Castles in the Loire Valley

Posted on April 19, 2022 by Mama Cormier

…..as of today we managed to take in two castles, the Amboise Châteaux Royal and the Château Royal de Blois

Visiting both castles required taking trains from Tours. The actual trips took about 30 to 40 minutes unless the train was delayed because there were too many bicycles on board. Yes that’s a thing apparently. The conductor refused to let the train continue until some of the bikes were removed or properly stored. Our last trip back to Tours took an hour. I’ve never seen so many people run as they left the train trying to catch their connecting train.

We have been very lucky with the weather since arriving in Tours. Our first castle trip was to Amboise and it felt like summer. We started out in an outdoor café got a bite to eat and then made our way through the old town to the entrance of the Château Royal.

The caste’s foundation was started in the 4th century by the Celts and over the medieval period the rights to the fortress was disputed between the counts of Anjou and Blois. In the 1400s the château was confiscated by the crown and became a place for all the Valois and Bourbon Kings to live, play and raise their families.

The style of the castle was greatly inspired by the artistic vitality of the Italian artists of the period. They were invited to Amboise and together with French tastes the Early French Renaissance was created.

View of the Loire from the top of the castle

One of my favourite parts of the Château Royal in Amboise was the garden.

Looking down from the top of the château

The Gardens of Amboise…..to be continue

Sculpture Saturday – February 26, 2022

Posted on February 26, 2022 by Mama Cormier

This cute little sculpture sits outside the Welcome Centre at Humber College, South Campus. It is in honour of the residents who lived in the buildings when they were part of the Lakeshore Psychiatric Hospital.

When the hospital opened in the late 1800s, it was considered a progressive institution; patients actively tended the grounds, worked on an on-site farm and assisted in operating the facility. The apple orchard that lines the path to the A and B buildings is lasting evidence of the patients’ work.

The hospital closed in 1979 and when Humber College signed a 99 year lease they agreed to preserve the grounds and the buildings. The old buildings were restored to their original beauty and turned into classrooms and administrative offices.

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Historic Trios for December 2, 2021

Posted on December 2, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…I’d love to see your trios….join the fun

C3270-F2-A-1512-4-F87-94-BD-1773-AF9-C61-FB — Miniatures from the Royal Ontario Museum

5-D6-CBF1-A-6-CCA-4-F24-869-B-5-ECAE3692211 — Medallions from the Old Angel Inn, Niagara on the Lake

Monday Window – Long Branch Cottages

Posted on May 17, 2021 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Ludwig for hosting Monday Window https://mondaywindow.wordpress.com/2021/05/17/monday-window-may-17-2021/

South Etobicoke in Toronto where I live is divided into three areas along the waterfront. The area on the east side is Mimico, New Toronto is in the middle and Long Branch is on the west side. Last week I took a drive over to Long Branch to check out the waterfront.

Long Branch was originally owned by Col. Samuel Smith in the early 1800s. He had a large family and he tried his hand at farming after he left military service. He apparently wasn’t a very good farmer and five of his seven children never married and continued to live in their parents’ home after they died.

In 1861, James and Margaret Eastwood purchased the old house and 500 acres of lakefront property from the Smith Estate. They cleared the timber and farmed the land. In 1883, they sold 64 acres on the eastern edge of their property to a consortium which developed it into an exclusive summer resort area. The land was subdivided into 250 villa lots where the well-off could build summer cottages.(copied from the Etobicoke Historical Society). http://www.etobicokehistorical.com/long-branch.html

Many of these magnificent ‘cottages’ still stand today. It always amuses me to think that people who lived in Toronto travelled 10 to 20 kilometres in the summer to travel to their summer homes.

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Monday Window – Humber College -South Campus

Posted on March 23, 2021 by Mama Cormier

….this is all about the old vs the new

Most of the buildings on the south campus of Humber College are from the late 18th century when the grounds were the Psychiatric Hospital. Originally built as a branch of the Toronto Asylum for the Insane, the hospital officially opened its doors in 1890 as the Mimico Asylum — the first such institution in Canada to be built on the cottage system. After the hospital closed in 1979 the buildings stood empty and in 1988 it was declared a heritage site.

