Summer Holiday in Ottawa

 We got tickets to a concert at the Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, a suburb of Ottawa.  Then we went the weekend before to explore the area.  We had plans to visit as many of the big museums as possible because they are the bigger national ones.  That plan lasted only a couple of days before we decided to rethink our plans.  We hated the city.  We hated the city driving.  We switched out our plans to visit smaller museums, farther out of the area.  These required scenic drives and gave us activities with far fewer people and much less traffic.  We enjoyed it so much more. 

Lancaster - Winnie

We drove because it was only a 5-6 hour drive, and with a fuel efficient car it would be much cheaper than flying and getting a rental.   We left in the pouring rain.  It was miserable driving and I was just the passenger.   Just the other side of Toronto, the skies cleared and it was lovely driving the rest of the way.  We took the Trans Canada, so it was a pretty drive.  We had a picnic in Havelock and got to the hotel as it started to cloud over again and drizzle.  We were early, and our room wasn't ready yet, so we waited in the lounge area, where they gave us hot drinks and freshly baked cookies until our room was available.   When we got to the room, this was our view.  A rainbow suggests a good start to the holiday.

We did go to the Canadian Aviation and Space Museum.  We'd visited the other two plane museums, one in Winnipeg and the other just outside of Hamilton, this one was a no brainer.   This one had great displays and a fair bit of well written information available.  The War Plane Museum had functional planes taking off and landing which was exciting and the Winnipeg Western Aviation museum had fabulous, well informed volunteers.   We did however spend well over 2 hours exploring the Ottawa museum.  I think I've had my fill of historic planes for a while.

We went to the Canadian Agriculture Museum and then decided that was enough city stuff.  We drove out to the Cumberland Heritage Village, which was absolutely lovely.  We went to the Railway Museum of Eastern Ontario in Smith's Falls, which was fun but short.  However' we'd done it in the afternoon, so had a nice drive back to the hotel.  On our last day there we found our way to Pinhey's Point, and the very well preserved Pinhey's House built in in the 1820's.  It was quiet, so very pretty, despite it raining.  We ended up finding a toy store that you could see from the highway, but had to drive through the bush to get to.  So much fun.  The concert that night was great.  Luke Bryan had a fabulous performance with a laser light show and everything.   While we have seen some great opening acts, two of the three were okay, and the third was mediocre.  However the main show was well worth it.  While taking the elevator down from the nose bleed seats, I glanced down and estimated that there were close to $2500 - $3000 worth of boots in the elevator alone.  giggle

Canadian Horse (Breed) at the Ag museum.  There aren't a lot of these left anymore, but I've seen a few and they all seem to be black.  They are sturdy, hardworking  horses: a true all purpose breed.  I've seen them being ridden, pulling carts and pulling ploughs.

Our trip to the beach was scenic, both in the drive there and back.  It wasn't a day for sunbathing for sure and the river was very cold.

A pretty stop along the way.  We'd stopped to pick up lunch as a bakery in Cumberland where we got baguette sandwiches which lasted us for two meals!  We had a picnic at a pretty roadside stop.

There were leaves starting to turn red and orange.  It really looked like early autumn.   The long range weather forecast said coolish weather, so I didn't pack shorts and that was a mistake.  We had crazy warm weather all week.  In all though it was a fun and pleasant holiday.  I'd brought my knitting and found that I could actually knit without getting car sick on the way home, until we hit the outskirts of the city so that was productive.   In all it was a fun and pleasant holiday.

Staycation week adventures

 It was a holiday week for us, a staycation with a few day trips planned.   Our first one got rained out by torrential rains.  We'd left to visit friends when the skies opened up and was just pouring down rain.   The rain was so heavy that there was virtually zero visibility.   We tried to keep on, figuring that rain this heavy only lasts for a few minutes, but nope, it kept on pouring down.  We cancelled our trip when we realized that the storm front was directly over us, travelling in the same direction as us ( thanks to phone weather radar!). We took the long way home as we missed our turn because we couldn't see it until we were right there.  Water was pooling on the roads and puddling badly.   A nearby town had photos of water in parking lots coming to the doors and past of some cars!  Crazy weather!

