Thanking my Lucky Stars!

Some people are lucky, and some people are not. I spent the majority of my life never winning anything. Well, that's not quite true as I did win a record album from a radio station once when I was a teenager. That got me all excited, but I never did get it. I expected it to arrive in the mail, but perhaps I was supposed to somehow make my way across the city to fetch it. No such luck. I ended up more disappointed than if I had never won it at all.

My youngest son won a Mickey Mouse phone from an Ottawa TV show when he was about 8, and he managed to win a couple of summer camp trips too. I thought he had way more luck than I'd ever had. Perhaps it had just skipped a generation or something.

Things changed for me about 5 years ago when I suddenly had a winning streak. I enter contests on line and was doing rather well.  Then it petered out again and I was actually having bad luck for a while.

This year has been extremely lucky for me so far, though I expect that luck just has to run out any day now.

In February I told you about winning a big basket of goods from the merchants of Almonte. Since then the BzzAgent people sent me an Oral B Genius 8000 electric toothbrush to test. The thing is amazing as it works with my phone's blue tooth and actually teaches me how to do a better job of brushing while it gets my teeth dentist clean. It was worth about $200 but all I had to do was write a review.  I did that but it was nothing compared to the extensive review on electric toothbrushes I later discovered posted on https://www.reviews.com/

 

Of course I managed to score a box of goodies from Sample Source too. That also takes luck and timing. I always count myself lucky when I manage to get one.

Then recently I went to the Shop Local Showcase in Kemptville and, as usual, filled out slips for various draws I found there. I was present when I won one of the hourly prizes. I got a $25 gift card for Hard Stones Grill. Later in the week I got a phone call and found out I had also another basket full of stuff from the Royal LePage realestate booth.  That's almost embarrassing as that's the booth I went to first, when I was trying to discover who had called my name. And before I could even get into Kemptville to pick that up, a new friend, Gary Blake,  presented me with a lovely painting he had done out of appreciation for some little thing that required no reward. Lucky is one thing, but who can believe there would ever be so much of it all at once! It's been an amazing week!

I picked up the basket this past weekend, and it contained two bottles of Wayne Gretsky wine (one red, one white), four jars of Mrs McGarrigle's mustard, a $50 gift card for Heather's Healthy Harvest, another $50 gift certificate for the Brigadoon, and also one for a car wash. The rest of the stuff in the basket had to do with rolling your own sushi. That's not something that is likely to happen in this house, but I'll find someone who will appreciate it.  Maybe it's even you, if you tell me a story about how you do such things at your house or what on earth got you started.  I've had such great luck lately, I think it's time I gave something away.  You deserve a reward for reading this far, or for answering my question on Facebook. Only a couple of my facebook friends have done that so far, so this is your chance to see how I actually win things. I pick contests like this, where the odds are really good as there won't be a huge number entering. I'll pick the winner on June 5, 2017.  I'm sorry, but you will have to be living in Canada to win though I'd love to hear stories from the rest of you too..

Instant Celebrity

Since I have written about the TLC Soupfest for the past three years (2013) (2014) (2015), I was not really planning on doing it again. But here I am, about to tell you what happened.

This was the 8th annual Soupfest, and I've been to at least seven of them, if not them all. The event was originally in Winchester, but moved to Kemptville several years ago, and will be held there next year, on March 4th.  Mark your calendars now.

The Kemptville Municipal Centre has enough space to feature 16 restaurants and their soups for the public to get acquainted with, and then vote on their favorites. Restaurants this year were from Merrickville, Morrisburg, North Gower, Perth, Manotick, and of course, Kemptville.   I didn't see any advertisement for the event this year, until just the week before, so it was a bit of a scramble to gather those who usually go with us.

While we were happily doing our taste testing, the organizer, Lynn Ford, was speaking to the assembled group about the event. She asked how many of us had been coming for several years, and a lot of hands went up, including those of everyone at my table.  She then asked if anyone would care to say a few words about their experiences at Soupfest. For some reason several members of my group decided to suddenly point at me.  I laughed and responded to them by saying, "Oh ya!"  Lynn apparently heard that but must have thought I was volunteering as she handed me the mic.  Oh well, I do tend to talk a lot, so I stood up and told everyone how my husband and myself came each year with a couple of his cousins and their spouses.  We always find it fun to compare opinions on the various soups, as we never, ever agreed on which ones we liked the best.  I mentioned that I have even brought my young grandson to the event a couple of times.  He enjoys being able to make his own pronouncements on the various soups, and voting for his own personal favorite.  Soupfest is indeed a great family outing.  For speaking, I was awarded a souvenir Soupfest apron, that I happily traipsed around in from the moment she put it on me until we left. I felt like a bit of a celebrity.  I have since read that public speaking is the number one fear people have. I can't vouch for that as I didn't have time to conger up a fear, let alone figure out what I wanted to say. I only hope whatever came out of me made some kind of sense.

