Sunday Sparkly Stationery.

I have a confession to make .... I LOVE buying stationery! Cards, writing paper, pretty envelopes, stickers and anything to make communication memorable, I'm on it! I have quite the collection now, stored away in our new (old) "secretary" desk in our living room. It all does get used ~ I don't buy it and store it away. I'm excited when a letter arrives in our mailbox and I can use pretty paper to write back. Or a birthday shows up on my calendar. Out come the cards!

One of my favorite items to hunt for then buy is Thank You cards. I have so many people in my life who help out on a daily basis. From facilitating grief groups to organizing my office space (and keeping me organized) to rescue us from the ditch or helping me with an event. Thank You cards will never be enough to truly show my gratitude but it's a start. 

Yesterday we had our last Expressive Arts Grief Group for the Winter session. I found these sweet and amazing cards, complete with sparkles on the front and embossed stickers for the envelopes. My team really enjoyed opening up the cards and the gift inside was appreciated but everyone commented on the cards and the matching envelopes. Always worth an extra moment or two in the store to find just the right card or the right paper to share the love!

~ Chy

Tiny Garden.

 

One of the neatest things we've discovered about living in our new house is how easy it is to grow indoor plants. In our last house, every plant I tried to grow would die. I think looking back we didn't have the best humidity and our house was not as light as this one is with all our windows. I'm loving being able to pick up a cheap plant at the store and nurture it to it's full potential. The baby tears on the top plate was so tiny and look at how much it's grown! The ivy is on the bottom and working it's way through the iron stand, towering over the tears. The spider plant had to be repotted and this is the 2nd piece. The other one is over by the big window. I just repotted them about 2 weeks ago and it looks like a bigger pot is going to be needed again, already!

This is my favorite right now. I bought this at the store for less than $3. It has bloomed twice now and the smell in our kitchen is heavenly. You can smell the scent as soon as you walk in the door. Growing so well and it's not looking like it's at the end yet. I don't think I've had a hyacinth last this long before. Should have bought more! Who knew it would last!! Do you have a tiny garden growing in your home?

~ Chy

Saturday Sharing.

My breakfast in bed this morning. Paying tribute to our upcoming Disney trip! And celebrating that we are safe and warm today. We had a bit of a blizzardy day yesterday. And despite careful driving and literally no traffic, we still ended up in the ditch. More on our adventure in a later post but all is well. A small dent in the muffler and no one was injured, so life continues, with thankfulness for amazing neighbors and perfect strangers who stopped to help. Life in the country continues to amaze us and this was just one example of how lovely and genuinely helpful people are out here. I asked dh if our experience yesterday would make him move back to town and his answer was quick and short ~ "no way!!" I guess that means we're staying put out here!

Yesterday afternoon, after our ditch escapade, I cancelled our grief program this morning. It was blowing snow, icy roads and cold wind. Thankfully, everyone agreed. We woke up this morning to beautiful bright sun but I didn't put class back on. Everyone is working so hard, a little break is okay. We'll go one week more this month to make up for this lost day. 

In this house, it will still be a busy day. We have hockey playoffs this afternoon and hockey to watch on tv this evening. In between both, we have to stop at Michael's to pick up an item I'm still missing for my art class tomorrow. I thought I had the glue required but went through my art studio and discovered that I'm out of that one. Off to the store we'll go, coupon in hand. We also have to stop at the grocery store for a few fresh items and pick up our favorite Chinese food that we didn't get yesterday with our ditch blip! Can't wait ~ such good food and prepared right in front of you as you order it. Mmmmmm! Home to eat and then time to chill. However, I have plans before the game on tv.

As you can see by my two pictures, the art studio has gotten very messy. Yup, this is real life some days. The rest of the house we can keep so tidy, except for our back entrance (five of us coming in and out each day means boots are all over and school bags and work bags dumped) and the art studio. As my dad, the realtor, would say "you have to have some spaces that look lived in!" And it's true. So part of my day before we go to hockey today (now that I'm not teaching this morning) and once we get home later today, is to tidy and purge the counters and put things back where they go. I have a whole cupboard full of painting supplies but do you see that nice pile above that should be IN the cupboard? And in the picture above, a few bins are out of their cupboard as I was looking for some items for the dollhouse reno. But then got sidetracked and never put them away. Once I'm doing cleaning up my mess, I'll post new pictures to show the open spaces that I dreamed of but keep filling up with projects. The back entrance will be my project next week ~ we bought some new heavy duty mats to cover the floor better in the Winter with our snowy boots. I'll take a before and after once I tackle that project. In the Spring, we're hoping to have someone come in and epoxy our garage floor but we'll paint the walls first and get it better organized. We built two big shelving units ~ one for the storage room and one for dh's workshop area but now I have bins to put items in so it's more streamlined. Can't wait for that project to start. Going to look great and be a nice work space for him, instead of "just a garage." 

