Goodbye September!

It was a lovely month. One of my favorite with

the vibrant colors and new experiences. Goodbye!

~ Chy

Orange Shirt Day.

Today across Canada, we observed and honored

our Indigenous Community by wearing orange

shirts. Orange Shirt Day was started in 2013 by

residential school survivor Phyllis Webstad, who

went to a residential school in Williams Lake, B.C.

This day is named after she wore an orange shirt

to her first day of school as a 6 year old. Phyllis

arrived wearing a new orange shirt her grandma

had bought for her but the school staff stripped it

from her. This has become a symbol of all the

children who were stripped of their Indigenous

rights when they were taken from their homes and

brought to residential schools by the government.

The even takes place on September 30th every

year because it's the day that so many Indigenous

children were forced to leave their homes. People

wear orange shirts to honour Phyllis and to create

awareness around what residential schools did to

our Indigenous Community. For us, as a family

and as a school, we are honored to all participate.

~ Chy 

Theatre Love.

We both appeared in school productions and

I was fortunate to tour with a children's

choir when we were young. Then fate drew

us together and we met as young actors in a

big production in the big city. We grew up,

married, bought a house, had children but

kept the love of theatre in our hearts and in

our lives. Our kids have all had various art

themed pursuits and now our grandson is a

tiny thespian! So proud and love this print!

~ Chy

Dream Cottage.

Isn't this the sweetest cottage ever? As we

start to think about our next home, this is

one I've come back to a few times. It would

be a gamble to build as resale would be a

challenge later on. Not everyone would love

a thatched roof or the English feel. Sigh ....

~ Chy

Project: Tiny Gifts.

These tea light jars are now on my

list of gifts to make for my team

members for Christmas this year.

I love to give small gifts and I hope

this one will be achievable for 2020.

So many elements make it just the

right token to share my gratitude

for each of them. Adding to the list!

~ Chy

First Panorama.

Playing around with my camera and was able to

figure out how to take a Panorama shot. This is

from the photo shoot I've been working on for

my families who participated in our recent event

for baby loss. This shot hasn't been touched up at

all and not sure if I'll use it but loved the chance

to try this option. I have many more features on

this camera to figure out. And love the ease of it.

~ Chy

Wander Wish.

A favorite gift on my wish list for

Christmas. We love this line from

a local family on the tiny island we

love to visit. I would LOVE this one!

It's called "Wander" and so describes life

for us right now. We have our goals and

our daily life but we also love to get lost

and wander as we go! Hope you do too.

~ Chy

Opening Mail.

Another favorite from The World of

Susan Wheeler collection. One of my

favorite things is to write letters and

receive letters. A lost activity now.

~ Chy

Fall Rosebush.

My rose bush is still trying to bloom

again. It's a weird time as we woke up

to rain and fog, then an afternoon of

hot temperatures and full sun. It was

like Spring, Summer and then Fall,

all in one day. Loving these colors!

~ Chy

Isolation Check~In.

We're now officially at 29 weeks, or 203 days, of

being at home, though isolation is a more liberal

now. In our home, we still only visit the grocery

store, one store we feel comfortable at because

of their Covid restrictions (the bookstore) and

school. Other than that, we're primarily at home.

I am going in to work now once a week. But not

even for a full day. Just to catch up and get our

students set for the following week. This has

become true life. And it's okay. We're safe, we

have what we need, we have our jobs, we have

our freedom too. No complaints here. We hope

and truly wish every day that this soon ends. We

also use this extra time to make new memories.

How are doing during Covid? Are you coping or

are  you fed up and wanting this to be all over? 

~ Chy

All Hallow's Eve.

Halloween has never been my

favorite holiday but I do enjoy

the time put in to decorating and

having kids in amazing costumes

come to our door for treats. I'm

hopeful that Halloween will still

continue this year, despite Covid.

We'll be ready if they venture out.

We bought new decorations this

year. Our grandson felt we really

needed to "step it up" and so we

did with new inflatables (pictures

to come ~ all on sale!) and some

little surprises we've got in store.

Are you getting ready for Halloween?

Do you hope it will still go ahead?

~ Chy

Garden Tour.

In front of our cottage, in the little

Secret Garden we've dreamed of. We

call it this because it's a bit hidden

from the lane in the Summer months.

A plant given to me by someone I did

not know at all, until I started gardening. 

Our bird bath that belonged to my inlaws

and the gramma before that. Super old!

My favorite statue in the garden. A tiny

girl and a bigger boy, on a seesaw, in the

trees. I smile anytime I see this sight in

the front. Reminds me of all our kids.

~ Chy

Remembering ....