I must say, that if it were not for Soupfest, there are a great number of soups I would never have even tasted, simple because of their ingredients.  No way would I ever have walk into a restaurant and buy whole bowlful of soup made with things that do not sound appealing to me.  But now I've sampled many of those, as a little taste and a chance to express my opinion isn't as intimidating as having to pay for a whole bowl of something I may not care for.  I found out that even though I do not like squash, or pumpkin or the idea of fish in a soup, all of those ingredients have been in soups offered to me at Soupfest, and I discovered that I actually liked them. This year the McIntosh Country Inn from Morrisburg served Pumpkin Gouda Soup, which was lovely and the Marlborough Pub from North Gower served a Smoked Salmon Bisque, that I was almost afraid to taste, especially since some others at my table didn't seem to care for it. I could smell the smokiness, but every sip I took made me like it more. This year my favorite was from a new restaurant to this event, The Keystorm Pub, from Brockville.  They made a Maple BBQ soup with Pork & Bacon.  I want to go to that restaurant just to get a whole bowlful of that soup, I liked it so much.  While other soups in the room may have been more imaginative,  as much as I liked them, I wouldn't make a special trip just to get some.  They Keystorm's offering will have me marching through their doors.  The chef told me it wasn't a fancy place. They just wear hockey shirts, and serve good food. If that soup was an example, I'm going to go as often as I can.  One other soup I went back and got more than one sample of was a delectable dessert soup.  Kemptville's Crusty Baker served up a Black Forest Soup. Yes, it had chocolate and creme brule, whipped cream (I think) and cherries. There was also a dash of kirsch in there too.  I don't know that I'd ever want a whole bowlful as I'm not one for sweets, but these little sample cups were just the right size for this lovely treat, at least for me. It made my heart sing.

I went to the bank yesterday and the first thing the teller said to me was, "Did you go to Soupfest?"  I told her I had. She said she saw a picture of me on Facebook (so of course she knew I'd been there).  The picture was taken just after I was given the apron.  I now have it on my Facebook page too, and already 40 people have liked it. I think the idea that a bank teller spotted me on the TLC page just proves I'm a bit of a celebrity now, don't you think?

Heyday Bargains

This past weekend we attended Heyday in Kemptville.  For the 55th year, the Kemptville District Hospital Auxiliary pulled together to create the best giant garage and/or yard sale you are going to find anywhere.  Held in the North Grenville Curling Club, what makes this yard sale the best, in my opinion, is that things are sorted according to category.  Not only are the books and clothing separated into their own areas, but lamps are with lamps, appliances with appliances, and glassware also has it's own separate table.


If you go there to look for something in particular, you can go to the correct area an see what's available without having to sort though a jumble of junk.  Both this year and last, we went looking specifically for chairs.  Last year my oldest son wanted some chrome chairs, and we found some that will likely last him the rest of his life, and they were only $3 each.  This year my sister-in-law mentioned she also needed some chairs for her kitchen. When the day came, she had a previously scheduled appointment, and couldn't make it to the sale. We told her we would look, and grabbed up 4 nice sturdy wooden chairs for her for a grand total of $20. 

Looking around the rest of the room, I discovered a nice frame, complete with mat (and a picture I'll dispose of), a wooden lamp (that will likely be painted black) and a grey shade to go with it, two necklaces, three books, a green vase, and three small ceramic pots with lids that are perfect for reheating things in the microwave.  Total cost to me for all that was just $5.  Where else can you get so much for so little. And it's all for a good cause.

I'm already looking forward to next year.

Soupfest 2015 - Sold Out

It's been a hard winter with so many funerals in the family, but a group of us recently found a much better reason to get together.  The annual Soupfest, in support of the TLC Ministries,  took place in Kemptville on Saturday March 7th. This year it drew a record breaking crowd.  Every ticket was sold, and we were glad we were even able to find a place to sit. 

