Such Things

Cozy Place

Beneath my bed,

a place to laugh and wrestle,

a place to read,

a place to cozy up together,

day and night.

On rainy weeks, I tend to focus on inside projects.  We bought a loft bed for Megan from Ikea and after being inspired by this photo in the catalogue, I created the same kind of cozy space under her bed, using pillows and the star lights.  Kids love to have special places to hide, to be alone and to play.  We have all kinds of fun under there!  

Enjoy the rest of your week!

Blue Sandbox

 

Just over a year ago, I mentioned a dream and a plan we had to build a blue sandbox in our yard.  We finished it in the spring and all summer long it was enjoyed over and over again.  Next to the sandbox, we planted the kids' veggie garden.

Here's the original space,

and here's the original plan.

I think it turned out very well, thanks to Mark's fine engineering.  I finished spraying the rocks for the play area a few weeks ago.  We took the rocks from the rubble of our renovation and the kids have painted them all.  What I've learned is to paint both coats on the rocks on the same day (so the paint doesn't chip and crack), and dry them on a hot, sunny summer day.  We sprayed them with a glossy varnish.  I hope they last through the winter!

There is a cover over top of the play area so the sandbox play can continue rain or shine.  There's also a bird feeder hanging to invite some friends from nature.

There's hours of play to come in our beloved blue sandbox.

Christians and Halloween

I have always loved Halloween.  The costumes, the crafts, carving, decorating, trick-or-treating, and all the fun.

It's something to celebrate as the days get shorter, darker and often colder and rainier. 

One day when I was substitute teaching, I thought I'd do an activity about the history of Halloween.  I got to reading about it and I was quite surprised to find that it really does have quite dark beginnings.  Not to mention the connection to Wicca.  Many Christians have chosen not to celebrate Halloween for these reasons and others.  I was chatting with the coordinator of our Sunday School at church and she said she found the holiday confusing. 

As a Christian, I try to steer clear of the more "evil" and scary parts of the celebration and put more focus on harvest,

pumpkins, creative costumes, trick-or-treating and the whole community feel.  

We do Halloween activities with friends and as a family, like carving, baking, crafts and this year we made a pumpkin person.  

 

 

A great activity for a rainy weekend afternoon.

 

Not to mention Halloween parties with games, costumes and treats.  Would God really want to keep kids from something that excites them so much?  As long as it's done in the right spirit.  I'd love to hear your thoughts and comments.

 

Happy getting ready for Halloween!!!

How to Make Caramel Apples

One rainy night, something exciting was happening in our kitchen.

Can't say that some samples weren't tasted.

It took awhile to unwrap all the toffees.

We got the sticks from Michael's. 

One thing to warn:  The hot caramel is very, very hot (we had a burn).

But they were oh, so fun to make,

and tremendously delicious.

There aren't many things better than homemade caramel apples.

Basil Days

These summer days are slipping by, some with a great deal of festivities and others with a restful ease.

This summer I have enjoyed continuing with herb gardening, both indoors and outdoors too.

A particular favourite for me this year has been basil. 

I had one early batch become infested with aphids, but then bought a new flat which thrived in the garden and in our window. 

We were excited to make pesto for the first time, following this recipe from a favourite post that inspired me last year.

And here's a new favourite pasta recipe, using fresh basil and parsley.

Ahh... Cooking with fresh herbs brings a special something to a dish.

Evenings in the Loft

Where have my evenings gone?  Taking bike rides to the river, playing a family game of tennis (good for a lot of laughs), playing at the park after dinner, and staying up late to play in the yard after slowly eating a chocolate ice cream cone.

One of my plans for the summer is to spend a little more time here in the evenings and on those rainy summer days (so far thankfully, this part of the plan has not been needed).  Since I've been blogging, I have sadly neglected my scrapbooking, so I hope to get caught up.  When we renovated our house, we had this little space left over that used to be the space to come up the staircase.  We moved the staircase to the livingroom, and the architect suggested that we angle out the floor and create a little loft area, a creative space that I'd always dreamed of having.  In fact when I was a kid, I remember dreaming of having a "studio", open and artsy with huge canvases spread around (even though I don't have a lot of interest in painting).  Isn't it all about the ambiance?

