L e a n n e   V e r k l e y

Today we will celebrate the life of Brian's uncle Joe.  We just saw him two weeks ago at the Verkley summer party.  There was a team of eleven, and now we have lost him—the second born. After decades of being a part of this family, he was very much part of my family too.  He lived down the road from my own dad once he moved into town.

He was quiet—a farmer who loved sharing his latest discovery like the well water information from our home that he framed and gave to us just because he could, or precipitation charts for Dawson City where Brian's sister Lisa lives dating all the way back to the gold rush or showing us something he had built. A farm accident during childhood that took part of his right hand never stopped him from following in his dad’s footsteps and creating beautiful things with his hands.

For our wedding, he built Brian and I a beautiful table using pieces of wood from the family farm, amongst 1800 or so other small blocks of wood.  It was the same farm where he helped care for all the children born there. He never had children of his own, but they were his in all the ways that mattered.

When my children were young, he made school-bus picture frames so we could display their class photos on our wall. After we returned from the Netherlands, he built a sjoelbak game for Brian’s birthday and one Christmas, he gave us a completely handcrafted Shut the Box game.

Treasures—all of them.

His home was a treasure too. Over the past two years, he hosted some of the milestone birthday celebrations including his own 75th birthday. His pool table was always a favourite, and his games room—with its hand-cut hearts, diamonds, spades and clubs—was unmistakably his. Even his display of small stuffed animals gave everyone something to smile about and love.  He even hosted my baby shower all those years ago.  

He was my husband’s godfather, and I think that was a perfect fit.  Neither of you super religious, but deeply rooted in good.

Quietly, creatively and generously, he made things that brought people together. He built more than tables, frames and games—he built memories. Those memories, from throwing baseballs, and building skating rinks, to finding kittens, and birthing calves as well as the treasures he left in our hands and in our hearts, will always be part of our family.  He helped raise my husband and was there to watch our kids grow. I am thankful.  We will miss you Uncle Joe.  

https://www.brennemanfuneralhome.ca/post/joseph-verkley

On August 4th, the entire family got on a GO train and went to the RBC Amphitheatre to see Train, Barenaked Ladies and Mathew Nathanson.  It was such a great trio concert.  We had lawn seats but felt close.  The weather was fantastic, and so many songs to sing along to.  Such a fun family night out.  Hadley was looking forward to Train specifically but i enjoyed all of them!
On August 5th Hadley picked her class schedule for the upcoming semester, and she was happy with her picks.  At night I went with Easton to Peterborough Musicfest to see Crash Test Dummies.  I know them from the 90's and they have some great songs, but I was a little disappointed that they sang for an hour with songs I didn't know before ending with only a few that I did know.  The songs I did know were great!  
On the 6th I went to my friend Barb's house for a summer swim.  We had a tasty lunch together and chatted the afternoon away.  
That day Lisa and Jeff also arrived in Ontario for the week.  
On the 7th I dropped Easton off in Toronto at the Beaches for an OYP (Ontario Youth Parliament) weekend of planning as he is now on the executive committee.  On the 8th we headed to Listowel for the Verkley summer party at Maria's.  My dad came again and he is always so welcome.  There were so many people to catch up with and yet somehow this gathering seemed smaller than usual.  Good still.  A beautiful day.  On the 9th I picked up Easton from his weekend of fun.  
On the 13th Lisa and Jeff came to stay at our house before flying out the next morning.  We played online trivia games, drawing games and just enjoyed each others company while trying to see the meteor shower that wasn't there even though we saw lots of stars.  We enjoyed some great night deck time.  
On the 14th I met up with the mommy group, well half of them...Patti, Annie, Christine and I went to the new Paradise Beach pop up patio down by Lake Ontario in Ajax.  It was so nice to catch up.  
On the 15th Brian and I went to a candlelight concert where they had two violins, a cello and a viola play 90's songs with candles all around the stage.  We also had a lovely dinner out beforehand and drinks at a cute little pub with a piano player afterwards.  My birthday gift.  A night out.  I love experience gifts.  I had never been to Little Italy in Toronto.  It truly has been a summer experiencing Toronto.
On my actual birthday, the 18th, we went to Mongolian Grill for dinner, Drinks at the Pump House by Lake Ontario in Whitby, followed by Dairy Queen ice cream cake.  
August 19th I went to the Toronto Country Fest at the Distillery District with my friend Marsha to do a country line dancing event.  Dancing on cobblestone was interesting.  We also walked by a BARBIE pop up cafe.  We didn't go in but we did take photos.
August 21-23 was the annual summer LAN party at the Bender farm in Gownstown just outside of Listowel.  It was sponsored by Dominos Pizza.  There was SO MUCH PIZZA.   The rain made it so the usual Saturday night campfire was on Friday night, but other than that gaming and talking ensued all weekend.  I spent all day Saturday with my dad, we went to get him a new microwave, we went to Greys which is a market near Harriston meats, where we stopped in and he bought me a box of smoked pork chops for my birthday.  PERFECT.  Then he took me out for food at the golf course in Listowel.  What a great day with him.  He also let me pick some peaches from his tree before heading home.  
Now that my birthday is passed, it is on to filling out back to school forms, and getting new shoes etc.  I did have another swim with Barb, Hadley had a sleepover at residence with her friends where they played D&D, and wandered around campus enjoying games rooms along the way with fun food. On the 28th we went over for a BBQ at Shawn and Violettes, and it was so lovely.  The 29th we went to the Ajax outdoor pool for a night swim.  Easton had been requesting this.  To finish off the month we enjoyed some time skipping stones at Lake Ontario.  Such a lovely month.