.... my dad. Today is the 18th Anniversary

of his death. It was a chilly and very rainy

Saturday morning and all our family was

together. It was such an honor to be laying

beside him as he took his last breath. He

told us a lot that week that he had so many

angels visiting him. We kept telling him it

was okay to go but I knew he was very

determined to die on the 28th. My dad and

I both had a "thing" about even numbers.

He died at the same time to the same minute

when he was born (I kid you not!) exactly 6

months to the day (I kids you not!) from his

60th Birthday. I hope I have this experience

when I am dying, though I'd like to live a full

100 years. I love how he smiled, closed his

eyes and took one last breath. We had a very

untraditional funeral ~ he wanted a party, so

we had a Celebration of Life and my kids

still have good memories of grampa's end.

A beautiful life, a beautiful goodbye. I

can't believe all the experiences we've all

had in our lives since he's been gone. I wish

he could be here to see everything we've

accomplished and been here on the days

when we felt we couldn't take another step.

I hope my kids feel this when we are gone.

That we made a difference and this live is

worth living, even when it difficult and so

hard at times. Miss you forever, dad ....

P.S. The picture above is my mom and dad

on our Wedding Day in 1984. When he

died in 2002, he look exactly the same. A

bit skinnier but the same. He never aged!

~ Chy

Sweet Bunnies.

My blog has a few purposes but one is to

capture visuals that I want to keep forever

but have no place to store them. Like this

sweet picture above from the "World of

Susan Wheeler" ~ one of my very favorite

visual artists. Love this bunny couple. I

am in awe of the details that went in to

this project. All the little details. Perfect!

~ Chy

Right Here. Right Now.

What I'm wearing .... teal colored skinny jeans with a rose motif in the pattern, a white t shirt, grey soft hoodie with a vintage Disney theme, grey warm socks and black ankle boots.

What I'm reading .... finally finished "Educated" and am now completing Mary Trumps book so dh can read it next.

What's happening in my kitchen .... dh is making pork chops with salad and butternut squash for dinner. Mmmm!

What's outside my window .... beautiful Fall leaves, fluttering to the ground in the breeze. It's been a warm then cold, then windy then calm, kind of day.

What I'm thankful for .... my family, my health, our cottage and our community.

What I'm smelling .... my gum! It has a fruity flavor.

What I'm hearing .... the tinnitus in my ears! And music to drown the annoying sounds out.

What I'm crafting .... an old dollhouse I rescued. See previous posts!

What's on my mind .... what's on my plate this week and when I should take a week off.

Words to live by ....

Thanks again, Barefoot Mom, for

the inspiration to capture this day!

~ Chy

Sunny Sunflower.

We stopped off for a visit at my mom's

place today and look at the sunflower!

So tall and bright. The international

symbol for hospice, I love they have

one in the garden at the front entrance

of her place. Warms my heart and soul.

~ Chy

Lovely Scents.

I recognize that many people are staying

away from scents due to allergies and as

respect to others. As someone who suffers

from food allergies, I do understand and

try to always be conscious of the scents I

wear. There are four items I use that I have

been told are very light in scent but for

me, they always make me feel good and

I'm glad I can wear them without worry.

The Whole Blends shampoo has an great

coconut flavor! And my Lavender soap

too. I also use Lavender bath salts and a

Lavender scented deodorant. No harsh

perfumes, just these light scents. Lovely!

~ Chy

Five Years ....

That's how long it took me to figure out

this corner. I could never get it right ....

I tried our mixer here. Our kettle with

an assortment of teas. A very chippy

and vintage themed bread box. None

of them appealed to me. And then we

bought two new candles (Green Apple

and Rose Vanilla ~ heaven!) and this

corner became the final resting spot

for both, along with a purple candles,

a potted plants and a jar with sage eggs.

I'm hopeful. That was a long five years!

Do you ever struggle with decor?

How do you figure it out in the end?

~ Chy

New Project.

Well, it's time to start a new dollhouse project. I still

have some finishing touches to make on the first one

but am itching to do the "big work" right now. Up

in the studio, we have 8 dollhouses in various stages

of progress. Only one we have built ourselves. The

rest have all been "rescues" and the work on some

will be intense. This one had wallpaper that I'm not

crazy about, so the first job is to remove that. Not an

easy task and my fingers are a bit sore today. There

is hockey on our tv agenda tonight, so while every

one else is watching that, I'm going to attempt to

make more progress and get the last bits off. I had

to take all the trim off first and the "flooring" in the

kitchen will be leaving as well. Once all the glue is

gone, then it will be time to paint. I haven't quite

figured out the theme and colors for this dollhouse.

That part will be fun. I'm going to head to a few

sites later to get some inspiration. Wish me luck!

~ Chy

Interesting Clouds.

Over the cottage yesterday afternoon

was this very strange looking cloud

formation. Hard to see in the pic but

it was actually quite dark and very low.

