Ramblings of Today

J has just been layed off.

We have been waiting for this for about 3 weeks now and finally it's here.

This is such an odd thing for us/me/him.

We have been together for 12 years and married for 9 this July and of all that time he has worked away.

We have spent more time apart than together, but have been able to do it because we are strong and committed, and in love. We try as hard as we can to make it work and I can honestly say it has. It is not for the faint of heart but it is worth it when it is for the love of your family.

He has been married to this job more than me and I have often called myself the mistress.

His job has afforded us many luxuries in life and allowed me to be at home with the kids, which is very important to us both.

But it has definitely had it down falls.

We have had some hard phone calls in remote places. I had to tell him his grandmother passed on and about other such family sadness's.

I took a pregnancy test on the phone as well , a little impersonal but effective none the less. He almost missed the birth of our first because he was in a place he couldn't fly out of.

Always being away for friends wedding and such important events can be a bit frustrating.

I have had friends over the years who had never met J and wondered if he was just an imaginary friend. That is a constant joke in my life.

I do not know how he has been able to do what he does for so long, staying in remote isolated camps and hotels, living out of a suitcase, eating from restaurants and corners store at odd hours.

Missing the kids growing up, concerts, recitals, and sports. J tries his hardest but the girls have gotten used to not expecting him to be there. We video tape, talk on the phone, Skype and email daily to make up the distance and it really helps. We work a this together as a family.

I am certain J will not miss the relentlessly brutal hours, serious daily stress,accountability and responsibility, with a cell phone stuck to his ear endlessly day and night and dealing with so many issues that would make many weaker men run long ago.

He has never been able to make appointments and I never get time to myself.

When he is gone for weeks on end it can be a grunt for all of us.

So now that he is home we can be family (on a budget) enjoying his first summer off...ever. We can plan things and do whatever we want together.

I am so excited to just be.

So what else are we going to do?

We are just looking to book an Alaskan cruise or a trip to Hawaii.

That's the way to celebrate freedom.

YES!!!!!!!!

On to the rest of today.

I have been working hard to create skirts and Kasa Bags for a photo shoot that I am doing with Karen McKinnon next week. I am so excited and cannot wait to see it all in print.

She is the most amazing photographer and I feel humbled to work with her.

It was a 3 skirt night tonight and I am pleased with the new additions to the collection.

What do you think?

I attacked my Neufy dog Basil with the razors today to help her cool down.

I do not think I am dog grooming prodigy, she looks so scruffy and hacked up but the old girl is loving the fur being gone.

Here is a special order Kasa Bag for a little man I sent off today. He has his name on the strap. I just love the denim and red together. I hope he loves it.

Have you ever tried making pizza on the BBQ.

I am so infatuated with this new experience that we have been making them ever other day lately. I have come up with some amazing combinations. I will post some recipes soon.

Till then you have got to at least try it.

A Bunch Of Stuff

A quick craft the other day that caches the sun and relects the light so beautifully onto the table. K had such a great time making this.



Two tables that I found for a buck each and thought would make a great afternoon craft session of painting or decopage.....one day.

Another one of my little quirks is vintage wooden hangers. I love em.

I saw this on crafty crow a while back and thought it was really fitting or my husband.

It was easy to do as I glued mine and the funnest part was going to the beach for the wood.

Art in the park doing tie dying. Always a hit with the kids.

Great old logging equiptment.

I have a deep love for all things antique.

I have been looking for a washing board for some time and was so excited wehn I found this for half price in a quiant little gem of an antique store in Chemanius.

I just have to somehow convince my husband to attatched it to the bathroom wall.

Seaside Windchime

Looking for a craft to do on this blustery afternoon, I came across a huge collection of shells and driftwood that we have acquired over time from all of our local beach visits.

We have shells in the garden and in many flowers bed around the yard.

They are used in the sandbox and as pet food holders.

These versatile little beach gems have found a new place in our hearts today after they were transformed into a wind chime.

And with all this wind we have been able to hear it hitting some great notes.

Grab your drill and lets get ready to craft.

What you will need:

-Shells, driftwood and any beach treasure you find.

-Drill and drill bits.

-Sturdy twine, string or anything that you would like to decorate your chimes.

-Larger piece of driftwood for the base of the chime.

-Large holed beads if desired, that string will easily go through twice.

Step#1: Find an assortment of shells and tiny driftwood pieces.

Set out on a board or table, something that you don't mind if it gets accidental drill holes in.

Step #2: Find a drill bit that will be large enough to make a hole for the twine or whatever you choose for stringing, but not big enough to break the shells when you bore the hole.
I used a second piece of wood to help me not hit the board underneath.

Step #3: Drill holes in the larger piece of driftwood that you are using for your base.
I made 11 holes but you can use any odd amount you would like.

Make sure you have the center hole for the biggest shell to hang from and as the balancing point.

Step #4: I choose white embroidery floss to keep the colouring soft toned. Cut in varying lengths, the longer the better so you can adjust you lengths at the end if need be.

(Next time I think I will use some funkier colours and neater looking beads. And maybe some sparkles....next time.)

Here are a few of the plain wooden beads I choose and a larger bead to finish off the top.

Step #5: Sting wood and shells and use the beads as a decoration wherever you fancy.

Step #6: As you go be sure to leave a length of the string out of the top holes of the base piece to grab and tie together at the end.

