Our Beautiful Canadian "German" Town

Welcome To Stony Brook

The towns Dutch replica windmill

Early history

Steinbach (meaning "Stony Brook" in German) was founded in 1874 by German-speaking Mennonite settlers from Russia. The Mennonite Heritage Village museum, located in the city, provides a glimpse at the life of these settlers through a reconstructed village and interpretive displays. Its Dutch windmill, which was rebuilt (with help from Dutch millwrights,my daughters husband J. and her father in-law, were part of this re-construction) after the 1972 replica was destroyed by arson in 2001, is a recognized symbol of the city.

A tour of the little town (City)

I just love how this town looks, there are flowers every were, all towns folk have such pride in their community...and it shows!!!

There is a clock tower in the center of the town, that has an old world charm about it.

It's construction is that of what I saw when I visited England and Wales...This tower is meant to last!

I feel like I am back in the UK when I come here

Close to the clock we stopped for lunch, the patio even had wrought iron chairs and table...just as I would have seen in the UK. It was a bit chilly out side,  so we ate in...

That's how one can tell you are in Canada!!!

We had two huge cups of European coffee, and beef and cheese pinnies. Mr.B is not impressed that he has to wait until I take the picture to eat :)))

We stopped our little European car by this beautiful park that I discovered...I just had to get some shots!

The front path leads to this cedar constructed gazebo...those trees strangely look like...

 Palm trees??? Here??? In the middle of Canada???

I definitely will be keeping my eyes on these tree's,  to see if they come through our cold winters of -40.

Its hard for me to believe it will get that cold ...but it will!!!

Every were we drive in this small city there are flowers down all major streets...can you see them lined up on the road? Every building down town has flowers, people's yards are full of bright colorful petals...

its breath taking!!!

Flowers every were are just another thing this town has in common with Europe

There are so many flowers that we had a visit from this Humming Bird Moth. He was too fast for me to take a shot of so I got this picture from the net...It was as big as some Hummingbirds and he sounded like one too!

I think our library is pretty impressive, not only is it lovely to look at from the out side but, the inside is filled with all kinds of books...tons of them in German too.

Close to the library is a small park, one could take their reading treasures and meander over, and read amongst the flowers.

In the center of the park is a huge Red Wood .... that was cut down with an old fashioned blade that is mounted in the center of this tree.

A description how this town came to be is mounted on another plaque in the same park...cool, I didn't know this stuff!!!

I too, was born into a low German heritage. My family is of Low German descent from Prussia. All though my family does not practice the Mennonite religion, but the tight knit German tie's are still there.

(Above)We ended our day with supper at MJ's one of my favorite places...we had porgies with white sauce (a German sauce instead of our traditional Canadian sour cream) with summer sausage, and a butter tar for dessert.Yummy!!!

If you cant make your own German food one can buy it here, along with other country goods.

Like pie fillings porgies,dry goods quilts, paintings, old china...

I bought this here just the other day...

This is a gift for my grand daughter.

I played paper dolls when I was a child...a good memory.

Other pictures below... are from our "new" town.

The Livery Barn...good old fashioned German food.

My favorite flower shop...they serve the best strawberry pie too!!!

My most resent Thanksgiving purchase, from my favorite flower shop.

There is a center fountain, just like in villages in Europe.

 A beautiful golf course.

                                                     For now...Auf Wiedersehen!

New Floors and Kitchen

The new floor is being layed, and we are happy with our choice. Thank you to my husband and a family friend, Mr.U.

There is so much to do, Mr. B. is hard at work putting my new kitchen together.

House Warming: Dedicated to my Sister A and G !!

The House Warming Party is finally here...

I and MR.B...mostly MR.B :) have worked very hard in anticipation of this day!
Soooo take a seat, get a cup of tea and join us.

(Thanks to Kimberly Shaw,  for her beautiful hand painted  invitations, I sent out, they were a hit!!!)

http://kimberlyshaw.typepad.com/my_weblog/

This pretty Tea Cup rose tree found its way into my back yard for a sale price of $8...

how could I resist!!!

Thank you to my son in law J. for putting together my new bench...
A lot of good it did...it rained all day!!!

Pretty orange rose blossom!!

