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We at Cedar Mountain have always felt like we were part of Santa’s team of helpers. It has been lots of work, but very satisfying. Making lots of goodies that we hope will delight many people in the holiday gift giving season, truly fills us with joy. We hope even in a small way, we were successful.
Once again, like every year, we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting our small little business here on Salt Spring Island. We have made a life and living because of all the support we have year after year from our dear customers. Sincerely we thank you. We are always grateful.
So, to all, have a happy holiday. We hope that you and all those you love stay healthy and enjoy the season.
From our house to yours, Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year.
With love, the Cedar Mountaineers
]]>It is getting close to November and my recollections as a child at this time of year are crystal clear. The nights coming earlier, fierce rain outside, the damp setting in. Inside our home, the fire would be crackling, and hearty meals of stews or soups were on the stove. Our furry slippers and wooly sweaters were always on. Everything prepared for the upcoming winter. All of us nestled into our cottage and cozy in the evenings.
In early November, my mother would begin her epic task of writing to all her family in the UK and friends worldwide. Our whole family was deeply aware that it was the most important project in her mind. All the news from the previous January onward about our family events was spelled out in great detail in her yearly holiday cards (and there were a lot). Mom always took great care to buy beautiful greeting cards, but more important was the lengthy letter tucked inside. Each long letter was individually written to each recipient.
Just to be clear, photocopiers were invented back then to be sure. Yet annually, the same conversation between my parents occurred. “You know dear Shirley; you could write just one perfect letter and then photocopy it and just sign your name individually on each one” . . . "Yes, dear Henry, I am aware of this, but that is NOT personal enough for me.” And so, each year, in the lingering evenings after the dinner dishes were done and put away, in front of the roaring fire - Mom sat, writing the longest letters imaginable to each faraway person. Mom started from scratch with each letter and lovingly wrote and shared the news, easily 20 pages long. There was always much thought and love put into each one.
I can comfortably imagine the receiver's faces, smiling with delight, immediately putting the kettle on, and settling in with a big cup of tea. All the news, the stories, and the particulars from “Canada” would have been happily soaked in when Mom’s cards arrived on their doorstep.
The joy at our end, when Mom had completed this yearly endeavor and the final letter sent, was indeed a great source of celebration for the whole family!
Times have certainly changed and now of course we all communicate far more often to all of our friends and family, no matter where they are in the world. Be it by Instagram, email, text, WhatsApp, or any of the other high-tech ways available, we certainly can keep in touch. And yes, I know that I am pretty old-fashioned. But I for one, freely admit that I am always thrilled to receive a greeting card in the mail. If at any time, anyone, has made the effort to kick it old school and write me a letter, with a pen or pencil so I can see their handwriting, I feel extremely special. I would probably say it was the highlight of my day. And for sure I’d have made a cup of tea and sat down quietly to savor all the news.
My advice would be to give some of your precious time (and it is precious) to be like dear Shirley and send a holiday greeting card in the mail and add a decent-sized handwritten letter. Spread the joy. We can all use the joy.
With love, Suzanne
]]>When I was a young woman, I fell in love with long distance running. My long-term goal was run at least a few marathons. I am not sure why it happened but I went from short runs to longer and longer and longer.
Keep in mind this was back in the day when sports bras had not been developed. There were no Lululemons and for sure our running shoes were not of the standard they are today. Just to be clear while I was never going to be in the Olympics (for sure not) and even if I had been that good (which I wasn’t) - women were not permitted to run a marathon in the Olympics.
Crazy to think now that the first Olympics was in 1896 but it took close to 100 years (1984) before the first women’s marathon was added to the event roster.
So, I suppose it was understandable, given the era, that neighbors would notice me out running and report back to my parents that they saw me on the streets (again) and were wondering what I was doing. Regardless of what my family and neighbors thought, I loved it.
I loved recording my miles and planning my routes. Maybe it was the freedom or just being a person that liked to have a goal. I am happy to say that I did finally run two marathons and a multitude of half marathons before I became a mom. After that I would never have that amount of free time again.
It took MANY hours to train properly. It seems like another lifetime ago. It must have been because back in the day it was all about the miles run. Not kilometers! It was 1975 that Canada moved from imperial to metric, and I should have adjusted, but everyone I knew still talked about the miles they ran! Wonderful!
Fast forward to now. As my dad would wisely tell me, over and over, and yes, he was right, my knees would suffer. My knees finally did start screaming at me in my 40’s and I realized that if I wanted to keep moving on my legs, I would have to give up running and become a walker instead. Now I can happily say I love to walk. I love to hike.
The pace I go suits me fine. It is slow enough to notice all the changes of the seasons around me, all the small details in nature but quick enough to work up a bit of a sweat. And now of course I talk about my steps. How many steps do I want to walk every day? This is the new era of recording your every step on your phone and see how it adds up.
Today I would like to encourage anyone out there that is thinking of a new exercise regime to just start walking. It is the easiest and cheapest thing to do. All you really need is a decent pair of walking shoes. Nothing else.
There is no fee for a class and whatever time of day suits you is fine. Like Nike said, just do it! Start slow if you need to, but do start. Even if you just begin by going only a block or two and slowly, slowly build.
Before you know it, you will be doing steps in the thousands, not the hundreds. You will amaze yourself at how good you feel at the end of it. I know for myself I have never once come home from a walk and thought, “I wished I hadn’t done that”.
All the very best,
With love, Suzanne
]]>Wooden home décor and giftware was our theme. We have always tried to bring to the world things that made you laugh or cry (in a good way) or simply a beautiful object that made you feel good. Emotion is what we have been going for, all of it!
About two years ago Don decided he not only loved candles, he also wanted to learn how to make them.
Always the keen learner Don dove deep into all the ins and outs of the making process. In my Coles notes version, I can tell you that he and dear Alexa have spent HOURS and HOURS experimenting in the barn that is now our candle studio. Completely the opposite of a dusty woodworking shop! So clean! So fragrant!
This is a new happy place for Don, a guy that loves to use his hands to create.
The first version of candles that resulted is now known as our signature Cedar Mountain scent in our classic black tinned quote candles. These candles are reminiscent of Canada. They are woodsy and fresh.
We also snuck in some sassy candles which are of the same scent. . .
I gave one to some Italian friends of ours but they can’t bring themselves to burn it because they love the smell too much! It will forever remind them of their glorious times in Canada. They say they will be very sad when it is gone. I keep reminding them I can send more!
Our latest project that we are equally excited about is our “Little Gem” candles.
We have loved our beloved “Little Gem” art blocks and coasters since their creation and now have so many fans of this product that we thought it was truly a match made in heaven to create a candle in the same style.
Our little paint can tins combined with so many of our favorite Little Gem quotes. We thought ADORABLE and they are! Petite and thoughtful. Truly a perfect gift for so many occasions.
The scent for these little darlings is a smoky vanilla. We delight in them and hope you do too.
So, from our house to yours, we send our love (and our candles).
Suzanne
]]>Candles. Why do we love them so much?
For me, a deep love of candles is simply a given. I'm trying to weigh in what the key reason is, but I find it hard to be succinct. Honestly it is like saying why do you like the sun?
The simple act of lighting a candle instantly transforms not only a space, but a mood and a feeling.
Candles can’t help themselves…they bring romance and passion, mystery, hope and a feeling of calm.
They bring a feeling of security, warmth and tranquility. Scented candles help smooth that part of the brain that is home to all memories and emotion.
Candlelight reduces stress and gives a feeling of inner peace.
They just make you feel good.
In our home I always have loved candles to be lighted on our dining room table.
No matter what chaos was going on before dinner I try to encourage our evening meal time to be calm and relaxing.
Candlelight and good music to me are as important as what we eat.
One of my favorite stories of child raising was one time when my son Aubrey, who was nine years old at the time came out to the studio where I was madly silk-screening. I still had at least an hour of work to do that was time sensitive and I was stressed out, working as quickly as I could, knowing full well our
three kids would be getting hungry for dinner. Aubrey, bless his heart, came to see if I could hurry the process along as his belly was saying dinner! I explained to him that I had to complete this work but if he could get dinner started things would go much better. Very briefly I described how I make a stir-fry with
peanut sauce and how to cook rice. Aubrey said OK and went left me with my work.
The memory of walking into the house one hour later, tired and frazzled to what beheld me is as vivid at this moment as it was 28 years ago. Not only had Aubrey prepared the suggested dinner and cleaned as he went in the kitchen, he had set the table, opened a bottle of wine for Don and I, put on jazz music
and lit the candles on the table! I washed my hands, sat down, looked at the flickering candlelight and thought life is good.
After all these years I still value the beauty of candle light and make sure we take time to decompress to the golden flickering candlelight at the end of each day. It is a simple pleasure but for sure one that only brings joy. So, go on, light a candle, you deserve it!