The tables were set up for 8 people at each, but we needed 10 chairs this year. The number of cousins in this family gathering together for this event reached an all time high. One branch had three generations present. With two children at our table, Brad the Balloon Guy stopped by to work his magic, just proving that Soupfest is fun for all ages.

Seventeen restaurants took part in the event this year.  There were a couple of new ones from Merrickville.  Both the Sugar Belle Bake Shoppe (their table pictured here) and Cha Tea House are new to the village this winter and decided Soupfest would be a great way for people to become acquainted with them.  Smiths Falls representation was conspicuously absent this year. Some of my favorite soups have come from Smiths Falls entrants in the past, so I hope they come back next year.

This year's judges were Executive Chef Michael Blackie, Chef Jocelyn Myre, Executive Chef Jhonatan J Gonzales and Nutritional Columnist, Heather Westendorp. They chose their three favorite soups of the day, and the people got to vote for their favorites also. The only soup chosen by both the people and the judges was the Sweet Potato and Cabbage Soup, topped with pancetta from the Brigadoon in Oxford Mills.  The people put it in Second place while the judges gave it a First.  The judges awarded Second place to the Merrickville's Yellow Canoe and gave Third place to Brewed Awakenings of Kemptville.

The people chose The Crusty Baker from Kemptville in Third place, Brigadoon in Second, and gave top  honours to The New Rideau for it's Butternut Squash with Maple Cream.  That was a little too sweet for me, but the rest of my table just loved it. That, of course, is the fun of Soupfest. Everyone is entitled to an opinion and it's great fun to discover that the people sitting with you disagree with your choices, and vice versa. Some pretty lively discussions come about by comparing opinions on the offerings.

The various establishments hope to call attention to themselves, and while some managed to do that by letting us know they had great soup, others, like the Crusty Baker will be getting my business in the future, not only because I loved their Potato Stilton Soup, but also because they gave us a hot cross bun, which was one of the best I've ever tasted.  I'll be checking out more of their baked goods in the future, even though I'll have to travel to Kemptville to do that.

We all had a great time and are already looking forward to next year's Soupfest. It's a much more enjoyable reason to gather than another funeral.




 

You Don't Have to Win to Be a Winner!

When my youngest son was small, he used to go bowling every weekend at the Kemptville Bowling Lanes. Now it's his oldest son's turn, and for the past seven years he has taken on the challenge. This year he qualified to take part in the 4 Steps to Stardom, and recently went to the Provincial Tournament in Brantford.

In order to qualify, first you have to have good attendance at the weekly games at the local lane.  Then, if more than 4 bowlers wish to take part in the Singles Zone Final they have a bowl off there, to determine who can advance.   The winners from the Zone Final go on to the Provincial Tournament, and the winners from there go on to the Nationals.

In December, my 10 year old grandson became an Ottawa Valley Champion, and qualified to move on to the Provincials in Brantford. That got us all excited.  As I understand it, he is only bowler from the Kemptville to ever advance to the Provincials.

Because he came in first at the Zone Finals,  he was even interviewed on the radio.

Now the neat thing was that when I was busy bragging about him on Facebook, a lady I met the

previous year at her niece's wedding jumped into the conversation to ask where and when the Provincial tournament was being held. It seems her granddaughter would be there too, and would be representing Grimsby.

We made plans to join my son and his family to attend the Provincial Tournament in Brantford. It was the first chance to give our new GPS a good trail run.  I've always been the family navigator, but I think I can actually retire now.  Not only does this handy gadget tell you how to best get to where you want to go, it also warns you well in advance of traffic slowdowns ahead, so you can avoid them if you feel that necessary. 

For a while there, we were worried that he wouldn't get to go as our little bowler sprained his ankle a couple of weeks before the tournament.  Luckily the young heal quickly and after wondering for a week or so, the trip was on.

The tournament was great fun, and it was even better since I had friends to visit with and two kids to watch, instead of one.  They were not competing against each other as they are in totally different divisions, due to both age and gender.

While my grandson did not win the tournament, he is still an Ottawa Valley Champion, and now officially the eleventh best bowler in the Bantam Boy division in all of Ontario.  We are extremely proud of him.  Since he's only 10, I'm sure there will be more bowling competitions in his future. 
 

Summer Weekends

My favorite thing about summer is that there are so many places to go and things to do, and most of it is free.

