Sunday Afternoon

This afternoon I enjoyed a rare treat. A girlfriend and I hopped in the car, left the bustling city behind, and drove through the rolling countryside south of Calgary. As the miles stretched out before us we rambled on about art, crafts and life. I greatly appreciated the opportunity to trade in my "mommy speak" for a few hours of adult conversation.

Our first stop was the Saskatoon Farm nestled in the fertile, green Alberta foothills. We browsed through rooms filled with knick-knacks and antiques, explored the farm's expansive greenhouses, and bought a large 4L pail of saskatoon berries to take home. (Mmmm. I can hardly wait to bake those saskatoons into a couple of mouthwatering pies.) It looked like the farm is expanding its western heritage storefronts, so I'll certainly make a point of returning to visit next summer.

My friend and I hopped back in the car and continued south down the highway. We ended up in the Alberta antiquing mecca that is Nanton. Nanton is a quaint little town situated right on the highway. Its streets are lined with several gorgeous antique shops. Many unique items caught my eye, including a vintage sewing machine, some beautiful wrought iron sculptures, and a stack of vintage dress patterns. My friend was quite enamoured by a shelf of antique cameras and photography equipment.

In the end, I purchased only a large jar of colourful buttons and two bags of penny candies for my boys. The minute I returned home I poured the buttons out on a cookie sheet and my son and I carefully sorted through every one, admiring the various shapes and colours. All evening I've been pondering all the projects the kids and I can create with my new buttons. These cute ideas from the ever-wonderful Martha Stewart website have helped to get some creative juices flowing.