The end of June... June 28th Easton headed off to Camp for a month of Leader In Training (LIT).  This is the first time he has been away for a month!  I missed him of course, but was so happy for him to have this amazing experience. The hardest part for me was that there were all kinds of weather warnings like thunder, lightening, tornado rotations going through, and air quality, which he was unaffected by.  Other than that, I was excited for him.  
He spent a week doing some training and and getting to know the other LIT's.  The second week was trip, where he canoed, and portaged from Smoke Lake to Galeairy across Algonquin. The highlights of that trip were jumping off a cliff and sunsets at night while talking with friends.  The third week was obtaining Bronze Cross, and the fourth week had some regular camp programming where Easton obtained his Chieftain badge for archery.   He was kissed by the sun and used up every day to the fullest.  An entire month of fun with no electronics.  
He made many memories and friends to last.  

Halfway through the month Brian and I decided to take a vacation to Toronto.  So, we picked up Hadley and had her house/cat sit at our house while she worked on her internship.  
We started with a night out of golf at the course near our house.  We always enjoy it there.  Such a nice little par 3, nine hole course. Then July 11 we headed into Toronto, we got checked into the Westin Harbour Castle hotel and then headed to Nathan Philips Square and enroute we accidentally came across a 711 where we got a free slurpee for their 711 (or July 11) day. Then at Nathan Phillips Square we wandered around the Toronto Outdoor Art Fair.  It was a little like the one of a kind show but outdoors plus there was FIFA events for visitors to enjoy all around.  
That night we went on a City dinner and sunset cruise.  My dad got us a gift certificate for this before Covid in 2019, but we put it aside for obvious health and safety reasons and then when we made the choice to do a mini Toronto vacation, we were hopeful we could still use it.  I called, and sure enough it was still valid.  It was so old that they had updated their system to process it, but after two days, they got back to me and the booking was set.  We enjoyed views of Toronto from the boat by our upgraded window seat (for the inconvenience of the challenging booking), and enjoyed a three course meal, with drinks to enjoy on the deck dance party as we watched the sun go down.  
July 12 we walked by the Redpath sugar factory but unfortunately they had stopped doing tours years ago.  So we wandered on.  We made our way to Old Town and started our unofficial Great Canadian Beaver Quest.  There was an official game to play to find them all, but we just found so many just by wandering around and enjoying them as we wandered.  For lunch we had a reservation for Summerlicious at Berczy Tavern, I have wanted to try Summerlicious for many years...since I worked in Toronto, but never got around to it.  So now was the time.  We picked one of the restaurants close to where we would be that day that featured a three-course prix fixe menu.  There are more than 230 local and Michelin-recognized restaurants.  Our restaurant even had a piano bar.  Unfortunately our food was undercooked but that aside, the concept was good, I think we just had a bad chef.  
We wandered by the St. Lawrence Market before heading to the Fringe Festival where we saw Every Fringe Show You Have Ever Seen All At Once.  
We wandered on to the Distillery District where we listened to some live music through IncluCity, Canada's largest multicultural outdoor film and cultural festival.  That night we went to Second City for a comedy show, and then we wandered around the city past the Steam Whistle Brewery, past the CN tower, and out for a night at a speakeasy.  The first one was called 404.  We had to locate the unassuming faux candle shop entrance at 85 John Street in Toronto, where we stepped inside to speak with the clerk at the counter, and then they opened the hidden door leading into the lounge.  A speakeasy is a hidden establishment that sells alcoholic beverages, historically famous during the U.S. Prohibition era, and today recreated as a retro-style, exclusive bar.  While the drinks were expensive, it was a cool experience where we sat at the bar and watched the many cool drinks being made.  
July 13 we wandered to Toronto's new waterfront Biidaasige Park.  A massive 40-plus hectare green space featuring playgrounds, walking paths, and skyline views.  While we were there before the official opening on July 24th, there was still lots to explore including the Orange tree, interactive sculpture.  We even climbed up the 30 foot owl sculpture. After a long day in the sun we wandered to BATL Ax to end our evening by throwing axes at targets.  Leanne won all games played.  It was her first time ever doing ax throwing.
July 14, this day started off a little more casual with tea time at Clockwork at the Fairmont Royal York Hotel.  We wandered the halls and enjoyed the royal history, and reminisced about our wedding as this is where I got ready and we spent our first night as a married couple.  We spent the afternoon watching a FIFA game in a local pub and then went for dinner at La Fenice where Brian had a fancy seafood dish and I had a lovely pasta dish, before heading to The Princess of Whales Theatre to see The Outsiders.  Brian got me tickets to a Mirvish show for Christmas and today was the day.  
