It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like... Pyrex

I understand, a little bit, why some people start to think about decorating for Christmas well before the start of Advent. The days are noticeably shorter and, even when we have clear skies, the sun never seems to shine for long. The Scandinavians counter this with candle light and light-reflective colours. As another Northern nation, Canadians would be wise to do the same. Of course, I always find that vintage Pyrex brightens my day so I am sharing one of my favourite pieces in my collection: a promotional Golden Poinsettia Casserole with warming stand that Internet sources suggest is from 1963. I have photographed it with my latest vintage Christmas tablecloth, a Marks and Spencer's Christmas Biscuit tin and two books bought at the library for just a few dollars. The book on the right is called Christmas Magic, was published in 1964 and has all kinds of 'period' crafts. As someone who prefers to make gifts, now is the time that I need the not-so-gentle reminder to get on with it and get those items made!



I could procrastinate just a little longer and enjoy the near perfect gold pattern on the lid of this casserole. On special promo pieces, the gold designs on the glass lids are often the first to show signs of wear or damage. The warming stand has some discolouration on the metal and the candles have been lit. I cannot wait to use this casserole for my holiday table. I actually have two of this design but my first one is in somewhat worn condition and does not have a stand. At 2 1/2 qt. capacity, it is a very practical size and I use my more worn casserole for storage of leftover turkey or an extra chicken that I have cooked at any time of year. I suppose that some might say that would be good reason to find another (perhaps less seasonal) casserole of this size. Maybe I will find ideas for other 045 casseroles that would fit the bill. Sophie at Her Library Adventures is having a Pyrex Party and is inviting other bloggers to share in the fun. More vintage Pyrex is sure to brighten the day!

Blogtoberfest Day 20: A little Last Minute Thrift

Sometimes the opportunity to thrift comes in little snippets of time and quite often results in finds as exciting as longer sessions. This evening, with less than 45 minutes of time before closing, I took the opportunity for a quick quest at the closest Sally Ann. My first find is pictured in the centre, a bulb planter which is seasonably useful. I have always dug holes for bulbs with a small spade but I am interested in giving this a try. The next find was a sad Pyrex fridgie rather faded from dishwasher cleaning. It does not look too bad in the picture but its finish does warrant trying the oil trick to restore the finish that I used here. The two turquoise melamine plates made in Canada by Duraware will be a fabulous addition to my vintage melamine dishes. On the plates are six skeins of tapestry wool and a package of white rick-rack. Behind the plates is a white Royal Art Pottery bowl which will augment yet another collection of utility pottery. While some pieces pre-date the Second World War. Utility China was designed to fill the household needs of everyday Britons during the days of austerity during and for a while after the war.



The American versions of this kind of dishware were produced by Homer Laughlin, Fire King and Lu-Ray among others. This saucer is by Lu-ray and is in my favourite vintage blue with platinum bands. Behind the saucer is a chrome toothbrush holder made by Restoration Hardware. This is a design that I have been interested in for quite a long time but the catalogue price of $45 has deterred me. I guess, if you wait long enough your thrifting dreams may come true. Behind these two items are two books: Imperial Russian Style and a reproduction dot-to-dot made a local Almonte (one hour west of Ottawa) company, Algrove Publishing, that specializes in reprints and reproductions of old and out of print books. The founder of the company also founded Lee Valley Tools. Their Early Christmas Gifts Catalogue, which has long been a favourite, arrived today. I will be asking Santa for this.



The final find of the short session was this petit point silhouette of an 18th century couple. This would seem to contribute to yet another collection that I seem to be creating. The tin with the crinoline lady and gentleman was a recent find. The musical trio was a gift from my sister who purchased it from the artist, Steven Gu. I love Scherenschnitte and found this blog that celebrates it in all its intricacy and whimsy. The silhouette on the extreme right is one that I did 25 years ago for the poster design for my first flute recital where I used a photo of me playing to create the image. In the frame is a scanned image from the poster; I do not know where the original paper cut is now.

A Giveaway to Celebrate my Blog's First Year!

The best way to celebrate Thoroughly Modern Vintage's anniversary is with a give away for which I have two thrifted items to send off to two lucky recipients. The first item is this lovely vintage brooch with enamelled white heather and lilac-coloured stones. It might be signed (with the stamp very smudged) or it might be a copy (?) or repaired version of an Exquisite brooch as it is slightly different on the back from the one in the link and the one that is already in my collection. What ever its provenance, it will add a delightful vintage touch to many an outfit and it is just lovely to look at!

