{pretty, happy, funny, real} at Belfast Mini Mills

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Last Saturday we took a little road trip to Belfast (PEI, not Ireland!) to see the Mini Mills (a combination of farm, factory, store and tea shop). It was a delightful place. Arden had fun chasing the chickens and I had fun looking at all the beautiful things made of wool.

Now I must admit, I am not really a crafty person. I don't know how to knit. Once upon a time I knew how to crochet. I don't really know how to sew, though someone gave me a machine and I'd like to learn how to use it. And I certainly don't know how to weave. But I find it all so...

{pretty}

One of the working looms in the store

A work in progress

Hand woven scarves

I love the soft colours

Wool and thrum mittens

{happy}

We went to the tea shop and had some tea and sweets! My caramel toffee pie was so delicious, I ate it before I even thought of taking a picture of it!

Afternoon tea

{funny}

Amused? Curious? Annoyed?

{real}

Though all this handiwork seems beyond my realm of possibility, there is a real chance I could get involved in the world of wool. I met a women who lives nearby who is just starting to do her own spinning and weaving, and she has invited me to go with her to one of their monthly spinning parties! I must say this prospect quite excites me. This is the kind of spinner she uses.

The beginner's' spinner

It also has a real price tag of about $400. But I would like to see what spinning is like, and if I like it enough, maybe I'll save up and join the club!

Are there any other spinners or weavers out there?

[technical note - Sometimes when I centre pictures on blogger - ie. the hand woven scarves -  they don't come out centred! Does anyone know why this happens??]






~lg

{pretty, happy, funny, real} playtime edition!

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

I took these shots last week during one of our playtimes. Arden is interested and getting into all sorts of things these days (one day I turned around and she had the scissors in one hand and the cheese grater in the other!), and not always her actual toys, but here was a day we had fun playing together with her own little (and much safer!) things.

She is quite happy to play with her puzzle of motorized vehicles. She likes to walk around with the motorcycle in her mouth, which is by far her favourite. When it's not in her mouth, she likes to make engine noises! She's pretty good at replicating an old beat up Honda 650x.

And here she is reading her book to me, complete with sound effects and hand gestures! It's too cute and definitely makes me happy.

All those motor noises and stories can make a little girl real tuckered out.

But wait, who's that coming around the corner?

Can you sense the anticipation?? And the distinct possibility of more fun?

It's Daddy!! Let the real playtime begin!


Brought to you by the lovely ladies at Like Mother, Like Daughter, who are celebrating their four year blogiversary!




~lg

Just breathe

~ a little thought for moms ~

Take a deep breath.

When it’s the end of a long day and there are still so many things to do, when you are tired and feeling guilty about being tired, when you just don’t have the mental fortitude to finish what you’ve begun, just breathe.

Breathe.

And turn that breath into a prayer, exhaling all the depleted energy you cannot transform, offering the only thing you can at the moment, which is your weakness. Then inhale, invoking the sacred Name that can only be whispered by the poor in spirit, and feel your lungs expand with life that is not your own.

Breathe until you remember this life is your own, given for this moment and the ones to come. This is the Spirit-Breath of God, by which all things are once again possible.

Just breathe.


~lg

Dave's Visit

Thus begins a recap of some of our summer guests and adventures!

Our first visitor this summer was Dave, Arden's godfather, all the way from Australia! As part of his round-the-world trip, Dave made a stopover in PEI for a few days back in June. Although he made Arden cry on his first day here (that face was just more scary than funny I guess), she soon warmed up to him and by the end of the visit they were great friends. 

Dessert made complete with Tim Tams!!

Enjoying the view at Greenwich

Arden loves being up on Daddy's shoulders

Beachcombing at Greenwich on a windy evening

Trying out Uncle Dave's shoulders

She's starting to warm up to him I think!

Feeling beachy

Waiting for fish and chips at Naufrage

Along the north shore

Somebody is getting sleepy...

Dave trying out a wooden kayak

All part of a visit with the Hudsons

Visiting with friends of the Hudsons in their dome cottage

A very expressive storytime!

Tea time

The farewell front porch picture!

Good friends by now

Arden and her crazy Uncle Dave

Thanks Dave for an unforgettable visit!


~lg

{pretty, happy, funny, real} on September 3

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

{pretty}

Pretty are the sunflowers which grace my table, filling up the room with colour, inspiring late summer praise. 

{happy}

Happy is the homemade breakfast eaten together in the quiet of the morning, wholewheat pancakes and our own Manitoba Maple syrup in that bottle.

{funny}

Funny is the little girl who still likes to eat sand and laughs as she gains her beach legs to walk toward me.

{real}

Real is one little tree that didn't make it through the remnants of stormy Irene. Thankfully that was the only damage we had on our property.

I have so many more things to post from this summer! Perhaps once the routine of fall begins I can get caught up on the rest of our summer adventures :) Thanks to Like Mother, Like Daughter for inspiring me to post at least once a week!




