Trails of Hats'n Hospitalitea

      Today the weather is nice and we ventured off to map locations.  With 3 GPS’s  we set off on a adventure to different beach destinations, mapping, locating and searching out a fun adventure for this upcoming tourism season.  The Island’s first ever Beachcombing Adventure: lets get it started.  We went exploring beaches with three GPS navigators and marked a few new beaches that needed exploring and a number of beaches we have already explored where we are sure you will always find beach treasure. Yes it is still Winter here, however we were not out beachcombing but we were out mapping. We did a little beachcombing and found this nugget.

Guy and I have put together a unique GPS Sea Glass Beachcombing Odyssey.  

 With a GPS, we plan to send you “Beachcombing PEI” to a number of beaches that have treasures washed ashore. “What kind of treasure?” I’m glad you asked, you could find sea glass, shells, marbles, pipe ends, glass bottles, doll parts, wine stoppers, pottery and more. These are just a few of the things I’ve found on our beaches. With all the number of ship wrecks along the coast, every tide brings a new discovery each day. We started Beachcombing about 11 years ago. Then we took our adventure on the road and beachcombed the East Coast from Prince Edward Island to the Outer Banks of North Carolina and followed through down to Key West exploring beaches and inlets. We consider ourselves Beachcombers and you can read about our Sea Glass Vacation on our Blog. We started beachcombing just for fun, for exercise, for peace and relaxation, now we have the bug and we can’t stop. We have turned our passion for beachcombing into an expedition for all to enjoy. This is a great way to see the Island and explore the many beaches of PEI.  Beachcombing, truly a must do adventure while on your Prince Edward Island vacation.

In order to bring you this unique experience package, we have included: a treasure map for a  fun, how to beachcomb for the adventure, instructions on where to look for beach treasures using one of our GPS. This is a great way to adventure PEI while outdoors, getting exercise and making a lasting memory. It’s a beachcombing scavenger hunt! 

Once we set you up with the GPS unit and show you how to use it, we then hand over the treasure map and off you go from beach to beach in a sea glass odyssey, searching for beach glass or a sea shell adventure, or a quest for a treasure  that might have floated a shore from the Titanic.

This piece of sea glass was picked off the shores of Prince Edward Island and turned into a beautiful pendent. Bring me your beachcombing treasures and I’ll teach your to wire wrap your favourite piece into a treasured souvenier.

Your adventure will also take you to a few Gift Shops along the way that will have beachcombing items to seek out and purchase.  By now you have worked up an appetite,  so we also point you in direction of some of the best food on Prince Edward Island.

This can be a Half and or full-day experience $40.  Wire wrapped treasures $10 per item.  We have a treasure chest full of Sea Glass for those who have not come across their favourite piece to wire wrap and you may dig for treasure in the chest.

Beachcombing Experience $40

• Adventure  Treasure Map
• GPS and instructions
• Adventure Touring Beaches, Gift Shops, Restaurants
• Bring your treasure back to the Island Made Gift Shop and I’ll teach you to wire wrap your treasure into a wearable jewellery or key-chain souvenir $10 per item  

Book your Sea Glass Beach Odyssey today.

Happy Hunting ~ Cindy

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is a rose… Welcome to my 11th Tea Time Tuesday. Celebrating a special day today as it is the 2nd Birthday for Tea Tuesday Hosted by our lovely friend Sandi over at  Rose Chintz Cottage where friends gather for a speck of life’s simple pleasures, be it a place setting, china or sweets….somewhere we all connect.

A Rose, is a rose, is a rose is a rose… was written by Gertrude Stein as part of the 1913 poem Sacred Emily, which appeared in the 1922 book Geography and Plays. In that poem, the first “Rose” is the name of a person. Stein later used variations on the sentence in other writings, and “A rose is a rose is a rose” is probably her most famous quotation, often interpreted as meaning “things are what they are.”  

What they are for each is individual but for me my first rose would be yes a name, Rose Mockett my grandmother. My second Rose would be the middle name of my daughter Victoria Rose. My third rose is pleasurable but comes with many thorns, my “Grandma’s Tea Room.”

Give it up for a Rose

A Gifted Rose Tea Cup

Under sits a Saucer

Elegant Rose Cup & Saucer

My 3rd Rose, Anna-Grace

Rose Coloured Birthday Card marks a celebration

Rose Sea Glass Wire Wrapped Pendant

Wire Wrapped Rose Beads

Rose Sea Glass, Lovely isn’t it?

