Bonjour Canada

Parliament  - Ottawa



View from Peace Tower - Ottawa



Our ten days in eastern Canada left us with a deep appreciation for our northern neighbor. We recently returned from a Road Scholar tour of Ottawa, Montreal, and Québec City where we enjoyed the sights, sounds, and flavors of these three signature cities.

 

Morning Star by Alex Janvier - ceiling mural in the Canadian Museum of History



 

One of our favorite activities was lunch and a tour at Sucrerie de la Montagne, a family owned maple farm where they make maple syrup the old traditional way.

 

 

Rustic cabin on the maple farm - Sucrerie de la Montagne (Sugar Shack)

 

Demonstration of creating maple syrup

Scene from Sucrerie de la Montagne

Street in Old Québec City

Le Château Frontenac - Québec City  

 



Silo Quilt



Estes Park's Event Center has a building that resembles a silo. The town has commissioned my quilt guild (Estes Valley Quilt Guild) to make a large wall quilt to help with the acoustics in the high-ceilinged space. I joined eleven other guild members on Saturday to work on cutting the fabrics and sewing the 76 background blocks for the 6 X 10 foot quilt. We spent the day working on the project and finished all 76 blocks. Two guild members are sewing the blocks together and have finished about half the quilt. Once the entire background is complete we will add appliqué aspen trees and leaves.

Below are photos of the silo quilt workshop.





The quilt is a large adaptation of "Into the Woods" designed by Kara Peterson, a former EVQG member. It's going to be beautiful when it's complete. I'm making a much smaller version of the quilt for our house.



Kara's original "Into the Woods"



Montana Wedding

Lillian and Sam during the wedding ceremony.

The weather was beautiful for an outdoor wedding and reception.





Our Montana trip was a success in so many ways. I had been a wee bit anxious about traveling with my 94 year old mother but she did well on both flights and while we were in Montana. She enjoyed the whole experience as did Wayne and I. The highlights for me included: the beautiful outdoor wedding, meeting adorable baby Sylas, time in Glacier National Park and spending time with family. Below are some of my favorite photos of the trip.

Lillian and Sylas

Four generations of women in our family.
Grace, Jenny, Mom (Phyllis) and me.



Some of the family enjoying lunch at a restaurant on Flathead Lake.

The flowers were abundant and beautiful.

The kids enjoyed paddle boarding on Lake McDonald in
Glacier National Park.

Jen and Virgil opted for a kayak.

 

Logan Pass in Glacier National Park.

The iconic Red Jammer buses are the perfect transportation for a tour in Glacier.



Estes Park Medical Center "Thank You" Tea



I've been  a member of Trail Ridge Quilters for fifteen years and have enjoyed our Tuesday afternoon work sessions at Estes Park Medical Center. We make quilted items throughout the year, sell them at several sales events and fund equipment and projects for many departments at the medical center. This afternoon EPMC hosted a "Thank You Tea" for our members. Almost two dozen med center staff members stopped by to thank us. We, in turn, are grateful for their show of appreciation. A brick honoring Trail Ridge Quilters has been placed in the beautiful courtyard - a lovely quiet space.



Sparkle Party

"Sparkle Party"

"Sparkle Party is the name of my newest quilt creation. I'll be taking it with me when we go to Montana for the wedding of my niece Lillian and her fiancé Sam this summer. It's a gift for their adorable son Sylas, born March 29. I've seen lots of pictures and heard lots of stories which make me eager to meet this little guy in person.

 

Sylas



The name of the quilt was inspired by an event way back in time when Lillian was a little girl and our family was visiting my sister and her family in Montana. Lil went to a great deal of effort (invitations, decorations, etc.) to host a "Sparkle Party" in the family's basement after dark. Each party guest was given several Wint O Green Life Savers and when the lights were turned out we were instructed to chew the mints and watch the "sparkles" shoot from our mouths. We believed it would look something like fireworks on a small scale but the result was a huge disappointment, especially to Lillian, who wound up in tears. The Sparkle Party debacle has become part of our family's lore. I hope this "Sparkle Party" is much more successful than the original!

quilt back

quilt label



There is some truth to the Life Saver sparkle story which you can research if you have absolutely nothing else to do. Here's one site:  http://recipes.howstuffworks.com/question505.htm

Camping at Golden Gate Canyon State Park





Our three day annual group camping trip was enjoyable. Golden Gate Canyon State Canyon is a well maintained and beautiful campground. The camp sites are located in an aspen and lodgepole pine forest with plenty of room for each site. We started with eight couples which dwindled to five couples by day three.

We shared most meals at a central campsite and went out for one dinner during a rain shower when we couldn't keep a campfire going.

A highlight for me was the hike to Panorama Point where we had views of 100 miles of the Continental Divide - breathtaking! One of the hikers fell on loose rock on a steep section of trail and injured his arm (elbow to hand) with cuts and abrasions. Fortunately, he didn't hit his head or break any bones. Several of our group (including a retired pediatrician) patched him up so he could continue the hike.