Ontario Visit

Just back from trip to southern Ontario - hadn't seen the house where I grew up since my sister Joyce moved in last summer after the renovations were completed. The painting had been done and the floors were being refinished on my last visit. Harvey and I had made some suggestions based on the first set of plans so it was neat to see how it's working now that she's settled in. It looks great - the big eat-in kitchen with access to a new deck is the centre of activity. Joyce with her contractor saved and reused original molding, doors, door hardware, light fixtures, and she's had a lot of old family furniture reupholstered. She's done a lot of work on the landscaping too; with all the rain they've had everything is extremely green and some plants much taller than normal.

I also got a tour of a house just down the road, where a friend grew up - they used the same contractor and are just settling in there, with landscaping still to be done. It looks great too - nice to see these old houses (Joyce's built in 1888/89 as the second home on the farm) get a new life. We also visited a house on Lake Erie which a friend of Joyce's built on the site of the family cottage to see the fabulous landscaping he has done - established parts of his gardens have already appeared in magazines. And another friend who's in the midst of an addition to an old brick house - she's chosen a lovely bright and bold colour scheme including blue kitchen counters and cabinets.

My other sister Diane also came for several days, Harvey's sister Beth drove out from Toronto for a house tour and lunch, as did Kathy, a friend from high school. We ate lots of freshly picked sweet corn, went to Port Dover on a hot sunny Sunday afternoon (I had perch and chips for lunch) and on another hot day Joyce and I had ice cream cones at Hewitts.

I was able to fly in and out of Hamilton, which is really convenient, but unfortunately these flights have been cancelled as part of their recent schedule reductions.

Great trip, and good to be back!

Wendy