My second item available is this wonderful cookbook in absolutely mint condition! I have the newer printing but when I found this 1996 version at the thrift store I knew that I needed to pass it on! I cook from the recipes in this book at least once a week and have mentioned the book in a previous post. Many of the recipes do require a pressure cooker to be truly quick, but I believe this piece of equipment from our grandmothers' kitchen is an excellent addition to our modern kitchens (in its updated form). I love how this book gives me the option to make healthy, quick and flavourful dishes even on days when I have little time to be in the kitchen.

Like Birthdays and New Years, anniversaries are a chance to look back at the past year and reflect. I have noticed there were long periods of time when I was not posting and I would prefer not to let that happen again! I started this blog to share things that I find, things that inspire me and what I make and I find a lot of pleasure in sharing. That pleasure is increased exponentially when I have feedback in the form of comments, so, to all who have commented, Thank-you! For readers who have not commented, please don't be so shy!

If you are interested in winning the brooch or the book, please leave a comment. If you do not have a blogger profile (with an email or blog) and do not wish to create one, please leave me an email address so that I will be able to contact you if you are the winner. Also, let me know if you would prefer the brooch or the book but if you cannot decide, I understand and could put you in both draws! I plan to do the draw on March 17, so that leaves everyone just over two weeks to enter.

I look forward to reading your comments. Thank you for your interest in my posts.

Modern Vintage Valentine's Hat

Anyone reading more than a few posts on my blog would have noticed how much I love flowers! The inventive beauty of nature is an inspiration to all who seek a creative life. Flowers are traditional gift for St. Valentine's Day and this beautiful potted cyclamen from my husband melted my heart. He also treated me by preparing the family's dinner. Last evening two members of the family performed in two separate concerts: our daughter sang with her choir and my husband conducted a concert of mostly romantic French music with the Ottawa Chamber Orchestra and flute soloist, Joanna G'Froerer. Despite my concerns about my daughter's recovery, I could not be at two places at once and brought the boys to see their Dad conduct. Both concerts were enjoyed by all who performed and attended.


The hat on which I was working in my last post was ready to be worn this morning to the morning's service at the Cathedral. While it is not required to wear a hat at our church, a few of us choir Mums enjoy the opportunity for some headgear! I was hoping to achieve an early 1950's look for my reworking of my thrift store find with a subtle (or not so subtle) nod to my love of hearts. I tried a more vintage hair style but it worked better with my hair down and slightly wavy(I would have liked to have time to do more of a pin curl wave).



I have a small collection of hat pins, one of which I used to keep the cap securely on my head as it was a bit windy this morning. Even with the hat pin, I needed to re-pin the hat after I hung up my coat but at least I did not lose my hat. The felt had a fair amount of body that was increased by the scalloped border of hearts. Although it may be somewhat season specific, I am quite happy with the results.



Today was also a debut for the lovely vintage brooch I received for my birthday from my Mum and a newly thrifted skirt. The colours in the skirt seem to complement the lovely illustrations on the cover of Laura Stoddart's All For Love which was a gift for my romantic husband. This lovely book is already being enjoyed by both of us and I highly recommend it to all; even the more cynical among us will find something that makes their heartstrings ring. I wish us all a little romance in every day.

