What Inspires You Wednesday: The Beach

Downtime

I took some much needed downtime on Monday to celebrate my birthday. I was really needing a day away from the computer.  Sometimes you just need to unplug.

Unplug I did. 

I went to the beach and walked for hours. At one point, I was the only person on the beach.

Does it get better than that?

The day was too perfect not to share in all its glory.  No photo cropping or collages in this post.  Just take it all in.

I walked from Boars Head at the North end of Hampton's Main Beach, to the jetty and harbor at the South end.

I'll save the walk back for tomorrow.

Breathing in the salt air, listening to the waves crash, the only real noise beyond that was the squawk of a gull now and again. 

I not only felt inspired, I felt recharged. Not that I wouldn't mind a week off to do that every day, but still.

So tell me.........what's inspiring you today?

Ciao for now,

10 Things I Love About Summer

In No Particular Order

1.  Fresh vegetables from the garden. 

2. Geraniums on my back stoop.

 3. Flip flops and shorts!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

4. Our pool. It's where I most often want to be. I'm a water baby. A fish in water. If I get in, I find it hard to get out. 

5. Being out in the sunshine and fresh air.

6. The smell of the air after a summer rain shower.

7. Wildflowers.

 8. Grass between my toes.

9. The Beach (my brother got this shot on his morning ride up the coast on his Harley).

10.  Another gorgeous day (I say that in all honesty and in hopes that the weather gods hear me and get rid of the rain that supposed to be heading out way in time for the weekend).

And you? What are some of your favorite things about summer?

Have a great Wednesday and enjoy the day.

Ciao for now,

Feed Your Soul: Safe Harbor

A Little Piece of Our Coast

Our coastline is short  at a mere 19 miles, but it's beautiful none the less. One of my go to spots is Rye Harbor. It's a small harbor filled with working fishing vessels and pleasure boats.

We took a ride up the coast with our visitors on their last day here last Friday andrechardged our souls. They loved the harbor as much as I do. We stopped for awhile, the kids threw stones, we tried to teach them how to skip stones (I'm way out of practice and only got two skips, our brother in law Theo was doing good until Gar won the contest with 7 or 8 skips), the kids walked out a bit on the jetty, and of course we took pictures. It is a pretty harbor after all.

It's funny, but when that was the only heart rock I came across at Rye Harbor. Fort Foster is apparently the jackpot spot.

Sometimes it doesn't take much or long to feed your soul. Just a quick break, in the perfect place.

Have you fed your soul lately?

Have a great day. It's a great day to have.

Ciao for now,

In Progress & A Small Surprise

Flowers & Rocks

First, the flowers. My garden is bloom which always leads to inspiration for me. I am going to add some more photographs to our shop, Bates Mercantile Co.  I am very neglect in updating the ones I already have listed.  I've had my archival printer since October, but hadn't adjusted my photo listings for new sizes and archival printing in-house.  I'm in the process of working on some new shots from the garden, and old shots (like the beach ones below) as well, in photoshop.  This all means I have to order some photo art paper. Thankfully, this is isn't a problem. I found a fantastic source for paper when I got my printer, Red River Paper. Their suggestions for paper for specific purposes, turnaround, and customer service have been great.

I haven't been as serious as I should be about the photographs in our shop, but I think it's about time I was.

Here's some that are in the works.

I named that fellow 'one legged Pete'.

Aaahhh, the beach. Heaven.

I've also been mulling over the idea of hosting a photo challenge like my etsy pal Elle Moss did a while back. I would post the subjects for each day of the challenge and people would submit links to their photos and I would also feature them, here on Mercantile Muse. What do you think?

I wasn't able to participate every one of the 21 days of Elle's, but the days I did participate were a great way to practice my photography skills, get to meet other people who submitted and see how each person had a different take on each subject.  It was very cool.

So, would you particpate? I don't think mine would be 21 days, but perhaps something a little more manageable. However, it wouldn't be much fun if it was just me.

And Now, All The Way From France.............

The best thing about blogging to me, is meeting new people all over the world. The same can be said for having a shop on etsy. 

Well, yesterday, out of the blue I got a package from my pal Cari-Jane of Hybrid Handmade. Sweet girl had remembered that I was smitten with the beach rocks she had featured on her blog a few times. She calls them 'time pebbles'. I just call them awesome.

Lo and behold, one made it's way to me from the seaside on the South coast of France. I'm so darn lucky.

The talented Ms. Hakes, draws the beautiful design on the rocks she finds at the beach near her home and then seals them.  Mine now sits on my little kitchen windowsill altar of sorts. The altar currently houses a picture of my great grandmother, one of Gar's little planters, a lucky trunk-up elephant, a toasting glass of my gram's and a wishbone. The candy dish in the corner was also my grams and contains more wishbones for whenever someone needs to make a wish.

