Well it is happening! Ya, I’m getting older. I woke up this morning and decided around 5:30am that I’m not getting any younger. So I have a savings in mind that will help your vacation budget, and my getting older situation. Come have a look it’s a fantastic deal and I hope you can take advantage of it.

Take the 30 second Bed and Breakfast Tour, look at the savings
1 night/ $75 – 2 nights/ $70 and 3 nights/ $60 per night + 10% PST

So at 5:30am he said, “So how do you plan on that happening?”

Then she said, “this is how it will work, the guests get to stay longer and save more and we have more time for gardening and blogging” Lets have a look.

Time Share your room out of Africa with this room decorated in deep midnight mauve’s and jungle greens, art work displays a sense of being in Africa. Rest knowing that a % of sales from this room will be donated to the Red Cross Society in their campaign against Malaria.

The Builtmore North Room

Builtmore North Room

The Builtmore South Room

This room is decorated pink, a significant colour to remember.
Time Share your room with Marilyn Monroe and rest knowing that a % of sales from this room will be donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Builtmore South Room

These two rooms are on the second floor named Trailside East and West. Our daughter Victoria operated this B&B first year we opened as we had a commitment to Greenvale Acres Bed and Breakfast. The Trailside West room was named because it is the same side as the waterfall and could be remembered West “W” Waterfall. We never mixed the rooms up after that.

The Trailside East Room

The Trailside East Room

The Trailside West Room

The Trailside West room, you know the one on the side of the waterfall.

The Trailside West Room

That concludes our Bed and Breakfast tour.
xo,
cindy

This is my son Chef Matthew

Chef Matthew

And this came in the mail yesterday

Culinary Arts Diploma

These are a few of his creations

Chocolate Dessert

Matt_desserts

Another yummy creation

Close up of Chocolate

fruit for high tea

I am so proud of you Matthew. I would have given anything to watch you walk across the stage and receive your diploma.
Please congratulate him as; Chef Matthew.

xo,
mom

“Come for Tea” is my way of saying stop in put on a hat and stay for a cup of tea.

Can I interest you in a Cream Tea?

scones-tea-cream

Perhaps you have time for a High Tea?

Grandmas Afternoon Tea

afternoon tea

grandmas

grandmas tea trolley

grandma`s

tea room

fun in PEI

High Tea PEI

view of the gardens from the tea room

Having a Hat n Tea in PEI

relaxing at grandmas

Things to do in PEI

Garden Wall

Tea Granny

Looking out of the tearoom

This ends my Tea Room tour at Grandma’s Afternoon Tea Room. I hope you enjoyed the tour.
xo,
cindy

In a recent Meeting of the Minds Brenda Gallant, Chris Jones, and Sebastian Manago announced some brilliant attempts at increasing tourism awareness for PEI. However we all noticed the comments and negative feedback about Regis and Kelly in the media and that could be a direct link to the decline in tourism over the next couple of years.

meeting of the minds

The Fact that Regis and Kelly are coming to PEI is as fantastic as it gets; this will be a huge boost for PEI. It is time to try something new, and it must have been a thrill to sell PEI to the Regis and Kelly show. Thank you Michael Gelman for the interview, the chance (sales pitch) and now the opportunity…

It doesn’t surprise me; the Island is beautiful and we want to share that with everyone. Ya! broadcast it live and broadcast it loud! Tell the world how fantastic our seafood is, how grand our adventures are, how everlasting the memory is, how genuine the hospitality is, how scenic the land, how memorable for as much as the memory will hold and the eye can catch, that’s PEI.

The tickets will be available for the July 12 to 15 show however the show is taping and showing live on Monday the 12th and Tuesday the 13th. The 14 and 15 will be pre-recorded on the 12th and 13th to reduce production costs. If you’re planning to come for the live show plan to come for the taping Monday July 12 and 13, two shows per day. Go to Regis and Kelly web site for tickets at http://bit.ly/bo13Rn.

Tourism has been low for the past number of years and our advertising market is using our money differently to increase awareness of Prince Edward Island and increase visitation. Tourism is a very competitive market, we need to keep the Island’s uniqueness and while we advance with the times. After all who is it that said “insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. We need to support the marketing people who are rolling out the red carpet in an effort to boost awareness of our “Grand Land”.

It’s not about the money, it is about the recognition. The money isn’t to pay a holiday for Regis and Kelly; after all they are paid by the network and are away from family getting nothing extra unless Kelly forces Regis to eat some “Oysters”. The money goes to pay for equipment, the stage, seating, security etc… etc…

The Regis and Kelly show reaches 5 million people a day; this is the most positive cause and effect that can only increase awareness and bring us back return on our investment. Remember that we are going to get 4 hours of PEI infomercial, (this is valued at 4.8 million dollars) Just a 30 second ad would cost us the tax payers 60 thousand dollars. Regis and Kelly will announce for one month that they are taping live in PEI, several ABC stations will host a “win a trip to PEI contest, there is talk that e-talk daily and entertainment tonight may be coming to the Island to cover the event, sweepstakes to attend the shows taping, the Regis and Kelly web site will always mark the date of the taped shows from the Island.

The return on investment isn’t going to happen on July 12 to 15 like most critical Islander’s are suggesting in negative comments to editors. This is a long term investment. These negative comments are counter productive, and in the long run will only achieve the opposite of what the government is trying to do, they need to stop! Yes, Islanders you want to be heard, but ye who speaks the loudest doesn’t always know the most. Read what some of you are saying, listen to the negative feedback you are preaching, it’s funny that every time your mouth opens your brains seep out. I’m embarrassed to find out that Regis and Kelly have been reading these comments from you.
xo,
cindy

We have a little bit of forest out back and when the garden gets overgrown on occasion some things get moved out to the back forest. My excited French Gardener came looking for me saying he had something to show me out back, have a look.

