It’s been rather hectic around here and I’ve gotten a bit behind with my posts. But I just had to share a rather perfect day we spent just a short while ago. We’d decided at the outset to have a whole day of it. A Holiday in our little Tourist Town so to speak. Bill and I never take holidays, you know the structured ones where you pack up and go away for two or more weeks. No, we stay here in our holiday destination, where we happen to live anyway and spread our two weeks vacation out over each week end of the summer. Works for us. The itinerary was simplicity itself. Go garage sailing of course, goes without saying. Then carry on to whatever beaches and enjoy, enjoy.
The first beach we chose was Willows Beach in Oak Bay. The day was blue and white, blue ocean, white sails, blue skies and off in the distance a white capped Mt Baker.
But there was more color, in the umbrellas. The one was an old one we picked up ages ago at where else, a garage sale. I love the look of the fade on the fabric, it looks like a photo print.
The beach to the left…
And the beach to the right, not too busy, not too lonely, just a happy vibe in the sunshine…
and a perfect spot for sitting, a driftwood plank.
Then on we went to Clover Point. To see the Para gliders. Two aloft, enjoying the breeze.
Here a few jockeying for position to take off…
Well you knew that was going to happen didn’t you?
And then to round out the perfect day perfectly, we stopped at Beacon Bills to get a soft ice cream cone dipped in Chocolate. Ah bliss.
Tags: Beach umbrellas, Mt. Baker in the distance, para gliders, sailboats
Last Saturday, unlike my last entry, was the most perfect summer day ever, sunny, warm and just generally full of promise. A good day for garage sailing.
I always have this little superstition that you must find something at the first sale or it won’t be a good day. OK I made up that superstition myself but it often proves true. Garage sailing, as I’m fond of saying is a lot like fishing, sometimes you catch something, and sometimes no luck at all. If we don’t find much I just pocket that weeks garage sale allotment and save it for the next week. The first stop yielded three big pots of plants for the garden at $1 a pot! Now that’s a good start. And we were off to find even more good loot.
And speaking of fishing we found these colorful lures, which will make a nice present for Eric and Scarlette, the avid fishers of the family. Personally, I just like the colors.
How do you like the Garage Sale sign at the top of today’s post? Oddly enough this sign was for a garage sale to raise funds for a group that rescues street cats. Anything to do with cats is something I’ll support and I found a lovely Cat bag and a book of Cats in Art cards. That’ll make a lovely gift for some cat lover don’t you think?
We found a garage sale given by a fellow who claimed that he “used to go garage sale-ing”. How is it possible to be a former garage sailor? I can’t imagine stopping. It’s hard enough to wait for spring and the season for it.
Like a true bargain hunter he had picked up these wooden rings from a friend who was closing up a shop. No idea what they were for… we all guessed for macramé. But they were so lovely that I had to take a couple of photos.
And also a pic of this ornament, which I suppose is supposed to be a Sword Fish. But just a pic, didn’t buy it. I’ve been trying to leave something for others, you know.
Then as we drove on to James Bay by way of the Harbour we spied sitting moored a HUGE three masted tall ship. So of course, we had to go and check it out. Turns out it was a Russian Training ship in port just for a few days. They were giving free tours to anyone who wanted to check it out. It was called the Pallada. I’ve left the cars in the photo just so you can get an idea of the size of this ship.
In James Bay we found a few more treasures. This little arrangement of garage sale loot shows the vintage colored dominoes I found. We played Dominoes later that night and I must admit Bill won 4 times in a row. A rematch is imminent. Plus I found a glass cream and sugar set, which reminded me of my childhood for some reason. The birds were from the same sale as the dolphin pictured earlier and may feature someday in a mosaic. The cat card is from the book of Cats in Art cards found earlier. This is my fave card in the bunch.
Also found these cement pillars which will end up mosaic-ed soon, I hope and become rather nice plant pot stands.
To get an idea, here’s what happened to a chimney we did years ago.
