Summer is so short lived. But the memory of the gardens of the Glass Houses in PEI will last a life time.
To be continued,
Lori
A couple weekends ago, we headed over to Prince Edward Island for our family vacation. With various events and Michael’s work schedule, this was our only chance to get away. So, we went! I won’t bore you with all the ins and outs of what we saw and where we went. But I will tell you it was so nice to get away and enjoy the scenery and the company of my family.
It’s funny when we ask the girls what their favourite part of the trip was. Lena’s highlight was being on the top deck of the ferry boat, Holiday Island, on our way to the island. There’s something so fun about beginning your journey on the ferry. Michael and I shared our memories of ferry boat rides…some good memories and some not so fun memories…. { a certain ferry ride home from Newfoundland during a tropical storm ranks pretty high on the not so fun ferry boat memory list!! }
Hannah’s top pick was the beach by the cottage we stayed in. I’ll admit that I’m with her on that one. The beach is one of the main reasons we stayed at Cavendish Beach Cottage as it is right across the road from the cottages. It was so incredibly windy when we arrived, the sound of the waves was near deafening. It wasn’t long before I was on the beach with the { wet, cold } sand between my toes. Lena came for the first trip down and then the next day, Hannah joined us. The waves were crazy! Too wild to swim in but that didn’t stop them from getting rather wet! And Lena found Hannah the blue buoy….it came home with us! 🙂
I’m an early riser, even when I’m on vacation, I can’t sleep in. I crawled out of bed and was treated to the most amazing sunrise! I was happy to steal a few minutes of peace and quiet and soak up the beauty that was spread out in front of me. I just wished I had brought a blanket out with me….it was chilly!
We did some typical PEI tourist things, like Green Gables and Avonlea Village, both stops I would highly recommend. Hannah fell madly in love with Anne, of course and plans on being Anne for Halloween this year. One thing about going in September is how quiet it is, but it is also a bad thing as so many attractions and places are closed for the season already. PEI’s tourist scene has changed so much from when Michael and I would’ve gone as children…..no more Rainbow Valley! No trip to PEI was complete without a trip there!
The highlight for me, besides the beach, was an off-the-beaten-path stop at the Glass Houses in Cape Egmont. It was simply amazing to see these building made out of so many glass bottles. And to learn some of the history of them. But, I have to tell you, it was the gardens that blew me away. So beautiful and so well maintained. I think I’ll do a post solely on the flowers and gardens there…..I took a pile of pictures!
Our last stop on PEI was to get some Cows Ice Cream. Oh my, so delicious! The perfect way to end our trip!
I hope you all managed to find some time to get away with your family and play tourist somewhere special! We all need a little down time!
To be continued,
Lori
You know how it is when company is coming, you get the urge to spruce things up! My cousin’s wife, Erin, made another trip East from Alberta to see us. I first met her last summer at the Daling Family Reunion and we just clicked. So, I knew when she was coming that it was time that the back bedroom got pulled together a little more.
Here’e the space July of 2014:
When we first moved in this room had green shag carpet, flat paint on the walls { read:unwashable } so it had a fresh coat of paint on the walls and trim done plus the shag carpet got pitched out the window. So, really, it needed a little TLC and personality…but with a very low budget….
Here is what the space looked like on September 6th…..messy, disorganized and I was using the bed as my clean laundry pile…..
With the computer in this space, I need it to be way more organized and tidy looking if guests are going to be staying in this space, too. Who knew I was holding onto so many papers that I really didn’t need!?!? When I first set up this space, I was using a cheap shoe storage unit to divide up my papers by ‘job’ {that deserves a whole other blog post!!} and then I had a book case that I thought I’d like to use but it took up twice the floor space to do exactly the same job and looked way messier doing it! So, I needed to rethink that….
Enter the retro bookcase I bought a few months back for the Homegrown Vintage Market!! It didn’t sell at that market so it went back into storage in the loft. But, seems as though it was perfect for this job! Now my papers are very organized and accessible and they also allowed me to add some pretty storage in the form of an old wooden parts box that came out of my Dad’s machine shed.
I also switched out a post office box I had painted for an old window frame that I had made over. This gives me a place to stick inspirational goodies, special notes or to jot myself a quick note on the chalk board. I added my ‘Bloom’ print I picked up at Inkwell in Halifax a few years back, along with an old silver trophy and a sweet little marbled box Lena made me that holds the world and a little note. And then, there is my collection of notes stuck to the wall….I love my post-it notes!!
I also switched out my proper desk chair, that was given to me a very long time ago in favour of an old wooden desk chair that came to me from a friend in Cape Breton. I’m trying it out to see how comfortable it is and how well it works for me. See, one of the other things that happened in this re-do is the bedroom door finally got hung. It is behind the computer area so the door comes into the room, into the space where the chair would normally slide back…so we’ll have to see how it all works.
