Cottage Friends

We went to visit my parents up at the lake a couple of weeks ago and we were lucky enough to have my dad's new friends drop by while we there.  Actually they are a bit of a pretentious couple as they flew in for the visit but friendly nonetheless.

Typical in a couple one of them is more social than the other. I was able to sit quietly by and watch her.  

On the second day both dropped by together.

The quiet ones are most often misunderstood.  Somewhat reserved, possibly thought of as aloof but really he's just a shy guy.  Rather sweet too as I watched him having a nice chat with the garden frog earlier.

 "Thanks Gord. See you tomorrow!"

Summer time heat.

I am sitting here in my kitchen writing this in the comfort of our air conditioned house. (Thank goodness!)  Outside it is 31° C in the shade and it's pushing 40 with the humidex.  I have been bordering on a migraine today (but I now feel like I'm winning!) so I shall not venture out today except for required drop offs and pick ups. 


Here are some refreshing pictures from our recent trip to the lake and with this I say the summer has officially begun!

We started our summer holidays with a mother-daughter pedicure last Friday.
(A lovely Mother's Day present).

We all chose our favourite shade of pink!

My artsy bubble picture!

 Fun in the lake.

Guard dog.

As the temperatures continue to rise this week I hope you have a cool place to dip your feet in.

In the Garden this Morning.

Our little robin family has been a bit obsessed with our serviceberry tree this week.   In fact right now they are having a little squabble about it underneath the tree.   It was only after my sister had posted this beautiful photo of her homegrown salad that I remembered you could eat these little berries.  In the past we had tried them but they were very bitter.  I guess our little tree has matured enough now to produce this sweet, blueberry like treat.

Photo by Kathleen Maunder.

We don't have as many on our tree as Kathy has in this bowl but I think I may know why.

I really couldn't believe he let me get this close.  He gripped the berry in his hands until the very last moment. While amazed and snapping photos I did have visions of him  leaping from the branch into my hair.  The memories of a recent dream of flying squirrels is still rather vivid in my mind. :)

The coveted prize.

Yesterday, while weeding in our back garden for the first time this season. (I know some of you are shaking your head in disbelief and disgust!!)  I found this lone, slight stem.  I was pretty sure it was a poppy that had seeded from our neighbour's garden.  Although it had landed in a bit of a strange spot I weeded around it.

Today this beautiful poppy is starting to open up.  I must try to plant these again.  I just love poppies.

On the grill.

I think I may be in complete denial about the summer.  Tomorrow is the last day of regular classes and by the end of the week both girls will have finished exams and done for the year. By Wednesday my days will not be my own.  I do love spending time with the girls and I really want the stress of final assignments and exams behind the household but it's always an adjustment for me.

One thing (of many) that I love about summer is cooking on the BBQ.  This hasn't been so much fun in the last year as our grill was quickly falling apart.  So frustrating when yet another appliance breaks down in a short period.  We celebrated Father's Day with a new BBQ for my husband.  They are so beautiful at the beginning with that never been touched grill.  An actual working electronic starter is also such a treat!

Homemade burgers on the grill.  These were made by Sydney and we got the recipe from Canadian Living.  Best Beef Burgers.  Grilled asparagus from our farm box.

 What's a burger without all the fixin's?  This year President's Choice has brought out a Carmelized Red Onion Chutney that is delicious with a burger.  Eating outside is always so great as well.

These boiled new potatoes are so easy and such a hit.  A friend of mine mentioned she puts Club House La Grille BBQ Chicken seasoning on her potatoes.  I've added a drizzle of olive olive oil and sprinkled some garlic chives from the farm.  You can have them hot or cold and if you have any left they might even taste better the next day!

Oh, you're so fresh!

Coming back to the house with Sydney from an appointment this afternoon we were greeted at our front door with our first farm box of the season.  It has been so busy today I had almost forgotten about it.  This will be our third year participating in a local organic farm share.  We just love it.  It's so exciting to get fresh vegetables at the door every Friday.

We have a nice assortment of lettuce, swiss chard, baby bok choy...

...radishes, garlic chives, rutabaga, rhubarb and asparagus.

We were lucky this week to even get a small box of strawberries. Yum! Tonight we'll start with a big romaine salad with strawberries and maybe some grilled asparagus to go with it.  I'm already thinking of a rhubarb coffee cake for tomorrow.

It may not be official until next week but for us this marks the first day of summer!
Happy Weekend friends.

The Look of Summer

Some beautiful summer-at-the-beach inspired jewelry. New in my shop today.

Boho chic necklace with artisan made lampwork glass beads. I call this one Stormy Seas.

 Fabulous vintage hoops in Emerald Green.

Deep Aqua Glass Beaded Bracelet. Great for layering with other bracelets too!

Add a little summer colour to your life!!

Forget Spring it was Summer in the Air this week.

