Tree Changed

Give a Dog a Bone

2012-11-08T16:39:00.000-08:00

Up here in the North, giving a dog a bone takes on a different dimension.

Since the beginning of fall, there has been an almost endless procession of pickup trucks backing up to our neighbour's shed with yet-another moose caucus. At least our dog gets some benefit.

Halloween Birthday

2012-11-04T17:09:00.000-08:00

Master5 has his birthday right around Halloween. This year we gave him a choice of a big party or a video game console. He chose both. Ha. So we compromised on a small party and a video game console (it was actually his older cousin's. Yes I am cheap.) We did splurge on the cake which he asked for - The Avengers.

His 2 besties came over right after school and carved the pumpkin then played Sonic the Hedgehog on the big tv. We had Crabby-Patties (hamburgers) and Avengers cake before putting their costumes on over their snow suits for Trick-or-Treating.

Here they are at the hospital - the best place to Trick or Treat because A. It is warm and B. There are 6 people in one place handing out loot.

From left to right we have our soccer player, knight, orange and our troll. I had the cutest pirate costume for Master3 but he insisted on being a soccer player. At least he isn't complicated!

I Always, Sometimes, Never...

2012-10-21T10:06:00.000-07:00

I have noticed various Always, Sometimes, Never posts out in blogland, and thought I might try my own. Feel free to add one of yours in the comments.

I always....
...appreciate good design
...love reading
...keep up with the laundry
...go ga-ga over babies

I sometimes....
...miss my old friends. A lot.
...wish we had more children
...enjoy a good work out
...feel like a small cog in a large wheel

I never....
...feel 'on top of it' for long
...get tire of long chats over cups of tea
...think the house is clean enough
...hold much of a grudge
...can get past the smell of goats' cheese. It smells like their poop.

Snow in Fall

2012-10-06T06:57:00.002-07:00

I know a blanket of snow can be a lovely morning surprise for some but it felt more like shock this morning for us!! Two days ago the kids were wearing tshirts. It has been warm and sunny most days. I had intended to take some pictures of the fall leaves today and look- they are not even off the trees!

We will be heading to the lodge this afternoon to meet the first group of moose hunters. I guess I will be coming back to town tonight because it is impossible to heat more than one room in our cabin. The hunters' cabin is warm and toasty though. More about what's been keeping me busy soon.....

My Hunky New Hunter er...Table

2012-10-05T15:48:00.000-07:00

I am so excited about our new set of table and chairs. OK, it was meant for the cabin, but it looks so awesome I have been scheming to get it into our house.

One of our hunters makes these beauties in his spare time (he doesn't have kids yet). We do a bit of a barter on hunting for furniture. Great deal! In these pics he was lightly sanding and applying the final coat of varnish.

Master 3 is checking out his handiwork, while Master 5 checked the comfort of those chairs.

They are surprisingly comfortable! Don't they look great?

Fish Tacos

2012-09-16T12:11:00.002-07:00

I thought my chance of a decent fish sandwich in Canada was impossible until this summer, when a group of fishermen introduced me to fish tacos! I used to looove the occasional fish sandwich with 'the lot' and tried to order one a few times in Northern Ontario with no success. I usually got a piece of average fish with some wilted lettuce and one sad piece of tomato.

Then the fish taco entered my life....

If you are thinking it looks more like a tortilla than a taco, you are quite right. Just imagine it folded over.

The boys let me sit in on their taco-making session and take notes.

First, the (freshly caught) fish is cooked up by the traditional fish fry. They sliced some potatoes for crispy fries too...

Next, the tortillas are grilled quickly on an open flame.

The coleslaw can be made earlier, or bought ready mixed...

...then the tortilla is piled with some fish, coleslaw and grated cheese. The top is drizzled with slaw dressing (such as marzetti) with cumin and cilantro (coriander) added for that bit of extra zing.

And that's it! Fold like a taco, or (like me) package like a burrito.

So Delicious!!

