- In: Art | Travel
- 67 Comments
I loved the umbrellas in Thailand and was lucky to visit a town with an umbrella factory. The entire village had cheerful umbrellas everywhere. Umbrellas have made the Village of Bo Sang famous.
Handmade bamboo and paper umbrella-making has been practised at Bo Sang Village for over two centuries.
Made of bamboo cane and sa-paper, the umbrellas are skillfully decorated with colourful pictures and patterns.
The outdoor factory displays each step of umbrella making. From the handmade sa-paper, meticulously made from the bark of mulberry trees, to assembling the bamboo, threading, and painting the completed umbrella. It was wonderful to watch each person perform their part of the process.
Even ironing the paper before attaching it to the spokes.
Waiting to be painted.
Completed umbrellas drying in the sun.
The gift shop displayed many gorgeous umbrellas. Before you ask, no I didn’t purchase an umbrella, as tempting as it was.
Even the coffee shop was decorated with umbrellas. It was wonderful to watch the process of this craft and see the streets and shops decorated with these amazing umbrellas. Thanks to my brother for taking me to Bo Sang Village.
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- In: Books | guest posts
- 25 Comments
Amanda is being interviewed over at Marcia Meara’s blog where she talks about her trip to Scotland and her love of travel. Check it out. Marcia is a good blogging pal, a superb writer and has a great blog filled with interesting posts. Note: I don’t have a completed cover for Amanda in Scotland: The Standing Stones but featured something I created on Canva as a start. (Photograph thanks to Barb Taub)
- In: Doors | Family | History
- 92 Comments
I was delighted that everyone enjoyed the old buildings of my ancestors, many with the doors long gone, that I posted last week. There were requests for more recent pictures like the farm/ranch I grew up on. So I did some digging and came up with these.
This is an overview of the home quarter of the farm in the 1980s. The house in this photo was not the one I lived in. This house was moved onto the property after I had left home.
This is the house we lived in. I’m about twelve in the picture. The door is open so not very visible.
Dad’s barn. This is where the action took place.
This has to be my favourite picture. Dad and my two-year-old daughter walking toward a shed on the farm. I loved that shed as that’s where Dad kept his tools and fixed things for us. I did some tinkering in it too.
The general store in the nearby hamlet, where we bought supplies. The building has been moved to The Pioneer Village in Medicine Hat, Alberta. I was glad to see it still standing.
The blacksmith shop in the same Pioneer Village.
A well-preserved old barn at Echo Dale Regional Park, near Medicine Hat.
A historic farmhouse at Echo Dale Regional Park
The original Medicine Hat Public Library. This was the first library I visited as a child. I spent many happy hours in this building.
The barn at the Bar U Ranch outside of Calgary, Alberta. At one time the ranch extended over 160,000 acres with 30,000 cattle and 1000 Percheron horses. It is now a National Historic Site and is open to the public.
A typical log cabin on the site of the Bar U Ranch. My great-grandparents lived in one similar until they built the larger wooden house.
I love that some of these buildings have been restored and are on display for the next generations to see how things used to be.
This is a weekly challenge created by Dan Antion for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post on Dan’s blog
A Chat With Bookclub Mom
Posted on: April 16, 2024
- In: Books | guest posts | Writing | YouTube
- 41 Comments
I was delighted to be part of a lively chat with Barbara over at Bookclub Mom. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to it yet, here it is.
- In: Doors | Family | History
- 90 Comments
Here are some pictures from Alberta, my home province in Canada. Some are old and others more recent but they all depict the past.
A typical little house on the prairie. This is the house my paternal grandmother grew up in. She is standing in front of it as an older woman, seventy-plus years later.
The house my maternal grandfather was raised in, along with his twelve siblings. The land was settled by my great-grandparents in 1911. The child standing in front of the building is their great-great-great-grandson.
The barn on the property was probably built a bit later.
A shed on the same property.
A new generation sitting by the barn door in 2006. The property is no longer in the family as the last of the great uncles have passed away with no children to pass it on to.
The house my maternal grandmother was raised in. Sadly it was destroyed by a prairie fire in 2017. I wrote about the fire here.
The same house when it was first built in the early 1900s. My grandmother was raised in this house along with her ten siblings. My mom was born in this house. So many memories.
The barn my great-grandfather built was also lost in the fire. Although it had seen better days, I always loved that barn.
A typical grain elevator in the town of Hilda, Alberta near both great-grandparents’ homesteads.
Photo of the grain elevator by Jim A. Pearson
The other photos are taken by me or are part of the family collection.
This is a weekly challenge created by Dan Antion for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post on Dan’s blog
The Merry Writer Podcast
Posted on: April 4, 2024
- In: Books | guest posts | podcast | Writing
- 32 Comments
Join Rachel, Ari and myself as we discuss why writing for children is important.
