Fine Furniture Care - Polish

Chris got some lovely furniture on a trip south recently. I asked what type of polish was recommended - Howard is the brand name and they have every kind of polish under the sun. I think their Restor-A-Finish is the best. See results opposite. The light side hasn't been polished up yet. That is closely followed by their Feed-n-Wax. I also tried their paste waxes, but am not as happy with them.

Tabby Cat Heaven

 Chris' adopted Grandma - May Roberts runs a fish camp every year on the Yukon River. We feel really good about helping her use every part of the Yukon River Chinook that she harvests. She cuts the fillets off the fish and then sliced the skin and bones to be smoked into dog food. What you see in the photos are Chinook backbones that have been cut and smoked slowly for a couple weeks. Lets just say that Jack the Cat thought he'd gone to heaven. He made a tiger sized effort to consume as much of that fish as he could before we had it strung up and put away. It was so funny to watch him gnawing on an chunk of fish bigger than him!

Grown Up Furniture

The Grown-Up Living Room

Pin Tufted Slate Grey Victorian Love Seat

.After years of living off yard sale furniture finds we decided that we make enough money that we could afford real, grown up furniture. You know, the kind of stuff people who aren't students have - things that take a modicum of care. Although it is possible for students to have nice furniture - Drew's new room mates who are students have nicer furniture than he does. Anyway, I'm talking about furniture that can't be danced on, and spilled beer will make a noticeable stain. Our former furniture we'd each had since student days or BC (Before Chris). Anyway, last year, after the dog broke her leg we thought we couldn't afford real furniture for a while. Then we went to Chilliwack. Surprisingly there is a nice antique shop in Chilliwack. We got a nice Victoria love seat for under $500. The only sad part was the colour- peptobismol pink. During the same trip we happened upon a really nice smaller scale arm chair in violent red velour at a yard sale - a $20 score. Harvey's Upholstery in Chilliwack was the answer. We dropped in on Harvey and he is fabulous. He loves his work and is very proud to show it off. He was also happy to accommodate my eccentric taste in fabrics. We are now the proud owners of a lovely slate grey Victorian love seat and a black and white arm chair.

Tabby Cat Seal of Approval

To get this lovely furniture to Whitehorse we ended up buying a trailer, which is a story for another day. Suffice to say there was room in the trailer and nature abhors a vacuum. We also had a free flight on Air North so Chris flew down and did a kamikaze furniture shopping trip to get some office and other furniture. He scored some really nice pieces including the curved corner cabinet that the cat is gracing the the photo.

Friends of Thomas the Tank Engine

Engine 52

 This past tuesday we were in Skagway Alaska to meet a friend from the cruise ship. While we were there we took a lot of photos of the two steam engines for our nephew, Luca. A few photos of diesel engines may sneak in, but I know that the diesels can be very tricksy and sneaky, so I tried to keep them out.

Engine 69 - runs steam excursions to the Fraser summit

Tabby Incognito

We have, or are owned by depending on your view of cats, two mackerel tabbies. They have an amazing ability to use their natural camouflage to become invisible in almost any environment. If you remember the penguins from Madagascar, the cats theme is; "blend! blend!".

Where's the tabby?

 Ok, that one is easy. How about this one? Where's the tabby?

 See him yet/

 Gotcha! He just glared at me as soon as I found his hidy hole. This is Murphy's favourite spot of late. I only found it because I had a bathing suit to put away and he is nesting in my bathing suit pile.

South East Alaska State Fair; Haines Alaska

The South East Alaska State Fair is on this weekend in Haines Alaska. New this year, the zombie race. I think I might enter, if I'm feeling up to it.... I'd rather be a zombie I think. There's a parade of course, with the opportunity to enter your well dressed pet. There's loggersports, fishersports, beer, music and hippies. There's also fish in the river for catching. Here's one possible outfit for the dog;

Gin & Tonic

There is something intrinsically refreshing about a G&T. Obviously it is partially cultural. The idea that a bitter, fizzy, alcoholic beverage can be refreshing on a hot day isn't universal. I hear East Indians believe that a hot spicy cup of tea is more refreshing. For those of you who share my views here's a photo of refreshment.