Ice Storm

Woke up this morning to the sounds of branches snapping

under the weight of the ice that covered them.

Outside it is a winter wonderland. Beautiful but deadly.

Many branches are touching the ground, they are so bent under the weight

of the ice on them.

Our road is icy, but once you get to the main road it is just wet

 because they have been heavily salted.

We went out & couldn't even buy any salt, they were sold out everywhere.

Some people are without power & may not get it back till after Christmas day!

My Mom's condo is running on generator power.

Thank goodness we have power.

Here are some pictures of the world outside our house.

Everything is encased in layer of ice.

Hopefully we don't get any more of this freezing rain or more trees

will be damaged.  : (

Photo with Santa 2013

Well since the boys are away at university, we took our other son

to get a photo taken with Santa.  : )

Fall Decor Inside

I didn't do a lot of decorating inside, but put a few touches here & there.

Front entry way.

Centre piece for the table. I got the turquoise apple at Home Sense, the platter

at Indigo Chapters & the leaves are actually real leaves preserved,

from Michaels Crafts. The pine cones I picked up off a

neighbour's lawn when I walked the dog.  : )

By the fire side, apple picking basket from Tuliptree & Saga, 

filled with faux apples from Pier 1.

In the kitchen, my apothecary jars filled with pot pourri

from Home Sense. One bag filled all 3 jars. 

I added a few pine cones to even it out.

Faux pears from Michaels.  : )

Fall Decor Outside

I decorated outside for Fall. This year I thought it was time for some new decorations.

I bought a couple of new wreaths from Home Sense to hang on the doors.

I took the old garland & put it in my wall box. Then I added some plants from the garden,

& a couple of faux gourds that I painted white with chalk paint.

I got this great barrel from my neighbour who was throwing it out!

I got two planters from Longo's to put on my wheel barrow & in my urn.

Got a couple of Kale plants from Longo's too. I love the purple centres!  : )

≈

Pear Raspberry Cobbler

I had some pears from my CSA box & since I was the only one home to eat them,

I was afraid they would go bad before I could eat them all.

I was talking to my mother in law & she sent me a recipe for Pear Raspberry cobbler.

I made the recipe the next day & boy was it good!

Of course since I ended up eating it all myself. But not all at once! : )

Thanksgiving & Doug's Birthday

This year we combined Thanksgiving with Doug's Birthday celebration.

His parents were visiting from BC for the weekend so it was

nice that they could share in both while they were here.

The boys were home from University and  

my Mom & brother came as well.

We had a big Turkey dinner followed by Birthday cake & Pumpkin pie.

Mocha got a little taste of Turkey & then relaxed for the rest of the evening.  : )

Souvenirs from Finland

My husband went to Finland for his EMBA course with 5 colleagues.

He stayed in Helsinki for 10 days. He had to visit a felt boot factory in the 

countryside in a tiny town called Jamsa for their Global project.

I asked him to bring me back something that was from Finland.

I looked online & found Finland is known for Marimekko designs.

This is what he brought me back.

Beautifully wrapped.

A lovely tray & dish towels. I love the design & colours.

The ceramic cup has a felt warmer which was made by hand at the felt boot factory.

They also made some bags & purses too. Very Finnish, very cool!  : )

Surprise Birthday Party for Margo!

This summer we organized a surprise Birthday party for

our friend & colleague, Margo.

Even though it was August the weather was unseasonably cool,

 so we had to have it indoors.

At least she was surprised!

We all worked at Mastermind together at some point.

Now only 4 of us are still there but we keep in touch

& remain good friends.  : )

The whole gang!

Birthday girl.

Dexter was so cute with his owl toy.  : )

Fan Expo 2013

My younger son has gone to Fan Expo downtown for the past two years. 

He dresses up & makes his costumes by hand. 

This year he went as a character from a game called Dark Souls.

This character is a knight called Solaire. 

He said many people recognized his costume & took pictures of him.

This is a typical pose for this character in the game.

He had a great time. His friend went as Han Solo from Star Wars.  : )

New Pillow

I went to my friend's cottage & of course we went shopping!

We were in Port Carling & there are some nice shops there. I bought this

pillow in the half price room of Muskoka Living Interiors Inc.

What a great store!

Not only does it have a chocolate doggie on it, it goes perfectly with

my Jackson plaid pillows. Who says burgundy & red don't go together!  : )

Gurgle Pot

Went to visit a friend in Cambridge for the day.

Of course we went shopping. There are some really nice shops in the old part of town.

We went to a shop called The Art of Home,  where I got a Gurgle pot. 

It is a beautiful turquoise colour. 

When you fill it half way & tip it up it will gurgle when you tip it back.

This version is an updated one based on an old design. 

I love the sculptural quality it has & it is great for watering the plants.

Along with the Gurgle pot I got this cute vintage stool 

which I am using as a table for my rocker on the porch.  

Oops. Mocha photo-bombed my shot! : )

Lake Rosseau

I had a great time at my friend's cottage on Lake Rosseau!

The weather was perfect, I went swimming twice. The water was refreshing

but not too bad once you got in!

We did some shopping of course but we also went for a canoe ride & later,

a boat ride down the lake to see some of the amazing cottages

on the lake. One of the cottages was a beautiful stone & board/batten

cottage on your own island! It was for sale for $2 million.

The reason for my interest was because it was designed & built

by my godfather Napier Simpson, a well known restoration architect &

Historic Society member, one of my Dad's best friends. Unfortunately

he was killed in a plane crash many years ago but his work

is still recognized & is always a selling feature of any property.

I named my second son after him, as I have very fond memories of him.

These pictures really don't do it justice. 

We couldn't get too close as there were people sitting outside.

The last shot is of the boat house. It had a large dock attached to the far side.