the year that was...

And as the year draws to close...

I will do my annual 'rear-view mirror' post once again.

January ~ we enjoyed the beauty of our local hills blanketed in snow.

February ~ a tour which included the 'highlights of Shanghai' 

March - the delights of spring and Easter

 

April - tulips of the valley

 

May - Mennonite Girls Can Cook Celebrations book launch

June - celebrating my dad on Father's Day

July - Canada day, camping with the grands, and a few final walks through Minter Gardens.

 

August - an RV road trip that took us across the US to the east coast...and a memorable time in Lancaster, Pennsylvania.

 

September - harvesting the last crops of grass for this year on 'the green, green fields of home'!

October - continuing the road trip where we left off...down the Blue Ridge Parkway...west to California...

 

November - ...and back home again.

December - Christmas...a time to celebrate with family...

and to send greetings to friends near and far.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all of you...

my blogging friends...

who I have so enjoyed 'visiting' with this past year.

You have inspired and encouraged me...

made me smile...

and sometimes shed a tear...

introduced me to new things...

reminded me of old things...

and had me thinking about different things.

I thank you all for your friendship...

and wish you much joy in 2014!

 

 

remembering...

It was a weekend of remembering.

She was hubby's sister...

my sis-in-law...

Aunt Nellie to our children...

and Great-aunt Nellie to our grands.

We gathered early in the morning at the cemetery...

where she was laid to rest.

We knew that she was already safely resting in the arms of her Savior.

That is a blessed assurance!

From there...

we carried on to the church for the memorial service...

a celebration of the life of Nellie Janzen.

It was good to hear the tributes from those nearest and dearest to her.

We laughed and we cried!

Nellie disliked crowds and large gatherings.

How ironic...

that such a large crowd gathered in her memory.

She was not there to over rule!

She was a friend to many...

and they came to pay their respects.

It had been a very long time since all the cousins had been together.

They came from near and far...

and when the funeral tea was over...

the family gathering continued at our place into the evening.

Being together as family makes the best of the worst of times!

Once there were four siblings.

Now there are two.

No one has been promised tomorrow.

Again we are reminded to celebrate each day as a gift!

Yesterday was a special gift in our corner.

Sunshine and summer temperatures in October is not the norm.

We enjoyed it to the fullest...

and gave thanks!

memorable moments at minter gardens....

We were so sorry to hear that our local show garden will be closing this fall.

For good!

It has been a favorite destination of ours through the years...

and we have so many memories connected with gardens.

We went a few days ago...

...and the three grands from next door joined us for a walk-about in the gardens. 

They too have many good memories of the gardens... 

...as they have been there with us many times over the years.

It seems we took a photo at the very same spot on a July visit in 2008.

They always seem to find ways to amuse themselves in a garden...

and rolled down the hills on that long ago summer day.

Things haven't changed a whole lot over the years.

Now they amused themselves by running through sprinklers.

 I have many photos of the lovely 'church in the wildwood' in my files.

Now I have one of kids frolicking on the lawns where the wedding parties usually pose.

I told them it would likely be their last visit to the gardens...

 

...and so they had their last dance.

Emme and Spencer have fond memories of getting lost in the maze which was once a garden feature...
and of visiting Snow White at the gardens long ago.

Ryder joined me for a garden tour in 2009...

and took a break on a park bench.

This week he sat on the same bench...

for the last time.

Back then he found a dwarf in a wee cottage.

This week...

he found he same cottage...

with the dwarf standing guard.

We had a wee surprise as we strolled the paths the other day.

A gardener warned us of a bear...

that had gone up a nearby tree.

We looked up...

and there he was high above us.

That is the first time we have encountered a bear in the gardens.

And the last...
I'm sure.

So many memories!

As we left the gardens...

the grands visited the phone booth.  

They were most intrigued with the phone...

and that one would put in coins to make a phone call.

It had never occurred to me that phone booths are almost a thing of the past.

This one will likely not be around much longer either.

Sometime this fall I will do a 'tribute to Minter Gardens' post...
going back through my photos from the past three decades.
But let me just leave you with one of my most touching memories today...
and that would be my visit to the vintage car show at the gardens in July, 2000.

My dad had a few of his cars at the show...
and we as a family all went to enjoy the day.
My mom was there.
Little did we know that it would be her last outing.

Here she is on that day...
pictured with two of her grandsons.
Several days later she was gone.

That was thirteen years ago...

tomorrow.

She loved flowers and gardens...

and so it was most appropriate that her last outing was to Minter Gardens.

And that is a memory of Minter Gardens that I will always treasure.

Oh, the memories!

 

camping out in the orchard...

On our way back from our weekend in the Rockies...

we found ourselves in the Okanagan valley at the end of day.

We had intentions of staying at a campground on the lake for night.

But after checking it out...

we decided against that over-crowded and noisy option...

...and agreed instead that camping in a quiet private orchard not far away was a much better idea!

The thought of having cherries for breakfast was quite appealing as well.

We knew there was no one home...

since John and Liz were still in Alberta.

We sent them a quick text...

 for permission (or forgiveness)...

...and parked right next to their lovely home on the hill.

How convenient to have hook-ups right there.

By the time we were parked it was dark...

but in the morning...

we explored.

I've been coming here to visit for over four decades....

to my brother-in-law's farm.

We have camped in the orchard on many occasions...

the first time with a truck and camper in the summer of 1971.

The barn stood then where it stands now...

and looked much the same.

But the view below the orchard has changed.

Where once there were trees as far as the eye could see...

there are now homes and businesses.

And up the hill...

behind their place they also have new neighbours...

with many more coming!

And this was our niece's playhouse back in the day...

and has been enjoyed by many other girls over the years.

The gardens look as amazing now as they always have.

The picker's cabins perched on the edge of the orchard...

are still white-washed and inviting!

This is where our brother-in-law grew up.

The house has gone through several re-models over the years.

We enjoyed our self-guided tour...

and our breakfast cherries.

But I should mention that it was actually an apple orchard that we were camped in...

and it looks like there will be a crop in a month or two.

 Now let me take you back in time...

and view a few pictures at the same location...

but taken long ago.

Spring ~ 1985

Kris and Jeremy loved weekends in Kelowna...

especially if they involved motorbiking with cousin Rob.

 (Notice the barn in the back)

Summer ~ 1981

Enjoying the fruits of their harvest.

Fall ~1977

Cousins playing in leaves.

Winter ~ 1972

Snowmobiling in the orchard.

As you can tell...

camping in the orchard brought back a lot of memories from visits of years gone by.

Thanks for letting us use your 'campsite' in your absence,

John and Liz!

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.