May is Over?

Oh dear. I've postponed the vacation pictures for so long that I haven't posted about anything else since April! I will get back to posting regularly once our June 23rd ballet recital is over.

For now, here's a quick image-heavy post to cover the end of April, all of May, and beginning of June. XD

 

I went to Victoria for Easter break and visited another castle! My first "real" Victoria trip with Raccoon (as opposed to quick weekend excursions) took place 2 to 3 years ago, when we visited Craigdarroch Castle and the Royal BC Museum.

This time, we got to see everything we couldn't fit into that first trip.

 

The castle grounds were just gorgeous. At least half of our few hundred photos were taken there.

We also visited this former nun school. It was too large to fit into one shot, but this is about 1/3 to 1/2 of the full building. I love the history and opulence of the place.

I'm not religious at all, but I think it's reasonable to say most people can admire Catholic iconography on an aesthetic level.

There was a meadow of unidentified star-shaped flowers outside, as well as smaller patches of bluebells, daffodils, buttercups, and (my favourite? :P) dandelions scattered about elsewhere.

This yellow dollhouse was the home of a prominent Canadian painter and writer. I really enjoyed walking around the beautiful heritage house, especially seeing or imagining what she had mentioned in her semi-autobiographical short stories and novels.

No trip to Victoria, however brief, is complete without tea at the Empress!

I also brought back some beautiful Irish linen and Belgium lace (handmade by true artisans!).

And of course, we tried the macarons from a local bakery. I'm not going to mention the name because they weren't very good (too hard, hollow, and lightly flavoured), but aren't the colours pretty? Perfect for Easter! ;)


Speaking of macarons, I tried the ones from Plasir Sucre in Vancouver yesterday:

Despite the flies crawling around beside them (...), we ordered one of each, plus some fruit tarts. The brand of tea they had wasn't very good at all, but the tarts were delicious.

The macarons, however, were uneven in quality. Of the six we had, two were dry and crumbly, two were soft and a little mushy, and two were the proper consistency. Since the owner didn't indicate the flavours, we had trouble identifying the odd aftertaste of the chocolate macaron, and the WHOLE taste of the strange peppery one. (It tasted like steak.)

It was a lovely afternoon, though!

And lest this becomes a "What I did this weekend" blog, here are two pictures from a visit to some iris fields in Washington (US) that show the bow-and-shorts set I made myself.

The thing on my head is a double bow with cotton lace on a flexible fabric-covered band. The bloomers (puffy shorts) are the same, with a vintage-style red resin rose on a lace bow on each side.

100% cotton fabric and cotton lace, completely hand-sewn without a machine. I spent about three days at work (the boss was away :P) and two evenings on them... while multi-tasking, of course.

What I've learnt from this latest project is that I SHOULD GO BUY A SEWING MACHINE.

I plan to keep my Etsy shop handsewn and OOAK, but for things I make for myself -- and I mean human-sized clothing and bags -- there is really no point in putting so much time and care into them!

Apples and Ghosts for Thanksgiving

This little rosebud kitty has been sold! I'm so happy for both of us (lol) -- I hope the new owner likes her!

I have also added a super tiny miniature ghost plush to my store:


He is 3rd and last in my "Hallowe'en Tinies" series! I managed to make the ghost even tinier than the Jack-o-lantern pumpkin and black cat, though it's hard to tell from the photographs... I have small hands and skinny fingers.

The first prototype for the ghostie didn't turn out very well, but it took me quite a while to finally toss it out and start over. I'm glad I did, even if it did take... a month and a half... because this little stuffed ghost is pretty neat (if I may say so myself). Still, it was really hard scrapping his less-than-ideal brother after spending all that time and eye-strain.

I wonder if other crafters have less trouble tossing out failed projects. They are all your children (or at least, creations) after all!


Asides from that, I spent the weekend neglecting my shop. As planned, I visited TWO apple farms in a row with B. and Raccoon. The other two R.s were busy and/or sick, so we had a lovely time without them. :P

We got plenty more apples, a few pears, and even an early pumpkin!


We then met up again and spent a whole day baking apple pie, watching the hockey game, and otherwise making the most of the (Canadian) Thanksgiving long weekend.

Here I am hard at work!

I totally helped by assigning all the duties. Raccoon was in charge of apple-washing, peeling, and clean-up, while B. handled the slicing and cider-mixing duties. Through team effort and a HUGE new restaurant-sized container of cinnamon (sooo cheap...), we managed to make a delicious if unusually brown apple pie that went perfectly with French vanilla ice cream.

Dessert (for lunch) was a frozen caramel apple with sparkling apple cider -- farm-milled cider mixed with San Pellegrino -- on the side.


All in all a delicious weekend.

Happy Canadian Thanksgiving, US Columbus Day, and Taiwanese National Day!

Longjohns Update

As you can see, Mr. Longjohns now has arms. His hands turned out a bit wonky so I've fixed the left one. Will work on the right hand in the morning.

Although (because?) he is still naked, he has already gotten tons of hilarious comments and strange looks. I just had to bring him along on my recent weekend trip to Bowen Island.

Here is another fantastic shot taken on the island:


And here he is at the pier (disclaimer: Mr. Longjohns did not actually touch any dirty surfaces or objects):


I leave you with this particularly soulful photo taken on the ferry:

There and Back Again

I'm back from my first roadtrip with friends!

It was so much fun I wish I'll never get back to a regular desk job (though it might not be as much fun for my bank account...), so that I can take off whenever I please. Unlike three of the guys who couldn't make it after all.

