Taking Advantage

Little White Church, 1897

We took advantage of a break in the weather this morning to get out and get some fresh air. We drove out to Ft. Langley. It's quiet there in the off season, which makes wandering the village really nice. Mostly we passed other dog owners. Everyone else was sleeping in.

We walked along the Bedford Channel. We had the whole place to ourselves. Indy got to run around off leash and even waded into the water up to his chest while I shot photos of this charming little white church across the water which sits on a reserve. It was built in 1897. One of these days when I get a zoom lense for my camera, I'll go back and photograph it again. Despite the lack of zoom lense, I like how this photo came out. The colours are so typical of the west coast at this time of year.

I'll Come Running

At one point, Indy came rocketing down the path to find me (I was trailing far behind with my camera) and I captured his mad dash. I love how he's running so fast his ears are flapping. This is what love looks like.

As we wandered past my favourite antique mall, I spotted these Coke bottles. I like the way the light was glancing off them and the rust on the metal grid they we sitting in, inside a wooden crate.

I also like how they look in black and white. I am so grateful for digital technology that allows me to manipulate the photographs I take in so many amazing ways. It never gets old.

We raided a new candy shoppe in the village and came away with a bag full of our favourite candies from our respective childhoods. My goodies included Popeye cigarettes, sponge toffee, chocolate mints and Thrills gum. I was sad to hear that Thrills gum (the purple gum that tastes like soap) is no longer being made. The guy who owns the candy shoppe said what he had in stock was the last of what was available. This candy shoppe sure had a fantastic selection and the prices were ridiculously cheap. We'll be stopping in there again!

We stopped for coffee and chai and then headed over to a dog store we'd never been in before. (I call all pet supply stores "the dog store", in case you're wondering. They do not sell actual dogs. I call it the dog store because Indy is allowed to come in.) I wasn't in the door 2 minutes, when I found a Kong Genius toy I've been hunting high and low for for over a year. Kong is the only brand of toy I will buy Indy because they are incredibly durable and the company stands behind their products.

Anyway, I splurged and bought the Genius for Indy and put it away for his birthday. He will be 4 on March 15th. I know he's going to love it!

These are a couple shots from Granville Island from a couple weeks ago. I just got around to working on them the other day.

Soggy Dog

Indy, still wet after a swim. If ever there was a water dog, it's him. It's a good thing we have access to lots of lakes, rivers and oceans! He loves his time in the wilds just as much as we do. It's been tough getting out the last few weeks with the weather being so cold and miserable. Thank goodness spring is just around the corner!

Cranberryfest 2011

Hello again! Well, another Thanksgiving weekend has come and gone. It was pretty busy! Saturday, my husband, Indy and I went to Fort Langley's annual Cranberryfest. This is my 5th year and I think that judging from the crush of people present, folks have finally caught on that the best little Autumn festival is happening there. Seriously, I have never seen so many people in attendance! I think it helped that the weather was perfect too.

We had a wonderful brekki-pancakes, cranberry sausage, breakfast sausage, juice and coffee for $5-can't beat that! The sausages, which were made by Freybe were so yummy! One of the cooks even gave us a spare sausage (for free!) for Indy. Indy was super happy about that!

After brekki, we toured around town looking at all the vendor's booths. Everyone comes from far and wide to get fresh cranberries for their holiday dinners. Langley is one of the largest exporters of cranberries in the world. A couple years ago, I actually took a tour of the bogs. It's incredible to see acres and acres of land turned scarlet with berries. These guys were scooping and filling bags for sale just as fast as they could. The lines were 10 people deep!

These are the sweet ladies who have a booth in front of the little white church every year. They have buckets galore filled with dahlias. You can pick 6 stems for $5. There are florists who have vendor's booths at the festival, but I always hike up the street to the church to buy my Thanksgiving bouquet. I'd much rather give my money to these to gals. They are just so lovely and their flowers are gorgeous. I love dahlias and they looked very cheery on our dinner table.

All around town are these huge pumpkins. I couldn't resist snapping pics to play with when I got home. I love how this one turned out. The pumpkins are really big and they bring them in on skiffs because they are so heavy. They have to move them with a forklift.

I also came across these gorgeous mushrooms, which were waiting for me like a gift, just as I stepped out of the car. They are 100% real, I promise you! This is the season when you see them and these ones were huge! You can't tell their scale from this photo, but they stood 7 inches high and the caps were as big as my palm.The only other time I've seen them this large was hiking the wilds of BC last autumn on Vancouver Island. I love photographing them.

In case you missed it the other day, Manual Dexterity #3 is now available. It's chock full of Autumn and Hallowe'en art, inspiration & goodies! There is also the second mini house zine in the Rue du Maison series, which I had so much fun making.You can find these two zines (and more!) here.