This weekend we were out looking for another art show but stopped to explore the Stewart Park Festival in Perth.  There were two stages with musical performances going on at the same time, plus other assorted things to amuse young and old alike. 

The weather was fantastic, so families were also enjoying the stream that runs through the park.  We never did find the art show we were looking for, but we've already been to a couple this summer, so we'll try for that one again next year.

Then, of course, there are the farmer's markets. Kemptville has eliminated the competition by holding theirs on Sunday afternoons, instead of using the usual Saturday morning time slot.  One of the great things about that is that our favorite vendor is now available much closer to home. I'm sure we will both gain some weight by the end of the summer because Frank's Buttermilk Pie is entirely too good to resist!  It is available with or without various berries in it, and only costs $8.50 per pie.  You won't get a better deal for anything so delicious anywhere else. I guarantee it.

Today we brought home some scones from another vendor, as we can eat them in one sitting, and not be tempted to get carried away.  I do need to fit into that new bathing suit, you know.  Scrummy Scones have some interesting varieties, and are available for taste testing first, as are Grammie's Jams.  Actually they go very well together. 

Now that I've had a perfect weekend, my garden can stand a bit of rain. I'm so glad it didn't come in time to spoil our fun.

All Souped Up

Soupfest is an annual event that I really enjoy.  Restaurants from all over the region gather to offer up samples of their soups for us to taste and we decide among ourselves which soup is the best.  There are official judges too, and they also make their own choices. It's interesting because they don't always pick the same soups as the people do.  The official judges may know about when some especially innovated combination has been put together, but we, the people, just know what we like. To me winning the people's choice awards are actually more valuable. It's the general public that the restaurants have to please, or they won't come back.  The chefs can get as fancy as they like, and that that may impress the official judges, but if the people don't like what is being offered, they aren't going to buy it.

There is a certain establishment in Smiths Falls where I often go for soup.  You never know, when you walk through the door, of the Good Life Bistro what their soup that day will be, but I can tell you that I've never had a bad one there.  I mentioned to them recently that they should get in on Soupfest. They had never heard of it, but looked it up on the internet while I had my lunch, and by the time we were ready to leave, I was told they had managed to sign up.  And this weekend they not only discovered how much fun the experience can be, they won first place for one of the categories with their Squash Pear Bisque with maple cinnamon cream.

Another restaurant, The New Rideau near Kemptville, had only just opened under new management three weeks ago. They placed in two categories with a Cream of Broccoli, Cauliflower and Cheddar soup, so now I'm interested in going there for lunch some day too.

Soupfest is good for getting new customers for businesses some didn't know existed.  We were first introduced to the Basket Case in Morrisburg though their participation in Soupfest.  We've been there several times since then, and highly recommend it.  They were not present at the event this year though, and I missed those fun filled ladies.

One of our local businesses did very well too. The Goose and Gridiron in Merrickville put forth a very colourful Mexican Chicken Tortilla Soup.  If that soup is on their menu, I'll be dropping in there more often in the future.  I had a hard time deciding if I was going to choose it for my second or third place vote. In the end, it came in third, both for me and the rest of the public, but placed first with the official judges.

My personal favorite of the day was the Silken Scallop with Crisp Pancetta by the Black Dog Bistro in Manotick.  My nine year old grandson agreed with that choice, and even went back for more.

"Thrillusionist," Michael Bourada was on hand to entertain this year, and he worked the room, one table at a time. Of course, when he got to us, he zeroed in on the only child at the table.  It was such fun to watch them interact.

This was the first year we have taken one of the grandsons with us. I told him he was going to get to taste all the soups, and he didn't have to like them, just judge them. He gave them scores from one to ten, and was far more adventurous than I expected.  I think he only missed 3 or 4 of the 16 offerings, and that was likely because he was full by then.  Oh, but not too full for the great big chocolate covered rice crispy square he picked for dessert.  He already has told us he wants to come with us again next year.  I'm looking forward to that already.

 

 

Soupfest 2013

The 5th Annual Soupfest was held in Kemptville, Ontario on Saturday March 2.  This was the second year the event was held at the Kempville Municipal Centre after 3 years at the Winchester site.  There were only 15 restaurants represented this year, but the soups were far better than last year, and it was more difficult to pick a favorite....at least, for me.

The room quickly filled up with people, and, as usual, there were not enough chairs for everyone.  It's meant to be a social event though, so they expect you to move about and mingle and discuss the various soups with others.