Summer Resolution Reflection

2012-08-24T17:37:00.004-07:00

I haven't done an update on my New Year's Resolutions for a while. I'm not sure if it is remotely interesting to anyone else but just for the sake of accountablility, I thought I might look over my progress this summer. So let's see if I...

1. Made 2 blog entries a week

Errrr....nope. Started out well, but I think the average may be more like one a week. Glad I had a goal here, or I may have really dropped the ball on this one.

2. Drank less coffee than in 2011

This one has become easy for me now. Only drink one, sometimes two cups a day out of habit.

3. Exercised 4 x a week

Not sure how to score this one. I have not been going to Zumba (looking forward to starting again this fall) but my lifestyle has definatley been more active. Despite positive changes, will have to give myself a fail on this one.

5. Taught Master5 to Read

Although this happened before the summer I had planned on keeping up the work over the summer break. We did go to a literacy programme and still read together most nights. He hasn't progressed much, but he hasn't gone backward either. Oh, and I taught him to swim this summer, which I had also hoped to do.

5. Made an awesome veggie garden

Well... made a veggie garden. Made some georgeous compost. Made a nice flower garden. Did not make an awesome veggie garden. Unless you count the green onions. I had a bumper crop of those. Tomatoes are still coming, as are potatoes. The rest of the crops were a little sparse. Next year?
6. Tackled a few organizing projects.

Yes, and I'm starting to beathe easier. I reorganized my coupon binder. I organized my closet, the boys clothes, our magazine collection, kitchen cupboards at the summer house, and did some work on our filing system (I'm going colour-coded). I also helped MIL organize the garage and shed, which were a HUGE embarassment and now look awesome.

7. Kept track of the household budget

Still using Mint.com. I would love to have a system like my friend does through the credit union - where they split her money into different accounts to pay each bill. We are with a bank though, so I divided our bills up into fortnightly (bi-weekly) payments to match our paycheques, then each payday a certain amount goes toward paying each, whether we have a bill or not. This way, it is easy for DH to see that no, we don't have anything extra this week. Ha. It is nice to sometimes get a bill that we are in credit for! I also have a secret savings account for emergencies. We have lots of those - boo.

8. Encouraged my husband more

Yep! I find as I nag less I feel less inclined to nag. Hmmm.

9. Lost 6lbs on route to 20 lbs before age 40.

Nothing happening here. I haven't gained either, but I guess I need Zumba back in my life!

10. Took a picture each day for Project 366

Still taking lots of pictures but not organized enough to edit and post.

Only 5/10! But I am not completely off track for any of my goals. I made positive steps toward all of them, even if they weren't reached. So I'm still thinking this New Year's Resolution idea works.

Secret Family Pie Crust Recipe

2012-08-07T19:44:00.001-07:00

Secret Family Pie Crust Recipe

Makes 4 pies (dough freezes well)

5 cups flour

1 pound shortening (454g)

1 egg

Water

1 tbs vinegar

1 tsp salt

Have ingredients as cool as possible before starting.

Empty shortening, salt and 4 ½ cups of flour into a large mixing bowl. Combine using a pastry blender or a fork until the mixture is crumbly. (There should still be small clumps of shortening in the mixture).

Crack egg into a cup measure. Add vinegar and stir. Fill with water to make a cup. Pour egg mixture over flour mixture and blend with a fork until there are no dry parts left.

Chill in the fridge for several hours or overnight.

******

Remove from fridge and divide in four. The dough will last in the fridge for several days or can be frozen to be used later. It does not alter by being overworked.

Take one quarter and divide again into rough halves – one for the pie base and one for the top.

Flour a section of counter top and your rolling pin. Roll out a section of the dough and continue to flour until the dough is no longer sticky.

Place flattened dough in the bottom of the pie dish, so that it slightly overlaps the side.

Add your pie filling.

Roll out second half of pie dough and place on top.

Crimp or flute the edge of the pie and trim excess, which can be added to remaining dough balls to be used again.

Make three slices in the top to allow the steam to escape.

