They never did make it to Victoria…

Do you remember the old Diorama at Knott’s Berry Farm? The one where a family is crossing the plains, in a covered wagon, and the little girl says to her mother, “Momma, I’m hungry.” I know Dear, just go to sleep,” her mother replies. Then the narrator in his deep booming voice comes on to say…”They never did make it that night.” Well, that’s how I felt about Victoria…we never did make it to the Inner Harbor, even though we made it to the island.

We had a little bit of a problem with our GPS that kept sending us round and round and round in circles. Our plan was to meet up with some old friends, who had relocated to the island several years before, after we had visited Hatley Castle for my garden fix.
The day was so hot and I had dressed for cooler weather...much cooler. OI was it hot! So hot that we only stayed a very short while at the castle. After a brisk walk through the rose garden I found myself heading back to the parking lot striping off layers of clothing as I went. First the boots next the stockings, then  I dropped my petticoat on the pavement, and if I could’ve  taken off my sweater, I would have, but I didn’t for fear of frightening the Canadian geese.

We stood there by the car waiting in the sweltering heat, until our friends finally arrived.

Did you know Victoria has traffic jams? Neither did we! So, instead of heading into the traffic we went straight to our friend’s house that over looks the sea. Such a beautiful sight to wake up to each and every day.
We had such a delightful time and were taken such good care of that I would have been perfectly happy to spend the rest of my holiday visiting with them, however we had a room waiting for us in Vancouver and a concert to attend. Oh yes, a concert, which was part of the reason we were there in the first place.

You see, when I originally decided to take this little Holiday, I thought it would be fun to plan it around an event. And that event just happened to be a Loreena McKennitt concert that I THOUGHT was on Vancouver Island. But as it turned out it was on the mainland. So at the very last minute all of our arrangements had to be changed.

The original plan was to fly into SeaTac Sunday morning, rent a car, hop on the Ferry, and spend four days at a lovely Inn on the island. The concert wasn’t until Tuesday evening so we’d have plenty of time for sight-seeing and visiting with our friends while we were there. In the planning…after I booked our flight and hotel…I decided to print out an itinerary and map out all the locations so we would know distances and how best to spend our time. The concert was to be held in the Queen Victoria Theater that I thought must be located behind the government buildings along the Inner Harbor. As the map route came into view my panic rose as I realized the concert was 3 hours and a ferry ride away from our hotel…Nooooo!

In a panic, I quickly picked up the phone, and started canceling reservations to make new ones closer to the concert hall. What a pickle I found myself in! I certainly wasn’t looking forward to telling the hubby about my huge blunder and how everything had to be cancelled as well as re-arranged.
So our four days on the island turned into one, we added another Ferry ride and booked a hotel on the mainland.

We ended up spending Monday night at our friends house and a quiet Tuesday morning visiting before driving to the ferry terminal and heading to Vancouver.
And so our journey continued…

On a Holiday…

August 11, Twenty-thirteen,

hubby and I decided to set out on a long awaited adventure. One that I have been dreaming about for several years. A little Holiday that would allow us to soar high above the clouds, quietly glide through picturesque islands, swathed in mornings misty fog, then safely land on distant shores…hubby’s homeland…Canada! I don’t know why, but this country has stolen a piece of my heart. After years of living in the Big City, I’ve decided I’m not a Big City girl. I much prefer the wild spaces where the mountains reach the sands that tumble into the sea.

There’s something to be said about the openness of the sea and the calming effect it has on ones soul…at least on mine. These past few years, I’ve felt a certain restless of heart, that seems only to be tamed by the raging sea. I am both at home and at peace, while reminded of the smallness of who I am and the immensity of the God that I love…and Who first loved me.

(Then I turned to see the voice that spoke with me. And having turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and in the midst of the seven lampstands One like the Son of Man, clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band.  His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and His eyes like a flame of fire; His feet were like fine brass, as if refined in a furnace, and His voice as the sound of many waters. He had in His right hand seven stars, out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword, and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength.  And when I saw Him, I fell at His feet as dead. But He laid His right hand on me, saying to me, “Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last.  I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen.)

