Future Project.

Without looking for it, I found a future project

I'd love to tackle. Dh has a great workshop in

our garage and this is something we could make

together. Some nice wood, a few vintage bottles

and lavender from the garden. Not too difficult

and this would look great on our kitchen island.

What do you think of this sweet project?

Do you have some future ideas to work on?

~ Chy

Changing Views.

I'm starting to get distracted from my work each day

as I look out the window and start to the changing

colors of our landscape. This is facing southwest in

the turret on our upper level. Soon, this will be shades

of yellow, red, orange, brown and a bit of green will

remain through the Winter. One of my favorite views!

~ Chy

New Toys.

We had to put away our wooden toys and look for

plastic for our preschool during Covid. Breaks my

heart to walk in and see all the hard plastic instead

of the natural wood. But to keep our littles healthy

and in school, it's a route we chose to go. This is the

dollhouse we bought. Isn't it sweet? Even has some 

really neat pieces that light up and make fun noises.

This should be an incredibly fun preschool year!

~ Chy

Biking Memories.

Loved this Susan Wheeler print today. Reminds me

of our bike riding days when our kids were all so little. 

~ Chy

Flower Heart.

Two of my favorite things in the World:

a heart and vintage styled flowers!

~ Chy

Tiny Cottage.

Isn't this the sweetest tiny cottage. If we could ever

build on our little island, I'd love this design. Love!

~ Chy

Heart Window.

After posting the Celtic window picture, this one

popped up on my feed ~ creepy isn't it how that

seems to happen! I love the curved window seat

and the heart in the design. Such a cozy spot to be.

~ Chy

Next House Ideas.

In my "new house dreaming" series, how's this for an

incredibly detailed front entrance! Love the shingles,

the round window, the dutch door and the tiles at an

angle. So much of what I'd love, one day, at our door.

~ Chy

Celtic Window.

I love collecting ideas for when we build again, 

one day, down the road. We love anything Celtic

and this amazing window popped up one day in

my feed, so off to the "new house" file it went!

~ Chy

Stormy Day.

This is how I feel today. It's stormy outside. Tons of

wind, rain and dark skies. I want to stay put in our warm

cottage, where it's cozy and quiet but have to venture out

for a short time to meet a couple of new families at our

school this morning. While I'm doing this, dh and dd2 are

going to grab some groceries for the week and then pick

me up to head home again. Looking forward to a cozy

afternoon of working in the art studio on my dollhouse.

And some writing later in a class I'm taking. We'll likely

put the fireplace on for a while. And tonight is movie

night with the grand kid! Always a fun time. No gardening

today. Maybe tomorrow, though it looks like much of the

same is on the way. Next week is chilly too. Hmmmm ....

hope it's not Fall already, as much as I love this coming

season. Just need a bit more of Summer to end the

gardening year off nicely. My hope for you today is

wherever you are in the World, your weather is

calm and lovely. Be well and healthy. And stay safe!

~ Chy

Btoken Toe.

I told our builder that I'd end up breaking a

toe on the curved part of our staircase one day.

And I did last week! The night before our music festival, 

so I had to do a bit of limping along. Broken toes hurt

like #@!! but there is nothing that can be done. No cast

maybe just a wrap but I find that hurts more, so I have

to just leave it be. A week later, it's less swollen and not

so purple. Next house build .... no curve in the staircase!

~ Chy

Sibing Bedtime.

Our 2 eldest kids for a short time shared a bedroom when

they were 4 and 2 years old. We had just had our 3rd baby, 

a sweet baby boy, and though he slept with us, as they all

did as babies, we still proactively moved the 2 eldest in to

a shared bedroom a few months before the new baby had

arrived. They ended up sharing a room for just 8 months.

We then renovated and we moved our daughter to the

smaller room  and put the 2 boys together in the bigger

room with the bunkbeds. Our youngest son went from our

bed and the cradle in our room to the lower bunk once he

was old enough to get in and out of the lower bunk safely.

Glad they were able to share a room together as they grew.

Did you share a room as a child?

Or did you wish you could have?

~ Chy

24 Weeks.

24 Weeks. The time we've spent isolated at home.

Working. Landscaping. Eating. Purging. Living.

We've done school at home. Counselling for clients.

Writing. Creating. Groceries. Organizing. Painting.