We followed this up with another speakeasy at Charlemagne cocktail bar with live jazz music. Brian fully enjoyed the Calypso. The bar tender studied food science and created this mezcal and cognac drink where the flavours alternate through four stages. He used this for his thesis!  The connection to the bar tenders at these speakeasy's is so intimate because the space is so small.  The atmosphere is like no other bar.  
July 15, the wildfires in northern Ontario were so severe that the air quality in Toronto from the forest fires made the sky appear orange.  It was advised to stay indoors as much as possible.  So we walked the PATH underground for clean air most of the way to Queens Park where we went outside for a few minutes.  I had never been before.  We also spent a few minutes admiring the outside of the University of Toronto before taking our adventures indoors at the ROM.  We saw an exhibit about Crawford Lake, It is just outside Milton and is the world’s best marker of human effect on the planet over time.  Brian also admired armour through the ages, comparing it to hockey equipment.  We saw a cast molding of an Egyptian tomb amongst many other things.  From here we went to O’Noir, a dining experience in the dark where they employ blind people who teach you about what it’s like to eat totally in the dark. Highly recommend.  Our communication at dinner was less about our day and more about where is the food on your plate and I put my drink in this spot etc.  When you go through the revolving doors you put your hand on the servers shoulder until you are advised to reach out and find your seat.  It was a neat experience.  We had steak which was cut up for us prior to serving it to us, with mashed potatoes and beans. Green, maybe yellow?  Plus a drink.  
July 16, The air quality is still poor but the sky is white today, hard to see anything.  We enjoyed the indoor pool and hot tub at the hotel before we ventured out and found some indoor fun. Simulated golf, baseball, hockey, and dodgeball.  Following this, we headed to the Rec Room for food and more indoor fun playing VR and arcade games. While not the original plan, indoor activities were now on the menu.  On the way back to the hotel we saw the CN Tower lit up which has been around for 50 years!  It even had a 50 light.  We paused to admire Union Station’s Great Hall enroute to The Reservoir Lounge where we enjoyed some live music with mostly a Bruno Mars feel.  While we found so many of these beavers, we finally found the Canadian beaver on our quest on the way back to our hotel at the end of the night.
July 17, the morning air was clear enough to cycle the islands so we signed out the e-bikes from the hotel and took the boat across to the Toronto Islands for the day. There were so many views to enjoy.  We saw the oldest surviving lighthouse on the Great Lakes and the second oldest in Canada.  We saw a marker noting Babe Ruth hit his first home run as a professional on Hanlan’s point.  Brian was amazed that Leanne could cycle and take photos.  The gardens were beautiful, lunch on the island was lovely, and cycling around the homes/cottages, bridges and park land was just spectacular.  
Thanks for the fun Toronto!

On July 22, Leanne met up with her friend Melissa and went to Peterborough Musicfest to see Matthew Good.  So many good songs and fun with friends.  

July 24, Easton came home from camp with memories that will last a lifetime and happiness exuding from his soul!

Hadley spent much of her time this month interning, doing camera work, web and social media work and editing.  

It was a busy month, with many memories made.

For our anniversary this year, we decided to add glass to our balcony area that you can see from the great room.  Sometimes we build things on our anniversary. Much thanks to Brian’s uncle Paul and Easton for helping us.  Brian's uncle Paul has a friend who makes the glass.  he came, measured it and then delivered it, routed the posts and helped us even replace one post before installing the new glass.  Happy 22nd wedding anniversary Brian.  It is so nice to have the view have.  Nature from the inside out!  Love it.  

If you’ve never been to a Greenwood Rec Association (GRA)-hosted event before, this is definitely one we didn't want to miss. It was their biggest community events yet, and the LAST event at the cherished Greenwood Community Centre - originally built in the 1970s by the very residents who lived here.

This special evening was a celebration of the memories, friendships, and community spirit that have made the hall such an important part of Greenwood over the years.  • $10 for adults for the greek catered meal, and then we enjoyed dunk tanks, lawn games, and live music while talking with our neighbours.  The community centre will be missed once they take it down and we all are still holding out hope that they will keep the water (fire hose) available to make an outdoor rink in the winter.  Fingers crossed.