~lg

{pretty, happy, funny, real} on August 25

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~

Brought to you by Like Mother, Like Daughter

We are in the midst of dining room renovation, thanks to my Newfie painting team, aka Granny and Aunt Alison! It's been a busy week. More renovation pics to come in a later post. But here is a bit of contentment for this past week.

{pretty}

Cat catching the morning sun

{happy}

All the ladies! Thanks so much to Granny Raymer and Aunt Alison for all their hard work!

{funny}

Arden, armed and dangerous with a paint stir stick! I think she's ready for her own extreme home makeover show :)

{real}

The current state of our dining room. Right now everything is white! It's rather jarring after living in such a dark room for over a year! But so much brighter. The trim has been painted in Mayonnaise (I think only 2/3 coats at this point), and the walls are awaiting plaster repair. There you can see our sample spots of Concord Ivory. The colour looks slightly different to me than what I had painted on a piece of board in last week's post, but different in a good way.

Next step: Me figuring out how to do a skim coat of mud over the really bad patches of wall, then more primer, then the colour! I can't wait till it's done...




~lg

{pretty, happy, funny, real} dining room edition!

~ Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ 

Well, it's been a month since my last {p, h, f, r} post, but I have a very good excuse - family! We've been blessed with lots of family visiting from all over the country, which means we've been very busy going to the beach and stripping wallpaper and shopping and eating and drinking tea and trimming trees and all sorts of wonderful things which are too numerous to name.

But right now, a little snapshot of the things that bring that little sigh of contentment . . . even in the midst of dining room renovation!

{pretty}

Mom and I went fabric shopping and came home with this wonderful fabric for dining room curtains.

Williamsburg India Chintz 1730-1800 by Windham Fabrics

As soon as I saw it I knew it was exactly what I wanted! I love the colours and the bold but pretty pattern. The only challenge I'll have (other than not knowing how to make curtains yet!!) is that there wasn't enough fabric for two full length normal width curtains for each window, and it can't be ordered again since it's archived. But there is enough to make panels for the sides of each window (they won't be as full as a normal curtain), so I'm sure we'll able to come up with something.

{happy}

Do you have a ReStore where you live? It's a place where people bring all manner of household things which are donated or leftover from renovation or construction projects. It's basically a household thrift store. Mom was dying to go, and good thing we did, for we found an amazing thrifty find!

This mirror! For only $5! It just needs a little bit of cleaning up around the frame, mostly bits of tape glue that need to be rubbed off. But isn't that a great deal? I was so happy :)

And over in the kitchen this afternoon, these things made me happy.

Veggies washed and ready for supper

Clean dishes sparkling in the late afternoon sun

Mystery seedlings growing beside the oregano 

All these small things made me smile because they were just part of an ordinary day, but it was an orderly day, and that makes such a difference.

{funny}

Funny happened out on the front porch this week when Arden had her first experience with watermelon!

Pure enjoyment!

Sticky face, sticky baby!

The more mess, the more fun, right?

{real}

Real is uncovering what's behind the wallpaper and figuring out what to do next!

Some of the plaster is in not bad shape, and other walls have big rough patches with wallpaper underneath layers of drywall mud. It really needs a good skim coat over all to smooth it out and strengthen the weak spots.

I also took a deep breath and a little scraper and peeled back the layers of paint on the wainscoting. It came off fairly easily in large chips, and now I'm thinking it might be a good idea to strip it all and start fresh. Time consuming, yes, but there are so many layers of paint (latex on top of oil) that are gooping it up.

The stripped section of wainscoting

So my original quick paint job in the dining room is turning into a much bigger project (twice the time and twice the money, as they say!), but I think it will be worth it when it's all done. It's one of the biggest, most lived-in rooms in the house, and I would like to keep the original farmhouse kitchen look.

Part of the fun is also choosing paint colours, which always seems like a daunting task to me. Because this room gets only a little direct light in the mornings, I want it to have a bright cheery feel, which is why I'm thinking of going with yellow, with cream wainscoting. I also want the room to feel cozy and warm in the winter. Yellow is so tricky . . .

Here are some of the samples we brought home. From left to right (all Benjamin Moore): Concord Ivory (with Mayonnaise underneath), Danse du Soleil, and Golden Honey.

The pictures don't quite represent the colours precisely, but they give an idea. The Golden Honey I think is too yellowy and doesn't look good in the artificial light of the evening (or on grey days). The Danse du Soleil is not bad in the sun, but seems a little too peachy for my liking.

So my current choice is Concord Ivory, which is also a historical colour, which I like the idea of. It has more of a brown undertone to it. I'm scared to death of the room turning out greenish, which is why I think the brown might be on the safer side of things.

Concord Ivory

And now I'm trying to envision what it would look like next to the curtains, as if those were the only colours in the room and not that horrible puke-ish brown that clouds my imagination.

Hmmn, I think that looks rather nice. I'm not sure if the Mayonnaise is too white, or if I should go with something more creamy. I want it to look crisp, but not blindingly white.

Plenty of work ahead, but I am so looking forward to the results!

Any thoughts? Thanks for stopping by :)





~lg