tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52229455876407772212024-03-13T23:12:01.991-04:00A Different DrumThe dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.comBlogger1475125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-33768613194065975142019-04-03T12:31:00.000-04:002019-04-03T12:31:16.917-04:00WalkingIn an effort to lose weight and also get fit again, I joined the gym last April. The original plan was to start lifting weights. I never made it there. Believe it or not, I hit the pool. And loved it. I did aquafit 2-4 times per week -- until August. Then I stopped. I had kids in day camps, family vacation, and lots of running around to do to send another kid off to university. I had planned to go back once all the girls were back in school, but it didn't happen. As daylight got shorter and the days colder, I could not bring myself to go back. Finally, I canceled my membership. Suffice it to say, I was once again doing absolutely nothing. Videos bore me to tears as do the apps for your phone. I have tried yoga, and various other online programs, and just don't enjoy it. I am too cheap to set up a new membership because I know I won't get the full value out of it.<br />
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On the whole, I hate to sweat! In other words, exercise indoors is not the least bit enjoyable to me. I prefer to be outside. I also suffer from bone spurs in both my feet -- the right one being the most painful. I have orthotics, have done lots of the stretching exercises (they don't help). I even went to the extreme the other way and tried barefoot shoes (sadly, although I thought they were helping, in the end, they didn't help either). However, despite the pain, it has not prevented me from walking. Walking at a good brisk pace doesn't seem to bother me. At the end of February we were getting these beautiful, but cold sunny days. I desperately wanted to get outside. Unfortunately, walking near our home is not the best option even though I love to go to the bush in the back of our house. That bush, despite having some short trails, is also used for hunting and I always feel just a little unsafe -- especially with Leo wanting to run off leash.<br />
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A mere five minutes drive away is a natural habitat that used to be gravel pits. It is a very popular place for dog walkers as it is quiet and sheltered and the water-loving dogs have an area where they can swim. There are two loops with nice wide paths for walking and two trails that run through the bush. One is horribly muddy at this time of year, but the other one is pretty good even after we have had rain. Leo and I have been walking there almost daily for a month now. We walk anywhere from 35 minutes to an hour depending on how busy my day is and/or what the weather is like. He lives for going for his walk and I am loving it too. There is always something to see there! I am now looking forward to watching things green up!<br />
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<br />Lavender Risehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810854171786311371noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-62797284102180541122019-02-22T14:25:00.000-05:002019-02-22T14:25:15.407-05:00Moving Toward a Simpler LifeIn late November, I went on a decluttering kick (again). If you know me or have read my blog, you know I love decluttering and organizing and that I frequently declutter. This has been my largest one to date. I wish I had thought to take photos, but as I wasn't thinking blog thoughts, taking photos of the process did not cross my mind at all.<br />
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At the same time as I went full on decluttering, I discovered the abyss that is youtube and started listening to youtubers and vlogs on minimalism, simplifying, and slowing down. I discovered podcasts as well. This was just ahead of the Marie Kondo craze. I will admit that I did binge watch all her episodes on Netflix last month. Interesting, but I was already way ahead of that concept.<br />
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<a href="https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/52637206_1059833640868453_3213745906713100288_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.xx&oh=47f688d711e9c0d734c95e478071e3e6&oe=5CEAEA3C" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://scontent-yyz1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.15752-9/52637206_1059833640868453_3213745906713100288_n.jpg?_nc_cat=100&_nc_ht=scontent-yyz1-1.xx&oh=47f688d711e9c0d734c95e478071e3e6&oe=5CEAEA3C" width="320" /></a>In late November I began a <a href="https://www.theminimalists.com/game/">thirty-day challenge</a> where the goal is to get rid of five hundred things in thirty days. I managed to almost double that amount -- and I wasn't counting 30 thumbtacks as part of the challenge. I would just mark down, a box of thumbtacks. My family was not a part of the challenge, so, for the most part, their stuff was left alone. I ended up with 7 empty 7 litre Rubbermaid rough totes, three empty varying height plastic multi-drawer towers, as well as a number of empty banker's boxes. I think at least six car or van loads were taken to various locations such as Habitat for Humanity, Goodwill, and St. Vincent de Paul. As I am sitting here typing there are two boxes of items that need to be dropped off again as well as several boxes of books that will be going to a fundraising book sale later this year.<br />
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The reality is though, that I am still not done. There are still large amounts of papers that need to be sifted through, cards to be sorted, photographs to be gone through, more crafting items that need to be passed along, a garage to tackle when the weather warms up again, and still more books to be gone through.<br />