Tomorrow I'm off to my art class, the one I'm nervous about and hope it goes well. I have some homework to do later when the game is on tv. My supplies are gathered and other than figuring out a snack to take along, I'm ready! I'll post pictures of my creation once I'm home. We have one more playoff game tomorrow, after my class, so it's a busy Sunday. Hope your weekend is fun and relaxing! Enjoy!!

~ Chy

The Long, Never Ending Winter.

I'm officially declaring the Winter of 2019 as "The Long, Never Ending Winter!" Although we had very little snow and warm temperatures for the first half of Winter, the beginning of February became our "Snowmageddon" and it really is not ending! This week, we were promised a stop to the bitter cold with above normal temperatures and lots of sun to help the melting process. We've had a bit warmer air and the sun has been out. But today, which was supposed to be + 2 C, has now changed to - 20 C. The sun, so bright and warm yesterday, has disappeared. Clouds, heavy and dark, have released another round of snow, putting us under a Snowfall Warning. Roads are a mess and work plans have changed. Thankful we can work from home, where it's cozy and warm. Not sure if you can see the snow falling in the picture above but it's falling quickly now and piling up high. 

I was truly getting so hopeful that the end of Winter 2019 was so close. Next week, the predictions were for + 6 C to + 12 C. Now I'm scared to look to see what we can expect. Snow, go away! Leave us alone!! You are no longer welcome here!! We want Spring, flowers and warmth, not snow!!

The one, the only one in the house who loves the snow is this little guy. Of course, he just gets to play in it. He doesn't have to shovel, or navigate icy, snow covered roads to get to school. Just play hockey, even when it's icy air. This was a few days ago after we got home from school. See the clear sky? Blue and pretty! He loves the little rink we created and I'm so happy he's gotten lots of use out of it, despite the cold. Practising his shots on the net, yelling when he scores!

I know when the snow does finally start to go (please soon!), we'll miss the little rink and the funny antics of our little guy being, as he says "The World's Best Hockey Player!" 

I hope wherever you are today, Winter 2019 is almost over. We'll get through this, and I know soon I will be able to share pictures of our sweet little garden. Not today, but soon! Pretty blooms, fragrant smells, warm Earth, budding trees, singing birds, babbling brooks. Soon, I hope!!

~ Chy

My Hyacinth.

My little Hyacinth is starting to bloom.

It smells amazing and the colors are

so bright. I'll post a new pic once it's

fully opened. I'm hoping the bulbs I

planted in the Fall come up as nicely

as this one is inside the house. Lovely!

~ Chy

Out My Window.

From reading many blogs over the last week, and through this past weekend, I can see that there are many, many communities around North America and beyond that are struggling with snow and bitter cold. We are still cold here, though the sun continues to shine and the temperatures are improving. This morning, it was ~ 28 C and this afternoon it's sitting at ~ 8 C. It will keep getting warmer and warmer and by next week, we'll be at + 2 C. Break out the bikini's!! 

I chose the above picture, out my window, to show the snow has gone from our trees and even off our pergola. And look at that blue sky! I hope for those with snowy clouds today, this gives you some hope! The snow will go away, one day.

Cold weather always calls for warm dinners. Dh slow cooked a tender pork roast yesterday and added 4 cheese risotto and a caesar salad to complement the mushroom gravy he created. It was so good! I was still feeling full this morning. 

I was going to finish painting the trim in my new office today after a meeting this morning. But the meeting took longer than was planned and though it was great and very productive (somewhat healing), I was pretty tired once everyone left. I went back next door and visited my staff for a bit and then went to the office to try and paint. But my focus was not intact. I made a few calls, answered a few emails and then packed up my bag. Stopped in at the Hearing Clinic to book a hearing test (more about that later) and then stopped for gas before driving home. So quiet and peaceful here and much easier to get my work done. I'm taking a break now and watching an episode of The Walton's I don't think I've ever seen. Although we have the series on DVD, sometimes when I'm home, I'll turn on this channel and there it will be! I'll finish up some of my work while the hockey game is on but for now, a bit of a little break while my family is still in town. And once they get home, I'll help get dinner going. Empty the dishwasher. Fill it back up again. Wash down the counters after dinner. Sort out receipts for taxes ~ last thing to do before we hand it over to the accountant. Watch the hockey game. Enjoy the company and hope our beloved Oilers win again! Not the best season for sure. But we won't go there. No energy to even try to make sense of it all. However, we can still hope, just like with the blue sky out my window. No harm in hope!

