Traipsing for Treasures

We have had a busy day of traipsing through the shops, looking for and finding treasures!! Although it was very fun for me, the others were not as thrilled with a whole day of treasure hunting! They were good sports though so, overall, it was a good day for all! :)

Here are some of the best buys of the day:

A printer and plant for Laura and Matt (house warming gifts).....

 

A unique button bracelet.....

 

A gorgeous red Italian leather purse ( 50% off).....

 

Black leather boots ($14.99)....yes, they were $14.99 (from Value village)!!!....along with a pair of new, black trouser shoes for $12.99 (also from VV)!!!!!

 

 

 

We also found some great clothes for Orion and some good books at VV! Such fun! :)

We took in the famous Hamilton Farmer's market and saw the many great shops/vendors. Ontario apples are being featured and there were many ethnic vendors, including a Portugese shop that made the most delicious Pastel de Nata!!! It seriously made me tear up as we reconnected with a treasured memory of our time in Potugal! Biting into my precious custard pastry.....I was beamed back to our incredible Tavira, which was very heart warming! We also enjoyed some amazing samosas and mediteranean salads for lunch.

 

 

 

 

 

It was a great and tiring day!

Tomorrow we are going to Niagra Falls to check it out, then on, to visit with Lawrence's cousin, Tammy, at Niagra On The Lake. Looking forward to it all!

 

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Meet the Fockers.....on Family Day!!

Another deliciously slow morning set the tone, of goodness, for our Family Day in Hamilton! The landlord, here at McNab Terrace, gave us a tour of this whole magnificent, historical building. Wow!! It is amazing, both esthetically and historically! Here are some pictures of the exterior and the entry.....

 

 

Laura and Matt arrived to take us to Matt's parent's home, where we enjoyed a VERY invigorating, 2 hour winter walk up the mountain trail, near their home, in central Hamilton, known as the 'escarpment'? The brick homes in their area are stately and very beautiful. The walking trail is scenic and well utilized by walkers, cross country skiers, dog lovers and joggers. The sun shone, the snow sparkled and the conversation flowed easily as we walked, talked, listened and learned about each other's lives!

 

 

 

 

We built up a hearty appetite, with all the exercise and fresh air, so we really enjoyed the appetizing snacks and tasty lunch Marnie and Paul served, upon our return to their beautiful 100+ year old home! Although we had met Marnie this past spring, when she came to saskatoon for a brief visit, it was wonderful to meet the rest of Matt's family, who we have heard so much about....Paul (his dad), James (older brother) and Ella (younger sister). It was such an enjoyable, easy visit with tons of great stories and lots of good, good laughter!! We definitely see where Matt gets his engaging personality, his love of people and his great sense of humor!! The afternoon flew quickly and by the time we left, we had another date set to get together again, before we leave!

Matt, once again, had to go to work for an evening shift at Ceilidh's (pronounced Kailey's), which is an Irish pub a couple of blocks from Laura and Matt's place. We hung out at their place for awhile, where Lawrence took time to get aquatinted with Matt's pet, an albino corn snake, named Kaa!

Then, Laura took us on a driving tour of McMaster University (where she attends).....

From there, we stopped for tea and AMAZING French macaroons! OMG....they were so, so, so delicious!!

From there, we went out for another great supper at a place called 'Earth To Table', where everything is organic and as locally sourced as possible. Our meal was fantastic and our conversation enjoyable! We were very grateful to have had at least one of our children with us on this Family Day!!

 

Now, we are snuggled back into our cozy and welcoming guest suite, resting and preparing for tomorrow's adventures, which will include the Farmer's Market and treasure hunting in vintage / second hand stores! Can't wait! :)

 

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Hello Hamilton!!

We arrived late in the evening, on Feb. 15th to the enthusiastic welcome of Laura & Matt's arms at the Toronto airport! They provided an enjoyable, verbal introduction to the area as we were driven to our guest house in Hamilton.

McNab Terrace Guest House is an amazing historical building, with 10 guest suites, situated in Hamilton's historic, tree-lined McNab Street neighbourhood. It is within walking distance of the downtown business & entertainment district, trendy & cosmopolitan restaurants & shops, and the apparently renowned Hamilton Farmer's Market (which we plan to take in)!

