Mad Hatter's Tea Party

I don't know whether I am just a kid at heart or "completely mad" but I finally had my Mad Hatter's Tea Party. I had wanted to do this last year but never got it together - could only manage a wonderful lunch on the patio. BUT this year - I just knew I had to do it.

To force myself to do it, I decided on a date and sent out the invitations - I had so much fun creating a poem and the invite that I knew this party was going to be fun.

RULES
(oh yes there ARE rules – there are always rules OR it’s off with your head)

You MUST BRING –a tea cup – after all it is a Tea

You MUST WEAR A HAT –it is a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party – Mad attire would be appreciated but if not, at least wear clothes

Bring a chair – there will be some but if you really want to sit, it would secure a spot

 

Beautiful Grandaughter - Queen of Hearts

And then to the decorations  - I started off with wild and crazy ideas but settle on only a few. We have a wonderful yard - so it did not take much to set the stage so to speak. I also enlisted the help of my wonderful sister and my step mom - my caterer extraordinaire and my beautiful granddaughter.




Sister - who came as the March Hare

Wonderful Step Mom,
Caterer who makes my parties amazing

 

Now what is more appropriate than croquet and what did Alice get to play with but a flamingo - had to have - had to have the card soldiers too - for the wickets. Such fun.

 

 

 

Card Soldiers were on duty to show the guests to the party. I had to stop at 3. Making them was just too much fun and I was becoming obsessed.

 
 
Here is my favourite soldier - he is painting the roses red. You see I really could go MAD.  

I setup two long tables on the road to the back field, layering on table clothes and adding chairs. I had my credenza setup for the food and an antique table setup with the plates and beverages. It was a perfect day - sun streaming through the trees really set the party stage.

Had to have a Drink Me sign on the Lemonade

And of course it is all about the time

Just happened to have a looking glass

Now all I need are the guests and here they are in their some beautiful and some funny hats.

 

 

 And of course we play croquet.

 

 

Drum Roll Please

I guess you might like to see the finished bathroom and hallway - but remember now three pieces are not put back yet. I have not moved the mirror, credenza and small wooden trunk back into the hallway. Not sure why but haven't. 

From the living room - looking down the hall to the spare room, I am glad now that we added the pot lights in the hall - regret - we should have put another in the middle of the hall. I love these old black and white photos - they were taken by the son of the people who owned the house before us and they left them. Lucky me.

Looking right the new front door. I previously posted it looking at it from the outside. I love the door. The window lets a quite a bit of light into the entry way. The door - I was so wanting a wooden door. The advice we were given was not to have one in this climate - heat loss, swelling etc. So this masonite door stained and finished to look like fit the bill. I stained it and did the faux finish but chickened out on the clear coat. I had it done professionally. They had a few problems with the finish and I was scared at one point that it was looking awful, the painter came through in the end and it is great.

 

 

Our travel wall of pictures went back up. You know when you travel you just have to bring back something to remember your wonderful vacation. I used to collect charms for a charm bracelet, then I collected spoons, then knick knacks. Now it is one very small picture - a painting, etching, print, photo, postcard - something that reminds me of that place. I have it framed and here they hang. At first it was just me searching but Mike has gotten into the hunt now.












Alright then - here it is - the new and improved main bathroom.  Can a person say they love a bathroom, can they say they love the toilet - now if I could demo this for you I would but I can't I can just tell you that the lid shuts itself slowly and quietly. Amazing - probably not to all the worldly people but to me in my small corner of the world it is amazing. We haven't turned on the heated floor yet except to make sure it works. Have enjoyed the tile in the heat of the summer - nice and cool on the feet.

 

 

 

Yup done, finished - WEEELLLL I may make some kind of window treatment but still enjoying all the light bouncing around the room.  Regret - Mike thinks he wants a light over the toilet.

Catching UP!

Busy, busy - Mike never sits still. He can get more done in a day than anyone I know - I am sure he frowns on my lack there of. He spent a good portion of his holiday - before and after the water fix building a new bridge to the island. Mike and Digger. The bridge was wiped out December 23, 2010.

In a matter of minutes we went from this.                           To this.

To THIS!!!!! OH MY! for two years we had a bit of a hike to get to the island.

Digger and Mike on the move.

We now have a bridge and lawn planted.

WHERE HAS THE TIME GONE!!!!!

I cannot believe that the summer is just about over and I have not made one single post. Life here at Willow Creek has been flying by. Our renovation is of course completed - but not without a few gasps of agony. Shortly after all the trim was up and the last touch up was completed and paint brushes cleaned and put away, we had problems BIG problems. We have had an "issue" with water draining from our small bathroom/laundry area for years and always set this aside to be fixed when we did that renovation - slated for early 2013, but circumstances pushed this into NOW. The gory details are a distance memory but let us just say - it was raining under our house AND the saying of the day was "no water is leaving this house". Mike, thankfully had just started his holiday - what a holiday this was going to be. We quickly went from a very lush front garden to this.  

All the small plants were quickly dug up and potted up and put into a holding bed. The larger ones, a rhodo, a kalmia and some other variegated one were move out to the meadow into permanent homes. The beautiful very large Japanese maple was cut down and gone.


Thank goodness for "Digger" as Dyllon calls Mike's excavator - in a few hours, Uncle Bob and Mike had dug up and exposed all the pipe and they were setup for the plumber to come and fix the pipes under and leaving the house.