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What has all this purging of stuff taught me? 1) less stuff equals less work. Less to clean, less to look after, less to feel guilty about. 2) If done carefully, you will have no regrets. In other words, I have not regretted getting rid of anything that has left our home. 3) I am able to be more careful and frugal with what remains in our home and I truely like the stuff that is here.<br />
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Ultimately, my goal in decreasing the amount of stuff in my home is to free up time and yes, finances for other things. Things that aren't necessarily material, but allow us to slow down, enjoy being home and spending time together as a family. I want to walk into my home and the various rooms in my home and feel at rest. I want to be able to sloooowww down and read, sip a cup of tea, savour a piece of dark chocolate, and not be thinking to myself that I need to hurry up because I need to dust this, to vacuum that, to put all those things away that there is no room for because I have too much stuff already.<br />
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It is a process and it will continue to be a process. It is a matter of mindfulness and learning to embrace slow. Perhaps I will end up calling this the Year of Slow. I guess I am back to marching to the beat of A Different Drum. :o)<br />
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The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-79429816281310869242019-02-12T15:00:00.001-05:002019-02-12T15:00:44.951-05:00What We Have Been Up To {Part 2}Now for an update on the four girls that are still at home.<br />
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Squirt is already in grade 11 and so focused on what she will do after high school that it's a little crazy! Her goal is to become a pastry chef and eventually own her own bakery She did a co-op at a nearby bakery (not the one her older sisters worked at as sadly, he gave up the business to move on to different things. They are still missed by many of us locals!) and learned the basics of cake and cookie decorating, as well as working with confections. She also just completed a semester of the foods course at school and loved every minute of it. A photography course and some business courses are also being completed this year.<br />
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She still swims on the swim team at school and likes to get involved in other activities at school as well. She got her braces on in February 2018.<br />
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Bella is in grade 10 this year. She is doing quite well. This past fall, she joined the army cadets and is really enjoying it. She is currently taking horseback riding as part of the cadet program. She continues to enjoy reading and really that is about it with her. We have been trying to cultivate other interests with her, but she shows no interest in doing much but reading. She is a bit of a mystery.<br />
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She got her braces on in March 2018.<br />
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Bright Eyes is in grade eight and it definitely going to be our smallest child. (Abygail is rapidly passing her in height.) Alendra now has an IEP (Individual Education Plan) so many of her subjects have been adjusted to her abilities. We have discovered that she will be able to go to the same high school as her older sisters and we are quite relieved about that. There are a few behavioral issues that we continue to try to work through with her. When she is at home, she loves to create -- whether it be drawing, colouring, baking, etc, just like her mom and her oldest sister. :) Alendra took up embroidery this Christmas and finished her first project just after the new year! I now have her learning cross-stitch as well.<br />
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Peanut is in grade 6. We are in the depths of establishing an IEP for her also. Her learning issues are quite different from Alendra's. We are curious to know and hopefully understand this girl better as there are many days where we feel we are banging our head against a wall with her. Aside from that, Abygail continues to be a social butterfly. She loves to read, colour, draw, play on the Wii, and if we let her, she would watch tv all day long.<br />
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She also has little fear as you might be able to tell by the cast on her arm. She fell off the monkey bars at school and broke her arm just two weeks before school got out and spent until mid-July in a cast.<br />
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This winter has been miserable for being outdoors. I think the four of them have been able to play outdoors twice and those two days were two of the coldest days of the winter so far. So the outdoor activities for all of them have come to a grinding halt. I hope we have an early and cooperative spring. Thankfully, everyone has been staying quite healthy so far this winter.Lavender Risehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810854171786311371noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-46315353691562458762019-01-29T12:19:00.000-05:002019-02-12T14:55:46.740-05:00What Have We Been Up To {Part 1}I think it will take a few posts to update our lives here -- suffice it to say, not everyone lives at home anymore -- so, I will start with the three oldest.<br />
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Nathanael (aka Bub), graduated from university in the spring last year (2018) with a degree in global business and digital arts (GBDA). After spending about a month at home job hunting he found work at a company in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).<br />
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He works for a Software-as-a-service company providing a cloud infrastructure management and optimization solution. Basically, their technology allows companies to purchase the most optimal cloud products to run whatever workloads they're running in the cloud. It reduces risk, saves them money, and simplifies the lives of app owners, developers, and cloud ops.<br />