None of this has been easy. But on a daily basis,

we are truly thankful we're safe, healthy and here.

~ Chy

Would You?

This amazing house showed up on my feed the other day

and I fell in love with it! We will be building once again,

someday, down the road, so I always keep a folder on my

laptop titled "new house ideas" for the next cottage. I did

show the photo to my dh, and was pretty sure he was going

to say "nope, I would not ever have a purple house!" But

instead he said "wow, I love it!" Our current cottage is a

lovely sage green on the outside, with black, white and

grey accents. Because we went with vinyl siding (though

it does look like wood siding), the next time, we hope to

have hardie plank installed. What this means is we could

choose a color that we love and not worry about resale as

hardie can be repainted, unlike vinyl, which in most cases

has to remain the color it comes in. I'm so excited for this

idea as my two favorite colors are purple and green. Can

you imagine how amazing this would look in the woods?

Would you go with a bold color for your house?

Are you likely to take risks for what you like?

~ Chy

After the Festival.

A cold glass of wine was poured for me by the man

on Sunday, after our successful Festival has been

executed on Friday and Saturday. Our annual music

fest, a mix of roots and folk, jazz and Celtic tunes,

had been originally postponed until 2021. But then

we came up with the brilliant idea to host a Virtual

experience and it worked! The County provided us

with some grant funds and we have had over 3,000

viewers to date. Last year, we had just over 1,000 in

attendance in person, so this has proved that it was

possible to increase our reach. We're so happy and

very tired but already planning for next year, which

we hope will be back on site again under the big tent.

And likely now with a big virtual component as well.

How was your weekend?

Did you do anything fun?

~ Chy

Right Here ........ Right Now.

Not our window, but what the ones in our cottage

are supposed to look like. And I liked the view ....

I love reading Debi's post each week on Sundays called "Right Here. Right Now" and asked if it was okay to join in and she said yes! So here's my version for this week. Follow hers on her blog: Barefoot Mom. 

What I'm wearing .... my baby doll pj's. No sleeves. Short and sweet and very cool when it's warm at night!

What I'm reading .... all my favorite blogs for now but I'm almost finished Mary Trumps book. 

What's happening in my kitchen .... dishes are done, groceries unpacked, fridge cleaned out, recycling done. Hope to make muffins tomorrow the fresh blueberries we bought today but we'll see how hot it is.

What's outside my window .... a gang of coyotes howling.

What I'm thankful for .... our health and our little cottage in a beautiful spot to live in.

What I'm smelling .... the candle that was lit earlier. The Fall scent is still in the air.

What I'm hearing .... dh is watching "Ocean's Thirteen."

What I'm crafting .... dollhouses, dollhouses, dollhouses ... too many now to keep up! I might have to retire from my job just to have time to work on all of them!

What's on my mind .... worries around Fall, back to school, Covid, our cottage ....

Words to live by .... "Don't worry until the worry is in your face .... " From a dear friend who is no longer on this Earth and truly never worried until the moment she had to!

Thanks for visiting.

Have a beautiful week!

~ Chy

Sunday Thoughts.

A few thoughts on a warm and sunny Sunday morning ....

We had our annual music festival this weekend. Friday night and Saturday night. Last year was the first year and we held it outside, with a huge circus like tent covering the staging and seating area, in case of rain or super hot weather. And as much as I hated how much that damn tent cost, it was so worth it in the end, as we had both rain and super hot weather. The artists loved being outside but also covered as did all the festival attendees. This year, due to the Pandemic, we could have shut down our festival like most did, but in the end, we gambled and did a virtual festival from an indoor venue (just the artists, techs and our board in attendance for safety). Last year, we had just over 1,000 attendees, amazing for a first year event. This year, we've hit over 3,000 viewers! Hmmm. We definitely want to be outside next year again but it was a very well run event again this year. No worries about rain. No worries about heat stroke. No worries about ticket sales. Very relaxed and such a lovely time together. Planning for next year is already under way. We are already excited for the 2021 festival.

Work is still at home. But school will be back to normal in about a week. We're all nervous as our little guy goes back. Lots of measures in place to keep kids healthy and safe, and staff too. I'm not sure if this will last all year, especially as we head in to flu season. Fingers crossed as he heads back. Our granddaughter will continue to homeschool as both she and our daugher~in~law have heart conditions. And mama is doing her Masters but this year, for now, the University has put it online. So they can stay home and study safely. 