By the end of the week and most of Mike's holiday and we were back in "business".

TenFold Quilt Show

Amazing, just amazing to see the culmination of our first project hanging all together. We had our opening Friday evening and we were so happy that so many came out to see our wonderful creations. The show is at Sybil Andrew's Cottage until June 18th, so if you get a chance go and see it.

Here we are - Tenfold

This grouping of work explores our interpretation of a variety of themes. The criteria for these pieces was:

• they had to be 12" x 12" or 48" in diameter
• to incorporate a new technique
• must be quilted - meaning it had to have a top, a middle and a back

 Birth - Theme was chosen because the word told of what were were - a newly formed group starting on a new adventure, with new friends and many possibilities.

Group - Theme was chosen because the word came to mind after Birth i.e. the birth of our group

Temptation - Theme was chosen because the word evoked an image almost immediately, and yet upon reflection opened up a wide range of possibilities, a malleable word to interpret.

Gold - Theme was chosen because "it was at the time of the 2010 Olympics - thinking of the significance of gold throughout our lives; gold stars/medals for achievement, wedding rings, golden handshakes, anniversaries, golden years etc.

Old Meets New - Theme was chosen because the idea that something as old and traditional as a quilt has remained with us through the decades, replicating timeless piecing with new techniques that allow us to still enjoy the beauty of those traditional blocks.
















Rendezvous - Theme was chosen because "I liked the word." It means a place appointed for an assembling or meeting.

Me - Theme was chosen because the word just "popped into my mind at the last minute and I thought it would be a great way to get to know everyone"


















Solitude - Theme was chosen because we live in such a busy, noisy world. We all need time alone to find inner peace. I thought it would be interesting to see where others might find that peace and solitude.

Magic - Theme was chosen because the word "conjured" up many pictures: top hats, rabbits, wands Harry Potter, nature, love, children - the entire world around us. I wanted to see how this would be interpreted.

 The conversation around the show was fabulous. A lot of speculation on who did which piece. I just loved it and I loved that most of my family and friends were there to see our efforts.

Rainy Friday

And I do mean rain. It is coming straight down. We had such great plans for the last two days. 

The Deck - all "decked" out

We started a project in the garden on Wednesday - it was sunny then. I have been planning this project since last summer. This part of the garden is near the creek and it is always full of weeds especially HORSETAILS. They are a feature in my garden - not a wanted feature but they are everywhere. Oh yes I know - you cannot get rid of them unless you change your soil. That would be next to impossible as they are in the creek and would penetrate through anything. They come up through cracks in the sidewalk - amazing plants. "They" say horsetails are a prehistoric plant. I am not sure that makes me happy to have them in my yard or not but nonetheless I can't get rid of them so I guess I will do what I can to make them part of the landscape.

My plan for this garden is to have three big rocks "planted" here and the add some decorative grasses, encourage ferns and other native plants - the horsetails will just come. I think I will move over some of my blackeyed susans and some daylilies for colour. Mike is sceptical about this but is providing assistance in getting the garden ready. BUT now it is raining. Normally the rain does not prohibit us from doing anything - I mean we do live on the west coast and we are not made of sugar, but the machines that will move the gravel, dirt and rocks will just eat at the grass and make a muddy mess. We will have to find another project for today.

I Must Be MAD

I must be mad - MAD I tell you. We discussed this the other day and HE said, after the carpet layers left for the third time of trying to make it "RIGHT", HE said "this almost makes you want to rush right into the next renovation." I looked at him over my glasses and said I could easily sit the next one out. HE said " that is not an option." So I am back to collecting ideas for the NEXT reno AND the one after that.  I confess that I spend countless hours dreaming and planning. I look in magazines and browse the web.

I promise - pictures are coming - we have the trim up now but I am the hold up - I am filling and prepping for the final paint and touch up. Then the doors will go in. I also need to buy the "bits", the "jewelry" as I call it. You know the new soap dish, towels, trays for organizing the drawers - yes I have drawers. We never had drawers in this bathroom. There is an abundance of storage.

I have been holding up "the show" on our reno as I have been playing with Antic's Theatre on the spring production of Fawlty Towers: The Germans. The run ended last night. We had so much fun and so many laughs. The run was extended to 5 nights. Amazing to see such a following for this troupe.

Now what you have to know is this stage is only about 10 feet deep and with that we cheat and give the illusion that we have a kitchen and an upstairs with many rooms - after all this is a hotel - Fawlty Towers.

view of the lobby, entry to the kitchen and office

hospital room, dining room, and bar

Over the years Antic's Theatre has done many episodes of Fawlty Towers as well as a few of Norm Foster's plays and always the illusion of space wins comments from the audience. My granddaughter was amazed when she got a tour of the "backstage" and there were no rooms. She was convinced there was a bedroom complete with a bath. Clever lighting and good directing makes this all believable for the audience.
Eleven years ago, Anne, encouraged by Lorna started dinner theatre in our little town and it has grown from an audience of 40 to sold out houses of over 100.
Anne hand picks her plays and her actors and it seems to be a winning combination.

Anne gets the vision and her husband Don, creates the set and the magic begins.

Our patrons - Anne (the director/producer) Lorna (mentor/friend)

Sybil (Marg) and Basil (Dan)

cast of The Germans