Step #7: I used a bead at the top off each strand to secure and decorate the chime.
Grab the secured strand and hold up the entire chime to see how it balances.
Shimmy and move any piece you think well help to balance the chime how you'd like or shift the strings to do the same.


Step #8: Tie off each strand either to another one or if your strands are long enough all together.

Place the big bead on the middle strand or through all the strands and tie off into a loop as a holder.

Let the wind do its magic and enjoy.

Afternoon at the Strawberry Farm

Ashberry Farms is a lovely place to spend the afternoon, picking strawberries, checking out the pigs and bumping into great people.
We were all decked out in our raingear, as it was storming all morning.
Yet ironically when we arrived the skies opened up and it was beautiful for the rest of the day.
After a little dog and E incident we had a quick Dr.s run and all is well. I hope she learned a lesson but I feel that it may not have sunken in the way I hoped it might.
I processed a bunch of strawberries afterwards and my freezer is happily filling with summer berries.
Next time I will be making jam.
But not this week I am just too sick and busy.

As the day goes on I am getting sicker.

This summer cold has got a firm grip and so I am retiring early and watching a movie.

I don't even have the desire to read.

This Morning is Great

K graduated from kindergarten today. I had visions of me crying and being all happy sad.
But I also volunteered in class and was so busy I didn't have time but to enjoy the chaos and energy form the kids.
It was a real nice time. The kids sang songs and we had cake and each one wore a grad cap. So cute. I do not remember any such stuff in any of my years at school.
But that is because K had a dream of a teacher.
She is creative, inspiring and truly interested in the development and learning of each child.
We were so lucky to have her and as we really struggled the idea of public school as opposed to home schooling, this was a welcome introduction to the system.
Thank You Mrs. Fox.

And this is the "20 minute late last night" cake I made for the graduation.

It needed the flowers to set it off and the kids just loved it.

Nothing like a little chocolate cake for breakfast.

Then when we got home I checked my e-mail and I was on Crafty Crow!!!!!

Yahhhh!!!! I am so excited for that.

Chemanius; A Real Gem of a Town

We had a wondeful time this weekend.
The girls and I packed up the van and headed off to visit with J at work in Chemanius.
We bunked in at the hotel, which was nice and we got to celebrate Fathers Day with J after work.
We had a great visit with an old friend of mine who put on a great spread and definately is all about entertaining.
I have lost that spark over the years, opting for function over form in that department.
On the second day our old van had a meltdown. The brakes failed and so it was parked for the weekend and our stay was extended, as nobody works on weekends.
A pleasant surprise thats for sure. We had so much fun.
Thankfully I have amazing neighbors and a great father in law who took over my daily chores here at home.
Chemanius is a cute little town bursting with charm.
It was so nice to roam the streets and really get to know the place.
An opportunity we would have missed had we had the vehicle.
The girls just loved riding in the taxis, especially the old london cab.
We hit the town on a great weekend as they celebrate the summer solstice in fine country style.
We had pancake breakfasts, a parade and the such.
There is nothing like a holiday to take your mind away, but now I feel I am working overtime to catch up.
Here are a few photos of the weekend.

I just love the way he looks at her, I hope J still looks at me that way in 50 more years.

Dairy Farm Visit

I love to watch cows, the way the move, the way they eat, the way they just stand. It puts a smile to my face.
I think they are such a neat animal. Not the brightest but interesting for so many reasons, like do you know how their stomachs work?
I also have a very keen interest in the negative impact of industrialization animals for our use and benefit. Although I do not see how it is very beneficial when you look at the feedlots, the growing of the feed and the consumption of fossil fuels and land to produce meat and/or dairy.
I am appalled at it all and could go for hours on the subject, but as a light hearted aspect of dairy farming here are a few photos of the morning we spent there on Friday with K's class.
Knopps farm was very informative and the people were great there. They have a new milking parlour and we were fortunate to see both the old style and the new method of dairy farming.

It was a great start to an adventurous weekend.

Quilt the Day Away

I am what I call as a Guerrilla Sewer.

I rarely use a pattern nor do I iron and measure things, unless it is important enough.

I love to free hand and take short cuts.

I eye ball a lot of the stuff that I do but when it comes to quilts all that is a big No No!!!

Well tsk tsk on me.

I have had some of the best luck just winging it.

I love my quilts and enjoy snuggling up with them quilt free of disrespecting the labour involved.

This quilt top above took me 15 minutes today.

I used some vintage napkins and some old fabric and pieced the chunks together.

Hopefully tomorrow I will put the back on and have a new summer throw.

One day when the kids are older and I have more time, and space, to spend on the meticulous details of a prized quilt, I will venture into the realm of "real" quilting.

I will take classes and work on amazing pieces of art that quilts recognizably are.

Until that day I will be satisfied whipping up crazy, simple but lovely quilts to share with my family and friends.

This is a quick pattern of random pieces I cut and had sewn together in not even a half of an hour.

I will continue to piece meal this one whenever I get the urge until it becomes something I can cover my bed with.

Could be a while though as we have a king size.

They may not become family heirlooms but the casualness of these creations makes them so much more usable.

I would be mortified if I spent a 100 hours on an spectacular quilt only to see the kids throw it outside and spill tea on it.

I did make a table cloth just for that purpose though.

A reversible tea party style cover with the cutest fringe.

This was a special order and I hope they enjoy it.

Now my ladies seem to think they need one as well.

A quick moment in the sunshine today.

Sunhat and Popsicles and the loves of my life.