Catching up

Well HELLO!  It's been a while, so I thought I would catch everyone up with a picture-filled post.

Let's start with skiing. One of my favourite things about being out here in Calgary is skiing.  The hubster told me this would happen, and next time he tells me something... I'm still not going to believe him.  But about this he was right.  I have never been a skier - I just was never really close enough to a hill to warrant buying the equipment and going regularly.  Plus, I was an artsy-fartsy - I didn't think skiing was in my repertoire.  But since I was forced to get gear, buy a season pass, and get up at the crack of dawn to get to the hill - I have gotten pretty good!  And being good at something, or at least reasonably good, is key to enjoying it, in my opinion.  Although they have never been on skies before, the boys are naturals, of course, especially Will.  I thought they would be on the bunny hill all this season, but we have already passed that and are doing chair lift runs.  So fun!

Pretty hoar frost is really common.

So winter here has come and gone, come and gone. Chinooks are REAL people - not just some nebulous thing that everyone kept telling me about to make me feel better about moving.  They're real, and they are spectacular!

Christmas happened, and my folks were here for a month.  It was a fabulous visit and a great holiday, and I think my parents were excited to sleep on a real bed instead of blow-up mattresses (Which was our 'guest room' in the old house).

You can't win 'em all...

Nenshi was kind enough to give me this great book for Christmas (haha) and we went on a few excursions with my parents.  We saw lots of dinosaur bones,

and hoodoos,

did more skiing,

and even made some pizza (but wouldn't eat it).

Chris and I got to have some 'date' time, which of course with Mountain Man means snow-shoe hikes.  Pretty amazing way to see the mountains, so I guess I won't complain.  There was wine too.

Since I wasn't blogging I had lots of time to do some knitting projects, including a few I didn't photograph.  I made up the pattern for the long scarf I gave to my mother-in-law and was pretty happy with it. I got confident enough to print out a sweater pattern, but haven't started it yet.  It scares me.

On the home front, having Dad here spurred me on to accomplish at least one project, which I'll do a separate post about later.  Here is my fancy drawing though.

I continue to be amazed by the spectacular sunrises and sunset out here.  Big Sky is right!

Someone had a birthday...

and I started a painting class.

Our first class we learned how to mix paints and do a quick apple - 10 minutes!

I have also slowly but surely been making it a little homier around here.  There are still lots of pictures to get hung, furniture to be positioned, and some painting to be done, but I am pleased with the boys' room.  The polka dots are my way to liven things up without painting (i.e. lazy solution).

Some day I will get to have a real tablecloth again... you know, those fabric ones?  Without plastic on top? Yeah, I like those.  Some day...

So that's what's been up in my world out here near the mountains.  I hope you guys are staying warm, and are having a happy 2015 so far!

Glitter Card Production Line

I purchased a few holiday cards for the boys' classes, and never really got around to using them.  When I mentioned filling them out to William, he asked if we could make cards instead, like we did for Valentine's Day. Wullll, yeah!!!

I had a ton of glitter around that I had picked up during one of my many excursions to the Dollar Store, and of course a bazillion sheets of construction paper.  So we cut some little cards and I drew a few simple designs with glue.  Then the boys gently tapped quickly dumped the entire container of glitter on the glue and shook off the excess.  Thankfully I had the foresight to use some box tops to try to contain the glitter! Our little pot-scrapers also came in handy.  They kept at it for  quite a while and we had a real production line going before the glitter fights began... I think there will be glitter in our house until they leave for university - it is like living inside a disco ball.  (I sort of love it.)

Having done all the cards, and then allowing them to dry, William filled out approximately six before he had a melt-down and refused to do any more.  So for those of you with kids in his class who thought  his hand-writing looked like something his father might have done with his left hand... well, you get a gold star. :) Oh, and you are welcome for all the glitter we sent into your house.  Enjoy!

Christmas pinecone painting

The boys were a fabulous help with the Christmas decorating this year.  One of our favourite projects was collecting pinecones at the park and painting them when we got home.  We started by painting white on the edges to look like snow, but then the tubes of gold and glitter seemed like even more fun!  When they dried, I put them just about everywhere - I especially love how they look on the mantel and in amongst my beach stones.

The great thing about doing Christmas crafts is that they are instantly go on display - so gratifying for the kids.  It has me thinking about how I can incorporate even more of their art into my decor on a regular basis - any ideas?

Post-Christmas Peace

OK, I have to admit that I am sitting here a bit stunned.  Has Christmas really come and gone in a flash?  It was such a mad rush around here getting ready for visitors, decorating, finishing up school, and putting the basement back together; then wrapping, stuffing, eating, unwrapping, eating, and more eating!  

The basement was finished in the very nick of time - I was doing the final clean of the bathroom when my in-laws drove in, exhausted from 6 days of driving here from Alberta.  So I haven't had much of a chance to sit back and enjoy it yet, but I look forward to doing just that, and snapping a few photos.  The next day I enjoyed a rousing Sing Along Messiah at Massey Hall (so much fun!) and was home in time to chat with my parents, who arrived at my brothers' after a 2-day drive up from New Brunswick.  

Christmas Eve we celebrated here with the Petriks, enjoying an amazing salmon dinner in the Czech tradition.  The next morning my folks stopped by to watch the boys open their ridiculous number of gifts and we had a yummy strada for brunch (my mother-in-law truly spoils us with her cooking!).  Later that evening I made my way to my brother's for our traditional turkey Christmas dinner and it was nice to hang out with my family. We all headed back to Malcolm's (my brother) for brunch the next morning, and he served up delicious hand-made beignets (a tradition my Dad started when we were little of having New-Orleans-style beignets on Christmas morning!).

Now Chris is back at work, his folks are out for lunch with a friend, and the boys are ensconced with Max and Ruby.  I am enjoying a relative moment of quiet and feel like it must have all been some vivid dream!  How lovely though to sit peacefully with a cup of tea, the Christmas lights on, and a blanket of powdery white snow outside.  Always nice to have the simple moments give meaning to the full and festive moments, and vice-versa.

I hope you all enjoyed the peaceful and the festive over the last few weeks.  Here are some photos I managed to grab of our home this year - I went for a little more gold and sparkles this year, and pulled out lots of my thrifted brass treasures!  The boys and I were a little sparkle factory here as well doing our Christmas crafts - I think we will be finding them around the house 16 years from now.

So friends, did you have a nice holiday? :)

Merry Christmas Blog Buddies!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays everybody!  I hope you were able to enjoy a few of those magical moments of quiet, surrounded by loved ones, feeling peace and joy.  xoxo.