Summer Found in Brighton, Ontario

It's Victoria Day in Canada, meaning that it is a national holiday. It is cloudy and drizzly, but I did manage to find an Ontario summer teaching this past week in Brighton, Ontario. Brighton is a town of about 11,000 people on the shore of Lake Ontario, between Trenton and Cobourg, both not too far from Belleville.

I am a lover of good coffee, so before I departed for Brighton, I researched where the good coffee shop is. It turns out to be Lola's. She also serves some lovely, made-from-scratch food. On my way into town (I arrived a bit early) I grabbed a quick lunch. Check out the lovely garnish of tiny pansies on my quiche. We call them Johnny Jump Ups, because they jump up everywhere. I didn't actually eat them but I know they are edible, and they did make my lunch feel very elegant. By the way, the coffee is pretty darned good too.

I've passed the exit for Brighton many times when driving along the 401, but this was my first foray into Brighton. Why did I wait so long? There's a lovely harbour and boat launch and restaurant/s along the waterfront.

Sadly the part of Ontario has experienced a fair bit of flooding this spring. We wish them a quick recovery.

 

I gave an early-afternoon lecture at the community centre. This is a fairly large guild of about 150 quilters, drawing from several communities in the area. The vibrant colours of my hand-dyed fabrics drew a lot of interest.

I had 16 students in my In Full Bloom class the next day, and they made a great start on their floral projects.These are very friendly and welcoming quilters and they are keen! My kits were a hit, and students put their noses to the grindstone immediately. I've received several lovely emails from students after returning home, and I am happy to hear that many students are finishing their pieces fairly quickly.

We stopped for a group photo before the class finished. It is officially spring ... I've hauled out my white jeans.

There is a wonderful Antique Emporium on Main St. I haven't seen so many apothecary cabinets in one store ever! I seriously love these cabinets. The shop has a lot of interesting and unique items that were used in businesses in the towns of Ontario's past, including Coca Cola chairs.

That turquoise blanket box you see in the lower right also caught my eye, but it is too big for my little house.

They even have a coffee and snack shop right inside the antique store. 

Ms. Peekaboo (aka Peekableu because of her blue eyes) greeted me when I got home and we've had lots of great moments over this weekend.

There's also good news on the robin front! A robin (I am not sure if it is the same one that lost her eggs a few weeks ago) has taken up residence in the abandoned bird feeder. This time we have three eggs. I am hopeful we will experience a better outcome this time.

I had to stretch to get this photo, and I had to hurry, because I knew mama robin would be back any moment, so these aren't the best photos.