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Nathanael is a graphic designer. He works in the marketing department. He creates external and internal facing content, social images, trade show booth designs, collateral video, photography, etc. He also manages the company's relationships with various print vendors throughout Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. He gatekeeps all the visual content that the company produces. His goal is to maintain and elevate their brand to make the company a recognizable player in their industry.<br />
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(If you understood all that you are much smarter than me. I asked him to send me that information. 😚)<br />
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Nathanael rents a room in an apartment within decent walking distance of his work, a couple of grocery stores, and church. He does not have a car, but it is the GTA, so public transport is pretty accessible. Cost of living is very high in the GTA, so this arrangement works well for him at this point.<br />
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Peach is in her third year of university. She is in a work/study program meaning that they do a semester or two of school and then a paid co-op. This semester, she is on co-op working on a project run by the university which examines the behavioral implications of government tobacco policies. She does a <b>lot</b> of reading, but in between the reading, she does summaries and little write-ups that have a purpose.<br />
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She lives in a lovely little apartment off campus with three other girls. She enjoys cooking for herself, and last spring took up embroidery and is waaaay better at hand-stitching than I will ever be.<br />
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Beans just started her first year of university this fall. She is majoring in voice (surprise surprise). For a long time it was a toss-up between voice and piano, but in the end, voice won out. She has adjusted to university life far better than we expected and is the happiest we have ever seen her. I guess because she is finally doing what she loves.<br />
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That's about it for the three oldest. They are busy, happy, and healthy. We message and chat fairly frequently. They come home less frequently, but they are busy and life here continues to roll right along too.The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-51654293905789102622019-01-18T07:33:00.000-05:002019-01-18T07:33:36.122-05:00HelloHello! And happy new year! Here it is over halfway into January already and although I decided to start blogging again this year, it hasn't happened until today!<br />
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Life here is constantly changing. I'm not talking just the weather outdoors, or the seasons, but within our home and our family. I feel like I constantly have to re-adjust how I do things. Thankfully, as I have aged, I have mellowed a bit (I think).<br />
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I am still at home full time with no plans to "get a real job" anytime in the near future. I LOVE being home! The second shift of children gets on the bus shortly before 8:30 and before I know it, the first shift is walking in the door again because it is 2:42. How quickly the days fly! It seems funny now how I used to just dread the winter months. Now I love them! Especially the days where I don't have to go anywhere! I will let you know over the next few days and weeks what I and this family have been up to, but for now, I just wanted to say, "hello!"<br />
<br />Lavender Risehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810854171786311371noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-75855484045830810862018-04-12T17:40:00.001-04:002018-04-12T17:40:26.643-04:00When You Are StuckI never had any intentions of quitting blogging. It just happened. I know now there wasn't any one reason, but a host of reasons put together. Combine the reasons, and blogging was one of the first things to go. In late October of 2017 after yet another visit to my nurse practitioner because I was feeling extremely tired, she suggested that I see a life coach, because I was healthy (despite being about 30 lbs overweight. Yup I am).<br />
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I was pretty excited to get started, but the first visit was not very encouraging. I actually left feeling even more frustrated with myself. I was overwhelmed with life. A asked me what I was doing that made me feel accomplished. She wanted to know what I did each day that made me feel good about <b>myself</b>. I didn't have an answer to that. Oh I did lots during the day and a lot of sitting doing nothing between getting the what I felt I must do's done, but none of it was anything that made me excited about my life. I was given homework for that week. I was to try to spend each day meditating for five minutes. I was a little leery at first. Meditate? Isn't that some new age thing? Actually, it isn't. It is just sitting completely quiet for five minutes focusing solely on your breathing and pushing away all the distractions that pop into your mind while sitting there. It results in bringing a little more clarity throughout the day.<br />
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After about three visits, I was feeling better about life. I was motivated in the mornings and the desire to sit and do nothing all day began to disappear. I had been stuck. I was in a rut. I lacked motivation to do anything for myself because whenever I did I felt like there were other more important things that I should be doing. The reason I didn't notice the feeling until almost November every year is due to stress. Having a house full of children in the summer -- especially our two youngest -- creates a large stressor for me. Truthfully I am not even aware of it, but my body is, and it takes almost two months for it to realize it doesn't have to be on high alert from dawn to bedtime anymore. Sounds crazy, I know, but our two youngest children are very high maintenance and cannot be left alone for more than ten minutes or so, as they tend to like to find trouble. This in turn causes me to have to keep an eye on them from the time they get up until they go to bed. It is a lot of work.<br />
