The Travels of the Agnew Family

Happy Birthday Mom!!! My mother turns 87 years old on Tuesday September 28th and today was the first of at least four birthday celebrations. Bob and Wendy, cousins drove down from Kendal to join my mom, brother, Ed and myself for lunch. Lunch was very yummy ..... Greek food and the company was charming. We arrived at the restaurant at 1:00 pm and were gently nudge out about 5:00 pm when the table was needed for dinners.


Bob, my mom and Ed


Wendy, my mom and Bob. My mom is looking a lot healthier than she did in the spring.

I'm not sure where "Doors Open" originated but I heard about it a couple of years ago when we were visiting Ed's sister in Toronto. The three of us were walking down a street and an exclusive club had a sign out front that said "Doors Open", so in we went and has a tour of the building. It was fun wandering through a building that you normally wouldn't be able to get inside. So, I was happy to see that Walkerton and area were participating in the Doors Open event this year. Ed and I didn't manage to get to all of the buildings and places of historical significance on the list but we managed to get to a large percentage of them. Some of the places on this list included Walkerton Clean Water Center, Victoria Jubilee Hall, Hartley House, Cargill House, several homes of historical significance, the Greenock Swap and the Brant Bridge. Being newcomers to the town it was a very interesting way to learn some of the history of Walkerton and area.


Schmidt Lake Lookout on the Greenock Swap. This swap comprises 20,000 acres and "is known for it's unique flora including orchids and mosses. Once it was also known for it's vast stands of white pine which were used to build ships for the British Navy." Cargill House was built for the D.W. Cargill whose father cut down the white pine.


The original bridge built in this spot in 1903 was destroyed by an ice shove in 1948. The current structure was finished in 1949. It was recycle from two bridges that were no longer in use. The photo doesn't show it well but each end of the bridge has it's own unique structure.

Mother Nature has decided that it's time for fall weather though by the calendar it is a few days early. So I wondered how long the street party would last given it is starting at 7:30 in the evening. Now that the party is over I know that there is a hardy bunch of partiers living in the neighbourhood. Everyone brought an appetizer and a lawn chair --- a lot of the food went but not many chairs were used. People stood and chatted, moving between the groups. What a fun way to meet and get to know your neighbours. Hope the ladies who offered to plan next years street party will remember when next summer rolls around.

Our friends Bob and Gwen celebrate their birthdays on September 11th and September 12th and another friend Anne celebrates her birthday on September 11. Two of the birthdays were milestones 50 years and 65 years so Ed and I decided to host a birthday dinner.


The table setting and the first course.


Miso soup and carpaccio of vegetables


Lemon sorbet and the main course. Steak wrapped with prosciutto and topped with wild mushroom ragout, garlic mashed potatoes, broccoli and cauliflower


Chocolate cake expertly decorated by Ed


The desert when served and brunch the next morning. The omelet used up the left over mushroom ragout and the left over mashed potatoes were fried into a patty.

This was the first time I've prepared a six course meal and it was a lot of fun. I think all of the food turned out great which was pretty lucky as many of the recipes were new. At the cottage Tina introduced me to a web site call tastespotting.com. This site lets you search for recipes on many different blog sites. I found the mushroom ragout this way and I'm really glad that I found it as I'm sure I will make many times. Thanks for taking the photos Gwen --- iphone's are pretty impressive.

Chris and Tina (friends of ours) have a cottage on an island on Six Mile Lake. This of course is one of Zaph's favourite places, well anyplace where he can run free and go swimming is a favourite place. Labour Day weekend rolled around and we hadn't made it to the cottage yet, so even though the weather was cool and rainy we headed out. Zaph didn't care --- the water is warm and wet is wet. In case you have already guessed, I love taking pictures of Zaph swimming.


Nothing better than swimming with a stick in your mouth ...


except maybe jumping off the dock so you can grab and stick and swim with it in your mouth


Hope this isn't a "No Wake" zone


See, I can take a photo at the cottage without a dog in it




A swimming unicorn?

I guess Zaph wasn't waterlogged enough after a long weekend of swimming so on Tuesday it was off to Sauble Beach and Rob & Ellen's cottage. The cottage is in the town of Sauble Beach, two blocks off the water. When we arrived Zaph popped out of the car and started trucking down the road --- he knew where the beach was. We were very mean and called him back --- he had to be patient and wait a bit.


Rob found Zaph a nice stick which Zaph carried as he dragged Ed down to the beach.


I'm ready!!! Throw the stick.


My stick......... no, my stick ...... no, my stick


A couple were walking down the beach and they stopped to watch Zaph chasing the stick. It didn't take Zaph long to get the fellow to join in the game.


A group of kiteboarders came by --- very pretty to watch.


This kiteboarder got some air.


I don't want to leave the beach ......


The TR6 was at the cottage (Rob's toy) so Ed and Rob went for a toodle around town.


Chicken a la Rob .... chicken breast stuffed with Prosciutto and swiss cheese ..... ummmmm good.


Tuesday night car show .... unfortunately the sky over the lake look ominous so the cars didn't stay long.

Mini family reunion time ..... it's been a while since my mom has had her three children together in one spot. My sister, Carol, lives in Tyler, Texas and doesn't get home often but managed to come for a week to visit and attend a wedding. I came up with the idea of meeting in Elora for dinner --- it's half way between Burlington and Walkerton and wasn't too far off Carol's route. Travelling with Carol was her husband Darryl, number two son Ted and granddaughter Sarah.








The way we really are.


Elora is a cute little town known for the gorge that runs through the area. Margaret looked at this photo and said her and Colin use to live right by the park and it was the house they were in when I met them. I have to admit I didn't remember the park --- guess I was in shock from meeting people who tie their child to a tree.


