Market and Art

This weekend, despite our busy work schedules, Jon and I found time to take the kids to the Moss Street Market and the Moss Street Paint In. The market is a weekly farmers market but the Paint-in is an annual event hosted by the local art gallery. Artists from all over the island come to display the paintings and other works. It's so amazing to see the talent here in the city.

It was a sweltering hot day so we didn't make it the entire way down the street. We started at the market. One of my favorite local bands, The O'Brien Family, was playing. There were tomatoes, berries, amazing breads, cheese, garlic, ice cream and so so many more goodies. We stopped by the children's art tent with A where she decorated some fairy rocks for her fairy home.

Then it was on to the Paint In. I was really surprised to see some very young artists at the paint in this year. Most artists that attend have been working at their craft for many years. It was nice to see new faces. The kids loved the opportunity to do their own crafts. There was another craft station where A made a wind sock and F did some coloring.

Such a lovely way to spend a morning with my little family before heading to work. These local gatherings throughout the summer months help me to feel that sense of connection to my community and this town.

July Garden

July has already been so dry and hot I wasn't sure my garden would survive. We are facing drought conditions and are on water restrictions. Still, in many ways the garden seems to be benefiting from the heat. The raspberries have ripened and been eaten, the blueberries as well and we are already seeing blackberries on the bushes. Blackberries!! We don't see those until August. We've been steadily harvesting kale and zucchini. Then all of a sudden all the english peas were ready. I can hardly stand to be out in the heat picking them all. Good thing A is such a pea fan because I can always count on her for help.

The chickens and cat however, are not doing well in the heat. Zooey is desperate to find a cool place to rest. It seems almost impossible to find for cat or human. The chickens too. It's been so long since we've had rain. The earth is so dry and where the chickens once rolled in the cool earth, they now huddle in any small patch of shade they can find. Their water needs to be filled over and over every day. The long days mean lots of eggs though.

These drought conditions have led to many forest fires throughout the province. Fire crews are stretched as it is. It's to the point now that they can only tackle the most severe fires, not all the fires. Since Sunday the city has been blanketed in smoke. It's eerie, the colors are off. There is a film of ash on my car and I haven't seen the moon in several nights. It's been making my eyes burn and making me cough at night. So, the garden has been left behind. We have been spending our days indoors until the wind carries the smoke offshore. My thoughts are with all the firefighters and those whose homes lie in fires path. Mother Earth, we could use some (or a lot) of rain right now.

Sun Sweet Sun

 

Sunshine, family, flower crowns, fairy houses, berries from the garden, dinner outside and a sun cake. What beautiful solstice it was. I hope you all enjoyed the longest day of the year.

His First and My Last

This post is almost a month late! How the time flies. Mr. F turned one last month. He is my last baby so it was a bittersweet day for me. The last first birthday. We all had the flu on his actual birthday so it was a very low key day. F and I spent most of his birthday in the very bed he was born in. I tried to take the time to reflect on all the changes of the past year. How much A has grown up, all the milestones F has seen, how our family has grown and changed. I can't imagine life without this little boy.

Although he isn't walking yet, he is fast! He can find trouble in the blink of an eye. He loves baths but not public pools. He likes to rip the leaves off almost any plant he can find. He loves dogs and cats; he will point to a dog when we are out for a walk and shout "Da!". He does not like to sit still so stories are not popular with this boy. He does like music though (especially if he can clap along with it). He adores his big sister. He likes to wear hats (or more specifically put a hat on, take it off, put it on, take it off) and play dress up with his sister. He loves swings and going for walks.

He is happy and healthy and I couldn't be happier. His laugh fills my heart to the brim with love and I can't not smile when he cracks his toothy grin. I'm so blessed to be his mom. My life is better with him in it. Happy First Birthday my last and wonderful baby.

Suddenly Four

I say this every year but I'm stunned that my little girl is four! In some ways it feels like she should still be a baby toddling around our house but then in other ways it feels like she has always been here. She was born on a rainy Saturday in the early morning hours. She was amazing. She was a breastfeeding champ, a terrible sleeper who refused to be swaddled. She had lungs, she was so cuddly, she hated the bath, she was gorgeous. I look at her now and she's so different. She loves to swim, she loves books, she's always singing, she's very curious and she is very kind. I forgot that about her sometimes. She is stubborn, strong-willed and at time defiant but she has such a kind heart. She loves birds, flowers and fairies. She is learning to write letters, sew, and use scissors. She hopes this year to ride her bike without training wheels, to swim with her face in the water and to go camping.

Her request was for a gymnastics party. I was all for it. Anything to get all that preschooler energy out. She was thrilled to bits. I will admit though, the gym made for some out of focus pictures. The light wasn't the best for keepsake pictures. On her actual birthday we took her for a little tea party at the local family cafe, she asked for thai noodles for dinner and we shared a mini cupcake. She got a few books, a box of buttons her nana had collected for her and a basket for her bike. It was a lovely day. A day for my girl. Happy birthday my beautiful daughter.

