Canada was brilliantly beautiful. The leaves changed right before my eyes. The farms are still so enchanting to me. The long drives, the clothes on the lines, the big barns with all their pumpkins lined up out front for sale. The wild geese by the hundreds settled in freshly harvested fields. I'm a girl but I still love to watch all the big machinery of the harvest...and of course the Mennonite and Amish with their boys and threshers.. The smell of Fall has distinctly arrived there. Tim Horton's English Toffee Coffee made me weak at the knees each time we went in...and there, Tim's is a daily stop. Gotta get me one of those down here. The toasted coconut cream donut is worth being 40-50 lbs over weight for...maybe even more.
I stayed in Exeter with Olive...what a quaint and wanna be there kind of place. You will see the potted flowers ALL OVER THE PLACE ON MAIN when I post the pics. The Quilt shop topped ANY I've been in...and THAT says a lot. Got my fingers itchy to get one going. Olive knows EVERYONE and I was so kindly greeted. I have to laugh...the Canadian/American thing is still so strong there. Grateful they consider me MOSTLY Canadian...no one can understand why I wouldn't come back with such a messed up Government.
My prize for going was GrandMom's dishes. These are the dishes GrandDad bought her when the Baby (Timothy) died. She had always wanted them, but the price was dear...so GrandDad brought these home to her to help cheer her up. I ate off of them my whole life when at their house. Now we will use them, and everyday remember how sweet GrandDad was to GrandMom. I LOVE THEM...even without the love story.
Olive's birthday party/legion dance was packed....head count was 88 for the night. Joann (Wonder woman of Brussels) made three large sheet cakes for me and it was barely enough...not a piece left over! The band was so so...but these people are so kind and don't really care. They just want to be together. Pretty much like High School. Most are paired off. It's hard on the women (who always out number the men) who are not asked to dance. Some of them dance together---Olive and I had a go for a song or two. I can't lead to save my life...but Olive was good at it. I quickly realized the reason I loved the dances before was because we had GrandDad, and he made sure we all got a turn. I was touched to tears when they played MY BONNIE LIES OVER THE OCEAN...and there were tears streaming down this one woman's face, and for the first time I realized how REAL that war was for these very people. I wondered if her Bonnie was her boyfriend, husband, brother, ...and am sobered to think it was probably all of those...
So fitting that Olive won the door prize lotto ticket and then won $4!!! I love me a prize! She split it with me and told me to have a coffee with it and think of GrandDad...I think I will :)
We drove to Wiarton to visit John...my Mum's first cousin's husband. He is a dear dear soul. He lives on the water and the view from his window is life sustaining. You want to just sit in the lazy boy and just BE there, looking out. The yard is my dream. The pond has 7 frogs, the beds are filled with all sorts of flower and fauna--Better Homes and Garden's wants a look at this place! Then down by the water they have created an Oasis...a virtual child/adult heaven. The water was super nippy....so that helped me not covet it so much--you know me and the water temp....
John's daughter Becky and her husband and little 4 year old Brian came by to say Hi. Calvin was away at work. But Calvin's magic is everywhere in the house and yard. John says Clavin is the one who does all the maintenance, etc. He loves his kids like crazy and its great to here him talk about them.John treated US to lunch even though I invited HIM...always makes me feel awkward...but that is the kind of dear he is. I had a Monte Cristo sandwich for the first time and it rocked my world. They take two pieces of hot prepared french toast (with egg already cooked on ) and grill white cheese and ham in the center, then you dip it in maple syrup...YUM da YUM da YUM YUM YUM !!!!! He is fun and easy to talk to and I was sad to leave...it was a 3 hour plus trip back to Olive's so we weren't there but a few hours. All the driving was wonderful. I didn't know I liked it so much...just uninterupted hours to talk to Olive, and then the hours alone...just me and the IPOD... little note to KBULL 96...I MISSED YOU!!!!
Farmer Rae was right where I NEEDED him to be in my brain and my heart...out on the tractor working in the field when I drove up. As I slowed, he stopped, looked, and the smile of a lifetime came across just for me!!! He quickly brought the tractor around and we had a sweet visit. I wish I could adopt him. He is 69 on Monday the 25th. Such a life of HARD HARD work. And so GOOD to GrandDad and me.
The Mennonite's on GrandDad's farm have made some PERFECT changes. It was almost rightful that they took out the wood stove and moved it to the basement...he spent his life cutting the wood for and feeding that stove. They took the wall out between the kitchen and front room and half the living room wall out so it is all open. In the kitchen they took out the wall going to the Basement/Cellar and built a half wall there. She was in her special dress and had her hair like unto the other Minnonite women, but other than that, there was nothing else to denote their religion. They were using the electricity, had a van, cell phone, computer. His job is to take care of hooves on dairy cattle.They put a wood ceiling and wood floors in...GrandMom and Dad are tickled I am sure. The trees and bushes are so grown up around the yard you have to drive in to even see the place. Both the adjoining fields are plowed with some fall crop in it looks like. Marion and Rae both say they are super nice. They have a 3 year old son, a young daughter and a baby on the way for Spring. Perfect transition for that farm...makes me warm all over.
Olive's new apartment is much brighter and bigger than her last one. She is on the upper floor with 7 steps to navigate up with groceries, etc...but she is a total trooper and WANTS to have steps...to keep her young and on her feet right! She makes me laugh and want to be like her! I slept on the pull out couch and it was snug enough. The runs were out in farm territory again, so bliss....the town is as neat as a pin. EVERY home has its yard taken care of to the max...how do they get all those people to do it???????? I missed running GrandDad's C Line...but it was an hour away, and too far to drive just for a run.
My way home will never be forgotten. I was overcome not knowing when I'd be back that way. I drank in every sound, smell, farm, every field, every farmer. I never knew I liked being by myself SO MUCH. I was filled to bursting with gratitude for being me and getting to be there. It was pretty much BLISS. I felt JOY to the core as I came out of this little place called Grand Bend. No words to describe it. Just me, on my way home, having been in this most beautiful place with most beautiful people, all because of GrandDad. Who loves me. I really, really, really, REALLY like being LOVED.
1 comment:
LOVE YOU! Thank you for sharing...
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