatever happened to signing actual paper …?) I wandered around thinking that I was about to make a huge mistake. The money involved – for me anyway – was huge, and the apparent risks of buying a much-loved but poorly maintained 110 year-old cottage overwhelmed me. I considered not signing for a moment or two. It all seemed a bit much. But I finally took courage by both hands and signed off.
As I have written elsewhere, there has been a range of emotions as I arrived at the cottage and began to encounter the problems that are part and parcel of such an old cottage. The roof leaked in 3 rooms. None of the floors were level. The front porch – the perfect spot for a morning coffee watching the sun rise – was rotted through in several places. All of the mattresses needed to be replaced thanks to a Red Squirrel which had made the cottage home. He / she had also chewed through the roof and the walls in several places, and stashed enough acorns to see him / her through the next century. There was literally a project everywhere I looked.
Worker-mate Roy and I spent August last year attacking what we could. I had a new roof installed, so the cottage was at least secure from the weather. I spent the Winter sketching plans and thinking through options and possibilities. I reached out to several barge companies, plumbers and electricians about possible work. I was naïve to how much work was in store, and how much it might cost.
Since then, we have advanced significantly. The worst parts of the porch are mostly repaired, the mattresses have been replaced, a pile of garbage has been removed and barged away, a new kitchen is roughed in and new windows installed, an arbourist has trimmed the trees back a bit, the airtight stove has been repaired and relocated, and, the septic system installer called today to say that he hopes to be coming in the next few weeks to get the new system in place.
Unfortunately, he seems to be the only contractor who has been consistently interested in working on the island. It has been my experience – and that of my friend McCart who has a cottage nearby – that contractors don’t return calls, or say they will come “to have a look” and then postpone or simply never show up. I had been dealing with a plumber since last September believing that he would install a new plumbing system. In spite of providing copies of my plans on two separate occasions, even after I cornered him in his business and told him about my plans a third time, in spite of saying a month ago that he would get back with an estimate in” a week or so”, I have yet to hear a word from him. (Fortunately, I think I have found another plumbing crew that will actually show up to do the work.)
So, after a year of dreaming and organizing and struggling with financing and reluctant contractors, things are finally coming together. Some major, new bits of “infrastructure” will shortly be added, and the overall livability of the place has improved 100%. I’m not where I thought I might be a year ago, but I do have the privilege of being in a special place, helping to bring it back to life, bit by bit. We will have to see what next year brings ….