Mother's Day 2022

Mother's Day went off rather well. Some planning ahead of time by myself and the kids made it run like clockwork.

A nice breakfast in bed, then the kids and I gave her some gifts.

Then we were off to the Birmingham Farmer's Market.

There were food trucks, including The Pita Post that made a chicken shwarma to seriously maim for.

 

Found a cheese vendor. The Cheese People of Grand Rapids. Wonderful selection including a Dutch goat's milk cheese that wasn't just Gouda, it was amazing.  They also had an apricot Brie and since Tash really likes Brie, we got some of that too.

So we had lunch there.  

We wandered around some more and Tash got some handmade yarn to make a new scarf and it was a very successful trip.

Then back for a nap, dinner, and then took her out for a massage and it was pronounced to be a very successful Mother's Day.

Mother's Day Toronto Travels

For Mother's Day weekend we went to Toronto to visit the folks and wish them a happy Mohter's Day.

On the way there, we went through a very Canadian county.

It's not great, it's not bad, it's not wild, it's not boring, it's just:

That humor aside, the ride was it's typical boring route, but we stopped in London to visit the Costco there to get some things for Tash's mom.

At the Costco we decided to have some Poutine.

Big Mistake.

Poutine, for those of you who may not have tried this made-in0Quebec bit of awesomeness, is the tasty combination of hot French fries covered in cheese curds and hot gravy.

Well, the Costco Poutine, for $4.99 Canadian, didn't meet expectations.

The cheese was not melted but removed from a refrigerator, and suspiciously tasted like mozzarella, before being dumped on top of lukewarm fries and warm gravy.

To say it was disgusting was an understatement, the Costco food counter when asked about simply said that's the way it is and would not heat it up but did give us some additional gravy. Still inedible, and not helpful. First bad food choice at Costco and surprisingly crappy service, which is rather counter to what is expected at a Costco. On the other hand, the hot dog and pizza slice were fine but the London Costco certainly failed, and failed badly, presenting one of Canada's famous snacks.

So somewhat disappointed, we left London, hitting a traffic jam on the 401 around Milton that didn't stop until we reached our destination in Toronto.

In Toronto we passed by perhaps the most Canadian coffee shop ever:

Yes, it's a real place, and they are sorry.

Tash then took her mom and the kids shopping to get her mom stuff she needs and I stuck around doing some work from her apartment.

Then there was a great meal together with Natasha' mom and her family and Saturday was done.

On Sunday morning we went to my Mother's grave for a visit and after some quiet contemplation and some prayers, our Mother's Day was done.

After completing visiting everyone for Mother's Day, We then departed, leaving the Toronto skyline behind.

It was a nice Mother's Day visit and we're home now ready to take on the week.

Happy Mother's Day

The kids went all out this year buying gifts for pampering the best mother in all the world.

Gift giving was followed by breakfast in bed made by yours truly and then the fun of planning an end-of-school-year trip for the kids, which mothers tend to really enjoy doing.

An excellent start to a great Mother's day, to be followed with a dinner of yummy Indian takeout food in a park setting as requested.

So a Happy Mother's Day to all you Mothers out there and for all that you do.

A Most Excellent Mother's Day

For Mother's Day this year, we traveled to London, Ontario to meet up with my Mother-in-law, sister-in-law and niece.

We met up for brunch at Garlic's of London restaurant and to say it was fantastic would be to understate the experience.

The food and service was beyond outstanding.

As the name suggest, Garlic featured prominently in many dishes, from the amazing garlic frites accompanying the awesome and perfectly done steak and frites, to the garlic ice cream. Yes, garlic ice cream - much tastier than it sounds.

They also had perhaps the best Crème brûlée I've ever had.

If you're ever in London, Ontario, you must go eat at Garlics of London.

After the lunch we went to a local park in downtown London and had a nice relaxing time together before heading back home.

We also saw some interesting sights at the park that deserve their own posts.

All mothers who attended agreed it was a great Mother's Day celebration.