Wow! What a week.  We've been saying for a while now what happened to winter?  Well now it's what happened to spring?  With temperatures soaring to 26°C and sunshine galore you felt you were hopelessly behind in the gardening department only to be reassured it was only March.  The trees are budding, the birds are out and there is green, lots of green in the garden.  Sandals, pedicured toes and tank tops are the style du jour.
Some spring summer inspired designs!

Have a great weekend friends!

Sitting on the Dock of the Bay

Our dog Mabel prefers when we are all together and she prefers that togetherness to be on land.  While my husband and our youngest were out for a sail a weekend ago Mabel paced the dock and waited patiently for their return.  She could barely contain herself as they got closer to the dock.

What's really cool though is this is my husband's childhood sailboat - it has to be forty years old (or maybe even more!).  He has such fond memories of sailing with his dad when he was younger it's nice to be able to see him extend that to a new generation.  It's great to spend some time with the girls with no distractions, electronics or texts.  Just the wind, water and some new memories.

What's so Funny?

A little joke between friends.

Wish I knew what was so funny!

Meeko and Mabel.

The Season of Rhubarb

Lovely pink stalks with bright green leaves are a sure sign that summer is here.  This week we received our first delivery of our organic farm share.  Eager to use rhubarb for the very first time, I found a delicious recipe for a rhubarb upside down cake.  Not too sweet, not too tart.  The cake is moist and has a light vanilla flavouring and is perfect when served warm out of the oven with it's buttery carmelized topping.  Best of all you can make it in minutes.

Upside Down Rhubarb Cake

Ingredients:

Base:
•2 tbsp (25 mL) butter
•1/2 cup (125 mL) packed brown sugar
•3 cups (750 mL) coarsley sliced Ontario Rhubarb

Cake:
•1/2 cup (125 mL) butter, softened
•3/4 cup (175 mL) granulated sugar
•2 eggs
•1 tsp (5 mL) vanilla
•1-1/2 cups (375 mL) all-purpose flour
•2 tsp (10 mL) baking powder
•1/4 tsp (1 mL) salt
•1/8 tsp (0.5 mL) nutmeg
•1 cup (250 mL) sour cream or plain yogurt

Preparation:
Base: In 8 inch (2 L) square non-aluminium baking dish, heat butter in 350°F (180°C) oven for about 5 minutes or until melted. Sprinkle brown sugar and then rhubarb evenly in dish; set aside.

Cake: In bowl, cream together butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Stir together flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg. Stir into creamed mixture alternately with sour cream, making three additions of each.

Spread batter over rhubarb. Bake in 350°F (180°C) oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until top springs back when lightly pressed. Let cool on rack for 15 minutes. Run knife around edge of pan; invert cake onto serving plate. Serve warm or at room temperature.
Recipe from Foodland Ontario.

Other things inspired by rhubarb.

Rhubarb Rose Chalcedony Necklace handmade by Fiveforty.

A gorgeous rhubarb coloured ceramic button from White Clover Kiln.

Delicious rhubarb orange jelly to liven up your morning toast from Bovinebubbles.

In My Backyard

This afternoon I was outside on the patio taking pictures of my jewellery when I noticed a mourning dove sitting underneath our bird feeder. It's a pretty common occurence for us to see this but this time I had my camera in hand.


When I was younger I thought they were called 'Morning' Doves, made perfect sense I often saw them in the morning but when I later learned it was 'Mourning' I always had a strange appreciation for them. Their sombre cooing sound always made me feel a bit sad for them and their propensity for just sitting on the ground always made me a bit worried for their safety.
You wonder if these birds are just so naive that they think they are safe there, confident that they could fly away if danger arose or just hopeful of the world and it's surroundings around them - a trust in the world that they will be safe. Be safe little bird.

The Show was a Success!

Gravenhurst Dockside Festival
We made it through the clouds, rain, thunder, lightening, torrential downpour, fog...hmmm...I think that was it...no wait...there was sunshine as well. Yeah!! My first show (and an outdoor one at that) was a success! I met so many nice people. I can't thank you enough for all your lovely comments.

I learned some good things for the future as well. I had some great comments about the setup of the booth and how I displayed my jewellery but I could see right away that some coloured fabric hanging from the back walls would make it stand out better. Also, a display case or small table at the front would help to show off more product. A sign would probably be a good idea as well. All things to consider for the future but I am very pleased with the results. I'm excited and motivated for the future. My head is spinning with ideas and it shouldn't be long until you see some of them on my website and in my etsy shop.

There's more than me behind Wallis Designs. I couldn't have done it without my family. My two daughters Erica and Sydney spent endless hours helping me get ready for the show in so many ways plus all the time they spent in the booth. My husband gave me lots of great sales advice and totally supported this venture as I spent hours making jewellery and hours on the computer in setting up nancywallisdesigns.com and promotion. My Dad and sister Karen helped me with setting and closing up the tent and my Mom made us great meals each night when we stayed at the cottage. I also want to thank my friends in the Canadian Etsy forum. Your support and encouragement has really helped me. So thanks to all of you.