Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Going South

This past weekend was the Victoria Day long weekend for Canadians. Lots of fireworks have been booming in my neighbourhood for the past two evenings. Typically this is also the big gardening weekend for gardeners. It's the cut-off date when frost is no longer a danger to the plants. But two of the three days were not spent gardening ...

My family took advantage of the three-day weekend and headed south .... to Leamington, Ontario. Leamington is the southern-most point of Ontario. The purpose for our trip was to visit my husband's parents as his mom wanted to give my son his quilt. She has made a quilt for her four grandchildren, and my son's is the final quilt. We hopped into the truck and headed down the highway. Once we get past Toronto (ugh!) the drive is easy, if not a tad boring

The weather couldn't have been better. It did rain a bit on the four-hour drive down, but it had moved off by the time we arrived in Leamington. Leamington is the tomato capital of Canada, and this is where the Heinz factory is situated. I didn't take any photos in town, and really the only 'exciting' thing is the big tomato. But on Sunday morning we took a walk down to the pier on Lake Erie and enjoyed walking along there in the early morning mist.


It's a nice area down by the water, and the town has put in a huge garden with lots of park benches along the way. You can sit and watch those more fortunate as they leave the harbour for a day of fun on the waves.




There are private homes with property that comes right to the back of the town gardens (on the right of the photo below). Most of them look quite nice, but not my idea of having a home "on" the waterfront. They don't have any direct access to the water.





I liked this little tin boat with the promise of a garden to be planted inside it. I think it would have looked even better if the boat was wooden, but I guess the tin won't rot.


And beside this little boat is a very special red maple that was planted three years ago in May. We came down for the planting ceremony. It was planted to commemorate the 70th wedding anniversary of my husband's great aunt and uncle. Yes ... 70th!!


The plaque at the base of the tree.

Uncle Reid passed away in February of this year. I believe he was 99, and had been looking forward to celebrating his 100th birthday, but it was not to be. His wife Wilda is still living, but is not doing well with some form of dementia. But the day of this tree planting, they were both present and so happy! There was a big party for them afterwards.

Back at my in-laws' house, my son received his beautiful quilt made by his grandma.

Reading the embroidered panel on the back.


My affectionate son giving his surprised grandma a hug ;)



Grandma discussing the pattern and also how to care for his quilt.
 And here's the quilt! Isn't it beautiful! 
I just love the pattern, and it's going to look perfect on his bed. 
My son was really happy with it, and the colours suit him well.


This is the quilt that was on the guest room bed. Such a pretty quilt, also made by my mother-in-law.




We came home on Sunday, and I was able to spend a long day on Monday in the garden. It was hard work involving ripping out weeds, pulling out dead plants etc. etc. All of that continued today, but now it has clouded over and the wind is chilly so we're back indoors. I made great progress out there, but will show all of that another time. 

My son received his Japanese maple for his birthday yesterday, and that has been planted at the top of his pond. I think it'll be good in this spot. I'll show that another time too. I just don't have any photos of the garden stuff from the weekend.

Well, I have to run now, but thanks so much for stopping by! I'll be doing catch-up visits with everyone in the next few days.

Thanks for stopping by!

Wendy



19 comments:

  1. A wonderful post and great pictures. The quilt is beautiful. This weekend weather was wonderful, but today seems bit chilly again :(
    have a wonderful afternoon..Gaia

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  2. No wonder your son looks so thrilled Wendy. The quilt is stunning.

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  3. Lovely images of the waterfront. And again Happy Birthday to your son. I love the quilt, your MIL did a beautiful job. We have too many Japanese Maples, seedlings are growing all over the yard and now have spread to the woods next to our house and across the street. My hubby is letting them all grow too. have a happy day!

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  4. The quilt is beautiful. How lovely Grandma put all her T.L.Care into it. Happy Birthday to your son.
    My hubby used to live in Lee ,Ont when hey first came to Canada from Holland. He and his brothers and dad picked tomatoes for a first job. He is oldest of 9 kids. When him and I got married we drove that boring way. When I got out and walked around being a week there. I broke out with a rash all over.
    my face from the tomatoes. Last trip I made back. .
    I enjoyed all pictures you took.

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  5. Nice that Leamington has kept the shoreline public! And a great quilt for your son.

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  6. What a beautiful shoreline in Leamington, nice to see the maple celebrating the anniversary too. It's sweet that your son received a quilt for his birthday and your photos show his appreciation.
    I just realized today that one of my plants didn't make it through winter yet the native plants seem to be more robust.

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  7. The quilt is stunning, it looks & sounds like you've brought up a lovely young man there x

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  8. His Grandma does lovely work-he will cherish it forever.
    Looks like a beautiful place to visit and take a walk too-

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  9. What a handsome man your son is!
    The quilt has obviously been made with much love...it's beautiful.
    Jane x

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  10. I loved the series of photos leading to your son displaying the whole quilt - I was quite taken aback at just how intricate and beautiful it is. What a skilled lady your MiL is, and what a keepsake to treasure for your son.

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  11. Hi Wendy - what a sweet post! I just love the photo of your handsome son hugging his Grandmother - too precious! Oh, she creates the most beautiful quilts - I just love the intricate piecing and stitching, and the colors are so pretty. The story of your husband's great aunt and uncle is so sweet. I love that a tree was planted in their honor and that you planted a tree for your son's birthday, too. The photos of the harbor are beautiful - such a nice place to visit. So nice to hear that you are getting outside to 'play in the dirt' again! I hope you get the chance again, soon. We are locked in to a very cool and drizzly weather pattern here - hoping it lifts soon. Have a wonderful week and Happy Birthday to your son! Hugs xo Karen

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  12. Love the fog pictures..The quilts are gorgeous..Heirlooms for sure..Happy Birthday to your son..

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  13. This whole post is just lovely! I like your photos, and especially the interaction between grandson/grandma!

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  14. What a beautiful quilt -- such a labor of love! My mother has made quilts for all the grandchildren, too. How special to make it to 70 years of marriage.

    Those bleeding hearts in your previous post are gorgeous!

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  15. The quilt is absolutely gorgeous and how loving of her to make all of her grand-babies their very own quilts. They will be treasured for years to come I´m sure. So very sweet.

    Birgitta xx

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  16. How wonderful that Wilda and Reid were able to spend 70 years together! I love the photo of your son hugging his grandmother ~ the quilts she made are so beautiful. Thank you for your kind comment over on my blog...

    Blessings,

    Victoria

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  17. Impressive work from your mother in-law !!! Thanks for sharing that lovely moment with us ... have a nice weekend !

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  18. Stunning quilt! What a perfectly lovely gift from a grandmother. And she has made FOUR?! Wow!

    All your photographs are beautiful - I especially like the misty sun - but now I have to google the big tomato.

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  19. What an awesome gift, I'm not surprised he hugged his grandmother. The quilt must have taken so very many hours to make and will hold so much love :)

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment, it's nice to know when you've stopped by! :)

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