Under the Eaves.

Watching "Escape to the Country" while we

are tucked in to bed, under the eaves, waiting

for the Summer rain to start again. And looking

at sweet cottages for sale in the U.K. Dreaming!

~ Chy

End of Day.

Always my favorite time of day, even

when the sun doesn't shine through

the lacy curtains. A quiet time, full of

reflections of the day and plans for the

coming days ahead. Dreaming at the

end of day is worth the work all day.

What is your favorite time of day?

~ Chy

Garden Dreaming.

Every where we are, the talk is the Pandemic. I'm

finding it hard sometimes to get away from it all.

But with our cold snap this week and my attempt

to not listen to the numbers for a bit, I've started

to dream about our garden for this year. I've got a

bit of a plan and my mood has already improved!

What do you do to think about something else?

~ Chy

Puppy Dreaming.

Our tiny puppy, Celtic Raine (aka Celti) died in the Fall

of 2014. We had her for 16 years and it was a big loss

for all of us. At the time, I said I couldn't live through

another puppy loss. Celti brought so much joy to all of 

us and our home seemed so empty once she was gone.

For the longest time, we didn't venture into any chats

about a new puppy. But recently, in the last little while,

that has changed. Now we're thinking about a sweet

tiny pup we could nurture from puppy stage again. I

would love one just like the picture above. I'm even

looking in to pet therapy to see if I could train it to be

a staple at our hospice in time. Lots of dreaming now!

~ Chy

Wishing ....

Please know as I write this post today, that I am eternally grateful for all that I have. An amazing and eclectic family (we are NOT boring at all!), a career I could have never dreamt of having (but it fell in my lap and I cherish it daily), a beautiful country to live in (how did we get so lucky to live in Canada?), a sweet little cottage to live in (that we designed and are still amazed we're out in the woods in a beautiful area), an abundance of extended family and a small circle of friends. Good health, though this week we're both still battling chest infections so yeah, we're not 100% but almost better. So why would I put up a graphic that says "Wishing" you may wonder. Because despite all of this, I'm human and on occasion, I wonder what life would be like if I could live in paradise? What would it be like to wake up to ocean waves each day? To rare snow and the sunniest place in our country, all year round? To growing flowers and veggies, all year round? To live minimally, simply, because out here, that is how life works? This is the "Wishing" I'm doing while we temporarily become Islanders on our favorite little rock in the world. This is a true, heavenly paradise, to us.

Can you imagine having this view every night when you sit outside on the veranda? I love my view at home but it's missing the sea! And during the long Winter months when snow crowds our landscape, we don't get too many chances to sit out on the veranda watching the sun set. To spend the day in the garden, harvesting year round lavender, then trekking in to town for an organically grown dinner, or stopping at the Farmer's Market to pick up yummy snacks, homegrown, and not just once a week. To live where there is passion all the time, not just with issues but true community spirit. We often feel like we're the only ones who speak up and out, but here, everyone is an activist, a realist. You have to choose to live on an island as it does have it's downside, so there are things you give up. 

We didn't move out here when we were 18 because we knew a family was going to be a top priority for us and having family close by was key to our survival at the time. Yes, we would have built family out here but we also both did our post secondary in our late 20's and at the time, before Internet, there was no way to get a uni education on this tiny island. That would have meant a move to the mainland and having lived in Greater Vancouver, it wouldn't have been the best choice then. So we stayed landlocked, where we had no Provincial Sales Tax, amazing supports, clean living, great paying careers, fantastic schooling for both our kids as well as ourselves, and opportunities that wouldn't have existed on an island. No regrets for staying. 

But now each time we visit our rock, we wonder "could we now live out here?" and the answer is always a move closer to yes. Not yet, as we're still both immersed in our work. And we're not done that part of our life just yet. However, we can still dream and explore so when the time is right, when the pieces fall in to place, when the Universe opens the possibility up further, we'll be ready. We know which side of the island we'd want to live on, having stayed in a number of different locations to see where the best sunsets are, where the best roads are, etc. We know which market we like the best, which book store, where to buy my art supplies, who stocks "Country Living ~ the British Edition", who carries my favorite ginger ale, who makes the best cranberry chicken ciabatta buns for lunch and when the fireworks go off on Canada Day. We know who runs the photography club and when they have their shows. And what to expect from the local theatre, Artspring. We know how the ER works here (yes, I've had a visit) and who to call if the Internet isn't working. We know that if the snow falls, the island stops, everyone stays home and if you need something, residents will respond with care and kindness. We're not yet ready to give up our family time, our work and our lives in our landlocked home but we can see maybe even buying a small cottage out here, overlooking the ocean and go back and forth, in time, when we can afford it, likely after selling our current home and using those funds for this dream. For now, it's an amazing place to visit and fit in, a place to write, paint, draw and dream, a place to go beyond our expectations and explore things we've not had a chance to do at home. We feel so fortunate to have both the current dream and the future dream and in time, the "Wishing" will become reality. A great wish to have!

