Making Me Happy This Week...

1. Date night with hubby in Toronto.  We had a lovely dinner out (complete with an alcoholic hot chocolate for dessert) and a visit to the theatre to see the musical, "The Heart of Robin Hood."  Kevin's new job has quite a few "perks" and these tickets were free!  However, Kevin and I both agreed that we would have happily paid big bucks to see this show. It was amazing - the music, the acting, the stage set-up and the high-flying, circus-like, hanging-from -the-ceiling-by-ropes choreography!

 

 

2.) Spring flowers! I bought these pink snapdragons for next to nothing at the grocery store.  Such a cheery colour and a reminder that spring is on its way!

 

3.) Hot chocolate and homemade oatmeal cookies.  Perfect for a day like today - cold and blustery. 

 



 

 

4.)How about a bunch of yucky, blackened bananas? Not so attractive now, but they turned into the yummiest chocolate chip banana bread.

 

5.  New music! She might be nearly "old news" on the other side of the Atlantic, but I am really digging Ella Henderson these days.  I downloaded this disk on the Christmas holidays and I haven't stopped listening to it since! Even my 8 year old daughter is addicted to this soulful pop music!



 

6.  Healthy eating - trying to eat as many veggies as possible.  Even the kids have become used to half a plate of veg at each meal. 

7.  Tea.  How is it possible that a warm cup of liquid can be so relaxing and taste so good?  I found a new Canadian Tea company that makes the most delicious tea flavours too - Tealish Teas.  They are based out of Toronto and make flavours like "Chocolate Macaron Madness" and "Lemon Meringue Herbal Dessert."

Yum.

 



 

 

Have a wonderful weekend! I'll be back early next week with some pics from the family adventure we have planned for Saturday!

 

Hugs to all,

 

Bronwyn

Dogsledding in the Ottawa Valley

For Christmas and for our son Bryn's 10th birthday, my sister Stephanie purchased us a morning of dogsledding lessons in the countryside near her home in Ottawa.

 

The weather was well below freezing ( -27 degrees Celcius to be exact!) but we bundled up like Eskimos and headed out to the forest. 

 

 

 

Our teachers were a husband and wife team - Eric and France who have bred, raised and raced dogsleds all their lives. 

 

We had a short hike from the house to the dog kennel so we chit-chatted and admired the scenery. 

The world was freshly coated with 2 new inches of snow and the forest was pristine and white. 

 

(That's Eric in the back, pulling up a new sled. That's my sister in front, doing her version of a snowy selfie!)

 

 

After we crested the top of a hill, THIS came into view:

It was the outdoor dog kennel where 40 excited and happy purebred huskies greeted us with excited barks and howls.

 

 

Each of the dogs had its own wooden house and was attached a long lead that allowed it to move and to play with its friends, yet keep it safe during "unsupervised" times.

 

 

The dogs came in a variety of colours and markings.  Everything from creamy white to black and grey stripes. 

 

 

 

 

I fell in love with the dogs with the big blue eyes immediately. 

 

 



 

 

 I've always been a "dog person" so I enjoyed every minute of getting to know the dogs while Eric and France hooked our the chosen 30 dogs onto the sleds. 

 

 

 

 

My sister and I also took the opportunity to capture some images of these gorgeous animals. 

 

 

 

 

Bryn preferred visiting the dogs after they were attached to the sleds.  Once they were harnessed, they were unable to jump up and knock him flat on his bottom!

 

 

Once the harnesses were on, Eric gave Stephanie and I a quick 15-minute lesson on how to ride and maneuver the long fibreglass sleds.  

It basically came down to learning how to "feel it" and when and where to use the brakes. 

 

He also told us we would fall off.   A lot.   And the sled and dogs would run away a few times.  And we'd probably run into a tree or two.  That was part of learning. 

 

"So we'll be sore tomorrow then, Eric?"

"Yes you will.  Very, very sore."

 

 

 

Bryn wasn't old enough drive his own sled, so he rode in Eric's covered in warm blankets, sitting on a cushy seat. 

 

Here he is, all ready to go!!

 



 

 

And here's my "team." They were raring to go, too!

