I'm Back!

Yes folks I'm finally home.  I had an amazing, wonderful, arduous, intense, exciting adventure and I finally arrived home on Sunday morning.  I've spent the past week talking and talking and talking and telling everyone more stories about Bangladesh and India than they probably wanted to know.  I've sorted my photos and made and ordered photo books so I would have an easy way to show others the best of my pictures.  I've handed out presents.  I've drunk water straight from the tap - oh joy, oh bliss - and eaten all those things that are on the taboo list for visits to South Asia.   

Children playing London Bridge at the CRP school, Bangladesh

I wanted to give my family and friends a peak at the best of my photos and thought I would play the numbers game as a fun way to summarize what I did this summer.  

Man standing on a pile of jute rope in Dhaka, Bangladesh

12463 - the number of kilometres from where I live in Canada to the Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralysed that we taught at in Bangladesh

An elephant I saw on my last day in Bangladesh.  The owner was sitting up on the elephant making him do tricks and when the elephant reached down for a tip he didn't like how much I gave him, so the elephant blew the money back at me and I had to give him more

63 - the number of monkeys we saw sitting beside the road as we traveled down the mountain from Darjeeling to Bagdogra in India

Women picking stones out of lentils in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh

52 - the number of days I was gone from home

The crowds in Old Dhaka, Bangladesh (I love how proud the Momma is in the photo as she could tell we were oohing and ahing about her baby despite the language barrier)

34 - the number of students I taught (19 first year students and 15 third year students) at CRP

The lush greenery at CRP in the early morning light

7 - the number of airplane flights I took this summer

Workers on the Glenburn tea estate near Darjeeling, India

Worker at Glenburn Tea Estate, near Darjeeling, India

6 - the number of countries I visited (presuming that a couple of hours stop-over in Abu Dhabi counts as a visit)

Buddhist Temple on Observatory Hill, Darjeeling, India

3 - the number of salwar kameezes I bought and wore for the month I was in Bangladesh

Man picking reusable coal from the Himalayan Toy Tran

2 - the number of days we stayed at the Glenburn Tea Estate, the most beautiful hotel I have ever stayed in (more about that later as I have lots of photos to share in another post)

Red Fort, Delhi, India

Red Fort, Delhi, India

Humayun's Tomb, Delhi, India

1 - the number of stomach bugs I got (thankfully I was only sick the last two days and am now on antibiotics and things are feeling and working much better).  

The best photo I took of my friend Kim who I couldn't have done Bangladesh and India without - a wonderful companion, adviser, and friend throughout (she is in constant motion so most pictures of her are a blur)

It's great to be home and to be re-connecting with my patient supportive husband, my family and friends, and even my blog.  Thanks to all the summer guest bloggers for filling in for me.


Linked to Good Life Wednesday at A Beach Cottage

Nature-Inspired Blue Rooms

This post is taken from my archives and was originally a guest post last summer - my apologies if you have already read it.  Since I hadn't posted it here on my blog I thought I would make use of it.  My long adventure travelling around the world this summer is coming to a close and I should be home in a few days.  Details, recaps, and photos coming soon!


This post pretty much ties together some of my favourite themes - the colour blue, decorating, and taking photos.  

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Blue is the world's most popular colour, and just happens to be mine too.

I thought it would be fun to look at blues in nature and see how they inspire decorating.

The icy pale blues and gray-blues that you see in ice and snow:

can be seen in this lovely Swedish Gustavian-style dining room.

The soft gray seafoam blue in tumbling waves,

can be seen in this beachy blue bathroom.

The misty colours of rocks, lake, and the setting sun,

can be seen in this beautiful kitchen.

The periwinkle blues of the cornflower,

can be seen in this bathroom.

The pure blue of a summer sky,

can be seen in the simple blue and white bedroom.

The gorgeous blue in the forget-me-not flowers

can be seen in the blue of this cottage bedroom.

The darker purple-blue of a blueberry

can be seen in the blue backs to these bookshelves.

The deep blues of the sky at dusk,

can be seen in the inky walls of this blue living room.

What about you - what shade of blue inspires you?

Source:  All nature photos are mine.  Interior photos: Cote de Texas, Sarah Richardson via decor pad, Plain English Design, Completely Coastal, House Beautiful, Strictly Simple Style, House and Home, House to Home. 

Guest Post - Donna from An Anglo in Quebec

I want to thank Donna for volunteering to do a guest post while I am away this summer.  I am very happy that many months ago I stumbled on Donna's lovely blog - not only does she have a gorgeous home, but she lives in one of my favourite parts of Canada - Quebec - and she writes about it on her blog.  You can find her at An Anglo in Quebec.  Thanks again Donna!

