This 'n' That 'n' t'Other

I think Canadian Spring might be just around the corner here in the Great White North. We actually had two back-to-back sunny days, but it's back to cold weather again today.
I took TessaDog for a run in the forest last weekend, but it was too icy to go far. I'm afraid of falling and nobody finding me for a week. I'd have to eat the dog to survive! YoungerSon wouldn't like that.

Just a few more of those glorious sunny days and this view will change to green instead of white.

Auction Sale season has started. Every year there's an interesting Good Friday sale at the local Community Hall, so I went along to do some people watching (always a good sport) and to see what was on offer. I bid on a few things, but didn't actually part with any money, prices were too high, and there was nothing that I really needed.

A carved totem or symbolic mask from the West coast, possibly Haida. It sold for $750.00.

The auctioneer has a contact in the Persian carpet business, and always has a large number of carpets and rugs on offer at the auctions. The large ones go quite cheaply, as nobody has room for a 30' x 20' rug, and carpets with a big pattern aren't fashionable any more.

This one sold for just over $200.00. Listed price was over $1500.00. A bargain for someone.

These sweet little 1950s Dutch dolls sold for only $12.50. I was tempted, but do I really need dolls? After they were sold, I wished I had bid on them..... but then I saw sense and was happy I didn't. Indecision, indecision. 

Browsing at the local Care and Share junk charity shop, I noticed this shoe box up on a high shelf. Chandler is one of my family names (my mother's maiden name) so I was instantly interested. I wonder if these Chandlers are long lost relatives? And do their shoe shops still exist? According to the box lid they had addresses and stores all across the USA.

The town of Ilfracombe in North Devon (England) is where I spent some of my school days, and two new state of the art web cams have been installed looking at the harbour. I can spend quite some time just watching the people and the boats. If you see a large blue and white boat tied up at the dock, it's the MS Oldenburg, the ferry to the island of Lundy. The web cam is here, well worth a look. You'll also see a view on Cam2 of Rapparee Beach, the site of a disastrous shipwreck in 1796 and also a fistfight in 1878 with the Crown Prince of Germany who apparently was a bit of a twerp.

I've been painting again. The colours haven't photographed well in this photo. A bit fuzzy.

That's all folks..... until next time!     Happy Easter.

Totem Pole

Back in 2009, the McMichael Art Gallery located in Kleinburg, Ontario, commissioned a Totem Pole from Haida carver Don Yeomans. It's on permanent display in the entrance of the gallery.

This magnificent red cedar Totem Pole incorporates images of the Raven, the Eagle and the Frog and represents totems of the Haida people of North West British Columbia. But even though these are ancient symbols of the First Nations people, modern technology is also a part of contemporary life.

The Eagle is using his cell phone.

Don't leave home without your iPod.

And closer to the floor, the Frog is emailing someone on his laptop.... but sadly I didn't take a picture of him. There's a photo and a description of the Totem Pole here.

If you have 22 minutes to spare, this video shows the creation of the Totem Pole from bare red cedar log to the finished item. Yes, it's a long video, but well worth watching. Make sure you watch around the 4 minute mark when the enormous log is split into two.



And here the carver Don Yeomans talks about the creative process and the installation.