My Everything Corner

A view of our home from the 'backyard' - Sept. 2011 It seems like moments ago I was journalling about how much I was looking forward to our road trip, and now we're on our way home. Sometimes I wonder if it was ever worth leaving home at all. Thinking back over the last couple of days, the scenery, our first real road trip with our children, feeling nostalgic because this how we started our marriage, (roadtrips), it wasn't only worth it, it was necessary. Giving the kids the experince of travel is a source of education you just cannot replicate in the classroom. Enjoying my husband's company without all the demands of work and home has been so refreshing. Giving myself a different perspective, and taking a break from the everyday routine of being a housewife has been very nourishing. My own bed, my creative space, my pets and time to myself are all good reasons to go home and get resettled. Not to mention all the wonderful photos I now have of the ...

As we are leaving Edson, AB. this afternoon on our way to Jasper, the landscape takes on a different look and my little guy says, "Wow, I can see mountains! I have an awesome feeling.". I do love the honesty of young children. Before they learn to stop and think if what they are about to say is cool or not. Not that this is always a good thing. There are many situations we have been in where my child's honesty was not appreciated. But I digress. We have taken the children out of school for half the week in order to enjoy the fall weather. Why go camping in the much cooler weather you ask? Well for one thing, the campfire is that much more practical and enjoyable. The stars come out far earlier and are way brighter this time of year. And of course, nothing beats Mother Nature's autumn display, making the drive a "nothing but a good feeling" time. We left Theodore yesterday, and drove to Lloydminster, where we set up our tent trailer at a frie...

When you look around, what do you see?  Things as they are?  Or things as they could be?  If you would like to see change, do you think of ways you could do it yourself, or do you hope someone else will do it eventually?  Does uncertainty keep you from starting?  And if so, how does that make you feel?  Can you recall a time when you were not sure where to start, but started anyway, and eventually found yourself very impressed with the results?  Do we need to know the outcome before we start something?  If we constantly let fear stop us where we stand, can we live happily in stagnation?  What scares us anyway?  The fear of rejection, or worse, perhaps no reaction at all from our fellow creators?  Do we need constant reassurance from the people in our lives in order to go ahead with things?  If that is the case, won't it become nearly impossible to get out of bed in the morning?  When we do accomplish something and re...

Somewhere between harvesting and processing the last of the corn off the garden, and cooking a chicken dinner for supper, I managed to put out my fall decorations. The pussy willows in the tall, green tin have been there since early spring, but I just love them too much to throw them out, so I just added a few fall picks to the arrangement, and Voila!  I think it works quite nicely. The black, primitive kitty is new this year.  I fell in love with him and I know I won't be packing him away at the end of the season.  I also changed the picture in the scrapbooking frame.  It's of Halloween 5 years ago, so the kids are just cute as buttons, and it makes me smile and shake my head at the same time.  How the time is flying! That handsome owl was originally bought to be an outdoor ornament, but I set him there in the early spring, and there he stayed. This antique wash stand is always a breeze to decorate, and it is probably my favourite thing to change...

The fall, is for me, the best season.  I know I'm not alone here.  When in one season, I always enjoy it and find myself looking forward to what the next one will bring.  But I would love to stretch Autumn out by several months.  The cooler weather, and harvesting my garden.  Enjoying cooking again because I'm not busy trying to cool off.  I enjoy being at home and in my yard more.  This is when I tend to do the most home improving, nesting for the winter I suppose.  In the winter, I find myself in the city more often, wandering the mall and other shops.  In the summer, it's the beach, and road trips, (I hate winter driving).  The spring is my next favourite season, but because it leaves me with very little choice (yardwork, yardwork, yardwork), I still prefer the fall.  There is a little bit of everything in this season for me, and I find I feel more balanced now than at any other time of year. On a fun note, here are some co...

    Harvest in my garden this year not only promises to be bountiful, but also very interesting.  A few of the gourds here look just as pictured on their seed package, but thanks to cross polination, we have some very unique specimens as well.  Every time we take a walk through the patch we get another surprise, which usually leads to discussing how we are going to use the new find in our Halloween display.  We just can't wait to pull out all the little creepy crawlies and create a spooky but fun display with everything we pull out of the patch.                                                              ...