April has been a very busy month for me with many trips taken to the Burlington, Niagara and Guelph regions of Ontario. They were partly for business and partly for family and personal reasons. I enjoyed each trip I took very much and had the opportunity to become closer to many people in my family who I love dearly.
One of the trips was to the University of Guelph where my youngest son was finishing up his second year in the Criminal Justice Program. I drove him to write his final exam and to pick up the remainder of his things that were in the house he was sharing with 3 other students.
We had a wonderful 3 hour drive there and back and chatted about many things to do with life, happiness, goals, taking risks, living life to the fullest and so on. Rob, my son, loves old heritage houses as much as I do and he had discovered two beautiful, stone, heritage homes in Guelph on quiet back streets that were high up on a hill overlooking the valley and the downtown below.
I was quite impressed with Rob's sleuthing skills as I had also attended the University of Guelph, where I attained my Bachelor of Science, Honours degree and never, in 5 years of living there , had come across these houses before.
I fell absolutely in love with one of them. Enchanted is a better word. This house, pictured in the photo I took to the right, is set on the most beautiful, private, grounds imaginable and is protected from the outside world by a large wrought iron gate where visitors have to buzz and speak into the intercom before being granted permission to enter. I'm absolutely enamoured of this property and would love to take a tour of it.
Rob is finished his second year now and on a subsequent trip this month, I drove him to the Lester Pearson Airport in Toronto (about 2 hours from here) where he took a plane to Kelowna, BC to spend the summer with my two older sons, David and Iain. He is enjoying it out there very much and loves the mountains and views.
These are some pictures David and Angie (David's girlfriend) sent me of Kelowna and a few that Iain sent me. It's absolutely beautiful out there:
Southern Ontario seemed to go directly from winter to summer this year, in less than a week. One day it was snowing and cold, then a few days later the sun was shining and we were experiencing temperatures in the 70s (20Cs). I enjoy the climate of southern Ontario very much and relish in the long hot summers that start in early spring.
My little nephew Jared, clearly a photographer of great artistic talent and vision, took these two photos from his deck at Sherkston Shores, the place they spend the summer. They were both taken on April 19th. They clearly illustrate how quickly things change here. Sherkston Shores is on Lake Erie and in the morning when Jared arrived there with his Mom and my other two nephews and niece, there was still ice on the lake.
Later in the afternoon Jared captured the lake again as the ice had almost completely gone out to the middle to be carried away through the Great Lakes system.
On another visit to the region, my brother Clayton took me to an Al Stewart concert in St. Catharines. We had a wonderful time and we both laughed so hard. Who knew that the man who sang two of my favourite songs when I was a youngster, Time Passages and In The Year of the Cat, could be so funny? Al Stewart is the quintessential entertainer and has a certain charisma and charm all his own. The video below was from 20 years ago and he hasn't changed too much. Just a bit less hair.
I feel very fortunate to be living the life I'm living; to have the wonderful family I have with whom to share in life's pleasures.
54 Comments on Pieces of My Heart Scattered Out Across the Continent.
Wow Jo-Anne that was inspirational!! I love heritage homes to..........and your scenic/familial journeys were poignant...........heritage-family...........music..........I loved the detour for me....:-)
Hi Jo:) I missed last months "monthly check in"! That Heritage house looks very intriguing, possibly haunted!! And those photos are wonderful. Glad to see you so happy and content:) PS, Year of the Cat was one of my favorites back then. I still like it, probably because I like cats!
Is Chilliwack similar to Kelowna? I'll check your blog for pictures as I'm quite interested in BC towns and cities. They seem to each have their own unique character.
thanks. Isn't it funny how the older we get the more we begin to value the intangible things in life....like the relationships we have with our loved ones? I guess we finally begin to realize that life really is only about love.
Jo, What wonderful time you spent with your family--it's so precious. The pictures are absolutely spectacular and I too would love to be able to tour that home. And yes, the song got to me as well, I haven't heard it in YEARS and always loved it.
I agree...the house does seem to have a 'spirit' all it's own. I'll pass along the compliments about the photos to my nephew, Jared...he'll be thrilled.
I love cats too, although I don't have any now. I do have one little cat grandchild though; his name is Luther.
Isn't he adorable? Thanks for stopping by for a visit...it's good to hear from you!
I was just thinking of you and wondering how you are. It's nice to hear from you. Thanks for the nice comment....my little nephew might get to read these comments and will be very pleased that you like his photos.
Spending time with my family is very important to me and time I always enjoy so much. I would love to be able to spend time with all of my family members every week, unfortunately everyone lives so far away. I do get to see my Mom and Dad and Stepmom almost every week though....I feel very fortunate.
I'm glad you are able to spend time with your children almost every weekend...say hello to Laura for me!
Hello Jo, Great photos and travel journal you shared with us. The time with family is precious and it's true that as we get older the more we value and treasure those special times.
Jo--You've been busy....! Love the pictures. I see why you are impressed with that house...it looks like it should be on HGTV's IF Walls Could Talk. And how nice that you've been able to spend so much time with family (the drive with your son must have been a highlight).
Jo-Anne, neat ThemThem to the boys, thanks for sharing with the group. Also, love the photo's, especially the guys standing above the lake, how cool....
Jo-Anne - its only about 3 hrs away by car.....and gorgeous.....more desert like.........Chilliwack is surrounded by mtns so a week bit different........but I'll post some pics soon.........! :-)
Good Morning Jo -As one who shares your love of heritage homes I love the way you framed the house in the twisted branches of the trees. Your nephews pictures certainly remind us how fast things in life can change with time - even a little time.
