Valentine Transferware

This fine collection of red and white Transferware includes a plate of particular interest...

Another Chatsworth House, a.k.a. Mr. Darcy's Pemberley, plate! The view is of the house in 1792. I love how this dish illustrates the house from the side, from the River Derwent, through the arches of the bridge (which pictures the statue that is no longer there), nestled in the foliage. The clouds look like pointillism. In 1792 I suppose Mr. Darcy would have been a boy playing in these grounds, or, you know...diving into the lake! (Hope that induced a Happy Valentine's swoon!)

January Bulletin 2018

Reflection and contrast

October Garden

I love gardens in October. The bees become dazed, and the twigs get crispy, but there are still a few defiantly peachy roses hidden in the brambles. Frost wilts the nasturtiums but makes the apples sweeter.

Those Hours With You

Oh what a dreamer's delight! I found this sweet illustrated poem at Value Village for $1.99, bundled with 3 other tiny frames--bonus! The 1700s themed illustration, gilded details, and reflective verses thrill my soul. It looks like framed Maurine Hathaway prints were a popular piece of 1920s décor.

Fête Galante

Pilgrimage to Cythera by Jean-Antoine Watteau--1718--oil on canvas 

February Bulletin 2017

Dainty details and dreams, admiration and affection

Pamela

I'm currently reading this 1740 epistolary novel, Pamela, by Samuel Richardson. Richardson (1689--1761) was a printer in London, and also wrote letter writing manuals instructing readers on how to write and behave properly. One of the letters in the manual sparked the plot of Pamela, the first classic English romantic novel. Pamela is told through a series of letters from Pamela, a beautiful  and godly servant girl, to her parents, beginning with her master's attempts to seduce her. According to this documentary by the fabulous historian Lucy Worsley, which goes into more detail about the success of the novel, Richardson was one of Jane Austen's favourite authors, and Pamela inspired her writing as well as the writing of other love novels.

Eastern Canada 2015: NS

Glace Bay, Nova Scotia: the point from which Marconi sent the first radio message

A weathered church near Glace Bay

A foggy welcome at The Fortress of Louisbourg

The view from that turret is very lush.

Crossing this moat made me want to visit every castle in Europe!

The golden Frédéric gate

I got very excited when I started recognizing furniture styles! Behold: a Louis XIV style fauteuil with leather upholstery and block turning.

A humble home

I see the logic behind the name of Cape Breton Island: Scotland. So much stone. So much green.

A beautifully restored landscape

Turkeys are hilariously weird creatures.

The garden at The Engineer's House

A wholesome kitchen...so appetizing

The Engineer's furniture

Tapestry

Wood and mustard velvet

Military Chapel

The King's Bastion

Military Pageantry

Fairview Cemetery, Halifax, Nova Scotia

This cemetery holds 121 Titanic victims, more than any other cemetery in the world.

This grave had many people flock to it after the release of Titanic. It is actually the grave of Joseph Dawson, who shovelled coal as a member of the ship's crew--not the fictitious Jack Dawson.

These are a child's shoes recovered from the wreckage at the ocean floor and displayed in the Titanic exhibit at The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic.

A clock from the rubble of The Halifax Explosion of 1917

A tea set from the rubble of The Halifax Explosion

The Acadia.

An elegant antique store in Halifax: Urban Cottage Antiques & Collectables

It is grand, full of interesting stuff, and doesn't even smell musty!

Peggy's Cove

Intriguing rocks

This is arguably one of the most refreshing places on earth. I climbed over the crevasses and tide pools and lay on the lichen-coated rocks for hours. The intense wind blew my hair straight back, and the salty air made my skin so smooth.

So Maritime