Just imagine

Ben found a job for me, I sewed 5 panels 2 X 4 and slipped them on tension rods. We managed to use two long handled poles to push the first 3 place as we stood on the second flight of stairs, the last two windows took a little more planning. Ben weaved up the 20+ feet on the ladder with his extension pole , delicately pushing to rod into place.

Now wonder what the next project is.. SO far so good one more job off the list

When the power cuts out

what is one to do?

We decided to go to the next town for the a.m. and then out for lunch. Of course we had to visit the thrift shop for a few items that were of course much needed, Ben scored with his D-link router for a grand total of $3. I spent $7.50 on a pant press. I am not sure that they are popular anymore, however I had always wanted to own one. Not expecting to see this gem I wandered into the back room of the thrift shop when out of the corner of my eye I spotted my much needed prize object.



Now off to play!

Hard to believe I am not sewing isn't it!!

I am thrift shop snooping, and bargain hunting, So far this is what I found on the kiddy supplies.I have kept my eye on a used site and pounced when I saw something of interest of course I have lost some not being on my game and getting online at the right time to see these. But what I have found has been great and once scoured looked like a million $. Who would have known that Ben could take apart every piece of the stroller and throw it into the washer, These things look better than when I bought them. I am not sure what the best deal was but I am thinking my $10 bed, complete with mattress. I had a double bed sheet turned it side ways and cut it in half and added elastic on the other two corners.

I think I have a yellow and purple theme

on the go... some are freebies and some are surprises.



Our clematis has decided to open and be showy there are many more blooms to come. The light rain on and off has helped my little garden , the grass not so much. I am babying it all.. today I got a clue why my grass may be pitiful. It is the neighbors potty ground

we hit the Mother Load

I have been keeping my eyes opened in the used ad's and I found these free, We bought home a number of clumps and planted them in the rock wall at the back of the complex

One day

On our leisurely walk to downtown Victoria, BC I stopped and took notice of this old grand establishment. I was able to get a picture of it's splender Here is the history of one little corner in Victoria, in part built with funds secured from the " Gold Rush"




Gatsby Manor History
Gold rush, ghosts and past Prime Ministers.

1875

In 1875 William J. Pendray came to Victoria, BC, to invest the money he made from the gold rush. In 1877 William J. Pendray married Amelia Jane Carthew from England and they had four children: Ernest, Carl, Herbert and Roy.

1876

In 1876 Alexander Blair Grey had been appointed a Justice of the Peace, an important position in the growing town of Victoria, B.C. He had purchased a piece of land at the corner of Belleville and Oswego Streets and decided to build a new home (today known as the Judges House). Mr. Grey’s home created a bit of a stir in colonial Victoria, being rather large and splendid for a city, which, despite being the capital of the new province, was still a small frontier town.

1890

Around 1890, the Pendrays bought a block of property on Belleville Street. It had a small cottage on it (today known as the Middle House) and the family lived in this home while their new Mansion (today known as the Gatsby Mansion) was being built beside it.

The Pendray’s new home was a lovely structure, built in the Queen Anne style, with all the trappings of a grand Victorian home. Mr. Pendray commissioned two German painters, Herr Sterns and Herr Muller, to paint frescos on the ceilings of some of the rooms, including the parlour, the dining room and two of the bedrooms; you can still see them today. Panes of stained glass were shipped from Italy in barrels of molasses so that they would not break.

1893

Always up-to-date, Mr. Pendray had the first telephone in a private residence in BC installed in his Mansion. It was a direct line to his soap factory on Laurel Point. Unlike his neighbour Mr. Pendray, Mr. Grey lost his fortune in a crash in 1893 and his fine home had to be sold. George R Jackson was a young and very successful tailor in Victoria and bought the house soon after it was for sale. Mr. Jackson soon decided to try his hand at something new and moved to the USA, sold the house and graduated as a medical doctor. However, he did not go into practice, but turned back to business, producing a breakfast food called Roman Meal, and became a millionaire.

Back in Victoria, a young lawyer named Gordon Hunter purchased the house from Mr. Jackson when he moved to the USA. Mr. Hunter soon became Chief Justice of British Columbia, and it is for him that the house now is known as the Judges House. Hon. Hunter served as Chief Justice for 25 years and in that time many titled persons and dignitaries were entertained in the house, including Prime Minister Mackenzie King.

1913

In the meantime during 1913, Mr. Pendray died while inspecting his factory when a pipe fell 40 feet and struck him on the head, killing him instantly. Mrs. Pendray continued to live in the Mansion after her husband’s death.

1929

After Hon. Hunter’s Death in 1929, the Judges House was run by the Missionary Sisters of Notre Dame des Anges as a boarding house known as Belleville Lodge. In 1939, the Pendray’s children sold the Mansion to Mrs. M A Lewis for $4,500. Mrs. Lewis bequeathed it to the Missionary Sisters of Notre Dame des Anges, who ran the Mansion as a boarding house for young women, it was known as Loretto Hall until 1966.

1980

In the 1980s, the property was purchased and expanded with the construction of The Huntingdon Manor, a hotel styled after the first and finest Canadian Pacific Hotels.

2014

Today, the iconic property is a much-loved scenic fixture on Victoria’s Inner Harbour landscape, offering a convenient and comfortable resting place in BC’s capital city.