Do you ever wish for another life experience?

Or are you content with life as it is now?

I'd love to hear about your wishes and dreams.

And hope you'll share here with all of us ....

~ Chy

Next House ....

I started a file for storing pictures when

I come across ideas for the next house.

Love this kitchen window looking out

over the garden. We won't be building

for a few more years yet, but I'm sure it

will take that long to find this window.

~ Chy

Inspiration.

After a very busy weekend, we decided

to treat ourselves with a greenhouse tour.

The pond is not looking healthy but

the rest of the landscape was amazing.

Many colors and inspiration ~ lots of

ideas to take home to our garden plans.

I hope one day to have beautiful and

colorful perennials filling our space.

My favorite of the day ~ a hosta that

is the opposite of the one we have.

White with green edges instead of

green with white edges. Sweet!

We finished off our tour looking at

various kinds of rose bushes to add

to the plan. I love the soft greens of

this one. It has light pink rose petals.

Spring Dreaming.

Welcome to the first day of Spring! I love this time of year when the days become longer, the sun brighter and our landscape comes alive with buds, birds and bees. Inside the house, I'm truly anxious to get outside and start our very first vegetable garden. However, here in Canada, it's going to take a while before we can start to "Spring" up our yard. For now, I'm content in decorating the inside of our home, brightening our space, while we wait for the green outside to hurry up. 

Building a new house is not a cheap venture, so we've been very careful and deliberate with our decorating. It takes time to decide where to place furniture, giving space for moving items around to try different configurations. Time to play with the decor we've accumulated over the years. And time to ensure we like what we have, as we have to live with our choices for a very long time. I'm a firm believer in not buying the cheapest piece of furniture or accessories but to invest in good solid items that will last through the years. That being said, it's always fun to add a new piece or two each season. I'm done my Spring cleaning and purging, so now I'm ready to figure out what I have for this bright season and what might be missing. In this month of bright and light, Wayfair asked bloggers to share their tips for Spring decorating and I've decided to join in by showing what I've found for our new home. Sometimes it's hard to determine what would look the best with our current stash so I'm very thankful for sites like Wayfair that not only have a million and one items (my guesstimate of course) to choose from, but they include wonderful articles on the site and a great spot to create your own Dream Board that will help you to find ways to brighten your home for Spring. 

For Spring, we're currently adding lace curtains to all our windows and that has really softened our home's look. Now I'm searching for some great area rugs to create a kinder landing for a feet. Our wood floors are lovely but having a carpet here and there is our next wish. In my board above, I found a wonderful patterned rug that comes in a variety of sizes, including a runner for our hall. The mix of brown and ivory fits so well with our color palette. I also found a light lilac rug that would be amazing in our guest bedroom. And some sweet accessories that are just so "Springy!" A rack with 3 terra cotta pots filled with lavender, a set of 3 bottles with whimsical touches and a vintage themed mirror for our back hall. Love them all! Finally, I chose a light sage colored coverlet set. Our current quilt set on our bed is my favorite of all time but because we have a Cali King, it doesn't hang down as low on the sides as we'd like. A coverlet set underneath would solve this problem and the one I chose above has a beautiful pattern. It would look so finished with the quilt on top, the coverlet in the middle and our lovely ruffled bed skirt down to the ground.

Wayfair always has great sales and now that I have my wish list set, I'll create our budget (frugal as it is) and then I'll be checking back often to see when the items I've chosen will be on sale. Until then, I can "Spring Dream" my wishes while I work with what we currently have. Hop over to Wayfair and put together your own Dream Board to create the light and bright Spring theme you'd like to see in your home. You won't be disappointed in your search. It's fun to look for items that complement your current decor and provide inspiration for your dreams.