What are “The Thorns”? For me the thorns are not colourful, they are stressful and come from  something I enjoy the most in life and that is our Grandma’s Tea Room and Blogging.  I’m learning fast that the wonderful things I created in my life have become too much to handle as I’ve aged ten years in this past one, and so I need to cut back, just a little.  I’m taking a blog break. I’ll miss you my friends, but please don’t feel I’ve gone away for long, heavens no! but just long enough to compose for, A rose, is a rose, is a rose.

~Hugs Cindy   

Tea Time Tuesdays = Happy New Year

Welcome to my #8th tea time Tuesday.  I’ll be joining Sandi over at Rose Chintz Cottage as Tuesday is a great time for tea and friends.

First let me wish everyone a Happy New Year, may 2012 be filled with friends, happiness, bliss and wonderfuls. I’m not about New Year Resolutions so I waited until Jan 2 to step on the scale and make a promise to myself.  So no truffles, chocolates and cookies with my tea please, just soft music, candles and sea glass.  ”SeaGlass”  yup, that is what I said sea glass will fill my life this year as it brings bliss.

My tea cup is a blue forget-me-not, my treats are blue seaglass.

On January 6, I was collecting sea glass when I took the call from my brother that mom had passed away. Seaglass is what I wire wrap and sell in our little gift shop.  Sea glass is what I write about on my scrapandwrap blog.  As much as I love to bake, eat and treat others in the tea room, “no” I’m sticking to it you will only see seaglass beside my cup of tea for awhile.

Thanks for joining me in my tea time Tuesday’s short tea break.  Please leave me a note that you have been by and I’ll revisit you as soon as I have tidied up around here.  Enjoy your next cuppa tea today  ~cindy

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Today I’d like to share a little Before and After with you. I have painted one of the dull bedrooms upstairs in our bed and breakfast and yesterday with the help of my master of all trades we were able to put a few finishing touches to what was a drably looking room.  I hope you enjoy my bed and breakfast in PEI. 

Before, not much to be said.

After; we turned the beds to be under the window, put up wallpaper, a different colour of paint, and the room has seaglass decorated in bowls laying about, come have a look for yourself.

The lighthouse wall border runs across the top of the window box (my master carpenter did a fabulous job)

What goes with the wall paper? Lighthouses.

A hand painted lighthouse

A bit of the fishermen in me

Saving the best for last.  Seaglass adorns bowls and plates about the B&B. Personal collections from our beachcombing days laid out in bowls for all to see and admire, you can pinch a few if you like when you come for a visit. This lighthouse  is a music box and it lights up and was gifted to me by my cousin Janus years ago and it finally found a home, I love it. 

Thanks for stopping by my before and after. 

I have one room left to paint and decorate nautical, but I’ll start it next week, maybe I’ll scrapbook or wrap some sea glass, ?? Thanks for stopping by.

~ cindy

The A-Z of Christmas ~ S

Welcome to the 7th day before Christmas.  Only 7 days or 7 sleeps like I would tell the kids when they were young. Yesterday it was around about low tide and Grandpa started to get the sea glass itch.  So we loaded M’J and Braxton (pups) into the car and off we went.  Believe me it was a little chilly but by 2:30 there wasn’t any wind and it was perfect on the ocean.  I took my camera yes and took pictures, but this is about my Christmas S…not sea glass.

~ Santa Claus

~ Story book

~ Souris

~ Snowman

~ Sea Glass

~Santa Claus

Santa Claus, who is also known as Saint Nicholas, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle and Santa.  He is a rather jolly, spirited old Elf who wears a red suit pants and hat with white trim.  Some people have said he is a figure with a folkloric tradition who has a sleigh and 8 tiny reindeer and brings gifts to good children only when they sleep and on the eve of Christmas. You can believe the some people or you can listen to me right now, “I have met him and he is the real thing.” Perhaps he is folkloric only to the stuffy, don’t want to have any fun people.

~ Story Book

It was a story book memory to read “Twas the Night Before Chirstmas.” Each year the papercovered book was put away with the Christmas decorations and it was always read to the kids on Christmas Eve and just became one of those have to do things. I’m sure I knew the story off the top of my head and I tried that one time each time I turned the page I told the story. I remember getting to one part in the book just before Santa left the building and put a finger beside his nose I had got the story wrong and Matthew looks up at me and says,”thats not how it goes.” 