Bake at 450F for 15 minutes then turn to 350F and cook for 30 minutes or until the filling is bubbly and the crust is golden-brown.

Summer Lovin'

2012-08-05T07:00:00.001-07:00

The weather has been glorious this summer. We have been enjoying the water every way we can!

I feel more like myself in summer. I wonder if I will miss the changing seasons though when we return to the continual summer of Queensland?

2012-07-27T22:59:00.000-07:00

Homemade pie... not made by me, but I contributed by picking the raspberries from our own forest.

DH's mum is going to teach me the secret family pie crust recipe. It isn't really a secret, but it should be, it is soooo good. That pie? Gone already, along with a rubarb-rasberry crisp. Isn't it funny how the deliciousness of baked goods increases exponentially with the addition of cream or ice-cream? Mmmmmm

If it wasn't for Bad Luck...

2012-07-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

….^♪I wouldn’t have no luck at all. ^♫

It is a curious thing, this blogging game. I started it as a kind of diversionary tactic so I would not go completely batty, or have to boil myself in oil. So far, success! I am neither batty nor deep-fried. Having a bit of an outlet for my amusing and/or alarming observations about life in the far north is therapeutic. That is what keeps me from going batty. Looking at things with an anthropological slant is what keeps me from boiling myself in oil.

They say you should not write a blog as if it were a journal or your audience will be similar to your own [boring] journal. Well. To that I say: Anne Frank wrote a journal. If you want to make money writing a blog, however, they may have a point. I have made a little over $3 in a year or so of blogging, and that much was from me clicking on my own ads just to see what would happen. Shhh. Don’t tell Google.

Fortunately, I’m not here to earn an income, promote my products or become famous. I am simply looking for a way to record and share a sliver of life, unsuppressed. And herein lies the rub. If your life is interesting enough to be recorded, you are generally to busy to be recording it. And when you have plenty of time to take photos and write, there is not much of interest to write about.

I’m not appologising for it. Though we may be on a path a little less traveled, my daily life is as banal as anybody’s :- washing, dressing, cleaning and looking after small children. (Although small children can be entertaining enough). These last few weeks we’ve had a string of bad luck – we picked up a hunk of metal in our (new) tire, our insurance gave us the flick, a rock smashed the back window of our vehicle and the generator had a melt-down. We are also having trouble receiving payments from our credit-card machine, due to a bank mix-up (why, why, why is it my problem when I make a mistake, and my problem when they make a mistake? I do not heart financial institutions) It is all fixable, of course. Bit of a bummer though, and has not put me in a blog-writing frame of mind.

So in the spirit of documenting my tree-change, this is the month of July. It is not all doom and gloom ....the weather has been great and the boys have been spending lots of quality time outside with friends.

Somehow it is always easier to cope when the sun is shining!

The Inadvertant F-Bomb

2012-07-11T22:05:00.000-07:00

**Attention: This post is full of swears/bad words/inappropriate language, so if you may be offended /are at work/have young people in the room/are my mother, you may want to skip this post!!**

No, I haven't had a bad day. I'm not hear to rant. This is just (another) observation about cultural differences. You would think that the cultural difference between Australia and Canada (both English-speaking members of the commonwealth with similar standards of living) would be minimal. I mean, it is not like I am from China with different language, customs and ways of thinking. For the most part, I fit in like an almost local. Sometimes though, I am lost in translation.

When I first arrived, I missed the colourful everyday language of Australians. There is no "let's hit the frog and toad (road)", a Canadian will simply say "Let's go." Effective, but boring. Australians have a whole slew of words to describe most things. Someone's stupidity- real or perceived- may be sillier than a two-bob watch, he's a gallah, a dickhead, dill, dingbat, dipstick, dropkick, drongo, (wow, lot of d's!) ningnong, wanker, wally... I can't use any of these for fear of being misunderstood.