We tend to gather family members from Avonmore and Vernon each year, and it's great fun to have lively discussions over which soups are marvelous, and which, to some, are just plain gross.  Most of my table this year chose the Squash Bisque with Chicken Dumplings sauteed in ginger jus from the Brigadoon as their favorite.  I must admit it made my finalist list, even though I have never been fond of squash.  The winner for me though, was The Butter Chicken Soup from Chuckles Jack in Smiths Falls.  There was only one soup I didn't taste, and that was because I watched everyone else at my table make a face and dump it in the trash.  I should have gotten that one after the first protest, while I could still give it a fair try. But I waited too long and then just chickened out.

 I think the best display this year was by the Nakhon Thai Restaurant, which we just discovered a week ago at the Wine and Food Show.

I'm not sure how we managed it, but most of those at my table somehow found room for dessert. There was a table with a wild assortment of goodies which could be had for just an extra dollar.  It's all for a good cause, after all, as Soupfest is a fundraiser for the TLC Ministries. We made that small extra donation and forced ourselves to devour a piece or two of pie or cake or some other goodie.  I did see one clever person with four treats on a plate, ready to take home.
There were a few goodies reserved for auction.  Celebrity judge,  CTV2 host,  Kurt Stoodley, helped out in that department.

Brad the Balloon Guy was on hand to entertain again this year. This fellow is easily the most talented balloon artist I've ever seen. He can create a wide variety of things, including a full length Mountie, complete with an actual face.

There was also a musician in one corner, playing an acoustic guitar. When we first arrived, we were careful not to place ourselves too close to where the music was going to be as we didn't want it to interfere with our conversation.  No worries there. He was completely unamplified and I had trouble hearing him even when I went right over and stood nearby to purposely listen to him.  He might as well have stayed at home.

I'm afraid I can't tell you who the winners were this year.  We got tired of waiting for them to tally the votes and left before the winners were announced.  I usually find it interesting that the winners the judges pick are not necessarily the ones that win the People's Choice award.  I think some of the restaurants try hard to please the judges.  After all, Chef Michael Dunn, who was chef  for the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace for 16 years, was one of the judges, so who wouldn't try to impress him?  But if you are in the business of selling soup, wouldn't you rather please the people?  They are the ones who will come to spend their money at your establishment, and tell their friends, if they like the taste of what you created. This year, most of the competitors certainly succeeded in pleasing the public. It was an enjoyable day out, and we all left well fed.

To Market, To Market

As I've mentioned before, I really like going to the Kemptville Farmers Market.  This time of year there are a lot of excellent stalls with wonderful veggies to choose from. We got there earlier than usual and found some stalls have become very popular. I really don't want to have to stand in a long line only to discover the thing that caught my eye in the first place has been sold off by the time I get to the front of that line. I did came home with a couple heads of really nice lettuce though.  I'll definitely be eating a wonderful salad for supper tonight. 

There are always several bakers there too, and one of those also had a long line up.  I peeked to see what they were selling and things really did look delicious, but once again, I opted for a less crowed booth and got some very delicious brownies. They were large enough to share, and only 50 cents each.  Beaconholme Farm.  I'll remember that name.

Speaking of names, look also for the Dippy Darlings.  Do stop and chat with them.  They are delightful.  Their maiden name was Darling and they sell dip.

Kemptville Market is open on Sundays from 2pm to 4pm, and is well worth the visit.

Some Treasures Don't Fit in Cache Containers

It seemed like a good day to go geocaching, so we headed out with no particular goal in mind, but with the GPS loaded with a whole slew of caches off to the east of us.  We approached the first one from the wrong direction, which made it next to impossible to reach without a lot of backtracking, so after determining where it was located, decided to leave it for another day and moved on.  The second one was really not hard to find because it was in a distinctive container.  The instructions were not to photograph it, and after seeing it, I understood exactly why.  It would make it entirely too easy for anyone who ever saw that picture to find it and that would take the fun out of the process.

Then we went to Hallville.  There is a cache there, that is supposed to be at eye level, but even though I stood at ground zero, that one eluded me. I'll put a watch on it and see if I can get some clues as to where to look.  We found better treasure at this location though. The General Store has a little cafe at the back. Besides subs and other lunch items, you can get home made tarts and other goodies.  We chose the last cherry tart and a scrumptious butter tart.  We were delighted with the floor show that took place while we sat and ate these treats. A young girl was in the process of mixing up some more pastry dough.