~ Chy

Comfort Zone.

Saturday morning musings from my very comfy desk ~ aka our bed! I truly don't want to get up. Our province is once again under an Extreme Weather Warning for the weekend. I haven't checked yet this morning but with the windchill, the temperatures are supposed to sit well under - 40 C. Really, Mother Nature? Please give us a break! A mild Winter was expected and we enjoyed, right up until the first week of February. And then you gave us some snow, not too much but enough to make it a true Winter. Our snow has gotten less and less over the years. Sometimes we don't even need boots. It was a bit fun at first and very pretty. But the bitter cold was not welcome. Please Mother, take it back and bring on Spring! Don't you think after all the cold, we deserve some beautiful warmth? With warm sun and melting snow? I'll just leave this thought out here for her to ponder.

On to my news for the day. I, little me, the very cautious, over thinking me, has taken a huge step out of my comfort zone. What, you may say? Yes, my comfort zone. I struggle with social situations and am always very protective of myself but since discovering an art store in the Big City, I've been drooling over their art classes that come across my laptop. I open up the email messages and gaze at the incredible projects. And then close them. Taking a class by myself isn't particularly appealing to me. How will I concentrate on the task at hand if I have to talk to people? What if the noise is too much? What if my voice gets crackly? What if my hands get tired and won't cooperate? 

And then this "Whisper Box" class came up and I just had to swallow my concerns and sign up. I thought about it first for a few days, dh said "just do it" and I did! I'm a self taught mixed media dabbler ~ I won't say artist yet but that is my end goal. So this class is a step in the right direction. I'm excited but very nervous all at once. To combat the nervous, I've been reviewing the list of additional items that are required (the fee includes most of the kit) and spent time in the art studio gathering what I already had ~ scissors, gold pen, matt finish, etc. After my kids grief class today (see I can teach a class, but attending ..... ooohhhh), I'm heading off to our local M's, coupon in hand to start gathering the archival inks and the varnish needed. The class is a week from tomorrow and is for 6 hours, so I'll also have to figure out how and what to bring along to eat and drink. 

Isn't it the sweetest project? I have a feeling I'll be nervous all week right up until I arrive and then it will be so much fun that I'll be signing up for the next class before the first one is done! There is only 7 spots in the class and then the instructor, so 8 in the room. I think if I can talk in front of a 1,000 people and not be nervous, 8 should be easy peasy! Do you ever step out of your comfort zone to tackle something that is exciting to you? Send along your coping techniques if you do so I can reassure myself this will be just fine and worth it in the end! And fingers crossed, mine turns out as nice as the project pictures show. I will work very hard to ensure that it does. I'm off to teach class. Have a great day!

~ Chy

Almost Spring?

This week was considerably warmer than any other week in February. Yesterday, it was a balmy ~ 2 C and the snow was melting off our roof and on the streets. My car is a mess! So muddy yet not worth a car wash with the melt happening. We were at our shoot last night (see previous posts) and I stepped outside to take a picture and ran right back in as the temperature had dropped significantly and I didn't have a jacket on. I was hopeful that Spring was on its way but we woke up to a very chilly ~ 32 C this morning. 

Today's schedule:

* drop both kids off at school and then up to my office

* provide 2 grief counselling sessions to 2 amazing ladies

* visit my mom in her unit and book her a hair appointment

* lunch with dh ~ another different restaurant this Friday

* pick up clothes I ordered online from the clothing store

* pick up some fresh food for dinner and the weekend

* shop for sandals for dh and new Spring boots for me

* pick up my kit from the scrapbook store ~ I signed up for a class and there is homework to be done

Tonight, no plans. Corrie at 5:30 and then I might work on tidying up the art studio. It's gotten a bit crazy in there again. So easy to do with so many ideas and projects in my head. I'll do a dollhouse update at some point this weekend too. Working away, but it's a slow process. Fun but slow!

Hope you enjoy the little lamb. I was saving him for a "yeah, Spring has arrived post" for March 1st but I'll leave him up for inspiration and good wishes that soon this cold, bitter, bitter cold will leave and our little world will turn green and bloom pretty colors. Happy March 1st, wherever you are. 

~ Chy