Short, Long Story

This beautiful old fashioned summer with lots of heat and sunshine

is whizzing and sizzling by far too fast!

I have to say it's been one of my favourites.

When I think back to last January and February with all that

snow, cold and stormy days, how can I not love this summer?

Also, to be totally honest, this summer has enchanted me with

a wonderful new friend!

It's a short, long story that continues to give me much joy and hope 

for less lonely and more happy days ahead.

In other news - the bountiful harvest season has begun.

Cherry's inspired a Cherry Custard Clafouti

for our annual family birthday picnic in July.

Recipe in the highlighted link above.

Peaches have arrived and I had to make my annual 

Peach Custard Tart!!

I think I've shared this one every year - it's that good.

Just noticed that both these recipes are by Land O Lakes.

Other favourite things this summer so far:

Spending time with these two sweet little humans

A most wonderful visit from my dear Kentucky friends.

They have been coming here for a week of theatre and visiting for

more than 40 years!

Debi and I sunflower side in Stratford

Walks along the River in Stratford, spa days, and little farmer duties.

Summer Pleasures

Until next time - slow down summer of 2025. We love you!

Creek adventures

Still practicing

Eclipse clips

 Did you experience today's eclipse?

Truly a once in a life-time experience.

My day began with a gathering for coffee with my fellow

retiree co-workers.

We try to meet once a month and it's always a blessing.

This morning was extra special on this "eclipse day".

Here are a few "clips" captured on my walk.

There was a strange light right at the time when the moon covered the sun,

lasting for about 3 minutes.

We did not get a total eclipse here in Stratford but it was very close.

The skies cleared just at the right time for the best viewing.

Weird Shadows 

The street lights came on

Folks gathered on the Theatre lawn to view

Eclispe on the Farm ....

Best picture of the day! Thanks for sharing this Patrick.

Oh, and one more thing ... this post happens to be my 500th!!

Till next time ... have a great week wherever you are.

Leaping into February!

 

Just turned the calendar page for February

and LOVE the caption for this LOVE month on the doorstep.

...  and, there were tulips at the grocery store today!!!

What could be better?

A sure sign of Spring to come.

Looking back over the past few weeks in January,

there were some good "stormy" days which allowed for

a bit of quilt piecing.

A difficult pattern for a novice like me.

Fabric and pattern donated by a friend.

I've dubbed it "Storm Daze".

Hoping to donate this one to the MCC Relief Sale auction?

It's at the quilters!

If nothing else, it sure got my quilting "mo-jo" going.

I have two more that are in the works so I may need just a few more snowy days?

Our pastor had us pick a "word for the year" the other Sunday

and mine was the word HARMONY.

A hymn sing last weekend, learning songs from the new Voices Together

Hymnal was a good start for this special word.

Thanks Ruth for inviting me to the Menno Singers event.

A "lonely heart" warming service of beautiful Harmony.

Today I spent time with a dear friend Kathy.

We shopped, lunched, ordered Theatre Tickets

for the coming season,

and it felt like a good way to start a new month.

Income tax prep is under way,

the home office is getting some new decor,

the grandchildren have a PA day tomorrow

(spa time has been ordered)

and...

The weather man is promising sunshine this weekend!

Not so great, however, for the beautiful outdoor rink that is melting.

My favourite little hockey players!

I can't wait to see what February has in store.

Till next time - how is your leap year month shaping up? I'll be striving to "Live in the Light".

"Three Pines"

Bookstore Painting

And - we're off ...

Yvonne and I - ready to board the bus

 

... on a four day adventure to Quebec's Eastern Townships

and the fictitious Quebec Village of Three Pines

to discover the inspiration and locations for Canada's acclaimed murder mystery author,

Louise Penny!

Who knew it would be so much fun and also,

who knew I would actually do some reading this summer and discover

that I enjoyed her books so much!?

(5 done and 13 or 14 to go!)

'Terrific. Like a virtuoso, Penny plays a complex variation on the theme of

the clue hidden in plain sight'

 as quoted on the back of her first book,

Still Life

We stayed at the beautiful Domaine Chateau-Bromont right in the heart of

ski country, Bromont, Quebec.

If you are a fan of this author (18 books and counting, Amazon Prime Series, etc.) you will

recognize some of the references to the following pictures.

Gilbert-entre-les-Loups Monastery

Inspiration for The Beautiful Mystery

The resident Monks make award winning Cheeses and Apple Products.

What a privilege to visit this beautiful Abbey!

Witnessing their Gregorian Chant was a highlight of this visit.

Onward, up the road to the pretty little lakeside village of Georgeville

with inspiration for "Mr. Beliveau's General Store"

the haunted old "Hadley House" - Fatal Grace, The Cruellest Month, etc.

and "St-Thomas Chapel"

"Mr. Beliveau's General Store" inspiration

Creepy "Hadley House" - no snakes in the basement tho!

"Hadley House" is pretty in pink and is an actual rental house ... not so scary.