Now this is a Ginormous Tulip

Oh, in case you’re undecided on inches or centimeters, it is in fact 5 inches.

xo,
cindy

Dear Vicki,
I watched you take your first step, I held your hand going up every escalator, handed you tissue to wipe away the sadness, watched you walk across the stage three times, now you’re watching your little girl who is about to take her first steps. Record the firsts, for these are the best.

High School Grad

Graduation Day Bluefield High School, PEI

Holland College Grad

Graduation Day Holland College, Charlottetown PEI

Victoria At School

Graduation Day School of Aesthetician, Charlottetown, PEI

Victoria Rose

Looking good pregnant with Anastasia

Little People Farmville Cake

Anastasia’s first birthday cake

xo,
mom

This is a new tag I have made for the “Island Made” gift shop. Notice the bubble with PEI sand, a stone, and a shell, ya some have beach / sea glass in the bubble. When I see how our landfill sites are used on an Island It makes you wonder what you can do to RRR Reduce Reuse Recycle. Someone might say it’s a form of hoarding, collecting or being a packrat. That isn’t true and I’d like to think of it as another three RRR’s Resourceful Recovery and Recycling.

Prince Edward Island Tag

These useful plastic bubbles held crystals at one time and now they double as a window in my Scrapbooking Tag. I enjoyed making these and I did my part to Reduce Reuse and Recycle.
xo,
cindy

I have been on the look out at thrift stores over the past month for mirrors, any sort of mirror will do as long as they are large and I can reflect the garden from the white fence. Yesterday was designated a weed pulling day and by 2pm I’d seen my share of weeds and took a break. My break didn’t last long, after my camera came out. I found I had plenty of mirrors all around me as my house windows are mirrored imagery. Come have a look at my Mirrors in the Garden – It’s Artistic Imagery right under my nose.

Overlooking the Pond

The Side walkway

Why do I think I need mirrors in my garden?

The Garden Fence

However when you walk through the garden you don’t look at the house you look at the garden.

Side Garden

Perhaps I’ll find mirrors to reflect back at the house.

The Side Shot

The Walking Path

This is one of my favourite spots, with the morning sun.

Under the Pergola

Front Walkway

This is beside the pond.

Me looking at You

Thank you for taking a walk about my Mirrors in the Garden – I hope you’ll join me another day when we have the garden furniture out and we can sit and take our time. Do you have a favourite spot in the garden?

xo,
cindy

Just something as magnificent as a woodpile can bring about all sorts of thoughts. Yesterday, while I was scrapbooking, I took a short break to see what my French Gardener had been up to while I was playing. To my surprise he had found a storm fallen tree in the back woods and had cut it all up and although the pile wasn’t neat it had character. I praised him by offering a cold drink and a smile and went back to my studio and continued playing. Without a direct window from my studio I wasn’t able to watch work while I played so I will need to go back out from time to time and see how the pile was coming along.

Wood Pile

I’m scrapbooking and thinking about the character of a woodpile and my mind went off in a tangent then I opened up the laptop and continued to find “Woodpile” and look at what I found.

http://thewoodpilecollective.blogspot.com/ the Woodpile create works of art.

http://www.woodpilecarvings.com/ the Woodpile carvings and cafe in Nova Scotia, perhaps on your way to Prince Edward Island.

http://www.online-literature.com/blake/758/ Robert Frost wrote about the woodpile.

http://www.woodpilemcs.com/ breeders of “Coon Cats” ok.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nigger_in_the_woodpile Wikipedia does their best to explain everything, something might be wrong with this.

http://www.brucecockburn.org/ Bruce Cockburn’s photos in a book called “A view from the Woodpile” by David Yazbeck

Cut Wood

I have a different outlook about a woodpile now and I hope you have also. If the French Gardener can pile wood and I can scrapbook all day it is a good day indeed.
xo,
cindy

These are the items you will need to make the Komodo Stitch. You will need Pearls, beading needle, FireKing Fishing Line, seed beads, and Swarovski Crystals. This is my first try at a tutorial.

Necklace & Bracelet

getting started

First tie a jump ring 4 inches from the end of your fishing line. Then string on 2 pearls, 5 seed beads, 1 swarovski crystal and 5 more seed beads.

first step

The pass your needle through the first pearl and out the top of the second pearl, pull tight.

step 2

Add 5 seed beads, 1 crystal and another 5 seed beads.

step 3

Bring the beading needle back through the first bead out the top bead again.

step 4

Pull the needle and line tight to form your first Komodo stitch.

step 5

With your needle, thread on one pearl, 5 seed beads, 1 crystal, another 5 seed beads.

step 6

Pass your needle in through the second pearl exit out the top of the third pearl (next photo).

step 7

You can see here in this photo I have the third pearl in position. See the needle has gone through the third pearl in this photo.

step 8

Pulling your line tight again.

step 9

Now add to your needle 5 seed beads, 1 crystal and another 5 seed beads.

step 10

Repeat step 9 by passing the needle up through the second pearl and come out the third pearl.

step 11

Bringing everything tight again you now have made the second Komodo stitch.

step 12

Continue these steps until you have reached either a bracelet or necklace length.

step 13

In this photo I have done the same stitch but replaced a Swarovski Crystal with a Swarovski Tear Drop. Sorry about the light in this photo as the tear drop isn’t yellow it is smokey and matches very nicely with the seed beads of the necklace.

Komodo Necklace

I attach a clasp at either end and it is ready to box up as another item in the “Island Made” gift shop in Prince Edward Island. This completes a set of a matching necklace, earrings and bracelet. I just love it when I complete something I started months ago. Oh that reminds me, this week I’m suppose to be scrapbooking.
xo,
cindy