So far, the make over cost me $0. I like that, seems to fit into my budget for this room quite well.
Then, there is the bed side of the room. Rusty orange curtains had to stay for now, I bought them for our bedroom but I didn’t like them there so they got bumped back here. I wanted a cozy rug so my persian rug got moved from my room into here and I do love it in here. I tried so many different blankets, bedspreads and ended up back at the start with a Ralph Lauren duvet cover I got years ago at Frenchy’s with another blanket folded at the bottom that also come from a thrift store. I did end up buying a new set of sheets but only because I had lost the pillow case for the sheets that were on the bed and to buy new pillow cases cost the same as the new, pretty-coloured sheets…a whooping $15!! And Lena wanted a candle in the room for Erin, too, so we spent $1 on that….
This bed is so cozy, tucked into the eaves. It’s a great place to read in the afternoon or watch the sunset. This bedroom has one of the best views, looking west over Nuttby Mountain. It also looks out over our side yard so it has the view of the barn, garden and driveway. It’s a small room, but I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
The art work above the headboard is by two of my favourite people! Mary-Beth gave me the lower painting years ago and it remains one of my favourite, in fact, up until now, it was in the living roombut got shuffled when we bought a new cabinet. The upper one is by my very own Lena. <3
The bedside table is an old dresser that belonged to my mother. I’ve lugged that thing everywhere I’ve lived! I topped it off with a yard sale lamp that I bought this summer, not sure if it was for sale or for me….I guess it’s for me now!! My little Raku chick dish is paired with a pottery vase that I found at yet another thrift store in town. The fox picture is actually a hand made card that Janice sent me from yet another friend in Cape Breton who co-owns The Two Macs store in Margaree. I loved it so I framed it and it found its new home tucked in the back bedroom. The fabric is a napkin….but I loved the colours when I saw it so it came home a few years ago.
Oh, this wall and its random cupboard!! I’m not even sure what to say about it. But there it is. Another framed card from Jennifer at The Two Macs, this time a clothes line with a hotly discussed bikini or bra….scandalous according to my girls!! Some good reads and our little candle rest under my grandmother’s rug beater. I love having random things from my grandparents homes, makes me smile.
Lastly, we have a bad picture of a cute chair. {my lens was covered in salt spray, thus the cloudy haze at the top and poor lighting didn’t help either!!} The chair story is kind of funny….Alena sent me the link to a local FB Buy & Sell group and I messaged the lady who listed these chairs and low and behold, I knew her mother-in-law as she used to live on the farm I grew up on!! Small world!! Anyway, these chairs sat in the loft for awhile until I decided that this chair would be more practical than the rocking chair I had in here. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love rocking chairs, but they take up space, need a flat surface and don’t hold laundry well. So, this chair got painted Artissimo {lightened mildly} and then the seat got upholstered in a chenille bedspread remnant. I love it!! It suits the room and adds a nice comfort level to the space, too. The pillow is one that I made years ago when I upholstered our living room chair in that stripe.
So, there you have it. A $16 decorating job done in just over a week that freshens that sweet, little bedroom up for our special Alberta guest! I hope you enjoyed the tour!!
To be continued,
Lori
PS – Now I want to do our bedroom over!! Stay tuned…….
The other day when we were wandering through the garden, this is what I saw:
A HUGE dragonfly on a huge sunflower!
Upon closer inspection, I saw this guy moving around slowly under the weight of all that pollen oon the same flower!
Isn’t nature so amazing?!?!
To be continued,
Lori
The garden is growing and we are starting to be able to eat the fruits of our labour. I love watching tiny sprouts grow into plants and then bloom. Those blooms turn into small, little versions of tastier, more mature versions of vegetables. And then, finally, that time when you wander through the garden and pluck veggies ready to be eaten.
We aren’t feeding a nation, we aren’t even storing things up for the winter, but we do add a little ‘farm fresh’ to our meals. Or maybe even a little snack as we wander. And it feels good!
The grape vines that were planted by the previous owner are so flush with grapes this year! Aren’t they gorgeous!?!?!? They are still pretty sour and I hope they get a chance to sweeten before the raccoons get them. You’d think they’d leave enough for us but…..they are greedy little fellows!
And the apples!!! Oh my!! We have so many apple trees in our yard and the trees are laden with apples this year!! This apple tree has apples without spots, the majority of the apples have spots but we don’t spray them so spots it is. It doesn’t make any difference to the deer that live around here. It’s nothing to see deer wander through the yard or find evidence of them having visited.
I’m enjoying the yard and all it has to offer us. This is our first full summer here and even though there’s work involved, I wouldn’t trade it for anything!
To be continued,
Lori