Signs of Life

Hello Sunshine!

I'm still trying to get back into the swing of things, blogging is a habit that I have let fall to the wayside, so... baby steps.

It has been a bit of a gloomy winter, but for the past couple of days the sun has come out to play. There are signs of life everywhere. Flowers are popping up and perfuming the air.

Purple and green carpets under still leafless trees and Hellebore showing off their early blooms.

It's invigorating and energizing to see the natural world waking up. Are there signs of life where you are?

I'm off to enjoy the sun while it lasts. See you soon!

The one where Wordless Wednesday turned into Wordless Friday for obvious reasons... I was busy doing this

Oh Joyful Day!

It is amazing what a little sunshine can do for your soul! This weekend we were gifted with two beautiful days, what a nice way to start the month. So what is a mama to do with such a gift? Throw caution to the wind, pull on some puddle jumpers, fill a backpack with water and snacks, tumble into the car and head to the country with my girl.

Alright, so not way out into the country, but only a 20 minute drive (both of us singing along to pop songs on the radio with great enthusiasm the whole way) to Sauvies Island. I was thinking Nature Walk, I was hoping for Whooping Cranes, but whatever the day might hold in store was fine by me as long as we got out there, out into the sunshine!

Though many of our "go to" wildlife areas were closed for the season, we were not deterred, the drive was beautiful and we were on an adventure! We stopped to view the geese, searching for the all white snow goose. However, we did not linger long for we were feeling a bit too silly and some of those bird watchers take the watching of birds very seriously indeed and tend to frown upon general silliness.

We ended up down by the river for a walk where we chatted with local fisher folk and played in the sand. Pony Girl found the perfect stick companion right at the beginning. We discussed it's merits as a possible fishing pole, alas we had no hooks and granola bar makes less than ideal bait.

The trees were still wintering, skeletal against the bright sky, the air was fresh and warm, the water sparkled and we chased our shadows across the sand.

We walked and talked and examined moss and tree bark. We saw cranes and herons and hawks and bunnies. We wrote our names in the sand with hearts and smiley faces. Then Pony Girl took over the camera and captured some fine photos!

And then we got really, really hungry! We walked back to the car, stomped our puddle jumpers free of extra mud and sand, threw "Sticky" the stick in the back of the car as it had been such a fine and useful friend on our adventures that Pony Girl insisted on bringing him home. And back we went over two bridges...

...ate a tasty lunch and agreed that we deserved to splurge on a strawberry milkshake!

Oh joyful day!

Lola Unplugged

Hello there!

Goodness me, where does the time go? I'm having a twinge of vertigo whilst looking at the calendar and realizing it is well past half of July! We finally got the go ahead on Summer with the weather turning golden on the 4th. Since then we have been well and truly Summering. So, I have "unplugged" and busied myself with the great outdoors and some wonderful times with my girl (& The Engineer when he is home from work) during the school break. I have even been so caught up in the doing and living that my camera keeps getting left behind and all I have to show are a few quick snaps from my phone!

There has been a bit of feasting from the garden...

There have been picnics in the park...

A good amount of monkeying around on playgrounds...

A quick pickle here and there...

As well as a not quite so quick bit of pickling...

There have been some super cool experiments...

Magic Ice Orbs created by putting a few drops of food coloring into a balloon, then fill the balloon with some water, tie off and freeze over night. Remove balloon and voila! Super cool!

There was a grand day at the river...

A bit of girly fun...

And a heavenly batch of home made, hand churned blackberry ice cream!

There was also a rousing family water balloon fight in the back yard and I was the winner! Well, if by winning you mean the the one who most resembled a drowned rat. And no, I haven't any photos of that.

So, forgive me if my posts are spotty, my replies and communications iffy for the next little while. This being "unplugged" is just too much fun!

I do hope that wherever you are, no matter the weather, that you too are having a bit of fun!

Hello Monday!

What a brilliant weekend we've had! After days of rain, the sun came out in all it's glory for a Summer like weekend. Of course we took full advantage.

There was a three cousin sleep-over at the little green cottage. A raucous mayhem ensued, followed by a wild rumpus!
There were grand sprinkler follies...

We got crafty with paper plate mask making...

There was dinner alfresco and fire roasted marshmallows and s'mores for dessert!

There was an evening movie in the living room theatre, then a lot of late night giggling, and two very tired adults come morning. Blueberry pancakes got the day started off nicely though.

Once the boys had gone, there was a bit of garden therapy for me and I spent the afternoon tucking little sprouts of veg into their beds.

Oh what a happy tired bunch and a brilliant weekend!

I would like to mention here that The Engineer is a super-hero! It was he who mowed the lawn and cleaned up the yard. It was he who planned the mask making, and the fire roasting. It was he who baked the mac & cheese from scratch, grilled the hot dogs and got up in the middle of the night with the littlest cousin (for this was his first sleep-over ever and it was all a bit disorienting to him). So 3 cheers to The Engineer, my hero!

Now what did you get up to this weekend?

Oh Hello!

Well hello you!
I do so hope that everyone had a lovely holiday weekend!
I have had a most refreshing and rather busy break, but I am back and full of big ideas. Spending time with family was so good, and so needed. There is quite a lot to tell and share with you, I will have to do so in snippets here and there. I do believe the best way to begin, is for me to tell one good thing at a time.

