steinbach...the village stroll

While in Manitoba...

we had a chance to stroll down memory lane.

Our book launch tour took us to Steinbach...

and its amazing museum.

Mennonite Heritage Village exists to preserve and share the Mennonite heritage and illustrate a traditional way of life that has all but disappeared.

 So says the brochure.

Our book signing was well documented by Ellen...

right here. 

So I'll just make mention of the aprons in the gift shop...
and take you out to the village.

Who knew...
they sold 'our aprons' there as well!

Marg couldn't resist...
and brought one home as a souvenir.

 

We had a little time to stroll about the village.

The forty acre site spreads out from a village street...

 just like the Mennonite villages of old.

 

On one side of the street are early settlement buildings...

on the other are various businesses.

White picket fences...

...around large garden plots

...and original heritage homes with flowers on the window sills.

The museum is a major tourist attraction in southern Manitoba...

and hosts school tours throughout the year.

 It also boasts a working windmill...

...and a restaurant that dishes up hearty Mennonite food.

We checked it out...

of course!

The sampler included vereniki (perogies), coleslaw, brown bread, farmer sausage and rhubarb platz for dessert.

It was all good...

and the price was right! 

Enroute to our next book signing...

...Betty took us to a deli that sells fresh Bothwell squeaky cheese every Friday.

It was Friday.

We all stocked up!

I had to find out what squeaky cheese was all about.

Our afternoon event was hosted  by Ten Thousand Villages in Steinbach.

 

They had cooked up all kinds of goodies from the cookbook...

and served samples to the customers.

The 'sparkling white grape and lime punch' was served from a punch bowl exactly like the one pictured on page 74 of the Celebrations cookbook.

And I thought my bowl was one-of-a-kind!

I'll leave you with one last image...

...one of the peonies that bloomed everywhere in the Steinbach area.  

 Most striking!

And so ends our tour of Steinbach.

In a garden.

a classic father's day...

My dad doesn't ask for much.  

But several weeks ago he made a request.

There was to be a BBQ and vintage car show at Garden Park Tower on Father's Day...

and he wondered if maybe we could come...

and bring the old Monarch.

 We would do our best to make it happen...of course!

But the Monarch has left us stranded on occasion...

...and so we decided it might be better to tow it to Abbotsford instead of driving it.

Garden Park Tower...

...the name of the high-rise on the left.

A place dad has called home for the past year.

We unloaded the car just down the road...

and drove it to Garden Park.

There was a spot reserved for us...

 beside the 1972 Cadillac convertible.  

I hardly remember when cars were that big!

How nice of the Garden Park people to plan a BBQ for Father's Day!

Marge came down and joined us in the park for lunch.  

She hasn't been out much since she had a stroke in February...

so we were glad she could make it. 

 

 I recognized the voice before I saw the singer!

I knew Elsie a very long time ago (when she cut her first record)...

and she can still sing like the best of them!

She was the featured entertainment while we ate.

She sings songs my dad likes...

and sang one especially for him yesterday.

 Dad was quite thrilled to show his car to the guys...

inside and out.

He knows it well...

since he restored it to it's original condition himself.

 From the painting to the upholstery...

he did it all.

In theory it is now my car...

registered to my name.

In reality...

it's dad's car and always will be.

And he's quite pleased to have it  featured on the back cover of the original 

Mennonite Girls Can Cook cookbook.

Mary Ellen and Dot (my sisters) also joined us for lunch.

They each have a vintage car restored by dad as well.

Mary Ellen has a Mustang.  

Dot has a Cougar.

Neither had a trailer to bring them to the BBQ yesterday.

I'm most thankful that I still have a dad to spend time with on Father's Day...

or any other day...

for that matter!

 

 In the evening...

we took Tim and Heidi...

Maggie and Lucy out for a joy-ride in the Monarch.

Here's the thing...

there were no seat belts in 1947.

There are no seat belts today. 

How did that ever work with kids?

We drove most carefully to our destination.

DQ...for ice-cream.

It was Maggie's first DQ ice-cream cone...ever!

Due to her peanut allergy...

she has never been allowed DQ ice-cream.

Yesterday...

they decided to take a chance...

EpiPen at the ready.

All was well...

and Maggie had a most memorable Father's Day as well. 

And that in a nutshell...

was Father's Day 2013.

Have a wonderful Monday!

this 'n that...

I'm ending the week with a bit of this...

and a bit of that!

The second crop of grass came in off the fields last week.

Most of it is in the bunker.

Once the bunker was full...

the rest got wrapped up in plastic.

We know the drill quite well over here already.

As soon as the grass is off the field...

a nice thick layer of organic fertilizer goes on.

