Tag: Australia

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Beautiful Snow Frosting the Rocky Mountains

Beautiful Snow Frosting the Rocky Mountains was our Mothers Day gift this year in Colorado! It was a wet snowman kind of snow – just what we need in the springtime!

What a Mothers Day Gift from Mother Nature herself! I couldn’t resist sharing this photo from my friend Linda, as my tulips in Colorado Springs haven’t quite woken up yet! We have such a gorgeous frosting of snow in the mountains and on the front range, providing us with much needed moisture. May flowers love it; we wait to plant or cover our vegetation during our occasional frosty evenings.

This past weekend I’ve was a homebody, like I used to be when growing up in Wisconsin during the cold months. We would put together jigsaw puzzles, knit or sew, work on scrapbooks, have fires in the fireplace, roast marshmallows, bake cookies, and in general hunker down during those times. It’s strange to do that in May in Colorado, however it happens often here at odd times. Many years we have had blizzards that can and do leave feet of snow along the front range of the Rocky Mountains. This snow had enough moisture to make great snowmen!

In my home, I keep my Silhouette® window shadings covering the glass for insulation and enjoy the view through the sheers. It helps with energy savings and I still see the budding bulbs and perennial flowers that can withstand the frosts. Many of the Hunter Douglas Shadings have similar properties where readers may enjoy views, insulation and partial privacy at the same time. They have side openings, which allows for part of their energy efficiency.

Those same side openings allow bugs and debris to enter the shading, because they love the sunlight and warmth. Those pesky insects often die in those openings and need to be removed. That is WHY we developed our CamilyWand™ Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ to preserve your views and investment in your shadings. It is an easy to use, safe tool, made of an extension pole and a sticky CamilyTip on the end. It “grabs” the insects from the spaces between the vanes to easily keep your shades clear of debris. One Silhouette® owner commented that it “is a brilliant” tool. What a nice compliment~~~

We at CamilyWand™ hope you’re enjoying your Springtime fun and are safe!

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Party On with May Day Dancing, Maybaskets

Party On with May Day Dancing, Maybaskets to mark the first day of May. May Poles, a tradition in Europe, are the center of celebrations there and in the United States on the 1st day of May.

The beautiful image of women dancing around the European May Pole, by Lisa Racz, is symbolic of the celebrations in Germany, England and Austria. They celebrate this holiday, similar to our present Earth Day, by bringing trees from the forest, cutting off branches, then decorating them or poles with flowers and ribbons in preparation for people to hold ribbons as they dance around the pole. The ancient ritual has evolved into various celebrations to honor the rite of spring. A friend in the Bavarian area of Germany calls the Maibaum.

As children, we would hand make little baskets from construction paper, adding handles and fill them with spring goodies. Then the best part came:  delivering them to friends. We would run to the front doors of our friends homes, set the May Basket on the porch, ring the doorbell, then run away so they would be surprised when they answered the doors. We did this when we were in grade school in our small town of Wisconsin Rapids, a very safe, secure community. I can picture it today, as I share this fun tradition for you on May Day.

In Europe, the celebration happens on the weekend of Pentacost, a religious tradition that happens the first weekend in May. As I look out my window this morning, through my Window Shadings  in Colorado Springs, I’m looking at an inch of snow, with the mountains covered like frosting on a cake. I have the insulation I need from the Silhouette® blinds, yet can watch the storm as it moves through our area. We will often get a quick dusting of snow (or sometimes blizzards) in Colorado, to enjoy Springtime in the Rockies. This is Wednesday and by the weekend our temperatures will reach 70 or 80 degrees. Never a dull moment in the weather pattern here~~~

Enjoying a clear, preserved view is one of the reasons I have Hunter Douglas’ Silhouette® window shadings in my home. The 3 criteria for selecting Silhouettes® to cover my windows are filtered views, where I see my gardens and landscape while having insulation, and partial privacy simultaneously. I love the light in my home, it is cheerful and brings me energy, so want to enjoy the outside as much as possible. Little gnats, bugs and debris are also attracted to the light. So they fly inside the vane openings of many shadings like Nantuckets™ and Silhouettes®, they die inside the shadings and need to be removed.

We invented the CamilyWand™ Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ to reach inaccessible places like the shade openings. It works for many other tasks wherever something needs to be picked up or removed. It’s sticky CamilyTip  on the end of an extension pole will safely “grab” the offensive object and then easily remove it from the blind or other areas. It’s an invaluable tool to have in your home for a variety of removal needs.

We at Camily, LLC hope you have wonderful May Day celebrations and a safe weekend!

