{On a Wednesday} plus one

{From Gent to Melbourne.}

Today I am appreciating surprise snail mail all the way from Gent, Belgium. From Frips in an envelope covered with various owl, Tintin and pink orchid postage stamps, came some Birthday cheer on paper. (Thank you, Frips xo)

{A simple and handsome soul.}

{Omar nuzzles my new wooden companion.}

I am also {On a Wednesday} still besotted with a wooden pika from an African store near to the Victoria Market. I found this little pika with three of his rotund mates in the window of a rarely open, cash only store brimming with plastic animals fashioned from recycled packaging, porcupine quills by the jar and colourful buffalo made of wire to serve as coat hooks. I’ve yet to strike it open again and I’m keen to acquire a wooden mate for my pika. He has such a pleasing form, doesn’t he? And he fits so snugly into ones palm… even Omar likes him.

{red+yellow+white}

{Many blushing brides.}

Today finds me also happy that spring has does what it does each and every year… it has sprung without a seeming care in the world. The house is filled with red, white and yellow ranunculus and foxgloves and a small bouquet of Blushing brides (who have for their seed dispersal to thank the ants).

This Wednesday I am also enjoying watching The Good Life on dvd with home-made veggie soup and crusty bead before I hop back to the wrapping of card orders.

Find a little more Wednesday love here, and thank you so very much for all your interest in our new cards. What a thrill, you’ve made me blush. (To those of you who’ve placed an order recently… we posted them yesterday afternoon. They should, depending upon how near or far away you live, make it to you shortly. Thanks, again. I’m so happy you like them! I'm really happy.)

"Pikas are small relatives of rabbits. They do not have tails, and their rounded bodies are covered in soft red and grey fur. Unlike those of a rabbit, a pika’s hind legs are about the same length as its forelegs." (from The Complete Book of Animals - A world encyclopaedia of amphibians, reptiles and mammals by Tom Jackson... a favourite resource of mine.)

*** I have just realised since posting this that it is actually THURSDAY. Somehow I am still thinking it is Wednesday and rather than tweak this post accordingly I think I'll just roll with my error. This post all about Wednesday loves was penned, captured and typed on a Thursday. I'm losing all track of time. Apologies for any confusion. Perhaps in some parts of the world it is still a glorious Wednesday. ***

Comments

[lisa s]

it's still wed. here!!! :)

love your polas... the flowers... your new friend [being inspected]... perfect!!
xo

[alyssa]

I love your pika and your new cards are beautimus:) Such sweet Wednesday photos.

[Elisabeth Dunker]

O I like your polaroids, and the suspicious and proud expression on your pika :)

[Briana]

Love the pika and polas and all the fleures (are they really called blushing brides).

The On A Wednesday Group is sooo very enchanting. I love everyonecontributions.

[kate]

The Pika is adorable - so are the letters!

[comfies]

i love the wooden creature! beautiful polaroids...

[bugheart]

oh
and now
i want
a pet pika...
but do
they make
good pets?
will they
eat blue cheese?
must get a card pack
soon...
and presents
for birthday girls...
also
soon.

[meg]

oh yes, i woke up shocked it was already thursday as well! i LOVE these polas. especially that last one-- so beautiful. megxx

[cruststation]

Lovely goodies in the mail, what an adorable pika (such a sweet photo of Omar)...The African store sounds wonderful :) Also loving the vibrant bouquets and beautiful signs of Spring *enjoy*!

[Hanna]

Lovely wednesday-thursday photos and words! the photos of the flowers are beautiful. in Sweden autumn is already here! have a great weekend! oh, and thanks for info on pika, I learned something new today!

[julie]

Oh my gosh..its already Friday here..Your pika is so cute and have to agree about the pleasing form!!
Love the spring flower polas too...enjoy the best time of the year!!! xxxx

[cd&m]

Nice snail mail and gorgeous photographs.