It doesn't smell so good!

It seems that is just when overnight guests arrive.

Right, Ellen?

On a brighter note...

...the last of this year's peonies are putting on a show along my rail fence.

They smell most delightful!

Lucy came to visit earlier this week.
She immediately wanted to go see the cows...
with Grandpa.
She came without a jacket...
and it was drizzling out.

 So we found an old sweater that was once her mommy's...
...and it did the trick.
She wore it home...
along with a smile!

It is only mid-June...

and I have been to Minter Gardens three times already this season.

I'm thinking the annual pass will pay off this year!

Strolling through the gardens right after shower is a good thing.

Who knew rain drops could look so good?

Raindrops on roses...

...and Beethoven's  'ode to joy'  played by my grand daughter.

I so enjoyed her year-end recital.

Now those are a few of my favorite things.

Have a wonderful weekend!
 

manitoba ~ memories and moments...

I'm back with a story or two...

of the people and events that made our time in Manitoba most memorable.

In the end...

it's always about the people...isn't it?

In Winnipeg...I met family that I rarely get to see.

Cousin Linda and her daughter Renee (upper right) came to McNally Robinson on Thursday night.

Aunt Justine, Cousin Heather and her daughter Meara (lower left)...

and my cousin Darlene (lower right) took me out for breakfast on Saturday morning....

before the booksigning at Ten Thousand Villages.

How fun to have a quick catch-up with what's happening in their world!

It was so good to see Hilda as well...

a longtime family friend.

I met Char's daughters (Amy and Emily) for the first time...

and thoroughly enjoyed the camper's stew prepared for us by her hubby, Tony.

 Betty's daughter Allison played chauffeur for us during our stay...
and her grand daughter Kaila came joined us on Saturday.
What fun those two are!
We also met Betty's sister, Norma...
who cooked up a fabulous dinner for us one night.
It was so nice to see Betty on her turf...
and meet her family.

We met many interesting people who came out to the booksignings.
People like this gentleman...
who came all the way from Portland, Oregon.

He just happened to be in Steinbach on business...

and decided to visit the museum over his lunch hour.

He was most surprised to discover that Mennonite Girls Can Cook were set up in the lobby.

He had met us earlier...on-line.

And here we were...in the flesh.

He bought some books to take home with him.

We signed them.


 

And then there were these gals who we met at the Steinbach museum.
Aren't they just the sweetest?
They even had new dresses for the occasion.

This one showed up in her apron. 

She is enthusiastic about cooking...

and life in general.

She dishes out words of encouragement quite freely as well!

There's no story behind this photo of Betty...

except that she doesn't know I took it.

And I really like it!

Betty took us to her place for a tour.

While she was off signing books...

it seems some of her hanging plants got a little dry.

Lovella thought she would just lift the basket up a little...

to see if it was thirsty.

Next thing we knew...

the plant was lying on the deck.

Sorry, Betty!

Lovella put the plant back into the basket...

and went out in search of water.

It seems there was always something to make us smile.

Canada's Most Eventful Bookstore...

had us sharing a display with 

'300 Years of Beer...

the history of brewing in Manitoba'.

The authors were featured guests there that evening as well.

We found that rather amusing.

Those are just a few of the memorable people and moments that I will long remember...

...along with the warm welcome and good times we shared in friendly Manitoba.

we came...we signed...we saw...we retreated...

And now...

we are back home.

We sailed away on a sunny spring day...

on the wings of a West Jet flight.

We were off to Manitoba for a few days...

six of us MGCC girls from the west coast...

to meet up with the two in Manitoba.

It was the perfect morning to fly over my part of the world...

to see Harrison Lake from up above and all the mountain peaks that lie just beyond Mt. Cheam.

The purpose of our mission?

We had five book signings scheduled over there...

as part of the Celebrations book launch.

That was our excuse to spend a few days together in Manitoba.

There wasn't a dull moment!

We stayed at a spanking new retreat center just outside of the city...

where each room had a seasonal theme.

The rooms rang with laughter...

let me tell you! 

The place was aptly named...

Refreshed at the Well...

and we left there feeling refreshed.

We signed books at McNally Robinson...

three different Ten Thousand Village stores...

and at the Mennonite Museum in Steinbach.

We met the friendliest of folks...

and I had a chance to catch up with extended family that I rarely see.

We also visited Betty and Charlotte in their homes...

and met their families...

and experienced their warm hospitality.

Not surprisingly...

we had a chance to sit around many a table and sample some fabulous foods.

Each of those photos has a story waiting to be told...

 but for today I'll just leave you with a few mosaics.

I'll be back...
with the rest of the story.