Dome open and CN tower

Our next foray was to a Blue Jays game a couple of days later.  That was also an adventure.   The weather was superb but stop and go traffic on the highway slowed down our trip dramatically.  Our train stop had no parking spots available at all.  Because the train is so much easier and faster than driving, as well as cheaper, we went to the next stop and the same.   The third stop we won and found parking.  We arrived the same time as our train but by the time we got from the far end of the parking lot to the platform, the train had left on its merry way.   Half an hour later, the next train arrived and we had so many Blue Jays fans there, that the announcer was cheerfully telling us to enjoy the game and a reminder of the stop we needed.

My view from 3rd Base line

We'd allowed a lot of extra time, thinking we'd grab lunch in the city and have time to look around the ball park.   Instead of arriving at 12:30 pm, we got there at 2 pm.  Sheesh.  However, the Jays played a great game and they won, which was really nice.  On our way home we took our time getting to the train station, waited for the next train with all the other Jays fans who'd missed the first train, and got to our desired stop with no issues.  The conductor announcing stops wasn't quite so luck and messed up announcing the station stops several times.  It was creating a lot of giggling in our carriage at any rate.  Finally we got to the station and our car was gone!  We'd wandered around the now half empty parking lot in the area where we'd parked and our car was not there.   All of a sudden a very nice lady stopped us and told us she'd just done the same thing.  It turns out there are 2 parking lots (we found out later there were actually 3 different parking lots) and she told us how to find the other lot.   A wander over there and I stayed in the terminal, just in case, and Hubby went off to find the car, which he did.  I ended up leaving the terminal to wait outside because a very noisy and violent person came in swearing and screaming at me, while banging things around.   Fun times (not so much).  

The next day we went back to the same area to visit our friends and have a bbq and some good conversation.   We took the scenic route to avoid the traffic and were late, but still had lots of time to catch up.   Our way home took us to where we could see the highway, which was at a standstill, so we took a scenic route back home.  It was longer in distance but  probably faster.  

Yesterday, after a busy week, we decided to just stay home.   I spent time in the garden and harvested the garlic.  As expected all the garlic that had been partially uprooted by the storm and tree falling didn't  grow anymore and so there are a lot of smaller heads of garlic.  The two with the undisturbed roots were a decent size though.   I watered the garden and then rinsed off most of the dirt from the garlic and have set it out to dry.  Once the outer skins have dried and become papery, the hard neck garlic will last several months. 

A Quick Holiday

 

This part of Manitoba is really, really flat.

We took our holiday early this year.   We went to Winnipeg and despite a few warnings from friends that there wasn't a lot to do in that Central Canadian City, we were busy pretty much all the time!  It was a mostly fabulous holiday.  The piece de resistance would have been a BTO concert on our last night there, but it was rescheduled due to a Winnipeg Jets play off game.   That was a bit disappointing, but in no way made the trip any less fun and interesting.

We visited the Royal Canadian Mint and took the tour.  It was super interesting and the guide was very knowledgeable on the process.  We were told the story of why we have a loonie one dollar coin rather than a voyageur canoe one dollar coin, the story of the worries about spyware in the first painted coin, which I totally remembered it from it being in the news and more.   They apparently use a different process now.  I missed the glow in the dark coin , with the Aurora Borealis which glowed.  That was cool.

We saw the Leo Moi sculpture garden, which was nice because it wasn't too long.  It was the day we arrived, had had a very early start, put in almost 8000 steps just in airports, and had the stress of a misplaced piece of needed identification, which was found.  So we meandered through the garden thinking that in the summer, it would be so pretty.  The sculptures were interesting, and it was a nice break before we could actually check in to the hotel.

We saw the last Winnipeg Jets game of the year.  It was my first NHL hockey game although hubby has seen a few.   It was really fun and though I did miss the commentary you get on televised games.  

The Manitoba Museum is a natural history museum, which was well done despite being under construction.   We missed the planetarium, which we wanted to go to, but hadn't thought we'd need more than 3 hours on the parking meter.   However there was a great display on a reproduction 17th C boat called the Nonsuch, which was built to celebrate the 300th birthday of the Hudson's Bay Co.   It was hand built in England using original plans,  shipped over to Canada on a boat, sailed around in celebration, and finally retired in the museum parking lot where they build a building around it.   It was an amazing display and I probably spent a bit of time there.   The information on the development of our planet was also where we spent some time.  I will admit to hurrying through the bat cave..ugh... small flying things...