"St. Thomas Chapel" where "Chief Inspector Gamache and his team"

held town meetings and such.

So many murders to solve in "Three Pines" - eek!

Beautiful woodwork inside the chapel

"Manoir Bellechasse" featured in The Murder Stone

This is actually Manoir Hovey where Bill and Hillary Clinton come

for vacations and where "Chief Inspector Gamache and his wife" spend their anniversaries.

Of course, a murder happened here during one of "Gamache and Reine-Marie's" visits!

A quaint and lovely hotel featuring a warm library that we all envisioned as told by the writer!

There were many discussions on how we had visualized the stories to

the actual sites and to the film versions.

We could have stayed there for a nice long spell!

So cozy and lovely.

The recognizable Canada Geese on the mantel made me feel at home too.

Day three of the tour took us to Knowlton, Quebec 

where Louise Penny actually lives with her new pup Muggins.

We hoped we might see her out and about the town ... but to no avail.

At the museum in Knowlton we saw the "Fair Day" painting as described in

Still Life.

Both days on our tour we had a wonderful local guide who actually knows 

the author and gave us a keen sense of how she was inspired to write.

Thank you Linda!

 Also here at the museum there was a unique fire hall.

A place where the "Gamache team" would set up an incident room?

This museum also contains a very sobering display about the British Home Children

that arrived in the Knowlton area and many other areas of Canada during war time.

A real life story!!!

The bookstore, Brome Lake Books, is where her books are launched and proudly sold.

Every book refers to a charming bookstore and this one is owned by the author's friends

Lucy and Dany.

They welcomed us and we shopped to our heart's content.

We walked down the hill, over the "Riviere Bella Bella" to "Myrna's Bookstore"

Our travel mates Arlene and Ardith

Next stop - "The Bistro" for a wonderful dinner.

So many new friends were made.

No story would be complete without mentioning "Ruth's Duck, Rosa"

Bleep, Bleep!

We truly had such a blast.

There was much needed laughter for our souls,

Excellent food for our nourishment,

Companionship for our loneliness,

Joy for our sorrow.

Our husbands were besties, we travelled together,

we stood up for each other's weddings 50 years ago,

and now we hold each other up!

My beautiful friend Yvonne lost her beloved Ralph one year after my beloved Jim!

Notes:

Some photo credits go to Yvonne and some others

You can click on the highlighted links for more information

This trip was organized by Fields Trips 

Our fearless tour guide Arlene and her bus driver hubby Kevin were awesome!

Till next time ... I'll be reminiscing and doing some more reading? Happy Fall 2023 to y'all.

A Summer to Remember

As I reminisce over the last few weeks,

I am shocked at how quickly the summer is coming to a close!

So many wonderful moments since my last post ...

Live theatre dates with friends but lack of pictures:

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Grand Magic - Tom Patterson Theatre, Stratford

The New Canadian Curling Club - Huron County Playhouse

Have I ever mentioned how much I love live Theatre?

There are still at least 3 more that I wish to see before the 2023 season closes.

Joseph - at the St. Jacobs Country Playhouse

 A special blue grass? folk? concert in the historical

Detweiler Meetinghouse

brought tears to my eyes as the old songs stirred so many good memories!

"No Discernable Key"  a local band of friends!

Record breaking warm summer rains brought incredible 

bounty this year and inspired Peach Custard Tart,

Peach Pies, Mexican Street Corn Salad, focaccia bread creations, and such.

Unfortunately I have not received the inspiration to do any canning - so far!

Before we know it -  dare I say, it will be soup season - another favourite time of year ...

Most wonderful time of year

There was even some sister time at her "lake house" to do a little "quilt piecing"

for the upcoming Wellesley Fall Fair quilt!

A fun Amish buggy pattern

My favourite Lake - Huron!

Summer wouldn't be complete without the annual

visit from our Kentucky friends.

It was so wonderful to meet Becky and Marty who came along this year.

They all taught me how to play "Mexican Train" with dominos.

Have you ever played it? So fun!!!!

Summer wouldn't be complete without lots of hot tub dates with these two.

Followed by treats ...

But ... one of the best parts of summer for these little humans was,

discovering 4 little kittens!!!!

September arrived with a wonderful visit from

a long-distant Indiana cousin.

We met as teenagers when her parents visited with my parents many years ago.

Thankfully because of facebook we stayed connected and an Ontario retreat

brought her and her husband my way.

So thankful for this opportunity!

We must do this again ...

My grandfather, her grandmother's childhood home!

Many common interests ... love you Idella!
You are so genuine and lovely.
Thanks for coming.

Hopefully we can do this again sometime.

And then, suddenly, what!!!!!??? how can it be back to school time.

Grade 3!  Off she goes ...

SK for him with a send off from Spinach, the Momma Cat

Till next time ... treasuring the summer of 2023. Praying for rain to stop the horrific wildfires in our Nation. Looking forward to a Fall bus trip. Stay tuned...