Hey Jo, it souds like you have such lovely time with your family. I'm glad you had a chance to do this. The photos are beautiful. Thanks for sharing those, and the music.
Iain, my son who is 22 yo, is the skinnier one with the baseball cap on.
The house in Guelph is actually right in the centre of town, although it doesn't appear that way in the photo. The grounds are like a fairytale that time forgot while the city grew up around the property's perimetre. Here is another photo of the grounds and house:
I thought of you when I took these photos since I know how much you love heritage homes and buildings.
Jo-Anne, I really enjoyed reading your blog and seeing the photos. So you were in my neck of the woods eh? When was Al Stewart in St. Catharines? I can't believe I didn't hear about that! Time Passages was my absolute favourite song - it's still a classic that never gets outdated. Thanks for sharing.
Ahhhh, I am enjoying seeing you post again! Or at least something I can comment too!! .) That house is beautiful. I too, would like a tour. It is so great to be able to spend time with family and friends.
I also returned home on April 23 from a road trip to pick up my oldest daughter's stuff as she has moved to Korea for a year. She is loving it there. I am so happy for her!
The pictures of Kelowna make me want to get back there as soon as possible! I am sure your son will love it out there! I bet he will want to move there too!! I have added a view from the front of our place and my back yard taken last June.
Our back yard goes up to the little cedars on the hill, you can't see that there is a large grass area below the deck. The picture taken in the front is off our dining room balcony.
Jo, thanks for thinking of me... I love the second photo of the grounds, too. Imagine being able to live in such a setting, yet be right in town as well!
Wow Jo-anne I feel like I'm traveling along with you to all these beautiful places - your stories are wonderful and your son and family sound charming! You are blessed :) Beautiful Beautiful post.
:) What a cute cat!!! Luther. Grandkittens, like grandchildren are the best of both worlds!:) Although I wouldn't give up my Max. He is sitting next to me in a cardboard box that I just emptied.
Hmmm....and here I thought I was always centred and contented AND happy! Perhaps it's the lovely weather we're now having and seeing the leaves back on the trees....it's been a long winter.
True...his photos are very indicative of how quickly things in the world around us change, and in so doing our lives are often changed along with them.
Thank you for your kind words re. the stone house photo
What a wonderful walk you provided us with this post ! Truly inspirational and educating ! Your pictures are awesome ! Sounds like you have a pretty amazing family Jo!
I love the Burlington area. We dined out at a very nice Thai restaurant down on the waterfront and then my brother took me on a tour of the some of the older neighbourhoods in Burlington...many very lovely and unique homes.
We saw Al Stewart at the University campus on April 19. It was a relatively small and personal concert hall and very enjoyable.
What an adventure for your daughter...is she working in Korea?
Thank you for posting these beautiful pictures of your property in Kelowna. Gorgeous gardens and scenery. I'm hoping to visit there in August or September this year.
I always think of my friends who are heritage building lovers when I gaze upon one.....I'm usually wishing they were there to enjoy it with me and this includes you of course, since you're one of the people I know who treasures these fine old places the most.
I would absolutely love to live in that house.....already I've envisioned the gardening I could do there and the books I could write while I gaze out of one of the windows on the upper levels. Guess I'm just a romantic and a dreamer at heart....in addition, Guelph is a very beautiful city with one of the nicest ambiences of any city I know in Ontario. I think you would really enjoy visiting there...
Yes, she is teaching English over there. She has her degrees in Social Work (major) psychology (minor). She went for the experience and to help pay off her student loans. She just emailed me this morning and she is looking at moving to London England when she is done in Korea as she said they have a ton of Social work jobs there. My other daughter Britt has been to London and loves it there, she said that if Shauna moves there she will move there with her. Britt spent just over a month last year touring Europe they spent almost a week in each of these countries England, France, Greece, Italy and Spain. So we shall see what happens.
You are welcome! I sure hope you make it out there this summer and if you do and like wine you should do some wine tours! They are great. I am not a big wine drinker but really enjoyed the tours.
It sounds like your daughters are very adventurous. How wonderful that they are gaining all of this worldly experience now while they are young and have no children.
I can only drink white wine and one half of a glass is about all that I can handle....anymore than that and I become very 'out of it'. ((-: I enjoy touring wineries though.....and some of them have wonderful on-site restaurants. I imagine Kelowna has some beautiful vinyards and orchards.
I think it's neat how so many young people are snowboarders these days.....each of my three sons were snowboard instuctors and I wish I had of learned from them before them moved out to the mountains (that's what drew them out there to begin with).
I do plan on visiting there, perhaps in the fall, so when I do I'll let you know and perhaps we can get together for a visit!
Jo-Anne Smith-Belleville, Quinte and Prince Edward Region Real Estate, Ont.
Belleville, ON
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Rob is finished his second year now and on a subsequent trip this month, I drove him to the Lester Pearson Airport in Toronto (about 2 hours from here) where he took a plane to Kelowna, BC to spend the summer with my two older sons, David and Iain. He is enjoying it out there very much and loves the mountains and views.
very much and relish in the long hot summers that start in early spring.
Hi Karen,
Jo-Anne - here are some photos of Kelowna I took last November....
Wow Jo-Anne that was inspirational!! I love heritage homes to..........and your scenic/familial journeys were poignant...........heritage-family...........music..........I loved the detour for me....:-)