"C" is for courage

For the letter "C"

I had originally planned to

write about the topic of colour.

aerial view of tulip fields in Holland

But the word courage kept popping into my mind. It seemed that the topic was finding me. So I decided to spend a bit of time contemplating the word courage.






The first thing that came to mind was the
cowardly lion, my first initiation to the
notion of courage, or lack of.

Cowardly Lion by Appel Jar

With colour still on my mind... I wondered if courage were a colour what colour would it be?

First thought - orange.  No, not grounded enough.

Red. Too strong, heavy...too much power.

Purple - yes.

Panama Pacific Waterlily by Linda Geeztoo

Purple, the perfect balance of red (groundedness and strength) and blue (clarity and openmindedness). To act with courage one needs to feel grounded and anchored - yet one also needs clarity, openess and a willingness to be guided. 

Here are some quotes and images I came across that spoke to me about courage.  

It Takes Courage by local wisdom cards

courage by skel design

Courage pastel drawing by Minerva Grace

It takes a lot of courage to release the familiar and seemingly secure, to embrace the new. But there is no real security in what is no longer meaningful. There is more security in the adventurous and exciting, for in movement there is life, and in change there is power.  

Alan Cohen

Be positive, patient, and persistent print by Truly Vera

There are times in life when we all need a little courage. So take a deep breath of purple and try again tomorrow.

"B" is for Birds, Buds and Blue Skies

"B" is for Birds, Buds and Blue Skies.

Chickadee Art Print by Art2ArtColorado

Blue Skies and Buds by Lesley Blayney

One of my favourite things about Spring is the return of the song birds. I love waking up to hear the first bird start singing, usually before the sun comes up. A single voice at first - then others joining in the chorus.

Such a peaceful and hopeful beginning to the day.

Art Print Robin There Is Always Happiness 

by gaylemontayostudio

Close your eyes and listen.

Amongst the new arrivals are red winged blackbirds, northern flickers, juncos, starlings, yellow and purple finch and of coarse the robins.

Red Winged Blackbird Print by Tammy Gravina

Northern Flicker greeting card by anagrampress

Pillow case Starling by Mirthquake

Black Eyed Junco, Limited Edition Print by badbird

 Last Spring we had the joy of watching a couple of Robins nest and then raise their young right outside our living room window.  It was such a delight to watch them grow from such tiny fragile chicks into  chubby active youngsters who barely fit in their nest. What an experience to see them finally make the leap from the branch to the ground and then wait and watch and wait for them to finally learn to take flight. Amazing! This year they have returned to the same nest - lucky us!

This Little Bird by RetrospectPhoto

Woolly Bird Nest and Eggs by woollysomething

Handmade Birds Nest With Felted Baby Robin by mountainhearth

Springtime Red Red Robin on Fence by CreationsAnew

"B" is for Beautiful

"A" is for Airstream

One might think that writing a blog is easy. I can sometimes find it a challenge to focus on a single topic since I often have so many ideas. To simplify I decided to use the alphabet as the foundation for guiding what I would write about in my blog.

Hence we begin with the letter 

"A" is for Airstream. 

Vintage Airstream Sunset 8x10 photograph

Lately I've been spending a lot of time daydreaming about what life would be like traveling the continent in an Airstream trailer with Robin and the dogs. For several years we have been wanting to plan a roadtrip across Canada and the U.S. with no schedule and no itinerary - living in the present, guided by intuition and spontaneity - a magical mystery tour.

 

Courtesy The Dude Abides Vintage

So the story goes like this. We travel where the road leads us shopping for cool vintage treasures which we then sell on our online Camp Ho-Ba-Chee shop. The perfect way to combine our travel adventure with our business dream. In our modern wireless world this dream is VERY possible and VERY appealing.

The Airstream would be our dream home away from home. The model I love and see us in is very swank, modern, and sophisticated - a perfect fit for my current mid mod leanings. With heat, air, shower, queen size bed, luxury appliances, tv, internet, a dining area doubling as an office, and on top of that an incredible panoramic view - all of this tastefully crammed into 25 feet.

Pictured above is the model we want. It's Airstreams "International" Designer Series by Christopher Deam. If you're interested here is a link to a Ted Talk where Christopher speaks about redesigning the Airstream.

We have this same photo on our visualization board - so stay tuned!

Vintage Airstream Living Reflections 8x10 Photograph

Who Loves Rhubarb?

Just posted my lastest Etsy treasury called Ready for Rhubarb. It presents a delicious array of work from artists as far away as Aukland, France and Wales as well as San Diego, San Francisco, Denver and Jersey City to name a few. 

I love the colours in Rhubarb - the fresh greens and the gorgeous pinks - such a beautiful combination. My favourite way to eat rhubarb is in Dorothy Ferguson's rhubarb custard pie - a slice of heaven! I also enjoy a bowl of fresh stewed rhubarb still warm - a perfect spring tonic.

Share what you like about rhubarb....

Treasure Hunting

Yesterday was my Birthday so we took the day off
to go treasure hunting. Knowing that it would be a
long day ahead with not much time for stopping, we decided to start the day off with breakfast at our local diner called Honey's. A couple of coffees and the breakfast special prepared us for the adventure ahead!

We decided to make our first stop LEGACY - Vintage Building Materials and Antiques in Cobourg. If you have never been there you have no idea what a cornucopia of architectural salvage awaits you. Wrought iron railings and gates, every kind of door imaginable, windows, door handles and knobs, lighting, bathtubs, and even the kitchen sink.

Here you will discover the unusual and the obscure as many of the pieces come from overseas.
A great place for inspiration. Once we win the lottery and start building our dream house we know where we'll come to shop for unique architectural details.

Come on in and take a tour with us.

Isn't this the greatest door handle! Details like this abound.

A feast for the eyes at every turn. 

These are just a few highlights 

that I'm showing. This place 

truly is overwhelming.

Couldn't you just swim in this blue?

Beautiful!

Magical!

A bitter, displaced Walmart greeter missing since the 80's. I guess she was a little too intense for Walmart. 

Our tour lasted a good couple of hours. We explored every nook and cranny from the dank basement (ew), to the dusty rafters, the creepy taxidermy section (double eww), as well as the back forty. Having left no stone unturned we loaded up the truck and we moved to Beverly .... 

Hills that is .... 

Swimming pools .... 

Movie Stars!

Part II to be continued.....

Spring In My Step

walk in the woods

snow melting

shadows and light

patterns

birds singing

sun feels warm

sound of wind high in the trees

happy dogs

hope in our hearts

roadtripping for antiques

SPRING is in the air and we were itching for a roadtrip. Loaded the dogs into the car, grabbed a Timmie's

 and the mother-in-law and hit the road.






Destination Fenelon Falls Ontario - aka Jewel of the Kawartha's - population 1,800.



Poked around a fun antique co-op there hoping to find fab pieces for our Camp Ho Ba Chee shop.

Found a great chrome breadbox in excellent condition from the 1950's, a lovely pair of Haeger bookends, an amazing lucite vase and a cute vintage plaid thermos.

Next stop Bobcaygeon (yes, the same Bobcaygeon as the Tragically Hip sing about - click here and sing along) where we visited a funky bookstore / coffee shop / antique shop. Kind of a cool concept. An odd, ecclectic atmosphere - but interesting.

Found a few more treasures here. A vintage glass juice carafe decorated with bright green limes, another red plaid thermos - a large one for two, and a little folk art wooden sign which we'll hang on the door of our summer shop.

What a fun day. Did the soul good. Stay tuned for more.....