Here, there and everywhere

Isn't that a song lyric? Beatles maybe?
Anyway that's where I seem to have been since the last post. Toronto, Niagara on the Lake, Collingwood, Creemore, Spalding and as it is August 1st on Sunday, I now find myself in Edinburgh. For the last 20 something years, we are always in Edinburgh for the first weekend of August - it's to do with my husband's business and there are some traditions that you just cannot fight against. And with the shopping in Edinburgh, who would want to? In the morning it will be breakfast, a taxi into town, Cath Kidston, Jigsaw, The White Company followed by lunch in Harvey Nichols then down to their Nails Inc Champagne bar for a 3-week manicure! ...... So fairly predictable just need to decide on a nail colour.

I only arrived back in the UK on Wednesday morning but it seems like months since I was in Canada. Whilst I was there a did promise the possibilty of a new location. Here it is.

And here is the exterior ...........

To you and I - it's a guard's van but in Canada, it's a Caboose!  Very snug and romantic with room enough for two - details on the website shortly.

The other place we found was a winery - Coffin Ridge. I know it doesn't sound romantic but it was just SO beautiful, fun and well thought out. I'm not certain where the name came from so I am doing some research on the area. In the meantime here are some pictures

Oh, the other thing I forgot to mention, is their fab wine! Back from the Dead Red, Into the Light White and Resurrection Rose to name three! There wasn't one that we tasted that we didn't like and since I don't usually drink red wine and Rob doesn't usually like rose, that is really saying something! [Another song lyric there, must be my mood.] 

Defo more to come on Coffin Ridge Winery.

Postscript to clothes line comments earlier

It's the same principle as a static clothes line but you have a circle of line over two pulley wheels. You hang an item on the line and then pull an empty part of the line closer to you to hang the next item on. The really good bit though is that as the sun moves around, you move the line to keep everything in the sun. Simple - haha!!

Here are the photos .....

So one end attached to the house, the other to the shed.

Hang washing near the house,

then when it's all on,  move it further towards the shed

or back to the house to keep in the sun!

So there you have it. Just a simple thing that makes hanging washing on the line a little easier! I can HEAR the kids groaning at me.

From the place where people dream big ......

You guessed it! I'm in Ontario. Oh I SO love it here. It hot - mid 20's forecast going higher towards the end of the week. Last night there was a spectacular storm, I sat on the deck with a couple of friends for the best free light show in town. We should have been learning to dance - see JUST A THOUGHT at the side of the page!

This evening I am going to talk to the owners of a new venue. It's really neat and will make a wonderful getaway wedding spot for two. It's not maybe what you would expect from a weding venue but it's great fun and very different. If all goes to plan, I'll post some photos tomorrow but for the time being this is a peak at the local countryside.  The photos are from the local BIA group & flikr page.

Wednesday, I'm scheduled to meet my husband and some friends at the airport and then we are heading down to Niagara Falls, Niagara on the Lake & wine country. Again there are some stunning wedding locations so although I am officially our friends'  tour guide, I will be keeping an eye open for really special places.

At the end of the week, we will be visiting the Collingwood Elvis Festival which is a great 3-day [Friday, saturday & Sunday] celebration of Elvis. There are sound alikes, look alikes and even some who look and sound alike! I know that they are looking at incorporating weddings next year; so watch this space for news if you fancy being serenaded or even MARRIED by Elvis!

I'm now off to play with my clothes line! Will post a photo of it later so you can see what I mean. Have a good day!

Words

Today is a day ..... my daughter had a poetry book when she was younger that had a poem in that started with these words. I can't find it. It will annoy me and I will keep looking until I find it.

Thinking about it leads me to ask - are you a picture person or a word person?

I thought I knew which I was but while we were compiling the website, I looked through hundreds, if not thousands of photographs and read even more words. Sometimes the images were highly evocative and would have needed sentences to describe them. Sometimes there were words that no picture could quite express. I think maybe the mood of the day has a lot to do with it.

So here are some words because today is a day for words.

 
 
And in the time that it has taken me to do this, I have had a reply to my text. The book is no longer with me, it is with Hannah. So ..... ?  It was her book and I'll just have to get a copy of my own!
 
In the meantime here  is the today poem. I can't believe there will ever be just one image for it.
 

Butterflies not Flowers

I had decided to feature flowers today but then I saw butterflies! Floraltrims is an American company but they do ship internationally and have some beatiful feather butterflies.

Obviously, it's a big deal to make the cover of any magazine but to make it to Martha Stewart's front cover in the States is well - like winning the world cup!

These are some other of their butterflies that have 'made Martha' !

and a couple I found whilst browsing their product list

and a garland

They have lots of other wedding decor items as well. I think it would work out quite expensive to ship small quantities but they're good for ideas.

Will probably do flowers tomorrow.