Elegance and Beauty

Materialistic is not a word that I would use to describe myself, but I love collecting and surrounding myself with beauty and I love to collect books. This blog has given me reason to record and share things that I find to be beautiful. With illness in the family, I have missed the opportunity to photograph all of Autumn's glory so will instead share a picture of one of the columbines that I planted this summer. Despite feeling sick, yesterday I ventured out to bring a friend a birthday gift: the book DV by Diana Vreeland. Books can be risky gifts but sometimes you know when it suits the person to a tee. My friend is as close as any person I know to possessing the legendary dramatic style that was Mrs. Vreeland. Of course, when I gave her the book I started to think of other books that I have about beauty and style icons and guides to achieving beauty and elegance in life. One of those books is one that I have read but do not possess: A Guide to Elegance -For Every Woman Who Wants to Be Well and Properly Dressed on All Occasions by Genevieve Antoine Dariaux. Mme Dariaux, who was the directrice at Nina Ricci, made a substantial impact on me when I read my Mum's copy as a teen and led me to be more inclined to look to some of old Hollywood's stars more than my contemporaries for inspiration. The book also inspired some rather fun fiction that I read in the past year also called Elegance
An early influence for me, as well as legions of others, was Audrey Hepburn and one of my favourite books on her is Audrey Hepburn, An Elegant Spirit written with love by her son. I enjoy its insight into her humanity that shines so beautifully in her films and her work with UNICEF. My admiration for her led me to What Would Audrey Do? which I found to be full of useful ways to add elegance and grace to daily life.
Recently, I was able to find a lovely book about another public figure who embodied elegance and beauty: Grace Kelly - A Life in Pictures. I was thrilled to find this book at a second hand book store and makes me eager to review all of her fabulous film roles -good for a quiet Fall evening in! I was reminded of Grace Kelly when I found this vintage train case at the thrift store. It is in beautiful condition made in England by Morton of London. Unfortunately my Internet sleuthing has not given me information about the company. The train case is smaller than others that I have seen but that makes it a possible to use as a handbag. What can be held in the train case suggests what is found in Caroline Cox's How to Be Adored - A Girl's Guide to Hollywood Glamour. A small delicious tome, it includes information on charm, etiquette and personality tips as well as creating a glamorous image. All of the books mentioned require us to concentrate on our personalities to find elegance and style like these beautiful icons of the past. If these women can inspire us to greater humanity, beauty will be found.

The Latest Thrifts

I hope all the fathers in your life had a great day. We had a fairly quiet day that started with me bringing my husband his morning coffee in bed. He usually does it for me so it was the least I could do. Number 3 brought him freshly made waffles with butter, maple syrup and maple flakes on them. He often makes pancakes on the weekend but this was done with no ceremony and was a bit of a surprise. I did not think to take a picture so I have put in one of my husband's favourite flowers in our garden, the poppy!


When I walk into a thrift store, I make sure I cover all my essentials that include aprons and linens, cookbooks, china, pyrex, sewing supplies and brooches. I also always look at the carts the staff are using to restock the shelves. That is where I found this two volume cookbook from Gourmet Magazine. My Mum has a slightly older(I think) version of this set. This printing is still in its presentation box and the books still have their protective plastic dust jackets. My daughter found the Christmas menu tucked inside. It is from the Carleton Restaurant at the Four Seasons Hotel in Ottawa. We have lived in Ottawa since 1990 and I do not remember there being a Four Seasons Hotel in the city while we have lived here. When we arrived in Ottawa, we were shocked to discover how few good restaurants we could find and how expensive the good ones were. I would have tried any restaurant at a Four Seasons Hotel at that time. A few years before my Nanan (maternal grandmother) treated my mother and myself to one of the best dinners I have ever eaten at the Four Seasons Vancouver. Ottawa has improved markedly in availability of good food since the nineties but we are not quite as interested in eating out these days and tend to stick with a few favourites. The tea towel has a fibre content label stating it is made of linen and cotton in German.

I could not resist this apron. I do not believe it to be vintage which is a usual criteria but it is charming. Its construction suggests it may have been commercially probably for tourists. I am not sure if it is Russian with her headdress being a Kokoshnik or whether she is wearing an Ukrainian Vinok. Does anyone have an opinion? She would be perfect for wearing while making holiday treats.







I love finding sewing and crafting books. I really have not been to many garage sales this year but an ad at the grocery store mentioned a sale with sewing stuff! That was enough to get me out. I could not resist some of the retro kitsch in these titles as I am slightly nostalgic about the rock painting and candle making of my childhood. The sewing books are very useful but this sale just got better and better.



Twenty-five cents each for these still very current patterns. The top pattens might even entice my daughter to learn to sew. The sale got even better.














There was fabric! Lots of fabric. The four pieces on the left are Laura Ashley and the middle print in greens and purple is Daisy Kingdom. The pink print should work well to line a bag but the blue piece at the back right of the photo is three metres of silk. I think I hear a early '60s sheath dress calling out for this fabric. Maybe I even have a vintage pattern that I will not have to re size in order to make up such a dress. I forgot to photograph the more utilitarian fabric lengths I bought. It was the only sale I went to and sometimes one is more than enough: I found great stuff and I met two sisters who were very friendly and enjoy sewing as much as I do.


Many others also love garage sales. Check out what they are sharing at Rhoda's blog

Six (un)important things I love

I have been tagged by Katherine with the following rules:
Pick 6 unimportant things you love
Mention & link to the person who tagged you
Tag 6 of your favourite bloggers to play along
(don’t forget to comment on their blog to let them know they’ve been tagged!)