We had been here a few years before and I was captivated by its rugged natural beauty. Something we rarely see in a city made of concrete and steel.

(These images are from our Ferry ride starting in Anacortes, WA and ending in Sydney B.C.)

We sailed into Friday Harbor Monday morning…

and I was sad to see that this beautiful Victorian had been torn down and replaced with shops. I guess progress continues its march across the landscape, even in town’s that appear not to be touched by time.

We continued on our journey until we came to our destination…Sydney B.C.

along the road we passed many many signs as we drove into Victoria…which we never saw. But that’s a tale for another day.

Hello everyone!

Two years ago I posted these lyrics on the fourth and I thought they were well worth re-publishing.

I hope you all have a wonderful Holiday!

I walked through a county

courthouse square
On a park bench, an old man

was sittin' there.
I said, "Your old court house is kinda

run down,
He said, "Naw, it'll do for our little town."
I said, "Your old flag pole is leaned a little bit,
And that's a ragged old flag

you got hangin' on it."
He said, "Have a seat", and I sat down,
"Is this the first time you've been to our

little town?"
"I said, "I think it is."
He said "I don't like to brag,
but we're kinda proud of That

Ragged Old Flag
"You see, we got a little hole

in that flag there,
When Washington took it

across the Delaware.
and It got powder burned
the night Francis Scott Key sat watching it,
writing "Say Can You See"
It got a rip in New Orleans,
with Packingham & Jackson

tugging at its seams.
and It almost fell at the Alamo

beside the Texas flag,
But she waved on though.
She got cut with a sword at Chancellorsville,
And she got cut again at Shiloh Hill.
There was Robert E. Lee and

Beauregard and Bragg,
And the south wind blew hard on

That Ragged Old Flag
"On Flanders Field in World War I,
She got a big hole from a Bertha Gun,
She turned blood red in World War II
She hung limp, and low, a time or two,
She was in Korea, Vietnam,
She went where she was sent
by her Uncle Sam.
She waved from our ships

upon the briny foam
and now they've about quit wavin'

back here at home
in her own good land here

She's been abused,
She's been burned, dishonored,

denied an' refused,
And the government for which she stands
Has been scandalized throughout the land.
And she's getting thread bare,
and she's wearin' thin,
But she's in good shape,

for the shape she's in.
Cause she's been through the fire before
and I believe she can take a whole lot more.
"So we raise her up every morning
And we bring her down slow every night,
We don't let her touch the ground,
And we fold her up right.
On second thought I *do* like to brag
Cause I'm mighty proud of
That Ragged Old Flag"

Song By Johnny Cash the Man in Black.

 I hope you all have a wonderful Fourth of July

He Is Risen!
Happy Resurrection Day!

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.
Revelation 3:20

Merry Christmas

The inhabitants of Brambleberry Cottage
will be out of town for a few days so if I don't peak my head in to say hello, please know that you're all in my thoughts and prayers. And as we gather with friends and family I hope we remember the true meaning of Christmas...

And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.”
And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying:
“ Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Luke 2:9-14

The birth of our Messiah
Wishing all my sweet friends
a VeRy MeRRy CHRISTmas!!

The Candy Cane

If you'd like to read the poem about the
Candy Cane please click on the image.

Make my life Your temple
L-rd at this season start
To pull down every idol I have raised up in my heart

On this Chanukah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You

Take my defiled altar
Come and cleanse and come repair
So every time I falter I can run to meet you there

On this Chanukah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You

And with every candle on the menorah
That illuminates the night
Comes a prayer You’d kindle
In me Y’shua
A desire for Your fire, for Your light

Make of my mortal body
A house worthy of Your name
Rid me of what’s ungodly and every hidden thing of shame

On this Chanukah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You

Take my supply of oil
Not enough to burn long I fear
But, oh how I pray I may one day say “A great miracle happened here!”