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Grace was one of the first bloggers that talked to me

in the blogosphere...

and for that I will always be grateful 

so

to my fellow Canadian

 here is my take on her questions

and it is all

Juste pour toi Grace...

What is the oldest thing in my home?

The oldest piece in my home is from my

grandmother ....  Sarah Jane.

She had a spectacular garden and this fern stand sat in her livingroom window....

I know, it needs new stain but it has such sentimental value to me right now

I love it just as it is!

and this chair was given to me by my mother,

Joy ...

It has this lovely needle-point seat.

But,  probably the oldest, date unknown, are these plates...

they were given to us as a wedding gift.

Together they form an antique dessert set.

They have been passed down through several generations

and we will certainly pass them along one day ourselves.

 


Okay, next question Gracie!

What is the favourite thing you have made?

Yikes....tough one Grace...

I don't seem to have "made" too much these days...

 but here are a few simple things I am feelin' rather proud of.

 

Feels like a game of Where's Waldo?

What did she exactly "make" here?

Yes, well,  this is not much I know but extremely practical by our side door!

It is simply a wood frame I assembled for hanging coats, purses,

oh ..... and the odd helmet has hung from the higher hook!

This multiple cast iron hook affair makes it all work...

But this is my favourite.... again simple but practical

I made this curtain as a result of looking for a way to hide my washer and dryer

which is in our pantry off the kitchen

and visible from several vantage points in our open floor concept...

it is a simple combination of material and velcro.

So simple, that you can easily change it up for different effects

at different times of the year...

below....

our red velvet Christmas fabric. 

Oh and I am looking at a red chintz for next year!

Okay, je sais...je sais

I am almost done here Gracie!!

What is the favourite room in your house?

Well, hands down on that one for the whole family!

We have been slowly renovating our home over the last few years

and last year was the "real deal" renovation to the main floor of our house.

I say real deal because we camped on the front deck for about 2 months!!

Open concept is what we were after.  

I love to cook and entertain so the goal was to optimize our small space!

So ....  voila 

our open concept main floor.

I hope I can count this as one room.... ????

Standing at the kitchen island you can have a take on everything.....

 or if you are sitting in the livingroom....

or looking to the diningroom...

you get to be part of it all!

So that is it, no more questions from Grace, 

thank you ...... I had lots of fun ...

merci beaucoup from your neighbour here in la belle province!!

À tantôt

Our Evening with the International Models

I never in my wildest dreams thought I would attend my first fashion show while I was in Bangladesh.  Yep, you read that right - recently we went to a fashion show at a fancy hotel in Dhaka.  Kim and I were asked by the Centre for Rehabilitation of the Paralysed (CRP) to attend a charity reception as the money was being raised for CRP and Miss Canada was going to be there.  And since Kim and I are so closely associated with both Miss Canada and international models we were selected to attend the posh event.  All I can say is that it was the most surreal evening of my life!


Late Friday afternoon Kim and I got dressed in our finest (which for me meant my slightly dirty linen pants and a navy and beige blouse) and met at the gate of CRP with one of the Bangali Speech teachers who was going to attend with us.  It took two hours of bumpy, hot, sweaty driving to get to the hotel.  The drive was through all the poverty and crowds and noise that make up life for most of the people here in Bangladesh.

The event was about an hour and a half late starting so I had plenty of time to people watch - very interesting as you can imagine.  The evening began with a somewhat dubious comedian who liked to berate the audiance for not laughing - an interesting technique!  Then we watched the CRP video and finally saw the fashion show.  

The fashion show was a mix of western clothing - some of which were a tad on the skimpy side shall we say - and Bangladeshi clothing.  The Bangladeshi clothing were lovely, all decorated with jewels and fine material.  I do always wonder why models, no matter where they are from, insist on glowering at the audience.  

We left at the break as it was already 10:30 and we had a long drive to get back to CRP. On the way home we had to stop at a gas station to have the heat indicator on the jeep looked at. When we stopped our driver asked us to please sit in the plastic lawn chairs beside the jeep.  It struck Kim and I as rather hilarious to be sitting in the middle of a gas station at 12:30 at night surrounded by buses.  I referred to the plastic lawn chairs as our princess chairs (you can see me sitting on my princess chair in the photo below).

We got home to a minor flood in the kitchen and a giant cockroach.  It's never dull here - is all I can say!