A Rocky Mountain Fairy Tale

Last weekend we left our little island home and set out on a road trip through the Rocky Mountains. Our destination was a wedding in Canmore, Alberta, and after an eventful night in Vancouver with a couple of our favourite people, we drove for 11 hours on a beautifully bright first day of October.

Sadie was amazingly well-behaved, although we did stop in Kamloops to buy a portable DVD player. We made the mistake of allowing her to pick the DVD she wanted though, and now the shrill, inane voices of Strawberry Shortcake and her sugary friends are forever burned into our consciousness. On the way home, we picked up Toy Story and it was a MUCH more pleasant ride. We made the usual road trip stops: coffee breaks, gas stations, diaper changes. We marveled at the mountain vistas and lamented our numb bumbs. We also stopped at the Enchanted Forest because we thought Sadie might enjoy it, and she did...mostly. But.....have any of you ever been there?! It is seriously CREEPY. Allow me to post a photo:

AAGGGHHHHH!!! I KNOW - I WAS NOT AWARE THERE WERE DUCKS AT THE CHERNOBYL DISASTER EITHER.
I will spare you the image of the "Chucky"-like papier mache baby head that is resting at the bottom of the pond outside The Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe's Shoe. Intentional?? Or an unfortunate and macabre casualty of molded glued paper left to withstand the elements?
The Enchanted Forest is fairy tales and papier mache gone wrong. Gone horribly, horribly wrong.
But, I give credit to the effort that went - and is still going into - making a "magical" place in the forest for children. But I would highly recommend against the use of ANY form of hallucinogen while visiting. To be on the safe side, I'd stay away from even Gravol.
Wait - come to think of it, you might need that one...

The rest of these photos were taken out the window of our moving vehicle somewhere between Revelstoke and Banff, with the exception of the last two, which were taken at Lake Louise on our way home.

With Thanksgiving coming up this weekend (in Canada), I will be thankful for the sun-drenched colours of Autumn and for this wide open wilderness we had the privilege of passing through.

The last beach day

Could this have been our last summer day at the beach this year?

We've been on holidays for a week and on Thursday we day-tripped to Hornby Island. These photos were taken at Tribune Bay Beach. On a sunny day, the water is turquoise and the sand is white and you have to be careful not to step on sand dollars as you wade into the sea.

But this day was cloudy and cool. I don't know about where you live, but here on the west coast the unmistakable feeling of Fall has arrived.

Today we galavanted to a local Fall Fair in the country, complete with vintage tractors, fresh fudge and a litter of piglets (mama pig was the size of a loveseat! I was NOT aware they got so big...)

Here are a few things Sadie loved about the fair:

- sitting bareback on 'Jackson', a miniature pony

- sharing a banana nutella crepe with me

- carrying around a pink balloon

Here a few things Sadie did not love about the fair:

- the operator of a merry-go round kiddie ride (who had to stop it to let the screaming child off. that would be Sadie.)

- the neon bracelet all fair-goers were required to wear ("NO! DON'T WANT THAT!!").

- the fact that she was not allowed to sit on "Bessie", a cow with a head the size of a volkswagen.

I think she mostly loved it though....

Merrily, merrily, to Asia we go

I would like to have a giant world map on my wall and stick a coloured pin at every location a Koo & Poppet doll has traveled to.

Yes, I will most definitely do that one day.

Up until this week though, no Koo had ever traveled to any part of Asia.

But a certain Benedict is on his way to a new baby in Shanghai:

And here is strawberry-loving Riana-Chan with her "Summer" bunny in Japan:

(thank you, Ada, for the photo)

In other travel news, GUESS WHO TOOK A TRAIN RIDE ACROSS CANADA?

None other than our beloved "Milly":

(thank you, Darrell, for the photos)

I just about fell off my chair when these photos were sent to me :)

Milly sure gets around.

Okay Scandinavia, your turn.

Home, and a weekend anthem

I spent an unforgettable weekend on a boat on Sproat Lake and this evening I'm home to my house, home to my family, home to my life as I know it.

But there was another kind of homecoming this weekend on the lake; in the sun, in the song, in irreplaceable company of women I've known since we were girls.

Moats and boats and waterfalls/

Alley-ways and pay phone calls/

I've been everywhere with you/

We laugh until we think we'll die/

Barefoot on a summer night/

Nothin' new is sweeter than with you/

Ahh home, let me go home/

Home is wherever I'm with you

Home is wherever I'm with you.

Exhibito "A"

I'm not exactly sure if "exhibito" is the Italian word for "exhibit" but it's close enough and that's where these sextuplets are off to - Italy!

I present to you "Claudio".

Likes: bike rides

Dislikes: flat tires

And yes. Those are linen carrots. On a bunny's tummy. How long do you think it took me to decide I needed THAT fabric? Umm, like negative 2 seconds.

ITALIA! Another Koo & Poppet European Adventure.

"BOLOGNESE and MUSEUMS and GELATO and FASHION, HERE WE COME!" they squeal from within their luxurious bubble mailer. As soon as their voyage is complete, these bunnies will be available online at Ecohandmade.it! I will post more about this fantastic site in the coming weeks.