With love,
Suzanne xo
]]>When my dad turned 90, he insisted he did not need or want any gifts. I was at a loss… I am a gift giver and the thought of nothing for Dad to unwrap on his big 9-0 seemed a bit heartless and sad.
After some thought I decided my gift for my dad would be to really tell him WHY I really loved him. So, I got out my 50-year-old typewriter and kicked it old school by typing out, on a beautiful piece of handmade paper, the 90 reasons why I loved him.
The challenge in this for me was not thinking up the 90 things, but typing it our accurately with no errors. Of course, old school typewriters has no spell check or quick delete - or re dos of any kind for that matter - as we are all so used to now on the computer.
I am proud to say it took only one or two tries to complete my very detailed reasons of why I loved this old man. The reasons were as complex and varied as one can imagine. I noted that at 90 he still looked so good in a pair of jeans and that he could dance to an entire album of Jack John without a pause. I wrote about how he took me all over the world as a child, on a shoestring. He valued hard work and demonstrated this every day of his life. He created adventures wherever he went. He loved to cook and serve cracked crab to anyone in the family who would eat it with him. He could make a fabulous bonfire with almost no kindling. He could choose a good wallpaper almost instantly. He was a talented swimmer and diver and soccer player. Dad was an amazing card player and had an excellent poker face. He was still upbeat and optimistic, even though he had known great loss - such as a beloved wife to cancer, an entire crew of men in the war, many friends and family members. But yet he remained a scallywag, full of fun and passion and life. I learned so much about living from Dad. He passed away at nearly 101 and almost up to the end he was extraordinarily independent. He was still a going concern.
Aside from my dad, I have of course known many fathers. Of course, my husband Don and I have 3 kids so I have witnessed all the ways that Don has impacted our kids' lives. I can imagine if Don is so blessed to reach 90, that any one of our kids could easily type out their 90 reasons why they love their dad… and so it goes on.
Our grandchildren in turn have their absolutely wonderful fathers who contribute so much to their children’s lives. It is a beautiful thing to witness the love and care and wisdom and fun that gets passed on down through the family tree.
I don’t think for a second that every case is as lucky as I feel our families are, but, on the whole, I have witnessed a whole pile of love that has gone on between fathers and children.
Today, more than ever, I can see the expectations for fathers are more complicated than in the old days. But I see the fathers in my life rising to the challenge and doing a beautiful, thoughtful, worthy job of it.
So, I want to do a big shout out to the fathers…bravo men, keep it coming. Your love and support to your children makes all the difference.
As always,
With love
Suzanne
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For us here on Saltspring it is basically nonstop fun. For one thing we have a well-known, Round Saltspring Sailing race that attracts folks from all over BC. It is the one day that everyone hopes for decent wind as that will drastically affect how fast the winning time is. I still remember when my daughter Amy participated in the race and I think they finished around 3:30 am. Not a particularly windy day but I know fun was still had by all. Excitement is in the air for anyone who loves to sail.
It is also a weekend that Saltspring hosts a big soccer tournament. This means that many off island teams come to Saltspring to camp and participate in a weekend long tournament. I’m not sure who has more fun, the players or the many spectators, but what I do know is if you feel the need to catch up with old friends, head down to the soccer fields as there is a strong possibility you will see a lot of familiar faces. If not on the sidelines, you’ll see them in the beer gardens!
Then of course there is the Saturday market of which we at Cedar Mountain have participated in since 1993. The market starts April 1 and goes to Oct 31 but being a more fun event when the weather is good you can usually count on decent weather as spring is truly on its way. At least we all pray for sun from pretty near the start of May. At the market you will find beautiful handmade crafts, live music, baked goods and plenty of absolutely stellar produce and flowers. The market draws visitors from all over Canada and even further afield. And, for just cause. My advice is getting there early while you can still find somewhere to park. This is a very special event and not one to be missed.
Then of course, there is my birthday. Not that I want a party or anything special, but I do love the feeling of waking up and knowing that this is my day. It just makes me happy. When I head in to town, I feel the combined joy of so many people, all enjoying the first long weekend when the weather should be good and the thought of summer round the corner is in the air. So much to celebrate. Feeling alive on May Long is pretty easy and happy. So, if you have the desire, head on over to Saltspring one year and soak it all in.
Happy May Long Everyone!
With love,
Suzanne
]]>One day while Don was doing his regular hour-long commute home from our woodworking shop to our home, he called me on his cell and said. “That’s it, we need to change our lifestyle or I’m jumping”.
Of course, I knew he was not serious, but I could also tell that his happiness depended on a change. For a decade he had been doing the 1 + hour commute each way to and from work, 6 to 7 days a week. We had 3 small kids all under 8 and they barely knew who he was. I jokingly said that except for Sundays Don had never seen our kids in anything but PJ’s as he left so early in the morning and got home so late in the evening that he never saw them dressed for the day.
It was no way to have a family life. Someone had to be brave enough to insist on a change.
So, on the recommendation from a craft show friend we came to visit Salt Spring Island. All we knew was that there was a Saturday market for crafters and that the house prices were far below those in Vancouver. We discovered there was a hospital and plenty of schools and that the couriers had finally come to the island, which made it possible for our business to work on the island. That was about all we knew. Neither of us had ever been to a Southern Gulf Island before.
It was January 1993, with snow on the ground. I remember I had a crazy migraine (most likely the stress of such an epic change brewing). We came for an overnighter, looked at a few houses, drove up the driveway for what became our home and thought ok. Let’s do it. Let’s move. It was a 100% gut decision with barely a lingering thought.
For me, it was definitely harder to leave the city. I was born and raised in Vancouver and had deep ties to family, friends and place. But for the sake of a better family life, we decided as the expression goes that we should leap and the net would appear. When we told our kids we were moving to Saltspring (used to be written as Saltspring, though now is officially Salt Spring - old habit), all of them asked what country that was in. For them it probably felt like another country, a world apart from all that was familiar.
The strangest thing about the move for me was that all of a sudden, the phone never rang. It was so strange to be in a place where we had no friends, no family, no one to call in an emergency. I missed my people terribly. For Don, well, he was thrilled. Now every morning instead of sitting in a traffic jam he listened to the morning CBC traffic report while he drank his coffee at home.
A new world opened up for us both, a new life. The happy ending is that before long we had built a woodworking shop in our backyard, hired new people to work with us, met many friends we now call family and created a peaceful, productive, happy life. Our kids became true islanders.
I look back occasionally and try to imagine how things would have been for us if we never jumped. If we kept things the same. I even wonder if our marriage would have survived. I wonder if we would have stayed in a craft world. Of course, those questions can never be answered. What I do know is that I am grateful that we had a momentary lapse of our need for security, that we trusted our inner knowledge, that part of us that we didn’t even understand.
The morale I would come out with or that I would say to others when they are stuck in a rut . . . there are times when reason may not always be the answer. Sometimes you need to just go with your gut. Leap and the net will appear.
With love,
Suzanne
]]>First things first – before I start cleaning in earnest, I put on my work clothes and put my hair up. This is serious business and you have to dress for it! Next, I gather my basic cleaning supplies – old rags, paper towels, cleaning spray, Windex, gloves, swifter etc. – as well as perhaps the most important item – a big box for stuff going out the door. Then I pick one room to focus on first. It can get overwhelming to imagine cleaning the whole house, but I find that I can tackle an individual room in one go. And then finally, I get into the work itself.
Probably most people (who love spring cleaning) have their own method. A few years ago, the Life-Changing Magic Art of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo was all the rage, and many people were going through their possessions one by one to determine whether they sparked joy. While I admit that I did my fair share of talking to my possessions, I think that I am happiest when I combine tidying and cleaning with re-arranging! For me, it’s not just about the objects themselves, but how they fit into and help create space that makes the magic.
And magic is the goal. When I was a young child my mom would rearrange my room while I was at school. This may have driven some kids crazy, but I loved opening my door to a completely different room than I had left that morning. It made me see all my stuff – my toys, my books, my clothes – in a new light. That’s the feeling I’m still chasing.
So, how does this relate to cleaning? To be honest, it’s a bit of an organic process. I would recommend starting out slow. Pick a couple of drawers in your kitchen. Empty them out. Throw away anything that you can right away (old lists, dried-out pens, broken utensils), put anything else you are thinking of getting rid of in a box and then start loosely grouping the objects you want to keep into piles of things you think should go together. I like to clean as I go (give that drawer a wipe) and keep moving through the space. After a while, I tend to get an idea of how things in the space might shift: “Hmmm … when I get up in the morning the first thing I want is a cup of tea. Maybe I need to group all my tea stuff together into a tea station?”
