Journey & Adventure

Today was our first walk on the beach for the season in Canada.  We started out with hats and gloves, but by the end of our 4 mile round-trip, we were toastsy (actually sweaty) and the sun was shining brightly.  There is still a lot of ice on the lake and it will likely be there for a few more weeks before the open water reaches the shore, but it was a wonderful, sunny day.  It's been a long, hard winter for sure. The beachcombing was also fantastic and I was able to collect a few treasures that had been uncovered by the winter winds and receding water.  Here is one photo of a large purple, frosted piece.   Purple is said to one of the rarest of colors, needless to say, I was super-excited to find it.

Well, now that summer has come to an end, I thought I better get cleaning up my summer stuff that's been lying around the house - patiently waiting for the next trip to the beach.  *sigh*   This past weekend, away went the sunscreen, hat, sandals, beach bag, etc.  In the beach bag sat my camera.  The same camera I carried around all summer - most times it just sat in the bag, but there were a few photos that captured a few summer highlights...    First Trip to the Beach - Early May, 2013     Some of My Garden Flowers - June, 2013 Day on the Lake with Friends - July, 2013  Beach Finds - July, 2013  CN Tower, Toronto, Ontario Canada - August, 2013   My Boys @ Fan Expo Canada - August, 2013 March of the Storm Troopers @ Fan Expo Canada - August, 2013 Pretty Beach Find Treasure - September, 2013 I'm sad to see summer go, but at least the memories will last ...

I realize it’s already Wednesday and I’m just now getting around to telling you about my weekend, but things have been busy. Well, maybe not so much busy, as I’ve been lazy and I've been competing in the new Olympic event of "couch-surfing". Anyhow, it was a long weekend in Canada. It was one of those holidays that you get, but you don’t really understand its purpose. I’m okay with that – it was a holiday and I am thankful for it nonetheless. So, part of doing nothing exciting all weekend involved yet another couple of long walks on the beach on both Saturday and Monday. Once again, it was peaceful. After the wind and rain we had on Sunday, the beach was full of glass treasures on Monday, so I was in my glory. Apart from all of the beach glass, shells and driftwood we find, we also find lots of other junk that’s floated away – plastic bottles, old hats, beach balls, sand pails, sunglasses and garbage. This weekend, I found something I’ve never found before…my...

I’ve never considered myself a crafter. I don’t like felt, craft foam, glitter or sequins, BUT I do love my glue gun. It’s a heavy duty industrial model – not one of those wimpy crafty ones. It’s a manly glue gun (if there is such a thing) and I have the burn marks and blisters on my fingers to prove it. Anyhow, I’ve taken a bit of a break from the jewelry side of things to explore my other creative side – the one where I get to use the glue gun. Soooo, here is what I’ve created with some picture frames from the dollar store, some white spray paint, some glue and of course, some of my sea glass treasures.  The photos in the frames are courtesy of J.  I think I’ve found another excuse to go on vacation…I need more glass and J needs more photos! You would not believe what sea glass picture frames have been selling for on Etsy by other artists. Let’s just say, I could quit my day job if I sold enough of them.

J and I are fortunate to only live approximately 30 minutes away from Lake Erie and as you know, we both LOVE, LOVE, LOVE the water and beach and spend as much time as we can there in the summer months. We usually get there at least one day on the weekends. When we go to the beach, we don’t typically go to swim or sunbathe, but go for a long walk instead. With a wetland and biosphere bordering that portion of the lake, we are able to walk for literally hours without running into another person. It’s truly rejuvenating to just wander in nature, where the only sound we hear is the lapping of the waves on the shoreline, the wind blowing through the poplar trees, the cry of passing sea gulls or a faraway screech of a bald eagle looking for his lunch. When we head out, we don’t have a purpose in mind. We usually walk for a couple of hours in one direction and then turn around and head back. Along our route, we pick up treasures of all kinds including beach glass, shells, rocks, d...