Breakfast and Lunch at Nova Era - a Good Bakery Cafe in Kitchener, Ontario

We love discovering new eatery especially mom and pop places.
We have been going to the Kitchener/ Waterloo area  for a while and we often try different places for lunch and afternoon snacks.

Recently we visited Nova Era, a bakery cafe selling all sorts mouth watering pastries, tempting desserts as well as soups, breakfast and lunch sandwiches.

We went in there for a coffee break, but ended up trying its deluxe breakfast sandwiches - with cheese, bacon, eggs, tomatoes and lettuce served in a English muffin. It was filling and delicious!

Nova Era Bakery Cafe, Kitchener, Ontario

We stayed through lunch while I was preparing my workshop material in the spacious comfortable dining area.

We ordered a large Caesar Salad with chicken, a bowl of chicken and spinach soup and an almond crescent. All this came to $20.00!  A very reasonable and delicious lunch indeed!

Lots of tempting desserts offered at the bakery cafe

Discovering different restaurants and enjoying various types of food is one of life's simple pleasures; one which we enjoy tremendously!



R.T.
Nova Era Bakery
Kitchener, Ontario

Enjoying an Austrian Lunch with My Mom at My Favourite Restaurant, Unionville, Markham

Main Street, Unionville, Markham, Ontario

Though in her 90's, my mom is still an active person. She is in fair physical shape, going for her exercises two times a week. There is nothing she loves more than spending time with her children and enjoying the outdoors.

 General Store in Unionville, Markham, Ontario

In Canada, we need to make use and enjoy every good sunny weather day.  We have a very busy schedule each week as we are commuting between two cities now. However, we do pay attention to the weather report, as soon as there is a nice day, we take advantage of it and hit outdoors.

There was such a day recently. We took my mom out and strolled on the Main Street of Unionville, one f the prettiest areas in the Greater Toronto Area.  My mom loved it!

Mom enjoying a fine fall day on Main St., Unionville

Pushing her walker, my mom enjoyed the nice fine autumn weather, strolling and visiting different shops. It was a pleasure being outdoors!

My favourite restaurant in Unionville - Old Country Inn

We had lunch at my favourite restaurant in Markham, the Old Country Inn.

I was so glad that the restaurant is still around! This restaurant serves one of the finest Austrian dishes I know in the GTA.

We enjoy taking my mom out and trying out different food from around the world.

 My mom is also an open minded person willing to try new dishes.

Eating in the same restaurant where I visited years before brought back those wonderful memories of my younger energetic days and precious time spent with my best friend.

My best friend has been my strongest and loyalist supporter and fan for the past three decades.

We enjoyed the meals at this restaurant on numerous occasions.

Over lunches, I often poured out my heart to my best friend about my ambitions,  joy and fears of the challenges facing me.

Though we both are retired, not able to see each other often, the bond between us is still strong.  I am grateful forever to have my best friend standing beside me while I was struggling my way up the corporate ladder.

Thank you DM, for your love, great support and kindness over the years. There is always a special spot in my heart for you!









R.T.
Old Country Inn
Markham, Ontario

Samaritan's Purse - Helping Kids Needing Life Saving Heart Surgeries from Mongolia & Other Countries

For the past few weeks, my husband and I have experienced a lot of joy, love and mercy!
With God's grace, we were privileged to have witnessed unconditional love at a close range.

A couple of months ago, I went out for lunch with a Christian friend of mine, Freda, trying to catch up with each other. We always have so much fun sharing and talking about everything. The joy of friendship in Christ! During our lunch, my friend casually mentioned that she was involved with a Children's Heart Project a few years ago.  Pretty soon, she and her husband would be hosting two families and an interpreter from Mongolia in her home providing them with lodging and food. Altogether, there would be five people staying in their house for at least four weeks.

These two babies are in Canada for the Children's Heart Project

The Children's Heart Project, sponsored by Samaritan's Purse, has been in operation since 1997. Its mission is to provide children needing life saving heart operations in countries where the technologies are not available. Samaritan's Purse provides plane tickets to the child patient, his/ her parent and an interpreter to fly to North America or Cayman Island where the hospitals with top notched heart surgeons also donate their time to perform these surgeries.

Besides the medical staff and the hospitals willing to donate their time and expertise, many people are also required in helping these families whose children are about to go through these surgeries. Extra help and support are needed in the areas of accommodation, meals, transportation, emotional and spiritual support.

Freda and Peter had hosted a group from Uganda before. This time her patient guests would be from Mongolia. At the end of our conversation,  my friend asked me if I would be interested in helping out and lending her some support.

These 2 Mongolian babies are sponsored by Samaritan's Purse

The thought of opening your home for a month and preparing three meals a day for a group of five strangers whose eating habits, cultures, customs and language are totally different from us overwhelmed me.  I could imagine the tremendous amount of work, time, efforts, financial resources, endless dedication and patience involved in being the hosts of this project.  I knew very little of the Children's Heart Project, but love my friends dearly. How much love does this couple have in order to open their home, receive these strangers in need and shower them with love and care?  They do this all for free,  with no compensation whatsoever at all! I was so moved by their actions of love that I agreed to get involved immediately.