 

 

 

And we were off!   Nearly 2 hours of hills and valleys, ridges and frozen lakes. 

 

My sister took several pictures along the way, but I kept my hands on the sled! 

 

 

 

 

This is the kind of view had along the way.  Gorgeous isn't it??

 

 

 

I did fall off a few times - 2 times I completely face planted into the snow up to my eyeballs, twice I lost the sled and my team, and once I took out a huge cedar tree. 

 

But every time I picked myself back up and tried again ( always thinking, "Man- I'm going to be SORE tomorrow!)

 

 

 

Midway through the trail ride, we stopped for hot chocolate.  Eric checked Bryn's feet to make sure he was still  at a safe, warm temperature.  He was not!

So off came Bryn's boots and socks and Eric inserted Bryn's cold feet up under his warm, heavy coat. 

 

Eric's "radiator heat" (as his wife called it!) could warm anyone's frozen toes in an instant.    And even though it made Bryn slightly uncomfortable (his feet were in a strangers shirt!) he admitted it worked and he would be less cold on the way back because of it!

 

 

 

And here I am, arriving safely back into the kennel area.  My toes were frozen and my lips were cracked and wind-burnt, but I have to say that dog-sledding was one of the most awesome things I have EVER done. 

 

I would recommend it to anyone.

 

Such memories for all three of us!  Bryn has already stated he wants to do it again as soon as he is big enough to drive his own sled and dog team!!

 

 

 

Keep warm all,

 

XOXOX

 

Bronwyn

 

 

 

 

 

France 2014 : 3 Days in Paris

I had originally planned a fun and simple post about our trip to Paris during the summer of 2014.  However, in light of what has happened there in the past few days, I feel I must begin this post a little differently then I first planned.

It was difficult to explain to our 3  children, who are 10, 8 and 6, about the travesties that took place in the "City of Light" this past week.

During the summer, we had taken them on their first European vacation where we spent a few days exploring Paris before we journeyed out to our rental home in Normandy. 

They remember Paris as clean and safe and filled with beautiful buildings and happy, joyful people. The news of the shootings at Charlie Hebedo was shocking to them. 

Of course, we explained things like this rarely happened in "civilized" cities like Paris.

But lately, it HAS happened a lot.

  Even in Canada.

We used to be able to say, "Don't worry kids.  It never happens in Canada." 

But it did, back in November. 

Rosie DiManno, a journalist for the Toronto Star said it best:

"Will it be repeated? Probably, in some manifestation, at some future juncture. As these attacks were preceded by strikes three months ago at a war memorial in Ottawa, a month ago at a chocolate café in Sydney, a fortnight ago at a school in Peshawar. As in London, as in Madrid, as in Bali, as in New York City and Washington D.C. As in, over and over, Kabul and Baghdad."

Scary.  But true. 

I guess our job as parents is to make sure our children don't live in fear.

And to help them be accepting of all races, religions and creeds so that they can spread love in the world instead of hate. 

My heart goes out to all those who lost their lives in Paris and the surrounding countryside. 

My heart breaks for the Parisian children and parents who may be afraid to walk their city's streets for awhile. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now onto the more pleasant part of this post -- photos from our 3 days in Paris, July 2014. 

Our rental apartment was in the 17th arrondissement near Sacre Coeur.  It was down a lovely cobblestone street and had pretty views out of it's large windows. 

(Our youngest son located these labels on the door frames in the main lobby of the apartment building.  They also perfectly labeled our three children - Afton, Bryn and Camden!)

Once we had settled into our "home," we ventured down to the River Seine to take a river cruise through the centre of the city. 

(Bryn found his favourite lock on one of the bridges across the Seine.  We saw so many "faces" looking back at us as we cruised the river.)

After enjoying an inexpensive and delicious traditional Chinese dinner (where the kids ate duck for the first time!) we went to fulfil one of the kids "Paris Bucket List" items:

*See the Eiffel tower lit up and sparkling in the darkness.*

(The view of the Eiffel Tower from the Chinese restaurant.  A,B & C fulfil a travel wish!)

