Category Archives: antiques

Fandango’s One Word Challenge – Pencil

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…..thanks to Fandango for the One Word Challenge

The lowly pencil is often overlooked as a writing and/or art tool. On my recent trip to London I noticed numerous artists sketching the marble statues in the V&A gallery so I decided to try my hand at it. I frequently sketch directly with ink, pen or marker but I decided to use pencil instead.

When I first posted my sketch on the family What’s App page my son who is a curator at the museum immediately told me that I had the statue’s foot pointing in the wrong direction. I’m glad that I took a photo of the actual statue because when I went back to check, sure enough I had drawn the foot facing inward instead of outward. Not sure if it was the angle at which I was sitting but I was grateful that I used pencil. Out came the eraser and I fixed it as best I could.IMG-9220
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London – Day Three – Part 2

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…..after Highgate Cemetery

Down the hill from Highgate Cemetery we were directed to look for a pub that came highly recommended. Unfortunately when we got there the pub was being completely renovated and wasn’t open for business. We didn’t have to walk far before we found another place with a lovely patio. It was a little chilly to be sitting outside so we opted to go inside The Vine. Only one other table was occupied but the bartender greeted us and directed us to a table for four and handed us menus.

Normally an empty pub doesn’t bode well for good service or food but in this case it was completely the opposite. Our waiter was delightful and the food was delicious.

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After a pint of larger or cider and a few sharing plates we headed off towards Camden Market.

With hundreds of stalls selling clothing, crafts, and food, Camden Market is one of Europe’s largest markets. It is divided into different markets. We started in the Camden Lock Market which is on the street level and next to the locks. There were lots of food vendors here and a variety of stalls selling anything from books, music and flowers to vintage clothes.IMG-8642
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At first glance I thought the market was actually quite small but then we walked through a hole in the brick wall and we experienced a whole new world. There are literally hundreds of vendors in the Stables Market.

The Stables Market is located in historic former stables and the Grade II horse hospital which served the horses pulling Pickford’s distribution vans and barges along the canal. Many of the stalls and shops are set in large arches in railway viaducts.IMG-8651
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It is very easy to get lost in this place. If you like this kind of market give yourself a couple of hours to really see this place and check out all the vendors.

WPC – Weathered

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…thanks to WordPress for this week’s theme weathered

weath·ered
ˈweT͟Hərd/
adjective
adjective: weathered
  1. worn by long exposure to the air; weather-beaten.
    “weathered rock”
weath·er
ˈweT͟Hər/
verb
past tense: weathered; past participle: weathered
  1. 1.
    wear away or change the appearance or texture of (something) by long exposure to the air.
    “his skin was weathered almost black by his long outdoor life”
    synonyms: weather-beaten, worn; More
    • (of rock or other material) be worn away or altered by long exposure to the air.
      “the ice sheet preserves specimens that would weather away more quickly in other regions”
    • FALCONRY
      allow (a hawk) to spend a period perched on a block in the open air.
      noun: weathering
  2. 2.
    come safely through (a storm).
    • withstand (a difficulty or danger).
      “this year has tested industry’s ability to weather recession”
      synonyms: survive, come through, ride out, pull through; More
    • SAILING
      (of a ship) get to the windward of (a cape or other obstacle).
  3. 3.
    make (boards or tiles) overlap downward to keep out rain.
    • (in building) slope or bevel (a surface) to throw off rain.
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Thursday Doors – November 16, 2017

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….thanks to Norm for hosting Thursday Doors

Last week  I wrote about Dundurn Castle and the Cockpit Theatre in Hamilton. Both places were originally owned by Allan MacNab. Yesterday I came across Castle Doune while walking with my granddaughter. As I came to the end of Locke St. N I spied this impressive structure through the trees. Apart from the historical plaque at the front of the property and the Private Property sign it appeared to be occupied. I was fascinated by the trees on the property and a very old bust made of stone looking over the driveway that led onto the property. P1050551

When I too a photo of the bust a very attractive middle aged woman walked toward me from the back of the driveway. I asked her if it was alright to take photos of the stone head. She was more than happy to oblige me and she started to talk about the history of the sculpture. It seems that it was originally guarding the original gravesite of Sir Allan MacNab before his remains were removed and placed in another cemetery. She was pretty confident that the head was not a likeness of MacNab but some deity that she couldn’t remember the name of.

Again the history of this place is somewhat sketchy. The historical society claims that MacNab built it for his gardener but the present owner thinks that it was MacNab’s first home. Apparently, according to her, he found the place too small for his liking and he built Dundurn Castle.

I thoroughly enjoyed speaking to this charming woman. When she bought the place 10 years ago she justified living in this large home because in her words, ‘every princess deserves a castle’.

If it’s true that MacNab needed larger quarters to live in he certainly made sure that his new home met those requirements. Here are a couple of photos of Dundurn Castle.

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Two Birthday Parties and a Trip to the Antique Market

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…..as promised in my last post, Last Four Days at the Cottage here is the rest of that weekend

Going to the cottage with A and J is always a lot of fun. This year my birthday happened to fall on the last of those four days. Our good friends and neighbours at the cottage were also up and they invited us over for dinner on the Saturday. It turned out to be a little bit of a celebration. They toasted A and J’s wedding which took place earlier in the year and to my ‘last year of being young’. This was in reference to the fact that next year I will be officially declared a senior. I personally don’t think that I will all of a sudden become old just because of a number attached to my age. I never tell the students at school how old I am because I know they will automatically think that I’m ancient. They think that 40 is old.

The next day, which was my actual birthday, we packed up to go home. I’m sure that my daughter was given instructions by my family to be back by a certain time. When we got to the ferry dock we were the last car put on the barge so we had enough time to make a few stops on our trip back to the city. We stopped at Wendy B’s in Lafontaine and picked up a few snacks to enjoy on the trip home and the girls picked up a birthday present for me from her small gallery in the back corner of her store. img_9906

This lovely bracelet also came with a pair of beautiful hand painted earrings.

On the way home we were approaching an antique market outside of Cookstown that I’ve always wanted to stop at but never have. This trip we decided that we had enough time to stop and have quick tour of the place. We weren’t disappointed. I love collecting old bottles and found a few to use as subjects in my paintings. I also found a rack of new linen tops that were on sale and I treated myself to a beautiful orangey button down blouse that I can also wear like a jacket. Here are some of things that we saw there:

When we got home there was a parcel waiting for me from my friend, D, from the cottage. She ordered me a new game called King’s Cribbage.

My daughter, granddaughter and son-in-law were already there. My husband and son-in-law were busy cooking up ribs. We had a glorious outdoor meal with the family. The baby is walking holding onto things but she has managed a few steps on her own. I received a gift certificate for an art store (always appreciated) and my husband combined my anniversary gift with my birthday gift and bought me a great macro lens (which most of you already know I’ve been using a lot).

Last weekend my husband and I made our final visit to the cottage to close the place up for the season. I know it’s early but this year is an exceptional year with milestone birthdays in October.

Cheers!