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By the time they have all been back in school for almost two months, my body just wants to shut down completely. I felt tired all the time. A gave me ways to cope with the exhaustion and I have been feeling good. Some days I am legitimately tired because I went to bed to late. On the days that I do feel overtired, I give myself permission to just be and not feel guilty about it.<br />
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I am nervous about how I will handle the summer this year, but I will go to see A in June and perhaps again through July and August. This autumn I will at least know why I am so tired if I end up that way again and I can work through it.<br />
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In the end it was encouraging to know that I was simply -- stuck. Nothing major was wrong with me. I just needed to see myself as a person again. Not in a selfish way, but in a way that makes me aware of what my body and even my mind are telling me.<br />
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Now to figure out how to drop those thirty pounds!<br />
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<br />Lavender Risehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810854171786311371noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-73048257878917653582018-03-27T21:29:00.000-04:002018-03-27T21:29:00.114-04:00Fun with YarnI still don't think I have found my creative niche per say, but I have sure discovered that I like to crochet. This year I deliberately did <b>not</b> set any goals anywhere in my life because last year I made several and following through with any of them amounted to <b>nil</b>. Not a single solitary goal was met. Pathetic. So this year no goal setting whatsoever. None.<br />
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However, as the new year progressed from January to February, I completed several crochet projects and concluded I needed to start expanding my repertoire of stitches from just the simple basic stitches to some more -- not necessarily more complicated -- but stitches with a little more thinking involved.<br />
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My first completed project was a temperature blanket. I started it in January of 2017. Each row was a colour that matched a temperature range of about 5 degrees. Once it was completed, it was HUGE. It <b>is</b> 365 rows, so I guess that makes sense. It is wide enough to fit a twin bed -- or should I say, a twin bed for a giant.</div>
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The left one is a lap blanket done in moss stitch. The middle one was completed in 2017 and the right one in February. They are both the granny stitch. They are also both baby blankets.<br />
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This neckwarmer was finished in 2017 too, but I had to sew on the buttons. Hand sewing is not something I enjoy, so I put it off for months. Finally, I decided to just get er done! It is basically still a granny stitch except there are only two double stitches in each loop instead of three.<br />
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I call this my January Blues blanket for several reasons. The obvious two being that I began it in January and that is is in shades of blue/blue-green. There is a third reason, but it will eventually get a post of its own. This is a new stitch I learned called the V-stitch. You can now see why almost all my projects come complete with dog hair. 😏<br />
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This is my most recent blanket and the one that took me to the next level. Piecing. And a new stitch called corner to corner. Once I got the hang of it, I had a hard time putting this project down. After stitching it together, I learned that I should have blocked it first (a crochet term for dampening the yarn and pinning it into position until it dries. Somehow this causes the project to hold its shape). Credits for this project belong to Brittany who posted it at <a href="http://www.notey.com/@bhookedcrochet_unofficial/external/15520413/bernat-pop-corner-to-corner-baby-blanket.html?utm_content=buffer8901f&utm_medium=social&utm_source=pinterest.com&utm_campaign=buffer">bhookedcrochet</a>.</div>
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I have made three of these <a href="http://theunraveledmitten.com/2017/10/08/wildwood-cowl-crochet-pattern/">Wildwood cowls</a> from the Unraveled Mitten in varying combinations of colours. They crochet up quickly and are <b>great</b> for using up leftover yarn. The first one is a little bit of a mess at the join, but it is hidden at the back so it isn't obvious. After the first one, I got the hang of it and the next two worked up perfectly.<br />
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Over the weekend I completed a number of headbands and started yet another blanket. I will post them once I have taken some photographs.The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-79265613558442230012018-03-16T22:19:00.003-04:002018-03-16T22:19:49.684-04:00March Break 2018We are generally not the type of people who go anywhere or do anything during spring break. Here are a few reasons why we don't: 1) I am so exhausted from the busyness of the normal winter activities that just thinking of packing and traveling with thousands of other people heading on vacation makes me even more tired, 2) it is way more expensive to travel during spring break season than other parts of the winter/early spring season, 3) our family is too big to be hotel conducive, and 4) not everyone in our family has their spring break at the same time anymore. Our two university students had theirs in February, and the five youngest were off this week. That being said, we ARE headed to Florida in April. We are pulling the five youngest from school for a week (we have never done this before 😐), renting a house and relaxing for a week. The two oldest will meet us in Florida a day or two after we arrive.<br />