Ontario, Canada

Today I am worried that Ontario is not a well known place. In fact I'm worried that British people in general don't know much about Canada. I always get the same answers when I ask what people know about the country. Niagara Falls is a definite, Calgary sometimes [the Stampede?], Winnipeg frequently - but the name of a province or territories?

Canada is very big [and that is not an understatement. For example, from Vancouver (British Columbia) on the west coast to Saint John's (Newfoundland and Labrador) on the extreme east cost, it's 3110.5 miles; whilst the distance from London UK to Saint John's is only 2322  miles. That's why you'd get an odd look if you asked someone from Ontario [east coast] if they might know your second cousin who lives in Vancouver. Would you expect someone from London to know your second cousin from Newcastle and just how far is that? 283 miles

Then there is the thing about Canada and snow. Not all of Canada is covered in snow all of the time. The town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is actually further south than Cannes. We expect the South of France to be hot so why not Canada? I've just got these two temperature maps from the internet and you can see that the temperatures were slightly higher in Canada at lunchtime today.

In winter, it is the other way round. I was never good at Geography at school so I can't tell you why. Something to do with land mass heating and cooling maybe? Having said that I was never good at Geography [which is true], the only thing that I do remember being taught was the names of the Great Lakes. How odd I should fall in love with Canada so many years later. Might even look out my old school report and see what was said about my geog skills - that they werre non-existant probably!

So - lecture over, school's out and I'm looking forward to next Wednesday when I will be on a flight bound for? How did you guess? Toronto and then a drive onward to Collingwood on the shore of Georgian Bay. Hope there's a cool breeze off the lake [Huron !]. It's currently 6.27pm and 22c. Taken a peek at the town webcam and it looks glorious. Can't wait.

Some comings and goings of the people who make up Maple Leaf Weddings

I've been away for a few days in Leeds - a fab city and also visited Harrogate which is quite nice [use Mary Poppins accent for the last two words]. I visited my 'baby' and her baby, also her partner. The time just flew by so fast and now I am back at my desk trying to get into work mode.

I saw quite a few pretty things but was really in Gramma mode so they were mainly in the Little White Company and Baby Gap. I did however buy a sign to hang up when I don't want to be disturbed.

Will let you know if it's effective when I have tested it!

I then bought a 'Pretend Mousehole'. Yup that's right, in fact I bought one and then went back and got three more! They are so ...... One was for Ivy [my granddaughter], one for a friend in Canada who may give it to her granddaughter or may keep it in her house, one is for my grandsons who are moving to Madeira shortly so it's something to take from Gramma to their new house and the last one is for me.  The two girls [cos I just know Chris will give hers to Sophie] have got pretty mice, the boys have the one of the Rest Room  and I have the one in the Study. Can only show you 3 cos Ivy kept hers.

If you like the look of them Parma Violet in Kirkby Lonsdale stocks them and does mail order. There are  other cool bits on there as well.

However, all this aside,  the most important thing about this weekend  is that I have found out that my 'baby' really is mine! Sounds strange I know but staying in her home, her own environment, has highlighted some likenesses that I hadn't realised were there. We both like buttons and ribbon, we both have a thing about ANYONE reading, flicking through or even handling our magazines before we have read them, we love to shop and don't care if we don't buy anything, we both decided we needed a proper camera (not just a phone one) and to learn how to use it within days of each other! In fact we seemed to spend a lot of time saying "Me, too".

Some of Hannah's buttons

I make no apology for the lack of wedding talk on here today. Except, look at the colours of the buttons on the red card - they'd make a lovely Autumnal colour scheme and I think the shades of teal would go well with a dark orange shade. Maybe Hannah will make me a couple of mood boards or colour palettes. Don't think she has a lot to do at the moment and she's not due back to work for months. It was a lovely weekend and after saying that I hope I'm allowed to go again. Good job she has my sense of humour!

Happy Birthday, eh!

Today's the day when Canada is officially 143 years old. Everything is closed while people party in celebration - and Canadians sure know how to party! In the UK they have taken over Trafalgar Square and it looks like being a great day there - so wish I could make it. Take a look here http://www.canadadaylondon.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=frontpage&Itemid=1

When I'm in Ontario I love seeing the Maple Leaf flying sometimes along with the Ontario flag and that's in people's own garden! Some even go a step further and fly the flag of the country their ancestors came from! There  is a tremendous national pride that makes me all warm and fuzzy, even to the point of thinking about a flagpole in my garden here. Then I get back into the UK and think right, we won't be having a flag in the garden. Just doesn't work. I'm fairly sure it was Miss Pickering who was saying early in June that flags elsewhere seem fine but here they're not quite right [or words to that effect].

Anyway Canada Day works in Canada and in Trafalgar Square! Have a good one wherever you are.

My granddaughter's Canada Day attire!