The guest house was built in 1879 and is comprised of the two centre residences in a series of six brick row houses designed by a famous Hamilton architect, James Balfour. The building is a very interesting design, combining two styles-San Francisco Italianate bay windows and High Victorian Gothic Gables, with intricate stonework. A unique feature of this building is the original horse carriage entrance, through the house to a rear parking area. It has been meticulously preserved and restored to its original grandeur.

I will post some detailed pictures of the guest house tomorrow......

Today, we enjoyed a deliciously slow morning, making breakfast in our suite. We the walked a block and half to meet Laura and Matt at a cute/trending restaurant, called 'Jack & Lois' , where we had a VERY tasty brunch.

 

After many cups of coffe/green tea, we made our way to Laura and Matt's house on Napier Street. They share a really nice house with two roommates. We love their house and neighbourhood!

After a bit of time being introduced to their house and visiting there, they took us on tour, where we saw street after street of amazing, old brick houses and mansions! Holy schmolly.....they are huge and regal and reek of history! (Pictures to follow in another post). As we drove through the historic streets of Hammer-town, giant, fluffy snowflakes fell, creating a picture-perfect winter scene.

Here are the smaller, taller brick houses right across the street from them:

 

Unfortunately, Matt had to go to work this evening so we enjoyed some quiet visiting time with Laura at their house and then we walked about 10 blocks, to the Locke St. neighborhood, for a tasty supper at a cute little place.

Now we are tucked back into our suite, watching Olympics, reading, blogging and enjoying a glass of tinto vino!

Tomorrow we are meeting with Matt's family, for lunch and an afternoon of visiting. What a perfect way to spend 'Family Day'!!!

 

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Bountiful Blessings!

Well....it has been forever since I have been able to focus on preparing another blog entry! Following our return home, from Portugal, we have, literally, been ON THE RUN!!!! This is our first 'non-committed' weekend at home and although it is a rainy weekend, it is feeling fabulous! As I write this....Orion is colouring superhero pictures, Lawrence is prepping hamburger patties, the fireplace is cozily crackling and I am sitting in my favorite rocking chair, absorbing it's comforting warmth and creating this page.......

Since getting home, we have: sadly said goodbye to our brother-in-law, Larry, who passed away shortly after our return; travelled to two family weddings (on separate weekends); attended Michelle's convocation in Manitoba; spent time with Laura & Matt as they prepared to move to Ontario; planted flowers to celebrate summer; took part in our favourite annual RJC golf tournament; drove out to BC; hosted a large lake party and dealt with changing tenants for our Rosthern house!! Within all of this, we have worked....me, full time....Lawrence part time!! Needless to say, it has been a full and very, very busy 9 weeks!!

2 weekends ago....just prior to Canada Day.....we drove out to BC (60 hour return trip) to pick our precious Orion up, so that he could spend his summer vacation with us, here at Greenwater! Since his arrival, we have been boating, swimming, beaching, practising his reading/2 wheel bike riding, hosting a 'Celebrating Success' convocation party for Michelle and taking Orion into town every day, last week, for swimming lessons (by the way....he passed his Level 2!!!! Hooray!!....We are all so proud!).

In the evenings, while we enjoyed walks to Uncle Loyd and Aunty Cheryl's cabin and to the park, we have been finding and picking WILD STRAWBERRIES!!!

Yes!!!! These incredibly sweet & delicious morsels are quite abundant this year and after two nights of just picking, eating, and grinning....Orion asked if we could pick enough to make muffins! What a great idea!! So....on Thursday and Friday evening, while we walked, talked and picked, we decided NOT to eat our pickings and we gathered enough to make a small batch of amazing wild strawberry muffins!!

 

As we woke this morning to cloudy, cool weather, we KNEW we had been blessed with perfect baking weather!! Today was 'the' day and boy, did we have fun making a delicious bakers dozen of fresh WILD STRAWBERRY MUFFINS!!! Our house smelled and felt wonderful as the muffins baked, we played board games and the rain gently made music on our tin roof!!

 

How blessed we are! (Wanna come over for muffins and coffee? We still have some Poodle Noodle soup we would love to share with you, too!! :)

 

Welcome Back!!

P.S. After the rain.....We got MORE!! Yippee!!

 

 

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