Monday, October 10, 2011

Thanksgiving and Contrast

It's Thanksgiving in Canada, a time to enjoy family, sleeping in on a Monday morning, turkey dinner, and with our temperatures hovering around a freakishly warm 26C...getting outside!  As is tradition, R and I drove out to Balls Falls for their festival and every year I have to take a photo of the wreath on the church door.  It's a new one this year!
After immersing myself in the many delights of London and Canterbury through travel and blogging about it, it is well and truly apparent that I am now back on Canadian soil.
This cat has been spitting water courtesy of the local steam engine society at Balls Falls every year for ages!  The belts chug round and round while the engines putt-putt, blowing puffs of steam as a calliope plays in the background.
Admiring this saucy pumpkin fellow, his creator said I could take him home with me.  He looked pretty cute outside in the sunshine but sitting by my computer screen he's growing more sinister-looking by the hour.

The most touching part of this Thanksgiving weekend though happened in Canterbury.  Knowing that The Heiress was far from home and family her dorm mates got together and planned a proper feast as a surprise.  She had tears in her eyes at the sight of a poster in the lobby inviting students to write down what they were thankful for.  A card was passed around for everyone to sign and she showed us how full it was over Skype.  While the others did the cooking, The Heiress gathered leaves to decorate the room and twelve of her new friends sat down to dinner.  If I could I would give them all a big hug and say "Thank you!".

7 comments:

  1. Beautiful autumn colours! We had freak weather last weekend - guess it's made it to you now

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  2. What a lovely wreath, Darlene. For a moment I thought it was your front door.

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  3. Oh how lovely for The Heiress. I'd say she's off to a great start in Kent! K x

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  4. Such lovely photos! And how thoughtful The Heiress' dorm mates sound!

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  5. I love the wreath, so very autumn. Despite the rather hot weather even we had it. Strange to be in shorts and flip flops crunching leaves along the pavement.

    What a lovely way for your daughter to remember home like that. Sounds like she has found some great people.

    Thank you for sharing about Canada, I am learning all the time when I visit your blog.

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  6. Tears in my eyes as I read about the friendship that The Heiress has inspired already. What a gift to her parents at Thanksgiving. Best one of all really.

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  7. This was indeed the most fantastic Thanksgiving weekend for weather in living memory. We simply sat on the dock marvelling at the colours and contemplating swimming (until we tested the water....)

    Lucky Heiress.

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