I Love the Rock: Newfoundland

On top of Signal Hill where Marconi
received the first Trans-Atlantic
wireless signal. Yes that's fog
behind me!

I'm baaack. Sadly vacation is over and I have returned home. We spent a week in Newfoundland. It was incredible. I've never seen anyplace like it. I can see why they call it The Rock. There's nothing there but rocks and stumpy little trees. It is kind of like BC but with midget trees. NFLD has a harsh beauty that is breathtaking. When the fog rolls in, look out. It can go from sunny and hot to foggy and muggy in minutes. We watched a fog bank roll in and it literally took only fifteen minutes before you couldn't see more than twenty feet away.

I love the place names too. They are all creative and cute. Gander, Come by Chance, Conception Bay, Dildo. Let's not forget Top Sail, Birchy Nap and Bacon Cove. Lakes are called ponds, it doesn't seem to matter what size it is, if I would consider it a lake its still called a pond. Paddy's Pond, Lost Pond, Gushue Pond, Kenny's Pond, I think the names make them seem like inviting places to visit. Even the street names are inviting, Freshwater Road, Cook Street, New Cove Road, and Marigold Place.

A typical Newfoundland beach.

We toured around quite a bit, driving the highways and tramping around St. John's. We took a tour up to Trinity and drove the southern coastline. I was surprised to find that there really aren't any beaches to speak of. If you can get close to the water, its on top of a rocky cliff. The few beaches we found were made up of rocks.

I even brought home a few rocks to throw through the old rock tumbler. (Those of you who know me well are aware that I cannot go for a walk without picking up a rock.) We purchased two big chunks of Labradorite to cut up for making jewellery and I bought myself a lovely pair of Labrodorite earrings. (Labradorite is the official stone of NFLD.) Its tone varies, but when you hold it just right it is kind or iridescent. It shines blue, green and sometimes even gold.

My new Labradorite earrings.

Raw Labradorite Stone

We took an ocean cruise on this boat. Saw some whales
and the eastern-most land point in North America.

Coming back to St John's after our cruise.

We spent some time at the rink with they boys playing lacrosse. Yup, Mater's Lacrosse again and no its not any faster than it was before. However, it was a lot of fun. One NFLD player posted the quote of the weekend on Face Book. "Only in Newfoundland does it take two kegs of beer to play three games of lacrosse." Too true. Yes indeed, there was a bit of beer consumed, a lot of fish eaten but most importantly many new friends were met. Those Newfies sure know how to throw a party!
The people in Newfoundland were friendly and entertaining and I cannot wait to go back next year!

Vacation is Over: Let the Work Begin

It seems like forever since I touched a computer. We spent the last 22 days on vacation and the most technical thing I touched during that time was my camera. I'm not saying that I am addicted to the camera, but we have almost 3000 vacation pictures plus about 1000 pictures of the lacrosse tournament we attended.

But, lets begin at the beginning... vacation started with five days in London. We've been before, but went back for the chance to absorb more history. We walked for hours soaking up the architecture and marvelling at the sights. Our hotel was just off Trafalgar Square (The Grand on Trafalgar.) There is always something happening in the square. It ranges from demonstrations to concerts to impromptu dancing and everything in between. We started and ended each day there. Coffee every morning and tea every night before returning to our hotel. Frequently we watches a man there with a falcon chasing away the pigeons. He didn't harm them, but his presence scared them off which made for a much more pleasant visit.

After London came Prague and lacrosse. We watched the World Indoor Lacrosse Championships and my husband participated in the Grand Masters (Over 45) division.Their team won their division and beat every team in the Masters division (Over 30.)  The tournament organizers also hosted a beer drinking competition which we won quite handily. We arrived about an hour late and still manged to clean up. Never challenge a Canadian to a beer drinking competition!



Mmmm, vats and vats of Scotch Whiskey.



Next Up: Scotland. Yup, we were there last year too. This year we drove up the east coast, across the top and down the west coast. We took in Edinburgh and the Isle of Sky as well. Scotland has some of the most beautiful scenery in the world. Its kind of like Canada with its prairies, mountains, forests and rocky plains all squished up together.  Every turn in the road and every crest of a hill gives you something new to look at. We also visited the Glen Morangie Distillery and had a tour. Scotch making is at once much simpler and much more complex than I ever imagined.



