Good Friday.

I wanted to share these amazing frames I bought from a lovely lady off FB Marketplace yesterday. She took fairly tight shots of the frames (there are 3 altogether) and because I have seen the big teal one in stores in the past, I assumed it was the same size ~ about an 8 x 10 size. I was amazed when she opened the door and it was so big! I'm not sure it even looks as big as it truly is from the angle I took the photo from. Massive! And super heavy. She was offering the frames as $10 each and I asked for the teal one. But as we chatted, she offered me all 3 for the $10 I had in my hand. I initially thanked her and felt it wasn't enough. And truly I only wanted the 1. She insisted as they are moving overseas and it was helping her to get rid of them in 1 shot. So I agreed and came back to the car with all 3 frames. I love the smaller cream frame. Perfect for our decor. I was going to take the big one to work before I knew it was a big as it is. The color would be perfect for my new office. I'll have to see if I can safely hang it but if not, we'll keep it at home and I'll repaint it sage. The third frame is quite contemporary, so I'll donate it. Love my $10 purchase. 

This corner of the living room has become my favorite spot to curl up with a book when life in the family room gets too noisy! I love the sun at the end of the day. The quiet and calm, the soft chair and the cozy pillow. Best spot to write letters too. I've been writing a lot during this week off. 

Today is "sanding the caulking" day while we finish up the board and batten in the lower level. Then painting tomorrow. We hope to then board and batten up the long, steep staircase that goes to the lower level, as well as the mudroom, then the main staircase and the long hallway leading to the art studio. Our final project will be the 1/2 bath on the main floor. It's been wallpapered and now needs the trim. Lots to do, but we're taking it one task at a time. 

Later today, I'd like to see if I can duplicate the sweet bunny ears above for our napkins for Easter Dinner on Sunday. There is a video and it doesn't look too hard. I even have some pretty ribbon I was gifted. Wish me luck with this fun task. Looking forward to creating a lovely table for dinner.

Wishing you well on this rainy Good Friday.

~ Chy

Happy Canada Day!

A national holiday that celebrates our

vibrant history, culture and diversity.

We're a quiet country, intent on a peaceful

existence, kind to our neighbors and guests.

A country intent on spreading the love, 

sharing the wealth, spending time in the 

great outdoors and making sure our people are 

well cared for. I'm proud to call this nation home!

Today, for the first time ever, we're staying 

home instead of lining up for the big pancake 

brekky at the lake, enjoying all the fun outdoor 

activities all day (all free!) and finishing up with 

the big fireworks display when the sun finally 

sets, around 11 p.m. For today, we'll be picking 

weeds, hauling dirt and enjoying watching/helping 

our amazing contractor create a new circular 

drive (okay, its really more like a nice big loop!). 

Lots of work that was pushed back a few days

due to the intense storms all week, including

being under a Tornado Warning for most of

the afternoon yesterday. The sky is now blue,

the air is warm and the soil a bit wet but

perfect for pulling weeds! Wherever you are

and whatever you are doing today, I'll hope

you'll take a moment to raise a glass (or

a shovel!) and whisper "Happy Canada

Day" into the wind. I'll be waiting to hear it!

What are your big plans on this beautiful Canada Day?

Will you be celebrating along with us wherever you are?

Home Alone.

Today is my day off for the long weekend. Everyone else had Saturday to Monday off but I work on Saturdays, so my three day weekends are always Sunday to Tuesday. I had great plans of leaping out of bed, dropping C off at school & then powering through the house, finishing the last few reno items & packing up the last of the items we can pack away that we don't technically need. We woke up to rain & dark skies, that soon turned darker with flakes of snow falling, mixed with the rain. A cold,  windy, snowy, drizzly day.

After a another weekend of back breaking, body aching, physically exhausting reno work, mixed with packing & a bit of yard work on the side, my plans quickly changed when I came home after dropping said child off. I did a bit of laundry, tidied up, then set myself up in a "nest" of blankets, books, my laptop, my camera for editing, my phone, the tv remote, a hot water bottle & a pot of tea. As the rain hit the roof & blurred the windows, I settled in for a long day of writing, editing & musing about life. Part way through the day, I realized how my Mondays, the day everyone else goes back to work & I get to stay home, was lost in the long weekend. So this week, Tuesday became my official day off!

I felt guilty for a bit then let it go. In the past, my day off was truly a day to get myself grounded, a time to catch up with the little things I can't always do with a crowd of people around me & space to just be. To sit & reflect, time for enjoying the moments. Once I'm back at work tomorrow, I take off running, so I truly do cherish this time alone. I've neglected my days off a lot since we started the big push to sell then move. It has felt like all my waking moments have been taken up by work & the move. Not much time for rejuvenating my mind, my body & my soul. The rain changed my original plan but in the end, it was the best kind of day off to have. I feel great & ready to go back tomorrow.

What do your days off look like?

Do you take it off or use it for catching up?

Blah!

Hi everyone!

 

I'm currently snuggled up on the couch on our deck, with a cold Starbucks green tea to ease my hurting throat. Not feeling the best today. A bit rundown, with aches everywhere. Dh let me sleep in this morning and this afternoon we drove out to see the progress on our house. Not exactly the relaxing day I had in mind, which usually involves gardening or writing or dreaming. Today, laying around has been the only task to tackle. Hoping tomorrow I'm better so I can drive my dear friend P to her doctor's appointment at the hospital in the morning.

 

On to the progress on the house ....

 

 

The last part of the roof being lifted up.

 



 

My dh, always joking around, photobombing a pic!

 

 

Our Art Studio now has a floor!

 

 

Dh's gabled Art Studio nook for his desk ....

 

 

.... and across the room, my nook for writing and creating.