And yet another little arrangement of treasures. The bedside table will I think get redone and painted, but I’ll leave the drawer which has the greatest texture. We had to snap up these vintage lamps and clock too. Bill is planning to rewire the clock. He loves these old clocks and this one has a most lovely shape.
In Fairfield, I had to snap these colorful buckets of flowers. This store has always been here, a spot I always slowed down to enjoy when walking home years ago when we lived in this area .
But now, for the best, which I have saved for last. For those of you who already know of Paxton Chadwick, this won’t be a surprise. You may enjoy reading a bit more about him, since not only was he a very talented illustrator but oddly enough a Communist in England. What I found out about him could only be found on Communist or Labour blogs. I’d never heard of him before, but when I found this little beat up book illustrated by him I was enchanted. They have the look of printmaking to them, almost wood block. The detail is fantastic and the colors, well, just enjoy. Now I’ll have to find other books done by him for Penguin Books in England so many years ago. This book was published in 1952. So I leave you enjoy just a few of these fabulous illustrations. I did find a few more illustrations here on Google images. And all this enjoyment for only 50 cents!
Tags: garage sale loot, mosaic chimney, Pallada Russian Tall Ship, Paxton Chadwick illustrations, Pond Life drawn by Paxton Chadwick for Penguin Books, vintage clock, vintage dominoes, vintage finds, vintage lamps
You may wonder at my header of beautifully worn grave stones in the mist. But it’s all part of our day last Saturday.
It started with the rain bucketing down Saturday morning when first we woke up. But by the time we were ready to go out and do some garage sailing it had let up considerably. Anyway, a little rain wasn’t going to stop us. I love rain here, love the smell, love the cool, love the moist moist air. And fog is like the icing on the cake for me. LOVE fog. And oh, the sound of fog horns….
And our first stop after a few lucky finds at a garage sale, was to take a little coffee and muffin break while enjoying the silence and mist over the Chinese Cemetery as the fog curled in from the water.
Then on again to find more treasures and a quick stop at the Oak Bay Library. Little hint, libraries here have the nicest washrooms when you are out and about, garage sailing. And I can never resist checking out the magazines and books that my two usual libraries don’t carry. In the parking lot we admired an old Chevy truck and particularly noticed the attention to detail on the carefully painted wheel covers.
We picked up a quick lunch at a local Grocery store deli, salads, buns and a sweet (too sweet it turned out) desert. Then enjoyed a leasurely lunch while parked overlooking the ocean. We ended our day with a long trek up Moss Street. It was the day of the Moss Street Paint In. Even on a gray day that had started with rain, it was packed. It usually draws over 35000 people! Not to mention showcasing over 150 wonderful artists. This is my attempt at giving a feeling of the crowds, but go to the Moss Street images for more of the crowds and the art.
Part way up the street is the Moss Street Market and Bill took this lovely shot of the some veggies, gorgeous, even the veggies are artful today!
Then, as we headed, footsore, back to the car, we were drawn to these exuberant Peonies!
And what I think may be Calendulas.
A glance at the still overcast sky brought us this beautiful scene of rain falling in the distance. All in all, a full and enjoyable day. All of today’s photos were done by Bill, gotta give credit where it’s due, he does take a great photo!
Tags: Chinese Cemetery, Foggy morning, Moss Street Market, Moss Street Paint In
Before I start out today, I must say that the header is one of the best garage sale signs I’ve ever seen. The colors, the printing, everything. Ok maybe you have to be an artist to appreciate it…. So now, on to the post of the day, about, you guessed it, garage sailing.
When we set out on a Saturday morning to go “garage sailing” as I like to call it or “thrifting” as apparently others call it, we never know just what we’ll find. It’s not like any other kind of shopping. You know, the kind where you go shopping for a certain needed thing like a new pair of pants, or a new chair or lawn mower. Whatever, it’s not at all like that.
Oh sure, sometimes we do go out with a mental list of stuff to look for like a new garden hose, well, new to us, that is, or a Wind up Radio for our Earthquake Kit ( which I wrote about recently) And yes, last week we actually found one, with a flashlight yet. Bonus!
