<![CDATA[Antique Lilac

<![CDATA[Antique Lilac - Blog]]>Mon, 20 Jul 2026 09:41:44 -0400Weebly<![CDATA[Family Picnic]]>Mon, 20 Jul 2026 10:23:28 GMThttps://www.antiquelilac.com/blog/family-picnicIt was a summer tradition, that if the weather was good on Sundays, then the family would go for a picnic in the park...

]]><![CDATA[the Fountain]]>Sun, 19 Jul 2026 11:18:56 GMThttps://www.antiquelilac.com/blog/the-fountainOn Sunday afternoons the family enjoyed going out for a walk together. One of their favourite places was the park, which had a large fountain where the children could sail their boats....

The children were enjoying sailing their boats...

..when some geese decided to come and claim the fountain as their own...

Sena was excited to see them...

"Watch out for those geese. They can be aggressive."

So Eric quickly grabbed his boat....

"Sorry, but you can't have it!"

]]><![CDATA[Lisa's Afghan]]>Sat, 18 Jul 2026 11:23:53 GMThttps://www.antiquelilac.com/blog/lisas-afghanLisa was a very creative girl, and especially enjoyed needlework...

She was almost finished a small afghan...

..and she was just finishing crocheting the final outer edge...

Her friend Peach stoped by for a visit....

"I really love this colour yarn. It's a good thing you had enough, and didn't run out."

]]><![CDATA[the Paperboy]]>Fri, 17 Jul 2026 13:57:57 GMThttps://www.antiquelilac.com/blog/the-paperboyNarin brought the paperboy into Steve's office, "There's a young man here to see you Sir."

"Good morning Bordy."

"What can I do for you?"

"I'd like to open a savings account for all my newspaper money, Sir."

"Well, pull over a chair, and we'll create an account for you."

So Bordy sat down and showed Steve his money...

Steve began to count it.

"That's quite a lot of money you have here."

"Well, it's mostly all from you Sir ... and the other people here who buy my newspapers every morning."

After counting all the money and entering the total into a pass book...
"Here you go Bordy. This booklet tells you how much you have in your account, and every time you add or take some out, we'll record it in here, so you'll always know exactly how much money you have."

Bordy got up, ready to leave.... "Thank you Sir."

"Good-bye Sir. See you tomorrow morning."

"Yes, good-bye Bordy. Until tomorrow."

Steve watched him leave. 'That young man is definitely going to make something of himself,' he thought.

]]><![CDATA[Needing A Little Extra]]>Thu, 16 Jul 2026 11:22:58 GMThttps://www.antiquelilac.com/blog/needing-a-little-extraOne day Iris was out shopping, and she dropped into the bank to see Steve

"Iris, it's so good to see you. What brings you here today?"

"Well, I needed to ask you something."

"So, nice to see you Ma'am." said Narin...and he thought he better make himself scarce

"I have something I need to check on, so I'll be back later."

Iris pulled up a chair...

"So, what can I do for you?"

"Well, as you know, Sena's birthday is coming up soon, and I wanted to make myself a new dress."

"Well, I found some beautiful pink satin brocade. It's perfect for what I have in mind, but it's a little more expensive than what I thought. So, I was hoping I could have a little more money."

"Well, what about your household budget?"

"It won't cover it."

"You know I always manage to stay within my budget, but this is a special occasion."

Steve never could say no to his lovely wife, and took out some money. "Here you go."

"I hope it's enough."

"Yes, that should do."

"Don't spend it all in one place."

"Thank you. I won't."

]]><![CDATA[Sailing Boats]]>Wed, 15 Jul 2026 11:04:12 GMThttps://www.antiquelilac.com/blog/sailing-boats8195373The boys ended up at a lake where it was shallow enough close to shore to safely sail their boats...

The lake was relatively calm, and it looked promising....

But Eric's boat kept wanting to wash ashore...

..and Bordy's boat was swamped...

]]><![CDATA[Lunch on the Dock]]>Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:28:32 GMThttps://www.antiquelilac.com/blog/lunch-on-the-dockEric and his friends were down by the dock hoping to find a spot to sail their boats...

But there wasn't any decent water access...

"I don't think we can sail our boats here." sighed Eric.

"No," agreed Elliot. "The water is way too deep."

Disappointed, Bordy and Coco decided it was as good as any time to have lunch....

Elliot decided to join them...

But Eric was too disappointed to eat. He had looked forward to sailing his boat all week.

But his stomach was growling...

....and the sandwiches did look mighty good.

"Just put your boat down." suggested Coco, "Take a sandwich, and after lunch we can find someplace else to sail our boats."

]]><![CDATA[Wellington]]>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 10:39:11 GMThttps://www.antiquelilac.com/blog/wellingtonOn another short weekend away, Steve and Iris went for a walk along the beach...

as was the custom in Victorian days...

where the well-to-do would promenade along the beach in full formal attire....

They sat down to enjoy a picnic lunch...

"This is such a nice beach," commented Steve, "but I don't understand why everyone is so formally dressed and no one goes into the water.

"I don't either ...but that's just how it's done these days."

"We should bring the children here." he suggested. "I think they would love it."

"That's a great idea."

"..but after I make us all some suitable swimwear."

]]><![CDATA[Art on the Patio]]>Sun, 12 Jul 2026 11:17:08 GMThttps://www.antiquelilac.com/blog/art-on-the-patioLisa enjoyed painting and drawing, and it was such a lovely day, that she had set up her easel on the patio, and picked a bouquet of flowers for her subject...

She had invited her friend Peach to join her...

It was always fun to paint something from life...

Lisa's finished painting...

Peach was talented too...

but she preferred pencils to paint....

...and soon she was finished as well..

Two artistic young ladies, same subject, and with very different styles....

]]><![CDATA[Photos at Parkwood]]>Sat, 11 Jul 2026 10:45:26 GMThttps://www.antiquelilac.com/blog/photos-at-parkwoodI was looking for an interesting building that could pass for a 'Victorian Hotel', and thought Parkwood Estate in downtown Oshawa would be perfect. It was the home of R.S. McLaughlin, Canadian auto baron and founder of General Motors of Canada. The 15,000 square foot, 55-room mansion was built between 1915 and 1917 in the Beaux-Arts style. It is a National Historic Site, and all the art, architecture, gardens, landscaping and original furnishings are all faithfully preserved. It is a very popular site for filming, and professional wedding photography. The grounds are free to the public, but there's a fee for tours inside the mansion.

These photos were taken several years ago on a previous visit in the fall, when the gardens were full of flowers...

We took a chance and headed over in the middle of the week, on a cool day in spring, hoping there wouldn't be any filming going on, as the place would have been closed to the public. As luck would have it, it had been closed the previous week for filming, but there was no one there that day. The only people around were the staff planting the annuals in the gardens, and the security guard, who came over to check to see if we had permission if we were doing commercial photography. After all, we did have quite a lot of stuff with us. But we explained we were just doing some doll photography, and he said that was fine. Then he started to tell us all about, and point out, the special trees planted throughout the property, and about the movies and TV shows filmed there recently.

With all the stairs and railings, there's all kinds of places to stand dolls on for some photos...

Cleaning up after posing the dolls on the top of a railing...

Forced perspective, taken at the doll's eye level...

Same spot, but with dolls moved and photographed in the other direction...

We'd brought some horses along, and I had to get down on the grass to take the photos, and then ask Jan to make any adjustments...

A photo, taking care not to include the blue garbage bin in the background....

The final wine and dessert scene was set up on the top of the stairs railing down to the formal gardens.

A photo taken straight on at the doll's level....

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