Wellington County Museum - 1920's Kitchen

I found this exhibit so interesting....so many items that I collect now and a few I remember my Mom having in our kitchen when I was a young child. I hope you enjoy the photos :)

Love this child's set with the red chairs!

I was on the lookout for a large yellow ware bowl like this at the antique stores when we were down there but I never found one that big. I'm still on the prowl for one...LOL

I'd also like to have one of these. It would go so nice with my enamelware collection! So would the wood cook-stove in the back...but I'd settle for the table. I don't have room for a cook-stove :(

Well that's it for tonight. Miss Pearl tuckered me out today. Have a good one!

Wellington County Museum - Pioneer Log Cabin Exhibit

Here are some photos of the Pioneer Exhibit that is an ongoing Exhibition at the Wellington Museum. The photos do not do it justice - the murals were amazing! As always, just click on the photos to get a better look.

Showing some of the farm tools that were used daily.

Bringing the berries home.

These murals must have taken so long to complete - they're so detailed!

Notice the young girl making hand dipped candles.

Everyone pitching in and doing work - maple syrup time!

Love the hutch with dough bowl and crocks!

How many things can you pick out that are collected by us now? I found at least 10!

Love love love the blue trunk and coverlet!

Hope you all enjoy your Sunday! The weather is hot and sunny here and baby just woke up so I think we'll go out and play a while.

Wellington County Museum

Last March we took a weekend road trip and visited the beautiful town of St. Jacobs and while traveling around the back roads we came across this huge old Museum and we just had to go check it out!

The museum is a National Historic site and listed as the oldest House of Industry in Canada. They have some permanent displays as well as new and different exhibits. The museum was built in 1877 and provided shelter for the poor, the aged, and the homeless for almost a century. I could just feel the history oozing out of every nook and cranny in that place. It was kinda eerie!

Here are a few photos that I took....I took a lot so I'll do more posts on it as I sort through the photos on my computer.

It stands on the top of a hill overlooking The Grand River between Fergus and Elora.

There is a barn and other out buildings to the left.

This is a hand painted mural that depicts what it would have been like when it was welcoming people into it's doors.

There are a lot of posters on the walls with interesting information about the House. (click  to enlarge)

We were lucky to be there when they had the exhibits "A Century of Kitchenware" and "Keeping Clean"- a look at laundry over the years. Here's a sneak peek at some of the wonderful items on display.

I'll share more in another post.

Old Wooden Doors

I love old wooden doors. It doesn't matter what kind of a building they're on or if they are interior or exterior...I love them all! Here are a few of my favorite photos that I've taken over the years of these beauties. 

The first two I took on our recent trip to Ottawa. They're on the Parliament Buildings.

The next 4 were taken on our wonderful short trip to Charleston SC in 2007. They are on some of the historic buildings and homes we passed while taking a horse drawn carriage ride. I love you Charleston and I can't wait to visit you again!

And this last one is on a beautiful old stone building in St. Jacobs. They make the most amazing wizard brooms - just like the ones in Harry Potter!

Hope you're all having a great Thursday!

New Finds and help needed for display!

We have a new Antique store in the small town where I live....in fact it's been there since Feb! I've never noticed it as it's tucked away in a small corner of the one strip mall (if you can call it that) that I drive by almost every time I go to town. That just goes to show how observant I am :)

There are 4 dealers in there and the stuff they have is all antique/primitive and very $$$! I only found a few items that I would be willing to pay that much for and the next time I go, I'll try to take a few photos.

I did purchase this wooden Coca Cola box that I love. He was asking $20 but he gave it to me for $15. Believe it or not that's not a bad price around here. I know you can probably get them a lot cheaper elsewhere but I never seem to get a chance to go to the great Antique places that Southern Ontario has.

 My problem is this...I'm not sure how to display it or what to put in it. I was thinking some old bottles with cheese cloth wrapped around the lids but it's quite high at 13 inches and I don't have any bottles that big. It also has a board in the middle to separate it in half. Any suggestions or ideas are very welcome :)

I also found this old watering can at a recent farm/barn sale. It's a bit dented on one side but still a great find!

That's about all that's new old around here for now. Have a great night!

