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...a glimpse into life on Vancouver Island, needle felting, photography, food, gardening, etcetera...etcetera
"Happiness always looks small when you hold it in your hands, but let it go, and at once you learn how big and precious it is."
Maxim Gorky

Friday, March 15, 2013

Song for Friday...for the Irish in all of us

 
Seems like on March 17th nearly everyone lays claim to
have some sort of Irish blood flowing through their viens.
And if you do...be proud!
It's a grand thing to know that some of your ancestors are of
this brave and ancient heritage.
Although this song may have Scottish origins, I heard it
featured in a movie the other night called "Agnes Browne".
A funny, tender movie set in Dublin in the '60's
 staring Angelica Houston (with her well put on Irish accent)
who plays a widow with 7 children.
She barely earns enough money with her market stall but still
manages to keep the family afloat all the
while dreaming of seeing Tom Jones in concert and dodging the local loan shark.
This song is played during a tender moment between
her best friend Mary and herself.
I love this rendition by Canadian singer Laura Smith.
Who would know better on how to sing this song
but a lady who married a lighthouse keeper and moved to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia?
So enjoy being green this Sunday and enjoy this lovely song...
Have a great weekend all!
 
 


Tuesday, March 12, 2013

One of those days...

It's the kind of day that you know even before you
draw back the curtains that it's a wet one...
 the heavens have opened up and the rain is pouring out...
The kind of day when you turn on the lights in every corner...
The wood stove stoked up...
My little studio awaits me with open arms on days like this, projects on the go...
Griffin is more than content on his puffy bed inside, lazy daisy, although being a dog,
he will eventually brave the deluge and we'll go for our daily walks...
When I was a girl my mom kept a "rainy day box".
It was full of little treasures, toys and games and we were only allowed to
open this box on a day where we couldn't go outside.
A 'snow day' or a day like today.
There was no watching daytime t.v.
In fact I think we only had 2 channels back then...CBC, home of 'Mr Dressup' and 'The Friendly Giant' and WKBW Buffulo, New York, home of 'Commander Tom' and 'Movie for
a Sunday Afternoon'.
I must admit though, on days like these I've been known to hunker down with
a good movie (or most recently "Downton Abbey"!) 
for a few hours while working on some needle felting.
But I've also got a great stack of books to read.
I just finished "State of Wonder" by Anna Patchett and feel
filthy rich to know I have not one but 5 books on deck
to choose from!
I'm listening to KING FM, the classical radio station from Seattle and
the host just announced flood warnings for much of Western Washington.
I'm sure it will be the same for a lot of these parts up here in B.C.
So that's what it is.
A day like this.
Stay dry, stay warm and find comfort in a mug of tea and a book by the fire.
 
 
 
 
 


Monday, March 11, 2013

The reward...

Today was a grey, wet March day but it didn't stop Norene and I
from taking the dogs to the beach...
It was one of those days where forever the lens on the camera
has raindrops on it and there's nothing you can do about it.
We have come for a ramble and the wet weather has made things shine in their own way.
The rain shows off the colours in the rocks beautifully...
...all sorts of treasures in fact are somehow more intense on this dull day..
Empty crab shells don vermilion coats...
...kelp all dressed in amber and ivory...
Whats left of the chiton mollusk shows off its robins egg blue interior and segmented outer shell...
 Lots of kelp anchored to rocks and shells...
Delicate pink kelp standing out on the pewter stones...
 The swirly grains on the driftwood, art in it's own right...
How about this odd little treasure that Norene spotted...
a rubber fish who had obviously been in the sea a while...
because it had a tiny shell attached to it's tail!
The seagulls didn't seem to mind the weather at all...
This giant log has been here forever it seems...ever since I can remember it's been
 anchored in the rocks...
But all of this hard walking for half an hour on big slippery rocks was not done for nothing.
You see, we came to get a reward .
Can you see them in the distance?
The big, wide low growing grey bush up ahead is full of...
Pussy willows!!
Big fat fuzzy ones!!!
We picked till we couldn't fit anymore in our hands...
All in all a most gratifying walk even on a miserable March day such as this.