Two Cents Worth
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Did you have a good birthday celebration?
Spent a week at a cottage up in The Kawarthas and had a great time. It was relaxing and peaceful. Even though the weather was warm it was mostly cloudy, overcast, windy and it rained every day at some point but never for more than about 10 minutes. We could find a comfortable spot out of the wind but it did eliminate the canoeing and made swimming a tough chore. The good part was there were no bugs.
We headed up town on the Tuesday after the rain to celebrate Canada Day. We visited a few shops in the area and spent some time at a Kawartha winery where we toured and tasted our way through a plethora of local wines. I am not a good judge of wines since I like mine sweet and syrupy, which gives most people apoplexy. The servers visibly shuddered when they asked if I preferred a three and I said, “No, I would rather try a 12.” They humoured me and served up the sweetest wines they could find including a couple really nice dessert wines. Someone even thought I should sample the drizzle wine which is a syrup for ice cream and desserts.
They had very strange combinations of wines like raspberry chocolate, flowering crabapple, kiwi, golden rod and pumpkin. They even had one called summer breeze. Since it would be hard to capture a summer breeze to make into wine I asked. It’s a combination of all summer berries. I didn’t try it since it was a 0.
Besides the wines and drizzles they also featured cheeses, specialty vinegars, preserves and sweet, hot and spicy jellies including one made from thyme.
At nearby Curve Lake is the The Whetung Cultural Centre. Besides the beautiful handmade moccasins, gloves, carvings, etc., the centre features a large art gallery highlighting beautiful Native paintings and carvings. Also in the centre is a large museum depicting the long journey of the Indians of the area.
It was time for a visit to the local Legion for a cold beer. Being the driver on this excursion I tasted very little wine so a cold one sounded pretty good by this time. It was a busy place as the village was gearing up for all sorts of Canada Day celebrations. Food booths were set up and barbecues were at the ready for the supper hour right after the parade. As is my way, I stood at the roadside and cheered and applauded all the floats, bands, marching veterans, cars, trucks, tractors, bikes and politician as each passed by. My cohorts stayed a respectable distance away so as not to seen as connected to me in any way.
The rest of the week was spent relaxing, reading, eating, sleeping and laughing. Couldn’t ask for a better summer holiday or better accomplices to spend it with.