The Aviation Museum of Western Canada was fun.  It was bright and we happened across a volunteer who wasn't involved in school trips, who answered lots of questions and gave us a lot of information about the planes.

The Assiniboine park zoo took the morning and a bit.   Despite a lot of exhibits under construction or the animals not out because of the weather, it was well worth the trip.   A few of the enclosures were small and probably not really large enough, but others were well done.  The polar bear display was one of the well done ones, and the seal display was fun.   I highly recommend the short movie in the Journey to Churchill Pavillion, which was captivating and awe inspiring. 

We went to see the Mennonite Heritage Village, but it was still mainly closed.  We got to tour the inside galleries and wander around the site, which was pleasant.  We got permission to peer through windows.  On the way back to Winnipeg, we stopped at the Centre of Canada monument, because how could we not!

This was a great trip and there was much more we could have done if we had the time and energy.   We had so much fun!

A Day at the Beach

 

 It was a warm and windy day.   We took a day trip to the beach.    This beach is usually not nearly as busy as most of the area beaches because it's got black sand, which can get super hot on the feet and isn't protected by any coves, points or land features.    We try to do this once a year.   We're not very good about sitting on a beach in the sun, but one of the  beaches is on a sandbar and is great fun to wade and float about in.   The waters are shallow and warm, unlike this beach.  However this one is fun to wade in.   Did I say it was windy that day?   It was creating crazy waves.  We only got our feet wet that day.

I don't think anyone who went in the water on this beach got clean at all.   The waves were churning up so much sand they were brown.  Here we're standing on the water's edge.  

There were a few kids in life jackets bobbing in the waves.  None of the adults were brave enough though.  We certainly weren't.

Five minutes away, the sandbar beach was still and calm.   We ate a picnic on a bench on the pier.  We probably should have gone in the water here, but instead we went for ice cream.  It was so hot, the ice cream was melting rapidly, making me happy I'd gotten mine in a dish, not a cone.   Next time I'll get a kiddy sized one because the single scoop was sooo big!

 

Up, Up and Away!

On our way home from Nova Scotia, when we stopped for gas, we saw this happening in the field beside the gas station. I grabbed the camera and left Al to fill up and find me in the crowd of people who had stopped to watch.

Summer Holidays!

 We packed up our cute little car and headed east.   We'd considered flying out but as this was really a bit of a last minute plan, it wasn't affordable, so we added a couple of extra days for driving time.  It was stupid early when we left, but it was still hot and sticky.   It was a hard first day, when we drove all the way to Edmunston, New Brunswick.   Lots of highways, and since it was the Canada Day weekend, lots of traffic, although it turns out that there was more coming home.   However, we were very thankful to finally arrive at our motel that night.

We got to Halifax the next afternoon,where we plunked down for almost a week, using it as our home base.  It was a good location for where we'd planned out trips, it wasn't so good for evening explorations by foot, as it was in an industrial park at the edge of the city.   Next time, we'll either take the tent and camp, or find a small motel in a rural setting.

When we arrived it was quite cool in comparision to the temperatures we'd left.   Plus, the first day there it rained.  I was so thankful that my fall/spring jacket was in the car.  I'd probably dragged it out with me one day, when the weather was unpredictable,not needed it and forgotten it for weeks.   However that day, it was brilliant to have as I stayed both warm and dry.

Looking over a field at Ross Farm

We started our Canada Day at Ross Farm, in New Ross, an open air heritage farm museum.  It was green and lush.   There were a number of buildings including the original farm house and barn.   We were early and there were few people there yet, so the first couple of interpreters we had were spectacular.   We had an amazing conversation with the gentleman who was in the barn and the man driving the matched pair of Canadian horses knew so much about both the breed of horses, area farming and the Ross farm itself.  The cooper was extremely knowledgeable about barrel making and the barrel making industry at that time.   It made for a fabulous morning!   We headed back to the hotel, and took the ferry from Dartmouth to Halifax, wandered around a bit, decided not to stay for fireworks and instead, went to dinner and had an early night!

