Eight Questions

Here's a new one for me . . . My friend and First Mate on the TOS Crew, Shannon, "tagged" me. At first, I wasn't sure what that meant, but apparently there's a get-to-know-you blogging trend out there in which people are tagged to answer a series of 8 questions, and then they tag 8 other people with 8 more questions of their own. Since I haven't got much else to post about right now, and I like Shannon ;),  here are my answers to her questions:

1. Toddlers or Teens? Which are harder and why?

I actually laughed when I read that one. I'm in the throes of both, and it ain't always pretty.

Both ages are hard, as far as I'm concerned, and for a lot of the same reasons. Toddlers can drain the life out of you because they are so demanding of attention and time and energy; but then again, it's the same with teens (just in different ways). Toddlers manifest what might be interpreted as rebellious attitudes as they discover their own personhood; teens are wont to chafe at the bit in ways that we might label rebellious as they, too, strive to figure out who they are in this world. (I'm learning, though, that "rebellious" is often an inaccurate descriptor. It's sometimes more about an inability to communicate needs in an appropriate way -- not an outright rejection of how they've been raised.) Toddlers need to be repeatedly directed with grace and love so that they can learn how to conduct themselves in a variety of social settings; teens, too, need a constant out-pouring of grace and love as they wend their way independently through the treacherous waters of the adolescent social scene. In many ways, the difficulties we encounter with toddlers and teens are related to the same issue -- their quest for independence. I think both also want die-hard proof that we really do love them, "no matter what." Enabling them to come into their own is often nerve-wracking, draining, and heart-wrenching -- but that's why they say parenting is the hardest job in the world, I guess!

2. What is your favourite Christmas tradition?

That question is much easier to answer! For years now, we have been enjoying an advent tradition that revolves around a series of books: Jotham's Journey, Tabitha's Travels, and Bartholomew's Passage. The stories of these books are interwoven, so the characters appear in each to different degrees, and they are full of action and suspense. (I wish I could spell the anticipatory sound with which DH concludes the reading of each chapter. Each one is a cliff-hanger that makes us all want to hear the next chapter as well!) I'm going to save the other details about the series for a future post about our family's Christmas traditions. But our readings are accompanied by the lighting of advent candles, and each child goes to bed with a personal candle in a votive cup by which they may go to sleep if they wish. (Usually they prefer the fun of blowing it out!) On Sunday nights during advent, our readings are accompanied by a chocolate fondue! Woo hoo! Is it any wonder that it's one of my favourite Christmas traditions?

3. What do you do (if anything) for regular, physical exercise?

Ya -- lately, not so much -- unless you count climbing the stairs multiple times per day, lugging laundry, and doing housework. I used to run; now I don't. I'd like to get back into walking, and then maybe running again, but time is the factor. It's hard to get out for personal fitness during the school year. That might sound like an excuse -- but that's just the way it is.

4. Country/Traditional/Eclectic or Modern – which is YOUR home decorating style?

 We're pretty eclectic, I'd say. We used to be drawn to all things Victorian, but not anymore. We decorate with whatever we like without worrying about whether or not it fits a particular style. Sometimes it's a country washboard and tin watering can on an old wooden box; sometimes it's sleek, silver candlesticks on black, glittery fabric; sometimes it's crystal dishes and bone china. Often it's themed for the season:

Sometimes it's just plain, old clutter:

5. Baths or Showers? Which do you prefer and why?

Baths -- for sure. I usually shower because it's faster, but I grew up with baths in a clawfoot tub. When I was practice teaching in university, my SIL introduced me to bubble baths by candlelight and soft music. That is the ultimate in relaxation!

6. Have you ever lived abroad? Where and for how long?
Sounds lovely -- but I never have.

7. What is your favourite season and why?

Well, I pretty much like every season except winter. Christmas (yes, a white one) is the only thing that redeems winter for me. I love spring because I like seeing nature come to life again -- and it means summer vacation is around the corner. I love summer because it means the freedom of school being out, though I no longer experience those "lazy, hazy days" I remember from my youth. I love fall because of the crisp weather and beautiful colours, as well as our local fair and Thanksgiving.

8. Are your parents still alive? If not, what do you miss most about them -- and if yes, have you told them today that you love them?

My dad died when I was in fourth year university. He was only in my life for the first 8 or 9 years of my life, so there's not much that I miss about him. If I mourn anything, it's what might have been rather than what was. Since his death, I have become much closer to my sisters, and I'm grateful for that because they're pretty awesome people! (We have two brothers, too, but they're not really around.)