Catania, Italy

So here you have it, the newest resident of the Forest of Misfits. Claudio has moved into a burrow right next door to Tuesday, and Milly is showing him around. The welcoming committee consists of Elliot, Baffin and Weasel McBeasel. And those of you reading this who are unfamiliar with Koo & Poppet - permission granted to consider the author of this blog insane.

The Koo & Poppet spring collection is well underway, and I will be posting more designs over the next few weeks. I'm so excited to unveil the 2010 fabrics!!

Bon nuit, little bunny

Milly gazing out across the streets of Paris

First, Riley traveled to New York, and now Milly has taken up residence in one of my most favourite cities in the world, the unmistakable Paris.

When new mom and talented photographer Carine Tyler sent me this photo, I couldn't quite believe my eyes at first.

"Milly, is that you?? Wait....wait. Full stop. OMG. Milly is that you in PARIS??!?!"
She wears her new city well, by the looks of it.

Whenever I package up one of these little misfits and drop it off at the post office, I imagine the journey that lies ahead: over land (over sea in some cases) and all the points in between. I imagine the small manilla package tossed in a cargo bin, in some random holding place, and then I imagine X-ray vision seeing through the package at the little critter inside.
I imagine the parcel being to delivered to the door of the recipient, and its contents placed in the hands of a little boy or girl.
I imagine this new friend being toted along on trips to the park, the library, the dentist. I wonder if one might ever be left behind, destined to become a stray and lost forever.
But approximately one year ago, around the time that Koo & Poppet came to be, could I ever have imagined that I would receive a photo of one of these bunnies high atop a balcony in Paris, looking in the direction of Sacre-Coeur? Absolutement pas!!!

I hope this doesn't come across as me putting too much importance on these things. Afterall, they are just toys, and they are just things. But it's what these things have come to represent for me. They are a means of connecting with people I've never met (that's you, by the way), a stitch from one place to another, a journey that I would otherwise have never known.

And photos just make my day. Please keep sending them!

Bisou, bisou,
Sarah

Vancouver periphery

Last weekend Scott and I sailed the Georgia Strait and spent a quick 24 hours in Vancouver.

It's been two and a half years since we've called this city home.

We had a festive drink with friends R&D at Bacchus, and drove through Stanley Park on a cold and sunny Sunday morning.

And then rode the ferry home, to the island.

See? West coast winters aren't all rain!

Where there is yellow

As I've mentioned in previous posts, we've recently moved up-island, as they say in our little corner of the world. We now live in Shawnigan Lake which is about 45 minutes north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. We've been here for 3 weeks now and are getting to know our new surroundings. Scott and I have lived bits of our lives in both large cities and tiny towns. I really can't say which I prefer....although there are things I miss about each when I'm living in the other. Right this minute I miss live theatre at the Granville Island Stage in Vancouver, preceded by Indian food at Rangoli on 11th ave. And the Stanley Park ghost train! I've heard it's great this year.

But the stillness that surrounds us now is very much welcomed. There are no streetlights or traffic lights, just starry skies at night and mailboxes at the end of the road.

A few weekends ago, we explored scenic little Cowichan Bay (which is where all these photos were taken), a ten minute drive away. Would you believe I've lived on Vancouver Island nearly my entire life and I'd never been to this seaside community until this month? It's a summertime hotspot with an ice cream parlor, artisan cheese shop, art galleries and a maritime museum. 

We went back again last Saturday. The highlight of the trip was a sea otter on the pier. And all the yellow, too.

Sadie, who now speaks in alien tongues, seems to be digging her new neighbourhood as well.

Do you live in the city or the country? By the coast or inland? Mountains, forest, or prairie?

Where does your heart call home?

Riley does The Big Apple

Could I be more excited about Riley's [mis]adventures in New York City? 

No.

How very Amelie-garden-knomish of you, Riley.

Thank you to Rubeena, Jesse, Kingman, Erin, and baby Brewster-Hunt!

Jet-Setters

This week has been full of travels for several residents of the Meadow of Misfits. 

Rebecca and Izzy are off to California and will be parting ways with each other there. One has been adopted by a six-month old, and the other, a two year old. Though she's not one to take tranquilizers, Rebecca is scared stiff for her first airborne experience and has taken to horizontal relaxation exercises to calm her nerves. They are both hoping that the cargo hold is as well-appointed as it sounds. Izzy prefers to spell it Cargot H'olde.

.

AND Cristi, the consolation round winner of my giveaway last month, wrote a wonderful post about Beru's arrival in her Oklahoma home. Here's one of her photos, but you can see the whole lot over at her charming blog, Felix & Jayne.

Finally, here is Lewis, keeping watch over the sweet and sleepy Amir-Ali in Vancouver (maybe Lewis is fending off the poltergeist that appears to be on the haunt in this photo.....kidding, it's taken with a camera phone and don't worry Amir-Ali, there are no ghosties in your room):

Thank you to Ada, Cristi and Ros for taking photos of these K & P creatures in their new homes and en route. It puts a smile on my face to see them and I honestly never would have thought at the beginning of all this, when I decided to make a bunny out of some wool, that these little misfits would be traveling to distant places, becoming companions to children and adults who are otherwise strangers to me. 

So here's to not being strangers, and owing it to misfits.