Well I have changed the title a little bit because everything I love is important to me even if it is not that important in the grand scheme of things. Apart from life's essentials anything can be important to someone. I am not including my family in this list because they are essential and come before sleeping and eating if needs be. After that:

1.Music
For me music has inspired how I look at and respond to the world and even how I think. As a little girl, music made me dance and my days were filled with song. I loved standing by the piano at ballet class with my hand on the sound board. I was able to identify songs and ballet music and at a very early age was fascinated by anyone with the ability to play an instrument. It should not be surprising that most of my formal education prepared me to be a flutist. This path was derailed by a serious hand injury and my Father's early death but was not completely abandoned. I am married to a full-time musician who played violin professionally for the first twenty years of our relationship and has added the viola for the past two. He also conducts a community orchestra that I usually play in.
With his multiple disabilities, Number 1 does not seriously study an instrument but has benefitted from music therapy and enjoys experimenting with a variety of instruments. He is happiest when listening to music. Number 2 started to play the 'cello at four years old and became skilled enough to be learning some of the Bach Suites for solo 'cello a few years ago. She started to play the french horn at eleven in her school band and it has become her principal instrument and of course, she loves to sing and sings well. Number 3 started the violin at six and endured his lessons for a year. He was never satisfied with how it sounded and asked to learn to play the harp at eight. This past year he also started percussion in the school band and singing in the Choir of Men and Boys. Number 4 has yet to start formal instrument training. We have suggested violin or piano as we have those instruments and the ideas have been met with no sustained interest. He heartily enjoys singing in the choir and has expressed the desire to play the trumpet. Number 4 will likely start lessons on the cornet (related but slightly different than the trumpet) when we return from the choir's trip to England.
While I grew up listening to and still enjoy almost all types of music, I inevitably have favourites. If I found myself on a desert island with an old fashioned phonograph (desert island -no electricity or batteries) and one record to last me all my days, I would pick one with a Mahler symphony on one side (maybe number 4 or 5) and Richard Strauss' Four Last Songs on the other. I have done a little you-tube surfing but have yet to come up with the specific recordings that I might want.

2. Books
Books, and more importantly reading have been (along with music) a salvation in my life. As a child, I suffered from chronic poor health and experienced more than a little social isolation. Both of these situations were made manageable by the reading of books. The physical act of looking at books engaged me long before I could read and some of my earlier memories involve the illustrations in my favourite volumes. We lived in a remote community but my house had a rich library and books were often treasured gifts. Laura Ingalls Wilder's Little House series was a childhood favourite that helped me connect to my own Grandmother and develop my love of history. By the eighth grade I became a lifelong fan of Jane Austen and Thomas Hardy. I still do not quite understand my love of Hardy at that age but the Austen makes sense. I am not capable of picking a favourite but a small library of favourites contains many of the classics of English Literature, some more contemporary fiction in addition to as many art, design and other reference books as I can afford and store.



3. Flowers and plants
For beauty (and practicality), plants are the winners. I cannot really describe my appreciation of and for flowers and other plants. Working beside my Mother in her greenhouse as a school-age child contributed to it as did observing my Father keeping bees but words cannot fully express my admiration for the plant kingdom.


4. Useful things with history
Aprons, tablecloths, kitchen utensils, buttons, sewing notions, travelling trunks, pillowcases, utilitarian furniture -difficult to specify all but if it was a useful object that shows its age and could be used as originally designed or repurposed I want to rescue it and find it a home. A careful line needs to be walked here because I could wind up with a pile of junk. My husband requires me to state a very strong case for said object and such scrutiny usually leads to something pleasing in the end.




5. Tools for creating My sewing studio, sewing machine,fabrics, notions,my batterie de cuisine, my laptop, camera and everything else involved in the creative process delights my senses and sparks ideas for new projects. For me,whether it is mending kid's clothes, making a meal, or working on a long dreamed about art piece, a creative life is essential and the correct tools help make that possible.



6. Sparkle with patina
This last thing is a little newer to me than the other (un)important things. I have always tended to wear very little jewelry and have slightly understated clothes but in the last few years I have often added a vintage brooch to whatever outfit or outer-wear I might have on. I have a few new pieces made in a vintage style that I use for winter coats, etc. but I really enjoy the vintage brooches best. I like that I am giving new life to something that was previously enjoyed and they just make me smile when I look at them.
Here is just a few of my collection.

