It's another gorgeous day at the farmette. Bit cool this morning - only 11C when I got up but it's supposed to be a warm one - up to 26C this afternoon.
We had a lovely day yesterday celebrating Sandy's and my birthdays. They're actually later in the month, but this was the only time we could synchronize our schedules. We were born two years and eight days apart - 56 and 54 years ago. The 'afterthoughts' of the family. Although, try as I might, I could never get Mom to say I was an accident. Nine years after the last one. She insisted I was planned, and wanted.
Anyhow. Rob and Sandy and I decided to mark the occasion with a wee trip to Blyth for brunch at the Cowbell Brewery and a matinee performance at the festival.
Brunch doesn't quite cover the feast that we had. The picture above is the ploughman's lunch which Sandy and I shared. This was on the appetizer menu!!!! It's listed as a shareable, but it could feed a small army. All kinds of breads and deli meats along with delicious gouda, pickled relish and grainy mustard. We also had a 'side' salad with a whacking huge chunk of smoked salmon. YUM.
We told the lovely waitress what we were celebrating, so we were treated at the end of the meal with a piece of chocolate pie - with marshmallow topping and some sort of liqueur inside. It was bloody heavenly - and it was on the house!!! We had so much food left over, we had to pack it up - it'll be a great lunch for today, as well.
Since we had some extra time before the show, we had to take a side trip to the Old Mill for some shopping. It's a gigantic store that goes on for what seems like acres.
There's even an overflow store that's housed in what used to be the train station. I was trying to get a photo of Rob on the bench outside, and Sandy decided to get in on the action. My younger sister has a penchant for photobombing just about every picture - little bugger. She's pretty cute, though, right?
But, to get on with the story....after getting a couple of bargains during the summer's end clearcut (why do stores do that when it's still sweltering outside?), we made our way to the show.
Rob took the photo above just outside the community hall. (Why do I always look like I was hit by a 2"x4" in all my photos??) It was built to pay homage to the local heroes of the first world war. Inside, there's a 500-seat theatre that was absolutely packed for the final showing of Cakewalk. 2019 is also the 45th anniversary of the festival - which is dedicated to telling the stories of rural Ontario.
This show was originally produced in 1984, and it still resonates - backed by music courtesy of the Culture Club and Cyndi Lauper.
It's set in the community hall just before a traditional 'cakewalk' in which the local bakers vied for a top prize and then paraded their goodies down main street.
The characters really resonated for a small town. They included a lovely primary school teacher who was also a nun, a wealthy local matriarch with an indulged daughter who was getting married the next day, a 'hippie' restaurant owner and a visiting archaeologist. There was also, of course the nefarious nosey parker who conspired to win the contest by hiding or ruining everyone else's cake.
It was a great romp, and just the ticket for a celebration of our lives. Today, I've got major harvesting and pickling to do - so must get to it. Just one more pic of the photobombing queen...she's a pill, but I love her to the moon and back - because she gives me gifts like the one below.
