May 5 - May 11, 2013

There are many good things about rainy days in the Springtime.... The grass greens up, the flowers get fed, the car gets washed for free. It's been a sunny week so I've been flying by on my bicycle, but on Friday walking home in the rain I stopped and smelled the flowers on so many trees and shrubs. Glorious!

And speaking of glorious, merci beaucoup M. Gustave Eiffel for my Tour.

If you ever go to London, England, go to the Tate Modern. Fab, fab, fab! (yes, tis  another one of our vacation picture brooches)

This is the twinkliest of my twinkly brooches. So, I've pondered why - is it the cut, is it the glass, is it because I haven't had it for long so it hasn't mingled with many of my brooches yet. I ponder still.

A very little Union Jack pin. I expect it was worn as a lapel pin. I wonder if the flag would change if any of the 3 countries separate from England. I'm of two minds about it, well actually three because I'm from the British melting pot of Scotland, Ireland and England (sadly, no Welsh).

A battered but well-loved brooch from my childhood. The glass eyes, some legs and both tails are missing from the critters, the cowboy is now one-armed and no lasso, and the steer ran alongside the horse instead of  now running downhill. But, the spring is still intact joining the two together so the steer still "runs" when you tap it. Surprisingly, I have fared better than this brooch. And I just realized as I was wearing this brooch that it is at least a half century old. YIKERS!!!!!!!!!

Back-to-back cowboys, tres strange, must be something in the air. I've never seen The Calgary Stampede - been there on the Fair Grounds but didn't get to see the cowboys strut their stuff. And this guy is strutting real fine.

I like the funkiness of this pin. It almost looks like something you would have made at camp. I like the "I don't care that the stitches aren't all even around the border and that's OK with me" quality. 

April 28 - May 4, 2013

It has started. You: hear a bird song; don't know what it is; dig out the binos; scan the trees and shrubs; find bird high above your head; see a partially obscured view of its underside; hear it tootle a few more notes as it flies to a distant tree. Urggggggg! 
Here are this week's brooches.

As a kid I watched The Mickey Mouse Club. I would sing with the Mouseketeers, moon over Spin and Marty, and sign off with Jimmy and the gang....MIC...See you real soon...KEY....Why, because we like you......MOUSE. And I guess that's why I have this mouse pin. Sweet memories.

Look at the cat's face. You know it's up to no good and plotting some dastardly deed.

Turtles are a favourite creature of mine. This guy looks like he's swimming, enjoying the sunshine, and heading for a log to join his mates. 

No use looking in Peterson's Guide Book - this one ain't there. Recently bought this brooch. It's a Takahashi-inspired bird brooch - as so written on the price tag. Google here I come.

Yes, j'aime the Eiffel Tower, as most of you know. This one looks like it's in an old-fashioned picture frame, with a lovely wash of sunset colours behind La Tour. C'est belle.

Sprigs of flowers look lovely in vases and in brooches. This one is particularly charming - with the spray of flowers running up through the sparkly horseshoe.

Don't you love amber. Don't you love arachnids - well, maybe not but I like this brooch. It's the season of spiders running around our house, with the cats chasing them around the house. The cats should just come and sit on my side of the bed at nighttime, as the spiders always end up looking down at me from the bedroom ceiling.

April 21 - April 27, 2013

Finally, my bike got some more exercise this week - it had started to look like winter was returning for an encore. Did wear a scarf under my helmet to keep the noggin warm, gloves on my hands, but hey, it felt great! I don't cycle far to work, but I love the freedom.

Friends know of my passion for Mounties - the stylin' hat, that redder than red coat, and those boots (sigh) ..... and the stripe along the pant leg and those beautiful horses......My first rug I hooked had a Mountie in it, just a little one as a nod to them. 

Today is my friend Sandy's birth day. A kind friend found this brooch amongst Sandy's rug hooking wool and gave it to me. She loved pigs, and dogs, and rug hooking, and expensive champagne (sorry - private joke - the champers is mentioned for her rug hooking buddies). I wear it in remembrance of her. Among many things, I miss Sandy's laughter.

Mind freeze, can't think of anything except I really like this bird - the graphic outline, the colour, love where the eye is placed, the metal appendages. Like, like, like.

Very much an Art Deco inspired brooch. Can't you see this on a snazzy dress. Charleston anyone or do you prefer the Tango?

A group of us (in jammie attire) were fortunate to see the Good Lovelies at the  beginning of their careers. And I think that's when I got this pin. They're smart and sassy, write most of their music, and know their way around a harmony. Find them, and go and support great Canadian talent.

