Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Day in the Niagara Region

After days and days and days of rain, Saturday morning of the long weekend dawned sunny and bright with only wispy white clouds in the crisp blue sky. Gloryoski! Not a single rain cloud was anywhere in sight.

After a delicious breakfast we set off for the Niagara Parkway and made our first stop at this Lilac Garden. The weather had delayed many of the blooms, but we still saw plenty of colour, and the fragrance was intoxicating. I took the picture below from the parking lot, looking up the main path through the garden.
This next picture is of AC at the top of the hill, and I am looking back towards the parking lot.
We wandered in and out amongst the bushes and drank in the aroma while taking picture after picture after picture.
Mixed in amongst the lilac bushes were this beauties.

From the lilac garden we continued on down the Parkway, but didn't go as far as Clifton Hill in the Falls area. That just didn't interest us this time. Instead we set our sites on the little Town of Niagara-On-the-Lake, and enjoyed a leisurely drive all along the river. We stopped for a picnic lunch along the way, and it was so hot and sunny I had to dig my sunhat out of the car, and wrap myself in a shawl to protect from sunburn. What a treat after all the rain we have had.
This was my view from the bench while I munched my lunch. Pretty huh?
We arrived at Niagara-on-the-Lake shortly after our picnic stop, and as we drove along the main street I kept thinking I saw a park up ahead, but as we approached each green area we discovered it was a private house, not a park. This happened over and over again. Sheesh, the houses were amazing.
We soon reached the shopping area, and I managed to pick up a trinket or two on our travels through the interesting shops. You can see some of the bling here on AC's blog.
There were lots of interesting things to see and do in this fabulous little town.
At the end of the day we returned to the Burlington area and enjoyed an early evening stroll along the water, and sat by the shore soaking in the last rays of sunshine being sent our way that day.
What a great day! Happy 42nd Anniversary to us.

Monday, May 30, 2011

One in every family

Just outside our residence in Burlington we saw this family of geese - Mother, Father and eight babies. In the picture below you can see Mamma and seven babies taking a walk along the inner side of the fence. We looked around and saw Dad and one lone straggler making there way slowly along the fence trying to catch up to Mom and her gang.
Soon Mamma, ducked under the fence and started walking in the other direction, along the outer side of the fence. All seven babies followed her, but the straggler declined to follow suit. He turned and walked with the others, but on the inner side of the fence. Dad dutifully stayed on this side of the fence to keep and eye on him.
Yes, there is one in every family. They march to their own drummer and do their own thing.

Sunday, May 29, 2011

My favorite B&B - The Professor and Mary Anne's

I am always bound to find something colourful and unique at my favorite spot to visit, and sometimes it is as simple as a plate of fruit...but it is always unique. This is the sight that greeted me when I walked into the kitchen. Eye catching isn't it?
Meet the Professor....aka Brother dearest...
and Mary Anne! Come on now, strike a pose...that's right! I do love this girl, she is a dear sister of the heart.
We are always treated royally when we visit, and are given lots of love by one and all. Here we see the newest addition to the family, Fergie, giving AC a little extra attention.
Even I am given a snuggle or two.
Soon though, all the attention is back on their favorite person in the whole wide world.
What a pair of cuties.
When it was time to leave, Oliver, Star and Fergie all lined up at the door to say good-bye.
Thanks for the wonderful visit. We'll be back again soon.

Friday, May 27, 2011

Our Digs in Niagara

After about six hours on the road last Friday we finally reached our destination in Burlington and were quite pleased to see our digs for the weekend. We didn't know what to expect as the arrangements had been made for us, so we were pleasantly surprised to find this building right on the shores of Lake Ontario...
and we could enjoy this view morning, noon or night.
After we checked in we found our way to a bench by the water and soaked in the view.
What a beautiful spot.


The inside was just as pretty and inviting as the outside. Below is a view of the hall just outside our guest suite. The couch was right beside the elevator, so I guess it was there so we would be comfortable while waiting for the elevator to arrive.
The library was a bright room, with cozy reading areas like this one. It was about to get a whole new facelift though, so many pieces of furniture had already been removed to prepare for the renovations. I thought it looked fine just the way it was though.
Our entrance to the dining room set the tone for the warm reception we always got from the staff.
We were usually given a table by a window with a lovely view of the lake. The food was good, the staff friendly, and the coffee delicious. We had a Tim's right across the street from us, and we didn't visit it once. Amazing!Finally, a pic of our comfy room for the weekend. The kitchen area had everything we needed to make ourselves a late night snack or early morning cup of tea. The fridge was stocked with essentials, and there was a basket of fruit and munchies on the counter for us. Thanks Lakeshore Place for a delightful stay.

Monday, May 16, 2011

Fun in the sunshine.

Last week, we had sunshine almost every day and I loved it. The kids spent all morning outside, and so did I trying to soak up the sunshine and get over this nasty cold.

Snack time is so much more fun outside.
The deck gets quite warm when the sun shines down on it in the morning so I dug up an old golf umbrella to give me some shade while I sat and kept an eye on the muchkins. Once they saw my umbrella, guess who had to have an umbrella too.
Yep, you guess it.
Sure wish we were going to need the sun umbrellas this week, but it looks like we will need our rain coats and boots instead. Sigh.

Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Riding like the wind

What fun to get the bikes out on the road and ride like the wind.

Hopefully I'll feel better soon and be able to join them.

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

Happy Mother's Day...Gifts, Smiles and Snuggles

Smudge helped me open my MD gift...
then JJ came over to share a snuggle and a smile.
Smudge climbed up on my lap for a big MD hug. She was quite concerned that Amma wasn't feeling well and had a bad cough. What a sweetie.
It was a warm and wonderful day. Hope yours was too.

Sunday, May 08, 2011

Under the weather

Yes, I am still under the weather, but seeing as it is cool and rainy, I am not the only one in search of some sunshine.
The Munchkins have fun out in the back yard in spite of the rain drops.
They add sunshine to any rainy day.

Tuesday, May 03, 2011

Still fighting

It has been a while since I posted anything, so I thought I had better check in and let you know that I am alive, but still a tad under the weather. Cough, hack, sneeze, splutter!

I usually walk home from my babysitting stint at the kid's place each day, about a 40 minute walk, but this damnable cold has so completely knocked me off my feet, that at the end of a morning of babysitting, I don't have a speck of energy left, and I need a ride home. Groan! I miss my walks.

The other day when AC came to relieve me, he suggested we all go out to Tim's for lunch, before he dropped me off at home. The kids thought that was a great idea, Amma wasn't too sure!
It was a bit harried at times, but all in all, JJ and Smudge were good as gold and...
a good time was had by all.
I hope to be back next week with more regular postings. In the meantime I gotta go open a new box of Kleenex and take some more Vitamin C. Talk to you again next week.