But we don’t set out with a rigid plan or list. Garage sailing requires an open mind. That is, a mind that is open to the possibilities of whatever you may come across.
Sometimes people at sales even ask us what we are looking for, and we just say, nothing in particular. Personally, I find it hilarious that anyone would even ask. I mean, if, as I said we’re looking for a garden hose and you didn’t have one at the sale you are having, would we just zoom on by? But no, that’s not what happens. We browse, we consider, we enjoy. Garage sailing is a serendipitous occupation. I like to call it Creative Shopping. We are open to finding anything that may be useful, interesting, inspiring or fun.
Oh yes we’ve run across those focussed characters that fly through garage sales, looking only for certain things, like fishing gear for instance. That’s all they want to see and if you haven’t got it, well, they move on pretty quickly. And I must admit to a bit of “Driveby viewing” myself. Like if it’s all kids stuff, well, we’ll probably not even get out of the car. Although that’s changing because now we’re looking for good books for our grandson Andrew. I cannot resist a Mercer Mayer. Or some good illustration like in the Bear book. And Little Toot, too good to pass up at 25 cents each.
When I say Creative shopping, well, sometimes it’s more finding stuff to be creative with. Got quite lucky lately with these lovely red plates that may work their way into a mosaic.
And these canvasses, still wrapped up, that I got for a fraction, a very small fraction, of what they would be in the art supply store.
Or this lovely oak frame which may be the perfect finishing touch for my next painting on board. I collect old frames just for that purpose and Bill cuts me boards to paint on, sized to fit. This week we even found a batch of glass for framed prints, always useful to use in all those old frames I’ve collected. Did I tell you I once found an old Mat cutter for free? Yup. Free is always the right price.
Which brings me to… well you know I was leading up to something didn’t you? Sometimes we find someone else’s creativity that we just can’t pass up. These paintings were done, one on each side of piece of plywood, in 1950 and 1945 by someone who signed their work very carefully and clearly, L.W. Patmore. They also painted these lovely landscapes very carefully and I think with a lot of enjoyment. Painted on both sides maybe because of lack of money or just being thrifty, who knows. The woman who had them had found them at an estate sale years before and had been attracted to them. I just love the attention paid to waves and clouds, all those details!
We liked them right away but felt they were so good that she should keep them and tried to tell her so. We moved on to the next sale on the block and as we went back to our car, there they were in the Free Pile.
So we just scooped them up. Free is good and we do enjoy them. Hope you do too. They are like little vignettes, in a style from way back.
Although I do like them all, my fave is the last one with the little islands and the deer in the foreground. If you have any idea of who this painter was, I have Googled of course, please drop me a line. I’d love to know.
Tags: art supplies, Creative shopping, garage sales, serendipity of garage sailing, Thrifting
Ok, I know, I’m a bit behind in posting and it’s a bit late to be showing the garden in May. But in May I wasn’t up to much, not feeling all that well, I’m much better now, thanks to finding out I have Bronchitis and not Asthma as diagnosed for months and months, but let’s not go there. Bill had taken all these great photos and I’m thinking why not put them up?
Some of the pics, like this Poppy, at the top of the post, are just too good to waste. This one is growing and spreading, just next to the Herb Garden. Thank you, thank you Poppies. Don’t you love it when faves do that for you. Well, I call it the Herb Garden though at the moment the Herb garden is just chives and Winter Savory and some renegade Oregano (which I must admit, has somehow gotten itself all over the whole garden). At this rate, I’ll have to call the whole place a Herb Garden.
This is the Herb garden from a distance. Distance is what is needed here, it looks better that way. Up close, not so much. I did manage a bit of weeding but not enough yet.
Bill has a way of capturing a view that is quite different from what I would have done. In the foreground is Daylilly, Kiwi and behind that, Euphorbia. This view is going toward, of all things our compost bins, nicely hidden by the bushes. But this angle does make the garden look bigger than it really is.