~ Souris

Is one of my favourite spots to go beachcombing and it is located at the East end of Route 2.  The car Ferry to Iles de la Madeleine leaves from Souris.  The beaches are long and sandy, the town is unique and as you come into Souris there is a pull off perfect for a picnic and stroll on the beach.  

~ Snowman

Each year around about the first snow fall everyone has one of these on the front lawns.  Lucky you were if you raked all the leaves and your snowman was made of snow and not a leaf man.

~ Sea Glass

You didn’t think I was going to let S go by and not talk about Sea Glass did you? Come on! I just mentioned my favourite spot to beachcomb, so it would be only right that I mention my favourite pastime.  Sea Glass is what it is: shards of glass washed onto the shores that has been tumbled by the ocean, back and forth over rocks giving it a rounded smooth surface with no jagged edges.  I have a gift shop here on Prince Edward Island and it was all about Anne of Green Gables and Scrapbooking but over the last 5 years I have been adding sea glass to my showcase.  I have always wanted to have a spot where I didn’t work, I was able to take off my hat, put down my apron and just have fun.  I have found that spot, come and have a look over at scrapandwrap.ca my blog that is only going to talk about the hours before and after work, click on blog see what I’m talking about and then be the very first to comment. I’ll always be here at  Hats ‘n Hospitalitea because you need me to come to work but it will be about what it was intended for. Finally I feel organized now to get in some shop time.

The S of Christmas, how exciting was that? It was wonderful that you stopped by and I hope you’ll stop by again tomorrow with my T of Christmas.  Have the very best and enjoy your day!

Till tomorrow…. I’ll be thinking about a T ~ Cindy

The A-Z of Christmas ~ K

Welcome to the 15th day before Christmas.  As the days fly by and I see more lights around the neighbourhood I return each day to memories of my favourites be it a craft, amusement, memory, photos, places PEI, recipe, inspiration or what makes me smile. Yesterday Ana, Grandpa and I visited the Stratford play group for the first time.  I seem to have lost count at around 105 diapered toddlers running around. 

~ Kris Kringle

~ Kelly Green

~ Kellys Cross on PEI

~ Kinkora on PEI

~ Kale Baked Potato Chips

~ Kris Kringle

Santa Claus as most little children know him, is said to bring gifts to the homes of good girls and boys in the late hours and only after you are sleeping on the Christmas Eve of December 24th. Santa Claus portrays an image of a plump, jolly white bearded man wearing a red coat, hat and pants, white cuffed around his hat and coat, and black leather boots and belt. As tradition repeats itself Santa Clause is said to live in the North Pole with his elves and eight tiny reindeer. 

In PEI on Ocean 100, you can talk on the radio with Santa each night between 5:45 and 6:00pm. The number to call is 368-1720

~ Kelly Green

I wire wrap sea glass for our gift shop in Winsloe called The Island Made.  We are a beachcombing husband and wife team who explore beaches for pottery, seaglass, and shipwreck ruins. The color of sea glass is determined by its original source. Most sea glass comes from bottles, but it can also come from jars, plates, windows, windshields. We also find ceramics and sea pottery. 

The most common colors of sea glass are kelly green, brown, blue and purple(clear). These colors come from bottles used by companies that sell beer, juices, and soft drinks.

~ Kellys Cross on PEI

Kellys Cross is on Route 246 in PEI and is home to the Five Sisters of Lavender Lane. You can visit Mary, Dottie, Reta, Anita, and Carol, in their land of love with Lavender during the summer months with story telling, learning about lavender then take a stroll on the fairy trail.

~ Kinkora on PEI

Kinkora is on Route  225 and so is Right off the Batt Pottery. Join Cindy and Darryl in their Play in Clay workshops or make and take home an Island Clay Memory.

~ Kale Baked Potato Chips

These might just be your next favouite potato chip, yummy.

Ingredients

• 1 bunch kale
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 teaspoon seasoned salt

The A-Z of Christmas ~ G & H

Welcome to Christmas and to my A-Z of Christmas.  Each day I’ll try and share my favourites be it a craft, amusement, memory, photos, places PEI, recipe, inspiration or what makes me smile and a blessing or two. Yesterday was Christmas Tea Time Tuesday and so I’m getting caught up.