On this Chanukah
On this Feast of Dedication
I dedicate myself to You

Chanukah
Music and Lyrics by Marty Goetz
©1997 Singin’ in the Reign Music/ASCAP

Sweet Sugar Plums

I'm still trying to get my Christmas decorating done, but don't seem to be making much progress. How is yours going?

Yesterday was a day filled with blessed rain. I love the rain! One of the things that I love the most is that in our little hamlet of Alasleim there are many strawberry fields and when it rains the air is filled with their sweet aroma. It's such an amazing thing to open your door in the wee hours of the morning and feel like your swimming in the scent of strawberries. So wonderful!

I mentioned a few posts back that I went out looking for decorating inspiration and came home with so many lovely visions of sugar plums dancing in my head. Does anyone know what a sugar plum really is?

I haven’t got the foggiest!

Any how, while out looking the other day for inspiration, I saw so many lovely Christmas vignettes that were done with everyday antiques… plates…silver spoons… and linens. So I thought it would be fun to use some of mine to decorate with this year.

I have these old rosy bud vases that were given to me when my grandfather passed away many years ago and decided to fill them with those darling lollipops. I wedged them in with some old crocheted doilies I had lying around. Sometimes I'm amazed at all the treasure troves I have tucked into every nook and cranny of this little dwelling. Too many really!

I found these cloches at Big Lots years ago and paid $3.95 per cloche…I bought 4 and two of them are very tall. They’re very bubbly looking which gives them a blurry texture.

It doesn't matter what holiday it is around here...you will always find bunnies. I use this little guy for everything.

Brambleberry Cottage has the darkest little entry I’ve ever seen so I thought it would be fun to bring the light pinks and greens from the kitchen here too. This is one of my favorite pieces of furniture. I know you can only see the top and part of the back, so I'm sure you have no idea what it is. So I'll tell you ;-). It's a lovely wash stand from the Edwardian Era placed in the ugly little entry. I'm hoping to get this area of my cottage redone right after new years so I'll probably show it to you then. It has lovely delicate carving on the front and half columns on each corner (the wash stand, not the entry). It is a beauty.

Well, it's getting late and I'm still not feeling my best so I'm going to prepare my coffee for tomorrow, allow the livestock to roam the grassy area for a few minutes, then get ready for bed. I hope you all have a wonderful peaceful evening!!

Inspiration

I can’t tell you how long it’s been since I’ve explored the local antiques stores, but with Christmas just around the corner I thought It would be fun to go looking for some Christmas inspiration...antique style. My first stop is always Country Roads Antiques in the city of Orange where so many of the vendors have created the dreamiest spaces. I love the way this old table cloth has been draped across the faux window.

I loved this little corner that was decorated with a small tree and vintage fotos hanging from sweet pink ribbons as ornaments. I tried to take a picture for you, but the tree was against a huge picture window with the sun light streaming through...all I could get was a huge white blur.

I met up with this lovely lady and she reminded me of Vanessa’s Miss Hall-Borchert. As I gazed upon her standing there alone I thought to myself, “she and Miss Hall-B. would be the best of friends. No one should be left alone and friendless as this one was...especially during the Holidays.

I don’t know why, but I loved this little vignette behind the chicken wire…oops! I think these days it’s commonly called, “poultry confinement material.” What a strange world we live in, do you agree? Yes, I thought you would!

I found these rose covered plates that I’ve been searching for forever and a day, but decided to pass them up until hubby called. It seems I’ve been making a lot of “unauthorized purchases” of late. Of course he would never so no to anything I wanted to buy, although there was that time in Petaluma when I fell in love with an ebonized Victorian piano stool inlaid with mother of pearl and he said “absolutely not!” I dearly love to tease him about that one ;-).

I was planning to make gingerbread cookies today and finish my Christmas decorating. I’m so far behind. But, I’ve been trying to ignore a head cold for the past week that has finally gotten the better of me. So who knows…

I may just sit here curled up on the couch all day sipping spiced cider and looking through my old Victoria magazines for old inspirations made new.