The Shade garden next to the house, is full, packed even, with lots of luscious plants this year. Everything’s doing well, some doing a bit too well, but I like it that way. The Solomon’s Seal is especially exuberant this spring.
And the front garden is always our mystery garden. We never know what will come up there. So much self seeds. Last year it surprised us. A couple of years ago Bill seeded it with all kinds of Poppies and it was rather magnificent. This year, it’s done it on its own, more or less. Lots of Foxglove, Phlox and Flax. Don’t look too hard or you will see grass and weeds poking through pretending to be legit garden plants. But if they look ok I leave them. The Fried Egg plants have gone completely wild this year, having spread themselves all over the front garden.
The Rock Rose at the front of the walk has found a good partner plant with the little Fried Eggs.
This is the front garden from another angle, showing the Snow on the Mountain gaining even more of a foothold. But it’s a good filler in a tough spot, and although I do like the look of it, I’ll admit it’s darn hard to contain.
I’ll leave you with another wonderful shot of the Poppies in the Herb Garden, surrounded by the Fennel which has shot up, and the Cardoon just starting up in the background with it’s smokey blue-green leaves. Just drink in that color…mmmmm.
Tags: Fennel, herb garden, May Garden, poppy
Near the end of May, our son Paul, along with his lovely wife Olya, and our one and only grandchild, Andrew, flew into our little town for a short visit, very short. It was a whirlwind visit but fun. We built a sand castle at the beach with Andrew. We followed Andrew around like the doting grandparents that we are, as he petted goats and tried to catch renegade chickens at the petting zoo at Beacon Hill Park. All of this had to fit in around nap times and supper get togethers with the rest of the family. On the way to the airport to go home again, they decided to squeeze in one last thing, one last fun experience for Andrew. And it was a good one too!
The Victoria Butterfly Gardens had always been on our “to do ” list but we’d never gotten around to it. Paul and Olya had been before and couldn’t wait to show Andrew. It was fun watching a two year old react to butterflies fluttering around him. We thoroughly enjoyed every second. But we had to hurry through, checking watches for the time, you have to get to airports so early nowadays, what with all the security checks . So, after saying sad goodbyes and lots of kisses for Andrew, we saw them off back home.
Well, we thought, might as well go back to the Butterfly Gardens since it was on the way home for us anyway. Luckily, they do stamp your hand at the entry and you can go back and enjoy for the rest of day. So back we went to enjoy a more leisurely visit to the gardens. If you don’t know it, it’s on the way to Butchart Gardens. Can’t miss it.
The first thing that hits you as you go into the gardens is the warm moist air. It’s a lovely tropical feeling and my sinuses loved it! The Hibiscus at the top of this post is just one of the gorgeous flowers in this little jungle, alive with sound of parrots and falling water.
Right at the entrance in a glassed in enclosure, is where Butterflies of all kinds come out of their cocoons, unfurling their wings and drying before being set free to fly.
This Zebra butterfly really caught my eye, so much like a batik. As an artist I really have to bow to Mother Nature. She always gets it right!
In a box in the entry we found what may have been a Monarch getting ready for flight. At the time I thought it was one butterfly with an orange pattern on one side and a blue green pattern on the top side as camoflage. Not really sure.
You do get a sheet with pics of the butterflies so you can identify them. The list we had counted over 33 types. But I’m just giving you a few highlights. This is, after checking with my Butterfly identifier list, is a Golden Helicon. Such a lovely name too. Hope I got that right.
On our way around the path we were approached by a little bird who insisted on pecking at our shoes and the bottoms of our jeans. He really liked Bill. Not remembering what he’s actually called, I’ve decided to call him the Peruvian Foot Pecker. He is apparently from Peru so that part’s right.
Next, I got lucky with this shot of two White Tree Nymphs.
Perched on a cocoon was a huge moth, aptly named the Giant Atlas Moth. The sign said that he took over three years in the cocoon to morph into this gorgeous Moth only to live about five days. Now that’s just not right! What a rip off for the moth!
