Tinkerblue

Local Artists - Kez Sherwood of Ox and Monkey - Canadian Landscape Cups

When I (well when Michelle, Jo and I) packed up the townhouse last year I gave away or donated pretty much all my candle holders.  Most were from Ikea or Pier 1, so easily replaceable. I just couldn't see the sense in storing them all.  I kept a few.  A ceramic globe tealight holder from Heather. A tall blue candle from Jane and Cindy. I think that's it.  So only I kept two candle holders!  I miss them.  Didn't realise how much I actually lit candles.  I like the shadows they cast.  

 

I saw these ceramic cups in the window at Fresh from the Coast, a store here in Sechelt that sells artwork made on the Sunshine Coast. I didn't buy any of them.  I am very  materialistic, I like to be surrounded by pretty things.  But lets face it, I don't have a home right now.  I have a bedroom.  My next job is not conducive to having "things".  So anything I buy now will eventually go into a storage locker for a year or two or maybe more.

 

 

My goal for 2012 and now 2013 is that I am trying not to buy anything that goes on shelf or on a wall. Unless it has a practical use it's not coming home with me.  So how's that going?  Umm yeah, not to good. I succumbed.  I bought three. 

 

Each cup is sculpted in luminous porcelain using the artists inspiration from Canadian nature. They could be used as a cup for cold drinks, but I've only been using them for votive candles.

 

Don't they look pretty?

 

I think there were 5 designs to choose from at the time. I chose one each of three designs.  I went with three that I liked instantly.  It was only afterwards when I read the info card with each one that I realised each of the three I selected were based on nature inspirations from the Coast. (Possibly I was just having a bottle blonde moment, and maybe all the designs are from the Coast).

 

"The impression for the Cedar Drift Wood design was taken on the waterfront in Sechelt, BC"

"The inspiration for the Davis Bay Barnacle Lines design came from the barnacle lines left on a rock at low tide, Davis Bay, BC"

"The inspiration for the Georgia Strait Waves design came from one of my many ocean kayaking adventures in and around the Strait"

 

The artist who creates the Canadian Landscape Cups is Kez Sherwood from Gibsons, BC.

Kez Sherwood

Ox and Monkey

Fresh from the Coast

Current show at Gibson's Public Art Gallery from June 28th to July 29th 2013

 

Our Home is Sold

Well it's done. The buyers took possession at noon today (Friday July 27th). The money (what little there is) is in my bank account. Dave and I no longer share a home. I am no longer a home owner. 

 

I don't think it's really hit me yet. Because the job I'm working for the summer has accommodation I've not really thought about it.  I think that come the end of September when my job is done, and I become homeless it'll hit me like a ton of bricks. I'll be homeless and jobless. Great, something to look forward to.

 

Anyways I have spent the last two weeks madly trying to get the house ready.  It was not easy and it literally made me mad. Very mad.  At me, at Dave, at the buyers, at the world.  Because I'm not living and working in Vancouver, I could only get back to the house twice, each time for two days to pack it up. Dave was (still is) out of town, so he was no help. He did take all his stuff, but it still left me with all the other stuff to deal with.

 

Luckily I had a little bit of help from Steve, Kim, Joanna and Michelle. I seriously don't know that I would have made it through without Michelle. She propped me up,  told me funny stories and bought me coffee. And dinner. And wine. I got so overwhelmed with the amount of stuff still left to do and the ever diminishing amount of time to do it in I actually collapsed in a sobbing heap. More than once. Michelle was always there to pick up the pieces. Wrap things in newspaper. Pack items in boxes. Move boxes. To keep me sane.

 

So after taking three truckloads to goodwill, two truckloads to the dumpster, one load to the hangar and four truckloads to the storage locker. It's done. The locker is stuffed to its very edges. The house is empty. It's time for new beginnings. 

 

 

I do miss it. I liked the townhouse. It was the perfect size for me. I liked the location beside the river, and the trails and the little village. I'll miss it:(

Our House is Officially for Sale

http://homesite.obeo.com/viewer/default.aspx?tourid=720704&locale=en-US

 

 

A Bottle of Wine + 4Hours = A Clean Garage

It's taken me 5 days to clean this house. I started at the top and worked my way down.

I decluttered as I went. Which basically means I moved everything into the garage. Dave came by yesterday and took a truck load of rubbish away. Even then I still couldn't see the floor.

Last night I opened a bottle of Merlot, courtesy of Gail and got to work. The wine made the 4 hours of sorting and cleaning fly by.

The result? I put out 3 boxes of recycling this morning. I wonder if they'll take it all? There's another two big bags of garbage.

I have enough crap for another garage sale. That or I'm just going to get Big Brothers to come by and collect it all. Oh and I found some stuff that I forgot we even owned.

Woohoo now there's room to put my car back in the garage. Except it's pouring and it was 1:00am when I finished and I couldn't be bothered moving it.

The garage has never been so clean.