~ Good Friends

~ Helpers

~Good Friends

Bloggers write in hopes that someone reads and comments on the blog. We (bloggers) only know someone has been by when others (you) comment. Or when something like this happens from a bloglurker .  Yesterday I blogged about my Christmas coffee cup why?  because I don’t have a Tea Cup nor a Coffee cup looking like Christmas but I can scrapbook so I made one just so I could join in a Christmas blog happening yesterday.  To my surprise by the afternoon I not only had cookies baked, Ana down for a nap but I have good friends stop over for coffee and one of them brought me these two Christmas Tea Cups.  I might be a day late and a dollar short, but you know it is a good day when your blog delivers not comments but tea cups.  Thank you Charlene, they are perfect.

~ Helpers

During the Month of Christmas helpers come out of their hiding spots and get in the spirit of giving.  The Santa Clause Parade on PEI is a great motivation to get the ball rolling as the parade collects for the needy.  Others around the Island are having fundraisers like Christmas light shows in aid of the P.E.I Heart and Stroke Foundation that is hosted by Landon Holmes. Seven bands from the province performed in a “Rock For The Kids” fundraising show at The Guild in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, on December 2. Proceeds went to the Toys For Tots charity. 

Grandma is on duty over these past weeks and my little helper has baking cookies, hunted for sea glass, and wrapping a present or two. Speaking of presents you can drop off your new and unwrapped toys for tots off at one of the Island locations for pickup. 

G and H of Christmas It was wonderful that you stopped by and I hope you’ll stop by again tomorrow with my I of Christmas.  Have the very best and enjoy your day!

Till tomorrow…. I’ll be thinking about a I ~ Cindy

The A-Z of Christmas ~ B

Welcome to Christmas and my A-Z of Christmas.  Each day I’ll try and share my favourites be it a craft, amusement, memory, photos, places PEI and blessing.

~ Beaded Bug Plant Stick

~ Bells of Christmas, Reuse

~ Bike – memory

~ Brookfield, PEI

~ Blessing

~ Beaded Bug Plant Stick

This Beaded Bug Plant Stick was made for a Homepreneur Expo that I attended this past week.  I have plenty of items in my studio that are scrapbooked and beaded if not wrapped and dangled however they are all items that have been built for tourism.  I needed something that didn’t say PEI and perhaps others “the other Islanders” would enjoy looking at if not purchasing.

 ~ Bells of Christmas, Reuse

I guess the secret is out: I love to scrapbook but not as much as I love to reuse.  My Christmas box has in it a box of vintage cards.  I want to scrapbook and frame this old Bell Christmas Card into another card and send it to someone special. Do you send Christmas Cards?  I love getting snail mail and at Christmas it’s just the right time to exchange a few words and wishes.

Christmas Card Exchange: Cindy Cousineau, PO Box 154, Winsloe PEI, C1E 1Z2

~ Bike – memory

They said, “I was knee high to a grasshopper” and that Christmas my Grandfather who had a knee with my name on it purchased me a bike.  My memories of being young and not having money were that we always bought a pair of shoes one or two sizes too big, the idea was we would grow into them.  Well this bike was big, I remember standing beside it, I must have been 7 or maybe 9 and the banana seat came up to my waist and the monkey bars touched my shoulder.  It was purple with a tall roll bar at the back, a kick stand, and you had to pedal backwards to stop. I have a picture of that big bike somewhere….” I found it and a pic of my Grandfather’s knee.”

 

~ Brookfield, PEI

We lived in Greenvale PEI up until moving into the Old Farm House in Winsloe beside the trail and just about the middle of both places on Route 2 you will find a village called Brookfield, don’t blink.  A Church a graveyard and Brookfield Gardens with some of PEI’s best fresh vegetables, visit their web site to find out what’s available now.

~ Blessing

Sometimes Blessings come is small amounts and other times we have to search hard to find them.  With 6 grandchildren I’m really blessed… yuuuup as Dave would say.  I have 2 grandchildren here at home with me who are knee high to a grasshopper, and 4 in North Carolina who I miss dearly. Did I say they were all girls!

I enjoyed that you stopped by and hope you’ll stop by again tomorrow with my C of Christmas.  Have the very best and enjoy your day!  Till tomorrow….