And then when I’m starting to re-arrange (give my stuff a new home), I try to make that home as aesthetic as possible. Maybe I found some old tins lying around that are too nice to be kept in a bottom drawer and could sit on my counter and hold tea bags? Maybe all of my prettiest table knives can live in a jar by the toaster (ready to spread jam on toast)? But here is the real trick to the whole re-arranging/cleaning process. Unlike Marie Kondo, I am not a perfectionist. So, my most important advice is not to over-think it! The point here isn’t to go out and buy a bunch of new containers to help you organize (although you can do that too if you want), but just to spend some time in your space re-acquainting yourself with your stuff and seeing if the space can flow better. And as you are going along, throw away things that are broken and old and expired. And then put everything else that you don’t want or you don’t use into a box and straight out to your car to take to thrift!
I won’t lie though, there are tough decisions to be made. Lots of family members seem to deposit stuff at our house. So, every year there is a lot to go through. Plus, I am a bit sentimental. Sometimes I stress about whether I should keep every scribbled recipe, odd button, chipped teacup, old birthday card, and piece of art lovingly created by my grandkids. But the more I’m in the groove, the quicker I can make these decisions.
And at some point, after I’ve gone through every cupboard and drawer, and shifted enough of the small (and sometimes big) items in a room, the space starts to feel clean and fresh. This is the very best part of the process and as soon as you feel it you have to savor it! I recommend taking a break after you’ve finished a room and putting on the kettle. I love surveying my hard work with a cup of tea in hand, especially when Don is still in the barn finishing the very important project he is working on. While the cleanliness and order won’t last forever, that sense of satisfaction and moment of calm gives me a boost of energy that lasts weeks.
One last piece of advice: focus on the win! Don’t you dare look outside at all the yard work to be done. That’s tomorrow’s problem.
With love,
Suzanne xo
]]>I feel incredibly lucky, though, both as a daughter and as a mother, that I had the love and support of my mom, Shirley Sager. If you have read almost anything I've ever written, you will already know that I consider my mom to be one of the best people who ever walked the Earth. She was loving and nonjudgmental and genuinely interested in every person she met! Not that she was a perfect person by any means. She had her faults like anyone - she was indecisive and slow moving, which has probably led to me being a very quick decision-maker! But now that she is gone, I realize that I loved her for her faults just as much as her virtues.
With Mother's Day coming around the corner, I'm thinking about her a lot. And while I could tell one of the many stories about Mom which highlights all those parts of motherhood (and life) that she did flawlessly, I'd like to tell you one of my favorite funny stories about Mom. It may seem like a story about her faults, but really, it's about how much I love and miss her.
This is known in my family as the famous green pepper incident and if Don was reading this blog, he'd say, "not again!" But I'll tell him to give this one a miss . . .
So, Mom was not a cook. The day she married my dad she was 27 years old and her entire "cooking repertoire" was boiling water for tea and making toast. While my family always laughed at her lack of cooking skills, I realize now that Mom just had different priorities than most of her peers. In those days, my mom was considered an "old maid" by the time she got married. But she was anything but the stereotype of an old maid. She had spent her early twenties as a semi-professional singer, a stewardess (that was the term!) and a solo traveler. She loved fun and adventure, and learning to cook was low on her priority list!
Eventually, though, Mom had four kids to feed (back in the day when mothers were expected to do all the cooking!). In order to survive, Mom learned five recipes by heart and produced them week after week in the exact same order:
Sunday: roast of beef (overcooked and dry) with frozen peas and mashed potatoes.
Monday: left over roast made into something unrecognizable served with either frozen peas or carrots.
Tuesday: meatloaf with frozen peas and boiled potatoes.
Wednesday: fried pork chops with tinned creamed corn and boiled potatoes.
Thursday: sausages with mashed potatoes and frozen peas and carrots.
Friday (my personal favorite): frozen tv dinners.
Saturday: take-out Kentucky Fried chicken, with French fries and that soggy coleslaw that came with it.
And repeat . . .
So, you can imagine my complete shock when I arrived home from school one Wednesday and there were no pork chops frying in the pan.
I remember asking, “So what's for dinner?”
She replied, with some pride and excitement, "I am making something gourmet."
“Oh”, I said, “And what is that?"
"Stuffed Green Peppers!"
After some further discussion, I realized that Mom’s gourmet meal consisted solely of stuffing raw ground beef into hollowed out green peppers. Poor Mom never had a sense of smell, so didn't really understand the concept of adding spices to a dish. She also didn't think of adding bread crumbs or eggs to the mixture, or making sides to round out the meal. Instead, she had simply plopped three peppers filled with ground beef onto a Pyrex dish and flung the dish into the oven.
I remember peering into the oven and noticing that the ground beef looked suspiciously pink. Around that time, my dad called from the TV room, "Shirley, when will dinner be ready? I'm starving."
"Soon," Mom called back, cranking the oven as high as it could go. We both watched the peppers intently as they quickly turned black and shriveled, which probably would have been fine had the entire Pyrex dish not exploded - loudly, and into a hundred pieces!
I remember Dad calling anxiously from the TV room, "What was that?"
"Nothing," Mom replied as she opened the oven door and began the valiant attempt to save the little green peppers. Never one to waste a thing (and there was nothing else to serve anyway), Mom carefully inspected each pepper and removed all the tiny shards of glass she could find within the blackened pepper flesh and pink ground. She then scooped the slightly mangled pieces of pepper together and placed one pepper (more or less) onto each plate to be served.
I'll never forget the suspicious look on my dad's face as he prodded the lump of pepper and raw beef with his fork. I'll give him some credit that he tried to make the most of it and picked up a fairly generous portion of the meal with his fork. Unfortunately, that first bite contained one or two glass shares, which he bit down onto (hard!). Dad spat out the entire mouthful (thank goodness) and exclaimed with total sincerity, "Shirley, you are trying to kill me!" Without another word, he walked out the door, got in the car, and drove to McDonalds.
Needless to say, it was back to pork chops the following Wednesday!
It also probably comes as no surprise that it took many years before poor Mom tried a new dish again, and that I never inherited any beloved family recipes. In fact, I have a very strong aversion to pork chops, roasts and mushy peas. But I was the lucky beneficiary of so much more.
Mom couldn't really care less about food, but she cared enormously about people. She was always the last to finish a meal, and while she blamed that fact on her "small esophagus" I think it was probably just that she spent most of dinner talking to the people seated at the table. That was the most important part of the meal for her.
She could talk to anyone and she talked to everyone. Even as an older person (when it's so easy to close up), she chatted at length with every clerk, every bank teller, and every one of my kid's friends. And she saw the best in everyone. Mom met people where they were.
I wrote our bestselling Mothers Typewriter Sign with my own Mom in mind. What sentiments would encapsulate Motherhood and what would Mom want to be given? Mom always loved the written word and used it as a form of showing her love. In fact, her long hand-written letters are what inspired the line in the first place.
So, if you haven't already read through our Mothers Typewriter Sign or Tea Towel, I encourage you to do so now. It may look like a long read, but I assure you, it will make you think about all the Mothers in your life. I am certain any Mother you think of, who is out there doing her best, would appreciate its words.
Mothers deserve all the praise in the world, not only on Mothers Day, but every day. Our Typewriter Tea Towels & Wooden Signs are our special ode to Mothers.
This year on Mother's Day, like every day, I'll be thinking of Mom. Maybe I'll even make some stuffed green peppers in her honor!
With love,
Suzanne
]]>I hope you all had a very happy Easter! We had a lot of fun around the house despite the fact that it rained all weekend. The kids put on their rain gear and trudged out into the forest anyway to see what the Easter bunny had left for them. We even managed to get out for a hike one morning when the clouds cleared. But, although we made the best of it, I admit that we did grumble a bit about the weather. At one point, one of my daughters asked the group to dig into our collective memory to figure out how often Easter is a "nice" weekend. We came to the conclusion that it is sunny just often enough that we hope for it, but that more often than not, come Easter time, we haven't put away our winter boots yet. And maybe that's just fine. You need a bit of rain to really appreciate the sun.
Also, in this family, you need a little "weather" to set the scene for any story and to track the seasons of your life. As some of you may know, Don is a Winnipeg-boy, and he grew up with very distinct and drastically different seasons. His childhood was one of bitterly cold and windy winters and stinking hot summers. And I've noticed that for the Winnipeg side of our family, in particular, the weather is a matter of keen interest!
Don and I call his Winnipeg family almost every Sunday and, without exception, every conversation begins with a detailed description of the weather and a comparison of the weather on Salt Spring and in Winnipeg. Although some people might think there is more "weather" in Winnipeg, this West Coast side of the family always has a lot to say too. Sometimes Don misses the crisp but bright Winnipeg winters of his childhood and I think the grey, damp BC winters took some getting used to.
But even so, it seems that the topic of weather endures. We go from the rain, the wet, the cold, the gloom, the snow, the hail, the sleet, the windstorm, the atmospheric river, the floods, and then all of a sudden (but briefly) it seems we talk a lot about the heat, the humidity, the drought, the UV index, and then before you know it, we are back to the cold, the rain, the snow. This just might be an "our family thing," but I suspect it's really a Canadian thing.
