Isolation station

Hi, how is everyone hanging in? I’m still here, but haven’t known what to say. It’s a difficult time for everyone. There is so much to absorb each day. I confess that I have cried, or at least cracked a tear, multiple times a day in the last couple weeks. Sometimes it really hits me when I think of how long it will be until I get to see family again, or when I read a touching tweet posted by a stranger, or sometimes when you hear a certain lyric of a song. I am slowly learning to cut down on the intake of COVID news and put some music on instead.

Work-wise, it’s not a different environment for me as someone who works from home, but it still feels entirely different. With so many big concerns, I know that jewellery is likely one of the last things you need right now. I for one have been living in cozy sweats, but should you have that birthday gift, graduation gift, or anniversary gift to give, the website is still open. Shipments will be made less frequently, so current shipping policies will not be upheld right now, but you can use code STAYHOME for free shipping on orders over $50.

If sh*t had not hit the fan, I would have been all set up for our beloved One Of A Kind Show to start today. This would have been my 19th year at the Spring Show. I was happy the show made the wise decision to postpone the show, but I will very much miss seeing many of your lovely faces! It’s been tough to watch my creative independent business pals struggle with closures and event cancellations at this time, but so uplifting to see everyone support each other in new and inspiring ways from home! 

I’ve heard many predictions of how long this period of social distancing will last. It's hard to imagine potentially months in isolation. I’ve been so grateful for daily messages, phone calls, facetime tea dates and evening zoom drinks with friends. I hope we can all see each other IRL sooner than later. In the meantime, I’m going to take this period as an unexpected gift to work on other creative ideas and home projects that I tend to not make the time for. I’m staying put here in my isolation station and am going to clean up my never-tidy desk, get the easel out, do some sewing, some writing and chef up some delicious meals. 

One last note: Thank you to all of our front line workers! Thank you to our doctors, nurses, grocery store workers, pharmacy workers, police officers, firefighters, paramedics, garbage collectors, restaurant staff, delivery people, transit staff and so many more You guys are heroes!

Be safe and stay healthy friends! xo

Happy happy!

Happy Canada Day! Happy Pride! Happy long weekend!

Hong Kong, part II

It's been a busy Summer and now as I browse these pictures, my memories of these experiences have already dimmed!  Glad I took so many photos!  Sorry for the delay in posting these.  Here are the photos from the second part of my Hong Kong travels.

Landing in HK after our Maldives break!

Pastel colours of Wan Chai.

Lovely little speciality shops. Stationery...

china...

Entry way into the old days!

Interesting architecture.

A visit to Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens on a steamy hot and humid day.
Not the best idea.

Eyeballing the high end shops in Central.  This was the Fendi window.

Picking up souvenirs for the people back home!

You can find anything on the streets of HK.

Tutus, leis, and a giant yellow t-shirt with with Winnie the Pooh's face!?

The Peninsula Hotel, the oldest hotel in Hong Kong.  A reminder of the 1920's...

with a modern bar with padded walls at the top of it!

Favourite meal.  A simple and delicious bowl of lai fun with char siu (noodle soup with barbecue pork) at Tsui Hang Village.  Yum yum yum... could eat this now.

Love seeing the remnants of days gone by peeking thru all the modernity of the city.

Pretty floral soup pot turned plant container.

Alleyway juice spot. I favour these spots over the fancy trendy juice bars!

A taxi ride via winding roads.

Waterfront at Stanley.

Building and pier both painstakingly moved from Central to Stanley.
Above is Murray House and below is Blake Pier.

Stanley Market.

Lovey dovey speech bubbles, a version of love locks at the viewing deck of the shopping centre at Stanley.

Hot pot with my cousin and her family.  So good and so fun!

Korean grub at U-Hang on High Street.  Loved the decor.

At the horse races making picks based on jerseys!

A gai si, or wet market.

Tea shopping and tasting with Mom.

Dense green foliage amidst tall apartment buildings.

A three week trip was over before I knew it.  I didn't have any jet lag upon my return to Toronto, but it took me weeks to recover from the over eating and intense family time!  Now as I write this a couple months after the trip, I have witnessed a few more friends lose some very close loved ones. Reminds me how lucky I am to have two healthy parents that love to sidekick with me!  I am so  grateful to have been able to spend some quality time with fam especially in such exotic places!

Hong Kong, part I

Recently I had the opportunity to join family on a trip to Hong Kong and the Maldives.  Saw a lot of great scenery, both natural and man made, and sure ate more that my fair share of delectable meals! Thought I would share some of the photos.  I think I will do it in three parts.  

Here's Hong Kong, part I!

Moody view upon landing.

 From airport straight to delicious dim sum.  Somehow so much better when in HK.

 Wish we still had more of these traditional dim sum carts in Toronto.

The rainy days at least made for some pretty cool photos.

 Seeing beauty in mundane things.

 A little parkette. I was amazed at the trees.  Check out the roots!  It seems a lot of the trees in HK grow like this.  It's the nature of a city emerging on a mountain, I suppose.

 Planned to shop shop shop, but came home with little and mostly browsed browsed browsed.

 One of the many feasts we had.

 The most delicious crab on sticky rice.
My cousin and I took care of all of this. No one else was willing to get their hands dirty.

I was amazed over and over again how so many tall buildings and such a dense population can co-exist with so much lush greenery.

I was almost getting S.A.D.  Should have packed some vitamin Ds!  Rained almost continuously for the first week I was there.  Gloomy skies over the amazing skyline!

Some of Hong Kong's iconic towers.

So many things to see in every little nook.

These little tiny vendors are wondrous!  I can't believe how much they can cram in such a small retail space.  They are just a little counter inside a box that opens up in the front.  Perfect little street side retail location.

We headed up towards the Peak, only to be unable to see 20 feet in front of the car part way up.  So we left and returned this day.  Still foggy, but it gradually cleared up to reveal a great view.  I kind of liked the added drama of low hanging fog.  Made it look like a scene from a movie.

Snapped a bunch of pics of the harbour view from our high perch.

Loved the pastel coloured buildings and the foliage peeking through!

Lychee from a street vendor.

Green Waffle for a green waffle! The regular brown waffle was better!

Wet market or gaai si full of fruit and veg!

A former police station in Central is revitalized and turned into retail environment with shops, galleries and restaurants.

Trinket shops full of collectables.  I think this was on Hollywood Road.

The Pawn, a bar and restaurant restored from a colonial pawn shop.  I was really happy to see that there seemed to be a trend in maintaining, restoring and re-purposing historical buildings.

One of the only things I bought! Some outrageously sparkly crystal encrusted sandals for super cheap.  They are now filling my home with the overwhelming scent of PVC from China, but they sure are fun!

Took the Star Ferry across the harbour on a sweltering day.  It was worth it to catch these great views.

Visited 1881 Heritage, a former Marine Police Headquarters on the Kowloon side.  It is another Victorian Era building that has been restored and repurposed to a hotel, shopping centre and exhibition space.  Many of the original details have been restored. 

Love seeing the mix of old world + new world and tradition + technology in Hong Kong.  Wish I could write more for each photo... More photos to come in two more parts!

Hope your weekend was peachy!

xo

M