About Me

August 31, 2016

Scary!


We woke up to our bed literally shaking this
morning. The thunder was so loud it truly
rattled us all. After several hours, the thunder
claps stopped and the rain cooled the air. And
just over 12 hours later, guess what's back!
With no end in sight, I guess we're about to
have a long and loud last night for August! If
this keeps up, it could be a very noisy fall ....

The August Break #31: August was ....


.... exhausting ....

Many good things but just as many
difficult and trying things. I'm hoping
that September will be that much better.

August 30, 2016

Rain .... Sun.


A rain storm and then the sun peaked out
before it took time to set. I love these vistas!

Bye, Bye Summer.


How can it be the end of summer already?
Kids in our community returned to school
today. The leaves are changing. The air is
cool at night. And the sun is setting earlier
every day. Why?? We haven't gotten our
grass in yet. Or finished staining our deck.
Can we please have it back? Just enough
time to finish up the last little bits. Please?

The August Break #30: Evening Light.


We've finally had some hot days and
one night, we had left the blinds down
in the music room. I loved how the trees
reflected against the evening light. Peaceful.

The August Break #29: Favorite Mug.


I love this mug right now. It's the perfect
size for a good "cuppa" and lovely too
when a cold drink is needed. The colors
make me smile. And the price was right!

The August Break #28: I am ....


.... wishing I had time to paint right now. 
Life is far too busy for my creativity!

The August Break #27: Little.


I have several "art" authors that I love.
My new collection is from Becky Kelly.


Most of her books are the size of the larger
book above. But last week, in the mail,
this tiny book landed in my lap. Love it
to pieces as anything little is a favorite.

August 27, 2016

The August Break #26: Oranges.


This is definitely not a favorite color for me so I
had a bit of a challenge trying to find something for
this prompt of oranges. I didn't even have any
fruit oranges in the house to snap! But then I came
across this pic of the sweet carrots we brought
home from a trek to the Farmer's Market. They
were incredibly delicious and now I want more!

The August Break #25: Peaceful.


A favorite spot to sit in the late afternoon.
Sun streams through the trees, the breeze
is light and all around, the landscape is
silent. A very peaceful and content spot.

The August Break #24: Three.


Our old house, now filled with a sweet
little family to love it for a while. My
favorite windows in the house were
these 3 in the dining room. This room
will now be an office for the dad and
an art room for mom. They love it too!


Another favorite shot showcasing 3. Our
guest bedroom in the new house. So bright!

The August Break #23: My Face.

I was reading through some of the posts for the
August Break challenge for "My Face" and saw
many posts that talked about the unhappiness that
some of us have with our face. I will say that I'm
not totally in favor of mine but I don't dislike it
either. I often get complicated on my skin and
my high cheek bones. A question I get asked often: 
"Do you have any Native Indian in you?" Ha!


This is a picture of myself, my auntie, my cousin
and her son. They had flown to a funeral a province
away from us and their flight on the way back had
a 3 hour layover. So I packed up my two girls and
stopped in the big city to pick up my mom and we
all headed out to the airport to meet them for a
quick but yummy lunch. We had a great time,
catching up, sharing stories and laughing. My
cousin shared her own experience of what it was
like when my auntie was diagnosed with Dementia
and how she now copes as a daily caregiver. This
is our new path as my mom was just diagnosed in
May of this year and it's quite a challenge. My
face in this shot looks skinny as I've not been
eating very well and this was the day before I
really started not feeling all that great. I can tell
my eyes are not as bright and I'm not as colorful.
It was a good day and I'm so glad we got to visit.


Here's my mom and my auntie. It was nice to
see them share some memories too. I'm not sure
they both understand their diagnosis' but for a
short time, it was comforting to see them so happy.

The August Break #22: Squares.

 A bit of a break as I was battling a
little bug. Still not feeling all that
great but I can function somewhat.
I'm writing in bed this morning, all cozy
and warm. We'll go out later today.


I had a hard time with this August Break
photo challenge prompt. Every time I'd
take pictures, because of the angle, it
wouldn't look like a perfect square. So
I went into my picture archive and came
across this shot of our old house, just 
after we had replaced the flooring in the
laundry room. Again, these are perfect
12" x 12" inch squares but my wonky
camera angle makes them look very
elongated. Hope you can see they are
square and lovely to look at. Our tenants
were very happy to see the new floor.
And so far, it's holding up very well.

August 22, 2016

4 A.M. ....


I'm snuggled in bed, comfy duvet and
pillows cocooning my weary body. A
storm is raging outside and hasn't let
up in over 2 hours. The wind is the
strongest element, making me a bit
worried for what the morning will
bring. For now, we're safe and cozy
in our little cottage, nested and warm.