When we were finished there we drove off down some back roads, but one cache had been discontinued while another was simply not on the road we were following, and we came to a dead end. There was a really interesting house at the end of that road though, and we never would have seen it if we had not been out looking for treasure.

A look at the gas gauge reminded us that we really shouldn't venture any further without getting some gas, but as we headed toward Kemptville my hubby spotted someone he had not seen in many years.  She was out in her garden watering plants.  He pulled in to say hello, and we not only stayed to have a little visit, we took her for a ride to show her how to look for geocaches herself.  While chatting we discovered we have a lot of things in common.

This might not sound like a very successful day. Though geocaching may be about hunting down caches, the best treasures we find are often not those that are hidden in the cache containers.  We saw wild turkeys in someone's driveway. We had wonderful tarts and got to see them being made. We spotted an interesting house in an out of the way place.  We spent some time in the company of a lovely lady. The best treasure of all for this day is that I may have made a  new friend.

SoupFest 2012

This weekend we went to the annual Soupfest. It's a fundraiser for TLC Ministries but it has also become a family tradition.  Two of my hubby's cousins and their spouses joined us this year, as well as another couple of friends of ours.  It's always more fun to go to this sort of event with others, as then you have someone to discuss your opinions with.

This year they changed the venue from Winchester to the new Municipal Complex in Kemptville, Ontario. I had heard the event had outgrown the old location, but I'm not entirely sure the new one was any bigger. There were nice looking round tables throughout the room, instead of the long ones placed end to end, but this and the newly added musical entertainment made talking a lot more difficult. 

What happens at the Soupfest is that many of area restaurants set up a table to offer samples of their soup.  There was a wide range of flavours and no two soups even slightly alike. We get an ample taste of them all, in little bowls that reminded me of Dixie Cups. When we are finished the taste test we vote on the ones we liked the best.  There are celebrity judges present too, and they do their own tasting and voting. This year there were 5 judges including Chef Stephen Haner, an instructor at the University of Guelph, Wayne Cavanaugh, the token media guy from Jack FM Radio, and the ever popular Chef Michael Dunn, who used to be the chef to Queen Elizabeth.

All in all, there were 16 restaurants represented, so 16 different flavour sensations.  Not all of them were something I'd care to try again.  One of those was the over all winner.  It was a Thai soup, so I guess I'm not into Thai flavours, or perhaps my palette is just not sophisticated enough to appreciate something that got both the People's Choice Award and the Judges Best Soup Award.  I'm not the only one that couldn't understand how that one became a winner though, so it's good to know I'm not alone with this opinion.  An offering of Stinging Nettle soup was given in a much smaller container, which made it all much more scary.  Having encountered stinging nettles in the wild, I couldn't get myself to taste that one.

I really liked a rich and creamy offering that I thought was a celery soup. It turned out to be called Pepper Pot soup, for some reason. That came from the Bridgeview Restaurant in Prescott.  Another one that I was almost afraid to taste was a Roasted Red Pepper soup from the McIntosh Country Inn in Morrisburg. They added a bit of pesto to the top to make it look good.  I was surprised to discover I loved the soup, but didn't like the pesto and had to scoop it off. I've got a jar of pesto in my cupboard that I've been wondering what to do with. Now I know. I'll give it away.  Then there was the Apple Cheddar soup from the Yellow Canoe in Merrickville. Oh, hey, I liked that almost as much as the Curried Sweet Potato one they entered two years ago!  I'm thinking that's definitely the place to go for a good soup.

A balloon man was on hand to make some nice creations for the children, but since it was mainly an adult gathering, he happily made things for the adults too. He was a big hit with everyone young at heart.  Another new feature this year was the dessert auction.  Even if you didn't bid on one of those, you could buy a slice of something for just $2.  That's a great way to finish off a meal of assorted soups.  I don't think I'll ever tire of going to this event. It's just a great adventure.

Vendors Everywhere I Go

Sunday we spent a few minutes at Merrickville's Canalfest.  There were the usual craft vendors, silent auction, Voyageur Canoe Race and, of course, musical entertainment. 

One thing I notice, at all the craft fair events, is that there are an over abundance of jewelry makers out there this year.  The only interest I have in those stalls is to see if anybody has come up with something different that I might like to try making myself.

