Celebrating a Milestone Moment with My Loved Ones

Front entrance of Dragon Pearl Restaurant, North York, Toronto

It was  my special birthday . I reach a milestone in my life

I thank God for His blessing, for good health and for a great family!

Waiting area of the restaurant

Cute chairs at another waiting area

Though I was not able to celebrate my birthday with our two sons who both are working outside of Canada and are enjoying what they are doing.

I was happy that my loves ones like my mom,  siblings and best friend were there to share my special moment.

High back chairs at one of the dining areas

We had a dinner reservation at 5:30pm at the Dragon Pearl Restaurant, on York Mills Road.












 I was there before and I really enjoyed the food and ambiance of this place.  Therefore I would like my family to enjoy a delicious meal and celebrate with me.

Different dining areas decorated in various themes

Nice displays throughout the restaurant

Petrified Wood decorated the restaurant

 It is also a place nicely decorated with some interesting objects such as Petrified wood, looking very much like marble.















 I chose this place because it is a buffet restaurant offering a variety dishes including Asian and Canadian dishes so that everyone could find something they would enjoy there.

Rosie came to our house and bought me two beautiful flowering plants for our new grill house arriving on Tuesday

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We had a delicious dinner with lobster, roast beef and all the food you could imagine. Everyone was happy as each guest did find food that they enjoyed.













After dinner, I opened the gifts from everyone. Rosie presented me with a gift and some funny jokes that had everyone roaring in their seats.








Knowing that I was celebrating my milestone birthday, she bought me a card and shared with everyone that said:

Just in time of your birthday... the TOP TEN party games for the chronologically challenged:






10. Bobbing for Dentures
9: Guess my prescription
8. Musical Walkers
7. Strip Bingo - also known as scare the neighbour's dog
6. Twenty incoherent questions
5 Whack the Pinata Teenager
4. Who passed the gas
3. Pin the enema on the donkey
2. Spin the prune juice
1. Who can stay up past 9:30

Happy Birthday!

It was a fun time and a memorable birthday dinner!
 Praise God for His love, mercy and blessings all these years!

R.T
Toronto

Stayner - A Little Town Where Very Polite and Kind Folks Live

The downtown street in Stayner, Ontario

We have been to Collingwood many times for skiing trips and for summer vacation.

On our way to Collingwood, we always drive past Stayner but we were always in such a hurry that we never had time to stop and enjoy this small Canadian town.

Lots of interesting shops

Today, Hanna and I visited a friend in Stayner and we took advantage of a more leisurely day and spent a little more time around town.

Beautiful historic buildings in Stayner

We left Toronto around 10:30 a.m.and had a nice smooth drive on highway 400 going towards Barrie, turning into highway 27 and arriving at Stayner around 12:00p.m.

My yummy brisket sandwich at Friends' Bar and Grill

 We were greeted by a beautiful downtown street draped with Canadian flags on its street lamp posts.






What surprised us were the choices of local restaurants we had. There were a number of restaurants right downtown:   Friends - a bar and grill restaurant, a cafe place,  and Jongs Chinese Restaurant.

A  store selling locally made wooden furniture and crafts items

A little further down, there were more eatery: a Tim Horton, a pizza place, a local diner and a take out place.

                                                                                



We really enjoyed browsing in some of the woodworking and local craft shops.

As we came out of one store and trying to decide which would be the next store we should go, we did not realize that we were standing in the middle of the road.

Beautiful historic buildings line the main street of Stayner

We were smack in the middle of the road and there was a lineup of vehicles waiting to proceed.  The drivers from the oncoming traffic on both sides waited patiently for us smiling and waving at us to cross the road!

There was no honing, no rude finger gestures nor road rage; something quite common in a big city under the same circumstance!

The owner of this tricycle used a ribbon to secure it to a post

A little later, we bought a couple of things from the stores and were putting them into the our car.

We noticed there was a tricycle tied to a lamp post with a ribbon!
 We were looking at this ribbon and amazed that someone used this flimsy ribbon to secure the his/ her tricycle.

A couple of young men walked by us and asked if we needed help to load this tricycle into our car! Another random act of kindness displayed by the inhibitions of Stayner!  Barely been in this little town for a few hours, we experienced the kindness and politeness of the residents here.

Wow! With pleasant people,  a quiet little town with interesting shops, big open space and fresh air,  Stayner is a  nice place to live and work, and to retire!

