Lilac Window

we’ve been obsessing over this calendar we made.

Its actually not done yet. I didn’t feel committed to the format and wanted to do a month before taping and making lines permanent. Though, I think its working out how it is.

In pursuit of a calendar for 2011, I realized we needed was something BIG. I was inspired by this one on etsy but its a bit too big. and expensive. but awesome non-the less.

My motivation was that I wanted to plan out our holidays in a way the kids could really participate and feel a part of the excitement. I also feel like Marcel needs to be more aware of what day it is, how long it is before exciting days (like his birthday) and also be able to plan out when he needs to do home-projects for school. We have a calendar on the wall, but the interactive nature of this makes it so much more hands-on.

I like the whiteboard idea, because it means the whole family can get involved. Marcel enjoyed gluing and cutting out the numbers for magnets, and we all have fun, staring at it, and thinking of little magnets to make for it. We have a few “Game night” ones, “play date” and a marker for “TODAY”. We have one, so far,  for “FEAST”, which we need to remember as its every 19 days and easy to miss. We are excited to start next month as we have Marcel’s birthday, and the Holy days in Feb, parties to mark out, and all sorts of skiing, sledding and skating adventures to draw and designate.

We shine a light onto it, and it has a prominent place in our kitchen, where we literally stand around and think about all the fun we are going to have over the next few weeks. I am now using it for meal planning, and am getting excited to make magnets for our favourite meals. Everyone likes checking to see what we are having for dinner. Its pretty bare now, but wait a couple months, Im sure it will be bright, and full, reflecting our happy and busy days.

Its pretty geeky, but we’ve been enjoying the process, and I think it will be a lovely focus to our holidays. It will help us mark out the important things we want to do, inspire us to make pretty magnets for important days and keep us on track.

It doesn’t take the place of the hundreds of gorgeous hand-made calendars I want to purchase of Etsy though. But it is more practical, and perhaps I’ll just get one of those other ones for myself.

some shifts in life, have created this most incredible space. A space of sunlight, quiet, peace and focus.

moved the chair to the spot by the window

moved my work times to days Mark is home

moved Emery out of dayhome

and here we find him. I cant remember the last time I witnessed him so peaceful. Like a little plant he is soaking that sunlight in. I am doing my best to soak him in, my little angel-rocket!

Also did more art with him today. I am actually doing some daily drawing. And making cookies. lots of them.

Roasted squash with caramelized onions, whole grains and gouda cheese was yummy for dinner. Sort of based on this recipe.

pic: spent four days at sandy beach (park in calgary on the river) last week…

and the kiddies run around in circles in the kitchen, while I pour the hot cereal. Im wearing perfume that I got my first year of being married. the house smells like bread baking. Emery is still naked.

fall has brought change.

its been a month. September. and the world has been transformed. We’ve landed in a new house. The leaves have turned. I am working part-time. Marcel is thriving in kindergarten. Mark is riding his bike to school. Emery has a new place to play in the mornings. I have about a thousand posts to write, and no time to write them.

This house is smaller, but works better. Our tiny living room fits our large dining room table, and it is the center of everything. We eat, socialize, work, play and live around this table. The designated dining space works for just boots and coats in the kitchen. The large windows, huge green space and hard wood floors make a cozy and warm place to spend this winter.

I pick Marcel up from school and we eat lunch together and have one hour to work before I pick up Emery. I made a “work basket” for him, and he works alongside me. Sometimes I get so engrossed in what I am doing, I am surprised when I look up and see that Marcel has plastered the walls with his own work.

We are all working, and living our passions here.

we chose to put Marcel in the Calgary Arts Academy. Its in SW Calgary. We are in the NE.  yup. its an hour drive each way. for half a day of school. Some may wonder “is it worth it?” I wondered that too. But this morning my efforts were confirmed. Marcel told me, in his own words:

“mommy? everyone has a door inside them. You can go in whenever you want to. Inside is a special room. It is very quiet there.”

“really? how do you get there?”

“its easy. you have to turn off your mind.”

“oh. good idea. so. what do you do in that room?”

” you sit on the soft couches and blow bubbles that bring peace all around the world”.

Thats after week 1. From the innocent voice of an active four year old, those words are like gold. Its such an amazing place. This pic is Marcel working on his drumming at the annual pancake breakfast. He sticks his tongue out when he concentrates. just like his mom. He told me he LOVES kindergarten. Things like that make me tear up with happiness for him.