Here's another pretty orange blossom that attended my party!!

Mr.B. worked on the last of the cabinetry until the morning of the party....
"Cutting it a little close, don't ya think " ???

The end result is wonderful!!!

My husband is so talented and smart, he put most of our home together.

I am his biggest fan, and thankfully he is mine...Praise be to the Lord!

This beautiful counter top is not only nice to look at,  it was very functional for our first party...
It held all these yummy treats that our guest help provide!
My daughter Heather at@ Shmooy girl... http://www.shmooygirl.blogspot.com/
Brought this amazing Toco Dip...
See my kitchen blog,  for the recipe...@ my side bar!!!

I was so over joyed that Mr. and Mrs.K. ABOVE:  Dropped by...
This couple means so much to me!
You can just make them out behind the counter......

(( After my  1st. marriage break up... 
This couple, saved my self and my children, to God knows what demise!
I will be in your dept....
 for the care, the love, the spiritual guidance, and home...
 you both provided,  for I and my children in those hard days!!! ))

Above:This tired looking gal is my daughter H. holding wee Eli.

She should be tired,  for all the help she gave me today...and 3 months pregnant to boot!!!

Thank you my love for all the help you gave me.

  

I and Mr.B. unexpectedly received many a wonderful gift this day...

Thank you to all!!!

Family Photos

Okay...family photo time!!!
I think Dave like our floors???
There's that pretty orange blossom again!!!

Sorry girls...but this is the only one that turned out clean!

Brothers!!!!

This one turned out nice!

This post is for you my dear sisters in law, A and G !!!

(G~ is a faithful blog follower of mine)

You'll never know how much you both mean to me.

AH!!! Theres Pastor D!!! Mrs.G's hubby.
He offered a beautiful prayer and blessing over our new home....
He also married I and Mr.B.... Easter of 2005!
***

Mr.B...(Whats with the face???) and pretty S...

This gal is not only pretty, she's smart too...

We all knew this, even before she decided to become a doctor...

May our Lord be with you, and bless you S.

 You go girl!!!

Auntie S. and Uncle G...were in from Beautiful,  British Columbia

So glad you could come over. You have been missed!!!

Where's Uncle M????

Me and mom...this is Mr.B's sweet mom, she has a very special place in my heart!

....I love you so much mom G!!!!

Theres Dad G. and S. and young Micheal... foster son to A and Dave.

Thank you mom and dad for this lovely plate...

Thanks to all for making this day wonderful....
Yes Lord, we are home...
Thank you, Jesus !!!!

Blessings, Mrs.G.......

Book Read

Join in the read of........

“The Sylph” by Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire

The Sylph may be downloaded for free from our ebook catalog. It is also available in paperback from our sister site, Librifiles.

Heather Carroll, who wrote the foreword to the paperback and also helped us edit the book text for publication, is having a group read of said novel on her website. Why don’t grab a copy and run on over to her blog to join in the fun?
Below is an excerpt of Heather’s foreword.

Georgiana had an unusual upbringing for an aristocrat. Her parents were in love, and she was raised in a household with strong family values. At the age of sixteen she enthusiastically entered a marriage with the Duke of Devonshire, expe
cting their marriage to be just like that of her parents. The Duke’s outlook on the marriage was entirely different from Georgiana’s. For him, marriage was merely a necessary means of securing heirs.
The environment Georgiana entered was an entirely foreign one. She automatically became a member of the elite society of the most powerful people known as the ton or the beau monde. These were the people who decided who or what was in and what was out. For a girl not yet eighteen, this must have been an intimidating situation. Luckily for Georgiana she was blessed with a tenacity and a chameleon-like adaptability which allowed her to survive not only her marriage but also her social situation. She eventually became
not only accepted but also celebrated.
But deep down inside Georgiana felt like a naïve girl who knew nothing of the world she now took part in. It is that inner, scared child that becomes Julia, the heroine of The Sylph. While it is not an autobiography, The Sylph depicts many reveal
ing, real-life situations from Georgiana’s social circle. Published anonymously when she was twenty-one, the book shocked many due to its revelations. Today the book is just as eye-opening as it was when it was published.