 

 

The long window that will go horizontally

above our "lockers" in the mudroom.

 

 

How the building team leaves notes for each other!

 

 

No floor in the garage. Where the workbench will be.

 

How was your day today?

Any exciting Sunday plans?

A Day Off isn't always a Day Off!

Hi everyone!

I was granted a very lovely day off today from my boss. Yesterday, I spent some time figuring out what to do with my time. My work buddies and my family had all sorts of ideas, from staying in bed all day to going to a spa, treating myself to a shopping spree, or going for a drive in the country. 

The truth is, I could do all those things any day but to have a day to myself to complete some tasks that I can never get to, without any other obligations, without any disruption and without anyone else around is pure heaven to me. So that's what my day off ended up being!

I started with going back to sleep after my dh left for work. Waking up to a silent house was wonderful. Traipsed downstairs and spent 2 hours reorganizing the kitchen, then the family room, the laundry room and then my office, all in my jammies (thankful no one came to the door). I then dusted, swept, washed baseboards and floors, and put away all the construction/reno materials into a corner, out of sight until our next round of work on the weekend. Started some laundry, then headed up for a very long, leisurely bath. Dressed and headed over to my office for a quick meeting with the other tenants about the previous owner's attempts to get all of us to pay some rather costly repair bills for repairs that never happened. Great meeting, we bonded and after the business part was over, we all decided a summer bbq was in order. Love this building! 

Stopped to pick up something for dinner to bbq and found a great sale, so I bought extra for the freezer. Came home to have some lunch, watched a show, then did more laundry, did some long, over due writing and then spent a couple of hours sorting paperwork and receipts. Tonight, I did more and now I'm heading off to bed, satisfied that my "to do" list is a lot lighter. More sorting tomorrow and a chance to work with my teachers for a while after two counseling appointments with clients.

A good day all around. For someone else, this may not have been an idea day off, but for me, it was worth the work and the time!

Are you ever granted a surprise day off?

What would you do with your time?

Silent Day.

I "borrowed" this picture from the internet tonight. It truly reminds me of how I felt today, all day, until everyone was home again. Free, alone yet peaceful. For the last 2.5 weeks, everyone has been home from work and school. I love having everyone around, especially on weekends and always in the evening. But I equally love my Mondays after a weekend when everyone leaves me alone for the day. 

Today was just what my heart, my soul and even my body needed! I cleaned, purged out all the boxes and gifts from under the tree, made my lunch, then dinner for everyone else, baked banana bread, took pictures, wrote alot, folded laundry, watched a show, then fell asleep for a little nap. Tonight, I feel rested, relaxed and rejuvenated. I go back to work for 2 days on Wednesday, so this break has been heavenly. 

In this busy, crazy, hectic world, we all need some down time. I've always loved Mondays, the feeling of a new week exciting and purposeful. It's even sweeter after a holiday and today, I felt so grateful for this day, just for me!

How was your first Monday for January?

Lazy Sunday!

After a very full week, with activities that included meetings, groups, strategic plans, financial duties, training, writing, negotiations, lots of physical gardening & family time, I am so very thankful for a day off, a day to laze around & do nothing. The house is clean, the laundry amounts to only one small load later today, the recycling is done, the fridge clean & the gardening, well, we're ahead of the game there.

Dh is filming today but with the rain that continues to fall, lightly but still there, I'm not sure how long the shoot will take today. Hopefully, he'll be in for dinner. My girls & grandson have gone out to do some shopping & all the puppies are sleeping. It's just me, the tv & my computer. I feel sooooooo lazy but know by the end of the day, I'll have my schedule worked out for the next few weeks, I'll have some writing I've been meaning to do caught up, I'll have our grocery/menu list created for the week, I'll have our banking sorted for the week, I'll have a spreadsheet of the things we want to accomplish over the summer started & I'll have our trip spreadsheet with all the things we need to do before the 28th finished. From the outside, it looks lazy, but reality is, my body gets to rest in a comfy spot, while the rain falls outside & I get the "paperwork" part of life all organized. 

What do you like to do on 

days off like this? Do you feel 
guilty & try to fill it up with 
activity? Or let it happen as it 
needs to, taking in whatever 
comes your way? 

Yesterday I ....

• drove my daughter to her work - too far to walk as it's on the other side of our little hamlet
• came home to water our "quickly changing to green" grass and trees
• tidied the house that was beautifully clean on the weekend but by yesterday was looking a little weary
• had a long, hot bath and planned my day while soaking
• met a board member who is redesigning our website for tea - iced, shaken lemonade teas, my favorite
• ran into a old friend who has become distant - we had a brief but lovely chat
• paid all the bills for May and June so I don't have to think about them for the next two months
• ate a scrumptious lunch of leftovers - love that my husband cooks such wonderful meals
• spent the next 8 hours working on a project that includes a lot of tiny sticky notes, with receipts, spreadsheets and mind boggling numbers
• scheduled appointments for my next day off, including one bank to gather the last few items I need for said project, an appointment for renewing our little mortgage and an appointment with our local funeral home to pitch a project idea
• created a budget for our now booked holiday, set for June 28th to July 8th
• went shopping for the preschool and used a Groupon that was gifted to me to buy little B 3 toys/activities that totaled $44 but I only had to pay $4 - my kind of deal!
• played with little B before his gym class then got back to my paperwork once he was gone and dh had gone to the hockey game with a friend - love the quiet when I have to concentrate on numbers
• crawled into our comfy bed to watch Corrie at 1 a.m.

So much for a day off!!

It's going to be a long day as I've been awake since 6 with a puppy who wanted to play. But lots of good things happening today and tomorrow is another day off, so I can catch up on my sleep then. 

Enjoy your bright and sunny day, where ever you are!!