I would like to see what these other bloggers love:
Fine Hand
Little Lovelies
Tweed Thoughts
Two Pink Possums
Thrifted Treasure
Fuzzy Dragons

Clicking my heels to the Limestone City

Yesterday I went with my boys, a few other Moms, and the rest of the choir to Kingston for a concert at St. George's Cathedral.On the shores of Lake Ontario, Kingston is an historic city famous for its limestone buildings. Unfortunately for sightseeing, our trip was brief and focused on the concert. While the boys were rehearsing and accustoming themselves to the beautiful acoustics of the Cathedral, I went for a little walk with some other Moms. Many of the interesting boutiques were closed but we did find a thrift store! The March of Dimes has their ERA Modern Vintage store right downtown. Apparently the store was once a new designers and vintage store and then just a vintage store. It now seems to have standard "boutique" thrift store stock with maybe a little more than average vintage.

First I found the Laura Ashley Balloon blind and then a 70's blouse pattern. My Mum has been updating my childhood room as a more serviceable guest room. She has maintained the pink and green colour scheme and has used predominantly Laura Ashley fabrics for a quilt top she started over twenty years ago. In previous thrifting I have found other Laura Ashley pink and green and I am sure that she will find this piece useful and, priced at $2.00, I could not leave it there. The blue blouse on the pattern's lower right corner is something I desperately wanted when I was about ten years old. I think it was called a handkerchief blouse and seem to remember my Mum making one for me somewhat reluctantly. Finding these items was fun but the best was yet to come. One of the Moms found a very flattering dress and while she was trying it on, I revisited the small section of shoes. I have actually found a few pairs of thrifted shoes lately which seems far more unlikely than finding garments. I was totally intrigued with these shoes but at a size 8 1/2 AA they were both too long and too narrow for what I usually buy. When I remembered reading recently that vintage shoes are smaller than the same size would be now, I tried them on. Who knew there is vanity sizing in shoes!

These shoes fit! This is good because they are lamé which would not stretch if they were too tight. So my inner Dorothy felt right at home clicking her silver slippers in the Limestone City. (As a child I read all the Oz books and found the ruby slippers in the movies a little upsetting). The young woman at the cash seemed enthused that I was already wearing vintage (bag and brooch) and so excited by these shoes and asked if I would like the bag in which they had arrived at the store. The bag was a vintage Ogilvy's bag and in the bag were a small hand full of Simpson Sears receipts with notations on what they were for. Part of my love for vintage is that it has a history. When I know even just a bit more about something, it makes it all the better. Obviously these shoes were special enough to be saved for a long time and they have most definitely been worn.

The concert was a wonderful success and if the trip to Kingston can be thought of as a dry run for the up-coming trip to England, it bodes well for the travelling and the music.

Thrifting at the community garage sale

This past weekend was our community's garage sale and eventhough I was not feeling very well, I made a quick trip around the need to pick my daughter up from Youth Orchestra. At the community centre there was a large sale as a fund raiser for a child with a rare disorder. I did not get to the sale until after 1:00 but the deals were still to be had. For $1 you were given a plastic bag to fill: all the books and the ceramic piece fit in the bag. The Planter(?) is marked Crown Ceramics, Vancouver, B.C. and the only information I could find on the web was a vase with an almost identical glaze which dates it from the '50s. I am really attracted to that colour and the shape reminds me of a lotus flower. I forgot to add the bread machine cookbook that my eight year old wanted in the photo but you might see the "Arthur" and "Science Experiments you can eat" books he also wanted. There are sewing and craft books from the '60s and '70s and "Roughing it in the Bush" by Catherine Parr Trail who was a early Canadian Pioneer diarist ( I already have the book by her sister Susannah Moodie). The small red book is Nevil Shute's "On the Beach" which is about people in Australia after a global nuclear war and I remember being struck by themovie when I saw it as a teenager and no doubt made a huge impact when it came out in 1959 at the height of the Cold war. The last book is the "Rand-McNally Reference Atlas of the World" from 1936. It is filled with demographic and social information as well as maps of countries whose geopolitical boundaries are quite different than today's. It will live on the shelf next to my Father's "Historical Atlas of Canada". The last piece is the shelf the books are on. We will use this in our music/living room to hold the sheet music used daily by my husband for teaching and by my children for practising. The ironic thing is that we know the family who donated it to the sale because their name is written on the back. Fine Hand inspired me to photograph my front door(or part of it to show the colour) like she had been inspired by pink picket fence and the bookshelf had belonged to her in-laws. Is there some kind of thrifting karma going on?

