Mother's Day and My Garden in May

Middle of May already!!  Mother's Day has come and gone, but my hubby and kids made it a wonderful weekend all 'round.

Because Kevin had to attend a conference on Friday and Saturday of the Mother's Day weekend, I took all three of the kids to my mother's home 2 hours down the road.  

My mother always finds these "special" days  on the calendar much more difficult since my father past away.  So, I try, as often as I can, to come home so that she is busy and focused on her grandkids instead of feeling sad.  

The kids surprised her with some driveway chalk art.

She adored it!

On Mother's Day I slept in until 9am (!!) and then enjoyed a delicious breakfast prepared by my hubby and the kids (Apparently, my oldest buttered my toast!)

Then the parade of homemade gifts began.  

My daughter made me an adorable clay pot filled with clay flowers on a recent school field trip. Her card featured her own hand print as the cutest stems on a pot of tissue flowers.  

My oldest son made me a folded paper butterfly out of a magazine and he drew me the sweetest card.  

And my youngest son's teachers helped him write out a recipe card for his favourite food that I prepare.  Then he mod-podged some tissue paper onto a wooden spoon so that I could hang it on my kitchen wall as a decoration.  

So many marvelous keepsakes.  They made my heart glow and will bring tears to my eyes again in the future.

  

Oh! Why can't they stay little forever??

Speaking of things that make me happy. . . .

How about a little look around my garden??

Come on in. . . .

And don't forget to close the gate!

My mother gave me a clump of her Lily of the Valley early last year and they barely grew, let alone flowered during the summer of 2012.  Luckily, this year, after a year in my garden, they are covered in flower buds that should burst forth within days.  I can't wait to smell their intoxicating fragrance!!

These tulips are from new bulbs my children and I planted last fall.  I love their magenta colour and ruffly petals.

As bright as the tulips above are, these ones are pale. Do you see the touch of the prettiest pink along the edges??

Hello Purple Pansies!

Don't they look like they have faces smiling up at you??

This my youngest son's favourite thing in my garden.  He believes everything should be yellow.  After all, it is, in his words, "very sunshiney" - - and his favourite colour!!

These grape hyacinths hitched a ride when my Aunt Betty gave me some chives from her garden.  They were a nice surprise and cute as a button!

These daffodils sprung from newly planted bulbs, too.  I love the peachy cups in the centre of the frilly white wings.  

I am just in awe of my garden these days.  I love how it is gradually filling with green, blocking out the lumber fence and turning into our own little sanctuary.  

Trust me - I have a long way to go and lots to learn as a amateur gardener, but I am enjoying every leaf, bud and flower along the way.  

Much love to you and yours!!

Bronwyn

A Sweater for Sally...I Mean, Grace!

Last summer, for our tenth anniversary, my husband Kevin and I returned to the UK for a 10-day vacation.  We had originally been here on our honeymoon 10 years previous.

We visited many beautiful and historic cities such as Glasgow, Belfast, Salisbury and Cardiff.  

One of my favourite cities was York. What a place!

The most breathtaking attraction we visited in the city was the Minster. It was begun in 1220 and was still under construction in the 1500s.  It grew and grew until it was the biggest cathedral in northern Europe.  

Not far from the Minster is the "Shambles," a 14th century street with many old timber-framed shops that used to be butcher's shops in past centuries. Now these buildings have been turned into modern storefronts that sell anything from clothing to cards.  

My favourite shop was this itty-bitty yarn store tucked in behind a few souvenir shops.  The owner had walls and walls of pretty wool and yarn and she let me take a few pictures of displays. Her only request - that I buy a few things before I go.

No problem!!

Because I was travelling and living out of a suitcase I had to keep my purchases small, so I narrowed my purchase down  to 3 balls of the prettiest peach yarn I had ever seen.  It reminded me of ice cream.  Threaded through it was a crystal accent that caught the light perfectly and I knew exactly what I would do with it.

My friend Julie was about to give birth to her third child and we knew she was going to be a girl.  

Throughout her pregnancy she had joked with her other two children that they would name the baby "Sally" after the little girl in the "Cat in the Hat" TV show.  

Julie's hair has a slight tinge of gingery red.  Neither of her previous children were "red" at all, so maybe THIS time baby "Sally" would arrive with a tinge of ginge.

