My brother and his wife live on the coast of Nova Scotia in a house with the most magnificent view of the Bay of Fundy. They send pictures throughout the year that are just amazing.

When we were visiting there last summer, they asked me to design a floorcloth runner for their long hallway to the bedroom. The house was built a few years ago and is a beautiful, open-concept home with hardwood floors, lots of windows and that to-die -for view! Norma is

Scottish through and through (even knows some Gaelic and can do the Highland Fling!) and she is really drawn to intricate celtic designs.

I came up with this Tree of Life design, which has the same tree in the four seasons as you walk down the hall. It’s an interesting mix, when you cross Shaker simplicity with Celtic complexity.

I did a little design-mixing for a floorcloth for their entryway two years ago. Again, we used the Celtic knot for the border and added a Mariner’s Compass to the center. Bill’s great grandfather was a sea captain and sailed out of the very harbor Bill and Norma look out to every day, so a nautical reference was totally appropriate!

Now I’m blushing…

This is a very splashy blog, full of pretty neat stuff. I feel quite honored that she included me!

The blogger’s world is amazing. There’s so much information and great photos out there. I got a great call from a woman out in California, who makes beautiful handpainted tiles. She had her site featured on the Design Happens Blog just after mine. We talked for half an hour about our work and about living in such different places. She’s worried about how the writer’s strike will affect her business; I’m worried about how much propane we’re going to burn this winter!

It’s really wonderful how the internet can bring us so close together!

Today we were treated to a beautiful rainbow over Henry Gould Rd. A few minutes after I snapped this, it turned into a double rainbow, but my camera couldn’t catch it. Little treats like this are hard to come by. Click on the image to see it a little bigger.