R.T.
Stayner, Ontario

Finding Love the Second Time Around!

My sister-in-law passed away a few years ago. My brother and our families were devastated. Tammy, my sister-in-law was a wonderful person, a dedicated wife and mother to their three children.

My brother, Wayne, was totally dependent on her for everything.
Tammy was the head of finance, the head of entertainment, the head of planning for the family. We also grieved for my brother's loss of such a wonderful spouse, his soul mate and a life partner.

 It was heart breaking to see my mother sobbing at her daughter-in-law's funeral. We all knew why my mom was sobbing so loudly. She grieved for the loss of such wonderful daughter in law; she also grieved for my brother's loss, for his loneliness after her death.

We have often wondered how my brother would face life by himself without her.

After almost eight years of searching and trying to find a person to share with his life, Wayne is fortunate enough to find love again for the second time!

Wayne is lucky! - Finding someone wonderful for the second time!

He befriended this lovely lady, corresponded with her for two years. Finally he went to meet her and her family. They hit it off and my brother had a great time visiting her family and getting to know them.

It was my brother's friend to come and check out his family. Jenny came at the end of March to Toronto. We met her for the first time. Immediately, we fell in love with her. She is educated, kind, full of life, caring. tactful and cultured.

Wayne finds a partner to spend his life with

How lucky is my brother!!! There are many people in the world who could not find love all their lives even once. My brother is lucky for the second time, finding a wonderful person to spend the rest of life with.

Jenny  visited us for three months, spending time to get to know us and we got to know her. Recently, both of them went to Calgary to visit Wayne' s daughter and her fiance.

Wayne & his girl friend visiting his daughter in Alberta

They sent back these pictures. What a lovely happy couple!

We could not be happier for them!

Thank you, God, for listening and answering our prayers again!

R.T.
Toronto
Very grateful and thankful

An Honour System of Doing Business - Canadian Mennonites' Way of Life in a Small Ontario Town

A Mennonite's Farm around St. Jacobs area, Ontario

Taking a driving tour of the Mennonite farm

Mennonites came to Canada in the late 1800's settling  mostly in southern Ontario.  They are known for their excellent farming skills.

Though some of the Mennonites, i.e. a group belonging to the Old Order, refuses to follow the modern way of life and are still farming with the horses and plowing method,  many Mennonite farmers have bought huge plots of farmland in the Kitchener/ Waterloo area and are quite efficient in their farming operations.

During our trip to St. Jacobs, the gentleman at the Visitor Centre  gave us directions of where the Mennonite farms were around the area and informed us that we could take a driving tour of the Mennonite farms.

A Mennonite School in St. Jacobs area, Ontario

We did!

Since we were already at the St. Jacobs Village, we kept driving on King Street and made a right turn onto Henry Street, a very small side street which we missed the first time.

A company selling heavy farming machinery and equipment

Once we turned onto Henry Street, we  followed the road until we came to Three Bridges Road.

 We  drove past a school where the Mennonite children receive their education, a convenience store, a big company  selling huge farming machines and equipment.

Mennonite children in their horse drawn carriage in St. Jacobs

The passengers in our car shouted with delight when we passed by  a horse drawn wagon on the road.

The drivers of the wagon looked like two mature adults from the back.

At a closer look, they were in fact, two  Mennonite boys around twelve years old sitting at the front taking the rein while two younger children (around 4 - 6 years old)  at the back enjoying the ride on the road!

The river at Three Bridge Road

A little further on Three Bridges Road,  we came across a river where people were fishing while some were enjoying a picnic on the grass.

A Mennonite Farm in Kitchener/ Waterloo area, Ontario

Animals grazing on the farm

What a typical tranquil farm scenery opened up in front of our eyes!

A Mennonite farm house in Waterloo area

We drove by open fields, huge farmlands green with corns, crops, all different kinds of vegetables, animal and dairy farms with sheep, Holstein cows grazing in the field, dogs guarding at their territories and barking ferociously at cars passing by - a very quiet  peaceful rural scene indeed!



As we were driving and taking in the scenery, we noticed 1-2 picnic tables and sometimes open shelves stocked with food items placed by the roadside in front of some farm houses.

 Curious, we jumped out of our cars in front of a farm house trying to see what was going on.