My mom is still very much alive, and lives not too far away, though we don't see each other as often as we'd like. I try to tell her I love her every time I talk to her :) You can get a glimpse of how I feel about her by reading my altered journal post.

I don't think I know enough bloggers personally to feel comfortable tagging them, but if there's anyone out there that wants to answer my questions, leave a link to your blog in my comments and I'll post a direct link to your answers here so people can visit you at your blog :) Sound like a plan? (That way, more than 8 of you can play, if you want -- or should I say, " if you dare"! ;)

1. If you had a whole day to spend as you wished, what would you do?

2. If you could change the way you did something in your life, what would it be, and how would you make it different?

3. What features or qualities of the Creator do you see in yourself?

4. If you could travel anywhere, where would it be, and why?

5. What items are on your desk, and why are they significant?

6. Identify one unspoken priority in your life and explain how those around you know it's a priority.

7. What does the phrase, "Take care of yourself" mean to you?

8. Describe something beautiful in your life.

OK -- sorry -- that sounds like an assignment for English class doesn't it?!?!? Well, some things are hard to eradicate from one's way of thinking ;) Aren't you glad I didn't ask you personally to play? ;) I do hope some of you will rise to the challenge:)

Thanksgiving Prep Part 1

Next weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving, so we're in full preparation mode. We hit our favourite local farm last week and picked pumpkins and mums for pies and the porch. (OK, so the mums don't go in pies -- just on the porch.)

Isn't this a pretty site? (OK, I know some people think it's gross!)

We've been studying The Pumpkin Runner, a real pumpkin farmer who sustained himself for long distance running by eating pumpkin in all imaginable forms, so we tried some raw. DD8 and I quite liked it!

Since the plan was to make pumpkin pies from scratch, we set about doing so by scooping out the insides and baking them face-down for about an hour. 

Then we scooped the flesh out of the skins and made our puree . . . I hope you don't mind the mundane pix -- I just love the colours and textures!

We also roasted the seeds with some garlic oil left over from our last Blessing Meal, afterwhich DD8 made them into a face for our photo shoot:

Apparently I'm the only one that enjoys eating them!

Of course, she couldn't hold the camera without sneaking a self-portrait in there, too:

When it was time to make the crusts, I had to think creatively in order to find my favourite rolling pin. It wasn't where it belonged, nor was it in ANY of the drawers that someone might have THOUGHT it belonged if they were using any remnant of their logic skills. Before I got too frustrated, it did occur to me to look here, amidst the play-dough tools:

I shoulda known!

Anyway, once the crusts were made, it was time to start mixing the filling. DS3 wanted to help, so I decided to make it a bit of a directed learning experience. I told him I needed a teaspoon, and it was not the largest spoon, but the second largest spoon on the ring.

He got it right the first time! (I didn't know he understood ordinal numbers!)

Thinking it might just have been a lucky guess, I tried him with a 1/2 teaspoon, telling him that it was the third largest spoon. Again, he got it right away! The clever little duck! (Don't you love that he's dressed like a little pumpkin?!?!? I didn't plan that!)





 Speaking of ducks -- or rather chickens and turkeys -- we also did some decorating on the front porch this week, mostly with garage sale finds:

I love the fall mats DH picked up on sale in the spring:

In case you missed it in a previous post, this is the wreath DH made:

Anyway -- here are the pies all ready to go into the oven. I had more than enough filling, so I greased a casserole dish and just baked the filling in it along with the pies. We had it with ice cream tonight -- and it was delish! I just love the colour of the unbaked pies!

And fresh from the oven . . . they just need a couple of decorations, I think:

Finally, it was on to the pecan pies. (I was going to only make one, but DH reminded me that my pecan pies are always the favourite, so I should really make two!) DD8, photo-poser that she is, wanted in on the action and really did most of the work.

Mmmmmmmmm . . . are you drooling yet????

In addition to all this creativity in the kitchen, I got three blog posts composed today (two of which are scheduled for next week, this one being the third) -- so I'd say I had a pretty productive, creative day! I really am missing doing ART, though, so I'm hoping that I'll be able to find some time for that this upcoming week. I suspect that DD8 will be game to join me, and I wouldn't be surprised if others are, too. It has been a while!

Do you ever get caught up doing legitimately creative things, but wish you could be doing OTHER creative things? What would you be creating right now if you had the absolute freedom to do so?



Creative with a Purpose

It's always nice when the products of one's creativity can serve a practical purpose in everyday life. I have a very creative friend who makes lots of things for lots of people, and since her birthday is this week, I decided I wanted to make something for her. So, even though there were loads of laundry and bins of things that still needed to be put away after our vacation, I spent an hour or so in the art studio last night . . .

