Our new Home ( not so sweet yet ) Home !!!

It's official everyone - our new home :)

                                               LET THE CONVERSATIONS BEGIN

This is going to be more fun than -
I'm not quite sure
To see what I'm about to step into ( if you haven't already - or if you need a reminder of just how insane I am )
you can visit HERE
To see what I'm stepping away from you can visit HERE
To see where I may end up in the near future you can visit HERE

The only thing I'm going to say in my defence is this
The last home we bought - was on the market for over a year - no one and I mean no one wanted it -
even though it was on one of the nicest streets in a prestigious neighborhood - everyone thought I was crazy
BUT when we listed it - it was sold in 8 hours
The one we're leaving now was also on the market for 14 months - it didn't show well - even though this one is in one of the wealthiest neighborhoods in Montreal - BUT we sold it in 5 days ( even breaking a record for this area )
So you all need to have a little faith in me - BEFORE you have me committed ( although this time I may very well just have myself committed to be quite honest with you )

Blogging may become a little sporadic around these here parts

Suzan says - John you're going to have to help with the packing - I'm killing myself here - especially trying to lift them and put them on top of each other
John says - What are you talking about?  I started last week

AND HE'S DEAD SERIOUS EVERYONE - 100% DEAD SERIOUS

At this rate I'm pretty confident he'll have 4 complete boxes done by the 22nd of November - but you never know.....................you just never know -

Suzan says - I'm underwhelmed John - completely underwhelmed
Suzan says - I've packed over a hundred boxes - you can't even finish the one you started.
John says - Oh excuse me - I didn't know it was a competition
John says - Oh excuse me - I didn't know it was a competition
John says - Oh excuse me - I didn't know it was a competition

I typed that 3 times so you could get the full impact of those 10 words....................

Tonight 

John says - what's for supper
Suzan says - you've got to be kidding me
John says - well we have to eat
Suzan says - so...............what are you making?
John says - I made supper 3 nights last week
Suzan says - Oh excuse me - I didn't know it was a competition......................

24 more days to get my hands on paint again
( it's much easier on the eyes in sketch form than reality right now lol )

Have a wonderful Tuesday everyone
Much love,

Montreal Churches / Stations of the Cross

It's Sunday morning - everyone

Get up - it's time to go to Church ( es ) 

Montreal is renowned for its churches. Indeed, as Mark Twain once noted, "This is the first time I was ever in a city where you couldn't throw a brick without breaking a church window."^[3] 

The key word here is CITY - these are all in the City ( or the island )  of Montreal 

 

Notre Dame Basilica - Montreal
Interior below

source

St George's Anglican Church
( Where John sang for many many years )

St. Patrick's

                                                   

St James

The Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew

Mary Queen of the World Cathedral

Interior Below

                                                                   Mountainside United

source

NOTRE DAME DE BON SECOURS
( our Lady of good help )
Built in 1771 over the ruins of a destroyed previous Church

source

AND the last one is the largest in Canada - and it's quite magnificent - with more than 2 million visitors annually.

A major site of Roman Catholic pilgrimage and worship, St. Joseph's began with the devotional impulse of a humble monk called Frère André who worked across the street at the Collège Notre-Dame. His original tiny chapel, begun in 1904, is still extant on the southwest side of the church shown here, which was begun in 1924 and substantially completed in 1956. It's the biggest church in Canada, and the dome is the world's third largest, after Our Lady of Peace of Yamoussoukro in Côte d'Ivoire and St. Peter's in Rome.

Devout visitors sometimes climb the steps in the middle, kneeling to pray at every step; most walk up normally or take one of the free shuttle buses from the base.

My Grandmother ( on my Mother's side - Irish/Canadian - actually knelt and prayed at every single step during World War 2 - all 280 of them - I've walked up them many many times in my life - and every single time I do - I imagine her and the grief that made her do it..............

There's a Sculpture garden - " The Way of the Cross " ( although I was always taught it to be the Stations of the Cross....................)  Care to stroll through the garden with me?

STATION 1
JESUS IS CONDEMNED TO DEATH

STATION 2
JESUS IS LADEN WITH THE CROSS

STATION 3
UNDER THE WEIGHT OF THE BURDEN JESUS FALLS FOR THE FIRST TIME

STATION 4
JESUS MEETS HIS MOTHER

STATION 5
SIMON OF CYRENE HELPS JESUS BEAR HIS SUFFERING

STATION 6
VERONICA WIPES THE FACE OF JESUS

STATION 7
JESUS FALLS FOR A SECOND TIME

STATION 8
JESUS COMFORTS THE WOMEN OF JERUSALEM

STATION 9
JESUS FALLS FOR A THIRD TIME

STATION 10
JESUS IS STRIPPED OF HIS CLOTHES

STATION 11
JESUS IS NAILED TO THE CROSS

STATION 12
JESUS DIES ON THE CROSS

STATION 13
JESUS IS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS

STATION 14
JESUS IS PLACED IN THE TOMB

THE RESURECTION
                                                          

POOL AND FOUNTAIN OF REDEMPTION

It's truly a magnificent garden - people of every faith and denomination visit this garden yearly - and no matter what your belief system is ( even if you don't have one ) - you can only feel a wave of peace and love upon leaving it.

Hope you feel a bit of both today
Much love,

images were sourced through DC MEMORIALS.COM  - click to see other images.
( unless the source is hyperlinked beneath an image )

THE GARDENS OF THE WAY OF THE CROSS

The outdoor Gardens of the Way of the Cross is one of Saint Joseph’s Oratory’s best kept secrets. The 16 stations unfold amidst an artfully landscaped terrain. Located to the east of the basilica, the gardens are a good place to meditate.

Origin

From the early days of the shrine, a Way of the Cross was marked out on the mountain to allow the faithful to come and meditate upon the Passion of Christ. This devotion was very close to the heart of the Oratory’s founder, Saint Brother André. The project of creating a Way of the Cross out of stone, to replace the rustic wooden crosses, emerged in 1935. 

A Garden

Work on the 200,000 square-foot area to the east of the basilica did not begin until the fall of 1942. Famous landscape architect Frederick Todd designed a pathway meandering around the flank of the mountain transforming the site into a magnificent garden with many varieties of trees, shrubs and flowers. This lovely green space showcases one of the most beautiful treasures of Canada’s religious heritage.

The Art of Louis Parent

Montreal artist Louis Parent conceived this major artwork. His Way of the Cross has 14 of the traditional stations to which he added a marble monument depicting the Resurrected Christ and a reflecting pool with the Fountain of Redemption. In toto, the grouping comprises 42 characters, each approximately 9 feet high, which the sculptor modeled in his workshop at the Oratory, between 1943 and 1953. The statues were carved out of Indiana limestone by Ercolo Barbieri, between 1952 and 1958. Louis Parent designed the pieces to blend harmoniously into the natural environment. Art critics have had nothing but praise for this work that has stood the test of time. 

Schedule

The Gardens are open from May 1 to October 14 (Thanksgiving).

SHARING WITH!!!
I Should be Mopping the Floor                        No Minimalist Here                          Savvy Southern Style
Common Ground                                           My Romantic Home                        Coastal Charm
Adorned from Above                                         Uncommon Design