Zamillian enjoying some fresh fruit during her stay in Canada

Glad we were of our involvement! Since the group of five Mongolian guests would be staying for a month at Freda and Peter's home, Freda found a Meal Train application online where volunteers could sign up to help with meals and visits for the duration.  Desiring to encourage others to sign up with meal deliveries, we signed up right away for three dinners and visits.

We loved watching little Zamilian enjoying fresh fruit!

It was a joy cooking, delivering the meals and eating with the two Mongolian and host families.  There was much sharing, laughter and love at the dinner table.

Enjoying our visit with the Samaritan's Purse host and their Mongolian guests.

It was  wonderful being around the two babies, Zamilian, a 12 month old baby girl, and Telman, a 13 month old baby boy, their mothers and the interpreter.  We were privileged to have been there to see the two kids just before their scheduled operations and were also present after their surgeries.

In fact we enjoyed the experience so much that we wanted to spend more time with the kids and our Mongolian guests.  We wanted to sign up for more meal deliveries. But the schedule was full; all the spots were taken, Hallelujah! Many other volunteers also wanted to help and support these families!

The interpreter stayed with the 2 moms at all time.

Involved with the Children's Heart Project by helping out with meal delivery, we were able to sit, enjoy the dinner and have great sharing with our Mongolian guests, the two mothers, the interpreter and Freda and Peter, our hosts. We have learned so much from them!


They shared with us about their Mongolian way of life, their customs and traditions. In return, our hosts shared with them about the gospel and the love of  God.

The two heart surgeries were successfully performed in |Toronto!

Beside the unconditional love demonstrated by  Freda and Peter, we were also touched by the Mongolian interpreter's sacrifice. She willingly gave up her own vacation time and has been accompanying these two mothers since the beginning of the trip flying from Mongolia to Canada.

While they were at the hospital awaiting for the children's numerous medical tests, assessments and staying overnight throughout the gut wrenching surgeries and post operation periods, this interpreter stayed with the mothers at all times, interpreting for the them and supporting them emotionally and spiritually. It must have been exhausting and emotionally draining for them all!

Both kids are recovering well after their life saving heart surgeries in Toronto.

Our thanks to God, the children are recovering well and awaiting for their final post operation check ups before returning home next week. We delivered our final dinner and visited them last Friday night.

The mothers were relieved that both surgeries went well for the kids

We gave our Mongolian guests each a small gift as a token of our love and good wishes. We said our goodbye; tears started to swell up in our eyes. We were thankful for the gift of life for both babies, for the opportunity of meeting and getting to know the mothers, the interpreter and our hosts.















The best gift was experiencing God's love, His mercy and protective hands in our lives and making new friends!  We may be thousands miles apart, but our hearts and prayers will always be with Zamilian, Telman, the mothers and our selfless interpreter!

Thank you, Freda and Peter for  opening your home and receiving and looking after those in need so well for the past five weeks. We were privileged to have a tiny part in this life giving project!

Thank you, God, for your love, grace and mercy!

R.T.
Toronto, Canada
Photo credit - Freda, the Samaritan Purse's host

P.S. For more information about the Children's Heart Project, please go to:
https://www.samaritanspurse.org/article/franklin-graham-in-mongolia-stories-from-childrens-heart-project/

A New and Creative Way of Judging a Chili Contest in Cambridge

There are a lot of  community fun fairs and events going on during the autumn season in Canada.

Fall time is a season for pumpkins and community fairs in Canada

Esther and her husband invited us to an annual community corn roast fest in the city of Cambridge, about an hour and half hour drive from Toronto.

We enjoyed a nice drive on a fine afternoon out in the country and making a few stops along the way to visit a few country places.

A creative way of using the mini pumpkins as the pieces for a chess game

There were a lot to see and taste at the fall community festival.

Chili is a popular food in North America and a Chile Contest is often a fun activity for fun fair goers at a community fair.

This time at the fall festival, we did not only taste a few Chili dishes made from different recipes, we also got to judge and choose the winning one as well.

Chili Contest Station at the Corn Roast Fest in Cambridge, Ontario

There was a station set up for all the Chili dishes. The contest participants each prepared his/ her favourite Chili dish at home ahead of time.

They entered the contest and placed their dishes on the contest table along with a card listing all the ingredients used in their recipes.

Simple rules for the recent Chili Cook Off, Cambridge, Ont.

In front of each Chili dish, there a jar collecting donations. All interested festival goers were welcome to be judges for the cook off. They just needed to line up to taste all the different types of Chile dishes



After the people tasted the Chili, they would vote for their favourite dish by placing various amount of money/ coins into the specific jars representing the dishes.