A number of years ago, our cousin showed us a simple way to make some really cute and sturdy coasters. All you need is these:

(The tiles were purchased at Home Depot -- from the tile department. The ink needs to be solvent, and the only brand I can find is StazOn. Those little circles are felt pads with adhesive backs. Did I really spend $13.99 on that stamp?!?!?!? Doubtful.)

And you can make these -- in less than half an hour (the most tedious part is peeling the backs off the felt pads!):

Since that was such a quick job, I decided to make one of the cute dragonfly clips that I saw at CAN'T STOP MAKING THINGS. Here's what I started with:

(Oops -- I forgot the wooden kabob skewer that was used to form the body.)

And here's the result:

See -- it's just wired onto the little alligator clip. The tutorial positioned it differently, but as I didn't have the instructions handy, I just did it the way that made sense to me. I also added beads:

The tutorial suggested gluing a magnet to the back for posting pictures and notes on the fridge -- but the uses are limitless, really. DH suggested they could be used as little scarf clips, my SIL suggested lapel decorations, and I was thinking of little attachments for gifts and what-not. Here's my little guy adorning the plastic ribbons that separate our art studio from the play room:

How have you used your creativity lately to make something practical or functional?

Just for fun, I linked this post at:

Blessing Basket

We just returned from holidays, but prior to our departure, I mentioned we had made some meals for people who could use a bit of a blessing (one had brain surgery, and two had newborn babies). Because I count kitchen creations as part of my Creative Every Day challenge, I thought I would share some pictures of some of the things we put in our little blessing baskets and boxes. On the menu was homemade lasagna, caesar salad, and homemade garlic bread with butter bleneded with fresh garlic and our own garden herbs:

For dessert, there was cheesecake (also homemade) with strawberry sauce my dh made a few weeks ago.

I decided the jars needed to be prettied up a bit, so I cut fabric tops and made little identification tags and secured them with ribbon:

The children participated in the cooking and baking, so it really was a family "ministry" activity :) We believe it was a blessing to the recipients. (And we got to enjoy the same meal ourselves -- though we ran out of cheesecake batter!)

What are some creative ways that you have found to bless others who might just appreciate a little something to make life easier or more pleasant?

Fancy Footstool

We recently aquired a vintage footstool and some tapestry fabric from a family member (who couldn't bear to use or even store something orange :) and had no use for the fabric), so I decided to grant one of my mom's wishes for a new footstool that would compliment the colours in her apartment.

I set to work with these materials:

Started stapling . . .

And 15 minutes later had this:

Not bad, eh?

Is there a little creative project you've been putting off, but could probably accomplish in just a few minutes? Why not challenge yourself to get it done today! You'll be glad you did :)

I linked this post to . . .

Porch Prettiness

Every summer, I find joy in creating a little sanctuary on our front porch with odds and ends from around the house, and lots of containers of flowers and greenery. This is the view from the street:

Here is dear old St. Francis, who has suffered much in our garden; he has been beheaded and mended with Gorilla Glue, and now I notice that the poor little bird he holds has also lost its head. But they're nice little greeters at the foot of our stairs.

This is the view as you ascend the stairs. Container gardens seem to be my thing; no weeds, a bit of water each night, and we're good to go! Our in-ground gardens, on the other hand, are a mess!

A close-up of the box you pass on the way to the door, which I showed you before in this post:

If you turn left at the top of the steps, you see our make-do seating area, which leaves something to be desired in the decor department, but is fabulously functional. We just need to find a suitable little table or an ottoman, as we tend to want to put our feet up when we're sitting here. Prince Caspian, whom you also met in the post I linked to above, claims the purple chair as his throne while he and I water the plants in the evening, but he will also force his large limbs to fit into the smaller tub chair if the other is claimed:

And here we have our little herb garden. We have yet to make good use of the herbs, though I did use several sprigs of mint to decorate dessert tonight :)

So there you see a little bit of loveliness that delights me morning and evening -- and many an afternoon, too!

Do you have a favourite little sanctuary that you've created in or around your home? What have you done, or what COULD you do to create a tranquil spot for you and your family to enjoy a few quiet moments? I'm always interested in hearing new ideas, so please do share in the comments below, and link to any pictures you might have posted :)

Before I go, DD8 wanted me to take a picture of her pretty toes that we painted together last night. She was standing on the porch, so they fit with the title of this post ;)

And I just thought I'd share with you the little bouquet of wild flowers DD8 and DS3 collected for me while we were on our "Morning Glories Walk" yesterday:

Such variety of colour and texture! Even weeds were created to delight us! ;)

I linked this post to Funky Junk Interiors blog party.