SPOIL

I really want to share a video today that is so amazingly beautiful
and yet so desperate for attention.
Warning, it is long....about 45 minutes I believe.
The images are beautiful and capture the beauty of
The Great Bear Rainforest which runs along the coast of British Columbia ...
I hope you will take the time to watch, even if you are not concerned by the message
you will hopefully enjoy the beauty.
Please note that the screen will stay black until :09 seconds and then the beauty of the Rainforest.



If for some reason you cannot see this then here is the link on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S3bKmz4od3g


à bientôt

Inexpensive Solution in the Pantry

If you are new around here

then you may not know that I love my pantry

but the thing is 

I now love it even more!

After our kitchen renovation one and a half years ago

I have had a few little organization challenges.

We used to hang all of our pots and pans from an indonesian-style ladder suspended from the ceiling...

that did not work in the new kitchen design but we still had a dilemma of managing fry pans.

 Our final solution has been simple and inexpensive.

Sunday tulips

 Well, I was pretty sure that yesterday was a two-post day

but looks like it will be today...

I am working on a small project but I really

want to share these gorgeous tulips that just keep on going...

From my seat in the livingroom, they

make me smile...

and with a zoom lens....

Cleaning house - well, cleaning up my reading list

Well, I got up this morning

with a cup of tea and sat down to do a little blog reading

and decided at the same time to get rid of some blogs...

sorry about that
but these are blogs that

are obviously dormant, finished, over, no longer being updated.

But for the life of me I cannot seem to do it.

When I try to manage my blog list

I am faced with this

bX-jc5mw7

Can anybody help me?
oh, and today is a two-post day for me - I hope....
since I am going to share a little project that I have been
 working on....little but oh so practical. 

Update:  I figured it out....problem solved.

Skating through the Cold and Working in the Rain

I promise this is not about the weather

geez....
well sort of it is...
I know, I know
all of you walking around in shorts

are going to wonder why we complain so much about the cold and

yet choose to live in snow for a good 5-6 months of the year....

But this year has been a bizarre year

Just the other day I was out on the skating oval at our lake which is

a 3 km loop 

which means a really nice hit of exercise if you do 3 loops

uh...yep...that would be 9 km.....or 5.6 miles for some of you.
The sun was shining,
a bit chilly,
lots of snow but perfect ice conditions for a mother and daughter duo.

Yes, it will be hard when she heads off to university this year!!

Anyway,
 today I am heading to work 3 hours from here in lovely Montréal
and I need to pack some of these....
In Montréal
this winter
Wellies
 have been the most popular fashion trend ....

White = Work and several Imperfections

Yesterday I shared my love of white 

and then I happened upon a post over at
Nesting Place celebrating the imperfections in our homes...
Well
 it didn't take much for me to relate to that post
since I merely had to glance over my shoulder to my dining and living room
and they both
screamed simultaneously
 "imperfection!"
Well, let's just say that if you love white
and I do
and love a white sofa..... or perhaps two white sofas
then you have to deal with imperfection on a fairly regular basis.
Yes, there are the days when it looks like these images below...

a great snuggle spot for a good read....

 
but perfect it is not....
The wrinkles in the white cotton might just drive you crazy
and yep they do look
crisp and pressed  when you see them in magazine shots.
But really what can you expect from white slipcovers?

So
I may be a tad crazy,
and I really do not mind the wrinkles
and I adore the ease and convenience of slipcovers...
and I can even say all of that
considering a large labrador  lives all over this house
and two older teens that still do not understand me when I say,
please do not eat in there, how about you eat at the island or
hey even at the dining table.....

Anyway, my point really is
that if you love white slipcovers then you have to be able to live with the imperfection that comes with it....

yep, that is the dining room and our table is under there somewhere
it is
washing day
and in the winter that means the dining room turns into the drying room for those
adorable white slipcovers....
not perfect, I know
but hey
nothing is perfect!!
and please don't ask me where we are dining tonight.....



and yes I am sharing this with Nesting Place..... It's not perfect but it's beautiful.... to me

à bientôt

White Ironstone/Pottery Love

I have a few small projects underway

around here but I really have to share

this love I have developed for white ironstone and basically all white pottery....

Source: barnhousebh.com via An Anglo on Pinterest

Whistler 2012

Okay, I think it has to do with the Cancer sign in me...

not that I am an astrology nut in anyway

but one thing for sure is,

I love to travel

and

I love coming home!

so here I am, back in my little nest and lovin' it 

So....

ready to share some random photos of Whistler, British Columbia...

well, mountains, mainly the mountains 

on the only day the sun came out to play!

 This is the Peak 2 Peak gondola which basically leaves you hanging between two peaks as it carries you across the valley! Quite the trip!

Skiing two different peaks is superb!

This little one was sitting next to me admiring the view! Love the flower!!
I was tempted to get one for my helmet....
hmmm...

 maybe not? 
At least I had the pleasure of squinting into the sun one day for the camera!

