My beloved St. Jacobs

Hello my friends!!!

Are you still with me?

We're off to my beloved St.Jacob's ....

come with me through my lens

and see what I see

when I visit this most precious place.

St. Jacob's Country

is home to many mennonites.

I ask my hubby every year if we can move there :)

I absolutely love the simplicity and beauty

of their lifestyle.

I wanted to try to capture something of that simplicity & beauty

on my lens...

so when something would speak to me,

when we were driving, I would ask him to slow down a little

so I could bring some beauty back to you...

~

Teaching children to count is fine,

but teaching them what counts is better

~

Their faith is everything to them.

They know in Whom they have believed.

They love God and live for Him everyday of their lives.

They serve Him and they serve one another.

A people set apart unto God.

They work hard

and most live off the land...

the fruit of their labour....

and find satisfaction in the simple joys

and true beauties God has created for us to enjoy.

This precious moment was captured

while we were down a country road

and it happened so fast that I basically directed my camera out my window and snapped

these two darlins' on the side of the road.

It was one of those treasures that God gave us in this pastoral country

and I adored and drank in every moment of being here.

There is so much to see in and around

St. Jacob's Country

even though its not too big.

You'll discover the treasures in hidden places

and if you're like me,

these memories will make a mark on your heart

and will linger there long after you've left.

I know you girls have your own special places

that you adore as well.

The wildflowers and roadside scenery

takes  my breath away

I have soooo many photos,

but lets go into the village now

:)

Here's the cute Inn we stay at in the heart

of the village.

Love it, and the hospitality of this quaint Inn.

We've stayed here every summer for over 10 years now.

This is the back entrance from the parking lot

and my hubby and I heading inside.

Below is the outdoor patio

with beautiful blooms!!

Both mornings of our stay here we had a

lovely breakfast in the overhanging loft

that overlooks the village...

The first morning I was getting showered and ready...

you know how us gals take a little longer than men to get ready? :)

Well, he went ahead and brought me back an "appetizer".

Yummy..fresh fruit and yogurt :)

We shopped...

Oooh-la-la I found a treasure in here!!!!

Its got alot of antiques and they make cornbrooms right here inside.

I love going in here...

and that day was the day I found  a little something that drew me immediately.

I would have to say my treasure is

romantic prairie style...

and I will show you in a later post (soon though)!

(I know, I've really got to stop teasing like this!) Lol

We went to the Farmers Market!!!!

Love, love, love it here!

They have the most de-lish-

apple fritters here!!!

And they make them right in front of you!!!

I waited in a line-up for about 15 minutes for 2 fritters!

Now thats dedication!

They are so good!!!!

Mennonite cooking and baking is scrumptious!!

We dined in Benjamin Inns'

dining room one evening

and it was mouth watering!

Shopped more....

:)

Enjoyed all the  prettiness...

And adored all the  blooms!!!

Theres so much more, and I wish I could show all of it...

but

in the next post or two we'll visit Niagara and Niagara-on-the-lake together!

Thanks so much for tagging along with us..

I love your company!

I love showing and telling!!

How has your week been?

Anything special planned this summer?

Hope you all have a great evening...Im trying to peek in on you as I can!

Deborah xoxoxo

Stratford fun!!

Ok so I promised to tell you about our trip,

so here we are (were) on our way to Stratford last Thursday morning,

but not without a stop on the way!

:)

Yep, you guessed it!

Like I mentioned before, we don't have a Starbucks

so its a treat to stop at one when we travel

:)

A bagel for my hubby,

and a white hot chocolate for me.

and a ginger molasses cookie

(one of my favourites from Starbucks)

Ok now we're ready for our trip

to Stratford!

We travelled quite leisurely;

we weren't pressed for time,

so we felt free to stop along the way

and explore and enjoy...

Little gift shops

and some antique markets...

Tea anyone?!

:)

Stopped at another antique shop....

loved looking at everything!!

Love that white door

but how do I carry that in our car on our trip

and all the way home?!

I don't..but it was so fun to look.

Come around the front of this shop :)

Look at that metal container

with those gorgeous yellow pansies!!!!

Bee-autiful!!!!

But I did buy something here...

any guesses?

:)

I have a list in my mind that I put on paper before we left,

and one of them I found here!

Did you guess right?

Yes, I have been looking for an old kettle

and I found her here...

or should I say..

she found me!!

Thrilled? Yep, I was!

I'll show you what I did with her in a bit.