We used to visit a small town on the Pacific coast of Mexico and I still have this town on my weather app. Every time I look it up, the weather is 28 degrees Celsius and sunny. I sometimes wonder whether I would talk about the weather quite so much if I lived there. Would I wake up and exclaim every morning, "Oh, it's 28 and sunny!"? I have a feeling it wouldn't be such an event.
But up here in Canada, I think the conversation is inevitable. Just the other day on Saltspring it went from warm, Springtime weather to hail and back again in the same day! Impossible not to tell you about!
And even though it's officially Spring - and I admit, I'm ready for the sun - I'm trying to remember that old adage: April showers bring May flowers! And since I LOVE flowers, I'm just putting on my raincoat and rainboots, and feeling grateful that I had some exciting news to share with my family this Sunday!
With love,
Suzanne xo
]]>There's the cleaning/blowing out the yolk (I would love to know what the magic secret is, but for me, blowing all that yolk out of a pin prick hole was a challenge!). I admit I did feel some relief once that part was over. Do any of you have any special tricks to share with me?! I'm all ears! Next, the decorating. I found the best method was to draw delicately with white wax crayons. Then lastly, the dying process! You must be very neat and tidy and not mix the dyes or else it makes a colossal mess.
In the end, a few eggs broke, a few looked a little dull, but we did manage to get enough for two little displays. Erica and I are still chuckling over our morning’s effort for such small fruit of our labours, but luckily the time spent together was truly worth it.
It reminded me how important these little crafting traditions are. If not for the pure delight of the children in our lives, but for the time spent creating something beautiful together. And that is where the magic lies!
My daughter Erica has also planned the most incredible Easter egg hunt for her nephews (my grandsons). The two boys are currently dragon-obsessed and Erica has meticulously thought out a hunt led by notes from different dragons around the yard. Each card features a drawing of a different dragon and the boys must read the notes in order to find the next clue. Such good fun and I simply cannot wait!
The hunt doesn't have to be for chocolate, however! A few friends here on Salt Spring Island are organizing a "garbage hunt" with their children on Sunday morning. The idea is to gather and pick up garbage in their favorite areas around the island for an hour. Such a great way to spend time together and give back to the community. I just love it! Rethinking the Easter hunt.
So, for everyone out there, I hope you enjoy this weekend of Easter celebration. May it be time well spent with the people you love most. And filled with magic, of course!
I will leave you with a bit of humour . . . because I imagine we will all feel this way after the long weekend!
As always, send us an email with any tips or feedback. What are some of your Easter crafting traditions? I would love to hear from you!
With Love
Suzanne
]]>A “bottom drawer” is a place in your home that you keep all the little gifts that you have randomly purchased in advance without the end receiver in mind. Small treasures are saved for that last minute occasion when you need the perfect gift in a hurry! A quick thank you gift, a hostess gift, a friend’s birthday gift; when the special day snuck up on you and you forgot (horrors), a baby gift when invited to a last-minute shower, a small teacher gift, a special little something to give to someone that needs a lift… Of course, there are constantly reasons for gift giving and often in our hectic modern lives the need arrives at inopportune times. Knowing that you have a secret stash of beautiful little gifts feels so satisfying. This habit was a constant for my mother and I certainly have emulated many of her habits, including this one. Maybe it is the old Girl Guide in me…Be Prepared!
Historically the bottom drawer was the place a young woman kept all the household objects collected for use after marriage - for setting up a home. Linens, cutlery, quilts, blankets, dishes and so on. I’m not sure when this version of the bottom drawer changed, but for my mother and all of her contemporaries, having a bottom drawer was the newer version of a gift stash, not a household stash. For me, a generation later, it is still ESSENTIAL. Anyone who knows me is aware that gift giving is an important part of my love language and you can see why I feel a necessity to encourage giving little gifts. So in case you feel like me and want to stock up, you know I would say “Good idea!”
Here are some ideas for different occasions:
1) Our best-selling Gratitude Typewriter Tea Towel is a thank you gift that encompasses the meaning of gratitude.
2) Our new hand-poured "It's Good To Be Home" candle for a little hostess gift.
3) Our new Happy Birthday Timber Bit is a great substitute for a birthday card or a great addition to give alongside one.
4) Our new Sweetie Pie wall Tile "Scrub a Dub Dub" for the last minute baby shower invite.
5) Our best-selling You Make a Forever Difference Art Block for a small teacher gift.
6) Our best-selling In the End (Buddha) Little Gem is a special little something for someone that needs their spirit lifted.
Keep the love flowing.
With love,
Suzanne
]]>How has it been almost ten months since I sat down to write to you all?My dear mom would be shocked to know that I have left any correspondence so long! If Mom was here, I suppose I would tell her that life, as always, has been busy and full. I would tell her that at Cedar Mountain, besides designing and making things we love, we’ve been celebrating birthdays, compiling tasting notes on our favourite baked goods, and laughing a lot. I would also mention all the time Don and I have spent playing with our grandkids, visiting family and entertaining friends. And I would explain that somehow, in the middle of all the busy-ness, ten months just slipped by without me noticing. And Mom, who was really never judgmental, would nod her head, say she understood and then ask about those baked goods and whether we might have some with tea.Mom loved the holiday season and one of her many annual rituals was sending Christmas letters to friends and family, especially her relatives in the UK. She didn't just send one or two-line Christmas cards, but instead spent hours hand-writing lengthy letters, with her impeccable penmanship, describing in great detail the accomplishments of every member of the family. My dad always tried to convince her to either type her letters or hand-write one letter and photocopy it, but Mom wouldn't hear of it. She wrote individualized letters to every person on her list. And so, in honour of Mom, I have put on the kettle and poured myself a cup of PG Tips before sitting down to tell you more about what we've been up to. Although, following Dad's advice, I'm typing!This past year, like most years, has been full of ups and downs. Of course, ongoing sadness on the world stage affects us all, and also highlights how lucky most of us living in Canada are. I try to remember that when I look at my grocery bill and feel the pinch of inflation and a global recession. I also try to remember that I'm lucky to still have so many people in my life who love to raid my fridge! My youngest daughter, son-in-law, and two grandsons still live next door and my grandsons spend every Saturday with Don and me. There's lots of snacking involved! My oldest daughter was on maternity leave for most of the year and spent a big chunk of it on Salt Spring with her family. It was a joy to watch my granddaugther grow into a one-year-old toddler before my eyes! My son, who lives in London, also spent some time in Vancouver for work and we were lucky to be able to visit him and our daughter-in-law both in Canada and the UK this year.While there's lots more to say about each of my kids and grandkids, this year, I'd like to spend a bit more time telling you what Don (or Donnie, as Mom used to affectionately call him!) has been up to. Anyone who has met me for five minutes knows that I love to brag about my kids and my grandkids. It's now a running joke in the family that all my grandkids are "advanced" (although, to be fair, that's true!). But I don't often boast about Don, who has been my partner in life and in this business for over 40 years! Sometimes it's easy to take your most constant people for granted. Although, one of the things I love about Don is that he doesn't sit still long -- he constantly has ideas for our life and the business. This year, at the age of 69, Don decided he wanted to become a candle-maker!After years of making wood-based products, Don wanted to work with a new medium; and as with everything he does, Don threw himself into the project. Whenever I wondered where Don was on a weekday evening or Sunday afternoon, I would walk down to our barn to find him hard at work stewing over vats of coconut and soy wax. For a year, it's been all about pour temperature, burn time and of course, concocting the perfect scent. I think every one of us at Cedar Mountain has smelled a hundred different combinations of essential oils! And so, after lots of experimenting, fun and hard work, we have introduced a line of small-batch, hand-poured candles with Don's signature "coastal mountain" scent. As with everything we do at Cedar Mountain, we wanted the candles to say something, to make people laugh or reflect. We wanted something that could be given as a gift with a little extra meaning. While I find it hard to pick a favourite, the candle on my table right now says "It's good to be home."And as we get closer to the end of the year, that's how I'm feeling. It's good to be home during these long, dark evenings, especially when the fire is on and the lights are soft. After a year of busy-ness, it's good to sink into winter for a while -- to wear cozy socks, drink tea, snuggle into the couch, and go to bed early. I hope it feels good to you too! And whether you are hosting your entire family or have plans for a calm and low-key season, I hope your holidays are happy! Wishing you all the best for the new year!xoxo SuzanneUntil then,
February 1 is Chinese New Year, marking the Lunar New Year, as well as National Dark Chocolate Day (what a sweet day!).
February 2 is Groundhog Day. Six more weeks of winter or maybe winter will quit early …
February 3 is National Carrot Cake Day. This is good for my friend Joanne, who is a carrot cake aficionado.
February 8 is National Opera Day. This is particularly special for me as my niece Mikayla was just hired by the San Francisco Opera Company. Brava Mikayla!
February 13 is World Radio Day (yay CBC!).