So. We are moving.

yup. (que silent screaming)

This house is rented, but we dont have a place yet. Guess what we’ll be doing all week? Its going to be crazy.

but its worth it.

Simple and lovely birthday party for the now two year old. The house made from recycled pizza boxes is actually still standing after a good couple hours of play. Though I never actually made the cake, we did have hot dogs and a chance to blow out the candles. Big brother was so thrilled to show his little brother the world he had created out of cardboard, masking tape and blocks.

Grandma and Grandpa’s visit,  gift and play time made the day even more special.

Never made it to the river for the light event. but sometimes letting go means more joy for everyone.

peace.

Summer is too short. I love being outside. I love eating every meal of the day outside. Living in a colder climate means this happens only a few months of the year. Having a toddler means that it has happened very rarely. until today.

We live in a shared condo complex. I love all the green space. I love that I know my neighbours. I love the design allows for rolling topography, huge trees, large green areas to run in, and a sense of community. This is the kind of community I would love to design. except for those with toddlers. toddlers who run. away from their mothers, and have no problem making their own way to the park in nothing but their gum boots.

This scenario has meant that we just dont spend time outside at home.

and so far this sucks.

Until today.

Yesterday, I got a friend to join me at the local hardware store, while I gathered lumber. I bought every piece, came home and measured, went back to the store to have them re-cut the pieces, and we built a gate for our north facing porch.

it is now toddler friendly.

To make it better, I bought a wicker furniture set off kijiji for $40.

we had breakfast outside. chocolate scones. this is now my happy place.

I am now so. SO… happy!!!

Chocolate Chip Scone Recipe that we make atleast once a week and that the kids adore (and so do I).

2 cup flour

1T baking powder

1T sugar

1t salt

3/4 stick cold butter

1 cup milk (or yogurt, or cream)

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat to 425F. in food processor blend dry ingredients. distribute chunks of butter around the blade. pulse 10 times.  dump into a mixing bowl. add milk and chocolate. stir until just blended. spoon out scones onto a greased pan,  or dump all of it onto a greased pan, mold into a 8″ cake that’s 1″ thick and cut into triangle wedges with a knife. bake for 18 mins.

We’ve been traipsing all over Calgary these past few weeks. Particularly enjoying full days at the AP playgroup, at Sikome Lake, and at Stanley Park. Waking each morning, and packing a lunch, no matter what the weather or plans. It was nice to stay in pajamas till noon, and build an outdoor living room on the porch. The house is clean and all my doors are open. Feels good.

The boys are all ready for a pre-bed, and after dinner bike ride, in their PJ’s. So awesome to ride around the neighborhood in the evening. Makes me wish I had a bike-garage though. Dragging that trailer up the front steps every day is getting tiresome.

During nap we made this little monster pillow Marcel is holding. Super fun, and made from scraps around the house. We did cut up a bed-pillow for stuffing though. Some things just must be sacrificed when the creative urge hits. We also fill ed the bottom with rice so he stands up. Hes pretty cute, and well loved.

Marcel’s teacher said he needs to practice his writing over the summer. I don’t really agree that handwriting is really critical for a four year old boy, but I do see the joy he gets when he concentrates on something he is proud of. I also love encouraging him to develop skills, concentration and control. Its also nice to throw in some art, process and design.

During Em’s nap we worked on this project, that brought me so much delight…and is so much more fun than repetitious alphabets in a work book for Marcel! We started with choosing a subject matter, and printing out a photo of it. I chose a jack rabbit. Marcel chose Lightening McQueen. Then we drew a picture of it in pencil. Then we traced that picture using a ink pot and a old fashioned nib. Then we scanned that drawing, and put it into photoshop. We arranged our composition and then printed onto cardstock. We then coloured our drawing with watercolour pencils and painted it. Then we signed it and hung it up.

This process is one I do all the time for my work, and it was so fun to repeat with Marcel. I LOVE the results. His little drawing is so wonderful. Its very cubist the way he is trying to draw the car from the front, but including things like the side windows – because he knows they are there…

cleaned the kids play area all weekend. removed 4 large garbage bags of “stuff” to the thrift store. Excited for beautiful, quiet, creative time spent at this table this summer.

Last day of preschool yesterday. First day of summer today.

