Life in the wrong lane: Last days of summer

With the rain outside freezing as it hits the ground, and ice pellets in the forecast, it seems a long time ago that we went down for a market day in downtown Belleville. Yet it was only two weeks ago that the Chamber of Commerce had closed off Front street for the 'Flavours of Fall' festival.

The main reason we wanted to go there was to get apples for the pies we'd be doing for Thanksgiving, and we did. Cortlands, and Honey Crisp, and many others are in season, and we prefer to get our produce there. It saves it having to be trucked all over the country, and it's as fresh as one can get without growing it ourselves.

Not only that, but the Chamber of Commerce had set up also a pumpkin carving competition, and the kids were excited to take part in that. We bought a whole bunch of pumpkins, and because we're early-birds, we had some time to grab breakfast in downtown as well.

We stopped in at the Auberge de France on Front Street. It reminded me so much of the little cafes in Montreal. Jennifer and I both had a cafe au lait, and some chocolate croissants, which the boys really liked.

The coffee there is very good, if not a little pricey, but it's very fresh like the pastry. The people are warm and friendly, and if it weren't for the festival and the line of people waiting to get tables, I could have sat for hours.

They were very accommodating as well. Daisy ordered a Caesar salad instead of all the sweet and flaky stuff. She is one of a kind, and probably the only kid I know who would take garlic over chocolate! Chacun son gout....

The sign of a good breakfast is that it is soon gone!

Back on the street, the Thurlow Firefighter volunteers had set up with their trucks, and showed the kids the different pieces of equipment, and answered all their questions.

Owen and I took a bit of time to dance to the music they had on the outdoor stage.

By far the boys favourite part was that they got to sit in the Belleville Police Department SUV and look at all the gear they use for their Emergency Response Team.

Now Cole wants to be a Police officer just like his cousin Lee. I was a little shocked that they let them play with all the gear, and hold the flash-bang grenades and guns. There was some criticism of the Police, but I believe it shows just how sensitive people are about this kind of thing. As someone who is going for my firearm safety course in the spring, I think it's very important to show children, from a safe and reliable source, how to be careful around weapons. It's not like we can uninvent them!