Emily and Molly have invited me to join them for the month of February at Habit. i am both flattered and delighted to contribute to this project where we aim to capture and share some moments  of our daily lives by way of photographs and  a few words. i won’t be in the “habit” of double posting photos both here and there but since this is the first and it fits in amongst others (and it’s my favorite) i will. i know it’s not February yet but i’m excited…

it was mostly a gloomy day but the clouds parted just as the sun was setting so we detoured from the route home to follow the sun and see it’s colors painted on the boats.

some afternoons are perfect of light and mud and crisp cool air and good friends with good ideas.

fish tacos and chips are a delicious end to this sort of afternoon.

Little A has been wondering where his tea set disappeared to when we moved. i honestly can’t remember if i followed through with my idea of “losing it”  or if it’s out in the garage somewhere. His requests for it have increased in the past week and finally today i remembered that i have a lovely little tea set which i brought back from China some years ago. i used to use it a fair bit but not so much these past years. it works well with green and black teas but today we opted for chamomile since it’s the only one that Little A thinks he likes (he won’t try any others and he knows this one from Waldorf). Add a little spelt ginger snap and woowee it’s teatime at it’s finest.

rest your eyes a little. sigh. lavender has a good effect on me. these cotton and linen eye pillows are filled with organic flax seeds, organic buckwheat and organic lavender that is grandma grown in the sunny Okanagan from seeds i brought back from England about 12 years ago. Now there’s a story to dream of while resting your eyes a little.

sleeping babushka;

rust;

corn flower blue;

sepia;

goldenrod;

wheat;

available here.

i got a new Waldorf doll just for me - a gorgeous girl and her name is Poppy.  it was top of my girl name list for Little A.  She’s a sweet thing and so totally earthy, made in Kimberly BC by the lovely Fabiola of Fig and Me. i know Fabiola back from the fabric button swap and then recently stumbled upon either her flickr or blog or shop…whichever one led to the others. Anyhow we swapped. yay. and i super scored. Fabiola put so much love into this (and she worked fast). 100% organic cotton knit, stuffed full of woolen goodness, gorgeous woolen locks, green eyes like mine, stylish earthy attire (scarf not shown here) and a caribou bonnet to dress up in. She even made Poppy’s shirt to match the style of little A’s Jacksprat style. sheesh. she’s good. She also included a nutbrown elf for Little A who named him Nukey. it was a pretty great mail day i’d say. Thank you once again Fabs! i am utterly impressed and ready to swap with you anytime (please).

Are any of you reading still? i’m sure i’ve lost you and you’re all off perusing links to find yourself a doll.  Happy oogling.

From the photos you’d never imagine what a crank pot  meanie i was this morning.  argh.  for lots of reasons but none of them good enough. i had to make a quick exit out with my little one to change the mood for the rest of the day. We met up with Auntie for a wander through the fog and some good old hide ‘n’ seek in our favorite tree park. it was much colder by the water than i expected. Even in snow pants Little A lasted just an hour. Muddy and with cheeks aglow, moods amended, we headed home for a cozy afternoon of story telling, paper crafts and stickering.

i found this unfinished post in my drafts and felt pretty great that some of these are now hanging on my walls.

from November;

finally. i’ve measured and ordered frames and mats. well, the gal at Opus was a huuuuuuge help because my brain just doesn’t do numbers like that. she was awesome (and patient). i sure hope the backorder doesn’t take months. some of these prints have been in my stash for well over a  year already. it’s been driving me nuts to have such beauties all wrapped up in plastic so finally i took my craft fair earnings, took advantage of grandma’s babysitting and braved the tedious figuring and decision making. am i so boring to choose all white mats and frames? i just couldn’t deal with more color today. besides, the prints are the focus right? Obviously most of these are for Little A’s space but there are a few for our room too. i can’t wait. home is still far from the cozy, art laden nest i dream of.

….now they hang and i love them so. sigh.

There are so many lovely women and mothers i’ve met through blog connections. Sometimes i feel we know more about each other than some of the people in our everyday lives. i think i should like to invite you all over for tea or coffee or late night wine when the kids are in bed. Often i am having a morning coffee or an evening tea as i sit down to read your emails and words written before replying with my own.  it’s a strange and amazing connectedness that i am grateful for. Strange only because i never would have imagined feeling so close to someone i’ve not actually ever met.

Michelle (a fun schoolin’ mom as she calls it) and i have been flickr mailing each other for sometime and just now she sent me this awesome poem which put a huge smile on my face. it’s a good kick start out of this January funk i’m feeling.

Teach Me in the Key of Life
by Mimi Chenfeld

I am waiting for you
I have been waiting all my life
to spend this time
with you.

I am full of questions, adventures, wonder, curiousity,
imagination.
I am full of fears, doubts, confusions, nightmares, dreams.
I am the Cowardly Lion. I need a badge for courage.
So do you.
I am the Tin Man. So tight. I forgot about my heart.
How’s your heart?
I am the Scarecrow. Hangin’ so loose my brain feels unhinged.
Does yours?
Sometimes I’m
GrumpySleepyDopeyBashfulDocSneezyHappy.
Sometimes I’m seven new dwarfs as yet unnamed.

I love to sing.
I know the words to 2,437 songs.
Teach me through songs.
Let me paint, doodle, scribble, draw, carve, fix, sketch - DO.
I can’t keep still.
I’m a spaced-out, far-out, Star Wars, Superman, rock ‘n’ roll, disco,
punk, psychedelic, tuned-out, right-on, cool age,
electronic, stereo, video games, computerized, technicolor, ten-speed kid!
I need action!
Keep it moving!

I love to read baseball cards, album covers, TV schedules, movie ads,
license plates, T-shirts, buttons, posters, cartoons, cereal boxes,
recipes, highway signs, historical markers, magazines, picture books,
sad stories, weird poems, animal histories, lost-and-found boards…

Let me ask my questions - even if you don’t know the answers.
Dumb questions, like who started numbers?
Do caterpillars know they’re going to turn into butterflies?
Where does the white go when the snow melts?
Why does time fly?
How do we see?
What do you see?

It’s not my birthday, but every day can’t we celebrate SOMETHING?
Colors, seasons, Tuesdays, Mexico, circles, houses, maps, our names, numbers, one seed, our journals, favorite books, inventions, rivers, peace!
Can we celebrate our country on the fourth of October or the twelfth of May?
We don’t have school on the fourth of July!
Every day let’s celebrate SOMETHING!
Life - the wonder and power and miracle of Life - of being here, learning together, with all our fantastic powers.

Surprise me.
Amaze me.
Startle me.
Challenge me.
Try me.
Laugh with me.
Love me.
Teach me
in “the key of life,”
and I promise I’ll
surprise, amaze, startle, challenge, try, enjoy and love YOU!

i suppose many people are either full into their resolutions by now or, perhaps, breaking a good chunk of them. i’ve not set any. i let everything go. Sunk in a slump and then stayed there a while. i tell myself, “sometime it’s good and necessary to do so especially after a month of busy-ness.” i’m totally out of season with my header. i know it. At least i like the crow image still. i might just leave it there until Spring, which i find myself willing to reveal itself sooner than later. That or make real my day dreams of Hawaii. ah but here i am. i’ve not been much in the mood for writing or keeping up here. i was sick at New Years with a persistent and nagging cough that wore me out and life hasn’t been all too exciting to share. Our days are running into one another and i’m grateful that tomorrow we start back at Waldorf after which i intend to pick up a day planner in attempt to set rhythm and routine once again. i think i’ll start with getting little A out of his pj’s before noon.