August 21, 2016

The August Break #21: Today is ....

.... what would have been our tiny
daughter's 18th birthday. On this day
in 1998, Ciara~Rose Kennedi quietly,
without taking a breathe or opening
her eyes, slipped into our arms and
melted our broken hearts forever.


In her memory, and in memory of
her older brother, Bretton~Elijah Lucas,
we created our organization to help
other parents cope with this unique loss.


Ciara~Rose Kennedi did not get
the opportunity to grow beyond
the day of her birth, but our centre
has grown by leaps and bounds.
We are proud of her tiny moment
in our life and her legacy for others.

August 20, 2016

The August Break #20: Clouds.


Our summer has been a wild one for weather.
Usually we get days of sun and warmth, then a
day or two of cloud and rain, and then back to
the sun. But this year, we start out sunny in the
morning and by afternoon, the weather warnings
have begun. Everything from intense rain to
dangerous lightening to tornado's. Last year, it
was so peaceful out here but wow, this year, storm
after storm. I was in town the other day and did
manage to capture these ominous clouds over
the community. It was another weather warning
evening but thankfully, nothing too bad other
than some rain and a bit of wind. We got a little
reprieve from the lightening and thundering too.

The August Break #19: My Hands.


My hands, holding my son's teardrop,
at our recent grief camp memorial.


My hands, holding my daughter's teardrop,
at our recent grief camp memorial.

I read the prompt for this post the other 
day and it created a memory for me from
a song I used to love and played often.
The song "Hands" by Jewel has this
chorus in it and you can see why I chose it:

"My hands are small, I know
But they're not yours, they are my own
But they're not yours, they are my own
And I am never broken"

My small hands are always noticed for
being so tiny in a grown woman. I wish
sometimes they were bigger but also do
appreciate that they don't take up too much
space and I can still wear kids gloves in
the winter! Recently, I began to see how
they are changing, with lines and wrinkles.
My gramma's hands fascinated me with
the aging process and now it's my turn.

The August Break #18: 5 Years Ago.


Five years ago, our little guy was just
starting the 2nd half of his 1st year here
on Earth. And he napped hard because
when he was awake, he never stopped
moving! This is Aunty C, just 18 at the
time and the best aunty in the whole
world. The other day, he told her that he
remembers that she would look after
him and rock him to sleep. And "play
for hours", he recalls! Great memory!!

The August Break #17: Bedroom Window.



On a cool and misty "Fall is coming"
morning, this is the view out my
bedroom window. You can see the
leaves are beginning to turn already.

August 16, 2016

The August Break #16: Breathe.


Taken from my studio window above
the garage. One of the reasons we
moved to the country is for the fresh
air and the chance to truly breathe. To
not have our neighbors peering in our
dining room window. To sit on the
veranda, in peace and quiet. To grow
what we want to grow in our garden.
To walk through our house or our
property and not feel like we're being
watched. And to pull out of our little
driveway each day into the woods,
with no traffic, no line ups. Time to
 breathe. Loving every moment here!

The August Break #15: Unicorn.

Unicorns were popular when I was a teen.
I didn't collect them but was gifted this
signed copy of "In Pursuit of the Unicorn"
beautifully written by Josephine Bradley.

The August Break #14: Love Is ....


.... still getting butterflies every time the 
love of your life (short guy) is on stage ....

The August Break #13: 6 O'Clock.


The weather has begun to change.
We have fog some mornings, early
on, that burns off as the sun rises.
Out our window this morning ....

August 13, 2016

The August Break #12: A Secret.

My post today for the August Break
photo challenge is about a Secret.
The issue I've had with this post is I am
by nature, not able to keep secrets!! My
birth sign is Sagittarius and that is one of
our traits. So my family and friends know
everything! Even on my blog, I speak and
write totally from the heart, truly without
any improvising or making things perfect.
Hard to take a picture today about a Secret.


I'm using this photo of my dh's popcorn
stand in our theatre room. Now this was
a Secret! I ordered it online and it was
shipped to me within days and then I had
to figure out how and where to hide it.
My girls helped out and even put it all
together so that when he opened it, he
wouldn't have to construct it. It was
on sale for an amazing "can't believe
it price" and it wasn't red!! Those who
read my blog know that red and I do 
NOT see eye to eye. So the black color 
and the vintage look were perfect. The
biggest obstacle? To keep my giggles
at bay and not spill the beans. That was
a very hard task for this non~secretive
individual! But I did it and he loved it.
I then vowed to never, ever do it again.

Have you ever had a hard Secret to keep?
Are there things in your life you'd like to share?

