Kitchener Memories

Our first stop on the trip was to my Grandpa's house in Kitchener. We stayed there only one day last year, and the kids were begging for more. There isn't a ton to do there, kid wise, but they had a blast. And it was nice to catch up with Grandpa too. He is compiling much of the family history from his side, so he was sharing stories and pictures with us.

The kids were appalled at Grandpa's breakfast.. I can't even begin to remember what is all in this bowl...but it started with cereal, milk, melons, pineapples, coconut, nuts, yogurt, and more. It is basically all the food you eat in a day, piled into one bowl. uuuh, yah. No thanks.

King Buffet! The kids were excited to go here again (Gpa's fave restaurant). I had Grey's fortune from there still in my wallet from our trip last year. "Your life is full of color, it's just missing grey" I thought that was hilarious, since it was Grey's!

From this years King Buffet experience!

Tiger Tail ice cream, a Canadian treat!

Grey, doing his "Wiley Eye Cody" impression (Wile E Coyote)

At the park "in Grandpa's back yard"

My Grandpa is a watchmaker. My Uncle Greg was training/going to be one, but he passed away at the age of 18 in an industrial accident. In Grandpa's home is the Grandmother clock they built together. It still chimes every quarter hour, and with that, memories come flooding in. They built that house the year I was born, so all the memories I have of my Grandparents are in that place. Grandma passed away in 2010, but Grandpa still keeps the place up well.

The "Grandmother" clock (a Grandfather clock, but not quite as tall/large)

The face

The clock. I will always remember its sound and chimes.

Watchmakers toolbench

Watchmaking is a dying art. Because of the "throw it away" day and age we live in, no one keeps a watch forever anymore, or even a clock for that matter. So for those that do have an heirloom piece, it is getting very hard to find anyone who can work on it.

Grandpa seemed not to approve of the "huge clock" I wear on my wrist:-) He thought it might throw back out

He has a lot of neat clocks around though

Some (just a miniscule fraction, really) of Grandma's dishes. She had a set of dishes and stemware for more than every occasion. The house is still full of all her favourite things

Another childhood memory/introduction to my kids. Black walnuts. We grew up hammering them open, and eating the "meat". Grandpa educated the kids on the appropriate way to do this. We had a black walnut tree in our yard growing up, and so does Grandpa, so they were never in short supply.

The back of Grandpa's house

Kids rolling down the big hill in Grandpa's yard

I can't tell you how many times I did this exact thing:-)