Ok we're here in Stratford!!!!

And its lunch time

and we know exactly where we are headed for lunch!

None other than

York Street Kitchen!!!

Sandwiches are deeeeee-lish!!

We both love this place!

A must if you ever go to Stratford, Ontario!!

Em had an egg salad and I had a meatloaf sandwich and they were both yummy..

we shared and had one half of each others sandwich..

mmmmm good!

Ok here comes the root beer story

(I promised yesterday).

Em got me a root beer and it came in this bottle..

looks like a beer bottle and because I eat and drink slowly,

I still had some left while we strolled around after lunch.

It looked (to me and I think others)

that I was carrying around and drinking a bottle of beer.

I was glad when it was finished..lol

We ate overlooking the Avon River..

it was lovely,

and I have to tell you

that every single day was absolutely the most beautiful weather!!

We stopped to play checkers right in the middle of downtown

in between looking in stores

and shopping...

he won!

Lovely, unique shops,

and sidewalk cafes..

love them all!

Scenes like this made us miss our pets..

our scottish terriers and our westie.

These two here are brother & sister

and they were just lying so peacefully together

on this front desk in this shop.

Even in the park we came across a lady and her hubby with their scottie and a cairns terrier,

and we chatted and exchanged our stories

about our scotties too!

I wish I had asked for a picture of hers..

they were so cute!

We adore Stratford

but we're headed to my beloved St. Jacobs now (then)

and I can't wait to show and tell all about it...

but I'm getting sleepy and have kept you long...

Come back and I'll show you more!!!

Oh..heres my new (old) kettle

with some sedum in it.

I like!

xoxo

Much love,

Deborah xoxo

The Joy is the Journey

Don't you love the  journey  just as much as

getting there?

I sure do!!

At the beginning of our summer get-away

we planned to visit with our 3 sons

who live enroute to where we were heading.

I love planning our little trips

and being able to stop and visit

with our kids!

It's always so good to re-unite

and visit,

and enjoy each others company again!

My hubby and our boys are big sports fans and they

love to watch tv sports and... they dont stop there!

They love to play touch football,

baseball, ball hockey...the whole 9 yards!!

We arrived Wednesday afternoon

and my hubby went to one of our sons baseball games

along with our youngest son...

soooo

our oldest, Adam and I hung out!

It was near supper time and he said,

"Come on Mom, lets go get a bite to eat"

Chinese Food!!!!

As if that wasn't enough of a treat,

we picked it up to bring back home,

but not without one last stop.

He took me into Starbucks

and bought me a

mint frappachino!!!!

Ok I have to say

this was deeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-lish!!!!!

We don't have a Starbucks where we live,

so its a treat when we travel :)

And I have had a mint chocolate frappachino before,

but this time I forgot to ask for the chocolate in it,

because I was too busy giving all the details

to the gentleman serving me....:)

A low-fat milk one with no caffeine in it,

and it had to have mint in it, etc, etc

that when it was all made and handed to me, I thought..

oops I didnt say mint chocolate frappachino.

But guess what???

It was just as delicious..maybe even more so.

Low-fat milk, yet whipped topping on top...

does that make sense to you?

Well I skimped on the fat in the milk,

but added it on top anyway!!!

You have to try one!!!

Anyway, we brought supper home

and decided to eat outside

on his patio.

Any of you gals love, adore, get super excited about

eating outside in the summer?!

Well, I do!!!

:)

The company of my son was excellent,

and the food was scrumptious,

and my frappachino just went perfect with it!

My son had a beer with his....

I suppose thats a guy thing....

at least, speaking for myself,

I have never, ever liked the taste of beer.

Well root beer yes..and thats another story for another post!

(I do actually have to tell you about something in my next post

about beer...well, root beer) Lol

What a great start to a wonderful week of vacation!!

Adam and I spent the evening together

and got caught up on each others news..

love it!!!

Oh and along the way to our sons, we made our way to Ikea

to window-shop

and I found this sink

which I had seen last time we were at Ikea.

I love it because it looks like the "apron sinks" that I adore!

And its very reasonably priced!

I  love a double-sink

and after having one for a while,

would find it hard to do without.

Did you see that price?!

Right up my alley!!!

Ok so Ive put that on my

wish list

:)

Enough of our trip for today...

next post I'll show you

Stratford

and our morning and afternoon there!

I feel as if I'm really bringing you on our trip..

I'm loving sharing it with you!

Until next time.....

xoxoxo

Deborah :)