Sept 8/2018 Weather has turned cool, down to 59 today! What a change. We are going to have a few days of this and rain as the remnants of a 5 day old hurricane that hit the New Orleans area is tracking our way.
Unusual for us, we have our Jeep with us. Rosey drove the Jeep the other day following Billy in the RV with the trailer(Harley inside). So no Harley today. We are going exploring to Castle Kilbride in Baden. We have seen these signs everywhere. Can it really be a castle? Of course we are thinking about all the castles we saw in Scotland a few summers back.
James Livingston built his 10,000 sq foot home which he called his castle and named it after his birthplace in Scotland - Kilbride. It is a Canadian National Historic Site. In 1877 and Mr. Livingston was known as the Flax and Linseed Oil King of Canada.
At the time he extravagantly furnished the huge home and had rare 'trompe l'oeil" (means fool the eye) wall and ceiling murals in all the rooms. It has been beautifully restored and the 3D effect of the painted murals will give the illusion of layers that are not really there; except in paint. Art abounds everywhere in this house. Look very closely, in one room there is a painted vase full of a bouquet of flowers, till you look deeper and there is a face peering out.
In the late 1800's flax seeds were not consumed as we do today. Today every health food store sells them. I grind mine up and put them in my breakfast shake. In those days the plant was used to make linen fabric. The seeds were used to make linseed oil that was used in oil based paints. As latex paints took over the company declined significantly and closed operations. Flax and linseed are the same plant. Three generations lived in the home, but as often with an aristocratic property the upkeep becomes too much. The property was sold to the town in 1988, and restoration began. Today they are still trying to buy back the Victorian furniture that was auctioned off.
Unusual for us, we have our Jeep with us. Rosey drove the Jeep the other day following Billy in the RV with the trailer(Harley inside). So no Harley today. We are going exploring to Castle Kilbride in Baden. We have seen these signs everywhere. Can it really be a castle? Of course we are thinking about all the castles we saw in Scotland a few summers back.
 |
| the front driveway is in the shape of a heart to show his love for his wife |
James Livingston built his 10,000 sq foot home which he called his castle and named it after his birthplace in Scotland - Kilbride. It is a Canadian National Historic Site. In 1877 and Mr. Livingston was known as the Flax and Linseed Oil King of Canada.
 |
| flaxseed (linseed) and the flowering plant - most of it is now grown in Manitoba and Saskatchewan |
 |
| elaborate tromp l'oeil - it is all paint that looks 3D |
In the late 1800's flax seeds were not consumed as we do today. Today every health food store sells them. I grind mine up and put them in my breakfast shake. In those days the plant was used to make linen fabric. The seeds were used to make linseed oil that was used in oil based paints. As latex paints took over the company declined significantly and closed operations. Flax and linseed are the same plant. Three generations lived in the home, but as often with an aristocratic property the upkeep becomes too much. The property was sold to the town in 1988, and restoration began. Today they are still trying to buy back the Victorian furniture that was auctioned off.
 |
| unusual game table in the library |
No comments:
Post a Comment