Admiring Art Deco

Art Deco is a style of architecture, furnishing and décor that has captivated me. Wherever I travel I keep my eyes open for examples.

Toowoomba, Queensland, Australia.

Arras, France.

Belgian made Art Deco dance organ 

in Museum Speelklok, Utrecht, Netherlands.

One of the best places in the world for Art Deco architecture is the New Zealand city of Napier which I have been fortunate to visit several times, most recently in February 2015. Timing this visit to coincide with the city's annual Art Deco Days, I was well rewarded.

2015 Art Deco Days parade in Napier, New Zealand.

Many people dressed in 1920s & 30s styles.

On a walking tour of the city centre I learned about the Art Deco heritage of Napier.

Napier has so many Art Deco buildings because it was rebuilt after a devastating 1931 earthquake.

Taradale Town Hall.

McDonald's in former hotel.

Two notable Art Deco buildings in the Napier suburb of Taradale are the old town hall and McDonald's in a former hotel. 

Art Deco detail can be found in many places in Napier including McDonald's.

Focusing on flowers

Wherever I am I stop to see and smell the flowers. Here are a few blooms I have kept to enjoy later.

Flower stall in Utrecht, Netherlands. 

Wildflowers have been a source of pleasure from childhood when I learned their names from my mother. 

Marsh marigolds are spring wildflowers in Alberta.

Flower gardens have been important to my mother, grandmother and many other family members.

  

Delphiniums and lilacs were in my grandmother's garden.

I have had my own flower gardens in many locations.

My Edmonton container garden.

Fragrant frangipanis grew in my garden in Fujairah, United Arab Emirates. 

 Jacaranda.

Since retiring I have been fortunate to spend at least part of each Canadian winter some place warm, where each day I could see and smell flowers outdoors.

Water lilies.

Edmonton's Muttart
Conservatory.

While still living and working full time in Canada, I took many flower photographs in the summer to make a slideshow for my computer during the winter months. Occasionally in winter I would seek a mental health break in a conservatory or a garden centre that stayed open all year.

Rotorua, New Zealand

Elaborate gardens

One of Mum's roses

Spectacular Hydrangeas 

Single blooms

Temperate

Australian bottle brush. 

Tropical






Indoors and outdoors

Underground garden
Arras, France

Planters in Orleans, France. 

Cultivated flowers, native flowers and even flowering weeds.

Brilliant blue morning glories take over abandoned Melbourne house.

I love them all and believe that flowers contribute greatly to our emotional well-being.

Azaleas at Bargany Gardens, Ayrshire, Scotland. 

Discovering local history

A horse drawn wagon tour gave insights into the history of Edmonton's Beverly community. 

Here in the Edmonton area, we have taken in several events in the 19^th Annual Historic Festival and Doors Open.

Mt. Pleasant Cemetery.

One evening we participated in an informative walking tour of Edmonton’s Mt. Pleasant Cemetery, the final resting place of many Edmonton residents.

Doing laundry the old way.

The next afternoon we visited the Beverly Historic Interpretive Centre which focuses on life in the 1930s when area homes lacked electricity, piped water and sewage services. 

Beverly was established as a coal mining town and became part of Edmonton in 1961. We were amazed to learn that William Humberstone, who founded a brick and coal company in 1881 on the banks of the North Saskatchewan River, had walked to Edmonton from Winnipeg with an ox and a cart, a 3 month journey. The Beverly area had at least 50 coal mines in the first half of the 20^th century. 

It was a beautiful evening for a horse drawn tour.

Later we enjoyed a guided tour in a horse drawn wagon of some of the historical locations in Beverly.

Restored Old Stone House in Onoway area.

Saturday we had a delicious lunch at The Old Stone House near Onoway and learned about the building of the house during the 1930s and 40s and its recent restoration. Stone houses are common in Europe and Eastern Canada but rare in Alberta. 

Horse barn at Old Stone House.

We loved the old leaning horse barn at the Old Stone House. The barn features a bit of decoration. 

Another old barn.

While out in the country we also stopped at another old barn and a monument to those who settled in Alberta in its early days.

Monument to early settlers. 

St. Joachim Church.

Sunday we visited Saint Joachim’s Catholic Church in Edmonton’s city centre. There we heard a talk on the history of the parish from the arrival of the first Catholic missionaries at Fort Edmonton in 1838. 

One of St. Joachim's
painted glass windows.

Over time four churches were built in the parish including the current brick, Gothic structure, started in 1898. It is a French language church and we were pleased that this year they added an English language tour.

Surviving old house on
Edmonton's south side. 

We concluded our celebration of history week by driving around the University of Alberta area to five addresses where our mother lived with her parents and siblings in the 1930s and 40s. It was no surprise that the houses had been replaced by apartment buildings or newer houses. We did see some older homes on some of the streets. 

Sorting & reviewing

Dad made these wooden boxes. 

Dad made these items. Who would like to have them?

Did this little jug belong to Granny? Who will look after it now?

Do you remember who gave this to Mum?

My sisters and I are sorting our late mother’s possessions.

One of Mum & Dad's squirrels. 

Since my latest return to Canada at the end of April, a major focus has been helping my siblings sort the contents of our late mother's house. We have made a number of trips to the farm where our parents lived for most of their 61 years of marriage and our mother lived alone for 5 more years. 

Apple blossoms in May.

Peonies in June. 

On each trip to the countryside this spring we have appreciated seeing the birds and the squirrels our parents enjoyed. 


We have delighted in the sight and scent of trees and flowers in bloom, both the wild ones and those in Mum's garden. 



However, the house where we grew up is now nearly empty and virtually unrecognizable. We carry away photographs and furnishings that will remind us of our parents and gifts we gave them over the years. We hope these items will help us retain some of the warmth of our family home as we knew it. 

Gift I got my parents Summer 1967 when I worked in Jasper National Park.

I try not to take much and only small items as I have nowhere to put anything large. I have been downsizing the past 5 years since my husband’s passing, our son’s moving out with friends, and my relocation to a small apartment then to a nomadic life once I retired. 

Starting to fill my storage unit October 2011.

One sister suggested I may have been downsizing much of my life as I have had frequent moves over the years, several of them across continents.

As my son is relocating to British Columbia this summer I am on standby to assist him with his move. Finally, I plan further sorting of my own treasures, in storage nearly 4 years.

Too many boxes.

Searching through my storage unit for seasonal clothing or other items I need is inconvenient and I know the unit still contains a good deal that is unnecessary. Books, mementos and my genealogy files are the hardest problems to solve. 

How much can we recycle?

In recent years I have appreciated no longer having a house and yard to maintain. I have enjoyed travelling light and plan to live as minimalist a life style as I can. Wish me luck.