Welcome Home Sylvia!

Sorry for the delay folks, I know you've all been patiently waiting for some news on the homecoming, that being said I will now take this opportunity to proudly announce that Sylvia has finally arrived!


For months I've pictured what she would look like in the yard, where she would sit, the gardens around her... but nothing beats seeing the real thing. There is still a bit of work to be done to get her looking her best before the opening on the 18th. We're going to polish her up a bit, and there's still some painting and landscaping that needs to happen before I start putting away the stock that has been arriving daily. 


I promise to start sharing some of the treasures with you shortly, but for now I'm going to leave you with a collection of shots since her arrival - enjoy!

Welcome to Flying Cloud Boutique!

She fits in here quite nicely!

She even looks good from the bug tent!

Looking cozy.

These shelves were once the floor - yay free-cycle!

Hello from Tacha and Gary!

Experiments in cleaning aluminium...

Bryan did all the dirty work.

One side with $25 spray the other with $5 oven cleaner

After a buff she is going to shine like a mirror!

The quilt top I found at Frenchy's is a perfect fit for the booth!

I'm sure this find was a gift sent from my Grammy, it
looks as though something  she would have sewn herself.

I'm thinking I might do a little decoupage in the accessory area 

I'm a little tired right now, but it's all worth it!

This Week in Reno's: Some very clever recycled racks

The view from my counter, it feels so open and spacious!
I just love how the turquoise bounces off of the walls.

The always inventive free-cycler Gary puts some old racks to good use!

Here's another one salvaged,  now cleverly disguised as a magazine rack.

In three more weeks I'll be sitting right back there wearing
 the biggest smile you've ever seen, I can hardly wait!

Welcome to the Family Silver Sue!

Sylvia

On  March 26th, which also marked my sister's 14th birthday (a momentus occasion in itself), we ventured towards the South Shore to pick up the newest member of our family. 


I've haven't had the best track record naming things, my cat became known as Mister Fluff because I couldn't decide which word would best describe him... and I thought it a novel idea that due to his striking resemblance he could be the reincarnation of my first pet Fluffy.


Thank goodness then that Bryan instantly came up with a suitable name, and seeing as it is also the name of my Grammy's baby sister, I thought it was the perfect fit -  Sylvia, or Silver Sue for short.

We left home that Saturday with clear skies and sunshine, however we were greeted in New Canada by a sequence of snow squalls so powerful that they nearly knocked us over. Winter hadn't been kind to the area around Sue, so the boys had to work almost an hour to wiggled her out of her nook in the yard. By the time we were ready to say our goodbyes the weather had turned and the sun started to peak through again, lighting our way back towards the valley.

Bry and I had the good fortune of following behind Silver Sue as she gracefully made the turns of the very familiar #10 highway. Growing up I spent nearly every summer at the other end of the #10 with my Grandparents in Nictaux Falls.  As we chaperoned Sue on her way to her makeover we went down old roads that I had not traveled in over 15 years.  

Certain buildings and streams brought back memories from dreams I'd had since then; bizarre visions and emotions of being confined in a summer camp, and participating in an escape led by a girl with dark ringlets, wearing a blue trimmed white sun dress. False versions of this drive had replaced my memories of the true scenery I'd enjoy'd as a child, so it was an incredibly surreal trek that afternoon as I sorted though the fact and the fiction in my mind.  

Once we safely got Sue to Gary's we started our thorough examination to find out the true extent of damage. Unfortunately Sue's tarp had been missing for some time, so the holes where the new vents were to be installed had been letting in water. Sadly the newly replaced floor that the previous owner had painstakingly installed is now damaged and needs to come out. 


On a positive note, the previous owner had been an electrician, so all of Sue's wiring is new and in working order. Thank goodness, because I hadn't really budgeted for that department.


Sue is going to spend the next 9 weeks or so with Gary as he finds creative ways to transform her into my dream boutique! It was sad to leave Sue so far away in Annapolis while she gets her face lift, but my excitement grows daily as I prep for her arrival here at home, where she will eventually appear all primped and preened and ready to go!