Here's one hulking green glob of glass brooch. If you like hulking green things, I have a question - who is your favourite hulk  Bill Bixby or Mark Ruffalo? Actually, Mark Ruffalo could be any colour, and I'd still be a happy camper.

 All I could remember is this brooch came from a place that has monkeys. That narrows it down a bit. One phone call later, and a little more info. The brooch was made in Bali and brought to Indonesia to sell. The orange "flower" is made from the cocoons of silk worms. Your guess is as good as mine what the stones are. Thank my lucky stars I have friends who go to exotic places, friends who travel, friends.

April 14 - April 20, 2013

Our gardens look like a demented garden gnome (with some help from the squirrels) danced through the yard tossing crocuses and other little spring bulbs willy nilly. Should be interesting were the daffs and tulips will show up. 
Here's to all those rambunctious gardens!

This is the first brooch my son ever bought me. In the store, I pointed out the ones I liked, especially priced for his young pocketbook, and they were also on sale - bonus! He choose this lovely green glass flower. You chose wisely, son of mine.

I've gone to many folk festivals over the years, as "kin" - festival jargon for being "related" (in my case a girlfriend) to a performer; a "perf" - performer, in my case a stepdancer; "guest" - you have an "in" with somebody - these designations would allow you access everywhere. Fun, fun, fun.This brooch smacks of something I would have picked up in one of the craft stalls at a festival. But then again, could it be from a One Of A Kind show? It's a bit funky, very worn, but I like how simply done the music staff is. The colours remind me of the colours used on old cottages.

 Gardening paraphernalia - clean and shiny. Definitely not what I would find in the garage. Actually, I use a large, old kettle with a worn wooden handle and a gooseneck spout. In my mind's eye, I picture a large family, waiting for the singing kettle for their cuppa tea.

I do so love black birds - red-winged, grackle. Crows have always been a favourite of mine. This is actually a raven pin, brought back to me from the Yukon by a good friend. What I like about this pin is that there is also beguiling scenery in the golden background.

Another Church bazaar pin. Saw it, pondered, left it, went back and bought it. And for less than a Loonie. It's a hard plastic "pearl" brooch, and I couldn't leave it behind.

Friends and family have travelled to Texas. A childhood friend lives there. I don't know the attraction of that humongous state but I love that Rio Grande song...................."I'm a cowboy who never saw a cow. Never roped a steer cause I don't know how.....................................Yippie yi yo kayah..........."

I'm not much of a carnivore, never have been. I've had this Plasticine-like brooch so long it has yellowed with age. And I love it. Have you started to wonder, like I have, where the hell I have picked up some of these brooches? 

Surprise, I am now up-to-date with my blog. I posted on Thursday, and now with this Sun one, I'm current. HURRAH !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Please note: Am intending to post next Sunday. I will try to keep up, but this just might be an anomaly. 

April 7 - April 13, 2013

This was a week of rain, sleet, snow, rain, freezing rain, high winds, snow pellets, lots of rain....my bike is cowering in the garage.  And sadly, the Easter chocolate is now a memory. A shaft of sunlight has just burst through the window, and now just as quickly, it's grey once more. Many intrepid flowers are braving the chill in the garden; bless their little hearts.

I can honestly say this is my one and only llama pin - love the "pantaloons" on the legs and the detail on this beast of burden. He looks very opinionated.

I love the Eiffel Tower - it's my personal mecca. It's such a substantial structure, bigger than you would imagine but always looks lighter than air with its lacy metalwork. Vive La Tour d'Eiffel!

Church bazaars - one of the best places to go to find something that you didn't know you needed. Always I head straight for the White Elephant room in the search for a brooch or an oddity. This little gold-hued one caught my eye - I like the simplicity.

Ahhhh, The City of Light. My husband and I made a number of brooches with photos from a trip to Paris and London. This fountain was at the very end of the Luxembourg Gardens and we came upon it while off looking for a place to practice our French on the frayed nerves of a waiter. "Beaucoup de vin" came in very handy.

Got this in England a long time ago. Although it's a train engine I think it is one of a few "vehicle" pins that I picked up in a kiosk in the London Underground. It was the colours that appealed to me. I will have to Google Leader S & KLR.
Or I will have to find a train nerd.

A pretty snazzy looking toad. But I wonder why he is wearing gold "gloves" on his feets. Maybe he's going to a ball at Toad Hall?