Peggy's Cove Lighthouse

The next morning was the Lighthouse Route and Peggy's Cove.   We'd been warned that while Peggy's Cove was spectacular, it was often disappointing because of the crowds.   We were fairly early and people were just starting to arrive.   If I were to do this again, I'd head out even earlier, or go later.   It was however, not disappointing in the least.  The scenery was incredible and so different than what we'd seen the day before.  The area is rugged and set on a huge outcropping of granite rock.   You can see out over a huge area and it is spectacularly beautiful.

Annapolis Valley Look Off

We took a day to head out to the Annapolis Valley and went to the Look Off.  You can see right across the valley to the Bay of Fundy.  We'd hoped to see the Tidal Bore but our timing and the tide's timing didn't match up in any way and it wasn't really feasible to get there for the tide times.   Oh well, next time.

Mahone Bay

It was an amazing trip.  Highlights included the Rug Hooking Museum, which we found by accident, and which had an absolutely phenomenal display of both antique and modern hooked rugs, and the friendliest people working there.   The scenery everywhere was spectacular and so different from one area to another.  Lunenburg was the prettiest town, so colourful and unique.  Mahone Bay was picturesque in a more modern touristy way, but still pretty with lots of little boutiques and shops.

Scenery from Swissair 111 memorial

The scenery everywhere was amazing.  After the cool Canada Day, the weather warmed up to comfortable temperatures and by the end of the week, it was crazy hot.   We actually abandoned our walking tour of Halifax half-way through, went to the motel, changed into our swimsuits and hit one of the beaches where we paddled in the Atlantic Ocean.

I will say for sure that I didn't get to stay long enough.  It may be the only time that I've ever said that, as I'm usually quite happy to head home.  We did take an extra day to get home, which made the trip much less exhausting.  While I was happy to get home, it was definitely too short a trip!  I'd happily go back again. 

Christmas Eve Greetings

I got some of the decorating done this year.   I made this wreath for the front door, using some dollar store bits and a length of fake fir tree garland, which has been in  a box for years and years.   I decided to give it a second life, rather than toss it.   I found an old metal hanger and wired the greenery to the hanger with little pieces of craft wire, and wire from a decorative trim.  It's held up to the winds, snows, rains, ice and now the thaws of this December.

I wanted to make a wooden box to use as a centrepiece, so I could fill it with seasonal decorations.  I wish I'd taken photos of the building progression.  Apparently you cannot just cut the wood, glue the sides together and bang in a few nails, in order to make a decorative and not very functional box.  Nope, I needed biscuit joints, routered inlayed bottom, lots of clamps and way more time than I'd allotted.  It finally got some decorative nails about 5 minutes ago, but it won't be sanded, stained or finished.  But it is a box that will withstand the ravages of time.  This thing might never fall apart. 

I've been baking goodies all day.  I still have a couple more things to make for tonight, spinach dip, a fruit laden gluten free cake, and the veggie, cheese, cracker trays for this evening.   I made the cranberry sauce with orange juice and remembered why I don't usually do it that way.. yuk.   Live and learn.   However the gluten free /dairy free nanimo bars came out spectacularly.  I guess sometimes it's a bit of a give and take.

The mittens and scarves are all bundled up and in a basket so the kids can chose what they want. I kept one of the scarves out for me.  I'd been eyeing it for a while.  The scarf I've been using is all handspun, nature dyed Shetland, but it's a bit scratchy, so the wool/silk scarf is so soft in comparison.  The rugs are all done too, although I didn't finish one of them.  I kept putting off binding the ends until I realized I was really out of time.   I guess if I forgo the last cake, I might get to it.    

I'd better go finish up.  Happy Christmas everyone.    May your holiday season be full of peace, joy and sunshine.   I hope the New Year is full of happiness and finished projects for you all.

Holidays

We went to visit 3 of our kids.  They live in the big city and it is always a bit of a shock to see the differences.   They all live in a trendy little area full of little shops with "eco-friendly" items and produce shops.  The latter were amazing; full of fresh fruits and veggies at reasonable prices, like nothing I've seen locally here.  We were there for a few days.

We went to the Toby Keith concert.  