February 18 is National Wine Drinking Day (with some delicious cheese and a baguette please!).
February 20 is National Love Your Pet Day. This won’t be hard for my grandsons, who just got two little kittens (Woodlock and Miu Miu).
February 22 is World Thinking Day, which is a day for girl guides and reminds me of my own childhood days as a guide.
And, of course, there is Valentine’s Day on February 14 (preceded by the only slightly less well known Galentine’s Day on February 13 – thank you Tina Fey!).
Valentine’s Day can sometimes get a bad rap as overly sentimental and commercialized. The day can also feel like a lot of pressure for people. But, while I am admittedly a bit of a mush and so a natural lover of the day, I think Valentine’s needs to be re-imagined as more than a day for young sweethearts and puppy love.
First of all, Valentine’s Day is bound to be stressful if it’s the only day we tell the people in our lives (our parents, friends, pets, kids, partners etc.) that we love them. I think the best policy is to take every opportunity to say “I love you”. Again, I am a mush and come from a long line of sentimental, hugging sort of people. But, I have never found that saying “I love you” diminishes the importance of those words. Love doesn’t need to be rationed; it isn’t finite. So, my motto is never to be stingy with my love, and instead to give it freely every day, including on Valentine’s Day.
And, of course, love comes in so many different packages. Some of the dearest loves of my life are my friends, a number of whom have been with me since childhood - including the incomparable Sa Boothroyd! Besides growing up together on the North Shore, Sa and I were roommates in our early twenties and have been fellow craftspeople and friends for our whole adult lives. We still chat on the phone almost daily at around 6 in the morning while we drink our first cups of tea.
While it didn’t happen on Galentine’s Day, back in our roommate days, Sa made one of the best Valentine-esque grand gestures I have ever received! At that time, I was a big fan of the colour red (I still am actually) and one of my favourite sayings was, “I am committed to red”. Red has always symbolized more than just romantic love for me. It also represents passion, courage and joie de vivre. Back in my early twenties, one of the slightly less joyful parts of my life was my long commute to Simon Fraser University. Every weekday I drove the same route, past Park Royal. On my 20th birthday, Sa (always an early riser) got up at the crack of dawn and strung a huge sign across the overpass with "I AM COMMITTED TO RED" written in large red letters. And that sign was still there when I drove under it at 8 am that morning. Who knows what other commuters thought that sign was about, but for me it was a love letter from a true friend.
Over the years, I have also discovered that love can come at any age. One of my favourite love stories is that of my Uncle Arthur, who was by nature a romantic. Uncle Arthur lived a full and amazing life. He was lucky to survive fighting in World War II, and during his time in London, to act with the likes of Vivian Lee at the Old Vic Theatre. Uncle Arthur went on to have three talented children (and later many wonderful grandchildren), to work for the United Nations in Rome and, after retirement, to spend years drinking red wine and "living it up" in Aix en Provence. Finally, in his 80s, when Arthur was single, he moved to British Columbia to be closer to family. And it was at senior's home in Victoria, after years of globe trotting, that Arthur finally met the romantic love of his life - Scottie. Although Arthur and Scottie were both in their 80s when they met, their love was as giddy and sweet as any teenager’s.
I remember one family reunion at Crescent Beach when Uncle Arthur asked me if I had been up early and written something in the sand. He told me that he had woken up to find "I LOVE YOU ARTHUR" written in giant letters in front of his cabin. I'll never forget the smile on Arthur's face when I told him that it hadn't been me. "Oh, then it must have been Scottie", he said. Arthur was 88 years old at the time. It is really never too late to fall in love, and probably even more importantly, to tell the people in your life that you love them. Even better, say it in giant letters strung in the sky or written in the sand.
Oh, and have a piece of carrot cake on February 3!
Suzanne Zacharias,
Co-Founder & Head Tea Drinker, Cedar Mountain Studios]]>A few years ago, we started making a magnet with the quote, “I’m not bossy, I just have better ideas”, and I always thought, “that’s me!” I just tend to be the person in my family with a scheme for our next grand (or modest) adventure. I’ve found that January is the month when we all need little plans, schemes and adventures the most. The sad reality is that Christmas, with all its buzz, energy and excitement, is over. The tree is well and truly dead, and the decorations must come down and be packed away for next year. In our house, the difference can be so stark and the house can feel so empty. This year, more than ever, I found myself with a case of the January blues and decided that I needed to make an effort to embrace the month.
My first thought was that although Christmas is over, winter isn’t and decorations don’t have to be either. So once the Christmas tree had come down, I decided to set up what my family is now calling the “winter tree” (although it is really a branch). Here on Saltspring we have arbutus trees with beautiful red and burnt orange bark, and I looked for an arbutus branch with an interesting shape that was big enough to make an impact. I positioned the branch in an old metal bucket, using big stones to hold it in place, and covered the stones with moss. Next, I wound tiny battery-operated lights around the branches and used a few of my woodland ornaments (glass birds and a felt owl) to decorate them. We have decided that this is the start of a new family tradition and I highly recommend setting up a “winter tree” to keep some of the glow and magic of Christmas flowing into the New Year.
This year, as always, I also spent some time “playing house”, which just means rearranging a bit. While it’s something I like to do all year round, there is really no better time than right after cleaning up Christmas. It’s amazing how often Don will ask if something is new and I answer, “no, just moved”. A little change can make a big impact! In January, in particular, it’s important to add a bit of coziness in your day-to-day life. Leave a few strings of twinkly lights, light candles and make a fire in your fireplace (even if that just means turning on the gas). For even more coziness, wear wool clothes and fuzzy slippers, and eat warm homemade soup. It just feels so good!
With even less travel and fewer obligations than normal this January, Don and I have decided to really sink into our home life. I would recommend going to the library and getting a stack of books to put by your bed (and then going to bed early so you can read them - that’s my favourite part!). It’s also a great time to get some puzzle outs. Did you forget to send out Christmas cards last year? This year, I’m trying to write a few letters to friends just for the heck of it. It is such a great feeling to put a stamp on an envelope and drop it in a mailbox, and an even better feeling to receive old-fashioned mail!
While I am loving cozying up this January, I know that I always feel great after being outside. This year we’ve had tons of snow and rain, but as they say, there is no bad weather, just bad clothing! While New Years is typically the time everyone joins the gym, I think it’s hard to beat a good walk. It feels great to breathe fresh air and, if you can, get out into nature. I have never returned from a walk and thought “well that was a bad idea”. So don’t overthink it! Just do it! And I promise your house will feel even cozier when you’ve returned.
While I love making lists, plans and goals, I find that my goals tend to involve doing more of the things I already know that I love. This year, I have decided to branch out a little - my one new “thing” is to learn Italian. I’ve found a great app and am now trying to make this a part of my daily routine. I’ll let you know how it goes! But for this month, anyway, my main goal is to take it a bit easy, create a space that lifts the spirits, and get outside.
I wish you all a warm and cozy January and a great start to the year. Best of luck in pursuing whatever dreams and goals you may have for 2022!
Suzanne Zacharias,
Co-Founder & Head Tea Drinker, Cedar Mountain Studios
With the year drawing to a close it feels like the right time to look back over the past 12 months and reflect on what has happened; what was good, what was not so good, what was learned and what still needs some work.
We laugh (and cry) together quite a lot at Cedar Mountain. We are a small group of people and nothing happens here without everyone else sharing in the news. Similarly, no new product is developed without everyone putting in their two cents.
Last year, while the team was choosing some funny new sayings for our LOL line, we laughed the hardest over, “Marty, whatever you do, don’t go back to 2020." (Don't we all sometimes wish we could get into the DeLorean and fly to another time with Michael J. Fox.) And now we have been joking to one another, "don't go back to 2021 either!"
The past few years have held some very serious challenges for just about everyone and I know most communities are getting pretty worn down by COVID. While everyone at Cedar Mountain is used to the new ways - the masks, the social distancing - it is still difficult to remain positive as new variants emerge and the health landscape seems to shift. I keep thinking of the old adage, "hope for the best and prepare for the worst".
2021 came with a lot of personal challenges for me as well. And yet, within even my most difficult times of 2021, I was lucky enough to find glimmers of joy, peace and hope.
Last year, I had to move my dear old Dad, Henry Sager, twice as his mobility declined in the last year of his life and he passed on September 30. While his passing left me and the rest of my family with heavy hearts, we are so grateful that we got to witness Dad reach age 100 in pretty good health and that his passing was peaceful. He has left a legacy of adventures, shenanigans, larger-than-life stories and great fun, all of which I am so lucky to remember.
2021 was also the year that both Don and I were diagnosed with cancer, which was really shocking and difficult at first. Luckily, we are both doing well right now and are counting our blessings for the great medical care system in British Columbia. Although we have been thinking about our front-line health care workers a lot in the past two years, Don and I are even more personally grateful than ever for all the doctors, nurses and technicians who helped us over the last year. Every single person we met along the way in the cancer journey was compassionate, kind, and seriously good at their jobs. We also felt so loved by our family and friends and especially our team at Cedar Mountain who gave us the gift of a month of delicious and wholesome food!
