Thursday Doors (April 19, 2018) – MacNab Street North

…..the first really beautiful spring day

Thanks to Norm for hosting Thursday Doors

Today we all went to Hamilton for a family lunch at daughter #2’s house. It was such a glorious spring day that we decided to stretch our legs and walk towards the park down the street. Gaelan and her family live on a street of old Victorian homes and lots of churches. Here are a few of the wonderful doors we encountered on our walk.

IMG_1492
IMG_1493
IMG_1494
IMG_1563
IMG_1568
IMG_1570
IMG_1571
IMG_1572
IMG_1573

Roda’s Critter Connection – April 9, 2108

…..despite the icy temperatures yesterday I ventured down to lake

I never tire of seeing the swans. Yesterday I brought with me the telephoto lens that fits onto my iPhone. I’m not sure I really needed it but I wanted to get as close as possible without scaring them off.

IMG_1383
IMG_1384
IMG_1385
IMG_1386

Thanks to Roda for the hosting theCritter Connection Challenge.

The Roster Spring Run-Off

….following in her father’s footsteps

When my husband was in his twenties to thirties he was considered an elite runner. He specialized in long distances, anywhere from 10k to marathons. As he got older he decided that in order to continue to improve it would mean making more sacrifices that would negatively affect our family. He made the decision to quit running because the sacrifice wasn’t worth it.

We never pushed our children into running but our son seemed to have a natural gift and in his early teens he pursued running until he started to suffer pain and he had to make a decision between a music career and being a runner. He chose his cello over his running shoes.

Our oldest daughter took an interest in running in her 30s. Over the years she has participated in numerous races, anywhere from 5k to half a marathon. Every year she steadily gets better. Her wife also started running with her.

Today we attended a race that holds special memories for my husband. The Spring Run-off is held every year in High Park and some 35 years ago or more Kevin ran in this race as a member of the Brooks Racing Team. The race then was known as the Brook’s Spring Run-off.

Today Andrea and Josie joined some 2600 runners to take part in this challenging 8k race. The challenge is in the hills that this race covers. Andrea was aiming to complete the race in 40 minutes and did it in 39 minutes and change. Out of 900 women participating today she placed 8th in her age category. She was delighted with her accomplishment.

P1060007
P1060009
P1060011
P1060017
P1060018
fullsizeoutput_6df1
P1060046
P1060048
P1060057
P1060058
P1060060

As you can see the race attracts all ages. My daughter is the young lady on left in the above photo with the blue sunglasses. Here a few more of her throughout the race (one of Josie #1927)

fullsizeoutput_6de4
fullsizeoutput_6de6
fullsizeoutput_6df8
fullsizeoutput_6dfd
fullsizeoutput_6dff

WPC – Smile

….thanks to WordPress for this week’s theme smile

Today we woke up to grey skies and soon after it started to snow. Later in the afternoon the sun came out but it was short lived as a north west wind blew through bringing with it a blustery storm. I couldn’t believe how quickly the weather changed.

This is the view from our daughter’s house in Hamilton.

7cf5f6bb_051d_4812_9b26_a9bdc24e7510

Fortunately the blizzard only lasted about 10 minutes and once again the sun came out and so did my smile. Here are a few shots of blue sky, the sun and a trumpet of swans that reappeared when the weather changed. All things that bring a smile to my face after this long weird winter and quirky start to spring.

IMG_1362
IMG_1363
IMG_1364
IMG_1365
IMG_1366
IMG_1367

Thursday Doors – April 5, 2018

….just before the winds really started to blow yesterday

Thanks to Norm for hosting

Yesterday was an incredibly windy day here in southern Ontario. There was a lot of wind damage across the province. I had a late morning appointment in Mississauga and I decided to venture down to the lake to check out the waves. Incredibly much of the clouds were blown away and the sun and some blue sky managed to peak through the remaining clouds.IMG_1332

One of the unexpected pluses of journeying down to the lake was coming across this beautiful old mansion that has since become a historical site and campus for the Royal Conservatory of Music.

IMG_1333
IMG_1334

According to Wikipedia:

The land on which the property is built was acquired by Joseph Cawthra in 1809. The farmland, which came to be known as the Grove Farm, was granted to Agar Adamson and Mabel Cawthra as a wedding gift.[2]

Agar Adamson, born on Christmas Day 1865, was the grandson of William Agar Adamson an influential Toronto clergyman. He married into the Cawthra family whose legacy in Peel lives on through the Cawthra Estate located near the intersection of the Cawthra Road and the Queen Elizabeth Way. Their legacy comes from supplying eastern white pine logs for ship masts in the British Royal Navy.[3][4] by Sandra Gwyn. He served under General Arthur Currie. Insights into his time at war may be seen in the CBC series The Great War[2] which features Talbot Papineau, another of the four Canadians featured in the book.

Agar Adamson designed and built the Belgian-style mansion on this land in 1919, after returning from the wartime service in France. In 1943, his son Anthony Adamson added a home for himself on the property. 

IMG_1335
IMG_1336
IMG_1337
IMG_1338
IMG_1340

In 1975 the estate was sold to the Credit Valley Conservation Authority and is now part of a public park on the Waterfront Trail.

fullsizeoutput_6d84
IMG_1339