Company from BC and Hockey Night in Canada...Redneck Style

This past week my beautiful Niece Monique and her Husband Dylan came from British Columbia for a visit. Monique's family and Dylan's family all live in Ontario so they got to see everyone when they came down. Now we just need to convince them to move back here - they love the west coast though so it may not happen for a while. Monique is pregnant with their first child and she is going to be a GREAT Mom!.

Monique, Dylan, and her Dad (my brother) Vic.

Miss Pearl took to her like a bee to honey! This was the first time they'd met and Hailie would not let her out of her sight!

We went fishing, swimming, and enjoyed the Waterfront park in North Bay. The weather was perfect! 

On Wednesday night we enjoyed the Hockey Game - redneck style! We decided to bring my brother's big screen TV outside to watch the game and have a bonfire. Some friends came over too so it's a good thing we had it outside - none of our living rooms were big enough to hold everyone.

As a side note, I was and still am very ashamed at how terrible some of the people in Vancouver rioted after the game. Shame on you! Canadians are more sportsmanlike than that! The sad thing is, they probably would have done the same thing if Vancouver had won the cup. There are always a few bad apples in a crowd that size that seem to get the others going. The VPD have made several arrests thanks to digital photos that everyone took with their cell phones, ipods, etc. I think they should be made to pay for the damage they did as well - but they'll probably get a slap on the wrist and probation! 

I am very proud of the volunteers that went out the next day to start the clean up and help shop owners get back to some kind of normalcy. Now, that's the Canadian way - helping each other! 

 Monique and Dylan live in Vancouver and I think they were thankful they were in Ontario when that happened.

Congrats to Boston for playing a great series and winning the cup!

Photo Restorations

Quite a few years ago I took an interest in digitally restoring old photos. The first one I ever attempted was this one of my Dad when he was working at a service station in his younger years. This was mostly a colorization more than a restoration but I thought I would share it anyway. I colorized him and left the background in the original black and white. Click to enlarge. Such a handsome man!

This next one was one I did for a client. This was her late husband and she wanted the photo restored and colorized. She was very happy with the results.

Another one where the photo had been folded and kept in a wallet. Restored and colored.

And this one was a colorization of a client and her 2 sisters. 

If you would like to have one of your photos restored or colorized just email me. Prices start at $150.00. Everything is handled through email and the finished photo will be emailed to you so you can print out as many copies as you like. 

Makes a wonderful gift for family & friends!

Cooler and Quiet around here

The hot summer temps we experienced last week are gone and now it's actually pretty cool again - which I don't mind cause I'm not a fan of hot humid weather.

We went to dinner at my oldest daughters place last night and I got to visit with baby Evie. She's growing so fast and starting to crawl already! Of course I forgot my camera :(

Here's a photo of where the new large barrel ended up for the summer. I think in the winter I'm going to cut down a small tree to put inside and decorate it by my back entrance for Christmas but for now it's going to stay put in the garden - it's a heavy sucker!

Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

A day at the Beach!

Today was a day for relaxing and family time. We decided to head to our favorite beach just a couple of miles down the road from us. It's at a resort that is run by friends and has a gorgeous sandy beach. First we had lunch and then some play time. My brother took us out for a ride on his boat later which was a perfect ending to a great day. We headed home around 4 PM and then I told my parents I would work the store for them so they could go out and enjoy part of the day too - they went out fishing on their boat that's docked at the same resort. They work too hard so it was nice to see them relax a bit too! They only caught a few Perch and a tiny Pickerel that they threw back but I'm sure they enjoyed their time alone.

I REALLY needed an afternoon like this - I miss living by the water more than I can put into words - and if I ever  when I win the lottery, the first thing I'm going to do is buy a house on the lake!

This is Grandpa with Miss Pearl in the tower overlooking the lake.

Shelby made a new friend right away and we soon found out that that dog would never get tired of playing fetch in the water. He literally did it for hours and was still wanting to play.

Grandpa and Miss Pearl watching a duck.

Miss Pearl with her Aunt Shelby making a sand castle. Shelby's so good with her and I'm very thankful for that - she's very patient with her and loves to play which is good cause this Grandma has a hard time keeping up!

Time to cool off - the water was actually pretty nice considering we've had some chilly nights.

Some play time on the swings.

Time to pack up and go home. 

I wish I had taken some photos of the boat trip but my eyes were on Miss Pearl the whole time. She doesn't sit still long - maybe next time.