3 days to Hallowe'en!

The most wonderful time of the year!  Hallowe'en is almost here and we're super excited!  Hopefully the weather will be fair so we can set out our cemetery on the front lawn for the first time ever at this house!    

Inside we're properly spooky, to the delight of our guests.  (Okay, maybe the corpse bride standing in the entryway made a few of them jump!)

Here's my wee Halloween tree! 

And in the kitchen:  has anyone tried these new silicone chocolate molds?  WOW!  They work super easy, I'm really impressed!  Look at those screamers!  (They're screaming because they're not long for this earth... dark chocolate with raspberry swirled in guarantees a pretty short life-span!)

Last Saturday, October 24th, the monsters paraded in the 8th Annual Monster March down Metcalfe Street.  The rain held off just long enough for the parade, which was pretty spectacular with about 100 participants and full sidewalks of spectators.  Sadly my camera doesn't take night-time photos very well, but here are a few of Tim Murton's Twilight Zoo critters!  They are roaming about all over Elora and are just amazing!  

Here is the giant Demon King, at least 1 story tall!

You can see much more detail in this daytime photo... what a scary fellow!  

The dancing demons!  Each demon is at least 8 feet tall, very impressive!  Love the motion captured in these critters.

  

This monstrous lizard is on the side of the Elora Legion, look at those teeth and claws! 

October awesome!

Wow, I love this time of year!  It's so vibrant and stunning, your eyes are just dazzled by all the color and intensity... the smells are so sharp and alive too!  

This is on one of our morning walks.

This is the tree in our neighbour's yard, isn't it beautiful!?

These four images are from Bissell Park.

Tally Ho 2015

Our Horse and Hound Parade took place on October 4th on an overcast Sunday, but that only made it better for taking photos.  Here's a good little write-up in our local paper, the Elora/Fergus News Express.

The parade started at the old, empty Elora Mill where the people could interact with the horses, riders and all the magnificent hounds.

And they made a grand spectacle coming down Geddes Street.  Don't they look striking?  And our house is almost in this photo:  do you see at the top of the hill a white sign and a grey car with a bit of a tilt?  Our house is right there, beside the grey car.  

Of course, you can't have an event like this without the essential poop patrol (the good boys of our local Home Hardware).  Folks just aren't used to the horse poop any more, when of course back in the day horses were the mode of transportation.

For me, it's all about the hounds, how well behaved they are and how they move as a pack.  They say the horses and hounds still run after coyotes.

Doors Open 2015

Doors Open on June 20th gave us a sneak peek into the Elora Mill, what a treat!  This four story behemoth is being brought back to life by Pearl Hospitality.  

"The first Elora Mill was built in 1833 and has had a colourful history of burning down, and being rebuilt. In the 1970s, the building was renovated into a hotel. 'It has historically failed as a hotel for a number of reasons,' project manager Brian Blackmere said. 'Obviously the Elora Mill never had adequate parking. It was one of its downfalls.'"(from a Wellington Advertiser article). 

 Plans to resurrect the hotel include parcels of the land on the other side of the Grand, and bringing back the Victoria Street Bridge as a pedestrian-only bridge!

What we really appreciated, though, was seeing the interior of this great old building with all the exposed beams and stone walls.  They plan to leave as much as possible bare so this is really going to be something to see when it's completed!
   

The added bonus was getting to see the Grand River as it flows outside the windows!  

Wow, what a roar from the waters!  Made us wonder how anyone could sleep here!

Further on, towards what will become the new spa, there were also great water views:



  Getting to see things in progress and wander the grounds was really helpful in envisioning what this great project will accomplish.  Watch for next year's Doors Open to see what opportunities for "behind the scenes" peeks will be made available!

Elora in the papers

There's a great article all about Elora in a number of local area papers; take a read here:  http://www.therecord.com/living-story/5702639-living-life-on-the-edge-in-elora/  Yes indeed, take a leap (a flying leap?) and enjoy Elora!

This is on the sidewalk outside the Neob Niagara Lavender Boutique and Soap Factory on Metcalfe Street.  You can't miss it, just follow your nose and relax into the sweet, gentle scents drifting out of this shop!

Canada Day in Style!

Happy Canada Day!  This was our first in Elora and, wow, does this village know how to throw a celebration!  The weather teased us all with heavy clouds and gorgeous sunshine but let us stay dry.

The Volunteer Firefighter Breakfast had a huge line, obviously a popular event... 

while the Soap Box Derby took place just outside our house, the carts speeding down Geddes Street!

The view from our balcony...

and just outside our house.

This is how the carts got back up the hill, and here are three future racers!

The Canada Day parade took place at 11:00 and it started at the Community Center to turn onto Geddes and travel right down our street!  What a view from our balcony!  

Here's a video of the Save our Water procession, and you can find out more about our very important water issues here: http://saveourwater.ca/

After lunch we went down to Bissell Park to watch Puppets Elora as they presented "Where's my Mommy?" to a huge crowd, some of the children getting to participate in this interactive puppet show!

So much talent, and I really have to applaud their ability to stay focused and remember their lines in all the noise and commotion!  "Where's my Mommy?" was just the right play for this outdoor performance.

Next we thoroughly enjoyed the agility demonstration put on by Diamonds in the Ruff!  The dedicated handlers and fun-loving canines put on a great show!

This little darling was a sweet "newbie" just learning the ropes.

And why run one dog when you can run two!  At the same time, of course!  

The frisbee demo was fun to watch.

Then they had a dog vs. human agility race! Diamonds in the Ruff canines raced against the children in a fun match... I think everyone won!

The Blue Bonnet Lassies danced in their lovely traditional costumes on the Bissell Park boardwalk...  

...and we walked home, proud to be a part of this incredible community!