Family in Thailand
Posted on: April 2, 2024
- In: Family | Travel
- 70 Comments
I had a wonderful time in Thailand, and I’m so pleased you are all enjoying my pictures and stories. The best thing though, was seeing a brother I had not seen in person for ten years, and meeting his lovely Thai wife and step-daughter.
Ten years later, nothing has changed.
A perfect couple.
My sister-in-law and I got along splendidly.
Sorting the fresh greens we bought at the market.
Enjoying a yummy fruit salad
Nahn is a fabulous cook and made me some delicious meals. Here she is making me the best Pad Thai I have ever had.
In the tuk-tuk that took us to the temple and back home.
A beautiful person inside and out.
Although she is a busy university student, I was able to spend a day with this lovely young woman, my brother’s stepdaughter. She took me shopping, for a super veggie lunch, and then to this amazing golden temple, Wat Doi Suthep on the top of a mountain overlooking the city.
A bit windblown in the open-air taxi to the top of the mountain to visit the temple.
Another welcome addition to our family. Smart, beautiful and fun.
A daily coffee at his favourite coffee shop.
Watch out, it might bite.
Lorne with the Big Heads outside a restuarant.
Making the gong chime.
It was so good to see my brother happy in his adopted country. We had such a great time together, and he took me to so many amazing sites. I will be forever grateful for this trip.
Next time – a visit to an umbrella factory.
Cookbook Confidential
Posted on: March 27, 2024
- In: Food | guest posts
- 61 Comments
I’m delighted to be part of Bernadette’s Cookbook Challenge, where a number of us try recipes from the same cookbook and review it. This month we checked out Simple by Yotam Ottolenghi. I made the Zucchini and Ciabatta Frittata which was very good. Check out the recipe and my review on New Classic Recipes
- In: People | Travel
- 101 Comments
I first heard about the Karen People of Burma (now Myanmar) when I read Saving Fish from Drowning, by Amy Tan. I had also once read an article about women who wore heavy rings around their necks to elongate them. So when I had an opportunity to visit one of their villages in Thailand, I was excited to do so.
The Karen are a tribal group who have historically lived in the hills of Myanmar (formerly Burma). Due to political unrest over the past decades, thousands have fled across the border into Thailand. Some have built traditional hill villages where they continue weaving and carving to make money selling their crafts.
Typical stilt houses in a Karen hill village
Karen women are known for their excellent weaving skills done on a backstrap loom. The family typically live in the back of the hut, while the front is used to display the handcrafted items. The men often work as farm labourers.
Recognized for their elongated necks, the Karen women wear heavy brass rings around their necks, forearms, and shins. The women we met and chatted with were friendly and cheerful. Don’t you just love the colours.
The young girls were adorable.
The traditional clothing is very colourful and I love the headgear.
A mother placing rings around her daughter’s neck.
A jovial elderly gentleman wearing traditional hill tribe attire
The entrance into the Karen Long Neck Village. Included on site was a petting zoo, a couple of elephants and a museum. The villages are typically free, or very reasonable, to enter as the locals make money selling their crafts to tourists, although donations are accepted. Visiting one of the Karen Long Neck villages in Thailand was another remarkable experience. It proves the resilience and resourcefulness of people who can no longer live in their home country, but strive to maintain their culture.
In case you are wondering, yes I purchased some lovely hand-woven and hand-carved items.
Thursday Doors: Cordoba, Spain
Posted on: March 14, 2024
- In: Doors | Spain | Travel
- 106 Comments
Welcome to Thursday Doors! Looking through my pictures of travels around Spain, I found many wonderful doors in the fascinating city of Cordoba. I love this city with its interesting mix of Roman, Moorish, Christian and Jewish history, colourful patios and unique architecture.
Just walking around the streets I found many marvellous doors.
Isn’t this just delightful?
I believe this was in the Jewish quarter.
This is more of a gate than a door, but a great view into an outdoor patio.
One of many doors to the Mezquita, a unique Mosque-Cathedral. It is an important Islamic building in Spain and also a working Roman Catholic Church. Can you see the combo of Moorish and Christian influence?
Another door to the Mezquita.
A door inside the Mezquita
A door from the inside with obvious Moorish designs around it.
A side entrance to the Mezquita.
Do you think there are enough locks on this door?
Cordoba is a most interesting Spanish city and an example of three major religions living together peacefully. If you get a chance, I would recommend you visit.
If you wish to see more pictures of Cordoba I wrote about it here, here, and here
This is a weekly challenge created by Dan Antion for people who love doors and architecture to come together to admire and share their favourite door photos, drawings, or other images or stories from around the world. If you’d like to join us, simply create your own Thursday Doors post each (or any) week and then share a link to your post on Dan’s blog
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