Celtic Quilting
by
Gail Lawther



I found a book on Celtic Quilting while I was there and took a ton of pictures of Celtic designs and carpets for quilting inspiration. I probably have the strangest holiday pictures ever. Last year I took pictures at the Louvre, mostly of the intricate tile floors and ceilings.



Now, its back to the old grindstone. First off, into the studio and back at the longarm. I've got a stack of client quilts to finish by the end of next week. After the studio maybe some time catching up on pattern writing.





The Ocean near Thurso, Scotland.



Scotland

Before I begin, let me say that I was married 30 years before we went on our honeymoon. Before that vacations were few and far between and mostly spent camping. My husband is a reformed workaholic. I used to wish he were home more. Now I wish he wasn’t mostly retired. Be careful what you wish for….

A big chunk of our vacation this year was spent in Scotland. I always thought that Canada was the most beautiful place in the world with its vast and varied landscapes. Now, I know that other places can be just a lovely. Scotland has a huge variety of landscapes, and each comes upon you in a rush as you travel down the highways. In a matter of only five miles you can see mountains, valleys, farmland, forests, highlands, lowlands, lakes, moors and rocky plains. It changes so quickly that it is breathtaking.

We spent eight days traveling and staying in a variety of bed and breakfasts. We put 1150 miles on that rental car. Let me tell you it sure is scary being a passenger when the driver is on the wrong side of the car on the wrong side of the road. We won’t even get into the damage on the front left tire…

Our personal trip highlights included Loch Ness, the ocean at Nairn, Clava Cairns and dozens of castles and ruins.

One of the cairns at Clava Cairn and a lovely old tree there.

I’ve always been a believer in Nessie. Sadly we didn’t get to see her, but when you look into the depths of

Loch Ness, you can’t help but believe. I wish we had had more time to loiter there, maybe for some late evening walks. I like to think that she would have showed herself. (I’m only marginally delusional.) While at Loch Ness, we visited Urquart Castle. Well maintained they were fascinating but swamped with tourists. But for us, the beauty of castles lies in the hard to reach places that the tour buses don’t get to.

We found one castle quite by accident, as they aren’t all on the maps. We traipsed up a dirt road, crossed a fence, wandered up the mud path, through the sheep fields full of sheep and up a small hill. I think it was about a mile or more. At the top of the hill was Castle Auchindoun. We passed one couple on our way up but aside from them, we were the only people there. We were able to climb all over the walls and spent time just sitting and thinking about castle life. Very inspiring, there may be a pattern out of this trip. I’ve got dozens of ideas scampering through my head I just need to get them down on paper before they dissipate.

Spent three days staying at Warthill Castle. It’s a private home that sometimes is a bed and breakfast. It was great! Everywhere you looked were stories of the life of the Lesley family who have lived there since 1050. Ancient and modern mingled to give a glimpse of life and history you rarely ever see. They own 2500 acres of land. Even in a country as big as Canada, you rarely see such huge estates. Beautifully treed, it was teaming with wildlife. Deer, rabbits, and birds were everywhere. Part of their land was for crops and cattle, but near the castle itself were rich lawns and lush forests. It was interesting to learn the family history and of all the renovations to the castle itself. A tiny castle grew and grew over the years until tough times forced the family to sell off much of the fancy-work and copper ducting outside the newest parts of the hall. Without proper drainage, those parts of the castle started to fall into disarray and were torn down. A large part of the castle still stands and is quite lovely. I wish I could have seen it when it was at its largest, most grand stage.

All-in-all, one cannot sum up a vacation in only words and a few pictures. The memories will linger on, with photographs and momentos to keep us going.

Until next time,   Cath

European Vacation: Part One

In theory, this blog is about quilting and inspiration. I'm a firm believer that who we are and what we do influences our creativity. Well, I'm pumped and fired up to create again because of vacation.

Wow. I’ve been crazy lazy. Vacation flew by. Then the Ranch River Run. Then work work work. Finally, a trip to visit my folks. At long last, a new blog entry.

Vacation: Took three weeks and went to Europe. I had a great time. We toured London, Paris, Manchester and then Scotland.


