Stuck On Sea Shells....

I know, I know..Mosaics The Sequel already! But I had an interesting and  productive day that took up most of what would have been my camera time  and this blip was just waiting to happen anyway..so today is the day.....an easy blip.

This picture frame which was meant to be a mirror is, as of yesterday, now actually a mirror!  It has been waiting a long time for this moment....and comes with a little story ..and a bit of a sad reminder too..

In 2019, I was vacationing in Hopetown, Bahamas, spending time with  my daughter and SIL who used to winter there on their sailboat. After visiting them, I was leaving to stay a while with friends who live in Freeport on Grand Bahama. I had taken the ferry from Hopetown to Marsh harbour, and had a few hours to kill before my flight left, so Debbie, a friend of my daughter who lives there, picked me up and took me to her house for the interim and on the way, we stopped at a thrift store where I was instructed to pick out an empty picture frame? 

What she had up her sleeve was a craft lesson for me to while away the hours before leaving for the airport....She had set up on her deck, a station with all the things I needed to mosaic that frame with shells she had collected over the years... bins of them! I had a time limit - the challenge was to finish that frame in time to get it wrapped up and stashed in my carry-on bag before leaving for the airport. Talk about pressure!  But, I DID it...I got all those little shells sorted and glued on....with coaching..and made the deadline... by which time I was an absolute  whirlwind with that glue gun - a skill everyone should have..You never know when you might need a glue gun!  It was a really fun way to end my visit. And what a thoughtful and gracious host Debbie was! She made my day. 

The sad part is that on September 1 of that year, Hurricane Dorian hit the Abaco islands as a Category 5 and destroyed Marsh Harbour and Hopetown (and my daughter and SIL's sailboat...) before going on to Freeport on neighbouring Grand Bahama. The devastation was unbelievable. Thankfully, while many did not, our friends in Freeport and in Marsh Harbour all survived. It is now two years later and those places are still trying to recover. One day it would be great to return, but I cannot honestly see that happening for a long, long time. 

On a happier note, I have years of great memories from those winter escapes....and lots of sea shells!