Don and I have had a number of other big changes this year. Our daughter, Amy, and our son-in-law, Dan, bought our retail store on Salt Spring Island. They are doing a fantastic job making it their own and filling the shelves with beautiful and thoughtful products. If you are on the island, please check out "Folk, Stock and Trade" - you won't be disappointed!
Another great blessing was that our oldest daughter, Erica, had a beautiful baby girl in October. We are now grandparents to our two dear grandsons and a granddaughter. We feel very lucky!
And our lovely son, Aubrey, and his wonderful wife, Hannah, who live in London, England, are living in British Columbia for a few months for work. Having them close by is a wonderful gift!
When I look back at the ups and downs of the past year, I am reminded of the beautiful words of L.R. Knost:
Life is amazing.
And then it is awful.
And then it is amazing again.
And in between the amazing
and the awful, it’s ordinary
and mundane and routine.
Breathe in the amazing,
hold on through the awful,
and relax and exhale
during the ordinary. That’s
just living heartbreaking,
soul-healing, amazing, awful,
ordinary life. And it’s
breathtakingly beautiful.
My sincerest wish is that we can keep some hope in our hearts during these difficult times and strive to live by the golden rule. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. You just can’t go wrong with that one.
I hope that this holiday season is a healthy and happy one for you and all you love.
Suzanne Zacharias,
Co-Founder & Head Tea Drinker, Cedar Mountain Studios
One of my favorite sights of the season (besides my family of course) is the sight of presents wrapped and nestled under the Christmas tree. As you might have guessed, gifts are my love language. But even more than opening the perfect gift on Christmas morning, I love giving gifts to other people. I am a firm believer that the true joy of Christmas is being Santa Claus.
I come by my love of gift giving honestly. Last year, I wrote a bit about Christmas memories of my parents, who were furniture merchants, and my dad making late night deliveries on Christmas Eve with my brother and me in tow (like Santa, except we flew in the back of a delivery truck and not a sleigh). But Christmas was about much more than business for my parents. They loved the coziness and merriment of the season. They would decorate every inch of their store, string twinkly lights in the street and serve mulled wine and goodies to anyone who came in to buy a last minute present or just to chat. They put the same amount of love and effort into our family home, where the decorations centered around a beautifully decorated Christmas tree piled high with presents for us and our entire extended family.
My parents understood the magic of opening presents. All autumn, we would make do with holey socks and pants that had grown too short because my mom wanted to stockpile more presents for Christmas. She taught me that even humble things can be magical if you treat them that way. And on Christmas morning, us kids would sneak down the stairs to the wonder of stockings filled to the brim and the joy of finally opening the presents with our names on the tags. The gifts weren’t expensive, but they were always beautifully wrapped and given with as much delight as they were received.
This Christmas, I am reflecting on what my parents taught me about the art of gift giving and a few of the lessons I’ve learned along the way. It’s an art you can practice all year, but it comes in handy the most around the holidays. In the spirit of the season, I’ve pared down my list to twelve lessons:
Speaking of lists, make one.
Just like Santa, it’s good to get organized. I like to make a cup of tea and give myself some time to reflect – part of the beauty of gift giving is taking time to think about someone when they are not around.
Remember the people in your day-to-day life.
My mom practiced this all year round. She was both a people person and an amateaur photographer and loved to photograph everyone – her neighbours, her hairdresser, her dry-cleaner. Back in the days of film, Mom always developed seconds to give out to the friends and acquaintances she’d photographed. She knew the value of our daily connections.
For me, Christmas is a time to give a little extra, and to let the people in my day-to-day life know just how much I appreciate them. The crew at Cedar Mountain is always at the top of my list.
Remember the people you don’t see often enough.
Christmas is also a time to reconnect with old friends, with family that live far away, and with those people who you carry around in your heart even if you don’t see them everyday. Plus, there is an extra special delight in the gift that arrives by mail.
Give a gift someone wouldn’t buy for themselves.
I love to give gifts that are a little frivolous or fun. As my dad used to say, we all need to live a little. He understood the magic of a surprise, of the gift bought on a whim!
Handmade things have a little extra meaning.
Things made by hand are often a little less perfect, but a little more personal. I also love knowing the story behind an object and inherited this love from my parents as well, who often had personal connections with the makers whose wares they sold.
Don’t give anything with a plug.
In my experience, most things with plugs are not frivolous or fun. When it comes to gift giving, I live by the rule “ function last”!
Even small things can inspire.
I find that the small objects in my day-to-day life, the things I put on my kitchen counter or hang above the bathroom sink, set the tone of my days and inspire me to play and to hope. I try to give gifts that might do the same.
But don’t overthink it.
In the end, it’s not actually about the gift itself, but the act of giving. Gift giving is a way of telling someone you love them or appreciate them, and the gift is really a token of that love or appreciation.
Gifts don’t need to be expensive.
Love and appreciation don’t have price tags after all.
Present wrapping is one of my favourite Christmas activities. I like to set up a wrapping station in my bedroom (much to Don’s chagrin) and watch an episode or two of Gilmore Girls while I cut, tape and tie to my heart’s content. For me, wrapping a gift is part of how you bake in the magic.
Give it with gratitude.
Sometimes being Santa has its stresses, and if I am ever feeling overwhelmed by my list, I remember how lucky I am to have every single person on that list in my life.
Receive in the spirit that you give.
It’s especially important to remember this when you unwrap a present on Christmas morning to discover that your husband has bought you a gift from the hardware store. Even a leaf blower can be magical if given with love.
Warm wishes & kisses this holiday season,
Suzanne xo
My best childhood memories are simple ones, like my mom greeting me every day after school with a mildly rhetorical question, “shall I put the kettle on?” It was an inquiry that was posed to me every day when I arrived home from school, and my answer was always “yes please.”
My mom was of British descent so tea was routine in our house and it was made properly. The ceramic pot was warmed, two bags were added, rapidly boiled water was poured in, a tea cozy was nestled on top, and a timer was set for five minutes of steeping. Tea was always served with milk and cookies.
When the tea was ready we’d sit together chatting while we warmed our hands on our mugs. I’d tell mom about my day and relish her expressions of joy or sympathy. We’d quietly ponder our lives while recharging our energies for homework and dinner making.
I often think about this ritual with fondness. I relish the small details like my favourite mug and taking a minute to relax in the middle of a day.
But First Tea Typewriter Tea Towel
My mom has since passed away, but the memory still gives me so much comfort and joy. Right now, during these very strange times, I’m reminding myself to treasure the small things, like a hot cup of tea shared with someone you love, because as it turns out, in the long run, they matter a lot.
XO Suzanne Zacharias
Co-Founder & Head Tea Drinker, Cedar Mountain Studios
Forest bathing is gaining notoriety, but not everyone is in the know yet. Last week, when I told a friend about our new Forest Bathing Typewriter sign, her response was, "What do you mean. Do you romp around the forest naked?"
While that does sound kinda fun, I'm happy to report that forest bathing is, for most people, a fully clothed activity. The term was coined by the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in the 1980s. In Japan, it's called Shinrin-Yoku, which technically means bathing yourself in a forest atmosphere or absorbing the forest through your senses.
You might be happy to know that you don't have to be in shape. To successfully practice Shinrin-Yoku, you simply have to be in nature and use your sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch to connect with the world around you. It doesn't have to involve hiking, and unless it's a hot day, you're unlikely to sweat during a forest bath.
It's also mostly free. Just find a quiet place with a bunch of trees and turn off your phone. Observe the sounds, sights, textures, and smells. Stroll slowly with no destination in mind, touching everything as you go, or lie down and examine the sky through the canopy.
Just take your time and remind yourself that you don't have to be anywhere except where you are. Hold your attention in the present moment, and let your body be your guide. Let nature enter through your ears, eyes, nose, mouth, hands, and feet. Listen to the birds' songs and the rustle of leaves. Or, notice the quiet. Examine the varying shades of green and the shapes filtering sunlight casts on the soil.
The simple fact is that forest bathing makes humans feel good. Our bodies and minds respond positively to the sounds and scents of nature. Being in nature calms our busy brains and comforts our souls. It helps us relax, think clearly, benefits our mood, and builds our energy and vitality.
Simply put, whether we're in an ancient old-growth forest, in a neighborhood park, or in your own garden, being surrounded by trees is rejuvenating. It's a proven fact that spending time in nature is good for us. Scientific studies have demonstrated that spending time under a forest canopy reduces our blood pressure, lowers our cortisol levels, and improves our concentration and memory. It also reduces tension, anger, fatigue, depression, confusion, and anxiety. Further, a chemical released by trees and plants, called phytoncides, boosts our immune system.