We had great seats, under the roof so when it rained, we were sheltered.   When the skies opened up, the people on the lawn got to move to the unused seats, which was nice,although they still got wet.  Eric Pasley opened and this rainbow was the best part of his performance.  Maybe it was too much base or not enough power to the amps, but he was just okay.  His album is decently produced though.

The second performer was Dallas Smith who was awesome.  He totally rocks and just pumped out a great show.  I tried and failed, to get a photo of his ink, not that I'm a fan of tatoos, but his forearms were interesting.  

Toby Keith was pretty much what you would expect and a fun concert!   A bit rushed it seemed, but we later read that there was a 20 minute delay, so he pushed his songs together to get everything in.   He certainly knows how to court the crowd, and doesn't pay lip service to social niceties or political correctness, especially when you see how many references there are to his sponsor throughout the show.


Two of my sons took us for a tour through St. Lawrence Market and then to Allen Garden.  On the way we crossed the street to avoid a fight and almost got hit by the cop car chasing the assailant. Yikes.... not worth the pretty views at the green houses for that nonsense.

But we saw turtles, a whole pile of turtles at that.   We wandered through shops and stopped for lemonade, and finally made it to our last stop, which was Medieval Times for dinner and the show.   So the show was a bit cheesy but really fun.   There were Lippizaners, or at least I'm guessing they were, since they were grey and did a horse ballet show, which was pretty much classical dressage moves.  Albeit a bit sloppy in places, it was enjoyable to watch and it was obvious that the horses are well cared for and in great shape. 

We were in the yellow section so cheered for the yellow knight, who sadly didn't win in the end.   The horses used for the games and jousting were not only beautiful, but well trained and it was a fun show.  Of course there was a dark knight, who was vanquished in the end.  The food was decent.  They catered to the allergies and the vegetarians with ease.  The atmosphere was lovely, theatrical and very well done.  The cheering and booing was lots of fun.  In all it was a great evening.

Despite all the fun and excitement, it was good to get home ;)

A quick break to eastern Ontario.

We took a few days off and drove up to Brockville.  On the way, we stopped by the Canadian Cooperative Wool Growers warehouse, where I got to wander through the building, see the bales and bins of fleece and picked out 2 to come home with me.  Of course my camera was no where to be seen.  More on those fleeces in a later post.

One day we took to revisit Upper Canada Village.  I have to say it is an amazing place with a great many knowledgeable interpreters.   However not all were into sharing information.   A couple of the cooks were more interested in talking amongst themselves and the tin smith was down right curt, unfriendly and unapproachable, answering questions in half sentences at best if one or two words wouldn't suffice and not sharing any information beyond those questions.

 There were baby animals though.   This little calf was just a few days old.  Because calves were removed from their mamas a day or two after birth, they do the same thing, rather than leave the calves to be raised by the cows, despite them not using the milk.   I was told they do this not only because it was period practice but because it socializes the calves more easily, making them less skittish around the many, many people who will trapse by.

The buildings are really well appointed and as I said, most of the interpreters are amazing.  The broom maker was one such interpreter who gave a stellar talk while making a sorghum broom.

 They were out tilling the corn fields.  Their gardens were growing nicely.     Actually they had potatoes, tomatoes, beans, kale, lettuce and more which were much bigger than mine at home.   It didn't help my garden that the chickens found there way in while we were gone,  ate all the lettuce, pecked a bunch of early tomatoes to pieces and ate the strawberries.

But back to the village.... they had a set of working oxen!  How cool is that?   Apparently oxen over heat much more quickly that horses and in the very hot weather, like that particular day was, they require many more breaks.  It has something to do with them having less sweat glands than horses.

In all, it was another lovely visit.  I do wish I'd picked up one of their cobber brooms though, because I am noticing many cobwebs this spring.

A trip away

Earlier this spring I won concert tickets, for a Tim McGraw concert in Toronto.   It was to be held 4 days after my birthday, so we decided to make a long weekend of it.  We could  go to the concert, play tourist, and visit with my son.   To make it much more enjoyable, we took the train in, so we didn't have to deal with city driving and parking, both of which seem to be deal breakers with us.  We'll rarely go into the city if we have to actually drive.

