From Long Ago ....

Love the vintage Halloween postcards that many

friends have posted on FB and other social media

tools. I love the sentiment in the wording and the

sweet art that would have been so popular, long ago!

Happy Halloween ....

~ Chy

Irish Pub.

Our favorite Irish Pub in Victoria.

Authentic, cozy and amazing food.

Outside was too chilly this time so in

we ventured. Our favorite spot was full.

We love sitting in the snug, with its

own fireplace and windows to the street.

But we were able to sit close by and order

quickly without a wait at all for our drinks.

Just what we needed after trekking

around town looking for wedding rings.

A spot to rest my weary feet and relax.

A nice atmosphere and great hosts.

Eggs Benedict with the best Caesar

Salad. Perfect on a cold Sunday morning.

My guy loved his Fish and Chips and

was very glad he only ordered 1 piece.

Every time we head to the coast, we

visit this pub and it's never let us down!

~ Chy

Lapping Waves.

After we left our little island, we

spent some time in Victoria and

headed to Sidney By The Sea to

shop and hike down to the ocean.

It was chilly and windy, so the waves were so

loud and lapping along the shoreline to my toes!

Our 1st stillborn son, Bretton. We wrote his

sweet name in the sand and watched it disappear.

Our 1st stillborn daughter, Ciara. What we

do in memory of Bretton, we do for Ciara.

It didn't take long but soon both their names

were just memories in our minds and hearts.

Petrified logs along the beach, as Ciara's

precious name washes back out to the sea. 

Perfect hole in the log. Seaweed and shells

dot the landscape. We picked some sea glass.

Soon it was too cold and we needed to find

a warm place to sit and watch the lapping waves.

~ Chy

The Best News.

Had my annual mammogram on Tuesday,

late in the afternoon. Today, I received a

big letter in the mail from our local health

authority, letting me know the final results

of this tense exam. I'm happy to report that

at this time, I am NOT 1 in 8 women who

will receive a breast cancer diagnosis in

their lifetime. I'm relieved but have had

many women in my mind today as I waited

for any news. Relieved and humbled ....

~ Chy

Halloween Cookies.

 

Dh decided he needed cookies for when

his buds were coming over for a recording.

Dd, aka mama, is the expert cake baker

and decorator in the house and joined in.

Grandbaby was happy to help out with

decorating once the mama did the icing.

Cookies were a great hit, the night before

Halloween, while they recorded a podcast.

Did you have cookies on Halloween?

Or just chocolate and sweet candy?

~ Chy

1st Watercolor.

I'm just learning, so be patient with me!

Trying to capture the Alliums we grew.

~ Chy

Who Knew ....

.... that a plant that was almost dead

would instead revive and thrive itself

when I placed it in a very out of the

way spot. This area gets nice morning

light and then the rest of the day, it's

filtered as the sun moves around the

house. Who knew this finky plant in

the end would love a corner, on a shelf!

~ Chy

New Additions.

I've had such good luck this year finding

more bits and pieces of my favorite dishes,

Lace Cream by Skye McGhie. I love the

lacey edges and the creamy, soft color.

If you look on the bottom shelf, there is

now a sweet baby dish with 3 divided

sections, behind it is the matching baby

cup with 2 handles and on the left, by

the big platter is a lovely butter dish. I

am so excited to have these new pieces.

~ Chy

Vintage Desk.

 

I love my vintage writing space.

So dreamy, quiet and inspiring.

Nooks and crannies to store tiny

items I cherish. Or need as I write.

To my left, my favorite chair and

a picture gifted by my parents. My

grandparents vintage lamp and our

son't Celtic harp. A favorite corner.

To my right, a peek in to the turret

with all it's windows. Lovely light

and a great visual distraction when

I need a bit of a break from writing.

~ Chy

Garage Update.

Our garage is now painted, with a finished

textured ceiling. On the weekend, we laid

out the vinyl flooring that is covering up

the ugly concrete. And then we hung up

the blinds on two of the four windows. The

oval window won't have any covering

so just three sets of blinds. This weekend,

we'll be unloading the outside bin and

setting up the workshop and filling up

the storage room. Can't wait to be done!

~ Chy

Concentration Kid.

Here he is again, concentrating on his reading. The room is so quiet! He was waiting for his hockey coach and had to finish reading later in the day after this picture was taken. We used to chat in the car all the time but not that he's discovered the joy of reading, he brings a book into the car every time. Now our car rides are even quiet. If I start to talk, he tells me "gramma, stop! I'm reading." All righty then!