There’s so much more to see. If you go, prepare to spend some time. There is a waterfall, a pond and I’ve saved the silliest for last. The Flamingoes. This one stood squawking, with it’s neck straight, not a very appealing sounding squawk either . You must agree that he looks much more elegant and graceful in the next pose.
Tags: Flamingo, Giant Atlas Moth, Golden Helicon butterfly, Victoria Butterfly Gardens, White Tree Nymph butterfly, Zebra butterfly
We live on the West coast, on Vancouver Island. That said, as we watched the horrific video coming back from Japan last week, watched that black tsunami wave churning up buildings, cars and people in it’s path, we couldn’t help but see ourselves in that wave. As our hearts went out to those thousands of people washed away and those left, now wondering about the nuclear danger unfolding, a niggling thought pushed it’s way to the front of my mind.
Then at work, someone told me of Jim Berklands predictions for our coast. OK, sure, there are detractors, but it doesn’t take much to see that if the Ring of Fire was a dot to dot drawing we are #4 on that list. And I don’t really care if he’s got the dates right or not. I sincerely hope he’s wrong just as I wish we weren’t #4. But there it is. We do live here in paradise, I love it and I want it to always stay the way it is. But I must admit I’ve been living in denial… like many others. I’ve been thinking it’ll never happen, or maybe if it does it’ll be in 500 years. Oh sure I had a few gallons of water stored in the back porch, my little nod to the Big One. And I did look last summer at garage sales for a little stove for “The Kit”. But I never really got around to putting one together. All those warnings to get 72 Hours of provisions ready had been by and large ignored. That niggling thought finally grew into a need for action.
Now, if you’ve read my blog before, you know I’m all about recycling. But last weekend, I just wanted to get our Kit together. So while a lot of it is recycled like the blankets, dishes and pots and pans, the last a lucky garage sale find on Saturday, most of it is new. We had looked up quite a few Earthquake preparedness sites on the net and come up with a list of sorts. I found the bins at a good price and rapidly started to find the stuff on the List.
There was tinned food and granola bars for us and cat food for our cat, a can opener, some first aid supplies and a couple of odd things too. Like those cat treats for Sophie. And in one of those freezer bags are a couple of chocolate bars too. For shock, I told Bill, but for comfort, I said to myself. Also a deck of cards. We even managed to find a cheap but complete little 2 burner stove, for the power outages that may come. Gotta have my cup of tea.
We also found another of those great inventions, a flashlight that only requires shaking to power up, no batteries. We stocked up on the requisite number of liters of water in reusable jugs. We’re still looking for a radio that’s affordable.
Next came deciding where to store “The Kit”. If we had a big shake, what part of the house would be left standing? We figured the back porch, a rather flimsy construction, would probably fall off. So that left the area next to the basement door. I thought if we kept it close we might be able to get at it just by reaching in. Everything is together, right down to the crowbar. We’ve even got leather gloves in the kit, one of the things suggested in the earthquake lists, for digging out later.
Besides “The Kit”, just as was suggested in the earthquake sites, we’ve figured out where our home is in relation to tsunami and Victoria earthquake liquefaction maps. We’ve thought about where to go that’s high and safe if we are caught away from home, while at our jobs.
All of this has had the effect not only of making the whole thing more real and even more scary but oddly somewhat reassuring. Oh sure, I know that I really don’t have any real earthquake experience, the last one here only slightly rocked the fridge. But I do feel like I’ve tried to do something to take care of ourselves in the 72 hours until help can get to you. And now at least I’ve got “The Kit” started and can add to it.
I’ve sent out my “flurry” of emails to friends about the getting ready. But I know I can only do what I need to do for ourselves for now. And I admit, that in the back of my mind, I’m hoping that, like taking an umbrella to ward off a rain shower, “The Kit” will ward off the Big One. Oh, I know that’s stupid and silly, even as I write it.