This little stone made me so very happy. Thanking you Cari, my dear, thoughtful friend.

One more thing.  The lucky Leona Weaver, winner of the blogaversary giveaway obviously likes to give as much as receive. She was a sponsor of the giveaway as well as the winner. As such, she couldn't really send her lovely dandelion photograph to herself, so she sent it to me. Nice, yes?

via leeswhimsy

As tempted as I am to keep it, I think it would be a better gesture to incude it in the next giveaway. If you are interested in particpating as a sponsor, please shoot me an email. I'm in the process of gathering things and it's sure to be another treasure trove of goodies, so keep your eyes and ears at the ready for details.

That's about it here gang. What's happening in your corner of the world today?

ttfn,

Take A Ride & Freeform Friday

Getting Some Air

It's been pretty hot here. Let me remind you, 'round these parts it's Summer. Hot is good. I can even stand humid thanks to the pool. However, last weekend the air was a bit oppressive so as I mentioned, we took a ride and headed to the coast. It was really just about getting some air moving around us.  We rode up through Pease Tradeport and saw a couple of planes, one taking off, one a guard plane probably picking up supplies.

We continued over the bridge into Maine (as you can see by this picture).

Past one of many boat clubs in this area. Would be great to have a boat, wouldn't it? Even better to have a boat that came with a Captain so you could just sit back and enjoy. Whoops, dreaming of what I'll do with my lottery winnings again. Sorry about that.

Gar took me to a secret beach. OK, it's not really a secret, but it was to me. I think my sister in law might have actually been their yesterday! See what I mean about it not really being a secret?

We were greeted by these two old buddies.

.....and then this view.

The air was so heavy you could hardly see the two sail boats to the left of this guy. Just a couple of specs on the horizon.  

Then 'over the river......

 ....and through the woods'.

Finally, a little history as we hit Portsmouth, past the William Whipple House. He was a signer of the Declaration of the Independence.

If you've been around the Muse for long, you've seen my husband in the same exact spot before. Our favorite corner at RiRa, a great Irish pub. We had a certificate, so why not? He went for the cottage pie and I had the fish and chips which is always great. Gar said the same about the Guinness.

In case you missed it, the current Gotta Have It/Gotta Blog It Link Up Party is going on right at this very moment. You can either scroll down to the next post, or you can click here and it will bring you right to it so you can link up your shop or blog if you've got one. If you don't, you can take a look around and find lots of wonderful shops and blogs all in one place. You won't believe the stuff I've already got my eye on for Monday's post.

If you've got a chance to swing over and wish my blogging/etsy pal Angie at Knick of Time a Happy Blogaversary, it might be worth your while.  She's got a bunch of giveaways going on to celebrate. Check them all out in her right sidebar. I mean, there is some GREAT stuff to be had. Happy blogaversary Angie!

Freeform Friday

Mom sent me this video yesterday and I just had to share. Oh how I love dancing. It just makes me so happy. Watching people dance makes me just as happy.  Enjoy. (if you're reading via email, click here)

Have a fantastic Friday. I will most definitely be in the pool at some point, but not before I'm done at my desk. Don't ya just hate that?

Thanks for being here, it means a lot.

She sells sea shells

Perhaps my love of shells came from growing up a mile from the beach and spending many hours playing in the sand as a kid, or walking it as an adult. Then again, it could simply be that they are hard to resist because they're so pretty. Either way, I have a bowl of them sitting on our bathroom vanity, and I think they're all equally pretty in their own rite.  I also have lots of beach rocks, which I always fill my pockets with too, but that's another post.

Here's one from the bowl. I think I got this one from my former boss Sheila (who was too much fun to work with). I believe it came from Florida.

This gnarly one I picked up in Clifden, Galway/Ireland. We loved Clifden so much, we stayed another day. Quiet town on the sea with the mountains behind it. But back to the gnarly shell.

Some may think of the mussel as a throw away shell, but I really like the peach and purple tones inside.

Just look at that gorgeous purple color!

Pretty, right?


I think this might be another Florida shell. Looks like a scallop.  Maybe this is where the color mauve came from.

The bowl isn't the only place I display shells. I also have a couple with some small pieces of driftwood on the vanity.  All came from Ireland.  Love that little brown and white snail shell. Too sweet.

My shells are another collection of sorts. It's really more about the treasure hunting on the beach and the beauty of shells than building a collection. Also that most of them have some meaning to me. I guess that's probably the best kind.

Have a great Wednesday wherever you are.

Pam