Sometimes when you think all you need is to get away from the stresses of life what you discover is that the best way to relieve the stress is with a good sense of humour. That is what a dear friend of mine and I discovered on a recent “time out” that we took together.

We searched the internet for an appropriate place to go that would meet both our needs. We found a place that was close to home. The pictures showed a small cottage like building on a wooded property overlooking a lake. There was a comfortable living/dining area, small kitchen area equipped with a bar fridge, microwave, toaster oven, and coffee maker. The bathroom showed a stall shower, toilet and sink. The bedroom had a queen size bed and boasted to have a new Casper Mattress which was very comfortable. The only days it was available were the week we were looking at. It felt like the perfect match. So we booked it for our getaway.

The day we arrived we discovered that the “cottage” was really a converted work shed with single pane floor to ceiling windows surrounding the living/dining area and only 100 feet from the main house where we could observe the comings and goings and they could see us inside. We laughed as we carried our bags in and got to the front sliding patio door that did not close tightly because the frame was bent. OK in we go. There was a carafe of wine and two glasses waiting on the dining room table for us. How lovely. The place was filled with silk flower arrangements and large silk tropical plants. The floors were covered with grey shag carpet which was warm and cozy. In the living room was a wall unit that housed the TV and bar area along with books, dvds, etc. There was a lovely leather loveseat and two IKEA Pong chairs facing it. It was quite modern decor.

There were notes posted everywhere with reminders of the house rules and instructions, even the artwork was labeled. I laughed and said “I think the owner has a love affair with her label maker”. Looking around it appeared as though she had tried to think of everything that would make our stay comfortable and we appreciated that.

We had decided to prepare our own food at home and bring it with us to reheat in the microwave rather than eating out. We really just wanted a get away. So into the kitchen area we go to put our food away. Everything is low to the ground so we have to sit on a chair to put the food in the fridge and to see the microwave. We soon discover there is no counter area. The coffee maker and tea kettle are on a small glass tower across from the fridge. The toaster oven is sitting on top of the bar fridge. The microwave is sitting on another glass tower beside the fridge on the second shelf from the floor with a cutlery tray on top. The upper two shelves have the dishes and glassware. Beside that is a desk area which is about 15 inches deep with a large silk flower arrangement. Where is the sink? There isn’t one. Ok so we are going to have to improvise like we are camping. As we put the food away we discovered a small dishpan with a sponge and bottle of dish soap. So we knew that there must be water somewhere.

Second trip in from the car we brought our suitcases in and went back to the bedroom which was a little box with a small window in it. The bed was pushed into the corner and on the wall at the end of the bed were two hooks with cozy bathrobes. Nice touch, except there was only 20 inches from the end of the bed to the wall.

The bathroom was another fun place to be. The door only opens part way so when we stepped in, if we weren’t careful, we would bounce off the corner of the shower stall and then have to turn sideways to get in between the toilet and sink. The sink was very small and the hot water took up 3 minutes to arrive from the hot water tank which was in the main house 100 meters away. It was easier to wash our hands and brush our teeth sitting on the toilet using cold water. When we left the bathroom we had to be careful if we were turning right to go the the kitchen area because there was a small step. In the night if we lost our bearings we could easily have taken a tumble. We joked about it saying “Watch the last step it is a doozy”.

So now time to settle in and enjoy the glass of wine that the owners left for us. We turned off the radio put on some of our own music, poured the wine and sat down to enjoy our new temporary diggs. The wine was delicious. Then the noises started. At first we thought it was the cd changer though we were sure it was turned off. It kept up until my friend discovered it was an automatic air freshener that was set up to squirt every hour. Mystery solved but it continued to annoy us all week. We started talking to it.

We prepared our dinner using the one sharp knife we could find and a very small cutting board. It was like working in my granddaughter’s play kitchen only hers was better equipped. The microwave was so old it took several minutes to warm anything up. Cooking dinner consisted of sitting on a chair in the middle of the kitchen watching the tray in microwave turn around. My friend is a retired chef so this was quite a funny scene given her culinary skills. None the less the food was delicious. After dinner we went about washing the dishes. Running the water in the bathroom was such a pain and waste. The dish pan did not fit in the sink so we had to wash the dishes in the bathroom sink and bring them back to the desk in the kitchen to air dry as there was no tea towel. The next day I discovered that there was a spout at the bottom of the shower stall where the water came out and that the hot water actually made it to the shower faster than the sink. So I turned on the shower hot water. Put dish soap in the dishpan carried it to the bathroom filled it with lukewarm or at best hot water and then walked down the hall, remembering the step, and took it to the desk in the kitchen where we washed the dishes and left them to air dry. Then I walked back to the bathroom with the pan full of dirty water and poured it down the sink being careful to pour slowly so it did not overflow on the floor. Then I wiped out the dishpan, left it to dry and the evening began.

Once the sun is down the cold drafts are quite bad and so we sat cuddled up on the loveseat together with blankets wrapped around us watching tv and drinking brandy. Then the fun started — getting up off the loveseat. It is very low to the ground and both of us are older and not as strong as we once were. It took us a couple of tries especially when we start laughing. We decided the place was designed for short people.

So for the next two days we had some time to relax, enjoy each other’s company, and have lots of laughs. We discovered that what you plan is not always what you get and yet the get away was exactly what we both needed. The laughter helped to release so much stress brought on by COVID in the last year and being away in a different place gave us a new perspective. Whoever said laughter is the best medicine knew what they were talking about.