…this painting reminds me so much of my friend’s mother’s garden
I’m getting ready for a new show in January and I’m experimenting with a new technique of intuitive painting. You would never know that this painting was going to end up as a floral when I started. I think a lot of my paintings will go in that direction but because it’s abstract and intuitive it could take a completely different turn. Spoiler alert: the second painting is also a floral abstract but quite different from this one.
…I think this is what I’ll call this small painting I made last week
Mixed Media – 8 x 10 unframed
….pulled out the lights and strung them on the outside tree
On the weekend we cleaned up the garden and put away the lawn furniture. We took out the snow shovel and snow blower and put the garden tools and rakes back in the garage. I also found the outdoor Christmas lights and dragged them out as well.
On Saturday our eldest daughter came over helped me put up the lights. This has to be the earliest I’ve ever put up the lights. I’m usually the one who gets to it a few days before Christmas. This year because of COVID we decided to try and make the Christmas season as cheerful as possible seeing that there will be no Santa Claus parade, shopping mostly on-line or curb side pick-up and no family gatherings.
We’re planning on a Zoom Christmas for now. In Toronto we’re in lockdown again for at least four weeks. To keep our spirits up we’re planning on decorating as normal, doing a cookie exchange and doing drop off deliveries of presents and goodies.
Our first snow was pretty slim down by the lake but other parts of Toronto and north of the city there was quite a bit of snow. Most of it has now melted but I’m sure there will be lots more to come in the next few months.
I’m glad we got the lights up when we did. It was probably the last nice day for awhile. Now that they’re up it helps boost my mood and I’m starting to pull out more decorations.
….a small but mighty winery
Part 2
You know a winery is good when the local restaurants all have their wine on the menu. We were introduced to Marynissen years ago when we first started visiting Niagara-on-the-Lake. On our last trip we learned that Marynissen was the first winery in Ontario to plant the cabernet sauvignon grape and now 48 years later they are celebrating the 30th anniversary of their cabernet sauvignon wine.
While there we sampled this special wine and I have to say it was spectacular. The tasting room is very unpretentious but the staff are extremely friendly and helpful. We walked away with a case of wine. Hopefully we can hang on to some of it for the holidays.
…after the shock of losing my Dad and having to deal with the immediate paperwork we decided we needed a break
We were surprised that some of our favourite places outside the city were booked in the middle of the week, even during COVID. Toronto and the Greater Toronto area has more restrictions in place because of higher positive test cases so I guess people were looking for places, like us, to get away to.
We finally found a great old mill that was converted into an inn in the outskirts of St. Catharines. It was very close to all the places we wanted to visit and it had a fantastic restaurant on the premises. The Stone Mill Inn was located in a once very industrial area and my husband immediately recognized it because one of his father’s favourite drinking establishments was just around the corner. That’s a story for another time.
We had dinner at the Italian restaurant in the Inn that evening and were pleased and relieved that the place was not busy. All the safety protocols were in place and the servers all wore masks. The food was fantastic.
We decided to forgo the outlet mall on our first full day of exploring. We headed straight for Niagara-on-the Lake and made our first stop at the Wayne Gretzky Winery. A lot of wineries are now expanding their inventory to include beer and spirits and interestingly enough it was the whiskey here that we preferred. I’m not much of a whisky drinker but I loved the salted caramel whiskey. I guess some people would argue that salted caramel is an abomination to that classic spirit but it was flying off the shelf.
Our next stop was the old town of Niagara-on-the-Lake. We walked down the main street and browsed through some of the stores and of course we had to stop in the local bakery and pick up my husband’s favourite pastry, eccles cakes.
Back to the Inn for another amazing meal and more adventures the next day……..
End of Part 1.
….a time to reflect on my Father’s life
Dad always said that November was the hardest month of the year for him. It always made him feel sad, especially in the last few years of his life. He was a very young man, only 17, when he joined the army and he saw many of his friends die before his eyes. He often wondered why he was spared.