Our House Is For Sale

Wanna buy it?

http://www.kenambrosehomes.ca/pitt-meadows-townhouses.html/details-24407419

I Never Did Like 20 Questions.

As I move forward in the new version of my life I am constantly plagued by indecision.

When DQ left I started questioning everything that was the life I thought I knew. What did I do wrong? What could I have done differently? What's wrong with me? So it goes on.

I may be shy but I'm usually a fairly confident person. However a byproduct of suddenly finding myself single is that my self confidence has been shattered.

That means I either can't make a decision or if I do actually make a decision I have no confidence in it. I question everything, a thousand times over. It is a good decision? Or is it just the easy way out? Is it the decision I want to make? Or is it the decision that I think others are expecting me to make? Is it a decision based on common sense? Or emotionally fraught? Is it based on opportunity and challenge? Or running away? Is it okay for right now, but the wrong one for 6 months from now?

All that to decide if I want an apple or a banana? No wonder I constantly feel exhausted.

Nah, I'm talking more life altering decisions. Do I want a job that I'll like or a job that pays well? Are money and benefits the deciding factor? Do I want full time work? Do I want seasonal work? Do I want a desk job? Or retail? Or back on a hotel front desk? What about a resort somewhere that offers staff accommodation? Then I don't need to find somewhere to live. Here? Australia? Somewhere else? Do I take a short term opportunity that pays little, would be fun, but could end in a month, might last 6 months?

I need a magic eight ball and two Tylenol.

So dinner. Meatballs? Chimichanga? Chicken and veggies? Chocolate? That's an easy choice.

Killer Whale by Cody Mathias

This makes me smile. Is it not beautiful? It's a killer whale carved by Cody Mathias of the Coast Salish First Nation.

I bought it last summer from the Spirit Gallery in Horseshoe Bay. I originally bought it to give as a gift, but then selfishly decided to keep it for myself.

The killer whale is a symbol of strength and family. I can use all the strength and family I can get right now.

Advent Calendar Day #2 - Decorate

I couldn't bring myself to put the tree up and hang all the ornaments. It just seemed wrong (and lonely) to do the tree alone. So if anyone's around on Monday evening and wants to help me decorate my (fake) Christmas tree, I'll provide the bubbly and maybe some cookies.

I did however get out some of my other decorations. Mainly in the dining room and mainly all involving candles. I love to sit on the sofa and watch the candles flickering light and the dancing shadows.

Most of these decorations are handmade, given to me my friends or family or purchased on my travels. I like the memories they invoke, of the places I've been, of the people I've met, of the friends I hold dear, and the family I love.

Shoe Storage - Plastic Shoe Boxes

Continuing on with the clean up my wardrobe theme. Oh how exciting my life has become. I can see my mum and hubby rolling their eyes. Actually I can hear my mum, "Only you could talk about shoe boxes/coat hangers/insert appropriate word here."

 

We keep most of our shoes in the closet at the front door. If they don't fit in the closet then they live on the floor, or in with the hot water tank and Christmas decorations.

 

 

Until now. While shopping in the States over the weekend I picked up a box of boxes. 20 boxes on sale for $29.80. That's $1.49 a box. If they didn't work for shoes, I'd use them for crafts or hubby would use them at the hangar. 

 

 

They worked. I can see all my shoes. And the mess is gone from the floor. Can't guarantee it will stay gone.

 

 

And hubby's Blundstone's are all lined up under the bench. Well not all of them. There are still some in the closet and I'm assuming that he has a pair on his feet right now.  He has so many pairs that I found a pair with the tags still on. He's never worn them. He has black, brown, red elastic, steel toe, black dress and 2 pairs of sandals. All Blundstones. All made in Tassie. He hasn't bought any since they moved the factory to Vietnam.

 

 

Ironic isn't it. I have so many pairs of shoes, but I prefer being barefoot.

 

Huggable Hangers

Over the weekend I was reading Sara's You, Me and Anthropologie blog. She was giving a tour of her new closet. She mention that hanging space was at a premium. Several commenters posted that she should try the huggable hangers - they take up less room and clothing doesn't slide off them. The originals are from The Container Store ($9.99 for 6). Amazon ($25.00 for 50) and Target ($19.99 for 34 piece combo pack) both have versions of them to.  I kind of thought that would be nice but didn't give it much thought after that.

 

Then I was in Costco, just outside of Seattle, and they had a box of 50 for $12.00. So I thought why not give them a try. For $12.00 if they don't work it doesn't really matter.

 

Today I swapped out most of my assortment of  wood and green and white plastic hangers for the black velvety huggable hangers. Guess what? They actually appear to take up less space. I even hung up stuff that that had been relegated to a drawer. And there's still a chunk of closet at the back that is empty.

 

And I like that all the hangers are the same. Now I want another box so I can remove the rest of the plastic hangers.  I like the symmetry. Get over it. 

 

Skirts will be next. Yep, I own a crap load of skirts. Who'd have thought. Anyone want my old plastic hangers? There's about 50 of them.