Blogtober: Day 30.

No words for the last day of October. Just photos

to share our quiet but lovely spooky Halloween night.

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 29.

We had a sweet little Fall display at

the front door. But our dd's decided

that the display needed to be turned

"upside down" or at least, on it's side!

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 28.

Last night, we performed a Halloween

Radio Play on our station for all our

viewers. It was a lot of fun but we did

not get a chance to eat dinner as the

broadcast was @ 6:00 pm. So after the

show and a visit with the other hosts,

we then headed over to our favorite Pho

restaurant and picked up some dinner

to take home. So good! But today, I

am still full. Do you love to eat Pho?

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 27.

I am finally over the virus that invaded

my body for almost exactly 3 weeks. I

took last week off to recover once I was

well enough to be home alone. During

the 3 weeks I was down, I had 4 Covid

tests and every single one, including a

Provincial test, was negative. Which I

am so very thankful for but I was sure

this was Covid. It's taken a bit longer

to feel 100%. Getting there very slowly.

How have you been feeling?

Have you had to be tested?

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 26.

I will not even show you what my cakes

look like! I love to bake but putting this

together would not be in my wheelhouse!

Do you love to bake? Are you this talented?

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 25.

I'm not sure what happens when he

goes to bed, but I will reassure anyone

that is reading this blog post that he

does get in to bed fully dressed in his

pyjamas. And yet anytime we go in

to turn off his light, there are the pj's,

thrown to the ground. I think he is

always very hot, even though we keep

the furnace at a minimum. At least he

does get a great sleep! Dressed or not ....

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 24.

Pics from our Annual Baby Steps Walk to Remember.

Our 2nd virtual format but we so hope for 2022, our

10th year for the Baby Walk, we'll all be back together in

person to remember all our sweet, tiny, precious babies. 

My broken heart was full of love on Sunday as we read

out each babies name and rang our bell. Such an honor.

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 23.

Thinking about what words I'll add to

the 2 tattoos I have ~ 1 on each arm,

green for Bretton and purple for Ciara.

Our tattoo artist moved to the Coast

in the Summer. Now we have to find

a new artist. A big task for the right one.

Cloudy and windy this morning but it

is supposed to be super warm and sunny

this afternoon. I'm using this morning

to watch a Palliative Care Conference

and doing paperwork, laundry and a

bit of stretching. Then change in to my

very dusty work clothes and head out

to continue working on landscaping.

I can see the finish line! Almost there.

This time next week, we'll be all done!

What's on tap for you today?

A busy day or a quiet one?

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 22.

There seems to be so much controversy in recent years about their impact on the environment. Anything like this is a concern for me. We have soy candles and buy from local or regional makers. But I have 2 that are a combo of soy and paraffin that I truly love and use on a a limited basis. We do have an air return system as our HVAC and feel confident we aren't impacting our health. My 2 favorites are "Love" ~ the pink one above and in the same brand "Green Apple" ~ a perfect scent for Fall. Often I don't even light them but will open the lid for a quick sniff. I also make my own candles and love the process, though it's quite messy. I'm going to experiment this Winter to see if I can come up with the "Love" and "Green Apple" scents on my own. The Art Studio is going to be busy once the snow flies with dollhouse renos, learning to create art with resin and candle making. 

Today is our last day for working on the stone patio and walk way before a big rain sets in tomorrow. Dh has a meeting this morning, so I'm going to head out after my shower to set up for the walk way. Once it's a bit warmer (a blue sky is present and double digits for temps this afternoon), we'll sweep the polymeric sand across the finished patio and then water it gently. It sets up quickly and by the end of the afternoon, we'll have a completed project. For the walk way, we have to take the front steps off, then level the ground underneath, lay down a layer of regular sand, and then start laying out the stone. I hope to have at least the pad down by the end of the day. Tomorrow, we're meeting a contractor at our old house to do a quote on renos there so we can sell, then we're going to my office to set up for an event on Sunday, a quick shopping trip, a visit with my mom, some groceries, then we'll head home. It's supposed to rain all day, so perfect for getting these tasks completed. Tomorrow night, we're off to a hockey game downtown with a dear friend. His company has a sky box that includes a buffet dinner, so we're quite looking forward to a fun night out. Sunday is supposed to be sunny and warm again. Our event is in the afternoon but if it does rain all of Saturday, we may not get any outside work down if the ground is wet. I'll be back at it next week as I still have a few days off from work. Next week looks really nice too.

Do you have big plans for today and

the weekend? Or is it a relaxing time?

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 21.

