Our House in the Middle of Our Street

a sunny afternoon at Semiahmoo marina March was sort of a weird month for me. The first week was just diffusing from our crazy February, catching our breath. The rest of it was going here and there, regular scheduling amidst some fun like a work party and a day off to go sledding. The reading was regular though, and the tradition of carrying a book where ever I go paid off. I snuck in snippets on long drives, during quiet times and bed times, and thanks to daylight savings and dark mornings, a lot before my kids even woke up.  * Notes from a Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider- I had avidly awaited this book for months...perhaps closer to a year. There was a lot of hype in blogland because Tsh owns The Art of Simple (previously Simple Mom) so opinions were high and my expectations were high. Tsh's brand is lovely and her reflections on travel are more of what I want to read. This book was broken into sections and each one had a great quote to start. I enjoyed this book-part memoi...

There is a new button on the blog to the left o this post, called Beyond Our Boundaries . This button will take you to the site of a family that will be documenting their thru-hike of the Appalachian Trail. Yes, they are taking their kids! Renee, the creator and writer for FIMBY (Fun In My BackYard) is gearing up as over the next few days to start their trip south, to come back up north again come Fall. The Tougas family is a homeschooling family with pre-teen and teenaged children who are outdoor adventurers. A lot of what FIMBY is, is about outdoor adventure and freedom living. While they are hiking the trail,  from Georgia up through Maine, they are documenting their family's journey with a streaming series of episodes. The first two are already up, and for kickstarter participants who gave a certain level and above (that'd be me, if you couldn't guess already), and running for viewing. That's where internet friends come in. I'm hosting this button on th...

Taken while hiking in the fall at Campbell Valley in Langley. This was my Canadian version of the " I HEART NY " meme.  For the last number of years I have stolen Sarah Von's awesome idea to create a list of fun things to do before my next birthday (scroll down, bottom right on her site), and I love the intentionality it gives me. I'm rarely bored. There are times when I'm in between books and projects that I feel restless, but when I write down a tangible list of activities I want to try, places I want to explore, or items I want to make, the anxiety of boredom fizzles away and I have a goal. In the words of my son's favorite show, Phineas & Ferb , " Ferb, I know what we're gonna' do today !" Most years I follow through with over half. Other years, like this year, I'm closer to target. It's all fun and games, so it's not something to beat myself up over if I don't reach All The Things, it's just...

Last Friday Stefan was able to take a day off and we had planned to go sledding on Mt. Baker . That's the huge mountain that we're facing. It was a near 2 hour drive and the kids immediately got onto this ledge after hopping out of the car. That's me trying to wrangle them up, and slowly ease them down the dirty snow. On the other side of this (don't read grandmas) was a HUGE drop. We were only there for about two hours, but Lukka could have stayed all day. Ani only did three runs, and I don't blame her. The first run down with Lukka, her, and me she got sprayed in the face the whole way down. It took her nearly an hour to go down again! If you can see towards the top right of the photo above, there is blue, blue sky poking through. The only time I happened to pick up the camera to take some shots was in between sled trips down, and back up, and it was during a three minute spurt of overcast. It would become bright blue and gorgeously sunny, then back t...

A breath of sunny, fresh air.  Spring has arrived in the Pacific Northwest, and even though this sunny canoe picture is from last August, I wanted to look at it again. It has been sunny and in the 50s the last few days. "Practically perfect!",  as Mary Poppins would say. I haven't done a list of links in ages. I miss doing these consistently, because I'm always reading and wanting to share things I'm learning about online. Facebook is only half-good for shares, because too much sharing gets you facebook fatigue. Believe me, I have it. And anyway, a sunny water + evergreen picture is much better than a silly victorian postcard meme, right? *The TED talks 2014 winner, Charmian Gooch , co-founder of organization Global Witness, gives a compelling talk about what corruption looks like on a global scale. Fascinating. Sidenote: I had to look at her name four times to spell it correctly . *Weaving is coming back, ya'll. Potholder looms, bulky 70's door ...

 I had a deadline to sew and send this little tank top. I love making gifts for others--especially kids--because they're quick and not usually big critics. I have a niece who just turned one a few days after Ani's birthday, and I made her this DOLI racerback tank top for the upcoming summer. Hence the blinding neon colors.  I saw this adorable   LouBeeClothing  pattern on pinterest about a year ago, and quickly pinned it to my  Make Do and Mend pin board,  where all my future craft projects (a bit unrealistic, I know, but I'm a dreamer) go until I can get to them. Awhile back, I had won an  Ottobre giveaway , and gained a ton of beautiful jersey knit prints, this fruit pattern included. The ribbing, too, was a gift in their package, and I really enjoyed working with it. I don't think I've ever seen ribbing in the fabric store, or at least I had never been on the lookout for it. I've made just a few pieces of children's clothing, ...

In showing Ani's sweater dress this past month, I totally forgot about Lu's Christmas sweater. In the back of my mind I knew I hadn't shown it, but I think it got overshadowed in the THANK GOODNESS I'M DONE feeling I had once Ani's dress was off the needles.  I had originally pinned this as a possible knit for Lu way back in 2012. Pinterest is really helpful for me in that way. It's the place where I put everything (and I'm stingy with pins and 'favorites') that I want to remember for future projects. Once I'm ready to tackle, I just scan through and aha! there it is.  This sweater is called The Fisherman Pullover . I love that name. It's so perfect that I started it in a town with a fishing industry. It's not a free pattern, but I believe it was about $5 when I bought it. This is such a quick and easy knit, the charge was definitely worth it. I'd like to make another one in the future for a family member.  ...