We hope to BBQ today. So far, the weather looks amazing. Heading in to town to pick up a few groceries, I'll do a quick fridge clean out and pantry tidy, and then water the plants. Sitting out on the deck for a bit in the sun would be great. We just had a couple of days of rain again. Sun and relaxing is definitely a great Sunday plan! No stress,  no worries. 

Weekends are for chilling, catching up, coordinating and conversations. I hope you've had all of these over the last few days and that  your week is amazing as you head in to it. Ours is full with meetings on Zoom, convos by phone and playing with our little guy before school begins. A bit of gardening, maybe the final coat on the deck and sanding the veranda, and another tidy of the garage before the cold weather returns. Hoping to meet with our house audit guys to see where we're at for our claims. And planning for our next event on the 22nd of September is mixed in all of this as well as booking an appointment with my naturopath to set up my flu shots for the Fall. Not sure if we can get in for our teeth cleanings yet but I'm going to call to see what the set up is. Some letter writing to catch up on as well and maybe a few more pictures to hang. Busy busy week but keeps us from fretting about the Pandemic. Makes the weekends more fulfilling knowing we've had a busy week.

That's all for my Sunday Thoughts.

Hope your week goes well!

~ Chy

Lovely Stuff.

No words to share. Just this sweet image

of a soft bunny sipping from her teacup.

~ Chy

Hair No More!

Actually, I still have a ton of hair but I did cut it

the other day. Took off an entire 8.5 inches! I was

getting tired of sitting on my hair every time I sat

down, so it was time for more than just a trim.

I've had long hair all my life, except one short time

when I was 12 and we moved from one Province

to another to "start life over" again. My mom cut

my hair so short, I truly looked like a boy! And

I've never had it short since then. I find long hair

super easy to care for and I love having options

with how to wear it each day. But it was way too

long and starting to look super scraggly so the big

scissors came out and two good snips and there

it was ~ shorter hair! So far, I'm truly loving it. We

came home from an event last night and I was

laying down on the floor and loved how my hair

fanned out naturally. Hence, the pictures above.

What length is your hair? Have you had long hair?

~ Chy

Pup to Love.

We had our pup for 16 years before she died. She

was an amazing support to us. We loved her greatly!

It will be 6 years in the Fall since Celti died and we

are just now starting to think about a new puppy. I

know it will be a good decision and it's a bit exciting

to think about a tiny pup in our house again. It would

be fun and healing at the same time. Found this little

puppy bed that someone created. Isn't it sweet? I am

going to try and make one, once we have a pup to love!

~ Chy

Ciara~Rose ....

A tiny candle for our tiny daughter, who was born

and died 22 years ago yesterday. We loved her

from the moment we knew she was on her way

and have mourned her every day since. Love has

no expiry date. It is forever, even when out little

ones are no longer in our arms. Ciara~Rose ....

~ Chy

This is Us.

This is my guy. This is us. Together 39 years as of July 18th.

Married 36 years as of today, August 18th. This is Love ....

I'm pretty sure we've had more good days than bad but I

will say our bads have been pretty awful, not your typical

experiences but at the end of the day, they are ours and we

managed to weather them and come out on the other side.

Is it perfect? No! Is it great? Most days! Would we change

anything? Nope! Do we still love each other? Absolutely!

Today, we celebrate 36 years of marriage.

I hope you've been here or get here too!

~ Chy

Round Tables.

In between working, playing, writing, painting,

dollhouse restoring, eating, sleeping, working

out, laundrying, shopping and Coviding, we are

also busy trying to finish up some projects in the

cottage, well before Fall arrives then leaves  us.

We all so know what comes after that .... snow!!

One project, once the walls were all painted but

before we put the curtains back up was to figure

out the furniture in this tiny space. We have used

the old wooden end table with the marble top in

our home for a number of years now and the tiny

low table was a gift from a friend when we moved.

But both were really not suitable to be used forever.

The lamps were at 2 different heights and we knew

one day we'd find something else. Then I was on

Marketplace and guess what popped up? These ....

