Oh Christmas twig...

We put up our Christmas twig last week. That's right, our Christmas twig. A humble limb that was rescued from our yard, debarked, spray painted silver and dressed up to resemble a festive evergreen. This is the third Christmas this silvery twig has sat in the corner of our living room, taking up little room (which is a bonus for our tiny space) but emitting a more brilliant, concentrated glow. I wasn't so sure about this here twig when Nate first dragged it in from the yard after it fell to the ground during a wicked winter storm. He insisted it become our Christmas tree that year and promised to dress it up right for the holidays. Who am I to argue the creative process - I gave in. He's in charge of decorating it each Christmas and I'm really starting to enjoy its crooked stature and quirky naturalness. A tree only a mother could love. Happy holidays everyone.

Christmas card swap

I swear we are going to be sweeping up silver sparkles well into 2010, but what fun we have had getting our handmade Christmas cards ready for the Kids Craft Weekly Christmas card swap! Nate cut out the trees from some beautiful dark green kimono fabric I have had sitting around forever (unfortunately, my bad-lighting photography doesn't do it justice!) and Finn drew on the tree trunks. After the brief photo shoot, Nate decided they weren't quite done and added silver sparkles to the bottom of each. The sparkles added a really nice touch to the cards (he has such a great crafty eye!), and a nice new shimmer to the kitchen floor! Now the cards are off in the post heading to such exotic locations as Australia, Indonesia, and Ohio, adding sparkle to kitchen floors around the world. And now we wait to receive our cards from said exotic locations. Oh, I can't wait to see what other crafty kids from across the globe have done! Don't you just love getting mail?! Fun mail - not the kind of mail that either requires you to fork over your hard-earned money to keep the lights on, or the junk mail that tells you that two can dine for $9.99. But real mail that someone actually took the time to write and drive all the way to the post office to mail out. This activity has me thinking about forgoing the traditional I'm-going-to-lose-a-few-pounds-and-get-healthy New Year's resolution (I'm not going to lie, it never really worked anyway!) and trade it in for a more attainable resolution of bringing back letter writing. Watch your post boxes in 2010!

Trying to work from home

I attempted to work from home one day recently - the boys had a PD Day and we were stuck at the last minute with no one to watch them for the day. I don't like to bring my work home with me, but there were things that needed to be done, deadlines to meet, projects to be completed. While I envisioned a very productive day without the office buzz of distractions, I couldn't have been more wrong. For some reason, a laptop set up at the kitchen table was a novelty for Finny that needed to be explored. And while he wasn't glued to my side asking 'what does that button do?', the two boys were at each other like rival sports teams that I was doing a poor job of refereeing. It was going to be one of those days. Out..get outside...and don't come back until you fill a bucket full of nature. It bought me some time and worked at refocusing their energies. Back they came with everything they would need to get crafty (and after getting most of my work done, I was ready to get crafty too!). This was a simple fall wreath cut out of cardboard that they each hot-glued their nature finds onto. 

Enjoy the last bits of fall!

102 years...

I had a really hard time writing this post. G's Gramma Z passed away this weekend. She was in her 103rd year. Yes, that's right, she was 102 years old. Incredible! SHE was incredible! Never have I met a person with so much strength and determination; with so much faith and hope. But how do you properly honour a life that has spanned more than a century? She was born before the inventions of ball point pens and zippers, before microwave ovens, computers, and cell phones. It's astounding to think of all of the things that have happened in the last 100 years.  In her lifetime, she lived through two world wars, crossed the Atlantic Ocean with her husband and four young boys to make a new home in Canada, and suffered the tragic losses of her husband and son in quick succession. Yet she lived life to the fullest and lived for every moment she could. I can't get enough of these old photos and wanted to share just a couple from her life - the top is one of her and her husband and the second photograph of her, at right, with friends. Both photos taken in the Netherlands. Below is a photo taken in Canada four years ago during the 60th anniversary celebration of the liberation of the Netherlands - still standing tall and strong and ready to take in all that life had to offer.

She was always ready for competition (she did not like to lose in card games!) and accepted any challenge that came her way.  It was well into her late 90s, before her hands could no longer manage the crochet hook they held for so many years, that she made 100 afghans in one year to warm those in need. She was an amazing crafter and a true inspiration.  As family gathered over the weekend to honour her passing, I looked around my home and admired the hand-crocheted doilies and the handmade socks and the knit stuffed mice she loved to make and lovingly gave to each grandchild - pieces of her that I will pass on to my children, her great-grandchildren. She is here and will never be forgotten.

Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you!

I've been so crazy busy getting ready for next weekend's Frederick Art Walk in Kitchener, I haven't popped in lately to say hello! So I thought I would just quickly stop by to leave you a recipe - one of my favourites! Fruit crisps are one of the easiest desserts to adapt to anyone's dietary needs. It has been a staple in our house and has seen many different variations adapted from my Aunt Sylvia's apple crisp recipe. Here is the original recipe - we use dairy-free margarine and spelt or rice flour and it tastes just as yummy! Even yummier with a scoop of maple-flavoured soy ice cream on the side!

Aunt Sylvia's Apple Crisp
4-6 apples sprinkled with a spoonful or two of white sugar and 1/4 tsp cinnamon. Place in square 8x8 baking dish and combine:
1/4 C butter
3/4 C brown sugar
3/4 C flour
1/2 C oatmeal
Sprinkle on top of apples and bake at 350F for about 30 mins.

I feel like a stuffed turkey...

...but with friends and family, and food and drink, there is so much to be thankful for this Thanksgiving weekend. I will be especially thankful if I can still fit into my pants by week's end! 

Our weekend was filled with the colours, and tastes, and smells of autumn. We were extremely thankful the weather cooperated enough (They were calling for snow earlier in the week! Eeks!) for us to visit Apple Park to pick out some pumpkins to carve with cousins at our family Thanksgiving feast. I can't get enough of those colours!! 

I don't think these poor pumpkins know what's coming...

Cousin Chloe insisted on using a spoon to clean out her pumpkin guts because "I'm a girl, and girls don't use their hands," she proclaimed. But she relented (the spoon was taking too long!) and got down and dirty with those boys!

Three little pumpkins standing in a row...Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Gettin' crafty!

Just over a year ago, after finding myself suddenly unemployed and looking for inexpensive ways to gift the loves of my life, I made a commitment to do so by making everything myself. Inspired by some pretty amazing craft bloggers out there in the ether,  I vowed to make use of every pogey-supported minute (while I wasn't looking for a job, of course!) and get crafty! I dusted off my rarely-used sewing machine and got busy whipping up bags with openings partially sewn together (I think Auntie Nessa is still carrying hers around that way!) and dresses with crooked hems - no, they weren't perfect, but I did it! I made them all myself and it felt so good to give away something that I actually made with my very own hands!! Over the year my sewing skills had no where to go but up - my seams are getting straighter and my seam ripper is...well, I'm not sure exactly where it is because it's been awhile since I've needed it! So I wanted to share my latest creation - the picnic blanket shown above. It was made as a wedding gift for dear friends who recently got married (Congratulations Dominique and Dave!). It was inspired by this post here but I made the squares 12"x12" and did 5 rows of 5 squares. And as I sit here on this frightful day, I'm already planning on whipping up one for myself for warm summer picnics on the beach!