I was glad we arrived before the sunset. With a crooked arrow pointing us to the winding back road to Deadlock Bay, we joked that this was how horror movies started (not that I would really know, since I’m too much of a wimp to watch them).

Kevin, a friendly giant of a dog, was their to greet us before we got out of the car. Kylie and Theo, back from out east and now house sitting in rural Ontario, led us in to their sweet temporary digs. With the fire crackling, and what Kylie called her “mum’s dinner party playlist” playing in the background, we settled right in. Beers were cracked and dinner was thrown together in between our chatter.

After an evening of overly-competitive (slightly booze-fueled) word games, it was pretty marvelous to snuggle up in front of the fire for the night and wake up to a cat curled up at my feet and chickadee chirps in the soft morning snow. My friends were wonderfully obliging guinea pigs for a new-to-me cinnamon roll recipe. In my morning grogginess I made approximately four times more icing than was necessary.

Coffee, eggs, said cinnamon rolls, and a quick tour of Kylie’s art studio and we were back on the road to town. It was just one night, but something about that fire, the expansive snowy bay, sweet cuddly pets, and those great friends had me feeling like I had gone away for a little vacation.

(Thanks, K & T, and D & J!)