.... two round end tables. A sweet pair that actually

matches! I actually first thought about putting them

 in the guest room as that is another spot with very

mismatched pieces. But when we went to pick them

up, much to my surprise, dh said "wouldn't these

look better in the living room?" Once I got over the

shock of my guy "decorating" I was so excited to

get home and try them out. I know right now, they

look a bit off as we don't have the curtains back

up but I think once we do, they will look more at

home in their spots. I also now want to replace

(see how that happens!) all the vent registers as

they are white plastic and look pretty cheap. We are

now looking at wood registers or metal. And I'd

also like to find an item or two that will help hid

the lamp electrical cords and the plugs. I'll post

update pictures once I have that all sorted out. I

hope it will look better then. What do you think?

~ Chy

My Favorite Office.

Like anyone working from home right now, I've

done the best to keep my routine going. But on

occasion I do take some "me time" and this is

what it looked like on Friday morning. I was tired,

sore and very achy all over, so what did I do to

ensure I didn't skip a bit with work? When I did

realize I was going to have to take it easy, I chose

to stay snuggled in my cozy bed. And by the time
I had completed all my morning tasks, I was less

achy and ready for the afternoon. A quick shower

and went on with my day as usual. But discovered

that if I'm working from home in the Winter still,

I could see any super cold days as working from

my new favorite office! Where do you work from?

~ Chy

Chocolate Koala.

Our daughter's friend sent this sweet chocolate

koalas from "down under" and they were amazing!

Seriously, too cute to eat but once we did, mmmm!

Now we're trying to see if there is anyway to get

them here in Canada. I love chocolate, especially

milk chocolate, so these were perfect with caramel.

Do you have a favorite chocolate?

Do you love candy as a treat?

~ Chy

Lovely Lavender.

I'm so excited our Munstead Lavender bloomed this Summer.

After being told our climate was too cold, we have done it!

This is just the first of many bunches I'll be harvesting this

week. I'll use them in my soaps, my scrubs and in the bath

salts I like to create in the studio for friends and family. It

smells amazing once I get to put everything together. Today, 

I feel like a true gardener ~ my philosophy is you're not a

true gardener until someone says you can't ~ and you do!

Have you grown something unique in your garden or zone?

What is your dream plant to try and grow that's a tough one?

~ Chy

Peas! Peas! Peas!

We harvested the peas from our garden the other day.

Amazingly sweet and so delicious! We ate some raw,

steamed some for our roast dinner and the rest we

put in the fridge to munch on through the day. They

were soon gone but we have another crop or two

before the season is done. Fresh, organic, sweet peas!

~ Chy

Real Life.

The last little while has been a bit chaotic, to say the least. And it's truly a mix of the good, the bad and the ugly. I'm happy on a daily basis to share the good. Sometimes I throw in a smidge of the bad. But for now, I'm keeping the ugly under wraps until we have things sorted. Nothing love limiting or altering, just, you know, unexpected crap that sometimes comes in to our circle and then we have to figure out what to do with it! The stress of the Pandemic is hard, as we all know, and there are days where I just want to stay in my cozy bed and read. Today, I've let myself do that for now. It's almost 11, I'm munching on leftover popcorn from last night's movie (my breakfast!) and reading a new book that I picked up at the bookmobile this week. I actually had it on hold at the big library in town but I'm number 6 on the list and clearly it wouldn't be in my hands now until late Fall. So it was a lovely surprise to flip through the bin of books that had placed outside for borrowing (the bookmobile is too small to let patrons on) and there was the book I've been waiting for! I added it to our pile and when I got home, I took my name off the list for the big library. I'm on chapter 6 and just started reading it around 9:30. So far, it's got my attention and I'm going to now have to carve out time today, in between the other stuff that needs my attention!

What's keeping me so busy that my corner of our turret, aka as "the office" has gotten so messy, you may ask? Well, let me catch you up! Sit back and relax. It's long today!

Work is super crazy right now. It's almost as if everyone has decided that if they're home right now, abiding their time, why not delve in to their grief journey that they have perhaps catalogued and stuck up on the shelf for a future date. And now that date is here! My case loads have jumped so much that I had to make one of my part time staff a full timer. Clients were able to typically get in for an appointment in person, before Covid, within a week. Now it's about 2.5 to 3 weeks, which feels awful for the 3 of us but we're managing fine. Without a commute, as we're all still working from home, the good thing is that we can slip in an extra client each day. But that is a lot of paper work too. Our preschool has been gearing up for the Fall as well. We have been working hard to get all the PPE we need, reduce our class sizes and revise how we deliver our curriculum. Funds will be less but the gov't is promising to continue to pay both the Wage Subsidy and the Rent Subsidy (75% of each) so fingers crossed, we'll be okay. So yes, work is busy. We also had a big event, the launch of our new radio station last weekend. Very successful, well attended, we're all so happy but it was also super physical, so I'm still tired. And then there is the pulling of weeds, the tidying of the house, the prep of meals, the exhausting grocery shopping and maintaining relationships. I bet  you feel just as tired as I do some days! Balance is always the key, isn't it?

