Visit to the Basque Country September 8-11, 2012

Upon my return from Montreal, Pat and I took a long weekend to explore parts of the Basque Country in the north of Spain.  We left Barcelona on Saturday late morning and drove north and west through the very arid lands around Lleida, Zaragoza then into the wine region of La Rioja.  We spent the first night at the beautiful Frank Gehry-designed Hotel Marques de Riscal, right in the middle of their vineyards on the edge of the sleepy little village, Elciego.  We had a beautiful room, massages and a swim in the indoor pool then a great tasting menu for dinner.

End of summer 2012

Another lovely summer has come and gone at The Lake! We were blessed to have had all the family visit us for a time during August. We had glorious weather, mostly sunny and not too hot. Our thanks to neighbour, Ted, for planting our garden so we could enjoy fresh lettuce, cukes, potatoes, squash and more tomatoes than we could handle! There are about 10 bags in our freezer waiting for our return at Christmas...Pat says he wants to make tomato juice! A few parting shots:

After a horrendous rainstorm, a double rainbow reaching across the lake was our reward!






Anniversary flowers from Pat for our 32nd on August 23rd!




A new lawn surrounds the boathouse, thanks to Pat's hard work!













Produce from our garden! (Photo by Steph)




We're already looking forward to New Year's with the family at home!
Hasta luego...

Location:The Bluffs, Grand Lake, N.B.

Amanda and Graham's wedding August 18, 2012

We were so delighted to have been able to attend Amanda and Graham's lovely wedding in Toronto, held at the very pretty Enoch Turner Schoolhouse near the Distillery District. As a longtime childhood friend of the bride's from our years in Burlington, Jen was asked to perform the ceremony. Michaela and Andy looked after Elliott at our hotel. Pat had to leave right after dinner to fly back to Spain, but the rest of us partied on! Here are some highlights:

The Reverend Jen Bourque and Steph:















Big hugs from the mother-of-the-bride, Linda!






Amanda and Graham:






















Steph and Graham:




The Halfpenny Family: Steve, Linda, Amanda and Alicia:




The cake:



The venue:




What an absolutely glorious day in downtown Toronto! Overnight at the nearby Novotel, breakfast at St. Lawrence Market and a sunny day for a beautiful wedding! All the best to the bride and groom!

Hasta luego...

Location:Toronto, Ontario

The Pines Golf Course

How many of my blog readers have their own personal golf course on their property? Those of us lucky enough to live in The Pines subdivision on Grand Lake have exactly that! Thanks to some very enterprising retired neighbours, we can now boast 9 holes and the most beautiful greens anywhere! Check it out and when you next come to visit, bring your clubs!

































































This is "our" hole, number 6. You can see our driveway just beyond.




















Looking towards our house from the fairway on Hole 7:







































There you have it...pretty impressive, isn't it? With views of Grand Lake in-between, the unmistakeable smell of Canadian pines and above all, the peace and quiet...our little piece of heaven!

Hasta luego...

Location:Sypher Cove, N.B.