It moved quickly and I'm glad, though

it did leave a lot of nasty wind behind.

Our leaves are quickly losing all their

leaves due to the powerful gusty wind.

How was your first week of Fall?

Is your weather great or nasty?

~ Chy

Fresher Food.

We buy this coleslaw at least twice a

week but struggle to keep it truly fresh. 

I'm not a fan of plastic anything but this

week, we're going to try a new process.

Ziplock bag with the date clearly marked.

Now we can see the date and keep air out.

Bagged up strawberries, blueberries,

watermelons and tiny cucumbers too.

Hoping this "experiment" works well.

I hate throwing out food more than I

hate plastics, so a fine balance is in the

works now. Wish us luck for this week!

~ Chy

Fall Blooms.

I'm loving that though we are now fully in

to our Fall season, we have fresh blooms!

Martha Washington's are vibrant and so

big in their pots. I'm loving this one now!

Sweet tiny bright pink petals in the front

Secret Garden. This color is so incredible.

Tiny pansies in the Secret Garden. This

was a late planting but so very lovely now.

How is your garden doing this Fall?

Is it done or is it still blooming like ours?

~ Chy

Cozy Veranda.

A new item for our front veranda for

Fall. I plan to fill it with wheat grass.

The sun shining through the woods at

the right moment. Cozy, warm and sun!

~ Chy

Gather Art.

A little Fall art project. I'm almost

done but here's how it all started. 

I'll post the finished project. These

items are from our local dollar store.

The paint I already had, so other

than the wood pieces, there was no

other costs involved. I'm excited to

post once it's all done. Happy Fall!

~ Chy

Fall Decorating.

When I decorate for Valentine's Day,

Family Day, St. Patrick's Day, Easter,

Spring and July 1st, it's a pretty simple

process. Inside or outside, it's very fast!

But for Fall, Thanksgiving, Halloween

and Christmas, decorating the cottage,

both inside and out, takes FOREVER!

I really don't mind and quite enjoy the

process. The final outcome is always so

worth it. I hope you like the start of our

Fall Decorating. Just the beginning but

soon it will look like a colorful backdrop.

Do you decorate for Fall?

Have you begun the process?

~ Chy

Evening Shadows.

A quick post, a quick shot. The sunlight is quickly

changing each day. I love capturing the evening

shadows that fill the house as the sun gets lower

in the sky. Our front entrance with stream of light.

~ Chy

We Did It!

Introducing the newest member of our landscaping

family .... our tiny greenhouse for our little cottage.

It was quite the journey to get her. And then we had

so many delays with rain, or wind, or events. But

finally the stars aligned on the weekend and with

just a handful of tools and a few short hours, here

she is! I know you don't need to have a greenhouse

to be a true gardener. For me, this was and is a dream.

If you have a greenhouse, are you able to use it in

the Winter here in Canada? Still learning if we can.

Any thoughts and tips to share would be so greatly

appreciated as we now figure out the best way to

use this new item to its full capacity. Very excited

and intrigued to see if our garden is better in 2021.

Today if full of Zoom meetings, counselling, file

management, research, some lunch and then one

last counselling appointment in the afternoon. I

then hope to spend some time rooting through the

potting shed to find all my items to move over to

the greenhouse to make it cheerful and inviting.

Wishing you a beautiful Fall day where ever you

are today. Enjoy all the colors and this new Season.

~ Chy

Right Here. Right Now.

I'm a day late in following Barefoot Mom's Sunday night post. But we had an event yesterday and I was so exhausted after (it went really well!) that I didn't take any time to create a post. I hope it's okay to write this a date late!

What I'm wearing .... my comfiest socks, jeans, a tank top and a light blue pullover hoodie sweater.

What I'm reading .... Educated by Tara Westover. One more chapter and I can take it back to the library. 

What's happening in my kitchen .... Dishes are washing in the dishwasher. No baking today. A yummy dinner of coleslaw and sausage patties. And lemonade.

What's outside my window .... dark skies. It suddenly is so dark so early now. Fall is here tomorrow!

What I'm thankful for .... my beautiful family. And this sweet cottage that keeps us warm and cozy.

What I'm smelling .... the new apple candle I bought last week. Smells like fresh green apples!

What I'm hearing .... the constant Tinnitus in my ears. Starting to really drive me crazy. Impacting my sleep big time. Sigh.

What I'm crafting .... I took some time today once my work was done to tidy up the Art Studio. I'm going to start working on a dollhouse that I rescued last year. Needs lots of TLC.

What's on my mind .... my grandson's comment today when I picked him up from school that he has no one to play with at school. Still the new kid. I wish I could fix this for him. But he'll get thru. And he's always a happy kid. Just needs to click with the right kids. 

Words to live by .... 

Have a great week!

~ Chy