This weekend we are soaking up the sunshine, celebrating the harvest from the garden and getting ready for an incredible Thanksgiving feast with our family. There will be turkey from a local farm, veggies from our garden and those of our friends, and oh there will be pumpkin pie! In fact, we may be eating pumpkin pie straight on through until Christmas dinner! The girls just harvested our pumpkin patch and are thrilled with the 53 sugar pumpkins they grew on one plant! I must take a moment to acknowledge and thank our amazing neighbours Gordy and Laurie MacDonald who have welcomed us into their garden, sharing tips and stories and so much of their crop, watering our plants and feeding this pumpkin plant with so much extra love (& manure). You gift has allowed my girls to fall in love with growing their own food and our thumbs are turning green!
Check out the turkey t-shirts my little farmers are sporting – a gift from our friends at Feedlot Studios who have an amazing selection of fabric & ceramic creations for sale all weekend as part of the local Annual Gabriola Thanksgiving Studio Tour. After a trip to town for some fantastic soccering by Raena, we stopped in to say hi to our crafty friends Mariko McCrae & Kate Wood (Christmas shopping has officially started). There was also just enough time to sneak in a visit to Dianna Bonder’s gallery of whimsy (got another great book for the kids, autographed by my amazing artist friend). We still need to make some time to visit our other faves like Sheila Norgate (her paintings will speak to you), Tammy Hudgeon (her glass & paintings will make your heart sing), Illuminati Glassworks (more incredible colour and shine), Fiddlehead Farm (her fibre will make you want to learn to knit), Hayden Harvey (with her studio partners, they offer a bit of everything & it is nothing like you have ever seen), Nina Turczyn & Laura Handford (silver jewellery that you will want to take home with you)…I just realized I could go on and on….I really do wish I had time to visit all the tour artists (good thing I live here and can pick a few new ones each year). In addition, many artists have informally opened their studio doors this weekend, so be on the lookout for signs inviting you to have a boo. In fact, my friend Josee Velsen has opened up her La Belle Vie studio (near Silva Bay) and has some of my paintings and cards tucked in with her dreamy selection of aromatherapy, photography, pottery and more!
There are two more days of this annual art indulgence left, so drag your fellow feasters over and check out some of the amazing art on my home island. Grab your online brochure and start planning your route, you will have an incredible time! And don’t forget to get your 2013 turkey tea towel! —— Happy Thanksgiving everyone!