And then, as I watch the tragedy in Japan that is still unfolding, my mind tries to wrap itself around the immenseness of the losses of life and homes. I see that with this “Kit”, I have, at least, come out of my personal denial that it can ever happen here. And that, while just a miniscule thing, on the scale of these earthquake disasters this last year, is something.
Tags: 72 Hours, Earth Quake in Japan In March 2011, Earthquake Kit, Jim Berkland's Earthquake predictions, The Big One
I live in a place where lawns turn green in winter from days and days of rain. Where fruit trees burst into bloom in February. Lots of native Victorians bitch, whine, bitch, whine about the rain. You never hear a peep from me.
Most of my life was spent in Alberta with interminable dark winters, bone numbing cold, blizzards and snow drifts that could cover a house. I’ve never missed it. I don’t ski, never even wanted to and believe me, I’ll take rain any day.
But today, I awoke to silence, the silence that only comes from a big snowfall. Winter is just reminding me that I didn’t escape and I’m still in The Great White North, eh?Homeland of Bob and Doug Mackenzie. Koorookookookoo Rookookoo….
When Bill got up and saw me sitting glumly on the couch surveying the scene he said, “Helen, you look lower than a snake’s belly.” I had to agree. There is nothing like snow to bring me down.
Oh I know it’s trying to make itself look pretty, all those soft curves as it drapes itself over hedges and plants. But I’m not impressed. To me it’s just too much white, white, white everywhere. It’s like those homes you are always seeing in decor mags where every wall is painted in blizzard whiteout. When I see those rooms I’m always aching to take a crayon and color in all that blankness, filling it in with lovely greens and reds and yellows and of course, purples.
I was really meant to live in a place where Palm trees grow. I’m very very sure of this. And when this damn white stuff comes that’s the first thing I check. How is my Palm Tree?
And there it was, buried and drooping, under this “lovely white canopy” or white crap, as I like to call it. Bill, being the wonderful guy that he is, pulled on his boots and went out, to save it. Of course, I handed him the camera on the way out and said, “Take a before and after for me ok?” Which he did. I did say he’s a wonderful guy didn’t I?
He also caught this snow covered snail on the way back. And I’m sure his artist eye saw the natural drawing, created by the stems outlined in snow. There is a reason why we are still together after all these years. I don’t take it for granted at all.
Palm tree saved, I could look around and notice other things. In the front garden the snow had transformed the Autumn Joy sedum. Since we don’t do a garden cleanup in the Fall and just leave things in seed for the critters and birds, sometimes, on a day like today, you may get a surprise. Like these “Snow flowers” created from the mounded snow.
Ok I’ll give the snow one point for that. But I’m looking at the weather channel and it’s supposed to warm up this afternoon and by Friday it’ll be back to rain again. Just the way I like it.
Tags: Bob and Doug MacKenzie, Snow covered palm tree, Snow flowers
Happy Valentines Day!
May you receive an excess of chocolate!
Tags: chocolate, idea, valentine, Valentines Day
Just in time, barely, we’ve had some of my rather romantic designs on our Cafe Press store and I thought maybe I’d share them today.
I’ve always like the look of bright, neon colors on a black background and the first design is definitely that. And if you look closely, you’ll see it is two portraits in one, a male and female and maybe it’s a portrait with a kiss.
I like to think of it as my little take on the idea of a “soulmate”.
And the heart on the pedestal? Well, that’s just where I think love should be. Right up there on the pedestal, as something we truely value and care about keeping forever. So I called this piece “ Love on a Pedestal” And just for fun I designed it in two colorways.
One a happy, singing in the sun, bright design….
the other with a warm periwinkle blue romantic evening feel…
Bill and I had fun deciding on the things to put the design on - what would be a romantic gift for a lover or loved one?
A keepsake box?
Or an apron for the cook you love?
Or a card to go with those flowers?
Happy Valentines Day from this romantic couple.
Tags: love, pedestal, romantic, valentine, valentine gift