Hello

I copied this intro to this exciting book...The Sylph written by none other than the Duchess her self...Georgina, the Duchess of Devonshire from Girlebooks. I became intrigued with The Duchess of Devon shire after I saw the movie for the 3rd time. In the need to know more about this fascinating lady, I came across a blog site about The Duchess...Heather Carroll the author of this blog is holding a group read on the book mentioned above...very fascinating...so click the button to Heathers blog and join the read.

Boxes and Boxes and More Boxes!!!

Well... we are moving to cleaner, clearer pastures. I and Mr.B. have bought a sweet house, that looks a bit like a Swiss Shayla...(see older posts) in a small predominately Low German city close to my daughter Heather and her family. You can visit my daughters blog at.........

http://www.shmooygirl.blogspot.com/ So needless to say we have been very busy packing and my living room and dinning room are full of boxes!

My granddaughter Bylla found my packed shoe box, and came prancing out of the room were they were neatly packed in... with a pair of my stiletto boots on!

Hmmm...I cant even wear those things anymore!!! Here she is all balanced like a cute baby super model!

... A super granddaughter who made her Gamma laugh.

And, whats this???

Mr.B fell asleep while playing computer games with Lu. Not much packing going on here! Elijah is pulling himself up these days...soon he'll be walking, but I dont think I can get this little fella to help me.

There is so much to do besides pack.We have to make many decisions on how to decorate our new home. Flooring to choose, carpets for the rec room, window replacement, and the list goes on and on...

Here are some samples of the hard wood flooring we are looking at. I am partial to the lighter one to the left, it will go nicely with the new dark wood dinning set we are buying for our new home.

Well...I guess I better get back to packing, does'nt seem like sleeping beauty(Mr.B:) is waking up any time soon!!!

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I wont be at my blog for a while, we take possession May1 st...See ya all around then, hugs to all

Tracy....
Ohhhhhhhh its good to be back to blog land! Thank you to all for your warm welcome back.

The Duchess

I have watched the wonderful movie The Duchess staring Keira Knightley ,who did a fabulous job on the big screen portraying ... Georgiana, The Duchess of Devon shire.

I have viewed "The Duchess" for the third time...I do believe it is a favorite of mine.

While watching the movie I have come to admire this brave young lady as she was forced to live with her adulterous husband. She seemed to have been a lady of stylish costume, in dress and hat.

Some one who seemed to be loved by her friends and society.

Loved by her children...this movie broke my heart when she had to hand over her daughter Eliza to her lovers family or lose her other children to her cruel husband the Duke of Devon shire...I took on a great interest in the movie at this point.

This strong lady... displayed her deep love for her children and she would do anything to keep them... .

"G" would even give up her own freedom for her children, her love is portrayed in the painting above.

This film reminds me of the book "The Weaker Vessel" by Antonia Fraser.

It's about strong women through out history. Women who have displayed amazing strength...For "weaker vessels"...we sure are strong!

I have my own history to testify to that!!

Now, I do not pretend to have a lot of knowledge of this story"The Duchess" nor the period...just have a love for England and it's history.

.

I do have a lot of knowledge of Devon shire cream though!...It is to die for!

I'll soon post this yummy cream I enjoyed so much on my food blog(see side bar).... I enjoyed this cream on a daily bases while visiting England and Wales....

For more info on this interesting The Duchess of Devon shire, please visit a wonderful blog I found... "The Duchess of Devon shire"

See my side bar or visit another link I found on this intriguing lady... below.

http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgiana_Cavendish,_Duchess_of_Devonshire">

Run Towards...

To run away from things is never a solution to ones problems. On the other hand to run towards some thing, such as a job, new home, or church even for family reasons...can be a benefit to ones emotions and spiritual and perhaps even financial well being.
I and Mr. B. are happy to say we are running away together for all the reasons above...
to a thriving little city in our Provence.
We are soon to enjoy this lovely home we just recently purchased...

on a beautiful property.

I can Mr. B. can hardly wait. The Lord has been good, not only to find us a home and community were we will thrive in Him, but also he included all the important things that would encourage my Mr.B. to have a second look at moving. You Lord, took care of every detail even the smallest ones. I am so grateful....thank you so much Lord. For you really know the reasons why I needed this

...I can hardly wait to see what you have next in store.