The Elora Mill Inn & Spa has a seating area that overlooks the water.


Interesting flower.

Friends from Kitchener came up for a visit and we decided to drive to Kincardine to see the sun set. Unfortunately, mother nature had other ideas --- we got to see Kincardine in the mist then the rain.


Looking back towards town.


A couple of sail boats decided to come in before the storm hit.

It's been a long time since I've added an entry so this could be a long one.

The house "to do" list is slowly getting shorter. Very exciting when I get to put a big check mark on the page. It's a good thing this years section of the list is almost done ---- unfortunately I have sections for the next two years. I do wonder what I'll do in three years when there's nothing left on the list --- guess we just wait till that actually happens.

My mother and brother added some excitement to our summer this year --- both of them had unexpected major surgery. Both are doing well --- my brother is fully recovered and back to work and my mom is feeling better every day. My big contribution is to drive down once a week to vacuum though I'm sure my mother can't wait to be able to vacuum again so she can clean the house the way she likes it done. I know it's hard to believe that someone actually wants to vacuum.

Ed's sister Sonya lives in Toronto and we try to get into see her once or twice a year. During our visit this spring we decided to check out Harbourfront. It's right downtown on the Lake Ontario.


One of the many boats parked along the walkway.




Interesting bridge




Yum........Sashimi for dinner

Zaph always says it's time to go to the beach. We didn't get there as often as he would have like this summer.


The beach at Kincardine.





What's summer without attending at least one wedding. This years happy couple is Lauren and Vicki (Lauren is my cousin's son). Ed and I were looking forward to attending the wedding as normal guests (in one of his past lives, Ed was a wedding photographer and occasionally dons that hat) but that was not to be the case. Due to her surgery my mom had to miss the wedding and asked us to take a video of it for her. An added bonus was the bride and groom now have a video of their wedding.


My cousin arrange for a limo from the farm to the wedding. Bob, Wendy, me, Sue and Rachel.


The ceremony.


Vicki, Lauren and Gomer


My cousin Bob and family. Nicole, Vicki, Lauren, Wendy, Rachel and Bob


Nicole and her husband, Vicki, Lauren, Wendy, Rachel, Kevin, Julie, Kyle and Danny. I might have Kevin and Danny mixed up. Kevin, Julie and Danny are triplets.





Ed and I did manage to get away for a week. This year there was a celebration of the 50th anniversary of the DC-3 at Airventure, the week long air show in Oshkosh Wisconsin. As the DC-3 is Ed's favourite air plane we decided to go to the show with a few others (numbers from the Airventure website) ....
- a total attendance of more than 535,000
- more than 10,000 aircraft
- campers int he aircraft and drive-in area estimated at more than 36,000

This year's show was called "Sloshkosh" as the 10 inches of rain the area received during the week before left the grounds full of ponds, bogs and lots of squishy spots. Our trailer got stuck going up a small hill but it turned out to be a wonderful camping spot.

Highlights included a concert by Chicago and wonderful air shows every day featuring wing walkers, a sailplane doing what appeared to be a dance in the sky, a stunt helicopter, a Harrier jet as well as the usual stunt planes. Airventure was wonderful but I think I've seen enough planes to last me several years. Ed managed to take a lot of fantastic pictures but I kept it down to the highlights.


Landed --- our trailer and Anne & Victor's tent. In another day we had trailers and tents all around us.


One of the many DC 3's at the show.


Ed in the cockpit wishing he could fly it. Retired airline pilots have restored this plane and fly it to shows.




Ford announced their new Ford Explorer at the air show and brought it in using a sky crane.


Ford also sponsored Chicago .... yeah Ford!!! The concert was great ---- some of the original band members are still playing. On Chicago's current tour they are allowing a person to buy the right to sing lead on one of their songs at each venue. The proceeds goes towards research for breast cancer. The guy who sung at this concert paid "thousands of dollars" and did a great job. Must be pretty scary standing in front of all those people singing.


This is a jet powered sail plane. The first part of it's show was done at low speed and was like a ballet in the sky. The jet engine was kicked up to full for the second part of the show. Still nice to watch but I did prefer the first part.


These guys were amazing.


Now we know why the Red Bull add says "Red Bull gives you wings". Another amazing pilot.


I asked Ed if he thought there would be a wing walker at one of the air shows .... said he didn't know and not ten minutes later did the wing walker appear. The wing walker is a woman, she gets out of the front seat and climbs out onto the lower wing, then climbs onto the top wing where she straps herself in --- which is a good thing as the pilot does loops and flies upside down with her on the top wing. The wing walker is also a stunt pilot.


I believe this is the only privately owned Harrier jet. The still picture doesn't do this plane justice. The plane can fly fast but can also hover. Ed caught the plane in the middle of it's bow. Shortly after this photo was taken the pilot landed the plane like a helicopter.


Ever see a helicopter fly upside down? There are only a couple of helicopters that can do loops and fly upside down in the world and one of them was in Oshkosh. Pretty exciting stuff.


Back at the camp site. The Good Year was still flying around, the ultralights had called it a night and we were relaxing enjoying the end of another great day.

Zaph talked Ed and I into taking a day off to go exploring. The shoreline between Owen Sound and Wiarton was our destination as it's an area we haven't explored.


We stopped at a small park where Ed and I enjoyed lunch and Zaph enjoyed a swim. Ed throws stones into the water and Zaph swims to where the stone landed. The spot in the sky is the stone.


Happiness is playing in the water.


The entire shore line is flat stones which are great skipping stones. We saw one woman make a stone skip at least seven times.


Nothing like snuggling with your pal looking at the water.


Life's great.