Listening to this song: “Alas I cannot swim” my Laura Marling. You can hear it on her Myspace.

It nearly made me cry. There is a message in this song that I need to hear. The “river” may not represent a place, but my own fears, apathy or lethargy. I gotta cross that river, and start living the life I am meant to live right now, right here.

Summer should include:

• days spent entirely in your bathing suit.
• hours in the evening, after a summer potluck dinner with friends, spent chatting under swaying trees and hot summer breeze.
• nights outside, under the stars with your love
• breakfast on the porch
• screen doors, that only keep some bugs out, because they are open and closed so much
• a hammock
• campfire
• sparkling water, morning mist, songs of birds
• singing, guitars and lots of recorders
• time to read many books, cover to cover, and time to sit, and contemplate life with a four year old.
• adventure, packed lunches, and the smell of citronella.

All this may yet be on the other side of the “river”. But I am determined to do whatever it takes to get there!

inspired by the first warm morning in a while, I made an outdoor – living room on the back porch.

I had been lamenting that we didnt have a gate out there to prevent Emery from wondering off. But then I realized our large bar-b-que is big enough to close the opening. I was down because we don’t have comfy patio furniture, but decided to sweep, lay out blankets and transfer the couch pillows outside. The boys spent all morning out there, reading, playing forts and eating snack. We even had a tea party. The mosquitoes tried to spoil the fun, but I dug out my home-made insect repellent and they seem to be repelled enough to hang back. I didnt make it, but bought it from a friend who is a herbalist. But I am sure you COULD make it, if you were so inclined. The ingredients are:

Neem Leaf

Grapeseed oil

Beeswax

Essential oils of:

Geranium

Cedarwood

Citronella

Lavender

Tea Tree

Patchouli

It smells wonderful, and does the job. I’d tell you where to buy it, except she doesn’t have a shop.

Good morning.

did you have a good sleep? Ours was about a 6 out of ten. Which means I actually slept…a bit. Remember that drawing I did way back when Marcel was little? I was so frustrated that I couldn’t find people that I could relate to with the whole attachment parenting thing. I started drawing  a superhero mamma who was all powerful, to vent. I think it helped. Of all the images I did, this one had a style and feeling that I liked the best, but didn’t repeat. If I had I think I would be more popular. It is photoshop heavy and requires technology to reproduce, and I got tired of making art on my computer. You know?

Aren’t these photos incredible? I cant get them out of my head. they will become inspiration for paintings this spring. I have a whole series in mind.. I think it would be cool to do like a “spring collection” like they do in fashion. Then you can have build-up and sort of an event when you release the collection, and everyone oooohs and ahhhhs. It sort of diminishes the effect when you release an image one at a time over a long period of time. Then I could have beautiful models posing in old barns and stuff, while holding my paintings. That would be so awesome. I might just do it.

And this is the awesomest contemporary architecture/house Ive seen. this kills me. kills. I want one so bad. I just need a good old stone building that’s falling to pieces. I would totally live in this. I would want like ten of them in different places, and then I would hike between them, and have wild flower honey and green tea for snacks. Then I would sleep there, wearing hand-made white nighties, and read and sew into the night, with candles. And I’d bring my paints, my laptop and some really good graphic novels. You can bring the board games.

Welcome back. How are you guys? I have been painting a little this week. BUt i cant share one with you as its a surprise. I have so many painting ideas – you know? “Never enough time” never felt more true.

Hey! I found three bands you might like. “Angus and Julia Stone”, “Jonsi” and “Broken Bells”. Do you like that sort of indie, pretty music? It sort of gets under Mark’s skin. He hates it. Makes him play the AC/DC so much LOUDER! I wonder if all guys are like that. Because I cant get enough of it. I play it in the morning, and it makes me feel like living. It gets me all tingly and inspired. It makes me think I might live in New York, and have a loft studio and lots of arty friends.

Here’s another question. Does facebook have some sort of freaky search/popularity engine in it? I always wonder the difference between “most recent” and “Top news”. I think it rates comments on how popular they are, and then shows you. That’s why I see the same people over and over, and their the ones that have, like, 16 comments. Yesterday I made a  random post about putting whip cream on macaroni and got like 15 comments, and lots from people I never hear from. That makes me think I might have jumped up a notch, and that I should quickly post some art on there.