The other thing that I think he found difficult was the fact that he fought for the ‘other side’ and he knew that no one, here, would be thanking him for his service. He never talked about it but I know that it weighed heavily on him. I do know that he was always very grateful for the friendships he forged after the war, first with the Americans who helped him after he escaped the Russian prison camp and then with the English who gave him his first job.
Years later he emigrated from Germany to Canada with his new and growing family. He quickly got a good job at the Royal York Hotel in his chosen line of work. He was able to buy a car almost right away and four years after arriving in Toronto he bought his first home in Oakville. Dad always made friends easily with other German immigrants and Canadians alike. No one seemed to look down on him because he fought in the German army.
Over the years Dad pursued a variety of jobs but his happiest days were as an entrepreneur. When I was 16, Mom and Dad started their own fabric and sewing machine business and never looked back. Again Dad was at the top of his game when he was surrounded by people and both he and Mom had close ties with the business and local community.
As the years passed, Dad lost my mother while vacationing in Mexico in 1993 and then his second wife in 2017. When he turned 90 in 2016 we had a big party for him. Despite having lost numerous friends already he always made new friends where ever he went and yet come November he would always reflect on those who had died before him and he would fall into a deep depression.
Dad passed away almost four weeks ago. This Remembrance Day I will reflect on all the good times I had with him in my lifetime. It will be bittersweet. This painting is dedicated to you Dad.
…or just discarded
With so many masks being worn now it’s not surprising to find the odd mask on the ground. I’m sure I’ve lost one or two getting out of the car and parents are probably finding that children lose masks as often as they lose their mittens.
My husband thought it would be fun to photograph these displaced masks and post them on the blog. I agreed but as soon as I did it seemed like lost or discarded masks were not as plentiful as we thought. None the less I’ve been on the lookout and here’s what I’ve found so far.
It looks like masks aren’t the only things that get misplaced.
…Thanks to Jez for hosting Water, Water Everywhere – https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2020/11/09/loch-lomond-water-water-everywhere-50/
On our little get-a-way last week we stopped at Albion Falls in Hamilton. I love waterfalls and Hamilton has over 100 of them tucked behind the trails of the Niagara Escarpment that cuts through the city. Albion Falls is one of the more popular ones. It is almost as wide (18 metres) as it is tall (19 metres) and is visible from two viewing platforms, but there is currently no access to the bottom.
…thanks to Jez for hosting A Fan of …. https://jezbraithwaite.blog/2020/11/09/flowering-cacti-fan-of-84/
This week I’m a fan of my husband’s abstract paintings. Back in August he finally started painting again after a 45 year hiatus. He was primarily painting with acrylics but yesterday he started to experiment with watercolour. Here are his first attempts in this new medium.
This last photo is the first painting in a frame under glass. This one has already been slated as a gift to one of the nurses at MacMaster Hospital in Hamilton.
….some of the bigger ones in Toronto are being converted into condos
It’s not unusual for old churches that are no longer in use to be sold and converted into something else. Last week when we were in Niagara-on-the-Lake we came across a church that was repurposed into a brew pub. Craft beers have become very popular in the last ten years so it wasn’t surprising to see another one pop up in the heart of wine country.
The Silversmith Brewing Company was founded by two friends who purchased the old church in 2012. St. John’s Anglican church was built in 1894. It stayed that way until 1954 when it was deconsecrated. Trinity Lutheran church used the building from 1955 until about 1965. That would be the last time the building was used for religious service. From 1965 to 2012 it was a private residence and an antique shop (twice).
The pub serves a variety of craft beers but they are specially known for their dark beers. You can order flights of beer so that you can try a variety of them before deciding on your favourite. The food menu is limited but the fried chicken sandwich was outstanding. The next time you’re on your way to Niagara-on-the-Lake stop in Virgil and enjoy a glass of beer with your lunch before heading out to do some serious wine tasting.
Mama Cormier 