Taking Care of Myself

 

I can't believe it is the end of January already! I must admit I'm disappointed I went a whole month without posting here. The day after Christmas however, I decided it was time to take care of myself. I really pushed myself to make Christmas just as I imagined it and I was burnt out. On Christmas day my dad showed me this TED talk. A plant based diet is something I've been toying with for a while. I read this book many years ago and then watched Forks Over Knives this summer and on Christmas day I decided it was time to commit to a plant-based diet.

A few weeks into my lifestyle change I got hit with the flu. It's been years since I've had the flu and this one really dragged on. My body has been struggling. For years I've battled crippling migraines, painful periods, skin conditions, allergies and asthma. My doctors have always told me it's simply a matter of losing weight. I don't see that as the solution. I was a size 8 when this all started. I was at a healthy weight and living an active lifestyle. There must be something else missing. My body needs more than just shedding a few pounds.

For the past month I have been working on nourishing my body. My goal is to get as much nutrient dense food in my diet as possible. I've been devouring leafy greens in almost every form, adding mushrooms to meals, eating sea vegetables, feeding my gut with probiotics and making to change to healthy fats. I have completely eliminated processed food from my diet. Sugar is also off the menu (which is sad because I have so much glorious honey that I'm just not eating). It's taking a fair bit of experimenting to find food that appeals to my palette and is completely nourishing. Thank goodness for my blender and food processor!

Of course caring for my body goes beyond just diet. I've begun a daily yoga practice. I also attend a core strength class once a week. One of my favorite things however has been going cycling with the kids. We recently purchased a Madsen bike so I can cycle with both children. I love leaving the car behind. I need to fashion a rain cover so that not even rainy days can keep us off the bike. Our weekly hike has also been a big part of my wellness. I try to push myself on the trails so I get the workout but when I'm among the trees, listening to the birds, feeling the coolness of the forest around me, it never feels like exercise. It feeds my soul as well.

As a mother, taking care of my mental well-being is essential. It is so easy to get burned out by the endless demands of such small people. Yoga has certainly helped clear my head but my goal is to make time for meditation as well. When I was in university I used to ride my bike to a local beach and meditate on the rocks. Listening to the waves and letting go healed me. If school burned me out, that was what I needed. For now I'm trying to remain mindful. Live in the moment. It's easy for me to get caught up in worrying about money, sleep, cleaning, appointments, kids, gardening, everything. I can easily spend a whole night worrying about things in the past. So I remind myself multiple times a day to be present. Listen, feel, breath.

As a final note on this post, I'd like to share a recipe with you. This smoothie is my favorite way to start my day. Tweek it of course. Make it right for you. I hope you enjoy it as I do.

Green Banana Smoothie

1 large ripe banana
2 large kale or chard leaves
1 heaping tbsp almond or hazelnut butter
1 tsp probiotic powder
2 tsp ground flax seed
1 tbsp hemp protein powder
1 tbsp spirulina powder
1- 1.5 cups unsweetened vanilla almond milk

Add all ingredients to a high powered blender. Blend until liquified. Enjoy!

Handmade Holidays

One of my favorite parts of the holiday season is planning and making special gifts for my loved ones. It gives me so much joy to create something special that will be used and treasured. Of course I inevitably find myself overwhelmed and rushed but seeing the recipients face makes it completely worth it. Here are a few of my favorite handmade gifts for my family.

I've been longing to make a Maggie Rabbit for A for a while. I bought the kit months ago but finally committed to complete it for Christmas. It was certainly a test of my hand-sewing skills but the final product is so cute. A wool rabbit with a little Liberty peasant dress and wool knit caplet. Though the first thing A did when she got around to playing with her was strip her down. I might need to make another outfit for her to change into.

Speaking of another outfit, I decided it was time to add another item to A's waldorf doll's wardrobe. I had some lovely Anna Maria Horner fabric set aside to make A another Lazy Days skirt so I took the left over fabric and made a matching skirt for "Big Girl". I made them both a second matching outfit but it needs some tweaking before I post it here.

I knew I wanted to make F his own mama-made quilt but I was going back and forth on a design. Finally I found this beautiful organic fabric from Charley Harper for Birch Fabrics. Since A's horses quilt is still so popular, I chose a similar design. It's backed with a super soft vintage sheet so the whole quilt is just perfect for a cuddle. F might be too young to love it now so I will give it love until he's ready to claim it.

I wanted to make something special for my husband this year. I taught myself to cable knit this month and a found a soft Rowan yarn that seemed like something he would wear. I did my best to knit it up in secret and finally finished 2 days before Christmas. To my disappointment it was much to small. I didn't use a pattern for this hat so I guess I calculated the size wrong. I told him I will whip up another hat as soon as he tells me what yarn he'd like. In the meantime A or I could get some use from the mistake hat.

The final handmade gift wasn't actually made by me. I envisioned it and told J what I wanted and he created it. He chose some beautiful sapele wood and made it to fit A's ferby pencil crayons and her Stockmar block crayons. It's beautiful and I adore seeing her art table orderly. How glad I am to have a talented woodworking husband.