Can't See The Forest For The Trees

My holidays are sadly coming to an end, the past little while in beautiful British Columbia has been a refreshing change from the daily ritual of domestic duties and the humidity of the hectic, city air.

Coming home truly is about rejuvenating your soul; the endearing family banter, home grown comforts that you never tire of no matter how old you are.  We all seem to fall right back into our family roles, even a high ranking executive working in a busy, fast paced city becomes someone's son or daughter, older or younger sibling, granddaughter or grandson.   No one here cares how important you are at work, you still do the dishes after dinner and get yelled at for forgetting to turn your parents sprinkler off all night.  It's where that dish you made out of paper mache in the first grade still holds the spare car keys and paper clips in the kitchen drawer, where you still find yourself calling your friends parents "Mr & Mrs Gray".

CHBC News, August 2003

There was a huge forest fire here in 2003 caused by a lightening strike during a hot August day when the forests were tinder dry.  Although the landscape here is slowly and surely recovering, it saddens me to know that things will never look the same in my lifetime.  The fire seems to have cleared the way for rapid development in these parts, the old secret campgrounds have been replaced by new roads trying to keep up with the ever growing population here.  Faint noises of construction equipment can be heard above the sound of the trickling stream in the early morning air.

Things are changing..times are changing.

My parents are thinking of moving on, not unlike the wildlife on this mountain who are being forced onto higher ground and into the slowly diminishing cluster of forest to escape the blanket of residential communities slowly making its way into what once used to be dense pine habitats.

I hope that this city never forgets how beautiful it is here.  I hope they realize before it's too late that what they're tearing down on these mountains is what makes this place heaven on earth.

But nature will persevere.  The lake is still cool, clear and pristine, the mountains majestic and proud.  I've seen a couple of bald eagle nests on this trip, claiming real estate with the best 180 degree lake views this side of the Rockies Mountains.  The quails still criss cross the mountain roads with their mind boggling number of chicks in tow and my parents have woken up to find moose in their backyard.

Folklore Series:  Sterling, Labradorite

With this in mind, I've created a distinctly Canadiana pendant.  The labradorite was first found in Labrador, Canada in 1770 and this sterling pendant houses a particularly gorgeous, flashy labradorite specimen.  Part of my Folklore Series, available in my shop.

xo Blue Gnome

Celebrating the Chocolate Bunny

The long weekend is almost here and our weekend looks like rain, rain, rain!  I guess I should really just be thankful it's not snow..we had quite the 'sideways' snow storm last weekend, rain..snow..sunshine..then snow again..it was quite the spectacle.  I suspect Mother Nature was having 'one of those days' that we all have once in a while, but when she has a 'bad day' we all get snow blizzards, trees toppling over and angry rain coming down sideways.  And it's in mid April.  Lovely..

My neighbor came by last night to ask me if I could grab his mail for the next few days, he's meeting his wife and baby boy in Paris or a few days..ooooh, la de dah!    Of course I'm green with envy, I think I've figured out why this winter in particular seems so long and endless..it's because I haven't been anywhere this past winter, last year this time I was in sitting on the beaches in Thailand...ahhhh..

 Can't you just feel that sun?

This was me a year ago.. Sigh!

Okay, moving away from the subject of hot and sunny destinations on this cold, damp afternoon, I just wanted to post a picture of this stunning vintage pencil-lined dress on Etsy.  The whole thing is covered in horseshoes..I love it!  Unfortunately, the opportunity to wear this has yet to present itself for me, so it's currently up for grabs for anyone who's into looking fabulous and "Mad Men"-like.  Can't you just see yourself poured into this outfit??  Available currently here.

www.tokyofirecracker.etsy.com

And finally, in celebration of Easter and all things bunny related, I leave you with my latest necklace..my favorite so far.  Made entirely of sterling and a ethereal example of prehnite, it's the second of my Folklore Series necklaces.  

Sterling, Prehnite

In many mythic traditions, the rabbit or hare were archetypal symbols of femininity, associated with the lunar cycle, fertility, longevity, and rebirth. But if we look a little deeper into their stories we find that they are also contradictory, paradoxical creatures: symbols of both cleverness and foolishness, of femininity and androgny, of cowardice and courage, of rampant sexuality and virginal purity. In some cultures, Hare is the messenger of the Great Lunar Goddess, moving by moonlight between the human world and the realm of the gods.  He is the messenger of a female moon deity and the guardian of all wild animals. 

Just some food for thought as you nibble on some chocolate bunnies this weekend - hope your weekend is long, relaxing and full of good things.

xo Blue Gnome