This peachy yarn would be perfect on a little red-head!

Well - Baby "Sally" arrived in October and her real name became Grace.  Julie's older children adored their new baby sister but were truly disappointed that her name wasn't "Sally!"

And isn't she adorable? 

And yes - she has a tinge of ginge.

And the pretty peach yarn knitted into the perfect little sweater for such a sweet little lady.

Enjoy these sunshiney days, everyone!

Hugs,

Bronwyn

A Recipe for Springtime : Strawberry-Rhubarb Oatmeal Squares

I'm so excited !

 The rhubarb I planted last year has sprung from the ground and is showing me several large leaves and stalks. 

Another week or two and we'll be eating some rhubarb-y goodness from our own patch!!

And our strawberries (this is year 3 for them) are green and lush too, and already showing the possibility of blossoms. 

Inspired, I baked a new recipe today using both strawberries and rhubarb.  The berries were from the grocery store, but the rhubarb was fresh from my mother's friend's garden. 

The "Strawberry-Rhubarb Oatmeal Squares" were a hit in my house. A whole 9x9 pan was gone within hours of baking!!

Here's the recipe:

Base and topping:

1 cup flour

3/4 cup rolled oats

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/3 cup melted butter

Filling:

2 eggs

1/2 cup white sugar

1/4 cup flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2  1/2 cups chopped rhubarb/strawberries

1. In large bowl, combine flour, oats and brown sugar.

2. Stir in butter until blended.

3. Set aside 3/4 cup to use as topping.

4. Press remaining mixture firmly into bottom of 9x9 baking pan.  

5.  Bake at 350 degrees F (180 C) for 10 minutes.

To make Filling:  

6. In bowl, beat together eggs, sugar, flour and cinnamon until smooth.

7.  Stir in mixed fruit.

8. Spread over baked base.

9.  Sprinkle remaining oatmeal mixture over  top of the filling.

10.  Bake for 45 minutes at 350 degrees F or until lightly browned.

11.  Cool completely before cutting.

12.  Enjoy every morsel (the picture below shows my hubby doing this!)

Please give this recipe a try and let me know how it works out!!

I might try it again new weekend using a different fruit combination.

  Maybe peaches and strawberries.......Mmmmm......

Before I sign off, I want to show you some pictures from the Spring Sprint that benefits the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada.  

My son told you his story HERE

and he asked for you sponsorship. So many of you responded with love and our team was able to raise over $2500!!

Here are some pics of the event:

Our team consisted of our family of five, Nana, Grandma and Grandpa and Uncle Joel.  All three aunts (Steph, Meg and Amy) were there in spirit, too.

Bryn ran 3 loops around the course (2.5 km) trying his best to keep up with speedy Uncle Joel.  

I managed to get weepy only once.  Bryn stood amongst the other brain tumour survivors for the photo  above (bottom left) and I was overcome.  Why did my little boy have to go through this? 

 One of the older men in the photo joked, "Hey you, little guy! You're too young to have gone through this!"

He was right.  My boy is/was too young.

But thankfully, he pulled through with flying colours.  

Look at him! Young and vibrant and healthy.

So....we're going to run in events like this for years to come in order  to help all those patients whose stories didn't work out quite as well.

Have a wonderful week everyone.

Count your blessings, 

Love, Bronwyn

A Picnic and a Laundry Room Vignette

A brand new bakery just opened in our town and with the weather being so perfect lately I decided to treat the kids to an after school picnic in the park.  

Gotta love a good bakery - fresh bread in a variety of artisan flavours, flaky pastries, cookies and a huge gluten free section.  Let's just say that EVERYONE in my family had a hard time picking what they wanted for dinner that night!

The two older children (Bryn and Afton) chose "pain au chocolat" in anticipation of our trip to France. Camden begged for two raisin-y Chelsea buns and I chose a apricot-filled croissant that was sweet and flaky.  Even my gluten-free hubby, Kevin, scored a big loaf of nutty country-style bread that he happily ate plain.  

Don't worry - our  whole meal did not consist of high fat pastries! I had also brought along carrot sticks, strawberries and chocolate milk to go along side!!

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

I'm not going to lie.  When we first moved into our home I painted the laundry room pink.  

