The Easy Life

Cottage living is pretty great, isn't it? The whole weekend all I kept thinking was how long I could stay at a cottage for without getting bored. It's heavenly. A view of the water with nothing to do but relax? So good.



But that's not entirely true. There was lots of other things to do besides relaxing. Like frog-catching, exploring, adventuring, canoeing, canasta playing, and so much more.



The cottage we go to is actually right beside a summer camp, and because we went so late in the year this time all the campers had gone home. In fact, everyone from the camp had gone home, but they had mysteriously left all the buildings open and even some lights on. The first night we got to the cottage we decided to go exploring at night. Terrifying.



Exploring in the day was a little less axe-murdery.



This is actually one of the only pictures I have of myself from the entire weekend, because I was mostly behind the camera. I feel like I should say that I HAD been paddling that canoe too, but Ryan let me stop because he wanted to test his solo-canoeing skills.



One of the things I love most about this cottage is the family history. As soon as I can I'll try to scan some old pictures I have from here, but basically I am the fourth generation of my family who has enjoyed time there, and now that some of my 3rd cousins are having babies, a 5th and 6th generation is going to get to spend their days on the Otty Lake waters.



What makes it even more special to me, is these six generations of family is comprised almost entirely of women. One of the cottages up there originally belonged to my great grandmother, who handed it over to her 8 daughters. These eight ladies shared one single cottage for their entire lives, and each brought their children and grandchildren to it. Over the years most land has been acquired (some supposedly through a lucky poker match) and more cottages have sprung up on the lake. Children of the eight sisters started living in these cottages, and bringing their children and their childrens' children up.

But overwhelmingly, even though there are boys and men in the family, the entire feel and history of the cottages somehow centres around those eight sisters who really started the whole thing, and it's pretty damn neat.

Father Daughter

Photos: Nikole Herriot

We returned from the cottage yesterday and I spent most of the afternoon at the doctors' office finding out that I have a kidney infection. Meatbulb and I have matching kidney ailments! How cute! But not really. It's actually quite uncomfortable.

And then Jane discovered a rash she got at the cottage, and got grossed out. She is currently on a Greyhound tour bus with a microphone pointing out attractions to visitors to the city. Her version of hell. Mine too, I would imagine.

So today sucks. But things could be looking up, because Herriot Grace has been hinting at a shop update on Flickr and Facebook today. Oh, what I wouldn't do for that flour scoop! It may cure all that ails us. Make sure to sign up to find out when the shop does get updated because the beautiful hand-carved and handcrafted spoons and other accessories sell out in seconds. Honestly. I mean, why wouldn't they?

The Living Is Easy

Is there anything better than cottaging in the Canadian North? The correct answer is HELL NO. So, that's where Jane and I will be this weekend, along with our better halves and our darling friends Andrew and Keane, drinking Sangria and swimming in the lake. I look forward to this weekend all summer long.

The shop will still be open, thanks to Jane's mom who was kind enough to take over. So go in and say hi! But try not to bombard her with questions about what we sell. She doesn't know the answers, ok?

Cat Emergency!

It's true! The last three days I have been a frantic weepy mess over this little guy. This is my darling Meatbulb and he has been having some serious problems lately. Without getting too graphic, he's all blocked up but the vet doesn't know what from. His kidneys aren't doing too hot, so they think it may be kidney stones. Possibly kidney failure. Ahhhh.

Mike and I took him into the emergency vet Tuesday night to get him unblocked, and $600 and a day later he was still blocked and miserable. We started having to discuss what our options were, because surgery is pricey. And I mean PRICE. E. We were also told that there was a 90% chance that he would block up again even if we did go through with it.

So, when I say we discussed our options, it means we were seriously considering putting him down. Heartbreak. Of the highest degree.


Mike is totally going to kill me for telling this story. Being a graphic designer, Mike was working on a poster for the movie "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs" one day at work. He was day-dreaming about kittehs, I suppose, as he ended up putting the copy down as "Cloudy with a Chance of MeatBULBS" and sent it away to the marketing department for approval. They caught the error and asked him about it, and too embarrassed to admit that this was the name of his cat and that he was probably thinking about him at the time that he was working on the poster, he played it off as stupidity on his part.