But the real problem lies in the curse words. If you know me well, you know I am a bit of a potty mouth. I've learned to put a lid on it, but it is not always easy when the weight of words is not what you would expect. For example, I would have put 'crap', 'bloody' and 'damn' together in the category of 'relatively harmless naughty words' category. After getting an unexpected reaction from using 'damn' in what I thought was a jocular manner, a (french) friend enlightened me.
You see, 'damn' is about the worst thing you can say, because it is sending something to hell. So I might as well have dropped the f-bomb in polite conversation. Nice. In french, curse words are mostly religious; certainly the ones with the most weight. Now that I recognise some words, it is funny to hear my friend cursing at something (in french) by saying 'cup of communion' and knowing that is much worse than 'f*ck you!'.

I guess it is always possible for anyone to inadvertently use a word that someone else finds offensive. It is just hard (when there is clearly no language barrier) for others to understand that the way it sounds to them is not necessarily the way it was intended. I just really miss knowing when I've dropped a clanger. Oh yes, and the occasional use of the non-religious profanity.

Canada Day

2012-07-01T22:20:00.000-07:00

Today was Canada's 145th birthday. Wow. Such a young country. Even Australia is over 200!

Even though we are in a tiny town, Canada Day is still celebrated here. Some people go all out, like Ed, who was driving this old tractor down the street but kindly stopped for a picture.

I took the boys up to the arena to support the local's fund-raising efforts. We were not really much support - I spent a total of $6 and we left satisfied with painted faces, a bag of fairy floss, Canada Day tattoos, various craft projects and 722 jellybeans, won in a guessing competition!

There were lots of parents juggling the usual dollar-store prizes. I managed expectations before we arrived because A. I don't need any more crap in my house and B. a three-year old can spend more money on a game of ring-toss than most adults at a casino. So they were given the choice of one game and I strongly reminded them that they were unlikely to win. Not even close, but they stayed cheerful, regardless.

Source

And what Canada Day would be complete without the obligatory backyard fireworks? The neighbours front and back alternately set off fireworks so of course the kids ran excitedly back and forth. Thanks so much! If they don't sleep in tomorrow, I will be out early with the lawn mower!

Official Start to Summer

2012-06-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

It's not a very exciting post, but I thought I should mark the official start of summer.
Here is some beachy goodness (and yes, I'm wearing a skirt!) ....

First crop from the garden - green onions.

The edge of a rain shower.

The half hour drive from the lake to town is often interesting. We make a game of watching for bears and moose, which we will spot one out of every three trips or so. I've started keeping the camera on the front seat to capture events where they happen. This trip we drove through rain and pea-sized hail until suddenly ...bright sunshine!

Brotherly Love

2012-06-18T09:47:00.000-07:00

I've encouraged the boys to be friends since Master3 was born. When he came home from the hospital, he brought a gift for his big brother. When he smiled, I told big brother, "Look, he likes you!" And when they fight, I tell them they will be brothers forever, and that is the most important thing.

Sibling relationships play such an important aspect of parenting. When we decided to have a second child, we knew it would take away from our relationship with our first-born in terms of time and energy. But we also knew we were giving him something more - someone close who isn't a parent.

It's a balancing act letting them work things out themselves and mediating fights; encouraging friendly competition (works wonders for picking up toys) while not pitting them against each other; having alone time with one but not leaving the other out. I'm always happy when I see evidence that they do have that special bond.

Here Master3 copies his big brother's pose while they watch for a squirrel to reappear so they can get close enough to feed it.

Swimming in the lake is always a favourite, and burns off lots of boy-energy!

This is a picture Daddy took while 'supervising' bath time. It was meant to get me to sympathize with his child-minding hardships. Errr, no. Did make me laugh though.

Caught in the Act: Master5 helps his brother see while his friend tries out their new Super-Soaker.

Master5 sometimes complains about having a pesky little brother and Master3 sometimes complains about being left out, but really, they do lots of things together. Neither has the type of personality that likes to bug others for their own entertainment. Thank goodness. They still find things to squabble over, but mostly they egg each other on to be goofy and not listen to Mummy. Grrr. Lucky they're still cute!