Yes. I. did.

Pink is my favourite colour and no one spends more time in that room than me!!

So I chose pink. 

The WRONG pink.  

Instead of being pale and blushy, it looked like the room had been sprayed down with Pepto Bismol.  

So I recently  re-painted it in a pale greeny-aqua shade that is much gentler on the eyes and constitution!

Hubby also added a "backsplash" of bead board that I adore, and this past weekend, he put up this little display shelf, too.  

Time to fill it up with pretty things!

I bought this little lady several years ago in anticipation of decorating my laundry room.  Finally after 5 years, she is making her decor debut.  

I used three of my Crown canning jars filled with antique clothes pins and shiny  glass beads.  The beads add a nice kick of colour!

I bought these large iron scissors at a greenhouse recently.  Maybe they are meant to hang outside, but I like them as part of this vignette.  

I stitched this sampler months ago with plans to make it part of a gallery wall in our family room.  

Well, the gallery wall never happened but this stitchery fits perfectly into the colour scheme of my laundry room.

This oldie came from a yard sale last summer.  I love its aged appeal and the fact that it is Canadian-made.

And here is the finished shelf including the scalloped edge runner I placed under the decorative items.  

Sorry there is so much shadow and glare on the pictures.  There is no natural light in this room and so many ways to cast a shadow!

I still have lots of laundry room projects waiting in the wings.  Most will have to wait until summer vacation ( 7  1/2 weeks of school left!).

I'll share them as soon as I can!

Hugs to you and yours,

Bronwyn

P.S.  I seem to have very few comments lately. Is there a problem with my commenting system?  Please let me if you are having trouble!

bronwymom2abc@gmail.com

Camden's Choice - An Afghan

Happy Monday my friends.  I hope you had a wonderful weekend. We sure kept busy!!

Saturday we walked/ran in the Spring Sprint for the Brain Tumour Foundation of Canada. Our team raised nearly $2700 contributing to the
 $62 000 that was raised that day by many, many spirited "Tumour Teams."

Sunday we took advantage of the beautiful weather and gardened! We planted trees, dug a new plot and planned our veggie garden.  All the while the kids frolicked on the swings and on the grass enjoying every drop of sunshine.

I didn't do much crocheting this weekend, but I'd like to show you a project I finished a few weeks back.  

Remember this afghan?  I shared about it HERE when I finished it shortly after Christmas.  

I has already become a fixture in our home, taking pride of place across the loveseat in our family room.  It is a favourite cuddle-up item for each member of our family, but 4-year-old Camden has a special affection for it.  In fact, he has a love for all things knit and crocheted.  He's always wrapped in a blanket, regardless of the weather.  He wears handknit sweaters to kindergarten on a regular basis -- he says he feels like he is wearing an afghan without the possibility of tripping on one! And through much discussion with his teacher, we have figured out the best way to deal with a misbehaving Camden is to time him out, wrap him in blanket and let him chill out in the corner of the classroom until he can handle himself better. And it works!

Within days of this blanket being completed, Camden had claimed the rainbow granny as his own.  He dragged it around the house and wanted to take it to bed with him.  

No way little dude!!  I spent 2 months crocheting row after row so that the whole family could enjoy it.  

Boy was he mad!!

So we came up with a compromise. It was a simple one.  I'd take him to Michaels and he would choose his own yarn and I'd make him his own afghan.  One that was truly HIS!

That worked for him!!

And what did he choose?

Not bad colour choices, huh?  The medium blue and turquoise are fairly similar but I figured I could work with that.  

Yellow is Camden's favourite colour so I knew that would be involved.  But I amazed that he chose colours all in the same intensity and depth.

Pretty amazing, eh??

I used THIS PATTERN  from Little Tin Bird.

Each square worked up quickly and easily.

I crocheted the squares together in single crochet using the turquoise Camden chose.

The final verdict??

Camden ADORES it.  It travels up and down the stairs 87 times a day and he never fails to have a nap without it.  He's asked to take it to school several times, but we remind him that he already has  a afghan  at school made by Nana. 

