…thanks to Kaye for the prompt, Olive for the JusJoJan24 challenge https://kayespencer.com/2024/01/11/jusjojan24-1-11-2024-feline-olive-jusjojan24-cats-feralcats/
As soon as I heard that ‘Olive’ was the prompt for the JusJoJan challenge I immediately thought of my granddog, Olive. She is a seven year old Frenchie, that brings us much love and joy, especially when we get to dogsit her.
…the RBG is located in Hamilton and Burlington
Last Friday I met my sister in Hamilton. Her husband was attending a conference so they decided to make it a weekend and arranged for friends and family to look after the farm in the Chatham area. I picked her up from the hotel and we drove into downtown Hamilton, parked the car and walked to the Burnt Tongue for lunch. The restaurant specializes in homemade soup and the menu changes daily. After enjoying a bowl of soup and half a sandwich we made plans to go to the Royal Botanical Gardens.
Luckily the gardens is only a 10 minute drive and very easy to find. The rock garden is located in Hamilton so we stopped there first. We weren’t sure if there would be a lot to see and it is all outdoors. It found the walk along the paths brisk but pleasant and the views were wonderful.
Down the road, in Burlington is the main building. We had heard that their Christmas display was open to the public and in the evening there was a special light display. Chris and her daughter had already made plans to go Saturday evening to take in the outdoor lights but she was happy to check out the indoor displays with me. We weren’t disappointed.
One of the attractions was a beautiful train track, all built out of wood with trains running throughout. It had a very Canadian theme featuring the Parliament building in Ottawa, the grain silos from the prairies and the CN tower in Toronto. The kids loved it because the trains were characters from the Thomas and Friends series.
We also went through the Mediterranean greenhouse, checked out the gift shop and then headed outside where there were numerous Christmas displays.
As the sun started to go down I took Chris back to the hotel and we said our farewells. All in all it was a lovely day and I am looking forward to seeing her again in a few weeks when she comes to Toronto to visit her kids.
…thanks to Xingfu Mama for hosting the Pull Up a Seat Challege https://nowathome.wordpress.com/2023/10/20/pull-up-a-seat-photo-challenge-2023-week-42/
…it is much more than a corn maze
Last year in September, The Green Pig Country Market in Salisbury, NB, burned down. Earlier this year the owners started to rebuild and when we arrived last week they had a great selection of pumpkins and a variety of squash.
After Winnie’s special birthday breakfast we drove to The Green Pig. I thought we were just going to a corn maze but it turned out to be much more. Apart from the market and the corn maze they had a great play area for kids of all ages.
A fun Day was had by all the rain held off till we got back into the car.
….after 6 days of driving we decided to take it easy and explore Moncton and shop for birthday presents
We also decided to forgo the hotel breakfast and drove to a bakery that Gaelan introduced me to on my first visit to Moncton. At Copain we ordered coffee and some of the best croissants we’ve ever had.
Then we drove to Michael’s and bought two frames for art that we had gifted to Gaelan and Winnie and some art supplies for Winnie’s birthday.
After shopping I dropped Kevin back at the hotel and I went to Gaelan’s house to do some laundry. When Winnie came home from school we drove to Bulk Barn and picked up some candy and a piñata for her birthday.
That evening Kevin and I had a date night and went into downtown Moncton for a great meal. We went to the Tide and Boar where we shared a plate or Smokey wings. They were so delicious and so big that I had second thoughts about what I wanted for my main course. Our waitress suggested that we share the plate of seafood pasta, a T&B salad and the dessert. It was perfect.
The restaurant is actually a brew pub and the dessert we had was a deconstructed ‘beeramisu’. The topping was made with a reduced stout. Surprisingly delicious!
…my sweet little girl is 8 today
Our trip to the east coast has fallen on three days of celebration, Thanksgiving, Winnie’s birthday and her father’s birthday.
We started today with a special breakfast at Steve’s Diner in Riverview.
After breakfast we drove to The Green Pig to walk through the corn maze.
Later in the day we continued the birthday celebration with breaking a piñata, a sushi dinner (Winnie’s favourite food), opening presents and birthday cupcakes.
…for the next 2 1/2 weeks
Kevin and I are taking a road trip to the east coast of Canada and a quick drive through Maine (although we heard there might be flooding on the day we arrive in Bangor).
We’re spending five days with our daughter and her family in Moncton, NB and then we’re heading to Nova Scotia for another 5 days. I’m hoping to get lots of photos of the autumn colours in all the places we plan to visit. I’ve cleared some of my old photos from my media file so I’m I’ll be able to keep up with my blog from my phone. Wish us good weather. There is a tropical storm heading towards Moncton but our daughter isn’t too worried.
While we’re away we’re having the siding on our house painted. It should be done when we return.
This is what it looks like now. It will be interesting to see it with new colours (Hudson Bay Blue and Cloud White).
…Phyllida Barlow’s Eleven Columns
At the end of our son’s trip to Toronto we decided to check out the new Fall show at MOCA (Museum of Contemporary Art). The one exhibition featured the British artist, Phyllida Barlows who sadly passed away earlier this year. Her installations were created from inexpensive, low grade materials such as cardboard, fabric, plywood, styrofoam and cement. As a result her pieces are very textural and fun to look at.
…after a long hot day at the CNE
Thanks to Xingfu Mama for hosting Pull Up a Seat https://xingfumama.blog/2023/09/15/pull-up-a-seat-photo-challenge-2023-week-37/
….arriving from London, England
On Thursday of last week, our son and his family flew in from London, England for a two week visit. It was a rocky start because Kevin and I were in the Emergency department of the hospital when Brendan’s flight arrived and we weren’t able to pick them up.
Luckily Kevin is okay but we felt we had to have him checked out after he had a nasty fall at home. After six hours of tests and waiting we were relieved to find out that there were no broken bones or internal injuries, just a nasty bruise, swelling and considerable pain.
Brendan’s flight wasn’t without complications either. In Montreal they had to change planes and just before take-off a truck hit the plane so there was a delay to make sure that there was no damage to the plane.
On Friday, we spent most of the day at home so that the family could recover from jet lag and Kevin could get some much needed rest. Andrea and Josie came over later to visit with the family and we had a very relaxed dinner in the backyard. I took Sevin to the garden and had her help me with harvesting some of the tomatoes and a squash. She was delighted.
On Saturday, another special visitor came to stay for a week from the east coast. More about that tomorrow.
Mama Cormier 