The New House - The Property

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Earlier this year, mom and dad found their dream property. Tens of acres of rolling hills, forests and pastures. As things do when they are meant, everything fell into place in short order. The house was sold - in a matter of days, the sale for the new property sailed through and a rental house was found - right next door to the new place. Dad has the best commute in the world now - a short walk along a magical forest path to the building lot.

The start of the long and winding driveway

In May, we took a walk around the property before any construction started. Spring was in full bloom. The apple trees were blossoming, the grass was fresh and green and a certain peacefulness seemed to have settled over the forests and hills. We spent many hours exploring and found, among other things, a creek to splash in, a great camping spot, some excellent sites for building forts, old fences, fantastic trees for climbing and numerous forest paths. This is a child's version of the world's greatest playground - mine, as well, for that matter. 

Spring flower crowns

Views from where the house will be built

The colours of spring are very inviting at this dark and dreary time of year.  We will provide regular updates on the build over the next few months. 

The tree root fences are so structural and appealing - you'll see a lot more of them

Spring leaves and sunshine

European Christmas markets

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Fresh baked beignets rolled in sugar and filled with hot jam.

Steaming gluhwein and gloggi that warms you to the bones.

Huddling together inside packed cathedrals for caroling by candlelight.

Ice skating and carousels, Ferris wheels and light shows.

Beautiful store windows and outdoor stalls overflowing with wonderful homemade gifts.

Happy crowds. Delicious aromas.  Falling snow. 

These are a few of my favourite things.

Parades Past

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The Santa Claus parade is this weekend - it's always a great time.  The entire community shows up and everyone enjoys visiting with the Grinch and the Gingerbread Man. Santa and Mrs Claus as well as other notables make an appearance as well. The evening ends with hot chocolate and hot dogs - eaten around a hot fire. Perfection.

Here are a few images from previous parades.

Lest We Forget

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In 2008, ninety years after the end of World War I, a few of us decided to visit Ypres (Ieper). Across Europe, many towns and cities were commemorating the end of the Great War and we wanted to visit one of the places that was of great significance to Canadians.  Standing directly in the path of Germany's march across Europe, Ypres and the surrounding fields, hills and valleys were subjected to heavy fighting and bombardment throughout the war. By its end, the town was in ruins.

Many Canadians gave their lives fighting in this region and their sacrifice is remembered and honoured by the Belgians and other European Allies. Memorials, churches, statues and cemeteries were surrounded and covered with remembrance crosses and poppies.

Ruins of Ypres (City of Vancouver Archives)

The train from Brussels left early in the morning and two hours later we arrived in Ypres to somber gray skies - suitable for the occasion. As we wandered through town, the streets were bustling with people and signs of Christmas were beginning to appear. 

After visiting the Cloth Hall, Flanders Fields Museum and St. Martin's Cathedral, we made our way to the Menin Gate.

The Menin Gate is a war memorial to the 54,395 missing Allied soldiers who died fighting in nearby battles but whose bodies were never found. The names of the missing are inscribed on the walls of the memorial. Flowers and wreaths, poppies and crosses filled the vast space. 

We met up with a local tour company for the afternoon. Our mixed group of Canadians and Europeans spent the afternoon touring cemeteries, memorial sites, trenches and a museum.

Our first stop was Essex Farm - where 15-year old V.J. Strudwick was laid to rest - and the John McCrae memorial site - where the doctor worked in a dressing station and wrote his famous poem. The young Canadian boy in our group read In Flanders Fields. The rest of us listened, remembering school Remembrance Day ceremonies of our youth.

The Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is the largest commonwealth cemetery in the world. Many Canadian soldiers are buried here, including Victoria Cross recipient Private James Peter Robertson.

The St. Julien memorial marks the area where poison gas was used for the first time by the Germans in 1915 against 18,000 Canadians. Two thousand men died and were buried nearby beneath the gaze of the Brooding Soldier.

The nearby German cemetery, Langemark, is different from the many Allied cemeteries. The graves lie flat with groupings of three crosses scattered across the grounds.

The fields surrounding Ypres appear peaceful and fertile - it's difficult to imagine that war ever touched this place. Looking at old photos, however, a very different picture is revealed. Heavy rains turned the earth to mud - often drowning men and horses that fell off the walkways.

Australian soldiers on duckboard track over mud and water (Australia War Memorial)

Even today, the serene landscape hides a unseen menace - buried shells, bullets, grenades and mines that find their way to the surface. Some are dug up by farmers tilling their fields, others are discovered by work crews conducting road repairs and some pushed to the surface by growing trees.

Such dangerous and potentially deadly weapons, some of which contain poisonous chemicals, can explode at any time. They can be seen placed by the roadside to be picked up by an army unit that specializes in their removal and detonation.

One of the most devastating battles fought during the war occurred near the village of Passchendaele, where more than 4,000 Canadians died and almost 12,000 were wounded. It was at Passchendaele that Canada established itself as a strong and independent fighting force.

At the Yorkshire trench, we walked through the narrow passageways, clean and dry now but filled with mud and horror during wartime. 

Shell craters at Hill 62 reveal the destruction caused by a single explosion and the Sanctuary Wood Museum displayed odds and ends of war memorabilia, including a British Army Cook's wagon and some fascinating 3D photographs.

After returning to town, we found our way back to the Menin Gate to watch the remembrance ceremony that are held every evening.  Beneath the soaring arches, buglers played the Last Post in remembrance of the fallen. There was a moment of silence. A final Reveille. 

Let us never forget!