 

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Spring Skiing, Budding Flowers Evoke Nature’s Beauty

Spring Skiing, Budding Flowers evoke Nature’s Beauty in the mountains and on the plains. Our gardens are waking up, bulbs blooming and trees blossoming.

On any given day in April, these blooming daffodil bulbs could have snow on them in Colorado, possibly into May, as well. The beauty of living in the Rockies is the ever changing weather, especially in spring!

I love spring skiing too – the weather is balmier, the snow amazingly beautiful as we schuss down the mountain ski runs or cross country ski in the woods. Skiing is a favorite sport of mine, as I’ve been skiing somewhere since I was a teenager. Our family skied in Northern Wisconsin, where I chipped a kneecap on one trip. We also went to places like Rib Mountain, Cascade, Mt. Horeb and other nearby hills.  Our family came to Breckenridge, CO one spring break with another Madison family, taking a week of morning lessons and then enjoying the beauty during practice afternoon skiing. People today wouldn’t believe the old skis we used back then!

But now, with the warming temperatures and longer daylight hours, I’m ready to get in the garden. Greenhouses are tempting us with beautiful flowers and bushes, even though we will still get hard frosts until at least the middle of May. So our planting time happens quickly here nearer Memorial Day than now.

To enjoy my garden during the evening, I have outdoor lighting, where I can see my garden through my Silhouette® window shadings. I get sun protection, insulation and partial privacy when I have the shadings covering the glass and in the open position. So I can see the garden, the mountains, and the recent eclipse through the blinds. It is wonderful to have so many choices of window coverings and view through ability of shadings like the Silhouettes®, Nantuckets™, Pirouettes®, Vignettes®, Luminettes®, Soleras™ and many other Hunter Douglas products. The view through is especially enjoyable during the day you have your shadings protecting your furnishings with great UV protection and you want to see your gorgeous view outside.

Seeing the views is such a plus with the shades covering the glass, that we always want to preserve the light giving views. We are attracted to light and so are bugs, gnats and other pesky things. As a long time interior designer, my readers and clients would want answers to that problem. So I invented our CamilyWand™ Sticky Bug Removal Tool™for that purpose, as well as to retrieve items from inaccessible and difficult to reach places. It has proven to be a unique, very popular tool throughout the world. We are in Australia and Europe as well as North America.

We are looking forward to enjoying the views of our gardens and landscapes or our snowcapped mountains.

CamilyWand™ hopes you’ll enjoy your surroundings and views this spring.

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Believe in the Beauty, Majesty of Christmas

Majesty and Beauty of Christmas time is always a reminder of our treasured beliefs. This gorgeous church in Val Gardena, Italy is a perfect setting to confirm our holiday beliefs.

During our Holiday Times, people are kinder, more generous and giving and more forgiving with their friends and family. We celebrate our religious beliefs, visit with people we don’t see as often as others and rejoice in friendships and comradery during this festive season.

We celebrate our blessings, show our gratitude and give meaningful gifts to our loved ones and friends near and far.

At CamilyWand™, we have been blessed with over 5 years of helping people with unusual “cleaning” dilemmas for Silhouette® owners and those people who need to grab items from inaccessible and high places. Because beautiful window shadings made by Hunter Douglas and other companies collect bugs and debris within the vanes, we are gratified that we have the opportunity to serve those shading owners in having a tool available to them for this bug removal. It also works on Nantuckets™, Luminettes®, Pirouettes®, Vignettes®, and Soleras™ as well as products manufactured by other companies. Silhouette® and other shadings owners have an easy, quick way to keep their views bug free and protect their investments in keeping their blinds clean.  Our readers and clients are very grateful that we invented and have our CamilyWand™ available to them.

As we continue to grow and increase our sales in other continents like Australia and Europe, we strive to please our readers and friends in keeping their living areas free of debris and bugs. Our tool also reaches so many other inaccessible places, it has become an invaluable tool for home maintenance. It’s perpetually sticky CamilyTip , when kept clean, is able to attach itself to dust, debris and lightweight objects from high places, ceiling fans, lighting fixtures, between appliances and behind heavy furniture and many other places, allowing for easy removal.

When we count our blessings here at Camily, we are very grateful to be able to serve our friends and readers who need and want our CamilyWand™. Thank you for your support now and in coming years.

We wish you the Happiest of Holidays during this festive season, enjoying safe times with family and friends.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Categories
General

Football: College Saturdays & Pro Sundays!

Autumn leaves, football  –  great ways to spend your fall weekends! There is an energy in College Football that is like no other! This is Camp Randall filled with UW Badger Fans!

