rain and other good things

We had some serious, all-day rain a few days ago. The kind that pounds into the ground and changes your world...I love that sort of rain (: Jude cannot go a whole day without some feet-on-the-earth time, so we hurried outside when the rain relented just a bit. He loved it.

Today it is sunny (: We have been in the garden a few times, sitting on the newly added garden bench that Jason spotted on the side of the road (Thank you to the kind spirits of free treasures!) that is nestled in the growing sunflower/morning glory house. It is my new favourite place in all the world. Truly magical. I will post some pictures soon (:

We also shared some licorice allsorts and tea on the picnic table outside. I have always liked those. It must be the dutch blood running thought my veins..! Apparently Jude also likes them. He tried to eat all of them. A bit greedy...hmm. Now, if I am lucky I may finish one of my in-progress baby pilot caps! Jude has blessed me with a nap (:

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Bella and the frogs

When we lived in California, it seemed that there was an unlimited supply of wild creatures for Isabella to hold. Frogs and toads, chickens, doves, pigeons, lizards, snakes, sea stars and cucumbers, crabs and anemones, giant beetles, butterflies, dragonflies and banana slugs...What an amazing place that was! Now that we are living in Ontario, we do have a creek out behind the property which, before the huge heat wave that affected much of Canada and the US, served as a home to many lovely frog~people. Sadly, it has since completely dried up. That seems to happen every year now...When I was little the creek was much larger and stayed flowing throughout the summers. I used to spend time with neighbourhood friends catching tadpoles, frogs, snails, minnows and crayfish...I hate that things have to change.

At any rate, Jason caught these two frogs for Isabella to pose with at the end of June when the water was still there. She's rather silly! (-;

simple joy (:

(I took this lovely picture at La Purisima Mission in California. Oh, how I wish I could visit there again!)

I Have Found Such Joy

I have found such joy in simple things;
A plain, clean room, a nut-brown loaf of bread,
A cup of milk, a kettle as it sings,
The shelter of a roof above my head.
And in a leaf-laced square along the floor,
Where yellow sunlight glimmers through the door.
I have found such joy in things that fill
My quiet days: a curtain's blowing grace,
A potted plant upon my windowsill,
A rose, fresh-cut and placed within a vase;
A table cleared, a lamp beside a chair,
And books I long have loved beside me there.
Oh, I have found such joys I wish I might
Tell every woman who goes seeking far
For some elusive, feverish delight,
That very close to home the great joys are:
The elemental things--old as the race,
Yet never, through the ages, commonplace.


~ Grace Noll Crowell

art from the past

My dear friend Jenny just posted a piece of artwork on her blog that I had made for her in 2002. The funny thing is that when I looked at it, I didn't recognize it at all! I assume that I made it just for her ~ and as soon as it was finished I probably popped it into her letter and sent it off without another thought. What an interesting concept that is - to make something and then send it off into the world never to think of it again.

But then, it didn't dissapear for good now, did it?

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Breakfast thoughts

I'm just finishing up my breakfast of oatmeal with apples, sliced almonds and honey and a big glass of water as I write this. It is a bit of a miracle that I am doing this at all ~ Jude is still cozied in bed dreaming away his toddler-boy dreams. I have indulged in my morning shower, swept the floor (twice, mind you, Thanks to three mischievious cats who insist on leaping out of the litter box in turn without shaking off their paws beforehand, leaving trails of kitty litter all over the newly-swept floor and then leaping onto the table to further their naughtiness). The day is a hot one, I can already tell. I have put on the air conditioner for a bit to cool the kitchen. Poor Mabel-bunny does not handle the heat at all and until the really immense heatwave we didn't even install the air conditioner; she basically flopped on the floor all day looking miserable and shedding like crazy. Now she is much more chipper (:

My belly is huge. Truly. When I'm out and about people have taken to asking me when I am due and when I tell them 'November' their eyes widen with shock. They were expecting to hear 'Any day now' I'm sure! Jude was a big baby (9 lbs, 12 ounces when born) and this next baby boy is following the same path apparently. The heat has really knocked me over. Being this pregnant in this immense heat leaves me feeling like a lifeless jellyfish, and that's no fun at all. I find myself excited at the thought of cool, brisk, fresh autumn but at the same time I know that that will signal the end of our lovely garden season and the onset of another brutal, seemingly endless Canadian winter. Ah, such is life. I am spoiled after my life in sunny, never-too-hot northern California!

