How to Make A Boat

Dateline: Tuesday, October 6

And you thought this blog was about healing and determination and courage after a battle with West Nile!

On Sunday afternoon visitors # 3 -13 of the day joined Isabel in the lounge overlooking the terrace garden (which continues to bloom on amid our autumn gales!). With ages ranging from a grandniece of 7 to those of many double digits, Isabel had been racking her brain on Sunday morning to determine suitable entertainment for her party.

After long consideration, she decided to teach us all how to make a boat. Seventy plus years ago, her Scottish Grannie Isabel Robertson the First who hailed from the small isle of Ulva off the west coast of the Western Highlands showed her grandchildren how to fold paper to create a boat.

Now Isabel the Second has limited use of her hands so with some assistance of Nancy, the two of them instructed the rest of us how to make a boat from a small sheet of paper. By the way, the boat floats if you make it out of wax paper.

With that success under our belts, the next task was to dig out Isabel's Western Producers (several not yet read) so that we could make hats. This was a much easier task than boat-building for some of the adults in the group! Mum was satisfied that there was at least some success in each of the constructions.

And Isabel continues her teaching career in a new venue.

Are you sorry you missed the boat-making party? Just google "how to make a boat" and the internet will provide you with several videos. But none with as much laughter, mistakes and re-trys as the Lounge on 2-6 at Wascana on Sunday.

This past weekend 21 people signed Isabel's visitors' book and she visited with 6 friends who live at Wascana. A friend travelled from Okotoks for a sleep-over at the hostel on Friday night (and several hours of laughter and movies in Isabel's room). On Sunday night, a small group gathered with tartans, bagpipe and drums music, and crazy tams with ginger-haired wigs to wish Cousin Joy well on her way back to Scotland.

On Monday we rested.