[andrea (scout)]

oh i love mr. pika. he looks very self-contained. he's a prim pika, i think... the kind who reads the morning paper with tea and spectacles. and porcupine quills too? that store sounds like a curiosity-lovers paradise.

i didn't get a chance to comment on the previous post, but the cards are marvelous! i can't wait to receive my first paycheck, so i can do some damage at hammer&daisy. :)

don't worry about the wednesday/thursday confusion. i do that ALL the time. weekly, even.

[simple me]

the "simple and handsome soul" is so cute.
and the blushing brides are extraordinary. I had never seen such flowers ... you know how I love flowers :)
enjoy your spring!

[erin]

i have never seen anything like blushing brides before, and i know flowers! i wonder if they can be grown in vancouver. i am going to have to do some research...

[gracia]

Good to hear, Lisa S. I'm loosing days left, right and all over the place of late so I'm relieved to know that this ol' post of mine made sense to someone on a Wednesday. Phew...

Glad you liked these Wednesday-slides-into-Thursday photos, Alyssa. It very nearly happened to me this week as well. Monday has felt like Sunday, Tuesday turned out to be a Wednesday... my week, once more, is all topsy turvy. Were it not for two yoga classes punctuating each week, I'd have no idea.

Hi Elisabeth,
I'm so very in love with my wooden pika companion. My only regret is that I did not purchase a second one, that way I could have had a happy pair. I will swing by the store tomorrow and, fingers crossed, I'll be in luck.

Thanks, Briana,
I'm still having a fun old time playing along with {On a Wednesday}, enjoying seeing the different Wednesdays around the traps. Happy to hear that you are too.

Hi Kate and Comfies,
Snail mail and new wooden chums... so good together, no? Mail from Frips always makes me smile. All those brilliant stamps, be they ink or postage. An envelope from Belgium is always a good thing to find nestled in my letterbox brimming with leaflets and bills old enough to be WIlliams.

Oh, yes, they are quite partial to a little blue cheese on the side, bugheart. The crumblier the better, and as a garnish on their hay and grasses. Their name is thought to be derived from the Russian "pikat", to squeak. Cute, eh? (Presents!? Why such promising news has me squeaking much like a Pika.)

Hi Meg,
Those blushing brides are pretty wonderful aren't they? They are still blooming over a week later, though the foliage is a little brittle.

Thanks, Crust Station. My Omar relishes any chance he can to muscle in on a potential photo shoot. He is also fond of casually dropping fur onto orders as we wrap them.

Happy to help, Hanna. I am forever delving into an animal encyclopaedia or a weighty picture book of the natural world. Enjoy that Swedish autumn of yours... all rusty leaves and winter nearness.

Hi there Julie,
I'm enjoying the spring, seeing new things pop up in the garden and of course those springtime showers (it affords me the chance to whip out my new polka dot brolly).

Thanks, CD&M. I'm an open fan of snail mail.

Hi Andrea,
I like your description of him being "very self-contained". I have my collection of porcupine quills in a sea green Japanese sake bottle near to the fish bowl. Keen to get back to that store, and, if I could, I post you a handful of quills by post. Thrilled to hear you like the new cards, too.

Hi there Paula and Erin,
I tried to find out a little more about those blushing brides for you and this is what I have come up with thus far (though do take it with a grain of salt... I am a poor green thumb and I always gather my info from not always the most reliable of sources)...
~ they are a spindly shrub, about 2m tall
~ they are pollinated by insects
~ habitat: granite-derived soils
~ they are from the Proteaceae family
~ they like full sun and resent any addition of fertiliser
Find a little more on this site for protea fans: http://protea.worldonline.co.za/blushing.htm
& see more here: http://www.sunsetflowers.com/images/bbride.jpg

take care,
g xo

[amisha]

those flowers polas are so beautiful, g. thank you for sharing this... i needed this loveliness in my day today :)
xox

[gracia]

More than happy to help with that, Amisha.
see you, grache xo

[Pip]

The Good Life was my favourite. I have taken Felicity Kendall's positive no-holds-barred Mary-Poppins-ish attitude into my grown up life! I forget if we ordered from you two in the end! Perhaps you can enlighten me in my New-Shop-Muddle-Ness! Hoping you are well and you both have nice boyfriends like (tom) (was it tom?!) in The Good Life!