I had a fabulous last few days. I scooched off early from work on Friday (consequence of working through the night on Wed ) and headed up to GopherBrokeFarm, as I mentioned on my previous blog. Barb and John's home is serene and comfortable. Just the thing one needs after a hectic week. We drank wine and ate pizza (Johnny is such a good cook – he is the chief cook and anything he makes is scrumptious!) as we caught up on the goings on of the week.
Chasing Mercury
Their son Rob was home and he and his guy friends were going to have a night of jamming/practicing music in the studio house set up just for such activities. Rob is in the band Chasing Mercury and tours for part of the year, but when he is not touring he works with his Dad who is a builder/renovation contractor in the Collingwood area.
This is Robbie's Band:
The guys played all night and I slept soundly waking only the odd time to the “boom boom” of the base that traveled from the other building to the Main House. I have no problem sleeping or going back to sleep when wakened, so it was no big deal.
GopherBrokeFarm Landscaping Project
On Saturday, I played paparazzi and did a photo shoot of the exterior of the House. As I have mentioned in previous blogs, John and Barb bought 50 acres in prime land in the Niagara Escarpment/Bruce Trail area and John has built a wonderful house there. They are now in the landscaping phase of the project and have been working in the last few weeks with chain saws and bulldozers. Barb and I agreed that they now have a great blank canvas to work on. I wanted to present a few photos now and will provide updates as they progress. They have such spectacular plans I am so excited to document their progress via this blog. I put together a collage of the pictures I took of the exterior.
I thought at the same time I would throw in collage of the interior shots so you will know how comfortable their home is and understand why I go on and on about their "GopherBrokeFarm" homestead.
My Collingwood Shangri-La
After leaving Barb and John’s I trucked on over to my Shangri-La. I took a picture as I was coming down “the mountain” (note: this is not a real mountain, just an escarpment high enough to ski – but only just. You can see Georgian Bay in the distance.
Dad and I went out hot water heater shopping. The previous one was a 20 year old job, which had been rented since it was installed! Paid for in full about 10 times in that time period.
Once I got that done I took a stroll around the property and remembered why I so love the place. The stress just pours out of my body when I arrive. I will be going up less often this year because my folks are borrowing the place whilst they are between homes (their new one will be ready in Sept), *sigh* what can you do… Here are a few early spring photos of my favourite spots. I like to walk out to the end of the sea wall and sit by the Gazebo and look out into the lake.
I also put together a collage of the shots I took as Bella and I went for a walk around the property. Just discovered the piccasa collage feature - pretty neat, huh!
bookroad winery
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Been wanting to try Bookroad Winery’s wines since seeing her story on the
television show “7 rules” Finally got a chance when she had a pop up at
Tokyo Dai...
13 hours ago
We have "Music in the Park" each summer (on Friday evenings) where I live. Local bands as well as bands from as far away as Buffalo participate in the free concerts. I am looking forward to when "Music in the Park" begins. The concerts are held in a downtown park situated alongside the Allegheny River. It is a relaxing way to spend a Friday evening. Chasing Mercury would be a welcome band, I believe, for our "Music in the Park" series.
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the fireplace at Gopher Broke Farm! Your Shangri-La does look like an excellent place to unwind.
My husband (Bob) discovered a collage program too. He looked at several free programs but decided to purchase a program by Microsoft called AutoCollage. Here's a link to a collage that Bob put together.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/31843317@N08/3493544107/
I think I'll be borrowing his program from time to time :-)