This is a view of it coming up the stairs.  Our old livingroom had an African theme with all the artifacts we collected while teaching in Uganda.  Now they are scattered about our loft, leaving happy reminders.

This is the bookcase where I store all of my craft supplies, including albums, paper, kid's craft stuff, ribbon, photos and paint.

This is my desk,

and Mark's shelf.  I had to highlight his area, because he often points out the size of his desk compared to the size of my scrapbooking table.  He sort of squeezes his legs into the small space between the two legs of the desk and then has a plant brushing his back.  One time I asked him enthusiastically, "How do you feel in your new desk?" and he answered, "depressed."  Good thing he has the computer desk downstairs as well and it is quite large.:)

We also added a skylight just above my table, which lets in lots of afternoon light.

I'm so happy with my loft area, now it's down to some scrapbooking!

Raising Tadpoles

Something very exciting has been happening around our home. 

Yes, the tadpoles are growing!

The kids have been watching the tadpoles closely everyday.

 

First they grew hind legs, then one front leg, then another front leg and then the tail started to shrink very slowly. 

Now the frog sits out on a rock and then hops back into the water for a swim.  Unfortunately one of our frogs died while we were away camping.  We weren't sure if he was hungry or if our cat was somehow involved.  He is now lovingly buried in the backyard garden (we had a short ceremony for him).  We did more research for the second frog.  The "frog guy" at the pet store said he is too small to eat crickets yet, and suggested that we head back to the pond for some pond water filled with insects, larvae, and now we have a collection of small fish as well, along with a new tadpole! 

So far froggie number two seems content and froggie number three will join him soon, I'm sure then perhaps even more... 

Happy Frogging!

Homemade Playdough

We've had some of these days off and on. 
There is a difference between "rain" and "showers".  See we, Vancouverites have lots of different terms for precipitation.  Sort of like the Inuit have many different terms for snow.

Showers are more brief and they come and go throughout the day.  I actually don't mind showers. 
 

On a showery day, a great thing to do is make playdough. 

Homemade playdough is far better than store-bought playdough.  Especially when it is a huge, squeezable freshly made batch.

Here's our playdough recipe:

combine:  2 cups flour

1 cup salt

4 tsp. cream of tartar

combine:  2 cups water

food colouring

4 tsp. oil (I usually add quite a bit more to give it that smooth texture.)

Add wet to dry and mix well.  Cook over low-medium heat stirring frequently.  Remove from heat after mixture forms a ball and knead until smooth.  Place in a plastic bag to cool.

We got our recipe from a playgroup leader and believe me, they know how to make the best playdough.

So no matter what the weather,

Indoors,

or outdoors, there's playdough fun to be had all day long.

And here's another recipe for my new recipe collection!

Wee Garden

Seed packs,

a space for planting,

making,

labeling,

getting dirt,

planting,

watering,

waiting,

Wee veggie garden.

Art on the Wall

I haven't been at the computer for a short while, I just had laser eye surgery.  I was in intense pain for one day (I got the no-touch, PRK type), but I am very happy now, being able to see without glasses or contacts for the first time since I was in grade three!  Just before Christmas, my eyes started to get very red each time I wore contact lenses and I have a rather strong prescription, so I decided to take the plunge and get the eye surgery.  I'm so glad I did!

 It's also been great to start getting some art up on the wall.  The walls have been quite bare since the renovation. 

These are some of my own prints. It was exciting to see them enlarged!  The frames are Ribba from Ikea.

For our bedroom, I decided to decorate with mostly nature shots, to create a peaceful, oasis-like feel, so we can relax after a busy day.  Art for sweet dreams and now I can see them with my new and improved vision!