22/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2016."

Beautiful weather, pretty dresses, happy girls, and fresh rhubarb pie at Oma and Opa's house....

Joining in with Jodi for the 52 Week Project.

Now is Now

It has been an ordinary week full of simple pleasures:

• The newly planted veggie garden - everything is doing well
• Drinking iced tea
• Sunshine everyday
• Clean windows
• Finally having all the Girl Guide badges sewn onto the girls' sashes
• Fresh sheets on the beds
• BBQ dinners on the deck
• Setting goals - some silly, some serious
• Family dinners every night when we get to hear all about the girls' days at school (oh the schoolyard drama)
• More decluttering (though it is getting harder to find things to purge)
• Starting a new book
• Watching the girls' swimming lessons
• Taking photographs
• Drying laundry on the line
• An inspiring read

These lists are such a breath of air for me. When everything seems too much, too hard, a little overwhelming, just the simple act of writing down the everyday things that bring a smile to my face calms me, centers me, and fuels me to go on. We only have today...let's appreciate it for what it is and let it fill us with happiness.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend.  

In the Garden: Planting

After two days of mixing soil, sifting out roots and stones, working in fertilizer, and planting, our vegetable garden is ready. 

In this bed we have marigolds (to attract bees), peppers, green onions, chard, spinach, cauliflower and broccoli.

And here are our strawberries, beets (red and yellow), and kale (black, red, curly).

It was a lot of work and I have muscles aching that I did not even know I had, but I am excited to watch things grow and to harvest fresh vegetables from our backyard.

21/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2016."

Claire: "I love you with my whole heart, Mommy. I am so glad that you are my Mom. I just love you so much." You melt my heart.

Bridget: Talking so grown-up one minute, and clutching an armful of My Little Ponies the next; nine and a half is an interesting age.

Joining in with Jodi for the 52 Week Project.

What I Am Working On....

The last time I chatted with you about crochet I was deep in stash-busting mode...and I am happy to report today that I am still there. It is a happy place to be...I really enjoy the challenge of making things from all my "leftovers"....

I've got two stash-busting projects on-the-go at the moment. The first I work on when I can do so uninterrupted: an amiguirmi elephant. With all the counting needed to create amiguirmi, I need to do this in a quiet place, free from any interruptions, otherwise I lose my place and need to rip everything out...

I've got the trunk done and part of one ear; it's slow going, yes, but this is a pattern that I have wanted to make for years so I am excited about finally getting to it. I have to keep telling the girls that this toy elephant is for me, and they are very perplexed as to why their Mommy needs a stuffy....

My other project is a wreath. Heavily inspired by the wreaths made by Lucy at Attic24, and by finding a wreath form in my craft cupboard, I have begun making my own. I am currently working up a long piece of single crochet in the prettiest blue color to cover the wreath form and then the plan is to add some flowers, maybe some pompoms, and other bits and bobs.

Two crochet projects on-the-go (and several more ideas waiting their turn) makes me very happy....I find so much joy in making, I can honestly not imagine my life without it...

In the Garden

• My Gerber Daisy - I have one every year, it is a tradition
• New succulents to replace the ones that did not survive the winter
• The hole the bunnies use to get under the deck; at least they are considerate enough to leave the plant in peace
• My gnome, standing guard
• Dill for summer salads
• Delicate purple blooms

This afternoon I took a little walk through my garden. The sun was peeking in and out from behind the clouds as I wandered, snapping pictures and noticing the plants waking up to spring. I love my garden, it is my peaceful place... 

20/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2016."

It is all about skipping right now: before school, after school, after dinner...you are taking each and every opportunity to practice. I love how dedicated you are to improving, and I love that you are so happy doing something as simple as skipping. 

Joining in with Jodi for the 52 Week Project.

Now is Now

I'm pausing this week to remind myself that the little things matter, that there is beauty in the everyday, and I am holding onto these simple joys:

• Preparing healthy meals for my family
• Sunshine
• Seeing the trees budding 
• Early spring flowers
• Mother's Day hugs and kisses from my girls
• Creative ideas and plans for future projects
• My mom's plum cake - yummy!
• A good night sleep
• My home
• Opening the windows and letting the fresh air blow through the house
• Chatting with Steve over a cup of tea
• Knowing how fortunate we are to live where we do and have everything we have
• A good cup of coffee
• Taking the time to try a new recipe
• Crochet
• Listening to the girls tell me, in great detail, about their days at school

Here's hoping you can stop and take a moment to appreciate what is right in front of you...

Have a great day friends...

(My focus for this year is: Now is Now. Read more about it here)

19/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2016."

So blessed and happy to be Mommy to these two girls.

Joining in with Jodi for the 52 Week Project.

Stash-Busting Continues...

Okay, let's recap. So far, my stash-busting efforts have resulted in:

• a blanket for Willow
• an infinity scarf
• a colorful pillow

And today I am happy to show you these coasters, made with the leftover yarn from Willow's blanket.

After making two coasters I had just a wee bit of yarn leftover, which of course I will keep because when it comes to yarn you just never know when a tiny scrap may come in handy. 

Hmm what's next? This stash-busting is quite fun...

A Colorful Pillow

Way back in February I began crocheting some colorful granny squares. At the time I was in need of a simple and portable project to work on here and there, something that could be easily picked up and then put down, and little granny squares fit the bill perfectly, as they always do.

Granny squares have to be the best crochet pattern of all time, don't you think? They are what I learned to do when I first took up crocheting, and I have come back to them so many times over the years. They are calming to create, super simple, and great for trying out different color combinations. Long live the granny square!!!

When I began crocheting my granny squares this time around (and stacking them in neat little piles - so fun) I was planning on joining them into a small blanket, something of a lap blanket you could say. It was not long before I realized that I did not have near enough yarn on hand to make a blanket of any useful size, and being deep in stash-busting mode like I am, I did not want to buy any more yarn for this project. So I switched gears and made a pillow. Not that I need another pillow, but whatever...

Colorful granny squares on the front:

Colorful stripes on the back:

All in all, a colorful pillow:

Oh I just love having crochet in my house. It is just so cozy and homespun and I can truly not imagine my home without it.

P.S. My cotton stash is significantly smaller after completing this project.

18/52

"A portrait of my girls, once a week, every week, in 2016."

sunshine + sunglasses + 'hanging' at the playground = a great day

Joining in with Jodi for the 52 Week Project