The Mennonite way of selling - Honour System

On this table,  there were fresh in season farm produces such as blueberries, cucumbers, asparagus etc. 

Items for sale was labelled with  prices on the containers

Besides these items, there were three ice boxes filled  with cold water bottles,  pops, juice drinks, homemade jams and cookies whereas the other two containers had vegetables such as beets, fresh cut flowers etc. in them.


The price for each item was clearly labelled on the containers.

But what surprised us was that there was  nobody manning the tables or  was there anyone close by or in sight trying to sell us these items!

These were the items we wanted to buy

We deposited the proper amount of change into this Money Jar

Customers were supposed to help themselves with the items they wished to buy and then deposit the proper amount in a money jar close by - just an old jar labelled Money Jar with a slit cut on top.

 It was a complete Honour System! There was no one monitoring the sales at all! The Mennonites trust their customers to do the honorable thing - pay for the items honestly.




We bought a bottle of cold water, a can of root beer, and a bag of homemade cookies for $2.00. What a bargain!

We deposited the money in the Money Jar and picked up our food items. Off we went. Simple as that! No one was there to tell us how much each food item cost or made change.




 My friend heard of the Honour System of selling things by Mennonites, but never saw it.
Glad that Betty got to experience it! We saw first hand the Mennonites'  faith and trust in our fellow men.  We have experienced what life is like in a small Ontario town. What an uplifting experience!

Wish there were more people like the Mennonites who have shown faith and trust in humanity !

R.T.
Three Bridges Road Area
St Jacobs, Ontario

St. Jacobs Village, Ontario

Interesting and pretty buildings line the streets in St. Jacobs

Living in Toronto is great!

Torontonians are very fortunate as we can visit many interesting towns and pretty places within a radius of 60 - 100 miles (about an hour to an hour's drive from Toronto).

A small village, St. Jacobs is a popular tourist spot

If we wanted to, we could go and explore a different city or town every weekend!

We did just that last weekend and we could not ask for better weather!

A store that makes and sells corn brooms in St. Jacobs

We went with one of our friends and exlpored a couple of places when we made our monthly visit to Waterloo.








The closest and an interesting town to visit near Waterloo is a little village called St. Jacobs Village.

St. Jacobs may not be a big place  with a population of around two thousand people, but it has a nice business area downtown. 

Enjoying a coffee at the local bakery

It is a popular tourist spot in the summer as it is a very  pretty little town  with beautiful rustic shops selling all sorts of crafts and items made by local craftsmen.

St. James Lutheran Church - downtown St. Jacobs

St. Jacobs is only a stone throw away from the St. Jacobs Farmers' Market - the largest outdoor farmers' market in Ontario.

Interesting architectural house designs in this small village

Betty enjoys window shopping at St. Jacobs

The St. James Lutheran Church, rustic homes and buildings can be found on main street downtown.

It was a pleasure strolling around and peering into these shops stopping for fresh pastries and coffee.

Many modern shops and buildings co exist with the rustic old ones

Lots of handcrafts shops around

St Jacobs Village is a unique community with around seven thousand Mennonites residing and farming in the immediate area.

A Mennonite Museum is housed inside the Visitor Centre

The St. Jacobs Visitor Centre is situated right on the downtown street with the Mennonite Museum located in the basement level of the same building.

St. Jacobs Visitor Centre

For a voluntary donation of $5.00 per adult, we went inside to learn about the story and history of the Mennonite families in the Kitchener/ Waterloo region.

A replica Mennonite church inside the museum

It was a detail display with a short documentary film, picture displays explaining the persecution of the Mennonites in Europe and their immigration to North America.

The most visible members of the Mennonite family are a group called the Old Order. They have chosen not to follow the changes of modern life.






The Old Order group of Canadian Mennonites dress in the old fashion way - men in plain shirts and pants, often with suspenders while the women wear long dresses covering their knees and with bonnets covering their hair.

Mennonites forsake modern means of transportation, instead they travel in horse drawn buggies in St. Jacobs

Traveling by horse and buggy, Mennonite families are often seen driving  in their old fashion buggies in downtown St. Jacobs and on the highways around the Waterloo area.






St Jacobs is a lovely place to visit. I have been to this village many times and I enjoy it every time we are there!  If you are in the Waterloo area, you don't want to miss this place!

R.T.
St. Jacobs Village
Ontario