Happy Turkey Day!

Earlier this week Ron received a call from friends at the Tweed church.  Their pastor was on holidays and the one that was supposed to fill in had fallen off a ladder and broke his leg.  The question to Ron was “could be take the service?”  So today, we were off to Tweed with a guitar and a sermon.

It was a beautiful day for a drive.  The leaves are still showing their brilliance.  Along the way we had to stop for some turkeys crossing the road.

 They moved slow as if to taunt us that they had escaped the roasting pan this Thanksgiving.  They flew up to the fence to stare at us as we drove on.

We arrived at the church and went in to get ready.  Ron and Tanya ran through some songs. 

We were so happy that Tanya could be with us.  She has a beautiful voice and a gentle spirit.  It was also nice to be there with some Napanee connections.   Gary is one of the board members at the church and he and I grew up on Robinson Street in Napanee.  He played drums during the service.

Janie, another Napanee girl back in the day was working in the sound booth to get the songs on the screen.

Donna (Tanya’s mom) and I were the groupies for the day.

It was a nice morning and as I ate my Turkey Stack sandwich from Tim Horton’s at lunch I thought about those turkeys staring me from their perch on the fence.

Happy Turkey Day!

Fallin’for Maple

To keep with the fall theme we went to the “Fallin’ for Maple” festival.  

We met Kevin and Pam there and did the walk around.  So many people came to this remote place into the woods.  It is always interesting to see how Tamworth can draw the crowds.

Soon we were joined by the rest of the clan and Sarah was happy.  Forty venders lined the area, selling their products.

The drawing point for many was the horse drawn wagon.  We purchased the tickets and stood in line.  The little guys were excited, waiting for their turn.  Finally, it was our turn.  We climbed in and found our seats.  

The questions started coming.  

“How come the cars are driving on the road that the horses are going on?”

“How come it smells like poop?”

“Did we bring snacks?”

And then there were questions from the bigger people…. “What’s the lines in the fields?”

I smiled and explained that it was the hoses that collect the sap.  This group needs to come back in the spring and experience the whole maple syrup experience.

After our “Fallin’ for Maple” time was done, our fall theme continued for the day.  Ron was off to sing at an “Applefest” and Sarah and I watched the Maple Leafs game.

Maple, apples and hockey…that’s fall for you!!

Smells of Fall

The week flew by with me sitting in the church office trying to keep on top of things.  By Thursday, I was ready for a day outside.  Ron and I went on a search for apples.  We were driving by The Loyalist Trading Post and Ron wanted to stop to check it out.  The goats were pretty cute and quite friendly.  

We went in the store and had a look around and I bought some salad dressings that were made by the owners.  She was a very friendly lady.

We walked out and I stopped to chat with the chunky bunnies.  

The owner came out to send treats up to the roof and the goats headed up the ramp.  They were use to performing. It was an interesting stop.

From there we went to Spring Meadows Orchard and bought  half bushell of apples, two pie pumpkins and some acorn squashes.  

We drove back to Wyn Farms and got some apple cider and Ron got his favourite treat.

We stopped at the store on the way home and got our thanksgiving groceries.  Today our house smelled delicious…applesauce, apple pie and roasted pumpkin.

It smells like fall.

Fall Canoe Day

We have been enjoyed beautiful Fall weather.  Warm afternoons are sandwiched by cool mornings and evenings.  We had our coffee on the front porch yesterday with a blanket over my lap.  The quiet, peaceful area where we live was disturbed by the occasional burst of gunshots…it’s goose season.  We would watch the birds fly high congratulating them for getting away.

After a slow morning for us, we loaded the canoe and packed a lunch and headed North.  Ron took backroads and the trees canopied the truck in some spots.  The sun shone on the painted leaves.

We have been to a number of lakes in the area and this time the choice was Mississagon Lake.  It is a long narrow lake and the day was perfect.  The reflection off the trees added an extra beauty.  

We canoed up the one side of the lake and found a perfect spot to enjoy our lunch.  

We were impressed with a little island that we named “Double Tree.”  

We paddled along the opposite shore looking at the beautiful cottages where people must of enjoyed the hot summer. We had the lake almost to ourselves.  As we came around one island, we met up with another canoe.  We stopped and chatted.  They were from New York and were enjoying a week of holidays.  They had net been canoeing in a while and asked if we had any advice on how to get out of the canoe.  She had said that he really made it tip when he got in.  Ron told them to “stay low.”  I told her to make sure and get out first!

We continued on our little adventure and found the Mississagon Monster!  We stayed calm and canoed on.

When we arrived at the boat ramp a couple stood there looking at the lake and asked us questions about our paddle.  They said that they were camping close by and had brought their kayaks.  They told us that they weren’t from the area.  When we asked where they were from we expected that they would say from the states or another province but they were only from Campbellford.  I guess “not from the area” means different to people.  Less than one and half hours away seems like the area to us.

On the drive home I found it hard to keep my eyes open but I didn’t want to miss the amazing colours.

Another great day on the lake with my guy!

We came down the opposite side but my watch didn’t record that.

Busy Week with a Sweet Ending

This week has had my brain and eyes hurting.  I was on my own at the church office and the things that I thought I knew how to do became a mystery.   I stumbled through three long days and with the help of the last secretary, I think I accomplished something.

Today, I left my admin hat at home and put my old lady bonnet on…we were off on fall bus tour with the 50 Plus.  We met at the church and waited for the bus to arrive.  I had checked everyone off my list and still we waited.  Ron called and they were on their way and so..you guessed it…we waited.  Finally, the bus arrived and we slowly climbed in and were on our way.  It’s been a while since I’ve been on a school bus.  

They are not the most comfortable ride.  In fact, the ride was so bumpy that my watch gave me steps.  The bus driver used her GPS to get there.  It was an interesting road….but perhaps we should have read their post from their website.

We arrived and made our way into the beautiful log building.  

We sat down and took up two long tables.  The service was amazing.  Coffee was placed in front of us and then they took our orders.  

A fluffy pancake and a maple sausage was my choice with a side of maple beans….topped with maple syrup.  Very tasty!  Old friends from Napanee, that are now living in Perth, met us there.  

The visiting around the table was good and at the conclusion we all strolled out ready to check out the museums or walk the trails.  I asked the bus driver how much time we had and she said we had to go.  That was not the plan.  We thought it was going to be more of an open end kind of day.  A few quickly checked out the museum and then we climbed back on to the bus.  We took a bit of a different way home to avoid the narrow back road this time.

I think everyone enjoyed their day even though the stop was quicker than we had planned.

Enjoy the sweet moments!