Today was busy. We had to be up early to get the grandbaby ready for his hockey evaluation. Mama worked a 12 hour shift last night, so she came home just as we got up. Off to nap she went for a few hours. We fed him, got all his hockey gear ready and then went out to our garage to do more work in it before the snow arrives. Our garage contents are sitting in the POD on our driveway. We had our contractor tape, mud, sand then paint our walls and texture the ceiling of the garage. Looks so amazing now! We ordered a vinyl product that lays flat on the floor and looks great as well. Today we laid the flooring out, placed the large metal shelving unit where dh's workshop will go, and rearranged the few items we do have in the garage. We also washed the windows, then installed 2 of the 3 blinds on 2 of the 3 windows. After grandbaby was picked up, we tidied up, had showers and then headed down the highway to pick up an item I bought off Marketplace. New pieces for my Cream Lace collection of china. I'll post pics at some point. After that drive, we headed back in to the City and met up with mama and grandbaby for his hockey game. We had a lot of fun chatting with the other parents/grandparents and I even got to hold, rock and play with the sweetest new baby. The game was really good, we won 10 to 0 but I did feel bad for the other team. Our kids did really well. After we said our goodbyes, we headed back to our little hamlet, stopped to get water, groceries and then treated everyone to warm hot chocolates from Timmies. By now, the sun we had earlier had disappeared, the clouds moved in and by the time we were heading home, there were some flakes swirling around us as we drove down the highway. Home looked so good when we came down the driveway. Unloaded our groceries and the water bottle, took the garbage bins down the lane and then settled in to make dinner. So yummy, again! And tonight, I've done my mom's laundry, wrote half of a grant for 2020, answered emails and texts, and watched an episode of "Escape to the Country," another of "Unexpected" and once grandbaby is asleep, we're going to head to bed as well to watch the first episode of a new series our son recommended. We just finished the 2nd Season of "Succession" and it was amazing!! Can't wait for Season 3 but that looks like it won't be until sometime next Summer. Such a long wait but it will be worth it in the end.

How was your Sunday?

Busy like ours or restful?

~ Chy

Early Dusk.

It's getting darker and darker, earlier

and earlier each day. This is 6 p.m.

Next week, we change our clocks back.

Soon it will be dark by 4ish. Yuck ....

We keep our night time activities in the

Fall very limited so we can stay home.

A nice cozy house, a warm fireplace,

family and a good movie to watch are

all we need when the light fades and

we retreat back inside. Happy Fall!

~ Chy

Concentration.

Our little guy reading on his iPad after

dinner one night. His concentration is

so good that we have to almost jump up

and down to get his attention. Sweet boy!

~ Chy

Homey Fall.

Fall around the house. Just two pictures

tonight but the two I like the most of all.

We found this Fall pillow at M's on a great

sale a couple of weeks ago. I truly never

thought about buying a "Fall pillow" but

this one was too cute to pass up. No regrets.

The green basket on our mantel was a thrift

store find for $2 originally but it was a half

price day, so $1. No arguments from me. I

love the weave and the color works perfectly

with our style. Lots of tiny pumpkins and

Fall flowers round out the look for our home. 

~ Chy

Miniature Project.

At the Dollhouse Show back in September, we

met a lovely lady who makes these neat boxes

to decorate. I work on dollhouses on my own

but dh and I came up with the idea to create a

project together. So we chatted with Erika and

then ordered our box. We decided on a bakery

and the rest of the time spent at the show was

finding items for our new project. It was a lot of

fund but we had to wait for the box to be done.

I picked it up a couple of weeks ago, in the rain. 

Isn't it sweet? We'll paint it up but she already

put wallpaper inside for us. Pictures to follow.

The back I'm going to take off and attach it to

the side. I think it will be easier than trying to

prop it up to work on the inside all the time. I

do want to hang pictures or shelves on the back.

Our together project to work on over the Winter,

instead of working on work. Excited to tackle this.

~ Chy

Enjoy!

And I did. Cause if you tell me to, I

will do my best. A treat from my dd.

~ Chy

Nature Works.

 

Even though we're home now, safe, sound and warm, I have lots of memories to share about our island vacation. I will apologize in advance for spreading these memories throughout the rest of October as I sift through our pictures and add words to the images. Bear with me!

One of my favorite stores on the island is called Nature Works. It reminds me quite a bit of our Planet Organic store back home. Nature based food items and products that don't contain chemicals. My kind of store, my kind of eating! I love the atmosphere too. Kind of like shopping at one of the old stores we used to go to when I was small and we spent Summers at the lake. Everything was wood, the door was screened and you took your groceries home in a basket or a paper bag. So earthy, so natural. Just the way life should be!

~ Chy