Summer Days....

Featuring a few instagram shots (pattyjeans).....
A very belated blog post : so much to tell, and little time....Well, not really!
In previous years we've gardened with another family, who so generously shared their large garden with us. This year we tried something different, rather than making the 30 min drive out of the city, my mom offered to share her large yard...and she lives a couple blocks away. So we built some raised beds, and the children enjoy the inexpensive "splash park", time with Nana, and of course the joy of growing our own food.

In recent news, the online Norwex party was quite a success, and I've taken a liking to the term "Un-Party". We were blessed with a nice collection of Norwex products and the desired Kid's Mop!

A while back I had blogged about some changes that were coming. We are moving....which doesn't make all that much difference in cyber world :) But it will mean great many changes in our day to day lives. We are moving 7 hours north of our Prairie Canadian city to Northern Manitoba.

Is it remote?....that would probably be an understatement. The town has a population of about 10,000, (I think)...When we make the road trips up there, it is fascinating to pass the 100's of miles of crown land, land of forest, forest, lakes and more forest and more lakes.

Father's day, the boys.....Joash says, "our ties smell like Papa!" I guess that would be because I stole a shirt he was getting rid of to make the applique ties!

Today we head out to the beach for our annual week of swimming lessons at the lake, and cottage stay.  More to come, friends, and hopefully sooner than the last one! Happy Summer Days!

Indian Summer September Moments

::Harvested Basil in the bath tub::

:: A day of exploring limestone cliffs at Steep Rock - If you want to exercise your adrenalin.....bringing young children to this outdoor adventure is an excellent way::

:: A day at Memere and Pepere's::

::Breathing in the colours of Fall::

Beauty in Beet Leaves...

The Words of the Kevin Prosch song "Kiss the Son" rehearse in my mind and heart a lot these days:
(If you scroll down to the end of this post,  you can press play and listen to the song, for your convenience).

When you've been broken, broken to pieces
And you heart begins to faint, 'cause you don't understand
When there is nothing to reap from the ashes
And you can't even walk into the fields of grace

But I bow down and kiss the Son
I bow down and kiss the Son

When the rock falls, falls upon you
And you get ground to dust, no music for the pain
You open the windows, the windows of Heaven
and then you open me and crush me like a rose

But I bow down and kiss the Son
Oh, I bow down and kiss the Son


Let the praise of the Lord be in my mouth
Let the praise of the Lord be in my mouth
Thou you slay me I will trust you Lord


Ya, I bow down and kiss the Son....

In this season of bringing in garden harvest, and crushing it, drying it, freezing it, processing it....feels familiar to the season of my heart. No, there is no loss of life - I have so much to be grateful for...

After investing our hearts and our prayers for the past six months into a change in vocation, location and lifestyle for our family the door was closed. We move on......

I will trust Him...

Therapy is....

Kneading dough...
Reading with my children...
Meditating on a Psalm of comfort...
The days my husband has off from work...
Watching my children play together outside happily...
Drinking a good homemade caffè breve in a beautiful mug..
The smell of one of my children during a hug - smells like heaven...
Listening in the dim lamp light to my husband read to our children...
Sipping a cup of herbal and dried fruit tea at the end of a long day...
Knitting with wood/bamboo needles with inspiring and natural yarn...
Being outside and taking in the sky, feeling the wind and breathing in...
Early in the morning, while the family sleeps, the fresh quiet air in my lungs...
Enjoying the sand under my feet at the beach - and finding sea glass treasures...
The smell of Lavender Oil on my linens, in our hair, in the bath - not meaning to rhyme - but everywhere...

These are a few of my favorite things... What are yours?

A Couple of Comfy Corners of a Cottage

 It's a tiny little cottage, but it's been in the family for 4-5 generations....so it's special.

 Nana's little touches all around make it inviting and restful!

 I tried to capture the shadow on the cottage kitchen wall of the clothes line and a dragon fly on the screed door - a little strange - but there was beauty in that moment!

 

Every room contains some marks of my Great Grandparents who ran a popular cafe at the beach sum 70 years ago.

Playing, playing and playing....

Every Mama likes Quiet Time! Something that my own Mama instilled in me, "every child no matter what age needs to have some Quiet Time Play each day, so Mama can too!" - she would say. When I was little it was called "F.O.B. time" ; Feet On Bed! We've been calling it Quiet Play ON your OWN bed....Hey, sometimes they end up falling asleep, good thing they are on their beds.

 Of course we are at the beach EVERY day, rain or shine. This year we've started the tradition of matching up cottage weeks with the beach swimming lessons.

 This vintage beach town has so much cute - appeal. This year they painted the below block some "currant" colors like taupe, egg-plant and black....I didn't bother taking a picture, because I already had this one - and I love to remember the colorful-vintage look it did have!

Papa works most of the time, when we are the beach, but he does commute. Which is so nice! I feel some how connected to all those women who spent their summers with their children at this beach in the early 1900's while their men commuted on the "Daddy Train"!

 

That's it - glimpses of our week living at the beach! Wish it was longer....

No Mice Transformed into Prancing White Horses....

 Nine years ago today....

We got ready....

Little ballet dancers danced at the family farm...

We got married!

 

Joyeux Anniversaire Mon Amour!

Experimental Essential Oils Project

Last night we were admiring our dying Peonies my neighbor had picked for us...their lemony-rose-lily smell, addictive. One of my daughters expressed her wish to somehow hold on to the smell. So our spontaneous project today, was inspired by this wish.

Living in the Canadian Prairies, my dream of growing a field of lavender and then harvesting it for both the dry herb and distilling it into an essential oil, may be far fetched. But I can simplify my dream for the time being.
We harvested the Peony petals and filled an 8 ounce mason jar, and in line with my lavender fantasy, we filled a second jar with Lavender leaves from the large pot outside (that husband dear got me for Mama's Day).

