groovin'

yes we seem to have slid somewhat painlessly back into the groove the school year brings. i credit a lot of it to the fact that e has a teacher who is also a dear friend and neighbor. i have always been very keen on the idea of a child having the continuity of teacher and classmates through their early years - but alas (gotta love them!) lausd doesn't agree. but this works as well. e's ease and comfort with mr. john have allayed her shyness and have her actively participating in class. (last year she didn't speak in class for the first four months.)

k is enjoying her pre-K year - and the morning transition with her seems to be smoothed out by the bike ride to school. nothing like 20 minutes of hearing the wind blow and watching the birds as your morning commute.

and i am back in "my shed". checking things of my list. digging around our raised beds. and daydreaming about the possibilities our (now in shambles) backyard holds. i am going to take these classes. and ask the chickens what they thing i should do. ahh yes, the chickens. (for you shanna!) they are very settled in. with free run of the backyard whenever we are home. and their comfy coop when we have to dash out. they also have a new fondness for the shed. good company. i have to say they are very good pets. albeit they do leave behind a bit of a mess. (i am not encouraging the time in the shed - and much prefer them to be fertilizing the garden!) they are very friendly and social, and have been spotted falling asleep in e's arms. yes. lots of chicken love over here.




p.s. my beloved camera's run-in with the nanaimo bar didn't go well. am looking around for ideas. any suggestions? love/hate what you are using? thanks!

gone back

i still get back-to-school butterflies. it is my favourite time of year. always has been. its not just the new pencils and outfit and shoes. there is an energy in the air you can feel - all those little minds open and ready to play and learn. my mom has an archive of first day photos of my brother and i. there i am with my just a little too big raincoat on (it always seemed to be raining) with a grin ear to ear, and my brother looking terrified that summer is over and he has "to go back". e is a lot like me. she has had such wonderful teachers - she really loves school - and i am so very grateful for that.

the first day of second grade was a great one. a little nervous excitement at first turned to big smiles when familiar faces appeared in the same classroom. and her teacher. wow! (and i am not just saying that because he is such a good friend!)

she came home hungry and tired and spouting "oh mom, i LOVE room 17!"

looking back

horizontal format

a few more shots from our getaway. thanks for all your kind comments to my list below. the blogging thing hasn't been coming easily for me this summer. too much other stuff drawing my attention and energy. i do feel renewed. and (almost) ready for the return to our regular routine tomorrow. it has been a wonderful summer. but i also feel my heart yearning for autumn. (spoiled by the cooler temps we had up north.) i promise myself not to take on more than i can comfortably handle this school year. to know that others are there - and eager - to take up where i have left things. to let the long days of summer and the pace and joy they bring linger through the year.

bring it on.

from the forest to the sea

a few snaps from our time at the cottage...

things i learned on summer vacation

how to chop wood with a 6 lb maul
that chickens (and children) can grow exponentially in 2 weeks
that i can grow too
how to start a really good fire
that summers should be spent unplugged
that summers should be spent in the forest
how precious marriage is and that it should never be taken for granted
that cameras should never be left in the same bag as nanaimo bars
that chocolate should never be left in the glovebox
that swimming in the ocean or a river beats out the pool anyday
that we can live without (much) plastic
that wishes and prayers do come true
that 6 hours is really the ideal time for all of us to be in the car together
that when we have to, we can manage 12 hours in the car together
that when we work at it we can produce very little trash
how amazing my mom is
that we all can agree on leonard cohen, loretta lynn, blondie, and jack johnson
that we can't all agree on victoria williams, dream syndicate, and the original music of alvin and the chipmunks
that my brother is getting married!
how hope is infectious
how together we can make change
that fresh caught wild salmon is still one of my favourite foods
that blackberries off the vine are the best snack
that my children are adventurous
that my children don't need any "stuff" to keep them occupied
that i do not like it when the temperature is above 80 F
how after a day of weeding i enevitably dream of broom
that thrift shops in b.c. are really very very good
that my almost 7 year old loves pea soup and beets
that wasps can sting more than once
that my 4 year old is not allergic to wasp stings
that my needs are simple
that home is where the heart is

oooh. ahhh. ohhh.

four glorious days at yosemite with dear friends. (a few more photos here.) now home for a few days to clean-up before we hit the road to the cottage.

happy (very happy) summer.

up and away

taking off for a while - literally and figuratively.

holding on tight to summer... hope yours is treating you right.

xo

coop de ville

d put outdid himself once again designing and fabricating our chicken coop.



after much research, we decided against a permanent coop, and opted for a "tractor" instead. the thought behind this being that we can move it around the yard, fertilizing as we go. we looked at what was available commercially (and were tempted by this), but felt that d could build one that answered all our criteria and was budget-minded as well. we needed a safe place for the chickens to sleep, with good ventilation (the henhouse) and a safe area for them to play and eat in during the day, with extra shade for our hot summers (the run). we also wanted to take advantage of the byproduct of all the food the chickens consume (and they do like to eat!). we settled on a variation of the many "ark" images we found. the droppings in the henhouse fall into bedding of shredded newspaper and all that can go straight into our composter, and the droppings in the run go right on our "lawn". the henhouse contains a perch for them to sleep on, as well as a nesting box, for when they are ready to lay (somewhere between 6 mos and a yr). the run will serve them when we aren't home, but the plan is, when they are a little bigger, to let them roam the yard when we are around.

