ducky house

summer summary

Hello there, it's been awhile hasn't it? I mean - July to November - now that's just way too long for an update! So what on earth could have taken me away from this space all this time?? Life. I've embraced it and I've been busy in the thick of it, much like many of you I suppose (& to those that are able to keep up blogging along the way kudos to you).

As for me, my mojo for internet ramblings have up and left me right now, as have my crafty endeavors. I'm not fretting too much as I know things are cyclical. Overall I think I am more distressed that my craftyness is on the fritz as it is usually a huge energy booster for me. And couldn't we all use an extra boost of energy in our days? 

But lets not focus on that, I'm here today and I have a wee bit o' an update for ya. Our happenings were normal fodder for a family of 6 during the summer: 

~ bike riding continued on through the whole summer as a family 

~ and sometimes friends joined us

~ had a fight with the white cabbage butterfly and made decoys...

~ and bug juice - more likely salad dressing because I lost the fight and have no garden kale to speak of :( 

~ saw the local sights

~ hung out together at the pool

~ and by the fire

~ we baked apples

~ and then we baked  in the late summer heat

~ harvested vegetables and savoured their lovely taste and wished that the garden was bigger and the growing season was longer

So there we have it, all caught up with July & August for the most part. Watch for September's highlights, I promise it won't take 4 more months, lol.

beachin'

our province, home to over 100,000 lakes, we try to visit a few of them during the summer months: this particular visit took us out to where one of Canada's largest fresh water lakes resides, located in the interlake and one of my favourites with it's cool, ocean-like breeze

sand, sun, sit, swim, read, water, then do it all over again. it's a hard life. 

strawberries anyone?

savouring a few more of those summer moments, the family went strawberry picking this week...

We: 

~ picked a bunch = 5 gallons; 

~ made 3 strawberry & rhubarb pies, delivering one to my sister whose kitchen is currently undergoing a major renovation; 

~ froze a ton for more strawberry & rhubarb pie because I did not think making 20 pies in one week and eating them all would be such a good idea for my waistline; 

~ will be making some strawberry jam as soon I get to the grocery store and replenish our sugar supply. 

~ and of course... ate a bunch, there is nothing like a fresh strawberry!

summer rituals and finding a new rhythym

we ride as a family almost every evening enjoying the trails. exploring new areas and paths being paved around our home. Our goal is to have some good ol' bike ride fun, but with that we find a common way to be together as family, a way to engage each of us.

I've been having a paralyzing fear of my kids growing up for the past while. It's happening right before my eyes and I can't seem to slow them down. I vacillate between my longing for those earlier years when days blurred into each other and it felt like those "baby-days" would never end and the reality of where we are today.The transition is both hard and wonderful as I watch my not so wee ones grow into strong, independent persons. My thoughts wander: where do I fit in now? is my job done?

Surely not with 7 year olds, teens & pre-teens still roaming the house. My role has simply changed and finding my groove is not so easy. Then again I am not alone, we are all changing. The eldest one is now a man cub, almost as tall as me at 5'10 ~ well maybe a few more inches to go. He has gone through the most transition this past year. His interests have taken him away from his world of physical imagination play to more adult like mimicking and conversation. It's been expected but at the same time hard on the others. They long for their "leader" to play again like he did once before. To lead them on an adventure filled with magic, monsters and villans. I see their broken heart and it breaks mine. I feel sad for the ones left behind but recognize the inevitability of it. As the youngest of 13, I understand all to well being left behind while others move on, it's a lonely road.

This is where we are right now, navigating a new phase. We are still a family, changing and finding a new rhythym and new ways to express our togetherness. Hoping ultimately that we will embrace it with grace and enjoy the ride.

may

A little catch up on things and life. I hope you don't mind it in pictures. In fact I hope you don't mind that there are only a few pictures. I seem to roll that way right now. My camera has been left behind at home more times then I would like to admit and I can't actually remember when I last took some decent shots of the kids. Ugh! Thank goodness iPhone is helping me catch bits of my day. 

I was thinking about how busy life feels for me right now. I can't seem to keep up with it or find my rhythym -frankly, it's disconcerting.  I keep hoping and waiting for the second surge of inspiration and energy to hit me and daily I find it evading me. Maybe it's cyclical? or maybe I just need to look at life through new lenses. I don't know the answer. I also don't know why things feel so busy. It's not like I haven't always been running with something or another..., perhaps it's the age of my kids now? I find raising little children taxes your energy in a different way - you are exhausted overall and spend a lot of time doing repetitive tasks, but our outtings were always closer to home and more infrequent. With my older kids, they are more independent but guidance & conversation is huge and we seem to have more groups & outtings that involve driving. Though we've made a lot of effort at keeping those things to a minimum, you know the simple life, there are still a few things that have us leaving the house on a regular basis. Blah, blah, blah, I'm sure y'all know what I am talking about.

In search of a solution, I have made some changes at work recently. I have gone from 80+ hours a month to about half that. This past month has been the first time that I am working reduced hours. The first thing I am noticing on my reduced hours is a sense of relief that has washed over me. I feel like I am able to get a few things done around the house that have me chasing my tail and I feel less stressed overall. My ultimate goal with my new found time will be to start cultivating some blocks of studio time just for making, just because. Ahh, the good life - I can't wait! 

