Northward Bound

We're coming up on the Civic Holiday weekend here in Canada. And for the past many years this has been a weekend where my family (my parents, my sisters and I and our respective families) head up north to our family cottage to get a little silly and crazy and have a general good time. Unfortunately this year our youngest sister won't be able to join us but we're still looking forward to a great weekend of swimming, sunning, bonfires, games and cottage dance parties.

There's just something about the cottage. I spent most of every summer growing up there. I got engaged and married there. I've spent countless birthdays, family celebrations, corn roasts, boat rallies and Canada Days up there. I would live there if I could...

I often joke that if it weren't for the fact that I'm so obviously addicted to things like social media, digital photography and my e-reader that I should have been born in a different century. I love to do things like knit and crochet, sew, and I put up tonnes of homemade pickles and jams each year. And there's something about being up north, where our cell phones don't work and there's no Internet that just.... refreshes my soul. I usually bring my guitar and my yoga mat. And I spend a lot more time sitting, drinking tea and talking to my family members - live and in person than I normally do. Getting up early to go and do yoga on the dock as the sun burns the fog off the water, drinking tea in Adirondack chairs, roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over a bonfire, and singing silly songs with my Dad and my kids while I play my guitar... those are the things that have real, honest, value in my life.

I look at this weekend away as a kind of retreat. I will miss you bloggies - but I will return to my normal, electronically filled life far too soon - but for now - I'm packing up and heading northward bound. One of the places my heart calls home.

Hope you're having a peace and rest-filled weekend too!
Talk soon.
Tea.

My Mother, My Friend.

I keep reading these articles and blogs and books and such that say "You are not your child's friend. You are their parent. You can love them unconditionally, you can support and encourage them, you can laugh and play with them, but you are not their friend." and I think... wow. My Mom sure did it wrong.

Now, obviously I'm being a bit sarcastic here. My mother has always been my mother... and while I certainly wasn't your typical teenager (I left the screaming and such to my younger sisters) I certainly had my teenage moments... but having lived at home throughout school, and even university, and now I'm grown and have kiddos of my own, I can honestly say that I am proud to call her both my Mom and my friend.

We do a lot together. We dance together in our church's liturgical dance group, we chat regularly, drop by each other's houses, drink tea, email practically daily... she is definitely my Mom. There are times in all of our lives when we just need to talk to our mothers... but she is also definitely my friend.

She taught me to be strong, and she supports me when I'm not. She taught me to be confident, and she built me up so that I could be. She taught me to laugh at myself, by never being afraid to show her silly, goofy side. She taught me to try new things, because you never know what your next passion might be. She taught me the value of good food, good friends, family and that time is the most precious gift you can give anyone.

She has also helped me through this dark time this past year, by not being afraid to share her own journey through the darkness of depression and loss. She is a powerfully vulnerable, beautifully confident, and an amazingly wonderful woman. My mother, my friend.

Happy Mother's Day Mama. Thank you for being the mother I'm striving to be.

Winnah!

Just a quick note to say: I'm a Craftster Best of 2012 winner! Yay!

I'm sure I've mentioned before how much I adore the website craftster.org
It's awesome. There's every single kind of craft or project you can imagine, and some you never would have dreamed of on there.

And my big 'ol purse has made it into the best of for 2012!

I'm totally thrilled. And if you're interested, you can check out all the other UH-mazing best ofs here.

Tea.

Thankful....

Thanksgiving.

I love thanksgiving. It's one of my favourite holidays in the whole year. Here in Canada, Thanksgiving is celebrated on the second Monday of October. It's a great time of year - the leaves are starting to turn, pumpkins are ripe, the fall harvest season is at it's absolute peak and the farmer's markets around our town are packed with squash, carrots, parsnips, potatoes, corn and so many other great fall vegetables. Thanksgiving makes me think of life as being warm, and golden. And Thanksgiving weekend is a weekend absolutely packed full of great food and family and laughter. All things that make life feel full and ripe like the earth around us.

Things I'm Thankful for this weekend:

 - My family. I love my large extended family, and am so blessed to have a tight knit, hilarious, loving fam. My in-laws are wonderful, loving and an integral part of my life. But I'm especially thankful for my wonderful Hubs, my two wacky kiddos: big'un and littl'un, and even my silly fur-baby. Only 4 months after losing our latest angel baby I find myself feeling a little twinge of sadness at what might have been, but being surrounded by my little family makes me exceedingly grateful for the blessings I have.

 

Thanksgiving Weekend walk at the cottage