Here's the full shot:

I am so pleased with how this turned out.  And mostly I am so proud of myself.  I have made 2 full-sized afghans in the space of 4 months.  Normally I get started on them with high hopes to make something big and beautiful and then it fizzles out into a small baby sized coverlet.  Not this time though.  I stuck with it and I am so glad I did!!

I've already moved onto another blanket using up leftovers in all of my favourite colours, edged in a crisp white.  

It will be a few months before I can show you that one though.  Not as much crochet time now that we are spending so much time outside!

Have a wonderful week!

Bronwyn

My Train Trip to Ottawa

I recently was able to escape the craziness of my regular homelife and head away on a "Mommy-only" weekend to visit my sister Stephanie in the city of Ottawa.  She has been living there for about 7 years and I am embarassed to say that I have only visited her a handful of times.  Between pregnancies, babies and toddlers, I felt I couldn't travel the distance.

Now that my 3 children are older I plan on taking more little trips like this one.

It all began on a Friday morning when I took a taxi from my house to the train station. I hadn't been in a taxi since university!!

Once on the bus, I settled in to enjoy my book for the hour it would take to travel into Toronto.

Always the crafter, even on the road, I had gathered up a variety of leftover yarn balls to take with me.  I knew I would have tons of time on the train to start whipping them into some colourful circular granny squares.

After my 1-hour bus trip, which I managed to sleep most of, I arrived at Toronto's Union Station.  I had just under an hour to grab some lunch, visit the facilities and find the correct train. 

No worries- made it onto the platform with lots of time to spare!!

Within minutes of leaving the station, I had hooked up my first circular granny square.  My plan was to make as many colourful centres as I could then enclose them in white before stitching them into another blanket.  

I had five hours on the train.  No one sat beside me so I spread my snacks, crocheting, magazines and books  out in the seat next to me and enjoyed every minute!

Don't I look relaxed??

I arrived easily into Ottawa and was picked up at the station by my sister's best friend, Kathryn.  Stephanie could not meet me because she was playing a key role in her school's spring musical that evening.

  Ever seen "Grease?"  Steph was playing the principal.  Her students ADORED that a real teacher in their school would take part in the performances. Sorry - no pictures of that.

After a late, late dinner in a pub, we crashed into bed at her lovely apartment and slept well in anticipation of a busy day on Saturday.

Recently a new store had opened in her Hintonburg area of Ottawa.  

She knew I would to shop there.  

And she was right.

Marie Antionette & Co.  was made for me.  And possibly for my 7 year daughter.  It was feminine, pretty, pink, sparkly, vintagey, new and old  all at the same time.

The lovely owner allowed me to take a few pictures:

Pink, pink, pink!

Look at all of this Pip Studio pottery!! This is so hard to find in Canada! I bought one of the mugs at the bottom right.

Connected to this lovely  European-style store was the Christmas version.  Shelves and shelves of the most beautiful Christmas decor I had ever seen!

After a delicious lunch of cider and wood-fired pizza, we met Steph's friend Kathleen for a walk in the woods.  What was supposed to be a lovely, spring-like walk through the greenspace around Ottawa, turned into the messiest, muddiest and snowiest trudge I had been on in years.  

See this picture below? That is not a lovely little stream flowing by the path- -IT IS THE PATH!!  

We were so wet and cold when we returned home that it took hours to thaw out.  However, it was great exercise and plenty of time to get talk and get caught up!

The next day, Stephanie, her boyfriend Simon and I walked a few blocks to Art Is In Bakery for a delicious brunch.

This latte made me VERY happy!

And this French toast, over-easy egg and maple bacon  stacker was even more yummy with a huge helping of hollandaise sauce drizzled over it!!

It was wonderful to have so much time with my sister.  Even though our lives are very different, we always have so much to talk about.   

I also enjoyed meeting her boyfriend, Simon.  I think they make a marvellous pair.

Soon after brunch, it was time for me to join my train back to Toronto.  

Steph and  I made plans for me to visit again in the fall.  I am already looking forward to it!

If you are wondering how many colourful circles I crocheted on my 10 hours on the train....The answer is 36!!

Easy to do without the interruptions and  expectations of  home!!

And the colours?  Oh so cheerful and easy to stare at for hours at a time.  

Now I just have to put the white edging around them and turn them into squares.

I might need another train trip for that!!

Hugs to you and yours!

Bronwyn