When Humber signed a 99-year lease for the land and buildings in 1991, it began a complete restoration of the cottage buildings. Today the buildings have been restored to their original beauty and serve as classrooms and studios for the students. In between some of the old building a few new modern structures have been built. It’s a nice contrast between new and old.

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Thanks to Ludwig for hosting Monday Window https://mondaywindow.wordpress.com/2021/03/22/monday-window-march-22-2021/

Monday Window – Oak Hall

Posted on March 16, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Ludwig for hosting Monday Window https://mondaywindow.wordpress.com/2021/03/15/monday-window-march-15-2021/

On our outing last week to Niagara Falls I noticed a grand building high up on the cliffs and my husband told me that it was Oak Hall. Once we explored the falls, the river and Dufferin Islands we got in the car and drove up to the top of the cliff to take a closer look.

Oak Hall is a 37-room, three-story Tudor-style stone mansion that was built in the late 1920s for mining tycoon Harry Oakes. The Oakes family lived there for six years before moving to the Bahamas. Oak Hall was purchased by the Niagara Parks Commission on May 25, 1952 and for a few years, it housed displays by the Niagara District Art Association. Oak Hall currently houses 23 offices, meeting and storage rooms. Displays of Niagara Falls art and the furnished rooms are still open to the public.

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The house overlooks the Niagara River and the Dufferin Islands. I can only imagine that it is a lovely place to sit in the summer while enjoying the view.

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Toronto Power Generating Station – Thursday Doors

Posted on March 11, 2021 by Mama Cormier

….thanks to Dan Antion from No Facilities for hosting Thursday Doors https://nofacilities.com/2021/03/11/waterbury-union-station-thursday-doors/

The Toronto Power Generating Station is a former generating station located along the Niagara River on the Canadian side. The building was completed in 1906 and was built by the Electrical Development Company of Ontario, hence the name inscribed above the doors. It supplied hydro-electric power to nearby Toronto, ON.

The plant is built on top of a deep wheel pit and when it functioned turbines at the bottom of the pit, turned generators at the top by means of long vertical shafts. The water from the turbines ran out at the base of the falls. In its prime, it had a generating capacity of 137,500 horsepower (102,500 kW).

The plant ceased operations on February 15, 1974. In its place Ontario Hydro used the water downriver at the power station in Queenston, ON. The plant is now vacant and was designated a National Historic Site in Canada in 1983, due to its importance in the development of business, industry and technology in Ontario. It is the first wholly Canadian-owned hydro-electric facility at Niagara Falls.

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Thursday Trios – February 18, 2021-#8

Posted on February 18, 2021 by Mama Cormier

….if you have photos of anything with three people or three things why not join the fun

This week I’m posting a photo of my great grandmother and her two older sisters. I suspect that this photo was taken in the late 1800s or early 1900s. My great grandmother was married in 1902.

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If you’d like to join the challenge, simply copy my link and paste it into your post. Have fun.

Fired Up No More – Day 26

Posted on January 26, 2021 by Mama Cormier

…thanks to Becky B. for hosting January Squares, https://beckybofwinchester.com/2021/01/26/square-up-26/

Thanks goodness that this cannon is no longer operational. It sits in front of Colborne Lodge, the home of the late John Howard who donated his property to the city. It is however a very rare specimen once used to protect the citizens of York. It was manufactured in 1845 and is only one of two or three that can still be found in the city. There is talk of moving it indoors because over the years this brass cannon has been vandalized and a few brass pieces have been removed.

In 1873, the Howards deeded the property to the city for use as a “Public Park for the free use benefit and enjoyment of the citizens of the City of Toronto forever.” The property was 165 acres in size. In 1876, the city purchased another 172 acres to the east and in 1930 they purchased an additional 71 acres to the west, which included Grenadier Pond.

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Poppies for Remembrance Day

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Mama Cormier

….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.