This week has been so sunny and warm. Perfect weather for getting our stone patio completed, our driveway re~graveled, our Halloween decorations put up and the deck furniture stored away for the Winter. I may even tackle the windows and wash them one more time before the "s" arrives! With all this sun, I managed to capture a few quick shots on my phone of the sunrise hitting our family room this morning. So bright and cozy. I love rainy days but sunny days give me energy just when I need it. A good balance.

Dh sent me a note that Facebook is going to rebrand. What? Dh heard the new name will be "Metaverse." Strange. He commented that on the news report, it was suggested that FB is not performing well in the business world, so it's time for a change. We'll see how it goes. Somedays, I think I should be off Social Media, but there is some value in connecting with family that live far away, opportunities to promote programs to our community and sometimes, a spot for mindless fun. I do limit myself but could probably do even better. I'll figure it out in time. Interesting move.

Today I'm finishing the stonework on the patio, and this afternoon will sweep down the polymeric sand, water it and let it set. While it's setting, I hope to start the front walk. Dh is  home tomorrow, so my plan is to have it laid out and ready to go and then we can lay down those bricks, then water and set. Lots of work but so worth the time to finally have a permanent walk vs. a gravel walk way. Fingers crossed we have enough bricks. I'll post photos once it's done.

I'm off to get my work done. Wishing

all of  you an amazing, sunny day!

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 20.

This was posted this morning on FB and I grabbed it as it spoke to me in volumes. I am one of those kind souls who has endured repeated hurt and attacks from others, all of my life. It would take a book to outline every single experience. But going back to review just brings up anxiety in my gut. Each has been dealt with, when possible, or buried away if there was no way to deal. These harsh moments have shaped who I am today. So is it worth it to experience the hurt and then move forward? Always at the time, it feels like the worst thing. I mull over every detail, try to tuck the hurt away, pull it out to get rid of it and somewhere along the way, compromise with what to do. Later, I often feel like I've won a war if the individual or experience has managed to not take me down. But it's exhausting and has left me leery about forging new relationships in the future. 

A theme has emerged over the years. Some of the hurt I've experienced has come from others who seem intent on taking me down professionally. It's been varied but the  message is always the same ~ individuals who are not fans of my eclectic style or literally want to take what I have. This translates to what I've created and continue to provide in community. My work, my volunteer time, my family .... all it at one point has been affected. I'm getting much better at heading it off before it gets big, but in my early years, I was vulnerable to those who were stronger than I was then. At that time, I would really "dislike" the individual but can look back now and realize they were coming from a place of hurt themselves. Or lacking confidence. Whatever their deficit, it's not my path to fix theirs. My responsibility is to not let them stop me from being the kindest soul I can ever be.

Have you had experiences that

have shaped who are you now?

Experiences that came with

great hurt but with great lessons?

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 19.

The view from the laundry room of our
kitchen. I love the homey feeling. It does

remind me of my gramma's tiny kitchen,

in her very tiny period styled home. The

aprons hanging on the wall, the colored

cabinets, the wood floors, the recipe book

on the counter. And the bleak end of day

site through the dining room window on

the other side of the butler's pantry. Our

cabinets look quite lime green but they

are actually a light sage. I love how the

lighting at any time through the day can

change the shade and tone of the cabinets.

My favorite room in our family home ....

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 18.

Blogtober: Day 18. Feeling so grateful that we are having a beautiful Fall. We were not able to finish our stone patio project this Summer ~ between the sweltering heat and the aggressive wasps, we felt behind on our landscaping. But we knew in time, the heat would disappear and the wasps would all die. And here we are, with warm weather (though a bit cooler today) and no bugs to chase us off our work site. Today, my dh surprised me and stayed worked from home on my first day of a week off to work outside. And in between his meetings and responsibilities, he helped me haul 900+ bricks from the pallets on the driveway to the patio site. We got at least 450 of them in place and I'm hoping tomorrow to do another 200ish, if the wind isn't too bad. My goal is to have all the bricks in place before Friday so we can lay down the polymeric sand, sweep it in all the cracks and then sprinkle the entire surface with our hose. The sand will set up like cement, keeping weeds and critters from coming up through the cracks. I can't wait for that moment, when it's all dry and we can stand back and feel good that another huge project, likely our largest, will be ticked off the list of landscaping tasks. Brick by brick, project by project, we're getting closer to being finished. So close!