He consumes us with his sweet and gentle nature. How could life go on without Meatbulb? It couldn't, it can't. Not yet. He's still my little baby cat. Wednesday night was an incredibly sad night in our household. And to boot, we let him go outside thinking that if it was his last night alive, he'd probably enjoy the great outdoors. But then he didn't come home before we went to bed, and all I could think about was how much snuggle time I had just given up. And even worse, that maybe he had passed away alone and in excruciating pain due to kidney failure somewhere in the neighbourhood.

He came home the next morning, thankfully.

Yesterday I took him to our regular vet who presented me with an option that we hadn't heard before. Unfortunately for Meatbulb it involves removing his penis bone so that his...opening... is wider. The vet actually explained the procedure as "we turn him into a girl." It's pricey too, but it's likely that he won't ever block up again. It's actually kind of sickening to think of how much it costs, but hey! I just renewed my contract at work. Even stevens, always. And in the end, I couldn't put a finite value on him.


With a feeling of relief sweeping over me, I am pretty excited to have a transgendered cat. I can't wait until Monday when we pick him up from the vet so that I can snuggle the shit out of him. Her? It doesn't matter. JUST WANT SOME MEATBULB CAT SNUGGLEZ PUHLEAZE.

Required Reading

Hi guys, blogging is a little late today because there is a bit of a kitty cat emergency going on. Hollie's beloved Meatbulb is not doing so well, so please cross your fingers, or white light him, or say a little prayer, or whatever it is you do, ok?

Anyway, please excuse our lack of blogging today. To make up for it, here are some other blogs I love to read. Bonus: each one of them is an artist. Double bonus: (oooh double bonus, what does it mean?)White Elephant carries each one of these lovely ladies' work.



I am super in love with Jenna Rose's blog. She updates frequently (which is awesome), has great pictures, and frequently shows off my beloved hometown. She also made the above quilt as a wedding present for a friend, with fabric she had screen printed herself. Best wedding present ever?

We can't keep Lisa Bruemmer's jewelry in stock at the shop, and her blog Tree & Kimball gives you an idea why. She used to be a clothing designer for Anthropologie until she left to focus on her own amazing line of vintage lace jewelry, and also runs a great vintage shop on Etsy.


Julia Pott's illustrations are among my favorite things in the world, and I currently want about 8 million of her prints. Her blog is light hearted and fun, and always good reading.


Alice Saunders' bags were among the first things we got into the White Elephant shop when we opened, and I've never stopped fawning over them. I love her blog because she keeps you updated with her newest creations, and also her amazing estate sale & flea market finds.

There you have it! Happy reading!

Here Comes The Bride

On Saturday Hollie & I (and our lovely dates) went to the wedding of two of our favorite people, Crystal & Rob. I royally failed at taking pictures, and didn't really getting around to doing so until the end of the night when we all look sweaty and greasy, so I hope the photographer doesn't mind, but I'm going to steal some of his pictures. You can look at more on his website here.


I know everyone says this, but Hollie & I both really mean it when we say we couldn't imagine two people more perfect for each other. They are so lovely together. Also, Rob can fit an entire toonie in his nostril, and Crystal can chug a beer... so true love?

There were also sorts of special details that made the wedding that much more intimate. I absolutely loved these ribbon flags that Crystal & the wedding party made for after the ceremony. I couldn't stop playing with mine the entire time we were sitting.

Also, have you ever seen a sweeter flower girl? I believe this picture was actually taken while the ceremony was in progress. Uh-dorable.

It rained pretty much all day, which changed the outdoor wedding to an indoor one, but the weather really did make for beautiful pictures. Also, I'm not sure who planned this, but umbrellas to match the bridesmaid dresses? Genius.

My absolute favorite special touch that was SO much fun was the the photo booth. They had all kinds of props and costumes, and it was really a highlight of the night. Another highlight was when the happy couple let me bring the viking helmet home.

