About Oxford County, ON

A year ago we happened to be driving through Woodstock, Ontario on Easter Sunday, on our way to visit my sister in nearby Shakespeare, Ontario for Easter dinner. We ended up taking a wrong turn in Woodstock and came across what was left of a beautiful turn of the century Church.

Only the front wall was still standing in what had been St. Mary's Catholic Church. After doing a little research I found out the property had been sold and the front of the Church had been preserved and was to be incorporated into a senior's home to be built on the property.

Little did I know at the time that a year later I would be living only 15 minutes away from Woodstock, in Tavistock. I recently drove around Woodstock trying to locate the property again and to see if there had been any further progress on the site.

Nothing had changed since my last visit. The beautiful facade remains with perhaps a bit of deterioration. The fence around the Church remains but there is no sign of activity.

I felt very sad when I came across a photo of the whole Church as it looked prior to demolition. A fellow member of Flickr had taken some shots of the abandoned Church before demolition occurred. I've included that photo by Phrenzee below.

I have a hard time seeing historic buildings destroyed. While I applaud the intent of the retirement home to incorporate the front of St. Mary's into their plans, I wonder when this will ever happen. The longer the structure sits as is, the more it will deteriorate, perhaps to the point that the developer may nix their original plans.

This is all speculation on my part as I have no information to prove me right or wrong, only that over a year has gone by since I noticed this grand old structure and I have no idea how long before that, it had been demolished.

Today I'd just like to share the beauty of this once fine gathering place and I hope that it does survive in another form to be enjoyed and admired.

St. Mary's Church - Woodstock, Ontario - Photo by Phrenzee - Before demolition

All that remains of St. Mary's Church - Front shot

St. Mary's Church from the back - All that remains of a grand old Lady

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It's been 4 months now since  we pulled up roots in Oakville, Ontario and drove an hour and a bit in a south western direction to Tavistock, Ontario.

Oakville - Population 175,000 - Tavistock - Population - 2,400

Oakville is a fairly well known name.  It's an upscale community on the shores of Lake Ontario midway between the metropolitan cities of Toronto and Hamilton.

Tavistock, not so much.  Tavistock's claim to fame is playing host to the annual World Crokinole Championship.  This year the games are being held June 4th.  Tavistock only has one stoplight but it controls a wonky 5 way intersection.

When people were asking me where I was moving to I often told them Stratford, Ontario.  Stratford is a much more recognizable name, famous for the Shakespeare Festival, and, oh yeah, Justin Bieber.

I zip down the backroads in 15 minutes to Stratford on an almost daily basis.  My RE/MAX office is there as are my parents  and major stores and restaurants.   Tavistock offers a local grocery store, drug store, a couple of restaurants, a liquor store, 3 hardware stores, Tim Hortons coffee shop, two gas stations, a couple variety stores and a number of other service providers.

The owners of the furniture store also operate the funeral home on the other side of the street. There are also a couple of feed mills and I'm getting used to the different smells eminating from those mills.  It often smells like a brewery here actually.

Tavistock also offers a quieter environment, and a peaceful setting amongst some of the richest agricultural land in Ontario. Townsfolk wave to you even if they don't know who you are. 

When I'd tell people in Oakville I was moving to Tavistock, I'd see the blank stare on their faces.  So it was just as easy to say Stratford.  I've also told people I live in the Stratford area.  Now that we've moved, if people in Stratford ask me where I live they know where Tavistock is.

In fact many say "oh you live in Tavi".  Yup, Tavistock has a nickname.  Right now I'm just getting used to saying I live in Tavistock.   

I'm not sure when (or if) I will be able to call my community Tavi.  I guess if that word ever does slip off my tongue, I will know I'm here for the long haul.

I've been living the rural life for 4 months now and people are always asking me if I'm still enjoying it. I have to tell them that I still pinch myself (well not literally) when I'm driving down the backroads into town.

No matter what the weather there is always something amazing to see. Whether it's the sky, birds, fields, ponds or just the quiet roads.

Do I miss the traffic and pollution from the city? Hmm let me think on that one.

Here is a field just down the road from my house. I love taking photos of it.

The skies got dark and it started to rain all around us. It missed is though.

I love my new surroundings.

I love searching out and photographing old historic mills in Ontario. Before I moved to Tavistock, Ontario a few months ago, I went online to check out old mills in the area.

About 15 minutes from my house, down Maplewood Sideroad lays the quaint village of Harrington, Ontario. It's hard to miss the Harrington Pond and the old Grist Mill but on my first visit I ended up driving right by. It was the middle of winter and as I turned around to go back my right side wheels went into the ditch.

I now know that the snowplows here push the snow way over and the road looks wider than it really is. Luckily a couple of kind gentlemen came to my rescue and one pulled me out with his 4 wheel drive truck. Once I was out I decided to go straight home and never try a u-turn on a country road in the winter again.

I've since been back to the mill a couple of times. The pond is beautiful with ducks and swans swimming by. There are picnic tables along the river making this a great spot to enjoy a bite to eat while enjoying the scenery.

The Harrington Grist millwas built about 1844 out of hand-hewn pine timbers and topped with a split shingle roof. A fire in 1923 destroyed the original mill but it was rebuilt so the mill basically operated from 1846 - 1966.

The Upper Thames Conservation Authority acquired the property and the mill has been restored by the Harrington Community Club. The original oat roller and running gear remain on display.

I love home decorating magazines. I used to subscribe to a couple and I always looked for new ideas for my own home. Unfortunately I found that many of the items in the magazines were out of my price range.

I used to cut out the pages of rooms or items that I really liked and put them in an idea file. Like designer clothing, it's possible to get the look for less money if you look around and are thrifty. Ever heard of Ikea?

My magazine subscriptions have ended as I've found a great site on the internet that allows me to look at thousands of photos of decorating ideas and add them to my personal online idea file.

Houzz.com is an amazing site. You can search photos by room, or by decorating style. Whether you like eclectic, contemporary, traditional or a mix, the ideas are all there. You can even do a word search and all related photos will pop up.

As I'm working on decorating my new home I'm often on the site checking out gray walls, red light fixtures, black and white blinds and whatever else comes to mind depending on what I start dreaming about.

Since moving, I've been checking out all the antique stores and warehouses in the area. I have found many great treasures for a fraction of the price I would pay new. It's great to reuse and recycle but just remember to buy only what you really love and know you will use.

There's no point paying good money for something that will end up in your basement or your next garage sale. I ended up getting one of my chairs reupholstered instead of buying a new one. I found some really "groovy" material (that's the actual name of the pattern) and now I have a unique piece of furniture that I wouldn't have found in any store.

My home decorating project is a work in progress. I get excited when I find something that I know will work. I have a couple of ideas for one room that will become my den/office. One of those ideas is that bad word that most REALTORS® hate. WALLPAPER. After many years of being on the no no list, wallpaper is making a big comeback.

The wallpaper companies are promising that the reincarnation of their product is much easier to remove now. One can only hope.

My new treasures - I was looking for yellow accessories and they were hard to find. I found these at a local antique warehouse. The fabric was found at a fabric outlet and it was Sumbrella outdoor fabric. The piece cost $6.00 and I recovered the cushion on an ottoman with it.

I found this retro looking table at the same antique warehouse and picked it up for $73.00. I loved the legs and I had visions of painting the top of the table but I have held off. The natural look is kind of growing on me.

My reupholstered chair with the "groovy" pattern.