Saturday, August 6, 2016

Celebration

Let us celebrate the occasion with wine and sweet words. ~ Plautus
A few weeks back, I was suddenly presented with the opportunity to take a quick trip to and from my sister, Andrea's town of Port Dover, Ontario for the combined occasion of her 65th birthday, and my brother in law Bill's retirement.
My son, Alex and I were there and back within twenty-four hours for the intimate gathering and our time was filled with family, friends, food and fun. My lovely nieces, Jaime and Stephanie threw this joint part for their parents at the beautiful, old farmhouse where Steph and her partner, Jordan live. They also accommodated six of us with a place to sleep after the party.

I'm not including any people pics - just images of things which made my camera go click!

Yummiest cupcakes ever
Along with lots of other goodies, these scrumptious celebration cupcakes were a huge hit.


 


carb-w
A mini replica of the race car Bill and friends owned, back in the day.





cornfield
My niece's home borders on a big old cornfield which spent much of the afternoon and evening illuminated by the sun.





wheelbarrow
What farm doesn't have a wheelbarrow parked on it, somewhere?





sunset field enhanced
Colourful clouds gathered as the sun began its descent in the sky.





field at dusk2
Before long, only a small strip of vibrant gold remained on the terrain.





moon at dusk
Which was when the moon made its presence known.





cheers
That was also when the mosquitoes dictated that we take the party inside to toast the celebrating couple with champagne.

In the morning, Andrea and Bill kindly treated the family to a yummy breakfast out. As we arrived on the patio, a couple who had been enjoying their breakfast made a hasty exit. The waitress told us that the man was Sons of Anarchy actor Kim Coates who was in town for a charity promotion in support of Big Brothers - Big Sisters. None of us had ever watched the show, so he went unrecognized by our group. I think he saw my camera and feared getting caught up in an intrusive photo request. Little did he know that whether we recognized them or not, they would have easily finished off their breakfast uninterrupted.

circle
After breakfast, Alex and I left for the drive back to Peterborough. Glancing out the passenger window as we crossed this bridge, I happened to see a boat doing circles in the water.





CN TowerAnd this famous landmark greeted us as we drove along the Gardener Expressway in Toronto.





CN Tower3
A closer, more tilted perspective of the C.N. Tower, complete with dashboard reflection.






Z reflection
And back home again, I happened to catch my beautiful little Zephyr's reflection in this small mirror. He was sitting to my right on my desk, when a glance to my left revealed his perfectly framed sweet face. I had to snap two shots and play with them a bit in Photoshop because there was no way I could get his face into focus along with the rest of the image.

And that ends our whirlwind trip into Port Dover. Thanks for your wonderful party hosting, Jaime and Stephanie, and your lodging hospitality, Steph and Jordan. And thanks for brekkie, Andi and Bill. Happy Birthday, my beautiful sister. And Happy Retirement, Bill.

42 comments:

Ruth Hiebert said...

You captured beautiful images of the area.

Marie Smith said...

Such a beautiful location and great photos. Milestones in the family are important celebrations.

stephen Hayes said...

If these photos are any indication, it was a short but wonderful trip.

TexWisGirl said...

what a wonderful place to celebrate...life and living. love your kitty cat star. and i was a big fan of s.o.a. so i'd have recognized him right away. :)

Birdie said...

Those cupcakes! Were they are good as they look?

Love the picture of Zephyr.

joeh said...

I'd feel guilty messing up the icing of those cup cakes. I've never heard of the guy...he might be a bit too full of himself, like if you did take his picture would that be such a horrible thing?

Linda at To Behold The Beauty said...

I'm laughing at myself because I thought the famous landmark was the "Leave No Sock Behind" sign. :) Love the Zephyr shot.

Anita said...

I enjoyed the various glimpses into your special 24 hours. :) The photos are wonderful, along with the captions.

messymimi said...

Wishing many happy returns of the day to your sister, a beautiful retirement to your brother-in-law, and a big welcome home to you!

DJan said...