Summer Beginnings

2012-06-12T16:08:00.000-07:00

We've had a few days of real summer...

We had some friends come out for a swim and a bbq. On their way in, they found a partridge with 8 chicks. Partridge (grouse) are not shy around here and it is often easy to pick them up. How cute is that little guy!

The boys had a great time catching minnows from our tank and swimming in the shallows. DH grilled the most amazing steaks for the adults, which were washed down with blue lagoons. Counting the days till school is done and we can be lakeside full-time!

Ordinary Spring Days (at the Lake)

2012-06-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

As we transition from winter to summer, we spend more and more time at the lake. It has been an eventful couple of weeks.

Fish-stocking.
All hands were on deck as the trout fingerlings were brought in for stocking at our trout lake. This is a government assisted, volunteer run programme to stock some of the smaller, spring-fed lakes in the area, mainly for ice-fishing. The fish need streams to spawn, so they cannot breed in these lakes on their own. It has been very successful in years past and we have seen some nice trout come out of our lake.

Master2 celebrates becoming Master3.
It was a cold, rainy day, but the cabin was cozy and surprisingly tolerant of the crowd of noisy boys (and one girl). Malachi chose his cake (Batman) and a number 3 candle (that I left at home so we had to make-do with a 0). He was very cute all day with a little bit of excitement without the brattiness that often comes with it.

DH and I gave him a new bike and my girlfriends both thoughtfully asked me what I wanted (ie wouldn't add to the general toy clutter/annoy me with its noise/get broken in about 10 seconds/be used as a weapon of mass destruction). He was very happy with his new Tonka truck for outside, sandals, lego transformers (from Master5), fishing net, his own big-kid backpack full of craft supplies and Toopy & Binoo movies, among other things. Yay for him AND me!

Going for a ride on the quad.

Master5 often talks to himself. I laughed when I saw this pic with him even using hand gestures as he makes up a story. His 2 besties are imaginative too and their phone conversations are hilarious - "When I come to your house, let's pretend I am the Red Sonic and you are the Black Sonic, and you don't know who I am because you haven't met me yet".

Veggie seeds on the window sill.

An early bug season encouraged us to plant indoors. I hope these lengths of paper towel tubes will allow us to transplant seedlings easily to the veggie garden. We planted lettuce, spinach, carrots and beans and cucumber. I'll be buying tomato seedlings and the green onions came through from last year.

Feel free to leave any comments. I love hearing from ya!

Ordinary Spring Days (in Town)

2012-06-01T14:18:00.001-07:00

The boys ride their bikes on our street.

We like to take advantage of any good weather. It's been a pretty mixed spring - stinking hot, cold, wet, bugs galore, and all in the same week. I actually didn't mind it because I have trouble transitioning. After spending 6 months indoors and doing indoor things, I like to have a couple 'reminder' days once the snow melts.

Master5 begins soccer.

Organised team sports is such a funny idea to me at this age. He is pretty good for his first time yet thinks he is not, because he doesn't have the ball all the time. We've had another talk about teamwork, good sportsmanship, trying your best and listening to your coach (not the team bully!). I guess those life-lessons are worth watching that poor ball being chased by the herd!

The first of my tulips is in bloom.

I just love when previous labour continues to pay dividends! This is the 4th year we've had tulips. The whole annual vs perennial thing was new to me when I started gardening here. Planting something that will only last a few months still seems like a waste to me. I can accept it for something like veggies, which at least produce something tangible before they expire.

We spend some of our time in town so I can (occasionally) go to work and Master5 can go to school and play soccer. The rest of the time we are out at the lake. I'll show you what we are doing there tomorrow.

Twins!

2012-05-28T17:46:00.002-07:00

We had the biggest wildlife-flavoured treat yesterday!

DH (the bush-whisperer) told us about 2 newborn moose he had seen with their mother in the morning. They were so young they were unable to yet stand.

