Spring Changes.

Hello All!  It seems an eternity has passed since my last update.  It has been so incredibly overwhelming, chaotic, exciting and all of the feels over here.  So many changes, and so much to take care of with our new life on the East coast.

The winter was peaceful, and we spent a lot of our time checking out restaurants, coffee shops and bars along the South shore, and in Halifax.  The rest of the time we spent checking out the local hardware stores, paint departments and sourcing inspiration online, working on the house, and shining her up a bit.   

We were grateful for the very mild winter, it was so warm, we even had a couple of campfires in Feb. so for that we were grateful for the gentle welcome....and the kind neighbour who came by EVERY time it snowed (which thankfully was not often), with his giant tractor, and plowed our driveway.

Cameron and I participated in the Halifax Crafter's Society Holiday show as well as the Spring show, and were happy to meet so many talented artists, and friendly people that organize this show to make it such an incredible experience.  We're really looking forward to next year, and hope to make this a tradition!

I wanted to share some of the surprises here on the homestead, mostly in the form of floral ones....we seem to have inherited some amazing gardens on the porperty.  There are quince bushes, extremely old lilacs, highbush blueberries, many wild and cultivated roses and a very ancient apple and plum orchard.  It's been so inspiring to take time away from the studio, to just be grateful, soak it all in and slow down a bit.  

I've got some very exciting news, which I'll be sharing soon, so stay tuned!

Hope you are enjoying the Spring weather, and finding inspiration where you are!

Roughing it in the Bush

It's difficult to imagine how hard it was...
the isolation and discomfort, the broken hearts.

I'm currently reading "Roughing it in the Bush", by Susanna Moodie an English writer, who emigrated to Canada in the 1830's.  Her editors wanted her to write a book that would serve as a guide for Englishmen and women considering emigration to Canada, but instead she gave them the truth. 

The bitter truth, about how truly difficult it is for someone of relative wealth and with no prior experience with farming to start a homestead in Canada.  Published in 1852, it was the first honest, firsthand account of a settlers experience that wasn't romanticised or misleading. 

The publishing house was shocked....at the time Canada was being promoted as a utopia for the British emigrant, a land of natural riches and great beauty.

It became wildly successful, and is still in print and a great read, published by a rare book company.  It's part of a trilogy and I'm looking forward to the other two books, if it is even possible to find them.





































These pics are from that time period, and from Retronaut.
The first image is a portrait of Susanna Moodie.