I’ll be thinking about a C ~ Cindy

This is going to wrap up one of the shortest Sea Glass Odyssey’s we have ever been on.  Our ventures landed us in Eastport Maine, quaint village with a lot of history.  I recently found out that the Port in Eastport was the second busiest port in all of USA’s.  I often wonder why Eastport attracts me to her quaint hometown and I can think non other than it is an Island as PEI, it has a port, fishing and potatoes are plenty and tourism is growing.  A 4th of July celebration becomes a destination for thousands of people arriving in the ports and coming from all around.

The car is set up with a portable table and I’m wire wrapping sea glass off the beaches of Prince Edward Island as we drive to our destination.  The off season days will jet by fast and soon it will be high season again,  so I try and  make use of times like driving in the car.

I had the opportunity to make a few friends on the short stay I had in Eastport. Memories were made and mustard was bought from a shop that will stand out in my mind.  Beachcombing was on the thoughts of others while I was thinking of having a fresh pretzel with homemade mustard and my choice was “Spring Maple”  good! yes it was.  I visited Raye’s Mustard Shop for the first time and sampled about 7 of 25 handmade mustard’s with White Lightning being their 25th flavour and Sweet and Spicy being my favourite.

I found myself returning the second day for a piece of sea glass that absolutely caught my eye and turned a few heads, yellow in colour and handmade by a man in town who no longer is, I had to have it and will wrap it again not for any other reason than it needs to be wrapped in silver to show it off.

A true gem of a B&B was found after I battled not to pay the high price of a motel in town.  After all the motel, keeping in mind this is off-season $120 a night and not only was the town on a boil water but there wasn’t breakfast in the morning not even continental breakfast was served.  I protested and I’m sure my company wasn’t happy with me but we ended up finding a B&B full of beautiful furniture, little simple touches that just showed the extra the hostess was going to to make everyone comfortable.  Being off season I had the opportunity to pop in and out of each room and check them out, nice and I have picked out the room I’ll take when I return.  Each room had a dish of sea glass in it of different colours and shapes.

 This must be a beachcomber right? Yes! it was and down to the kitchen I went for some conversation and to find out where we might head for seaglass.  We always return to the ferry dock each year and seems that is the place to go.

Surprised by the amount of bottles stoppers and bottle tops I took plenty of pictures.  Then sitting on the mantle piece were doll parts, something I have only read about.  Shipwrecks filled with dolls had gone down and with a storm and the right North wind will stir a doll part up to shore for someone to find.  I never found a doll part but I did find a pipe tip.  In the 1920′s when fishermen went out most often one carried a 8 1/2 inch pipe and smoked from it. When he was done he would brake off the tip and throw it overboard and the next person would use the pipe.

This is Sea Glass I met her while she was showing off in the sun.  I couldn’t help but to sit down and stroke her a couple of times and then she followed me everywhere.  No! she was a he and tom cat of the town, seems everywhere we went over the next two days we met up with sea glass.

This is our sea glass find.  I know your thinking what am I going to do with all this sea glass? I have big plans for this coloured glass.  I want to make a stand up fountain, pressing the glass into mortar and then attach copper pipe over the top and then hook the water up to it and have it flow over the top.  Have you ever seen wet sea glass? It shimmers like nothing else, when it dries it is salty and has white pucks in it from the PH of the water.

Last but not least is another scenery shot.  In fact when you look at it, it almost looks like it might not be real, but it was and I was there, made the memory and collected what the glory hole left behind.

Have you ever beachcombed? Do you have a secret spot?  I do, yup I’ve been all down the East Coast and PEI has the nicest sea glass to be found.  Don’t get me wrong I enjoyed my holiday but prefer Prince Edward Island beaches and glass.  Thanks for stopping by my Sea Glass Odessey, let me know you were by….cindy

We have arrived in Bar Harbor. It is dark and we have stopped at many inlets, peninsulas, Islands, and Bays along the way.  Our adventures have taken us to very pretty scenic routes along the way, as well as a few great eaterie.  A cruise ship is in the Harbor and the little tug boat is taking tourists back and forth.  The shops are all open, little dog dishes are outside the shopkeepers doors filled with water.  This is truly a pet friendly town, they welcome all.

As for Sea Glass in Bar Harbor, I read so much about, NOT!!! it is a trick to get tourist to go to Bar Harbor.  If you wish to know where to head, email me and I’ll let you know all the hot spots, truly Prince Edward Island has the prettiest sea glass I have ever seen, but you be the judge of this.

Come back and see our sea glass adventure to tucked out of the way places.

Take care, cindy