Celebrating the 100th College Royal

and my husband pointed out that we’ve around for over half of them

I attended the University of Guelph from 1971-75 and I met my husband Kevin there in 1973. College Royal is the annual open house that the university hosts in March. Many of the departments open their doors with displays and interactive demonstrations that highlight some of the work that goes on in the halls of academia.

One of the more popular attractions is the farming area that bring the public and farm animals together. The University of Guelph started out as an agricultural school but quickly brought in other avenues of study, such as Family Studies, veterinary studies, economics, hotel and food administration, visual arts, sciences, just to name a few.

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The last two photos show the cow that has had a portal surgically placed in her side to remove rumen from one of her stomachs. The rumen has healthy bacteria that is needed for some sick cows to regulate their own gut bacteria. It may seem cruel but the cow doesn’t seem to feel a thing when the demonstrator went in with her arm to fetch some of her good gut bacteria.

It was a beautiful day after the snow and rain stopped and we were able to walk around the campus to take in some of the sites.

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One of our last stops before going to the dog show was checking out the community art show. I had entered four of my pieces, just for fun, and was most delighted when I found a white third place ribbon on one of my pieces.

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At the beginning of this piece I mentioned that we’ve lived through more than 50 College Royals. We certainly haven’t attended that many but over the years we participated in quite a few. When the kids were little we took them there a couple of times and we went back when Andrea our eldest daughter attended the university and now our granddaughters are studying there and we’ve shown them around on at least two occasions.

Cee’s Fun Foto Challenge – Cars – Vintage, Toy and Very Small

thanks to Cee for hosting the Fun Foto Challenge https://ceenphotography.com/2024/02/27/cffc-cars-new-vintage-toy-etc/

Last summer, when we were in Calgary we dropped by an outdoor car show.

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A Look Back on 2023 – April to July

a busy part of the year as I get ready for my solo art show, open the cottage and prepare to fly to Calgary

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Adding Stitching to my art and experimenting with rock weaving
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Trip to the Guelph Arboretum
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Daughter running at the High Park Spring Runoff and my friend’s daughter’s wedding
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Poster for my solo show and curating the collection at home before installation
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Show is installed and ready for opening day
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After three long years we’re back to bread baking at Montgomery’s Inn
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Opening of the Lawn Bowling Season
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Trip to the Aberfoyle Market and the Elora Gorge
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Beginning of our cat sitting experience with Tober
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Another art installation at WAAC
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Opening Reception for “Artists Choice” at WAAC
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The Lakeshore Cheese festival and my friend Peter’s retirement party
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Opening the Cottage with my friend Liz
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Trip to the Cheltenham Badlands
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Long Branch Garden Tour….congratulations Mary
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Dog sitting Olive while her Mommies are on the East Coast visiting Winnie and her family
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A trip to the cottage with Andrea…put down the new floor in the kitchen
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Flying to Calgary to visit family and friends….took a side trip to Banff
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Fun times with my sister and her husband until……
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…Kevin ended up in the hospital for the next five days with pneumonia …kept himself busy with drawing
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In the meantime my sister and brother-in-law took me on many excursions in between hospital visits and I did get to spend time with our friends Lance and Lois
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To be continued…..

A Look Back on 2023

It seems that I have been very inconsistent with my blog in the last month. For that I apologize to my regular followers. I hope to do better in 2024. Here is a quick review of my highlights in 2023.

January to March 2023

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Going to the AGO
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Fun in the Snow in January
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Going to the Opera with my good friend Linda
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Attending the Kent Monkman Show for the second time
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Indoor bowling
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Balmy February weather…no snow
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Helping with the installation of the Legacy Show at WAAC
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Working in my sketchbook
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Starting work for my solo show in May
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Attending College Royal in Guelph
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In the barns at the University of Guelph
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Attending the Quilting Show at the Neilson Park Creative Centre
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To be continued…..

A Day of Remembrance

November 11th was always a difficult time for my Dad

I found that as Dad got older he became more sentimental. As the years passed he found Remembrance Day especially difficult as he remembered his friends and comrades who died in World War II. He always felt that he couldn’t mourn publicly because he served on the wrong side and this often led to periods of depression come November. For a man who was usually so chipper and positive this was difficult to watch. Dad passed away three years ago. Today I honour his memory and all the young men and women who have died in war, regardless of what side they served on. I know that this may not be a popular stance to take in light of the current upheaval in Ukraine and Gaza but I ask that you respect my choice to remember in my own way.

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Road Trip – Days 8 and 9

day 8 was Winnie’s birthday

After a full day, celebrating Winnie’s birthday (breakfast at Steve’s Diner, a trip to the Green Pig and a party with a piñata, sushi for dinner and birthday cupcakes) we packed our bags and bid farewell to Moncton and New Brunswick.

Leaving New Brunswick
Hello Nova Scotia

Our next destination was Halifax, Nova Scotia. In comparison to Moncton, Halifax had a much bigger city feel and was very hilly. Our hotel was right downtown near the water’s edge but navigating the hills and the construction aggravated the sciatic that I developed that morning when packing and moving my luggage.

I knew that I needed Naproxen but I only had Tylenol with me. Unfortunately the drug store right by the hotel was closed on the weekend so I made due with what I had. Not wanting to miss out on exploring the area close to the hotel I ventured out with Kevin. We headed over to Durty Nellie’s for an early dinner and to catch the World Rugby match between Ireland and New Zealand.

The food and drink were very good, the game was exciting but heartbreaking ( Ireland lost by one point) and the company was excellent.

I thought that the Guinness might have helped ease the pain in my back and legs but it became very evident on the walk back to the hotel that my condition was worsening.

In that short walk to and from the hotel I did manage to capture some of the interesting architecture.

Day10….relief (continued)

Day 7 – A Day of Rest

….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!

Happy Birthday Winnie

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.

My son-in-law and my husband
Me, my daughter and Winnie

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.

Road Trip – Days 3 and 4

Bangor, Maine to Moncton, New Brunswick

After leaving Sherbrooke we crossed the border to Maine. It was one of the easiest and most pleasant border crossings we’ve ever made.

The scenery was breathtaking. The road curved its way through forests of yellow and red and passed fast flowing rivers and glistening lakes.

The downside of crossing the border was losing our internet connection and not being able to use our GPS. As we got closer to Bangor we weren’t sure how close we were to our hotel until we passed it and the exit off the the freeway. We took the next exit but got so disoriented we had to stop and ask directions. It turned out that we were very close.

Right next to the hotel was a truck stop with a large diner and bakery. Not only is Dysart’s popular with truckers, the locals and tourists flock to it to enjoy the hot sandwiches, pot pies and homemade rolls and pies. We had our dinner there and thoroughly enjoyed the chicken pot pie and the personal attention that our grandmotherly waitress doted upon us. We were afraid that if we didn’t clean our plates she would have been personally offended. A flash from the past…..

The next day before we headed to New Brunswick we drove into Bangor to visit Stephen King’s home. This old Victorian home is fun to look at from the outside.

A Special Visit

….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.

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On Saturday, another special visitor came to stay for a week from the east coast. More about that tomorrow.