Crystal & Rob, your wedding was lovely, and I think Hollie & I might be stealing this photo booth idea for a future White Elephant event. You guys are invited.

Sacré Bleu

We are in full red alert status over here at White Elephant. Sometime on Thursday night, some hooligans jumped up and pulled down our cherished handmade carved wooden hanging sign. This was probably one of the first things we got in preparation for opening the store, and really made the whole thing real. We love that sign. We miss that sign. We want it back. So if you know any details, or saw anything fishy that night, or know that it is hanging in someones dorm room, please let us know. We're offering a reward for the safe return. We're not a big corporation. We're an independent business who put a lot of blood, sweat, and tears into everything we do, and things like this mean so much to us.

Going and Going

So much good stuff added to the shop this week that I can hardly stand it! So many amazing pairs of shoes in particular.

Thanks John

This week, our dear friend John sent me a text that said "I made something for you and Hollie to keep at the store. You might make fun of me for it."

The next day he came by and dropped off this adorable hand-carved elephant. Make fun of him for it? Never! This little guy has become our new store mascot. I think we need to name him, Hollie.

Goldenrod

Photos: Kate Hunter


Kate has been doing some natural dying lately, using plants such as goldenrod and sumac. Look at how vibrant the colour turned out for the goldenrod batch! It makes me so excited to try this for myself. If only there were more hours in the day.

Otty Lake Near Death Experience

Hollie would usually be blogging today, but I haven't heard from her all morning, so I'm about to issue an alert. Probably an orange alert. Before I do that though, let's talk about one of my favorite places in the whole world: the cottage.

It's not actually my cottage, but in Perth, Ontario, a few members of my extended family own a couple cottages on Otty Lake. When I was a child, one of them belonged to my grandma & her 7 sisters, so we started going up every summer for as long as I can remember.

These days, Hollie & I usually visit for a long weekend with some friends once a summer.

Last year Ryan learned to row in a rowboat. If you haven't done it before, it's kind of tricky. Deceivingly tricky. Not to toot my own horn or anything, but I'm kind of an expert at it. Ok, that was totally tooting my own horn. WHATEVER.

Unfortunately, the oar of the rowboat broke, and we got stranded on an island really far away from the cottage. As a storm was brewing in. Ryan & Mike volunteered to take the kayaks back to the cottage and beg one of our neighbours to pick us up in a speed boat, and tow the row-boat back. Good idea, right?

Wrong. Hollie & I were on that island for such a long time, and we were freezing cold and hungry. I had a migraine. Boo hoo hoo. We feared we might die out there if help didn't arrive soon. *

Ryan also capsized the kayak in the middle of the lake and had to swim it back to shore (good thing he's a good swimmer) and Mike had to endure a terrifying boat ride with a very drunken neighbour who kept insisting Mike have a glass of wine before getting in the rescue boat.

If I could have issued an alert for this adventure, it would definetely have been a red alert.

Luckily there were blueberries for sustenance. Otherwise we would have surely perished.**

Anyway, near-death experience aside, we are heading back there next weekend I am counting down the days.


This summer has been pretty great.

*It should be noted that some people might disagree with this version of the facts. They are wrong.
** that too.

Repeat

I know, farm again right? Sorry, but it's mid-August, which means that practically everything is coming up at once and is ripe for the picking. And if they aren't ripe for the picking (like these onions above) then they are absolutely needing to be weeded.

My legs & back hurt from all the weeding we did on Sunday.

But how great are the rewards? I can only assume this is some sort of delicious winter squash that I will be enjoying all fall.

Jalapenos and tomatoes! These are among the first of the tomatoes that are ripe, but there are SO MANY more to come.

More beans. I have no more room in my fridge because of all the beans I need to get pickled.

Can you just look at that bounty? I brought that home with me on Sunday, and shared some of the hot peppers with my dad. The rest has either been eaten, or is going to be eaten or pickled very very shortly. Everything is just so delicious.

OK, sorry, farm farm farm.