And basically that is the view you enjoy as you ski down from above the tree line heading for the trees! 

Beauty, true beauty!

À bientôt

Day 4

Arrived in Whistler on Thursday late afternoon in the rain...

and woke up to the rain on Friday...

 but not being one to let that get in the way, we geared up in our waterproof gear,

grabbed the snowshoes and headed off...

We were socked in completely
but snowshoeing through the forest was lovely

and worth the effort.

Today we decided to hit the ski trails, again, in the rain ...
we were in  complete fog from midpoint

to the alpine point of the slopes....

could not see much but we put in a good day of skiing.

The smartest thing we did was hook up for the 'host' service at the top of the chair

where you meet up with a local and ski the runs with them.

Anyway, fingers crossed for sunshine on Monday....

Here are a few pics of our snowshoeing at the Olympic park where the ski jumping and cross country ski competitions took place....

lots of snow...

beautiful trails leading deep into the woods....

and me at the end of our tour....

wishing we were on the slopes but the snowshoeing was lovely given the beautiful forests of BC!!

Ski photos are being saved for Monday when the sun shines....

I hope!!!!

à bientôt

Day 1 - Flight to Vancouver

The flight from Québec to Toronto was as expected,

in a typical Bombardier, twin propeller plane.

If you are unfamiliar with those, they are tight.... and I always seem to be by the window

staring out at that darn propeller!!

Hmmm....yes I am not a lover of the air!!

But, I expected the plane from Toronto to Vancouver to be a bit roomier...

nope, not really. Of course we had the prime spot, the very last seat on the plane...

you know the one before the lavatory?

But, it was a clear day and passing over the Rocky Mountains was spectacular.

So smooth flying until we arrived close to Vancouver where it was rainy with heavy cloud coverage...

so turbulence.

Anyway, picked up the car and headed into the city.

Oh and note to self.....just because it is -20 when you wake up at home and snowing, do pack a lighter coat for the other side of the country....even though you are going on a ski holiday....

 That aside,

it has been so long since I last visited Vancouver it really felt like my first time in this city.

Driving along Granville Street towards downtown 

I was struck by these amazing hedges everywhere but then even more struck by these homes...

these places are listed at 5 million and up!

Have a look...

 

 Almost all of the houses we were passing had these amazing hedges in front of them...

 This is a side view and yes the hedge is at the front of the house.

gorgeous greenery, can just imagine this in a few months time...

The British influence was very obvious in this area...

and I am told that this section of Vancouver is often considered as acting more British than the British...

I loved the moss growing on these trees ...

the rain took over and we headed on to the downtown core which is an amazing image in itself...

you cross a bridge  and the scene changes from what you see above and becomes a

sea of highrises....

Anyway, on to Day 2....heading to the market for supplies and then up to Whistler!!!

à bientôt everyone!

Did I Already Mention Whistler??

Next stop Vancouver for one night.....photos to follow of the lovely Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel
and then on to Whistler for 6 days!

Wasn't sure if I mentioned that already?!
Did I??
Oh
I am getting so excited that
I may be losing my mind!!

Source: stophatingyourself.tumblr.com via Violeta on Pinterest

à bientôt from lovely British Columbia!!!

Poll for Header Changes

So....what do you think?

Do I lose my lady that usually adorns the top of my blog.

She is very special to me but you know what happens in February in the dead of winter....

you get restless

and of course a quickly approaching trip to the Rockies has me even

more restless....

The poll is in the sidebar..... love to hear your impressions
and of course I did not forget...
True Random Number Generator Min: Max: Result: 2

Okay, for whatever reason....I could not get the code for the actual result so I have had to do some fairly basic cut and paste here..... yep...so number 2 which is Grace.
Congrats Grace! If you send me your mailing address I will put it in the mail to you asap.

à bientôt

Random February Notes

I  have been so busy at work and general "life stuff" that

I have missed blogging for almost one week now....

the weather here has been so beautiful,
and motivating providing these ideal winter sport conditions...

 This week we are flying out to Whistler, British Columbia for some downhill skiing!!

so I do plan to post while there and share with you the beauty of the Canadian Rockies!!

In the meantime, I had to sneak away to the mall (have to admit, I am not much a mall person)

but with a trip coming up I had

 to pick up a few odds and ends.....

and look at what I found!!

My daughter and I share the same shoe/boot size and

we have been looking at the Hunter boots and a few other brands but

I have been seeing the Hunters everywhere

so we were so excited when we found these Tretorns marked down 1/2 price with another 20% off!!

I love them! 

That led to a trip to the dollar store to buy a thermal insole and

we found these....

adorable muffin holders!!

( I did say Random notes..... right?)

They had an amazing selection of  various colour checked ones as well...

I always amaze myself when I head to a dollar store and find something like this!

Tonight I will draw for the maple syrup bucket and announce tomorrow the name of the winner....

until then.....

à bientôt