A New Mug for Tea

I had posted about this on facebook a while ago but finally got to blogging about it now--oops!
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A few weeks ago, I went with my parents to the cute little artisan community of Cowichan Bay. I had never been there before and I loved what I found. This little seaside town has an awesome fromagerie (mmm cheese) and bakery, and a great pub, cute little clothing shops and lots of different artist studios.

One of these artist studios is a little pottery shop called the Mud Room. It's owned by a lady named Colleen, who happens to be my second cousin. I didn't know this until the day we went up there and it was really neat. I guess artsy-fartsy-ness runs in the family!


Colleen makes all kinds of wonderful pottery and her skill at the pottery wheel is amazing! The day that I was there, I came out with beautiful a new mug in Colleen's signature yellow colour (she mixes the colour for the glaze herself) with a dragonfly. I love it!


Someday, I would like to get a teapot and more mugs to match mine. Isn't this teapot just awesome? She is just so talented!

Photos from Mud Room website

Spring in Full Swing

Spring seems to FINALLY be underway here on the island. Until recently, the weather has been very cool and rainy but the May long weekend seems to have brought the sun along with it. I've been busy gardening. Here are some photos from what's been happening in my little yard.



These are the bulbs I planted a few months ago in pots (previous post: http://horncat.blogspot.com/2011/04/peek-outside.html ). Last time I posted a photo of them, they were just poking their heads out of the soil. Now they are in full bloom and looking beautiful. I especially love the tulips (Luca Banja).

This is a rhododendron that a friend gave to me. It never bloomed for her and we hoped it would be happier in my yard. As it turns out, the plant liked the change and we now know what colour it is; pink! The rest of the bed is still a work in progress but I am happy with how it is turning out.

A Peek Outside

I looked out on my deck today and guess what I saw?! The bulbs I had planted at the end of January have come up! I was beginning to think that they weren't going to come up- assuming that they had succumbed to death by drowning- but no, these little bulbs are persistent.

They were bulbs I had gotten on sale at Superstore for $0.75 a bag and at the time they didn't look very promising, but I figured I'd give them a shot. The pot closest holds tulips (Luca Banja). The other pot holds chiondoxa forbesii. I had put a twig into one pot, so I'd know which was which. I guess I can take the twig out now!

These bulbs are quite late (most of the other bulbs in the city are blooming or have finished blooming already) but I am happy and will make more updates as I go along.