we are enjoying our three girls so much. they are such fun to watch (really!) and each has their own distinct personality. little red (a rhode island red) - the curious one; chick-a-dee (a buff wyandotte) - the little sister, always trying to get someone to play with her; and annie (an aracauna, we think) - as in oakley - (or fluff, depending on who you ask) who is very brave, a great performer, but also very cautious.

for goodness sake

my mom is staying with us for the next 6 weeks or so. then we will all pile in the van and head to the cottage. mom will have to head back to the prairie, and we will stay on for a week or two. we are so looking forward to it.

and so enjoying now. the girls days are filled with storytelling and games of make-believe. it is amazing for me to watch them all together. there is a comfort and love that belies the miles between us. so good.

it is also a strange feeling of watching what i go through in a day. right now grammee rules, and i am left in their dust. but usually my days are filled with being the storyteller... it is giving me a new sense of what matters. (and it isn't the dirty dishes.)

thank goodness.

::

and when we aren't playing with the chooks - we are swimming in the pool.

happy monday!

perched

on the verge of becoming a crazy chicken lady who constantly posts pictures of her birds...



humour me. i am sure it will pass...

peep

yes. we finally did it!

dinner last night

from our garden.

so much going on. working from home. and now trying to balance a girl on summer vacation with all the work i need to get done. (thankfully my mom arrives in two weeks!)

so many june bdays i let slide without word here. you know who you are. face-to-face is so much better anyway.

i do love working from home. i love hearing the girls wake up extra early (5:20 am!) to see if another silkwork egg has hatched (it had) and then watch them dose back to sleep for another 3 hours. then haul them both on the back of the bike to get k to pre-school by 10. return home with one to set-up some pet rock painting, while i attend to the stuff i am supposed to be attending to!



will try to pop back here when i can...

happy summer!


p.s. having a dilemma with newly acquired bedroom suite for the girls (was d's and his big bro's growing up) - should i paint it? it isn't exactly mcm, but was purchased circa 1963!

fruits & vegetable

{first carrot from our garden - destined for the soup pot}

have a great weekend!

one car family

as of june 12 we will be a one car family. with me working from home now, this shouldn't be too bad. it is a question of economy - gas prices, and the costs of a new car. (we have been borrowing a car from our neice away at college, who is now returning for the summer - thanks sammy!) as well as a choice for more conscious living. we will see how it goes.

while i save up my pennies for this, k and i will be travelling to preschool (7 miles return), the market, etc. with the above set-up. d found the used lady schwinn (schweeet! thanks babe.) through a friend at work, and our neighbours were cleaning out the garage and offered us their bike trailer. perfect. (the only downside being i can't haul more with it.)

******

even more perfect is my k. who is 4 today. which i cannot believe. she is the kindest most thoughtful kid i know. with a crazy sense of humour. she informed me today, that she will always be my baby, or at least until she is bigger than me. and that i won't be growing anymore, but she will. she then gave me a big thumbs up. such is life. (you help me grow in more ways than you can imagine my little bug. i love you. happy birthday!!)

a few more

train and portland shots.

because it was just that good!





have a great weekend!

lost and found

yes i am still around - for all those who have called and asked

life is just full. last week i would have said overwhelming, but things are shaking down, as they do, and i sense my groove returning.



we had a wonderful trainride to portland and back. amazing really. to have a straight 29 hours with one's family is more of a gift than i had imagined. (have you read this article?) i am not claiming any spiritual revelation, but there was certainly a lot of joy in just kicking back and looking out the window. together. the wedding wasn't. a long story short: my niece is a smart girl and made a wise choice. we love her so much. we still had a wonderful weekend (oh how we love portland) traipsing the streets with d's family from the east, and of course checking in on our fave portland babe and his family. (thanks melissa as always!) we were sorry that time and weather did not permit all the visiting we had hoped for. but we will be back in august for more!

i have moved into my shed. or shack. or studio. we still haven't settled on what to call it. it feels very good.

the weather is already turning hot. the garden still seems to be happy. the pool is leaking - but d thinks he can fix it before the triple digits arrive. life is good. full. but good. i even find myself looking forward to that long hot lazy socal summer ahead.



if i disappear again. don't worry. i am just outside playing with the bugs.

building blocks

d cut some blocks at work - scale to shipping containers. he is dreaming of building a house with them here. (mom is there now - wish we were with you!)

also trying to develop personal building blocks. better use of time and space. our modernshed is almost complete and i should be moved out of my old space by 1 june. this week is full of movers and inspectors and museum aquisition committees. but friday a train will take us north to portland. for our niece's wedding, and hopefully some time with friends. can. not. wait!

have a great week!

happy mothers' day

counting my blessings and playing in the sunshine...

::

hi there. still having trouble getting to this spot. there is so much other stuff going on. my laptop seems to have fizzled out on me - though i am promised it is "fixable".

our neighborhood school is in the throes of many battles, while at the same time, played host to an amazing community weekend of mural painting and gardening with 175 volunteers in attendance. {it just seems like "the system" doesn't want us to succeed. sigh.} the main issue at hand is an offer of co-location to a charter school. while at first glance this may not seem like anything too terrible, our community really feels that it goes against all that we have been working for. i have nothing against charter schools, but this one serves a demographic much different than the one attending our school. the differences will be notable, compounded by the fact that they are in uniform, and we are not. i really worry about the message of community we have been working so hard to foster being divided. we will continue to fight to keep our "home" ours. and we will see.

the shed is still moving along. almost there. that and our little garden are my therapy. must find time to sew...