Of course no sooner do I reduce my hours at work then I have to pull semi-full time hours this coming week - a commitment I made pre-work hour reduction. It should be okay though. It's part of my job to be available periodically throughout the year in bulk hours when needed. After my week of chaos I will be back to my shortened hours. yay... and some serious making ~ can't wait!  

Photo details: 

~ my girls primping for a party, even miss lily dog got in on the action courtesy of the twinadoes.

~ at soccer: early season games can be freezing, thank goodness the warmer weather has arrived.

~ my self-love gift for those "making" studio times. 

~ mother's day love, the bunnies finally left me one tulip in my yard. They faithfully eat them all, in four years at this home I have never seen one bloom. 

oh my

Our winter just abruptly ended and I do think my dreams of warmer days have now been realized. It's beautifully mucky & dirty all about and the snow has been melting at lightening speed. Hard to believe we had a tobaggan run in our back yard last week. It's all brown grass, wetness & doggy-do back there today.

Decidedly my favourite part of spring is the awakening... nature, the return of our friends and the daily treks outside by the kids finding new treasures are all a lovely pace from winter's long sleep. When the girls were outside earlier today they happened upon a discarded bird's nest. It probably fell out of the tree, a left over reminder of last year. Amazing how those little mumma bird's make up their nest in anticipation of little birdies, so complete & perfectly suited for their needs.  I feel as though I've been nesting for the past few years - making our home complete & suitable for our needs - and the results, like the birdie nest, are lovely & durable. But I'm ready for a change and just like a mumma bird I am filled with anticipation for a new adventure. Here's hoping I'll be brave enough to follow through.

Happy Friday, xo.

 

in my corner...

...summer is officially here and that means so many, many good things: 

...the weather is giving us beautiful warm days of sunshine sprinkled in with overcast days of shade and even a sprinkling or two of rain.

...our friends have returned and they have brought with them new little ones to love and admire. 

...our school year is ending today and now we turn our attention to some serious outside play - bring it on!

...the garden has been planted and the veggies are growing, the flower pots are blooming and green is always our favourite colour. 

...soccer season has ended for the summer, bike riding is a daily occurrence, we've made one trip to emergency so far and popsicles continue to make an appearance in the grocery cart. 

...I am excited that mr. duckyhouse will officially be on holidays for almost all of July in which we will soak up his goodness with lots of play, beaching, day trips, and yes even some more renovations. 

...I am picking up my camera again after a couple difficult months and realizing that it is through the lens that I am inspired to live a more grateful life. 

...hoping your corner is filled with grateful memories too! 

a new banner

that is screaming "spring" to me. You wouldn't have known if you were here last Saturday. I awoke to this...yeesh.

on the other hand, crazy weather like that doesn't last very long this time of year and it was well on it's way later in the day. but still...I like it when things more like this in April.

I'm signing off for the weekend. Tomorrow is Good Friday and with Easter around the corner I still have to find the Easter baskets for filling. Hope you have a lovely weekend and I'll be back in this space on Monday.

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Happy Easter! 

remix: feed the birds

We revisited an old idea this week that we love making time for: bird feeders. It's a fun activity for both child & mumma (or dadda) and the most basic of tools come from your own recycling bin; from there you can add (to your project) other items on hand such as string, tape, exacto blade - with supervision, etc.... really the possibilities are endless.

I won't go into much instruction, instead you can follow along the with the photos and visit my previous posts for more information and inspiration. 

Abby was my very willing helper this time around and we decided to use a discarded yogurt container and a 2 litre jug of milk. As you can see our design was pretty simple: cut a hole, make a perch for the bird to sit on, fill the feeder and equip it with string for hanging. A little play antics is optional and highly recommended.

    

Don't forget to top up the outdoor feeders that might be empty. 

Next time you are looking for an afternoon activity with the kids raid your recycling bin. It's an easy craft that children enjoy participating in and it goes without saying that the connection to nature is invaluable for all involved.  Have a great weekend! 

the melt

During our break last week, we took a walk around a local park to view the spring melt in action. I always think of spring as my least favourite season because of the messiness. In my brain it should be a cleaner process: winter ends one day, snow melts for a day or two, and we all begin our life outdoors - very tidy and systematic.  Ha! not that way in these parts, it usually takes a month or two for the snow to disappear and during that time the streets are so dirty from all the gravel & sanding that our city does to the winter roads so our cars don't crash into each other. 

But all this got me thinking that the man side of spring and nature side of spring are two different things. On the one hand we have the mess that man creates by necessity and on the other hand nature does spring so beautifully. The snow melts, the water pools and waits to find a place in the ground, our feathered friends return to their summer nesting ground, trees come alive with buds and blooms, days grow longer and the sun grows warmer, while more critters and creatures wake up to show their faces.

;

I can't think of anything in those descriptions that I don't like. In fact I love it all!  Yay, Spring!