One day I do hope to actually keep a garden/herb prep/homemade remedy journal. It is a good idea, for now some labels will have to suffice. We used Grapeseed Oil, although Sweet Almond Oil would probably be a better choice.

Filling the jars first with the petals and leaves, we then covered them with the oil, making sure they were all under the oil. We shook them and will intend to shake them daily (one of daughter's joyful tasks) for the next 3 weeks - keeping them from sunlight. Yes, a dark bottle would be nice....but this is simpler, I don't have to deal with a tiny opening to get the leaves in or out!

Straining it will be the last step in our experiment. If this turns out positively I may just be reporting back with a new Peony-Wild Rose Deodorant story!

::Any links to herbal oils/essential oil making in the comments are welcome::

It's never easy saying Good-bye

This week, we said Good-Bye, with breaking hearts....I'm still emotional as I write this. Dogs have been in apart of my life, most of my life. But by far, this special one (due to the love, care, and direction of mon amour, my husband), was dearest to me as well as her sister, Nikki (whom we lost 1 1/2 years earlier). They were Belgium Shepherds, the most beautiful, family dogs you could ever have (in my biased opinion).

 Soleil, (sun in French), was all black. She reminded me of the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood, but she was gentle despite her appearance. She was 15 1/2, outliving her lifespan by 2 1/2 years. Before we had children, these were our babies, they went where ever we went. Hiking, they carried their own backpacks from time to time. They LOVED retrieving, especially in the water, and they loved cuddling on our bed with us before the babies came.

 They brought so much color to our lives. So many times, when they would blow there soft soft coat (1-2 times a year), I contemplated getting it spun. Some folks would find that a little weird, although they wouldn't if it was as common as spun sheep's wool.

 We made crayon blocks this week to work on blending color in some of our homeschool activities. Our first blending exercise we chose was to fill the page in a rainbow color sequence. Rainbow day, as it turned out, was an emotional rainy day with tears for losing Soleil.

I confess I get very sappy when it comes to losing our pet friends. You can talk to my brother, he made me play a song over and over, that I wrote for our childhood dog, Sparky, called (are you ready for this?) "Angel in disguise". Yes, sappy indeed, but true.

Missing you and loving you Soleil!

Some Sweetness from Mother's Day

 I guess you could say I am passionate about reclaiming Motherhood as one of the most important roles of our nation. It is a creative, innovative, nurturing role to play. It is so rewarding and so tiring sometimes too. God Bless the Mothers, the Mothers who mother us, but do not have children of their own, the foster Mothers, the Mothers who have laid their lives down for their children in a war torn country, the Mothers of sick children...and the list goes on.

 Lavender. Lavender has so many healing and calming qualities. It is one of the most versatile oils, safe for children and pregnant Mamas. One of my dreams one day is to plant a whole field of lavender. Then dry it for teas, sachets, and more, and hopeful also make some essential oil out of it as well.

 In our growing zone, it could be an interesting experiment. So for now (until I have that field), I will be more than satisfied with my pot of lavender. It is a perennial of course, but I am not sure how perennials do in pots all year long. If anyone has insight about this, I am listening.

 After a nice afternoon with my In-Laws, celebrating the day, we headed to Little Italy (in our city) to this Mama's favorite Gelati spot. I never tire of Cacaopat (super dark chocolate Italian icecream).

One area that our children are a little deprived in is candy. I think some folks think that we over monitor the candy gifts of friends and family. But we closed this day with a little trek to Sugar Mountain. It was our children's first time in a candy store, and it will be saved for the very rare occasions. If was fun to see the vintage candy like Popeye cigarettes, fizzy candy, toffee and all the rest. A "Sweet" day indeed.

Explained Procrastination and A Visit

Spring is peeking around the corner....Here in the Canadian Prairies, the weather taunts and teases us. "Spring is here, no it's not, yes it is, no it's not"....The snow is mostly melted, but the wind is cold today.

I have a couple of reasons for my silence around here. But I do want to apologize to those generous caring folk who've dropped by and not seen any updates from week to week. I know how that is, visiting friends blogs, and wishing they would update it - sorry about that.

My #1. reason for being tardy is technical difficulties.

Yes, I am a snob in the sense that I cannot bring myself to write anything unless there is at least one photo. That is just how it goes. But on the upside of this, my technical difficulties were as a result of a very great blessing. MY NEW (new to me) PENTAX  K100! I know nothing about photography except that I like to play! My trusty Sony point and shoot has served me very well....but I have secretly been desiring to delve a little deeper - and my husband GREATLY surprised me with this never-used-used digital SLR.

My #2 reason for being away...is because I've been away, kinda. I haven't totally been myself these days, I think it's because I'm not just me anymore. What I'm trying to say is that the sixth member of our home will be arriving by the time the snow prepares to return next year. I'm just finishing my 10th week OR his/her 10th week.

On a completely different note, we dropped by spontaneously at Uncle Rob and Auntie Lois' place a little while back. These are from there. They host Farm Fest each year.  And this is the most amazing out outhouse. You may not be able to read the sign, it says, "Outhouse of Wonder". It is a double, with mosaic tile around the seats of the outdoor thrones, and displays a stunning large porcelain mosaic tile covered sink, hidden around the side (the snow covered it enough that it did not seem photogenic).

Dear Aunt Lois, a force to be reckoned with when it comes to warmth and affection, threw together some delicious homemade pitas filled with hot buttered chicken for supper .  Everyone needs togetherness with saints such as these!  It is women like her, and like Kate and like my Mom, who I draw strength from. Their wisdom and listening ear puts strength in me. I hope that one day I can be as inspiring and blessed in the art of hospitality as they are.