As you can see in my photo above, I chose to show some real life today. Other than a garage that needs another tidy (always gets cluttered after an event), the only other spot in our house that has become untidy is our turret. It's the spot we do our Zoom meetings, where I counsel my clients, where I program plan and where case notes are written up, when I'm not doing those outside. But the last few weeks, it's also become the spot to move some files, sort books, work on an art project, look through the kids memory books to do some updates and then we have piles of receipts for filing, bills that have been paid and need to be filed, and work stuff organized that need to go in to a box to go back to the office. Yup, it's a mess! Not proud but it's doable.

Today we're gardening after our nice long rest, making a roast dinner, a load of laundry and a quick run of the vacuum. So with the extra time after this is all done, I'll likely try to start tidying this little corner of my world. I hate clutter and I hate when things are out of place. But this is real life and some days, things are not where they are supposed to be. As long as they go back in time, I'm okay with it. And today is that day! I shall take a pic after it's all done and share that another day. I hope your day is as productive as this one should be. 

~ Chy

Friends and Flowers.

Happy to have both, even when they are small and not

in great abundance. But I cherish what I have with love!

~ Chy

Adopted Again!

We've just gone through a solid night and then all day of

wicked storms. Thankfully, with the rain and the cool air,

we are out of the brutal heat wave. The sky is clear and

so blue this morning. More rain to come during the week.

But today and tomorrow look lovely, with sun and warm

air but not super hot. Perfect for being outside. We have

groceries this morning, then back home to take a walk to

see if any trees came down that need cutting. And then a

sit in the sun while I finish up the curriculum for a group

on Monday afternoon. Movie night tonight. Then our little

guy is off to visit his dad for 2 weeks. It's going to be so

quiet around here, which is fine for the first hour, then we

miss him too much! He hasn't always liked going down

to visit but this Summer, that has changed, so it's good to

see him looking forward to going. We'll miss hime and

will be excited once he's home again, safe and sound.

I posted this Susan Wheeler print today because we have

a family of blue jays who have adopted us as their new

home. First the cat, now the birds! They love our tiny

birdbath and our feeders too. We love watching them!

Have a great weekend!

Be well. Stay safe.

~ Chy

August Heat.

Dear Blogging Buddies. I hope where ever you

are, your sky is as blue as ours has been lately.

After so much rain for several months, we are

now on Day 4 of an uncomfortable heat wave.

The sky is amazing and it is lovely to not see dark

clouds all the time. But 4 days of this is a bit much.

I've had to battle 2 days of heat stroke but am on

the mend and catching up. We now need rain!

Ironic, isn't it? Too much rain and now too much

sun. On another note, before all this hot heat, I did

another coat of stain on our deck. Do you like how

the columns have turned out? They need one more

final coat, which I'll do once the weather evens out

again. Our decking is finally all coming together, 

We had to move our pots from the back deck,

which faces south and east, to the front veranda,

which faces west and is much cooler. They are

doing better now that the heat is later in the day.

Out sweet little potting shed, in the hazy late day

sun. I took clear pictures. The heat creates a mist.

At least our cottage stays nice and cool. Big eaves

and air conditioning that only goes on for a few

minutes in the morning and later before we go to

bed really help to keep the heat out. Truly the best

investment ever, even if we only use it for a short

time over the season. Hope you are staying cool too!

~ Chy

Rocker Reflection.

Sitting on the veranda in the sun last

night while contemplating painting

the tiny rocker. A lovely shade of very

light pink is my first thought. And as

I gazed in that direction, I noticed the

pattern on the deck from all the spindles

in the railing. As a visual artist, it is

these things that catch my eye and help

me keep perspective when live around

me is chaotic or troubling. Life is good.

~ Chy