In between our work today, we had lunch, then headed over to the community hall down the highway to vote in our municipal election. We just had a federal election about a month ago (called mid way through the term), so it felt weird to have 2 elections so close together. Once we were done our work this afternoon, I had a lovely, hot shower and dh made us a scrumptious salmon dinner. And now we're relaxing, watching "MAID" until the election results start to come in. Such an amazing series. I hope it continues on beyond this season's episodes. Andi McDowall and her adult daughter Margaret play mother/daughter and they are just perfect in their roles. I'll be sad if it's not a continuing series. 

It's half an hour until the polls close.

Time to settle in and watch the results!

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 17.

When I dream of moving to our favorite little

island in the future, this is what I envision the

tiny cottage to look like. Maybe green though,

or a mix of colors. Small, serence and secluded!

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 16.

I decided to try and decorate the fireplace this Fall.

It doesn't get hot at the bottom so it's safe. Love it!

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 15.

Today is International Pregnancy and Infant Loss

Awareness Day. With families around the World,

we will pause to honor and remember all of our

tiny and precious babies who all have died at birth:

Bretton~Elijah Lucas Roberts

Ciara~Rose Kennedi Roberts

Birkley~Finn Kensington Roberts

Cabriola~Ireland Laci Roberts

Cambria~Sage Kassady Roberts

Beau~Harper Levi Roberts

Cree~Raven Lyric Roberts

Bentley~River Kai Roberts

This is a very special day as we are all encouraged

 to light a candle @ 7:00 pm in memory of our

baby(ies). In our community, the big bridge will

also be illuminated in pink, blue and white from

dusk until dawn. A truly beautiful "Wave of Light"

from Earth to Heaven. Heartbreaking but also so

heartwarming as we show our love in a very public

way. Magical and breathtaking. But oh so sad ....

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 14.

A cool but sunny day. And a surprise

to come home to 4 packages dropped

off on our front veranda. A fun day

when books and new towels arrive safe!

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 13.

I had a flu bug that took a solid two weeks before I was feeling well. And today, I'm out again. I'm going to work tomorrow and on Saturday, and then I'm taking next week off to try and recover properly. I'll finish up the last bit of our stone patio, put the deck furniture away, move the snowblower from the shed into the garage so it's ready to go, and put piles of leaves on our garden for the Winter to provide some shelter. When dh is home from work, we'll start to work on putting up the Halloween inflatables and make sure all the lights work so we're ready for the 31st. I also have some paperwork to finish up on a few projects. I'm looking forward to having no schedule for a week, resting when I want and working on the above items as I have energy to do so. The weather looks promising so fingers crossed this works out well. It should be a productive week.

Isn't this the most amazing pink wreath? I'm hoping to make one in the Spring for our shed door. Or maybe even the front door. Spring, Summer and Fall are always busy with projects but Winter, I love to dream! I love to plan out what I hope we can plant in the garden. Figure out what's next with our landscaping. Think about how to show gratitude to family and friends at Christmas. Dream about vacation and redo our budget for the new year. Lots and lots of lists! When do you do your best dreaming?

                                     ~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 12.

After a super full and busy Thanksgiving weekend,

a sweet little print of a baby and mama hippo. Love

the colors and softness. I wish I could paint and draw

like this artist. One day ~ dollhouses are my art now.

~ Chy

Blogtober: Day 11.

This weekend across our lovely country of Canada is traditionally for gathering together with family and friends to celebrate Thanksgiving. But with Covid and restrictions, our time together is limited and small. Most people will eat their holiday dinner on Monday but we love to do Sunday so we always have Monday as a day of rest and fun. And time to recover from such a big meal! Our 2nd Covid Thanksgiving with just the 5 of us, making me sad that we can't have everyone over but happy we have our little cohort here. We roasted a small turkey, and added in mashed potatoes, butternut squash, garden peas, savory stuffing, caesar salad, fresh buns, cranberry sauce and turkey gravy. So good! For desert, we had nanamio bars, 2 different kinds of butterscotch confetti so we could settle a debate (vanilla marshmallows vs. fruity ones ~ no difference at all ~ I won!), and tiny pumpkin tarts with whipped cream. Dgs did a funny toast, we noshed and laughed, shared memories and then cleaned up, relaxing for the rest of the evening. It was a beautiful day with rain, blowing leaves, a hockey game that was won by our team with dgs in goal (6 to 3) and resting so we can do some more landscaping today before the snow arrives! This was a lovely weekend and I hope everyone across Canada stayed safe, enjoyed their feast and found something good to to be thankful for in our 2nd Covid year. Happy Thanksgiving! Namaste, my dear blogging buddies! 

~ Chy