I hope you all have a lovely Friday where ever you are.

Just saying Hello!

I’m just popping in for a minute to say hello! My little corner of the world has been very busy lately especially at work, but let’s not talk about that ;-).

I’ve been sending as much time at The Happiest Place on earth just soaking in the Christmas season. Everything is covered in garland and lights and looks ever so magical.

This Sunday evening one of my cousins and I will be attending Disney’s Candle Light Processional. Have you heard of it?

It’s one of those hidden gems that Disney puts on once a year with local choirs and bands plus there’s a reading of the birth of Jesus straight out of Luke chapter 2…word for word! Amazing don’t you think? This year the scripture reading will be done by Jon Voight…I just love that man.

Any way, like I said, I was only popping in for a minute and now my minute is up and I’ve got to run. I hope you all have a great Thursday!!! Ooh! Christmas cookies are on my list of to-do’s this weekend too! Are you baking any and what kind?

Dreamy little Lollipops

Hello and how are you all doing? It’s been crazy busy here at Brambleberry Cottage what with Thanksgiving just a few days away and family coming to stay from out of town. I still haven’t done all my grocery shopping or cottage cleaning, but I did start my Christmas decorating.

I found these darling little sugary confections at Target and bought every one of them. Then I went to the Target across from work and bought more, although they only had four…but I still need more ;-).

I decided that since my family was going to be here for Thanksgiving I’d decorate for Christmas. Does that make sense to you? Funny, it does to me too!

And since my Kitchen is pink and green I thought I’d do a pink, green, and silver theme and I’m really loving the way it’s turning out. Hubby refers to it as my ongoing, ever changing, science project.

On Saturday my friend Janet and I set up a Tea Table at our local museum for the “Josephine and Jane Austin Tea” that was held there. Of the two of us Janet is definitely the more organized and always wants to know the “how’s and why’s of what we do.” Me? I just want to have fun!

And as you can see we did just that!!

The Gingerbread cookies look delicious don’t they? Janet and I were often amused whenever anyone would ask if they could take one to eat, and just in case you can’t tell, they’re plastic tree ornaments…

however, there were the most delicious Napoleon desserts provided by a catering company called Champagne. Such gooey sweetness that both of us ate two.

After our tea adventure we headed back to our homes and I spent the rest of the evening with Hubby and my darling little pups.

Well, I'm thinking that I probably won't be around for the next few days... more likely not until after Thanksgiving... so I thought I'd wish you all a lovely Thanksgiving filled with lots of love, laughter, and THANKFULNESS!!!

I just can't wait until Christmas!

It's my favorite time of year!
When the wind is crisp and cold,
and leaves shiver in the trees
I'll be decorating my cottage with little Christmas wreaths.

But this year Christmas is coming early to
Brambleberry Cottage
thanks to Kelly of A H'art Felt Christmas.
She's hosting a blog party on December 12th
that's sure to be so much fun!
So if you'd like to join us, please feel free.
You can sign up by clicking on the flyer above
or the badge in my side bar.
It will be a time to share some Christmas cheer with old friends as well as new.
I'm looking forward to it, how about you?

Wishing I were here again!

Memory is a funny thing, don’t you think? Exactly one month ago today hubby and I were meandering about the gardens of this delightful old Inn and today it seems like nothing more then a faded dream. It’s strange how time swiftly flows from one season to the next.

I could easily imagine myself living in this weence Tudor cottage beyond the enchanted garden gate. On cold misty mornings I’d sit by the window sipping a hot cup of tea while gazing out the leaded glass panes.

Or I may decide to linger by the window seat on the upper landing while listening to the birds serenading in the trees.

Perhaps one would land on the open sill and whistle a tune from exotic lands far far away.

Then I would ready myself for whatever the day might bring.

I’d tip toe out the door, through the gate, and across the lawn to the old stone arch. I’d pass beneath all the brambly leaves and moss growing in its shade. I’d step out into the sun and wish the world a good morning.

All Pictures taken on the grounds of the English Inn Victoria B.C.