So, good thing #1: The Weather. You may not think that the weather is any sort of exciting news, but after so many dark days of rain trust me, the truly fantastic Spring weather we were granted over the weekend is very exciting indeed. I cannot imagine a better gift than a bit of sunshine. It has put a big smile on our faces and made for a frolicking good weekend!

Even my latest thrifty finds came in all sunshiney yellow!

And as a special bit of Spring happy, two new members of the flock came to stay. Meet Daisy and Chavez.

...and though these two have nothing to do with the weather, two fluffy baby chicks sure do make for a sunny feeling in one's heart.

The weather was so glorious that there were altogether 3 egg hunts to enjoy. Now that is one determined basket wielding girl!

I do believe that as I type this the sun is slipping behind some ominous clouds and the rain may be returning. No matter, I am simply grateful for the sun's visit and the time with my beautiful family.

I shall return soon with more good things to tell!

Thank you Mr. Sunshine

The sun is out, the flowers are blooming, and I can not bear to be inside at the computer. I have plants to plant, chickens to chase, a bicycle to ride...So until next week, I wish you all sunshine and flowers!

Shine

What a lovely long weekend I've had! There was lots of special time with my girl due to school holiday and a gorgeous helping of sunshine on Saturday. Though it was still quite cool, there was no way the small one was going to come inside, or put shoes on. There was chook tending, egg gathering, flower spotting, horse races, daring princess rescues, bug hunting, and sidewalk chalk masterpieces.

I was also most fortunate to get to spend some quality time in the company of a couple of very creative and wonderful women. As grand as this community of bloggers/friends is, and as thrilled as I am to have such kind and talented women within a click of my fingers...there is something truly special about sharing a glass of wine, or a cup of tea with someone face to face. Being able to chat at leisure and laugh out loud together in the company of someone you really enjoy, is a gift and a blessing. It filled me up and still has me smiling. It may be something I don't get to do very often but, I suppose that makes it all the more special.

I am so grateful for this sweet long weekend. I have been inspired, spent some very happy times with my family, and laughed a lot. How lucky am I?

I am wishing you all a week full of smiles and laughter.
Let It Shine!

Pick a Peck

Well, we are breaking records here with the wave-O-heat. It makes taking care of the daily routines a little tricky and sticky. I have been zapped of all craftiness and moving at a slugs pace. The only thing I managed to pull off this week was a 20 minute itty bitty purse for the upcoming festival this weekend. No beauty to be sure, but I imagine it will serve it's purpose just fine. Just slap on some patches and we are in business!



The only thing thriving in this heat is a certain section of the veg garden. The peppers are going gangbusters; Japanese eggplant at it's most utmost purpleness; and lemon cucumbers galore (my favorite)!



If you have left me a comment and I have not responded, please know that I so appreciate everyone of them and hope to be back in my usual form once the tempurature cooperates.
We are off to set up tents and find some shade whilst listening to lovely music. I will see you all next week. Until then, I am wishing you all a gorgeous weekend.

Sunshine On My Shoulder

We have been having glorious weather these days. It is beginning to feel like Summer, stirring up visions of trips to the beach, music in the park and Strawberry Jam! I don't know how long it will last but, I fully intend to enjoy it. Fortunately our basement has dried out and the only lingering reminder is a slight paranoia around doing the laundry (our old fashioned plumbing was the cause of the trouble).

I have finished a few of my many projects.


Here is the Teachers Tote that was meant to be a gift for Teacher Appreciation Week, now an end of the year appreciation gift. Fortunately teacher Joyce knows nothing of this little blog so it will seem as though that is how I intended it all along. I love the vintage tea towel yardage I used, quite cheery.

I will be posting later this week about my pattern testing for Wondermommy, a great experience.

In all the upheaval of this past week I forgot to mention our newest chick chick. She is an Ameraucana (they lay green eggs, Sam I am!). I have named her Suki. Here are the dears recovering from flood rescue.




The large red one is Fran, though I have taken to calling her Francine. She is obviously older than the other two and so seems more the apron wearing, rolling pin carrying, mother hen type. Yes, let's hope she is indeed a she. The quintessential yellow chick is Tweet Tweet, she's a little like Baby Spice - blond, cute and a little ditzy. I am still learning about Suki. They are all doing well.

Well, I'm off to plant the rest of the vegetable starts we picked up yesterday, the garden and the coop are coming along nicely.

I thought I would leave you with a great link with all sorts of free patterns and tutorials for bags. Go on, check it out and make your own tote bag! It's a great beginning project and if you aren't a beginner, you know you can still use another tote bag. Why, they come in handy for all sorts of things...
Grocery Shopping
Trips to the Library
Beach Gear
Hauling a load of chick chick meal
School Bags
Carrying sundries in your bicycle basket
Toy Bag for the kiddies
They make great gifts
and on and on and on
Find it all here

Fairies in the garden

Yesterday we had a beautiful break in the rain, sunshine and warm enough to go sleeveless. So, after our daily ritual of sqwirmy hunting...

we decided to build a fairy house. My girl and I repurposed a birdhouse that she and Mr. Nova built last year. It has never housed any birds and we thought that maybe the fairies would like it.


We both agreed that the best spot in the garden was under a canopy of Bleeding Hearts.
This morning the rain returned - yet, when we checked the little fairy house, there was a tiny thank you note written on a leaf!