The long distance family

Little H has only been here two months and already she is getting used to communicating with her family using modern technology.  She got to play with Grampi, Grandma and 'Owlie' today.  When I was young, I got to talk to my grandparents on the phone, which was important because they lived in different provinces.  But little H gets to see her grandparents 4000 km away and play peek-a-boo with the stuff owl. And she's been able to see her great-Grammi, who thought this was just the best thing ever. 
Now to connect with the others so we can all stay in touch.

The new life

Life has changed.  As one of my friends foretold earlier this year, my world has become smaller and slower.  Life now revolves around my little family and one new little person in particular.  I no longer go to the office; I don't manage dozens of people across the province; I don't even spend hours preparing for my volunteer time with the community kids. I just make sure my little person eats, sleeps, stays dry, and smiles.  I take the time to stroll down the street in the sun, to read book after book out loud to her, to talk about the colours of the items we are putting in the washing machine. Life has changed, and it's a good life :)

Happy St. Patrick's Day

Wishing all of you a Happy St. Patrick's Day from our family's newest addition.

Weekly photo challenge - Symmetry and time

Winter Camp

A beautiful weekend in mid February to enjoy a little camping out in the snow.

Tents are all set up, and looking cozy for later in the night.

Good friends enjoying the snow.

Snowshoeing down the trails.










Snowshoeing past the game camera.












Great day for a snowshoe.

End of the snowshoe hike through the woods.  We ended up at a little farm.

And got to hang out with the baby lambs.

A little sunshine in the yard

A beautiful February afternoon.  A great day to walk around the yard.

Baby enjoying the last few days on the inside.

Mini icicles. 

No swinging until spring....

A Christmas tree and bird feeders.

Home, Sweet Home.

View of the ski hill from our yard.

Chickadee in a tree.

Apple buds.














Give me 5.

lichen colours.

weekly photo challenge - upside down and up close

Something to walk on.

We've been working on our main floor flooring for a bit.  It is looking great.   We've got beautiful pine floors with a red boarder.

Measuring out the tiles for the inlay at the front door.

Filing a tile for the proper fit

Installing the tiles.

Weekly Photo Challenge - Outside & Time....

Outside and time, eh?  hmmmm.... outside now is warm, but snowy.  Time is a beautiful luxury I am taking full advantage of.  so what photo screams outside time to me? 

Outside, Time Stands Still. 

Out in the backyard

A beautiful, sunny day here in the north.  A good time to take a little snowshoe around the backyard and enjoy the warm rays.

Photo Challenge Week 1

I've decided to try one of the many photo challenges that exist. This is just to have a little fun and I've decided to go with weekly photos instead of daily because I didn't succeed the last time I tried daily.  I know I will still miss weeks, especially when I am too exhausted as a new mom, although maybe baby will be the inspiration to the photos, especially since Grandma, Grandma, Grandpa, Grampi, Nanny, and aunts and uncles will want the visual updates.

So without further ado, here is week one - a photo of me at the beginning  (and the baby bump for all those interested).

A new month, a new chapter

February has arrived.  Around here that means a new chapter, well you could probably say a new book, in our lives.  I am officially no longer going to the office and am spending my vacation time nesting.  We've passed the 8 month mark, so only a few more weeks until there is a new J-P family member.  Various people are asking to see a photo, so I have the camera battery charging. (guess I better learn to keep it charged now; apparently first babies 'require' a lot of photos).  Soon, I'll capture and post something.

The count down is on....

Growing bigger

As winter gets deeper, P'Nut and I get bigger.  We have 6 weeks left until we anticipate P'Nut coming out into the world.  And only a week and a half until I can nest full time.  In the meantime, we are trying to keep the stress levels low with knitting, crocheting, colouring, fresh flowers and of course some great (albeit slow) walks in the snow.  Let the incubating continue :)

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween to all the ghosts, goblins and ghouls.  

It was a wet one here but we still enjoyed it.  The festivities started a few days ago when P'Nut and I went to the Girl Guide Halloween party dressed as skeletons.  The girls swung for donuts, decorated cookies, used their memories to find the secret Halloween word, and touched all sorts of gooey brains and eyeballs in the lab.

 

Mark and I waited until the last minute to get our pumpkin and candy this year.  And to our surprise, the town was sold out of both.  We couldn't find what we were looking for in any of the stores.  So we bought a specialty pumpkin for fun.  And stocked up on some slightly larger snack sized treats.

Then home to carve our interesting pumpkin into a jack-o-lantern.  We had the spooky red lights on and the jack-o-lantern glowing outside, while we watched 'Dracula' and waited for trick-or-treaters.  The only trick-or-treaters we had were a mom and baby moose, and they preferred the leaves in the garden to chocolate.  (Don't worry, Mark rescued the last of the brussel sprouts just in time.)

We then went to the annual Pumpkin Walk at the Historic Park.  Amazing production everyone.  Congrats.  350 pumpkins, all carved by the elementary school kids, lined the walk-ways throughout the park.  Witches, goblins and Ghostbusters manned the buildings handing out treats and scares.  And despite the drizzly wet weather, the place was busy.  Great community celebration.

Afterwards, we had a drink at the restaurant with some friends, where we saw clowns, prisoner, deer, and witches, and had a long discussion on the cultural appropriateness of various costumes.  The day ended with cuddling on the couch for another Halloween movie - Beetlejuice.

Fall has begun

Another wonderful summer has come and gone, full of adventure like no other year.  But now it is fall and the weather is turning cool.  (Cold enough for Mark to ask for a toque and long-johns).  But today is sunny and I'm still planning on sailing the lake this weekend.  Life is good.

Welcome Fall

Part of the harvest

 

We got to the apples before the bear this year

Still to harvest - kale

and potatoes

Garlic is hanging to dry and keep the vampires off the property

Here's hoping the moose stay out of the garden this fall.

Tomatoes are ripening in the greenhouse

The new cushions for our swing are finished, just in time to enjoy some fall evenings.

Even the bee is enjoying the fall gardens