We slept REALLY well in the apartment our first night ( jetlag will do that!) and then were up early to see another one of the kids' "Paris Bucket List" items:

*See the gargoyles at the church where the Hunchback of Notre Dame lives."

So, off we went!

(So much beauty and history here.  The kids enjoyed imagining about all of the people that have walked the tiled floors here over the centuries.)

(Afton found the stained glass to be the most memorable part for her.  The boys listed "lighting a candle for Poppa in heaven" as their favourite part. )

After touring the church, inside and out, we went on a walk around the cathedral, checking out hidden streets and not-so-hidden patisseries!

(These purple tables were outside a cupcake shop that wasn't open yet (darn!), so instead we "settled" for these super-sized meringues and several flavours of macaron at a nearby bakery.) 

The final event of our 3 day stay in Paris included dinner out in a simple, yet fine little bistro near our apartment.  Some dear friends, whom we had known since our university days, had recently moved to Ireland.  They had also recently celebrated their 15th anniversary so they decided to book a weekend away in Paris.  Of course, we planned their visit to coincide with ours so that we could reconnect and have a wonderful night out in Paris.  

 

Our dinner lasted for 5 hours as we sipped wine, munched on bread, cheese and olives and then ordered delicious main meals and desserts that were to die for!

 

Our waiter, Mario, was a hoot and got in on the "fun" quite often during the evening. 

 

 

Looking back on it now, all four of us list this night out as one of the most amazing of our lives!  In fact, because Kevin and I are in Italy during the summer of 2015, we have already planned to meet our friends for a dinner in Rome!

 

(If you are wondering who was taking care of our kids while we were out- my Mom and my sister were in charge and took the kids up the mountain to see Sacre Coeur and the view of Paris from above!)

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

I look forward to sharing more photos of our trip to France. After Paris we moved out to our rental home in Normandy and spent two weeks exploring the area and getting a real feel for French culture.

 

So many adventures, so many pictures!!

 

XOXO,

 

Bronwyn

A Wint'ry Pompom Wreath

Now that all of my Christmas décor has come down and been relegated to the storage space in the basement, our home was full of a few gaps that needed to be filled.

 

Even the kids thought the front door looked rather bare after the wreath with the festive berries and big red bow came down!

 

After a quick look around the local craft store, inspiration hit!

Well actually, I found a set of these pom pom makers (which I had been coveting for a couple of months) and knew I needed to buy them right away and get to work using them. 

 

 

I had seen several people on Instagram using these strange looking contraptions.  I had no idea how they worked and it turns out, they are EASY to use!

 

 

 

I created several pom poms in the icy shades of white and pale silvery blue.  I also coached my daughter through the making of several in crazier shades of hot pink and lime green. ( Don't worry - they are not going on the wreath!)

 

 

A little glue gun here, a lacy burlap bow there and my wint'ry wreath was done!

 

 

 

I'll admit that I bought a premade bow.  I was only $10 and I had a half-off coupon so I splurged on pre-made.  It's colour added a bit of warmth to a rather cool-looking wreath. 

 

 

And here it is, hanging on our front door.

 



 

The white wreath itself is actually a Christmas decoration that I found in the 80% off section.  I figured it looked just as much "January/February" as it did "December," so I used it.

 

As you can see from the reflection in the window here, we have snow in my little neck of the woods (near Toronto).  The snow is light and not deep at all.  Easy to handle. 

Now the cold - that is another story!
 We are having record cold temperatures with wind chills that feel like -35 degrees Celcius.

Way too cold to enjoy the snow.  The kids can't play outside and no one wants to leave their cosy beds EVER!


Hoping for the predicted "jump" in temperatures on the weekend.  We're expecting  -12 degrees or so!!



Bringing Me Joy today.....

Back to work for me today after 2 glorious weeks off.  

Here are a few things making my heart sing as I return to my classroom full of munchkins.....

1. This amazing 3D Ravensburger  puzzle of the Eiffel Tower slowly coming together at our kitchen table.  Each family member has spent some time on it and we hope to complete it tonight!

2. Dear old friends visiting all the way from Ireland.  S & N are both university pals that we reconnected with when we ended up buying homes on the same street nearly 15 years ago.  We've raised our kids together until they moved to Europe for S's work.  We miss them terribly but are glad to see them twice a year.  My daughter Afton loved her 48 hours with her bestie, Charlotte.   