The concert was really good.   I'm not a big enough McGraw fan to fork out $40 for a t-shirt to say I've been there and done that, but I've not been to a stadium concert in a very long time and this was a polished act, with a great light show.  The opening acts were okay and the only downside was a very drunk young lady, who kept leaning over hubby, to make passes at me.  That was just plain weird, especially since she was younger than my daughter! 
You know though, many thanks to Kix 106 for the tickets because we wouldn't have been able to go otherwise.

The next day, we wandered down to the waterfront and walked along the boardwalk.  It was a lovely day, really warm and a bit hazy.  It was so away from the city noise and hustle that it was a great break.  Hubby wanted to take a tour of the Toronto Islands.  I figured if we were going to do that, I'd like to take the tour on this tall ship.  However we missed the departure time by just a couple of minutes and it was going to be 2 hours before the next one.  Instead, we found this dinky little boat that was just about to leave.  It was comfortable, fun, with great commentary and remarkably cheap in comparison to the other tours.   We enjoyed it immensely, despite not being on the tall ship.

The waterfront is amazingly scenic, for a city that is.    After we disembarked from the tour boat, we wandered around and ended up at the Rogers Centre.   Being totally turned around, we walked to a subway station, took it and then a streetcar back to our hotel.  It turned out though, that the Rogers Centre was only a couple of blocks from our hotel and it took us much longer to get back than it should have.   But I was able to do a lot of people watching and boy, there are sure a lot of people to watch.  And some to watch out for too, as they race along the sidewalks, with their phone in hand, texting or talking, oblivious to the rest of the world.

Later that afternoon, we met up with my son and after a dinner out, he treated us to a Blue Jays baseball game.  We had fabulous seats and because we were in the foul ball zone, I was advised not to bring my knitting, so I actually watched the whole game.  It was quite fun despite the Jays being miserably trounced by the Boston Red Socks 14 - 1. 

If Fort Henry had been open, we could have stayed another day.  I've wanted to go to that particular historical site for years, but something always goes wrong.  This time, we planned to go and it's closed for 3 weeks, for some food festival, sigh!    The train trip home was interesting as we had to walk to the nearest subway station as the streetcar was broken down and we weren't sure we had time for it to get fixed and still make our train.  Getting home, like always, is a wonderful feeling.  While we enjoy being away for a few days, and loved seeing our son, who we don't see as often as we'd like, it's always nice getting back home.

More Day Tripping

We spent a day at Upper Canada Village.  Even so, we didn't get to see all of it.  It's huge and the costumed staff is knowledgeable and willing to discuss the history of the various buildings and depictions of the homes, businesses and trades.  

The Wool Mill was situated right near the entrance to the park.  The front part of the downstairs had a huge fibre washing facility.

 After washing, the fibre was spread outside on these racks to dry.   A storm had rolled through the night before so the fibre was really quite wet.  It was very clean and enticing.

Upstairs housed the carding and spinning machinery.   The fibre is  starts in the first carder and automatically is fed to the second carder.  It's pretty messy as large piles of vm and short cuts fall out the bottom of the carders.   

There is spinning machinery as well as bobbin winders.   It wasn't running when we were there but all the spinning equipment is functional.  I don't remember the all the details about the commercial spinning machines,  the speed was quite impressive.

After seeing the carding and spinning facility, the tour leads to the weaving room.  Here you can see the huge belts which connect the machinery to the water driven gears.   There were looms, a warping mill, brushing and fulling machines.  It was all fascinating but I was particularly taken with the brushing machine.  It uses Teasels!    The sample showed that the Teasels do a really good job of raising the nap.

The weaving and spinning house has a large number of wheels, including production wheels, one with an original distaff, and an absolutely lovely walking wheel.  It did invoke a small amount of lust, seeing that wheel in the corner.   It is a beauty for sure!   They have a 4 shaft barn loom in really good shape as well.  They were weaving a blanket with a cotton warp and handspun weft which was really nicely done.

 This very old castle wheel was in a roped off bedroom.   After asking a few questions about it, they brought it out into the main room so I could photograph it properly.  It's from the late 1700's.  it's in amazing shape.  The 3 legged design is so it will fit easily into a corner and be out of the way in a small cabin.    I was thrilled that they took the time to bring it out and show it off.  You don't see a wheel like this too often, at least in our area.