Chatter Blossom Giveaway

Hello friends!  I'm advertising here for a giveaway courtesy of Jessica at Chronically Vintage and Jamie at Chatter Blossom.  Yeah, okay, so I'm in part doing it because I want these earrings:

but I'm also doing it because Chatter Blossom has some fabulous jewellery that I know some of you would appreciate.  Pop over to Chronically Vintage to find out the ways you can enter to win a 25$ gift card, and surf around while you're at it!

Things That Make Me Smile

Just a short post today!  I spent most of my weekend taking standard first aid, which was hilariously fun, but here are a couple of extra smiles.

On the Bookshelf

I spent a wonderful day and a half this week with Jessica of In a London Fog, playing Boggle and Scrabble, drinking tea, and having an extensive catch-up time, as well as hauling my kids back and forth to day camp and swimming lessons.  This morning we managed to squeeze in a quick trip with the little boys to Renaissance Books in New West, where we both added to our book collections.  I got four books:

Growing up, I loved reading "The Adventures of Lightfoot the Deer" by Thornton W. Burgess.  Some years later I came by a copy of "The Adventures of Sammy Jay".  Both are paperback and not in the best of condition, but at ten years old, I didn't much care.  A few years ago I was in Campbell River and found a whole selection of Burgess's books.  Only "Chatterer the Red Squirrel" had the dust jacket, so I picked that one up for 4.95$.  A little pricier than I like to pay, but, well, it was only one, and it's part of a series I like and have already started, and, and, and...

Anyway, today I added "Danny Meadow Mouse" and "Reddy Fox" to the collection.  They have the same cover as "Chatterer" but no dust jackets, and were 3.95$ a piece.  Unfortunately the price of the books with covers was beyond my budget.  Also unfortunate is the fact that they don't fit on my bookshelf.  I guess that if anyone has a shelf to be rid of, I'm in the market.

"The Mystery of the Bamboo Bird" is a Dana Girls Mystery from 1960, written by the incredibly long-lived Carolyn Keene of Nancy Drew fame.  The Dana Girls series is roughly on par with the Nancy Drew series, although not nearly as well-known.  It shares the same exciting adventures, kidnappings, and close calls, and of course, the bitter and/or remorseful revelations of the usually hardened thieves to the youthful detectives.  Fine literature it is not, but it's great for a quick read when I'm looking for something to make me smile (or smirk, as the case may be).

 

An image from the cover of "The Mystery of the Bamboo Bird" by Carolyn Keene

Last but not least, the red book is an undated copy of "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan.  It's in a little bit of rough shape -- worn at the bottom of the spine, with a few pages fallen out (but still tucked in where they ought to be) -- but it has character and is a book I've long wanted to read.  It also only cost 2.86$.  I don't expect that it's older than the '40s, but it would be pleasing if it were.

 

The cover of "The Pilgrim's Progress" by John Bunyan

 That's the shelf for now, my friends.  Check in another day for more bookish delights!

Music Notes

My favourite lullaby, "The Swan" from Camille Saint-Saens's "The Carnival of the Animals".  I used to listen to this as I fell asleep.  Between the melody itself and the cello playing it, by far one of my favourite pieces of music.

You can't go wrong with The Andrews Sisters, either, despite the huge shoulder pads.  Direct from the era of live radio productions, "Straighten Up and Fly Right".  I use that line on my kids sometimes.

And last but definitely not least, the Buena Vista Social Club.  Enjoy!

Things That Make Me Smile

Canadian songstress Alex Pangman in her video for "Hummin' to Myself".

This adorable shirtdress from Pinup Girl.

These shoes from Target.

Cherries and Jam, and the Garden

With the advent of summer, preserving season has begun for me.  Last week I canned cherries

and made cherry-berry freezer jam.  Three dozen cherries are frozen with a view to making cherry kuchen from The Man's Oma's recipe.  This year is peach year, and I would like to can pears for a switch-up.  Apples and pears will both hit the dehydrator.  The kids eat them like candy!  Very healthy candy, that is.  There are also raspberries in the freezer, and there will be blueberries once blueberry season hits, as well as a few oven-ready blueberry pies.  Hopefully my house will be well-stocked until next year or the zombie apocalypse, whichever comes first.

My garden is also growing well.  I rehydrated (seriously) two 84c tomato plants from Superstore and planted another two, bigger, Roma tomato plants that I got for 2.50 apiece.  Two of the blueberry plants are in the ground and the other two are still thriving in their pots; some baby apple trees, courtesy of the tree next door, are suffering in their new pots alongside my happy little peach tree and will hopefully revive. The roses are tidied, my flower pots are still blooming, and I haven't killed the heather yet.  Yesterday I ate the very first, tiny, chewy strawberry from my new strawberry plants

How do you enjoy the summer and fall harvest?

Moving On

Last night I went through boxes and boxes of baby clothes with my sister-in-law.  She took three big boxes full of clothes, my bassinet, and the receiving blankets.  I have a little bitty box of special clothes, four feet of empty space in the top of the spare room closet, and a big hole left in my heart.

I know that it's just clothes, but it's also the end of a precious stage in my children's lives.  They will never be babies again.  This September Monkey starts first grade; it will be Monster's last year of being home with me before he goes to preschool.  Going through those teeny outfits is a reminder of how big my children are getting and how much they have changed.

It's not all bad.  I have loved seeing how they've grown and hearing about their experiences and all the things they've learned.  I love every new word that comes out of their mouths (even when Monkey dropped an F-bomb in the most unexpected way).  I love seeing them grow in independence and maturity.  I love toddler logic.  There are so, so many things I love about seeing them grow up; it's just hard to let go of who they used to be.

We have to leave things behind in order to move ahead.  I may not feel better tomorrow, but those clothes are just that much less that is holding me back from enjoying the next stage of life.  There are so many more adventures to be had.

So Many Projects, So Little Time

This afternoon I was feeling inspired, so I started writing down a list of all the projects and special chores that I need to get done.  I figured I would write the list, prioritize, and start a smaller project that I could finish today.

Then I saw what I had written down.

The list was about twenty items long, no joke.  Painting, crafting, gardening, boring chores.  Tonight I go through boxes of baby clothes.  I need to clean the basement (and you all know how basements can be).  On top of everything big that I want or need to do, there are all the little, everyday chores that need to be done.  I started off inspired, but I ended up intimidated.  It can be tough when you're faced with a big list of Things to Do!

I almost threw the list in the garbage, but I ended up putting it somewhere where it's not staring me in the face.  Tonight I will sort through old baby clothes; tomorrow I will paint.  After that?  Who knows.  I'll take it as it comes, because more chores and projects always do come.  And if they don't, well, I'll either take a break, or, if I'm inspired, make a list...

In the beginning, Maman created a blog.

Yes, I freely admit that I am following a trend: joining the blogosphere.  Frankly, I'm not entirely sure what I'll post about, but I hope that something that I post will touch someone's heart.  In the mean time, welcome to our life.