The Segwun

The Segwun is a steam ship that cruises on Lake Muskoka, 

docked at the Gravenhurst wharf. Way back when the boat was powered by

paddlewheel, & was called the Nipissing, my great-grandfather

was the captain. The Segwun is the oldest Royal Mail boat still in service. 

Yes, you can still mail a letter right on board!

When I was at the Bracebridge Craft show this summer, I saw

an artist that painted on Muskoka granite & one of the scenes 

was of the Segwun. This one looks like a perfect Muskoka sunset cruise.

It makes a nice sentimental keepsake.  : )

Dress Form Pillow

When my friend goes away for the weekend to her cottage, I often feed her cats.

I don't mind doing this at all as it is no trouble & doesn't take

a lot of time to do. It gives her peace of mind to know that

someone is looking after them & the house.

As a Thank You, she brought me back this wonderful

dress form pillow, as she knows I have a little collection of dress forms.

It was made by a local artist in Rosseau. It can also be used as a door stop,

as it is weighted in the bottom.

I just love it! : )

Hidden Camera

While it may look like Judy is sporting a nice leather purse.... look again.

It is actually my Grandpa's camera case which holds his vintage Kodak camera.

Not sure what year it is but my Grandpa passed away in 1970

& he used it long before that. It is one of those ones 

where you open it up & fold out the lens.

It still has film in it but I have accidentally opened the back of the

camera so many times, plus it is so old, I am sure there is nothing

on it anymore to develop.

He used to be quite the amateur photographer, & I have inherited hundreds of slides.

Yes slides. Most of them from the 50's & 60's. 

They really are good quality but I have to get 

out the projector & screen, set it up, etc., etc. 

SURPRISE!!

Pretty cool, eh?

One of these days I will have a slide night!  : )

My new cuff.

I got this cool leather cuff at a craft show in the Beach.

It's all hand tooled & painted with, what else, a chocolate lab!

The artist makes all kinds of cuffs with pets, animals, insects & abstract designs.

They are made of scraps recycled from a leather manufacturer so they are

saved from the land fill, which I really like. You can see more of her

stuff on her website: www.carolynleeleatherart.weebly.com

She's a very nice lady, too!

I love wearable art! : )

Mocha's nephew, Phoenix

Meet Phoenix! He is 3 months old & is my dog, Mocha's nephew!

A friend of mine liked Mocha & was thinking of getting

a chocolate lab too. Of course my dog is wonderful, so 

I recommended the breeder we used, Cooperslane Kennels.

His eyes are still green, they will probably turn brown

as they usually do.

He was very good at "sit".

It was a very hot day, so out comes the tongue.

He likes soccer just like his Uncle Mocha!

He does like to chew!

Pooped!

He is so sweet! They are going to have many happy 

times with this little guy!  : )

New Pillow.

I have a down pillow form from Pottery Barn, which had a Holiday cover on it.

I wanted to change the cover so I could use it year round, not just at

Christmas time. So I bought some fabric from Spoonflower.

This fabric is a toile in browns with dogs on it of course.

I bought two different fabrics, reverses of each other.

I think I like the brown background better but it is a nice change to

flip it over & get a different look!  : )

Shell & Rock Collection.

What do you do with a large rock & shell collection?

I have two sons & over the years they have amassed quite 

a collection of stones, rocks & shells between them.

My parents also contributed to these collections bringing back

interesting things from their holiday trips.

I was going through some boxes in the basement & came across one full of these things.

 I didn't want to just throw these away, lots of them are quite pretty & all are interesting.

So, I came up with a plan to display these items & to keep the dusting to a

minimum. Thanks to Home Sense I bought this Lantern meant to hold candles,

& filled it up with layers of rocks & shells.

And voila! A unique way to display a large collection,

& keep maintenance to a minimum.

There is coral, shells, sea glass, a sand dollar, sea urchins, 

stones, & even a real sea horse & a star fish.

I got this hand carved wooden dog, originally from

Pottery Barn, on Ebay.  : )