I am a daydreaming wreck recently. I’m having a spring-life crisis. I am panicking that Im not making enough, not living my dreams, not serving AHHHH! Take me to to Kenya with Jenipher Waseke, at her school for local agriculture, and forget all this Angst! Put me to good use – please! SOMEBODY!!

That or give me a job at an art college, a second job doing architecture – with either a small office or for the city, a gang of hippies to build my straw bale with, my own art school with a successful gallery, time every year overseas with my kids, a good school for them to go to, a job for the husband that he loves, a great band of friends, and spare time with expanses of water, trees, birds… somewhere gorgeous….please?

And then I remember, I’m looking after and raising two big boys. I know. I know. But then, there’s my architectural certification that’s getting moldy, and a thousands of paintings yet to do, and my art school to run, and a passion for making things – especially out of paper. Designing books/layouts/presentations/workshops. Yeah, I gotta get on that.

Oh man. We gotta stop meeting like this. You want a matcha to chill out on the back porch a little? perhaps some Xi Gong too. “Get yourself Healthy” (Micheal Tse)

Hehe. OOps. I actually started this conversation because I wanted to link back to my very own Camping list, from last year. I am so excited I put it on the blog, or it would be lost by now. How great is that. My camping list is already made. Don’t you want to go camping with us? Its going to be so fun. I cant wait to sit, watching the kids throw rock in the creek, chatting with my friend, enjoying the smells and mosquitoes. eeeek. ecstatic.

We had a wonderful mother’s day. We dont really do special occasions very well over here. I have been trying to put a little pizazz into things, but so often life has a way of getting to be too much, and I simplify to the point of, well, not doing anything at all. But yesterday was just a perfect combo of simplicity, family and special times.

The night before I made an apple cake/tart and candy corn for gifts. Both from Molly’s blog, that I adore. I invited my parents and the neighbours over for brunch. Mark made waffles and we had a feast.

The afternoon was spent at TnT (our local Asian market) trying to buy what I need to make matcha at home. It was probably pretty comical to watch from afar. We were like bumbling foreigners trying to figure stuff out, without offending, or looking too ignorant. But really being quite ignorant.  Anyways, we found a whisk, and then had to decide between all the green tea powders we found. One kind lady explained the difference between A,B and C grades.

Apparently the B grade is the lowest grade you would want to drink by itself. C grade is for baking and mixing lattes etc. A grade has the youngest leaves, whereas the B grade mixes the old and new ones. The younger leaves are better for you, and less bitter. So. there was a big price difference ranging from $30.00 for 50g and $6.50 for 100gr.  or even $19.99 for 600g!  After a little debate mom bought me the expensive one. I would link it for you but I cant find in online. They have the grade B one, that was in the Ten Ren store… but not the one I got. Perhaps I got shafted, or maybe this one is exclusive, or well, I dont know.

Anyways, making the matcha is fun. I watched a couple utube videos – thanks Mat and Chris! I just used a cereal bowl. I found a bigger bowl helps avoid spillage. I need a little practice whisking as its not easy to get it super frothy. Also, I found if I warm the bowl before-hand its much nicer, because it tends to cool quickly. I use my yogurt thermometer to measure the temperature to 170 degrees F. I make 1/4 cup of water to 1 scoop of powder. I drank three bowls of it yesterday, and one this morning. I am wondering if it is going to affect my sleep with the caffeine.

One interesting thing is that the matcha at Starbucks (that got me hooked) has a distinct fishy smell. Like strong sushi Nori. This tea is not fishy AT ALL. Which makes me wonder – is is supposed to be? This one simply has a distinctly green flavor that is slightly bitter, but pleasantly mild. If you don’t like the Matcha at Starbucks because of the fishy taste, I would definitely recommend making it yourself…(or come over and I’ll make it for you!)

Oh. And this morning I “renovated” the kitchen with a box of nails and a hammer. I nailed the pots I use most often onto the wall next to the stove. This has been the least expensive and the most practical home renovation I have ever done. My counters are clear, and I am not digging banging pots and pans around every time I go to cook. I also nailed the lids to the wall. This may not end up being so practical, as they are a little bit dodgy, but I’ll let you know upon further use. (PS. many people are afraid of putting nails in their walls. This seems crazy to me. Dry wall was invented because its so easy to patch. We all have left over pots of paint to patch up mistakes… and a few nails here and there can make all the difference in the world! So I say: go nuts!)