I had decided to take MasterAlmost3 out on the boat so we could spend some time with his dad. We haven't seen him much this week with school, night-shift and customers all keeping us busy.

We were hoping mother moose would still be around too, and she was!

We were able to get quite a good look before she shoshed them under her belly. They remained their for a long while as we gorked, took pictures, and went upstream to get our guests.

She was still there on the way back. Can you see her? She is right in the middle of the picture, just back from the shore's edge. It is amazing just how well they blend into the bush. I was impressed with her spot too - behind is a backwater and they were on a bend in the river. They were in the shrubs too, so she could see all around and have time to get away if something came across the water. Clever mum!

And here is a little boy and his dog - enjoying the ride.

Spring Means...

2012-05-25T06:57:00.001-07:00

...spending time out at the camp/cottage/cabin/lodge/lake...

...green grass, playing outside...

...bare feet...

...joyful smiles...

...bugs! ...

(Gimme some bug dope there, bro.)

...and of course, spring flowers!

This picture is looking back along the lake shore to our the main lodge. You can see the yellow slide just peaking out behind a tree.

The Big Picture

2012-05-16T10:01:00.001-07:00

In an effort to spice up some blank walls and do it cheaply, I turned to Pinterest for some ~~inspiration~~ Pinspiration! So many great ideas. I am determined to try some out for myself and not just waste time just pinning others'. Of course living in Tiny Town there are fewer options even for crafts. We have had to make a few trips to the Big Smoke lately and I quickly grabbed my opportunity....

I sauntered into a Staples store Copy Centre and asked "Do you do engineering prints?" (These are they big blue-prints for building designs) She said yes and they were only $4!! Now I think once people realize how good these are (and how cheap) there will be a run on them and the cost of running engineering print machines will sky-rocket, leading to higher print prices. Word to the wise? Get yours now!

This is how they look...

I then bought some stiff poster board and some ModPodge. I used spray adhesive to stick the poster on the board. (DH helped with this). When it was dry, I put a thin layer of ModPodge. This is just to seal and protect. I guess you could use a spray finish too, I just liked the texture the ModPodge adds.

To get the texture, I put on 2 liberal coats. They go on milky-white, but dry clear.

If you don't use enough spray adhesive, the ModPodge will create bubbles...

These are easy to take out with the edge of a credit card and some patience. I used the corner of the card to press the bubbles gently.

I also did two prints of my boys. They were from an older machine, so you can see the resolution is not as great. I was actually planning for more grainy prints. Surprised at the quality, especially of the first one. These two are up on the living room wall that had been begging for something. I'm not sure how I will finish them off. I like the idea of black edging and also thinking of pushing them together.

The first one is in our bedroom, up on the cupboards. I wish I had known about engineering prints years ago when I think of the possibilities!

April Review

2012-05-10T20:52:00.001-07:00

Anybody out there?

Wow, this year is just flying past. I missed March and we are already well into April! I'm so glad I made New Year's resolutions to keep me on track. In the spirit of candor, last month I ...

1. Made 2 blog entries a week
Only 1 a week, on average. I'd like to be able to say that it is because I am so busy having a life but sadly, no. Just unmotivated, I guess.

2. Drank less coffee than in 2011
Still at 1 or two cups a day and feeling better for it.

3. Exercised 4 x a week
Still loving Zumba but it's only twice a week. I've been hampered by a sore knee and the end of the hockey season. Thinking of walking with the boys now that the weather is better.

4. Taught Master5 to Read
Still encouraging his reading. We've been going to the library to supplement our book collection. This month I want to learn some new French phonetics so I can start helping him read French too. Right now he translates my poor attempts.

5. Started on an awesome veggie garden
We have the seeds and soil and I just started a few indoors for fear of another frost. I have to confess I managed to kill the coriander (cilantro) plant we brought back from the States, though.

6. Tackled an organizing project.
OK, I don't know if this counts - I emptied the hall closet to organize all our seasonal gear, sports equipment, etc. and was then paralyzed by indecision: should I paint the inside? Is it too early to put winter gear up on the top shelf? DH came to my rescue and packed everything neatly away. I figure it was my initiative that gave us an organized project.