As always, I enjoyed seeing what your camera captures. And that kitty picture at the end of the post is priceless! Thanks for getting it just right. :-)

Red said...

It's good to get out of town once in a while. Besides you get some great photos to show is.

Out on the prairie said...

What a fun trip, when are we eating those cupcakes, yum!

Kaye Waller said...

These are GORGEOUS! I especially love the pic of your cat!

Bob Bushell said...

Great pictures of twenty four hours.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

Oh Zephyr :)

Anvilcloud said...

Pass the cupcakes please.

William Kendall said...

Beautiful shots! Very tasty treats too.

Karen said...

Sweet photos. Your blues are amazing!

ellen abbott said...

love the picture with the toy car.

Rita said...

What a wonderful trip! I have never watched Sons of Anarchy, either. Wouldn't have known him if he walked up and shook my hand. I suppose he might get pictures taken or bothered by a lot of people. How rude to bother people when they are out eating dinner or take pictures--but some people make a living doing just that. Good grief! Kind of sad that they have to worry so much about those things.

I love how you managed to get lots of fabulous pictures and yet not put the family online. See--if he only knew. You don't even invade your family's privacy on a public forum--let alone his. ;) ;) Have a great week!

sage said...

A lovely trip and that last photo of your cat is precious. Thanks for taking us along (and I wouldn't have known the actor, either)

Anonymous said...

Great photos. The cat is hilarious.

Phyllis E said...

Thanks for sharing Andrea and Bill's special celebration. Made me (almost) feel as though I was there. Hugs, Cuzzie P

Shammickite said...

Happy Birthday Andrea, and Happy Retirement Bill! A nice grouping of celebratory photos Hilary! I especially lust after those yummy looking cupcakes. I've never heard of that Anarchy show so just as well he left, he would not have been recognised by me anyway. Looking at that cornfield reminds me that I have some nice fresh corn on the cob for my dinner tonight.... yum, yum.

photowannabe said...

That looks like a fabulous family party with the yummy cupcakes.
I think that actor would have gone unnoticed by me too. Never watched the show....
Terrific capture of your sweet kitty.

Linda said...

Well, congrats to them! And Zephyr is quite a talent!

Midlife Roadtripper said...

That strip of wheat, the boat doing circles, the tower in Toronto. That's what I recall from your trip. Enjoyed it. Hope you had fun, too.

Daryl said...

a purrfect time

Dan said...

I'm just glad you made it through Toronto and back... despise the traffic.

A gathering and celebration with family,friends and cupcakes, what's not to like! :)

Gayle said...

I am guessing I just might have said this before but WHAT A GIFT TO THE UNIVERSE YOU ARE! I ponder over each photo. No way to choose a fave. However, Zephyr does get a huge preference.

Thank you, thank you for being in the world and especially in mine.

Jenn Jilks said...

What a wonderful post! It's too bad no one wants their faces shown! I love vicarious people watching!!!
Great photos, as ever.

Kerry said...

Oh those cupcakes! They're beautiful! Also love that photo of Zephyr :-D

My brother used to race muscle cars, not so long ago either.

Anonymous said...

This is a nice selection of images.

Quiltgal said...

Breathtaking photos, thanks for sharing.

Barbara said...

What a fun weekend! Happy birthday to your sister and retirement to Bill! I love the last two photos, sweet Zephyr and that CN Tower, looking very sci-fi!

Lady Fi said...

What festive fun!

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

I love how you honored everyone's privacy in this post (known and unknown) with pictures that still told the story and satisfied our thirst for your photography skills. Thank you, Hilary!

Kerri Farley said...

Looks like a super fun time!

Mage said...

Happy indeed, and happy are we to get to share the day and party. Thank you.

Mandy said...

What lovely snapshots. It looks like you had a super 24 hours and I love that photo of the CN Tower.

Kat said...

Wonderful photos! That last one is just precious! What a great catch!

Linda said...

Hi Hilary, I've fallen behind and am playing catch up. I must say that the last one is my favorite, but I'll take a cupcake, too, please. :)