People voting for the winning Chili dish by depositing money here

The jar that collected the most amount of money at the end of the tasting would  be the winning dish and the money collected would go to a charitable cause. What a great idea!

That was fun!  We loved tasting the different variety of Chili dishes. Though made of similar ingredients, the Chili dishes tasted very different from each other. I liked three of them and donated to all three jars with the biggest amount going to my most favorite dish!



Though my most favourite dish did not win the Chili Contest  we enjoyed the food experience!

R.T.
At a Chili Contest
Cambridge, Ontario
Canada

Boomers Enjoying a Change of Life Style and a Downsized Home in Waterloo, Ontario

Though I grew up and lived in a big city all my life,  it has always been my dream to live in a small town with a quieter life style. After praying about this for a little while, we were blessed that an opportunity came up for us to do so.  Pastor V. invited us for lunch and I shared with her about our vision and desire to purchase a place in Waterloo. Immediately she shared some great info with us.

Our new home needed a huge amount of renovation work done!

She made an appointment for us to see the property with the property manager. We looked at two town houses and liked one of them as it fit the criteria we had in mind! The deal was done!

D. helping us to put together our furniture in our new home.

When we bought this humble abode a few months ago, it was a rundown, old worn house, a serious handyman special needing a lot of repair.

But we saw the potential in this house located within the walking distance to the University of Waterloo campus.

We decorated the long hall way with artwork by young people from Toronto.

After two months and with professional help from our contractors, it is beginning to take shape.

Our kitchen has been renovated completely!

Our wonderful contractor fixed the plasters, repaired the water damages in the ceiling , repainted the entire house and ripped up the old worn carpet replacing it with brand new laminated flooring.

We even got a brand new kitchen! It is  small, but modern and highly functional!










We added French doors in the living room, a main floor bathroom  as well as putting in all new modern fixtures throughout the entire house.

Though the old furnace was still working, we decided to replace it with a brand new one to make the house more heat efficient.

Our favourite room of the house!

Our tiny old house has been transformed from an unappreciated ugly duckling into a beautiful white swan.

We love our home in Waterloo, a medium size Canadian city about an hour and a half hour drive west of Toronto.

God has given us a beautiful second home and this house will be His house, a house filled with love, grace and mercy where people will gather, experience love, and feel God’s presence!

R.T.
Loving Our New Home
in Waterloo, Ontario

Beautiful Grounds by the Living Water Resort in Collingwood, Ontario

We were in Collingwood to relax for a week.

Lobby of Living Water Resort, Collingwood, Ontario

We have been here before and have seen the numerous new places going up over the years.

This time we went to  Living Water Resort, a newer development by the shore of Georgian Bay.

A marina in front of the Living Water Resort, Collingwood

It was a nice day; we enjoyed strolling around the marina and the beautiful grounds close by.

Summer flowers were still  in full bloom by the resort 

Even though it was autumn, many flowers were still in full bloom.

Instead of flying south to avoid the pending cold Canadian winter, flocks of geese and swam were frolicking by the water's edge.













We explored the different trails and walked along the  shore.

We discovered a lot of scenic places to take pictures in Collingwood such as this trellis flanked by shrubs and flowers by the marina.

This would be a perfect spot for our son's wedding picture!!!       

At the marina by Living Water Resort, Collingwood, Ont.

We enjoy visiting Collingwood and will continue to vacation there in the future, be it summer, fall or winter!


R.T.
Collingwood, Ontario

Entertaining Good Friends During Our Collingwood Vacation

We stayed at a resort townhouse this time in Collingwood, Ontario

We vacationed in Collingwood,  Ontario recently.

We enjoyed our spacious master bedroom suite

This time, we stayed in a spacious three bedroom town house at a Collingwood resort hotel.













Located on the second floor of the house, the three bedrooms were comfortably furnished.

We could look down into the living room from the second floor balcony.

A spacious living room

There was a lot of space for the two of us.

We invited friends to join us for a few days during our vacation,

Therefore, we invited  Wil and his wife to stay with us for a few days along with Con. and Harry  to come for dinner.

For another evening, we also invited D. & D who brought Flor. along for dinner.

Backyard with a BBQ at our vacation townhouse

D & D met Will at The Fern a couple of years ago so we figured that they would like to see each other again. They hit it off! They had such a good time at out dinner party that they were staying until well into the midnight.


We were glad that they enjoyed meeting our friends and the party so much!

Raj and I by the lakeside in Blue Mountain resort area

After Will and his wife left, we picked up Herb and Raj the next day from the bus terminal.

We played host to them for two days at our vacation townhouse.

With our good friends at Blue Mountain, Collingwood, Ontario

Since this was the first time Raj visited Collingwood, we took them out visiting the Blue Mountain and the other places.














It was fun going around town, cooking and enjoying meals together at our vacation house.

A sunflower field on a Collingwood, Ontario farm

 It was a busy week but we had a great   time catching up with our best friends!


 R.T.
  Collingwood, Ontario