London was incredible. We spent a lot of time on the double decker bus tour. We had a different guide each time and found that each one had their own focus. We learned new things from each driver. I had no idea that Big Ben was the bell inside the tower. I thought the tower was Big Ben. But nope, I was wrong. It is the Tower of Big Ben with Ben being the bell itself. We did the Jack the Ripper tour. It was interesting to tour White Castle and see all the locations of his murders and to learn theories, old and new about whom Jack really was. The Sherlock Holmes Pub was entertaining and served fabulous pub grub. We did the Clink Museum tour. It gave an interesting perspective on the Clink Prison, but a little disappointing. We saw the Phantom of the Opera. The acting was divine and the music breathtaking. I would go again in a heartbeat, even after seeing already.


Stonehenge: I have been told that normally when you go to Stonehenge, there are hundreds and hundreds or people there and they are packed five deep and block your view. Not for us, we took the Sunset Tour! We arrived just at the monument was closing. Once all the other tourists were cleared off, our group went in. There were about fifty of us and we were allowed inside the protective fence. It was humbling and inspiring. I’ve read stories about the lei lines of power that run through the world and the theory that Stonehenge was built on a junction of these lines. I always thought it was a bunch of bunk. Well, I have to admit I was wrong. Woefully wrong. There is power there; the place fairly hums with it. I cannot describe what it felt like. It was almost as if it were alive. I got goose bumps and tingled all over. Technically, we were not allowed to touch the stones. But seriously, who could go there and not touch them? I know I sure didn’t resist and neither did any of the other
people in our group.

Paris was interesting, but way too crowed and busy. The Eiffel Tower was incredible to see. The Louvre had some fabulous paintings. Mona was much smaller than I had anticipated, but the building itself with its intricate architecture, history and painting ceilings was breathtaking. Even the floors were inspiring. I’ve got a quilt series on the floors of Europe ratting around my brain. Rodin’s Garden was fascinating. The Gates of Hell was incredible and the rose garden was beautiful.

What nobody warned us about was that in Paris, you cannot use the washroom unless you buy something. My wee tiny bladder has trouble with that concept. So, after much walking and pee-dancing around, we decided to sit and have a beer at a small outdoor pub. After a few sips, I could take no more. I had to go. With sign language and much blundering about, I managed to find out where the washroom was. Down the narrow, steep, rickety stairs, first door on the left. So, I traipsed down the dimly lit stairs and opened the door to the unisex bathroom. The smell or urine hit me like a truck. There was pee ankle deep on the floor. Still, I was desperate and my bladder wouldn’t wait any longer. I rolled up the legs of my pants to keep them dry, dropped my drawers and squatted over the toilet. No way in the world would I sit on that thing. I was no more than started when the light went out. Motion sensor! What the hell and programmed for under a minute. Who pees that fast? Not me! And clearly none of those who went before me finished in time. I waved my arms around and the light came back on. Whose brilliant idea was that? Motion sensor in a bathroom. I’m guessing that the men had trouble standing there and trying to aim when the lights went out. It sure explained the mess on the floor. Yuck. Yuck and yuck again.


The best part of Paris was the Musée de Cluny. By chance I discovered that this museum was the home of the Lady and the Unicorn Tapestries. So, we hoped the Metro, (which by the way is fast and efficient and the best way to travel Paris) and visited the museum. Unlike the Louvre, which was wall to wall people and so busy you could hardly see the art, Cluny was almost empty. It is a museum of medieval history and had incredible artwork, architecture, stained glass and hordes of other stuff. All of which you could get right up to and see the fine details. Best of all were the tapestries. We spent over half and hour in that climate controlled room. Alone except for the security guard, we studied each one closely and took some pictures. Non-flash pictures, but they turned out not bad all things considered. We also visited the Military Museum and took a Segway tour from Fat Tyre Bicycle Tours. They are an American company with all young American and Australians doing the tours. Fabulous for those of use who don’t speak French. Don’t ask about our segway accident. It was Dave’s fault and that’s all I’m going to say. Don’t listen to him when he tells you otherwise.

Manchester is a rainy dismal industrial city. We stayed there for eight days while Dave played in the World Field Lacrosse Championships. They didn’t do so well, but it was fun to watch.

Scotland…. Scotland is worth a blog entry of its own. Stay tuned.