7. Kept track of the household budget
Still using Mint.com. I cannot tell you how good it feels to have an organized budget in order without having to constantly update spreadsheets.

8. Encouraged my husband more
Clearly this is not my forte. I'm not saying we don't get along; it is just in spite of me rather than because of me. *sigh* I might get it when I'm eighty.

9. Kept on track to losing 20 lbs before age 40.
Haven't lost; haven't gained. I need to give this some more attention this month!

10. Took a picture each day for Project 366
Still taking lots of pictures but not organized enough to edit and post.

5/10 for April. OMG I'd best get to it! Am I the only ~~loser~~ one still reviewing my Resolutions?

Oh The Places You'll Go

2012-05-05T21:32:00.002-07:00

This weekend we needed a couple of bolts (or something), which necessitated a drive to the next town. It's a three hour round trip. I've done it many times; in winter, in labour, in winter while in labour. I digress.

On the way we saw a bear with her tiny cub. On the way back we saw this guy, feeding on the new grass shoots by the side of the road. He was not a bit shy. He looks cute but you could see the muscles rippling beneath his coat when he moved.

Unfortunately, the big smoke means McDonalds to the kids. I'm hoping to train them out of it.
Here we are waiting for lunch...(ya those frown lines are getting deep on me.)

Master2 managed to earn himself a second mark on his forehead, parallel to his stitches scar. It is unbelievable how often that kid bumps his head!

We had to cut our trip short after I 'popped' my knee. Something great about Canada - free healthcare. Something great about Tinytown - short queue for the emergency room.

So I'm now joining the ranks of old people who complain about their aches in pains. (Actually, it only hurts when I put weight on it.) They wrapped it for me at the hospital and sold me a set of crutches. I was joking that I'll have to check pinterest for some upcycling ideas once I've healed, but a friend wisely pointed out that with two active boys, there may be some life to be lived in those crutches!

I'll leave you with what this area is well known for - a large lake with sandy beaches and great fishing.

Copper, Copper, A Real Showstopper

2012-04-29T23:31:00.004-07:00

We are all a bit more alive with temperatures above freezing and a bit of sunshine. For Master2, that means playing outside whenever possible...

When he gets out into the sun I can't believe his hair is even more flaming. These pictures are untouched, people!
This morning I was happy to hear a knock on the door as the neighbourhood kids came to get Master5 out on his bike. *sigh* Just like my own childhood. I had a few moments of worry as Master2 follows him down the road on his tricycle(so cute). Of course they are wearing their helmets, it is a dead end road and there are a swarm of kids. DH tells me "Karen, it's Tinytown. He's fine". I keep forgetting we are reliving the '70s.

As for me, I have been outside utilizing our tree stump to do ~~some~~ many projects. Here are a couple I've been working on. My projects mostly involve painting something white and/or distressing it a little. DH laments that our whole house will be distressed white. I dream!

I have been wondering whether it works better to only have a small window between winter and fishing season to get things done. You know, the pressure of a deadline. Hmmm, no. I think 360 days of sunshine would work best. It's gunna happen! In the meantime, let's hope the weather holds up so I can do my final coats and maybe share.

Happy Days

2012-04-25T21:34:00.001-07:00

Master2's mustard sandwich

warmer days

finished projects

outside playtime
my baby making himself a sandwich
knowing all the moves
big long chats over chai tea
clean floors
being on the home stretch
night-time stories and snuggles

What's making YOU happy right now?

Tree Changed

Give a Dog a Bone

Halloween Birthday

I Always, Sometimes, Never...

Snow in Fall

My Hunky New Hunter er...Table

Fish Tacos

Summer Resolution Reflection

Secret Family Pie Crust Recipe

Summer Lovin'

If it wasn't for Bad Luck...

The Inadvertant F-Bomb

Canada Day

Official Start to Summer

Brotherly Love

Summer Beginnings

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