Shoulder bag handmade by a local artist!

The four of us set off early Saturday morning on a long, eventually scenic drive to Hope.

The first stop was at a riverside fruit stand, where B. picked up some strawberries. Half an hour later, Raccoon, our driver for most of the trip, stopped in Agassiz for some Canadian hazelnuts.

The owner suggested that we take some pictures under the trees, and we walked into her farm to find the most magical place in the world. A small corner of it is captured in the first photo above.

We reached Coquihalla Provincial/Regional Park (actually two joined parks I couldn't tell apart) about 2.5 hours later.

The hiking was fairly light, but we got a nice long walk through five of the nine tunnels -- the last few were closed due to a recent landslide. All are connected by the remains of a railway from the early days of Canadian history.


It was refreshingly cool and pitch black in every tunnel. We had to rely on camera flashes and cellphone flashlights (apparently there's an app for that) to get through.

Each stretch in between was shrouded by mountains and edged in an emerald-coloured river.

Group shot on the quadricycle

Having filled our cameras with scenery and tourist-y poses, we headed to Harrison for more sightseeing... in a pedal-cart!

It's actually a lot more difficult to move the cart with four people than with two... I guess the weight of the cart doesn't increase in the proper ratio. It's a good workout for your butt and thighs, anyway, and the most amusing mode of transportation ever. Well worth the $40 per hour (a mere $10/person).

Over all, this has been an awesome trip! The only thing that would've made it better would be if we had gone the whole way there and back in a pedal cart.

Hope!

I took some new photos of my tiny geek girl today around 3 or 4 pm. Same angles, same windowsill, same point-and-shoot digital camera, but the pictures are MUCH nicer than the previous set. Lesson learnt!


Also, it feels like I've just gotten back from London -- it hasn't even been two weeks -- but I'm going on a road trip!

I made plans with the guys to drive down (or up? I have no sense of direction) to Hope for the upcoming Labour Day weekend. R. can't make it, and those who usually drop out have dropped out (haha), so it'll just be me and three of the guys. At least we'll have an empty seat for backpacks and tripods. I've added Coquihalla Canyon Provincial Park to the itinerary, so we can see the beautiful Othello Tunnels.

Raccoon took me to Hope and Hell's Gate for our first anniversary [insert joke here], but we didn't have time to hike up to the tunnels then. It's been exactly three years, but we're finally going back!


But what does this really mean? (ie. Why am I writing about a little weekend trip?)

It means I need to finish writing down everything about London before a new trip overwrites the memories in my brain. Space is limited.

I just noticed that my dress was blending into the Buckingham Palace gates

I'm Back!

Me at Buckingham Palace!

Well, I'm back from London after what felt like months but was just under two weeks. I never knew time could feel slow and drawn out even when you're happy.

I suppose it's because we had so much to see and so much walking to do in so little time. Also, while my sleeping/waking hours are pretty messed up, I somehow adapted immediately to London time upon arrival.

Every day I'd wake up around 6 am despite being barely able to get up at 1 pm at home. Raccoon and I would then leave the hotel at 7 or so, and be thoroughly occupied until we collapse 14 to 16 hours later. Reading about each object in London's magnificent museums. Running down each lane in London's enormous parks. Visiting as many abbeys, castles, and old shops as possible.

At the Museum of Natural History

So although I was exhausted the entire trip and sick as soon as we returned, it has been a valuable experience overall, and no less wonderful as the other vacations I've gone on and returned from fully recharged.

I did feel inspired enough to sew a little felt bear mascot for my cousin in just two sittings, though. (She left a week after I got back, having stayed for the past two months.) I'll post some pictures as soon as I get them from her camera.

P.S. London is truly a big city (even if I got to see the beautiful English countryside as well) -- something I am apparently not used to at all. The busiest parts of downtown Vancouver feel laid-back and half-deserted compared to London!

Before heading up to Beatrix Potter's house

Caek!!! And Lolita Luggage

Felt cake slice with cream, chocolate, and fruit toppings

I surprised myself with a burst of energy last night and this morning, resulting in this (finally completed) sweet slice of fake cake. Click on the picture to see more photos of it in my Etsy store!

I've also started packing for our London trip after borrowing a suitcase from my cousin, who borrowed it from our aunt. It's navy blue with a giant plaid-wearing teddy bear on it. Very old-school England. :P

Anyway, it feels as if I've finished packing, because the case is full, but I still need to fit shoes in there somehow. It's not my fault, though -- I may not fold everything perfectly (neater folds = sharper creases that need to be properly ironed out, I say), but at least it all MAKES SENSE in there. Probably. I like to think I have a knack for packing.

No, the culprit is the outfits. Specifically 7 poofy, frilly lolita dresses and the underclothes/socks/headgear that necessarily go with them. Thaaat's right. So what if Londoners think I'm some kind of crazy Asian tourist? I'm doing at least 7 of our 9 days in lolita!

Of course it's all well and good if I don't care about looking silly, but it's not going to work out unless I figure out how to fit the shoes in. And my handbags. And the parasol(s). Raccoon's luggage is full, too, so he's no help.

How do other lolitas "travel light" while staying true to the style?

*And I'm only classical/casual -- how do over-the-top, cupcake-poof sweet lolitas manage?

London

Anglerfish dog monster filler photo

My heart goes out to all those affected by the recent riots in London. I admit the news has been particularly troubling because I will be there in three more days.