3.  My current read - "Fingersmith" by Sarah Waters.  I love a good historical novel, and this one is astonishing! Just when I thought I had the story figured out, there was  gigantic twist and I couldn't put it down.  I hear that the BBC has recently made a TV serial of the story.  I can't wait to watch it too!

4.  I bought dearest hubby this cookbook for Christmas.  We have used it constantly since then.  Two favourites - "Curried Fish Pie" and "Winter's Night Chili."  Not quick and easy, but well worth all the time spent infusing flavours and adding layers of ingredients.  

5.  A set of pom-pom makers - my new favourite crafting tool! Actually - the whole family loves it!  My daughter has been making pompoms constantly and my youngest son likes to play with it because it can be transformed into a "spaceship" !

6.  My mom was cleaning out her super-sized freezer and gave me a TON of frozen fruit.  I brought it all home and started making jam.  So far I've done a batch of rhubarb and a batch of peach.  Next up - blackberry!

7. Winter has returned to our part of Canada.  Actually - it's come back with a vengeance!  An ice and snowstorm is expected tonight and we will get at least 5cm of snow a day for the next week. 

The kids love it.  I love it.

  Bring it on!! 

Thanks for visiting!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

Please leave a comment - I LOVE  THOSE!!

XOXOX,

Bronwyn 

My Favourite "Makes" from 2014

This past year I tried to make as much time as I could for my own personal creative pursuits. I really do like creating things - for myself, for my home and for others.  I always have several projects on the go at any one time - usually a knitting/crocheting one, a large sewing project and smaller gifts meant to be finished for certain people and dates.  

I have selected a few my favourite ones from this year to show you here. 

(Oooh!! I get totally giddy to see all the colourful bits and pieces I have put together all by myself!!)

 Favourite Sewing Projects 

Clockwise: ~ A hexagon stitching travel case - it held everything I needed to make hexi-flowers while we were on vacation in France. Perfect for day-tripping! 

~My collection of hexi-flowers created on our vacation.  I've decided that I will only work on this project while on vacation so it's put away until our tip to the UK in March.  

~ Union Jack pillow ( with cute polka-dots, of course!)

~ Appliqued Foxy - he became a pillow for my living room.

Favourite Crochet Projects

Left to Right: ~ A baby blanket made with scraps of pastel yarn

~ My Cherry Heart tree skirt

~ A baby blanket made with Simply Crochet's Granny square App.

Projects for Kids

Left to Right: ~ An Eiffel Tower printed skirt for my daughter for our trip overseas

~ A Foxy pencilcase for my son who was starting first grade

~ A vest for a cute little family friend who was turning one!

Patchwork Projects

Left to right: ~ An appliqued circle quilt in shades of blue and red

~ My chevron Christmas quilt ( I promised the kids a new quilt each year, and this is the Xmas 2014 edition!)

Gifts for Danica

(She is our new niece and we ADORE her!)

Left to right: ~ A newborn sized sweater given to her mommy Amy at her baby shower.

~ An afghan I created in pretty pastel shades to celebrate Danica's arrival.  

~ This is the pennant decoration I made using my Cricut machine for Amy's baby shower.  We had an autumn-themed shower back in September.

Painting Projects

I promised myself I would take up a new "craft" during 2014.  So, my daughter and I gave water colour painting a try.  We bought a set of colourful paints, some new brushes and a variety of water colour paper pads.  We painted whenever the mood struck us.  Above are two "paintings" I did during the summer - one of a corner of my garden and the other of a foxglove flower we picked at our vacation home in France.  

Well there we go.  Two blog posts out into cyberspace. So far I have really enjoyed flipping through my  picture files and sharing my thoughts that go with them.  

I have many more posts flying around my head right now. 

I REALLY hope I can keep this up after I return to work in a few days.  It's easy to blog when one is on holidays, but will I have the energy after I head back to my classroom filled with 30 kindergarten children??

  I HOPE!!

Hugs to you and yours,

XOXO

Bronwyn