I actually went to another sale first and I immediately saw the Androck egg beater for $.50 and it was all I bought at that house. As the first purchase of the garage sale season it is great because I have waiting for one to go with my other vintage kitchen tools for over a year and it is perfect mostly because of the red wooden handles. Selena at posted about patience and thrifting today. The yellow bowl is Fire King rather that Pyrex and in rough shape but at only a quarter, I thought I might use it in the sewing studio as catch-all for buttons I am using. The train case came for the same house as the bowl as well as some videos and DVDs. The case is in rough shape but I would really like to alter it like Julie or Bethany. Number 3 found some very nice newer Bushnell binoculars in a nylon case that he bought with his own money. He was in a spending mood because what he found next was way out of my garage sale budget. A return trip home and discussion/negotiations with his father ensued and then a call back to the owner sealed the deal. I know that this would not happen in many households, but we let him buy a drumset. Yes, you read correctly. What is a housefull of classical music types doing with a drumset? Well just because my training was to be a orchestral flutist does not mean that I do not enjoy other types of music and the same goes with my husband who has worked as a full-time orchestral musician for over twenty-five years. The fact is that our harp-playing choir boy of a son plays percussion in the school band. He knows that he cannot play the drums when anyone else is practising, teaching or sleeping but he was still willing to use his whole year's choir pay to buy it. We were going to need to buy him a snare drum anyway. I hope that we do not regret this decision.

When we went to pay for and collect the drum set all the garage sales were over and free stuff was at the curb. The water carafe and glass/lid is for my husband's bed side table and is nicely weighted at the base. The vase is marked "Treasures of Spain", Brody, Japan. Click on the photo to get a clearer view of the texture and colour. I can picture a bouquet of same type flowers in this vase and it will work well with less attractive stems or lack of greenery. Does anyone know about this ceramics company?



The lamp shades were also for free at the curb and although they look good in the photo, they are damaged so I will be stripping them and using the frames. It is amazing that people do not bother to donate leftovers to charities. This morning was our local garbage pick-up and there was still some donate-able stuff at the curb. If people place so little value in their stuff, why did they buy it in the first place? I do not mind benefitting but I do believe that the lack of thought behind consumerism has contributed to the world's present economic woes. As consumers we have the power to reject what does not have the quality and lasting value we seek!

A special day

The beginning of May has been special for as long as I can remember. When I was growing up the first two weeks of the month was one long celebration. Three family members shared their birthdays within the first eleven days of the month with Mother's Day caught up in the festivities: My Father, my Mother and then my Father's Mother. Usually a large family meal would occur somewhere in the middle but if my Father's birthday of May 2 fell on a weekend we would have two family parties with the second on the following weekend for my Mum's on the eighth and Mother's Day and a few days later have cake with my Grandma on the eleventh. The calendar and how the dates fell on the days of the week varied but we could always count on the lilac to be in bloom. As far as I know it was my father's favourite flower and he was pleased to see a vase full of blooms on the birthday dinner table.
My Dad was born in 1939 in Lloydminster, Alberta. The provincial boundary goes right through the city so that the hospital was on the Alberta side but my Dad's family lived in Saskatchewan. His parents waited a long time through the Depression before they had saved enough money to get married. My Grandma turned 34 nine days after my Dad was born. When he was a few months old, the war started and my Grandfather, who was too old to be sent overseas, started travelling around the country to train cavalry for the army. My Grandma packed up her infant son and followed him in her car and I believe spent most of the war doing just that. We are always told how a child's early experiences shape who they become and that may be true with my Dad. He had a sense of adventure and openness with people that may have come from that time and I believe that early travelling led to his career choices.
After the war they settled on Vancouver Island near Qualicum Beach which even then was an attractive destination for tourists. They owned a small general store with a gas pump and by then had another child, my Dad's little sister. When he would recount that time it seemed just like some of the idyllic childhoods of the movies: bicycles, paper routes, Davy-Crockett hats and swimming in the river. He was a smart kid but was happy to coast through school. He worked hard doing chores like most kids of his generation but relished free time in a way that may not even occur to many kids now.
When he finished high school he became a Navel Cadet at Venture and he loved being at sea. (The link is the only one I could find that refers to the programme as my father experienced it.) He was a good cadet and an able seaman but a French requirement was added while he was there and that was not so easy for him. They offered to teach him to fly which while not part of his original plan appealed to him. The writing was on the wall with the French language requirements in the Canadian Forces so he left the Navy when he was finished his officer's training. The camera, light meter and bible are all things that he had while still in the programme.
With his pilot's licence he worked as a private pilot for a Californian millionaire and travelled from Vancouver to Mexico. Unlike French, he was able to master conversational Spanish. It was during this time that his family sailed from Vancouver Island to spend the winter in Mexico and California in a boat that my Grandfather built. My Dad had helped his Father build the boat with the ultimate intention of sailing it to England where my Grandfather had left his parents many years before. Fifty years ago international travel was prohibitively expensive and if you left family members in another country it was assumed that you would never see them again. Unfortunately, my Grandfather never made it to England as he died of a heart attack the day before his sixtieth birthday on March 31, 1963. Around that time my Dad also spent time working for Canadian Pacific Airlines as a ticket agent I think with the hope of eventually flying for the airline and also helping his mother and sister settle into a new home.