The August Break #11: Green.


We took a huge gamble when we opted
to not follow any current trends in our
new home. Building a home to look
vintage took a lot of time and thought.
And colored cabinets vs. traditional
wood stain or white wrapped was a
big choice. Not everyone agreed but
once they saw our vision, it made
sense. We LOVE our sage green
cabinets and ivory contrasts and
look forward to many years of
living and loving this vintage space.

My post for The August Break #11: Green.
Do you have lovely green in your home?

August 10, 2016

The August Break #10: Yellow.


Our trip to the weekly Farmer's Market
revealed many colors, including yellow.


Yellow string beans, fresh, organic and
so crisp. We bought peas instead.


Different colors of cauliflower, including 
vibrant purple, green, orange and yellow.


For dinner, we feasted on fresh lobster tails,
organic yellow corn and herbed butter.

Do you like the color yellow?
What would you capture in a photo?

The August Break #9: Red.

Personally, I do not like the color red.
I truly believe it's because when I was
around the age of 6, we came across a
very horrific accident, in the pouring
rain. A red car, totalled, and through
the drops of rain, I could see a little
girl, my age, who had gone through
the windshield, and there was blood
everywhere. I will never forget that
sight and obviously, it's had an effect
on me all these years later. So it was
hard for me to take a picture of red.


I've avoided the color, successfully, for years.
We even have a white fire extinguisher!


But thankfully I had taken some time to make
our favorite pie in the world ~ strawberry
rhubarb. Mmmmmm, so good. So here is the 
before and after and my shot of the color red!

Do you have a color you like or hate?
What colors surround you in your life?

The August Break #8: Favorite Taste.


Food and I have a very tumultuous history.
From anorexia to extreme food allergies,
we have not always been friends. But
now that I have some avenues for relief,
I'm beginning to enjoy the process of
not just eating but also cooking. Now
I can actually make a list of foods that
not only can I tolerate, but I enjoy. Some
I even crave! All new for me. For this
photo challenge, I took a picture of the
soup we make often. A comfort, with
lots of pieces to enjoy, different flavors
and textures ~ chicken tortellini with cheese
and peas, carrots and herbs. So yummy!!

What is your favorite taste or favorite food?
Do you have tastes or foods you dislike?

The August Break #7: Beneath My Feet.

 For the photo challenge today, I chose this
blurry but accurate picture of the beautiful
floors we chose for our new home. Beneath
my feet, they are purposely created to look old,
giving us freedom to not worry about little
nicks and bumps as we truly live each day.


A soft color, they have blended in very well
with our furnishings and treasures. And the very 
best part? No footprints!! There is just enough
sheen to look smart .... without footprints!

What is beneath your feet?
Care to show us??

The August Break #6: I'm Reading ....


Reading is big in my life and for my
family. We actually collect books!


Here's the four that I'm reading right now and all are 
intriguing to me for different reasons. Backyard 
Homesteading, Romantic Country, Living the Country 
Life and the Big Book of a Miniature House.


As a dollhouse restorer, this one is new
to our personal library and I love it!


And as a new country homeowner,
this one is helping me figure out the
land outside my front door. It's a huge
task but this book is truly helping.

What are you currently reading?
Anything you can recommend?

August 7, 2016

Wildflowers.

Although we don't yet have a big
garden full of perennials, we do
have 2 acres full of these sweet
smelling and pretty wildflowers.


I know in the city, they'd call these
weeds. But out here, they grow wild ....


.... and free and are so abundant. I love
looking around and seeing great color.


We have no plans to weed wack these
down, even once our gardens are in.


They'll continue to border our property
and we'll smile when we see them sprout.

Treasure #5.

From the Boot Sale we attended last
month, here's the 5th treasure we found.


Brand new, never worn. Perfect for my little 
baby clothesline in the guest bedroom.


So soft and girly. Hmmm. A new grandbaby
really needs to come in to our life for this item!

Container Combos.

 Landscaping here at the Little House in
the Big Woods is a slow moving project.
We have paths now and dirt but grass and
perennials, bushes and our veggie patch
are still dreams. More dirt has to come,
and then the planting can begin. Exciting!


We do have some pots on our veranda and
yesterday, I bought a few petunias to add in.


I found this great article in a magazine from
the library and took pictures so I can remember
how to mix different flowers together to create
these sweet container combos. Doesn't look too hard.


My favorite is the 4th on. I didn't take a picture
of the 2nd one as the flowers weren't my style.
I will never do something just because an article
tells me to do it. I still have to have my own
take on any project to make it ours. But its
good to have a basic idea to work towards.

How's your garden in August?
Containers or beds or both?