from yesterday

spring

Hi! I've missed you.

We've been up to all sorts of exciting real life business around here, like buying a new (to us) car (I pick it up tomorrow! It's a Toyota Matrix, and it will be my new work car. It has luxuries like power door locks and air conditioning, swoon.) Some kitchen updates are almost done (new countertop! new sink! Yipeee!) plus all of the regular daily things that keep us busy. Life is nutty and wonderful.

Nature has been busy, too - the snowdrops and crocuses are up, and guess what I pulled over to pick on today's drive?

Thomas couldn't be happier. Something soft that he can tote around? He approves.

Speaking of Thomas, he turned 3 on Monday! We had my parents over for supper, and he started sleeping in a big bed on Sunday night. Exciting times.

Phillip had an orthodontist appointment yesterday (underbite - they're going to decide what to do when we go again next week), and his x-rays blew my mind. Have you ever seen a 5 year old's teeth x-rays? There are a bazillion teeth in there, just waiting to come in! It looks incredible.

Happy, happy spring!

first day of spring

These were actually taken on our last snow day; today is more icy, but last night was very snowy. So we're all staying home today, with the company of a plumber who is connecting our beautiful new sink and dishwasher! I'll share some pictures once everything's together, along with the new countertop. It will make the kitchen much more efficient, not to mention pretty. (Right now, everything is a disaster. But a productive one, so it's worth it.)

Happy Wednesday!

home

Home again, after two ferry rides and a lovely visit with the in-laws in Saint John, New Brunswick in between. The boys had soooo much fun, bowling and skating, eating out, visiting an indoor playground on a very rainy day, and generally being loved to bits. Adam and I had a chance to relax a bit, and we were finally successful in his quest for new shoes. (I've started calling him Cinderella.) We visited Sarah at Jones Gallery, and Judith Mackin at Tuck. So much lovely! Fun, fun, fun!

There really is no place like home, though, is there? Since we arrived a few hours ago, Phillip's been saying over and over "It makes me feel so good to be home again!" He's been saying it out loud, whispering it to himself, and telling Thomas. And Thomas has been saying "We have a new kitchen! We have a new dining room!" Just because it's been awhile, I think.

And now, to unpack and settle back in. It's so nice to be home!

Happy weekend!

*Edited to add: Lest I forget the un-sunshiney bits of our week, I'll add that both boys came down with ear infections while we were away. Thankfully, there's a clinic where we could get them seen quickly, and we avoided long waits at outpatients. They're both much, much better now.*

and with that, my friends...

 It's March Break for me! Yeeee-haw!

long island, nova scotia

If you follow me on Instagram, you'll probably know that this year, I started traveling to Long Island, Nova Scotia for work. I was there yesterday, and these are a couple of pictures I took on the drive. It's such a lovely place. I'm hoping to take a proper camera and do a bit of exploring, maybe during the summer. There's a great little ferry ride, and if you continue on to Brier Island, you'll need to take a second ferry. I should work for the Department of Tourism - I love this province! (As I've said many times before.)

And tomorrow! Tomorrow is the last work day before March Break! Wheeeeeee!

kindred

One of my non-resolutions at the beginning of this year was to do some writing and/or photography for purposes other than my blog. While I love sharing all sorts of nonsense here with you, I wanted the challenge of having something go before other people's eyes before being published. I decided to continue with my HandPicked Nation posts, and was considering creating content for some sort of independent physical printed publication, too. It's only March, and I'm happy to say that I've done it!

Kindred magazine is the brainchild of Amanda from The Habit of Being, and I have a piece in Issue Two: Sow, which is now available for pre-order. It includes photos of my favourite place in the world, and some words which are the truest I've ever written, although they're not at all like my writing here. Which kind of fits the challenge I gave myself nicely, I think. I'm very excited to hold it in my hands.

There's a complete list of contributors I'm delighted to get to know right here, and all of the info about Issue Two is right here.

Yay!

march 4

Most importantly: the snowdrops are up in the garden!

Secondly, the time change is coming up this weekend!

And third, next week is March Break!

It's *this* close to spring, friends! I am over-the-moon excited.

I took the boys to my Mom & Dad's yesterday and captured this little moment of Dad playing with them by the pond. (Throwing a buoy onto the slushy ice. Who knew it would be such a great game?) Deep down, I know that I appreciated growing up so close to the water when I was a kid, but now I really do.

I've been receiving ridiculous numbers of spammy comments lately, so I've had to activate the word verification when you all are kind enough to leave comments. I'm sorry.

I hope that your week is off to a good start. Happy Monday! March forth! (Thanks, Jen.)