A few of them sell interesting beads and pendants, as well as jewelry. It's just a good thing I have enough stuff around the house waiting to be strung up as it is, as I've seen some interesting ones over the past few days. I have been able to resist, however.  Next year, when I'm looking for such things, there won't likely be any.

It was too hot to stay long, and I had grocery shopping to do, so we set off to Kemptville.

First stop on a Sunday is always the Kemptville Farmer's Market.  There are a lot of different farmer's markets in the area, and I like to visit them, when I can.  I think the Kemptville one is the best though.  There is always a wide variety of vendors there, and there seems to be a lot of good sampling to be had too.  I experienced pickled jalapeno peppers (I saw "Pickle" and it was green, so I got a surprise when I tasted that!), a couple of different shortbreads (I liked the one with the toffee bits), and a few different kinds of strange looking cucumbers and tomatoes.

The highlight of this market trip was these interesting vegetables are grown in Oxford Mills by Luke Swale.  I was told that they plan to grow something new and different every year.  Check out their website at http://www.earthsharvestfarm.ca/ . Personally, I'm bookmarking that one.

I came home with a nice loaf of bread and an assortment of freshly dug potatoes.  I likely should have made off with a few of those cute cucumbers too.  Oh well, maybe next time.....

Pleasant Surprises are in the Stars for Me

There must be something special in the way the stars are arranged lately. Something strange is going on around here.

Remember I told you, in May that my next door neighbour brought me her glass pot and one of her blooming tea balls?  I invited an old friend over to enjoy the experience and quickly ordered my own blooming

teas from China.  They have now arrived safely, and I also now have my own
glass teapot and am ready to start sharing this experience with 16 more
people.

Anyway, that was just the first incident of a sudden pleasant surprise. There have been many more since then.

Friday one of my neighbours called to say she was going to Kemptville to
pick up this weeks specials.  While in the grocery store, she found this display of miniature roses that
were just being marked down. She started loading her cart with them.  There
were a couple of larger pots that were not being marked down, but she liked
the colour of one of them too, as it was an unusual shade of purple she had
never seen before, and there was just one so she grabbed it too.  Then she
picked up a pretty pink one and said that one was for me and she was buying it because I'm a good friend. 

Then we were in the meat department as she wanted some kabobs that were on sale.  They weren't on the shelf, so she asked about them.  The clerk went and fetched a box, but they were souvlaki as opposed to kabobs.  She wasn't interested in them but I sure was.  There were four in a package for just $2.79.  The clerk went back and got what she wanted, and I grabbed the 2 package per customer limit on the ones that were originally brought out.  My friend bought six packages of the ones she wanted, and then decided to get two of the other ones as well.  When we got home she took them out of her bag and plopped them into mine.  She said she bought them for me since there was that 2 per person limit.  We put our groceries away and I invited her for lunch.  I paid her for the meat, which she wasn't expecting, but I did accept the gift of the rose.  It's now planted out under my kitchen window and I sure hope it lives through the current heat spell.

Recently a local church held a Fashion Show and Tea, and I was one of the models. Yesterday I went to Doree's Habit, with plans to spend the $20 gift certificate I was given for having done the job.  That was totally unexpected too, since I was already able to enjoy the tea party without

paying the $10 admittance just for having taken part in the show.  I looked around the shop and  found this cute little black hat that turned out to be the an even swap for the gift certificate.

Last month a cyber buddy of mine finally took up geocaching after listening to my stories for the past several years. He wrote about his first geocaching experience, and blamed me for the whole thing.  Since then he seems to have become hooked on these little adventures, and this morning I discovered he had gifted me a full year's Premium Membership at geocaching.com . This was totally out of the blue, and a great surprise, since I think about upgrading my membership every year, but have never done it.

All this got me thinking and I realized that within the past week I have also received fresh lettuce when I walked by the home of friend who had just picked some from her garden. Another friend had been cleaning out her closet and was taking some things to the Salvation Army, but she saved a couple of red and purple garments for me to use in my Red Hatter outings. And yesterday my daughter-in-law brought me some rhubarb from the cottage. I had not managed to get any rhubarb this year, until now, so that was greatly appreciated.   

Businesses are getting in on this gifting thing this week too.  Last week I received a nice mug from Harper Collins just for "liking" them on Facebook and today Kashi sent me a new product. It's soft baked bar in an apple strawberry flavour. They also sent a $2 off coupon so I could by some more, or try the blackberry ones. 

I don't know what's going on, but I'm starting to really enjoy all these pleasant surprises.