Most of us Canadians live in urban areas, and many of us spend more than 90% of our time indoors. This is not optimal because we, humans, are designed to be connected to the natural world.
I know how it feels to lose track of nature for long periods. We are makers and must frequently travel to sell our wares. We love it, and the people we meet on the road are exciting and energizing. However, ceaseless travel is hard, and I often return home to Saltspring Island feeling rundown and with frayed nerves.
We're lucky to live surrounded by forests, so when I get home from a long trip, the first thing I do is grab my sneakers and find a dirt trail, telling myself that unpacking and laundry can wait. I walk into the woods feeling washed out and frazzled and return feeling refreshed and grounded.
I've always known that spending time among the trees, rain or shine, is as essential to my health as brushing my teeth or eating vegetables. I never understood why until I discovered the theory of Forest Bathing.
So, I urge you to find some trees and spend some time among them. I promise you won't regret it.
If you want to take off your clothes, that is entirely up to you.
With Love,
XO Suzanne, Co-Founder & Head Tea Drinker, Cedar Mountain Studios
Shop now: Forest Bathing Typewriter Sign
]]>I can still picture my mother’s kitchen. Even though, it’s been decades since I last sat at my mom’s table, drinking tea, when I close my eyes every detail comes immediately alive in my memory.
My mother loved yellow and she adored wallpaper. For her kitchen, she chose sunny yellow and white checked paper and then painted her wood cupboards to match. The cupboards had white knobs and black hardware and were complemented by a yellow fridge, red brick linoleum flooring, a stained-glassed light fixture hanging over the table, yellow pantry canisters, and rag rugs.
My mom loved her kitchen and I also adore mine. It’s the coziest part of our house and where our family and friends most often congregate. The kettle is nearby, always on hand for a cup of tea.
My kitchen doesn’t resemble my mom’s. I like earth tones with splashes of black and grey and stainless steel and natural coloured accents. But one thing that remains a constant from my mom’s kitchen to mine is an abundance of tea towels. There was, and is, always a beloved tea towel hanging on our respective stove handles.
When my mom traveled, she always returned with tea towels from the places she visited and now I do the same. I inherited my mom’s lifelong adoration of tea towels and her belief that a tea towel is an ideal gift for almost any occasion. First, it is hard, if not impossible, to accumulate too many tea towels. Additionally, they are useful, look lovely on display, don’t break, are easy to ship, and are just the right price for a gift.
I am pretty sure that I have passed this family obsession down to my kids, at least I hope I have because I truly believe in the joy a good tea towel provides.
It is with this joy in my heart that we release Cedar Mountain’s first run of cotton art tea towels hand-printed featuring some of our favourite and most popular designs.
Shop the collection: Art Tea Towels
]]>We’re a family of biking enthusiasts. Cycling is our favorite lunch break topic and a sure-fire way to get our co-founder (and my adorable husband) Don in a happy mood. We love to relive past biking trips, dream about future trips, and talk about our daily local ride. We have long discussions of bike models, parts, weights, mechanics, clothing, and anything else related to two-wheeled, muscle-powered transportation.
For us, like many others, having more time to ride a bike was an unexpected positive side of COVID. With gyms closed, and a desire to avoid public transit, many people rediscovered the joys of cycling during this trying time. We can’t think of a better way to ride out this crisis than on a bike. Cycling clears your mind, feeds your soul, and keeps you in shape.
I remember learning to ride a bike as clear as day. The moment I found my balance, pushed on the pedals, and moved forward without falling was truly exhilarating. I fell madly in love with my green banana seat bike. It gave me the freedom to explore and I rode it around our neighbourhood every chance I got.
Those of us who grew up in the sixties and seventies were lucky to have the freedom to roam. Our parents weren’t overly concerned about our whereabouts so we could ride unsupervised for hours, exploring the world without a care. As we got older and upgraded to bikes with gears we could roam ever further. It was a pure, glorious, wind in your face, joy in your soul, exhilarating kind of indulgence.
One of the best memories of my youth is a European cycling trip I took with my dearest friend Sa Boothroyd in my twenties. Sa was my college roommate, the only person besides my parents, husband, and kids I’ve ever lived with. She’s creative, athletic, adventurous, quirky, original, and just so much fun. I laugh all the time when I am with Sa. She helps me see the lighter side of life.
I could fill volumes with memories from that trip. I learned the joys of meandering French roads, fresh baguettes with cheese, red wine, delightful scarves, and of course Paris. I discovered the bliss of traveling light, the satisfaction of deep sleep after a long day in the saddle, and the infinitely satisfying feeling of powering your own travel.
Our families now share a love of cycling. Sa’s oldest daughter Lucy, my goddaughter, came in first this year in the World Enduro series in the U21 category for cycling. Follow Lucy Schick on Instagram and be impressed. She’s incredible.
Some of our best family memories were made on bikes. My husband Don and my son Aubrey rode from London to Paris in a charity event to honor the veterans of the Second World War. The finish line was a sprint down the Champs Elysee ending at the Arc de Triomphe. They also completed a Gran Fondo in Majorca, Spain. It was a crazy ride and I was happy to cheer them on from the sidelines.
My daughter Amy says her favorite trip of all time was a family cycling trip in Corsica. Amy is now the mother of two sweet boys, the oldest of which is getting his first gear bike this year. Don and I are anticipating a three-generation family cycling trip. It’s a dream that motivates us to stay fit.
So this week we’re celebrating the anticipation of long warm summer days, and the many joys of cycling by releasing our new Cycling Typewriter Sign. We’d also love you to check out the beautiful tea towels designed and handmade by my good friend Sa, and of course, there is one dedicated to Reasons For Bike.
Affectionately,
Suzanne Zacharias
Co-founder & Tea Drinker
“We come from the earth. We return to the Earth. And in between we garden.” Alfred Austin
For us, a silver lining of having to deal with all the challenges of COVID this last year is that being at home, with some extra time on our hands, has sparked a renewed love of gardening for many of us.
Our daughter Amy and her husband Dan completely transformed their backyard. They tore up their grass, built a fence to keep out the Saltspring rabbits and deer, and installed raised garden beds. My husband Don and I assumed this project would be short-lived, but oh how wrong we were.
Gardening is now a daily activity and a constant source of joy for Amy, Dan, and their kids. They all feel very proud of the plants they are nurturing from the ground where nothing but grass used to be. Now instead of rushing to the grocery store to buy produce, they can simply walk to the backyard and grab veggies.
It’s been delightful for us to watch this passion grow. Seeing veggies erupt from the earth, surrounded by the cheerful voices of our grandkids, tickles us pink. It reminds me of a sweet quote by Jenny Uglow - ” We might think we are nurturing our garden, but of course it’s our garden that is nurturing us”
So today let’s celebrate silver linings growing in full color from the earth in our backyards.
Happy Gardening,
XO Suzanne Zacharias, Co-Founder & Head Tea Drinker, Cedar Mountain Studios
Shop the Collection: Gardening Love
]]>After high school, Jocelyne studied art at Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, and then later at Ecole Des Beaux-Arts in Geneva. After that, she worked as a designer in her parent’s gift product company. Her Canadian themed designs, featuring iconic symbols like maple leaves, bears and moose, were sold in souvenir stores throughout Canada.
Eventually, Jocelyne started her own company called Raingoose Textiles and began hand-printing her outstandingly beautiful designs on high-quality textiles. Today she creates a wide variety of items that are as practical as they are gorgeous, including tea towels, oven mitts, pot holders, tea cozies, zip bags, and aprons to name a few.
It would have been hard for me to predict all those years ago, at Hillside Secondary, how similar our lives would eventually be. We even look and dress similarly. I often copy her clothing purchases because I know whatever she chooses will be perfect for me as well.
More importantly, both of us design and make things for a living and participate in craft shows, and wholesale gift shows. We have also both owned a retail store. I hope you’ll have a chance to visit Jocelyne’s gift store in Dundarave, West Vancouver called Red Horses. You’re unlikely to come out empty handed because her store is as lovely and irresistible as she is.
Today we are proud to carry her products in our lineup and thrilled that she carries ours. We often chuckle about the volume of boxes that travel back and forth between our studios.
So today I am raising a glass to my dear, wise, hardworking, talented friend Jocelyne. She remains a force of nature with energy and passion that is as strong today as it was when I first met her lacing up her runners all those decades ago.
I am so proud of this woman and I dearly hope you will love her work as much as I do.
With Love,
XO Suzanne Zacharias, Co-Founder & Head Tea Drinker, Cedar Mountain Studios
]]>Saturday is my favorite day. Not for the usual reasons that people enjoy Saturdays but because it’s “grand adventure day” with our grandsons.
My husband and I are lucky enough to live right next door to our grandkids. Jack at six and Harley at three, are at that blissful age when they love spending time with their grandparents.
Jack used to call us both Budda because he couldn’t say, Grandma or Grandpa. The nicknames stuck and Don became Budda Boom because he loves singing and has a loud voice, and I became Budda Bling because I love shiny things.