The desk here was my Grandfather's and when he died it followed my Father and is now following me. I have great memories sitting at it as a small child and exploring its cubbies and drawers and I wonder if my Dad had similar memories when he was a child. The pewter mug in the previous photo was from my Dad's time at Venture and was stored in the desk and always contained a variety of pens (ball-point and fountain) and pencils (mechanical and regular wood) which may explain my love of writing instruments and certainly in part, my love of this desk. In the fall of 1964 he enrolled as a mature student at the University of Victoria. Here he was studying for a major in Geography with a minor in Economics. He was very active in student politics and had a busy social life. The other books on the shelf were his at this time. I believe that my Dad built the book rack for his mother when he was a little younger but I liked showing his books with something he made. While at university he worked at a bar/lounge as a bartender and at the liquor store over the Christmas holidays. I guess the mixing drinks book was homework! The Esquire Etiquette book is quite fascinating and contains still pertinent information. My father was interested in music and had this Stories of the Great Operas and the History of Jazz(which unfortunately was recently damaged beyond repair) His own father loved opera and would listen to the Met broadcasts on the radio every Saturday afternoon. My Grandfather felt that the mark of an educated man was not knowing everything but knowing how to find out. The other two are on the rack because they represent what my Dad was thinking about at the time(click on the picture to get a clearer look). Being born before the war made him too old to be part of the mass culture of the baby boom but he was not exactly a child of the depression either. We are all so created by the time and place in which we are born. The atlas and dictionary were a given for him as a university student but it was a good thing it was an Oxford dictionary or maybe my Mum would not have married him.


During the summers he worked as a bush pilot on the northern coast of British Columbia out of Prince Rupert. At that point he was flying out of a seaplane base and that is where he eventually met my mother who was also working at the base. Because of his officer's training and working as a pilot before he became a student he was actually two years behind her in studies despite being five years older. His life had seemed so rich with experience to that point, that when my Mum was getting to know him she thought that he was a good bit older than his twenty-eight years. After a brief courtship they married and by the Fall my Dad was in his last year of university. I was born the following February. Despite still having difficulties with French my father was made valedictorian of his graduating class. When his classes were over his little family moved back up north in a VW Beetle pulling a small trailer for him to resume his flying job.
After awhile the job moved us to the nearby Queen Charlotte Islands were he got to see the rich geographical variations as he flew over. I got to see it too as a passenger and now when I view his extensive collection of slide photographs taken with the camera pictured above and another bought after living there for a few years. My younger sister was born when I was almost two and with that our family was complete. We moved to Vancouver Island when I was about to start school and my Dad started working as a corporate pilot for a Victoria based logging and engineering company. My father was able to fly over even more of the province and even had a consulting role when the company was working on small airport and landing strip projects.
The economic downturn of the early '80's ended that job and the loss of a job that he loved was very difficult for him. He did continue flying and for five years worked for a company involved in fighting forest fires. Again this had him flying a part of Canada that he loved and even bought him to Yellowknife in Canada's north. In the winters, he investigated fatal aircraft accidents for the coroner's service which was often difficult but usually interesting. Unfortunately, due to mechanical faults and dangerous flying conditions, he also was in a fatal accident at the age of 49.


Happy Birthday Dad, I miss you.