A Victorianesque brooch with a little bit of bling - never a bad thing.

March 31 - April 6, 2013

What a beautiful weekend Easter was. I took my bike downtown for a tune-up, what a great bike shop that is. Now, I just have to attach my wicker basket and I'm ready to roll. You've been warned. 
I'm rotten at phonetics, always have been, always will be. As I was a-lying in bed a-reading I realized I wrote "sniffle" in my last posting, which to me at the time "sounded" correct. I wasn't meaning the result of sobbing but I was meaning "to steal, to purloin". So today I was going to correct it with "sniffel" but my husband explained why that's not correct either. So on his advice, I will spell the word "snifle", which rhymes with Eiffel. Enough of the blather - here's the next 7.

I like it when Easter is early and the weather is unpredictable. People were dressed in a variety of ways - from shorts and t-shirts to winter coats, hats and boots - all on the same day. I find amusement in it. I also remember Easter Sunday as a kid. There we all are in the photos to mark the occasion with our Easter bonnets and coats. Sometimes with big smiles and sometimes huddling together for warmth. I don't know why but I thought this palm tree was appropriate for the day.

Another metal exotic bird pin. It has Japan printed along the bottom. Never having been to Japan maybe they are as common as our ubiquitous   English Sparrow.

This dinosaur is actually 4 times larger than the bird pin above. It has a wonderfully spongy interior so it has some play value which I enjoy. Surprisingly I get few comments on this brooch. I like it muchly.

I bought this brooch for my Mom from a shop in The Colonnade in Toronto many moons ago.  The Colonnade had a spiral staircase in front of it, which was an unusual feature, and maybe that's why I remember it (hopefully correctly). This brooch is a funky mosaic of flowers and bits of green glass or stone. I was trying for a more restrained brooch for her.

I saw a wonderful show on David Suzuki about the beaver and how important they are to the environment. Hooray! And I was liking them because they're as cute as can be (even if they're called a rodent). This is another one of my tourist store brooches with Canada

imprinted on the back. It's a very teeny leather brooch.

Not really sure what this pewter duck is. Perused the duck section of my Peterson Field Guide - Bufflehead? Goldeneye? Chubby Cheeked? Upswept Do? Your guess is as good as mine.

I was given this lion because I was mistaken for a Leo. I happily kept it anyway. The silver and abalone combination is lovely and the lion is in full stride - hopefully running to greet his friends rather than shopping for dins.

March 24 - March 30, 2013

I can count on getting chocolate at least three times a year: Xmas - choc-covered marshmallow Santas; Valentine's Day - choc-covered marshmallow hearts and very soon choc-covered marshmallow Easter eggs. Do you sense a theme? I get other good chocolately stuff too but these are my looked for, hoped for, first to be eaten favourite treats. Hope the Bunny was good to you.

                                                                              I'm stumped what to say about this little unicorn. It's little, it's a unicorn, it's metal, and I've had it for decades...........Sorry, I need a Vulcan mind meld and maybe I could come up with something..............or maybe, I can't stop thinking about chocolate.
                                                                 

I've never thought to see if there are cloud patterns on my kitties. I will have to look. We did have a cat who had a lattice pattern on her back; we called her Ivy because of that. She was a most splendid cat.









Love this brooch - the wonderful tackiness of it - charming. And of course, yes, reminds me of Cleo; one of the clan who had extremely large ears for her small Egyptian face.










This is a pin from the Russia Summer Olympics that Canada boycotted. (Google to find out why.) Mockba is Moscow. My photographic friend can't remember why he was there but thankfully brought me back this pin. I think this pin is swell.








It's always a sad day when someone you like leaves town, but it becomes a happy occasion when she has a great yard sale. Luckily, got there early and was able to sniffle (this is used loosely, I didn't steal them - sniffle - but it was a steal none-the-less) a few gems. I don't have many red brooches and was thrilled to get this oldie.







Do you hear what I hear? It's Nancy Sinatra singing ....These boots are made for walkin'.... (Personal gripe - I wish the keyboard had musical notes that I could use - or am I unknowing as to current usage for sound icons - quel surprise). Wish I could walk in boots that high!












In celebration of Easter I wore this chicken brooch. A niece, when as a young'un made this for me out of what looks like Femo (sp?). Yes, my husband's side is very artistic (my side - let's see, I think it's the gift of the gab, great cooking, great drinking, and the gift of the gab - oh wait, and of course great charm). The orange legs seem to have walked off - I will need to excavate the jewellery box.