Every Saturday morning, Jack and Harley let mom and dad sleep, and walk together hand-in-hand down the rural dirt driveway that connects their home to ours, arriving at our front door around eight like clockwork. Don and I watch them approach from our kitchen window, relishing the happiness on their animated faces.
Our routine is well established. The boys burst in the door with a whirlwind of energy, quickly shed their boots and coats, and immediately start playing with the Brio train set, toy cars, or teddies and dollies. I get down on the ground and play with them while Don makes breakfast.
Don is a breakfast master. He cooks piles of pancakes with salted butter, real maple syrup, extra maple syrup for good measure, bacon, and juice. When the food is ready, the boys drop their toys where they lie, run to the table, and devour their breakfast. Jack always tells Budda Boom that these were the best pancakes yet and says, “they just keep getting better.”
After breakfast, we rest our full bellies while reading a story and then we head out on our weekly grand adventure. I can’t remember when we first started calling these weekly outings grand adventures but somehow it started and it stuck.
What Happens At Grandmas Coaster
Grand adventures always include outdoor explorations complete with boots and warm coats when it’s cold and bathing suits when it’s warm. We look for crabs, fish, or shells at the beach, walk in the forest or play in the park. Even though our rural island home is small, there’s always something new and wondrous to discover.
I love it as much as the boys do. It’s so lovely to see the world through their fresh young eyes. They linger in places I’d miss if I was on my own and notice the smallest things. They help me see the world around me differently and find what feels like magic in familiar places we sometimes take for granted. Their simple delight is super contagious.
We inevitably arrive home tired and dirty with flushed cheeks and joyful spirits. After our adventure, the boys go home to mom and dad and we, because we are the grandparents, get to enjoy a hot cup of tea, warm bath, and time for quiet reflection. It’s pretty perfect.
When my days are nearly done, I’ll remember this time fondly, and count it as one of my life’s best blessings. I could not be more grateful for our grand adventures.
Our prayer is that all grandparents, many of whom are isolated from their families by quarantine, may soon have grand adventures with their grandchildren. Missing this time together, this last year, is a very hard loss to bear. We wish you the sweetest of reunions.
With love,
Suzanne Zacharias, Co-Founder & Head Tea Drinker, Cedar Mountain Studios
]]>My favorite game was playing house’. We gathered household goods like small logs, bits of bark, twigs, leaves, fern, and salal branches and then used them to set up our ‘home’. I always started with the kitchen and enjoyed offering up ‘meals’ to the other children. It was a simple, yet joyful way to pass the time during our lunch break.
If only managing a real home was as easy and pleasurable as playing house. There was a time when our house contained, in addition to myself and my very busy husband, three active young children, several teenage international students, and more than one pet. It was chaos. Occasionally I would get into a funk about the mess, futilely attempting to keep things clean and organized without getting utterly overwhelmed.
Advice from a wise woman named Hazel Vocrot helped me navigate this challenge. Luckily for me, Hazel was able to access the wisdom that comes with being in your nineties. She and I often chatted when I was young and her advice carried me through many daunting times while I was raising my kids.
One particularly good piece of wisdom she imparted to me was to remember how it felt to ‘play house’ as a child. She advised me to bring some of the joy and wonder I felt when I was a child at play to my adult housekeeping tasks. In short, she said to think of housework as play. It may sound crazy, but this small change in mindset had an outsized positive impact on me.
I also find that maintaining a home is more joyful when you surround yourself with everyday objects that you find to be beautiful and take the time to appreciate them. For instance, when I’m washing dishes I like to admire the beauty of my plates and mugs and appreciate the seamless functionality of my favourite saucepan.
Daily tasks will always be there, so why not make your life happier by surrounding yourself with utility items you find pleasing. After all, these are items you interact with every day, so why not take pleasure in them.
Choosing tea towels, napkins, dish scrubbers, cleaning brushes, and trivets that you think are beautiful is a simple way to bring more joy to your life. So why not toss your ugly dishcloths onto the rag pile and replace them with ones you love. After all, beauty and happiness are inextricably linked and we can all do with a bit more happiness.
With love & playful joy
Suzanne Zacharias, Co-Founder & Head Tea Drinker, Cedar Mountain Studios
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So, perhaps this month, as it is Valentines’ time, we may lift our spirits by celebrating love. Some of you may groan as you read this sentence. We get it.
Many of us are a wee bit cynical about Valentine’s Day, regarding it as an overblow Hallmark holiday that adds unnecessary expectations to our relationships with a flurry of cards, chocolates, and fancy dinners. For singles, it can trigger distress.
Valentine’s Day, and its requisite celebration of romantic love, has a long and somewhat sordid history dating back to Roman times. Some say it derives from Lupercalia, a raucous Roman festival where men stripped naked and spanked young maidens in the hopes of increasing their fertility. Yikes.
Another theory is that it originated when Roman Emperor Claudius II, believing that single men made better soldiers, tried to bolster his army by forbidding young men to marry. St. Valentine performed secret marriages and was executed for this crime on February 14th. Again, yikes!
No matter its sordid history, or the modern-day hoopla surrounding Valentine’s Day, this year we’ve decided to spread our love far and wide. The pandemic is making us all rethink our established norms and why should the season of love be any different?
We’re going to put extra effort into celebrating love this year and cast a wider net. For us, now feels like the perfect time to reach out to people we love that have somehow slipped away, and to rekindle these connections.
Here are some of our ideas.
Beeswax Works Hand Dipped Candles
And while you make some extra effort to spread your love far and wide in this great big world, don’t forget to give a little extra sweetness to yourself.
Enjoy more of your favorite guilt-free pleasures. Drink more tea, take more bubble baths, and walk in the forest. Enjoy good whiskey in a pretty tumbler, wiggle your toes in merino wool socks, and wash your body with handmade soap.
Always remember, in the wise words of John Lennon, “It matters not who you love, where you love, why you love, when you love or how you love, it matters only that you love”.
So, go for it, reach out. LOVE.
X0 Suzanne Zacharias, Head Tea Drinker & Co-Founder, Cedar Mountain Studios
]]>Even in the best of years, Christmastime can be fraught with hard to live up to expectations. This year may be painful for many people as family and friends cannot gather as they usually do.
I’m finding cheer by remembering past joys which has made me realize that many of my best Christmas memories came when least expected, often starting with a small calamity that developed into a fleeting moment of perfection.
My parents were furniture merchants, so many of my Christmas Eves growing up were spent doing deliveries. The night before Christmas we’d load up our delivery truck and drive around the city dropping off surprise gifts. This was the era before mandatory seat belts, and my brother and I would ride freestyle in the back of the delivery truck.
Like many hard-working small business owners, my parents were tired and anxious to get home the night before Christmas. So, when the truck was finally empty, my dad would put extra pressure on the gas pedal. My brother and I would cling to the moving carpets while getting pitched around the back of the empty truck like we were on a carnival ride. Of course, we loved it and would scream with glee. This may not be a conventional Christmas memory, but I cherish it nonetheless.
I also remember finding my mom reduced to tears because we’d run out of wrapping paper too late on Christmas Eve to do anything about it. My dad, ever resourceful, simply handed my mom the newspaper funnies. I remember those gifts, so carefully wrapped with comics and my mom’s boundless love.
My family hosted dinner for at least twenty-five people at Christmastime. My mom didn’t enjoy cooking, and so, the Christmas morning we woke up to discover the oven broken is etched in all of our memories. My dad, anticipating trouble, got on the phone and called every repairman in the phone book. Remarkably he found a willing candidate who just happened to be spending Christmas alone. He was thrilled when we invited him to stay for dinner and I fondly remember our stove fixing saviour sitting by our fireplace sipping eggnog.
One year, when our kids were small, Santa’s existence was a hot topic in the weeks leading up to the big night. My parents spent the holidays with us on Saltpsring that year, and my dad enjoyed a little too much rum and eggnog on Christmas Eve. At midnight, on his way to the bathroom, he fell down a small flight of steps, and crash landed in front of our fireplace. Our kids, who thought they heard Santa jump down the chimney, remained believers for a little longer.
I hope for you that this year, you can draw on your memories to bring joy to the season and that you may find cheer and comfort in the unexpected moments.
I’ve found solace in this poem in 2020 and so I’m sharing it with you now in hopes that it also brings you peace.
Life is amazing. And then it’s awful.
And then it’s amazing again.
And in between the amazing and awful it’s ordinary and mundane and routine.
Breathe in the amazing, hold on through the awful, and relax and exhale during the ordinary.
That’s just living heartbreaking, soul-healing, amazing, awful, ordinary life.
And it’s breathtakingly beautiful.
L.R. Knost
Wishing you all the happiest of holiday,
XO Suzanne Zacharias, Head Tea Drinker & Co-Founder, Cedar Mountain Studios
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