Back in the day, I used to spend every University of Wisconsin home game Saturday at Camp Randallwatching football, along with 80,000+ others – even when we weren’t winning. Now we have alums like Monte Ball, who is playing with the Broncos, and many Rose Bowl trophies.

Somehow, fall and football to together, along with the beautiful color in the changing leaves. Growing up in the midwest was a treat for the eyes. I always loved to rake leaves and see the intermingling of gorgeous cranberry reds, rusts, golds, and yellows all together. For many of our readers, the fall brings back fond memories.

After enjoying the game, we’d go to after- football parties at friends homes, enjoying the warmth of home cooking, home fires where we roasted s’mores, drank apple cider and ate other goodies. Our hosts had their homes ready for company and we enjoyed sunsets and fall views, often through the the sheers of blinds covering the windows.

One of the more popular window shadings which offers filtered views when the vanes are open is the Silhouette® blind by Hunter Douglas. It is a beautiful shading with sheers on the front and the back and vanes connecting the sheers to make a long, horizontal area with openings at the side. Those openings allow bugs and debris to get caught in the shadings, and they cannot find their way back out to freedom. So they die there and ruin our wonderful views. Readers and customers have ordered our CamilyWands™ during the middle of their meals as they cannot stand the ugliness of a dead, pesky insect in their shadings.

Our safe, patented CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ is the only known professional solution on the market used for that purpose. It works on many other blinds, such as Nantuckets™,  Alustra Luminettes®, Pirouettes®, Vignettes®, Soleras™, Shangri-Las, Illusions, and other similar shadings from different manufacturers. It also reaches debris and cobwebs from inaccessible places, and will pick up lightweight objects from hard to reach areas. It is a great tool to have on hand for a variety of “grabbing” type needs. Many readers have thought of very creative uses for our CamilyWand™, and you may too.

We at Camily hope that as you prepare for fall festivities, you’ll enjoy yourself, treasure Mother Natures shows, and have great times with friends and families!

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Springtime graduations, Weddings, Family Trips and other Celebrations bring Wonderful Reunions

Our graduation and wedding time of year is here and it seems like everyone is involved in varied family gatherings. We’re anticipating all of the parties and festivities that accompany these life events. Many of us are traveling to celebrate or are entertaining with parties in our homes.

In Colorado Springs, we have the annual United States Air Force Academy graduations in May. This year it is happening on the Wednesday after Memorial day, May 29th. The community witnesses the Air Force Thunderbirds flying overhead as they practice their show on the days before graduation and for the show on graduation day. It is pretty impressive to see the jets flying in their precision moves right over our homes. It feels and sounds almost like we can reach out to them, they fly so low. It’s always a fun May ritual to anticipate even if we aren’t at the stadium witnessing the show first hand.

As we move toward these celebratory times, it’s important to get our homes ready for the festivities. Many of us have bought gorgeous Silhouette® window shadings by Hunter Douglas for our windows. As a long time interior designer, I’ve been continually selling them for more than 20 years. They are beautiful, a great insulator from both heat and cold, and offer a unique opportunity to allow you to see a filtered view to your outdoor world. You’re able to see the ground or ocean, the trees or buildings, the mountains and sky while your shadings are covering your windows, providing insulation, privacy and preserving your views.

While you’re controlling the light as it enters your homes, the light is transformed many different ways during the day. It becomes iridescent, due to the gorgeous fabrics,  especially in the dusk hours when the sun is setting low on the horizon. Many of us are drawn to that magical time of day. Bugs are attracted to the shadings as well and enter the tubular vane openings from the side. They get trapped inside the openings, and cannot find their way out.

We knew there had to be a professional way to remove the debris and bugs from the Silhouettes® and other similar shadings like Luminettes®, Vignettes®, Pirouettes®, Nantuckets™, Solera®, Shangri-La and Illusions. When we found no suitable, safe method, we decided to invent our CamilyWand Sticky Bug Removal Tool™ for the purpose of grabbing bugs and debris from the inside of those shadings, reaching webs and dirt from high areas like beams, fans and crown moldings, or picking up light weight items from inaccessible places. We now manufacture our CamilyWand™ and ship to North America, Europe and Australia.

Clients are pleased and grateful that we have provided them with a safe way to preserve their view and protect their investment. We wanted our clients to be pleased with their purchase of the distinctive Silhouette® product family and felt we were serving them well by offering a quality, inexpensive product to keep their shadings beautiful.

We hope you will enjoy these wonderful springtime rites that we are experiencing now in your homes. Have a great rest of our springtime!