Isabella has started her swimming lessons, which will continue until the end of August. They are just a half an hour each day, which is really such a short time but definitely worth it, and she does love to swim. I hope we land in a place with a nearby lake one day so that she can enjoy this favourite activity of hers on a daily basis and it can become a major part of her life, not just an occasional happening. Water is so healing. So is tending the garden, although mainly it is Jason who partakes of that. I am feeling so drained and tired and hot and working in the garden while the sun beats down on me is the last thing my body wants right now. I feel a bit embarrassed and saddened to admit this, but at the same time I am doing a much better job of listening to my body with this pregnancy and just 'going with it' than I did with any of my other pregnancies. Really, it's just a short time and the task is so immensely important, the last thing I want to do is plow through and end up completely wasted. That has always been my pattern and I'm quite sure most mothers are the same. To listen, breathe, and not take everything so seriously ~ These are the lessons I am most trying to embrace right now. This third babe of mine will arrive in just three months! What an amazing thing!

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crocheted mouse family (:

I have found a new obsession ~ crocheting mice!

They are so satisfying to make because they are super-simple and come together really fast! So far I have made five; one to represent each member of the family ~ Jason, Bella, Jude, myself and little baby fellow who as yet has no name (: I haven't made the grandparent mice yet!

Jude intercepted my mouse photo shoot, as you can see. He played with them really nicely, putting them into his litttle teacup, driving them around the table and giving them kisses. Usually he is much more torturous with soft toys, but we're working on that one (-;

I have started crocheting a baby bonnet now, a purple one for my coming little one. He will be born in the winter and heaven knows the winters here are harsh..I'm also sewing some flannel-lined bonnets and they are turning out so lovely! I will take pictures when they're done. I'm making a bunch of them (: How I love to create with my hands! My heart is a happy one (:

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gifts from the tended earth

In the center of the evolving sunflower house, I planted lots of red leafy lettuce. I wanted to utilize the space until the time came for it to merely be a floor (: We have had an abundant supply of lovely, yummy lettuce in that space and have made more salad than we are used to eating, which is a great thing. The garden is also surprising ~ and delighting us ~ with gifts of yellow beans and pickling cucumbers, which we all eat straight off the vine while playing outside. The yellow tomatoes are almost ready to be harvested too! How I love the garden!

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the little gardener

Jude really seems to love the garden. This makes my heart happy (:

{{ this moment }}

{this moment} - A Friday ritual - no words - capturing a moment from the week. A simple, special, extraordinary moment. A moment I want to pause, savor and remember. ~ inspired by Soule Mama

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Mandalas made by children

Jason has been teaching children's summer art classes through Meta4 gallery in Port Perry and doing some really great projects with the kids! This is a collection of some awesome mandalas that they made this week (: I love the way they all look when tiled together! So pretty! I am envious of the ease with which children create...They just do whatever comes to them and inevitably it turns out great because art is meant to be enjoyed as an outlet for unhindered expression. As adults we spend so much time on the intellectual pursuit of creativity which is not nearly as productive or fulfilling. Well, I do anyways ~ always too much thinking! Bah!

New Art Cards in the shop!

Illustrated Bird Art Cards ~ a set of four diffferent designs!

All of these lovely bird cards feature my original illustrations!

I'll be offering them as art prints in the near future as well (:

I love birds so much, especially at this time of year when they greet me upon waking with their gorgeous, happy morning chorus..

I thought it would be fun to print these brush & ink bird illustrations onto some brown recycled paper my Dad collected for me... I love the simplicity of the black line-work mixed with the intricate patterning (:

These are now offered in sets of four in my etsy shop!

morning garden moments

Each day brings to us a completely new garden. How it changes with each new sunrise!

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