Monday, right after I posted, I jumped in the car and drove for Midland. It's not too far, and within a few hours I was on the ferry to Christian Island. (I have given myself two life points because for the first time ever, I backed onto the tiny ferry myself. (When I run the world there all ferries will be the kind you drive onto, and drive off of. Who makes a ferry with only one gate?) I landed, drove off - and I was there.
(Christian Island is Beausoleil First Nation land. All the signs reflect that. Noogbisan does seem like a lot to yell in an emergency though.)
Fifteen minutes later, I had my feet in Georgian Bay. Ten minutes later than that, I was swimming past the drop-off (because I am not a chicken like my sister) and then I set up my office,
and worked for a bit (yeah, I can see I need to clean my screen) then we watched the sun set, and had a great sleep. It was beautiful, and that was good, because the next day...
Rain. Rain and rain and freezing cold, and wind like you wouldn't believe and that made it easy to sit down at my laptop, finish the book. It was a little sad not to be able to go out and enjoy the lake - because I really, really love swimming in the lake, but at least the weather made the out of doors easy to resist. I worked and worked, and then all of a sudden, it was done. The book was all finished. I had no internet, so I couldn't send it in, but I hit save, and then backed it up to a thumbdrive (in case my computer exploded) and then I put the thumbdrive in the car - and the laptop in the cottage, so that if the car exploded or the cottage burned down I would still have a copy.
Then we had dinner and played 47 hands of Rummy. That was it. I've always thought that when I finish a book, there should be something that happens. It should trigger fireworks or a 21 gun salute or something, something more than a bunch of hands of Rummy on a rainy day. (I didn't even win. My sister was KILLING IT. She won practically every hand. I don't know how she does it.) Yesterday the weather was a bit better, but still too cold and windy to swim. I set up the tent to make sure I had all the pieces, and to make sure that the air mattress I got fits in the tent. 
(I love that in this photo my mum appears to be looking at that tent like no sane person would sleep in it.)
I told Jen I was going to posh up the inside of our tent. We're too old to suffer on crappy little mats, so our tent is going to have wall to wall air mattress. At least that was my plan. It worked though. 
I can't believe that a big air mattress is all it takes to make Jen and I think that the whole tent experience is practically the Ritz. With my wool as my witness, we are going to be sleeping right on this thing. Once I had that checked, I folded it all up, drove home, emailed the book in, and staggered around like a zombie until it was time for our team fundraiser on the rally. Meg, a very nice knitter on a layover from Vancouver to Prince Edward Island (Is that right? I might be making that up) showed up for a little bit, on her way across the country. (Isn't that nice? Really, really nice. You can tell by looking at her that she's nice. She's a little blurry, which might be my photographic skills, or maybe the fact that she's on a layover.) 
We had a wonderful time, and at the end of the night, I looked at one of the tickets for the event, and it hit me.
86 hours and counting - although that's not right anymore, now it's about 66 hours, and there's still so much to do. The packing, the organizing - I need to find Pato a red dress (and as I said to him, I wonder how often I'll write that on a post it note) I need batteries, I need a way to charge my mobile... I need camp chairs that fold to less than 32", I need a hockey bag... still so much to do... Including prizes! While I spin out, trying to pull together the last of it, here's gifts for you all.
Sarah, the lovely Martini Knitter, living in Switzerland, has dug deep into her stash and come up with some really lovely things she would like to share. First:
This Rowan Extra Fine Merino Dk, now it belongs to Tracie N.
Sarah has more, in a lovely cream. (That screams baby sweater to me, but I have babies on the mind.) 
I don't know what Judith G will make, but I bet it will be nice.
Erin SC has scored a really pretty silk/wool blend.
Stephanie L got this Rowan Pure Wool DK in Blue...
and Nancy A, got it in a navy.
Julia R will be figuring out what to do with this pretty yarn:
Katie B gets a skein of Dream in Color and a pattern to go with,
and last, but certainly not least, Judith G will be warmly embracing three balls of Rowan felted tweed. (Great yarn.)
Three cheers for Sarah, and her miraculous stash!
Last but certainly not least, a wonderful gift from Amy Hertzog. She's offering a copy of her new book Knit to Flatter 
and this, from Amy:
"Knit to Flatter is about helping you get sweaters you love to wear. All hand knitting sweater patterns are basically ready-to-wear clothing instructions: So, anyone with a "quirk" or two (i.e. everyone) will probably have to make a few changes to get a sweater that suits them perfectly. I'll do a personal consultation with the recipient of this gift to identify a sweater that fits their style, and then step through all of the details (and any math) required to produce a perfectly-fitting sweater they adore."
Amy's a friend of mine, and I can tell you that consultation is worth it's weight in gold. I hope that Sara B enjoys it.
More tomorrow, for now, I'm off to find Pato a dress.