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A week at home with no obligations and no expectations was more than I had hoped for! The girls all slept late. I slept a little late and then enjoyed a peaceful morning coffee each day while I crocheted, or read, or even watched some television. Then I would crochet some more, or go and sew. I also did a pile of ironing. In other words, I only did what I felt like doing all week. I haven't done something like that in years without feeling totally guilty. It was so fun!</div>
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The girls also spent time reading, watching some television, playing on the Wii, designing with perler beads, drawing, colouring. I don't think anyone went outside all week. I didn't really care though as the temperature has hovered around 0 degrees Celsius all week which makes it very damp. Plus it snowed. Every. Single. Day. Not that it accumulated because of the plus/minus zero temperature, but still. It is the middle of March. Oh well, the longer it stays like this, the later I will have to start mowing the lawn. 😁<br />
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Pictures are forthcoming.</div>
The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-24079992950392028402017-10-16T09:54:00.000-04:002017-10-16T09:54:01.377-04:00Canadian ThanksgivingIt was a week ago already, and our gathering this year was small for various reasons. A funeral in another province, a child studying abroad, and some family dynamics that make the holidays difficult for a family member. We ended up celebrating with our children only. Nathanael's girlfriend Madi joined us too despite him being in Europe until late December. She arrived a little later than the rest of the crew who were at the mercy of parental drivers. I never did get a photo of us all at dinner. That was thrown off by live chatting with Nathanael. One of those moments where I am thankful for modern technology.<br />
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Playing apples to apples while I get the food ready.</div>
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These two love the Wii!</div>
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Some gentler disciplinary measures have this munchkin under my watchful eye.</div>
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Someone is just <b>hoping </b>I will walk away from the table for a couple of minutes because that is all he would need to hoover down the entire dinner. </div>
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A chat with my shaggy boy. We never knew he had curls like that! He sure didn't as a little guy. Poker straight and white blonde. </div>
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Despite many changes again this year, we are blessed and have <b>much </b>to be thankful for.<br />
<br />The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-11399549624320522622017-10-11T20:19:00.000-04:002017-10-11T20:19:00.918-04:00Swimming in SeptemberUsually the last days of swimming happen on Labour Day weekend -- provided the weather is good. There may be a few unseasonably warm days in the month yet, and even well into October, but usually, they are few and far between, or the nights are so cool that by the time the day gets hot before we know it, it starts cooling down again. Not so, this September. I think overall, it was warmer than the entire month of August.<br />
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So what do you do when the pool has been down since Labour Day weekend and there's one warm day after another? You hit the beach of course!<br />
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We went Friday evening and again Saturday afternoon. Even I went swimming! Only the second time all year.<br />
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Leo says, give me the sand over the water any day!</div>
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He actually liked being buried. Until I was out of his line of sight that is. He is so attached to me!</div>
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It was a great way to spend a late September weekend!The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-17574198238738126872017-09-21T16:29:00.000-04:002017-09-21T16:29:09.614-04:00Bad Hair Don't CareEver since we brought this little girl home, I have had issues with her hair. It is just weird hair. It always seems to look like it has split ends. Hardly gets wet when you run the shower head over it and is just plain wild!<br />
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We've gone from long to short to very short to long again. No matter the lang it is wild, frizzy, and a little untameable -- rather like her personality. 😊<br />
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Late in August, I decided I needed to do some searching to figure out if her hair was "normal" or if her early life somehow contributed to this crazy hair. It's normal. Normal in the sense that she has low porosity hair. This means the cuticles on her hair are very tight and do not absorb moisture easily. I am no expert on this yet, but I did learn, we have to treat her hair completely different than the rest of the family.<br />
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So now we only wash it once a week (which is likely still too often) and then condition it AFTER she is done showering. We squeeze as much moisture as we can out of her hair with a towel and then apply a conditioner with jojoba oil in it. Sometimes I will also add jojoba oil or sweet almond oil. If time allows, I pop a shower cap over it all, wrap it in a towel and let the heat from her head soften and open the cuticles so the product absorbs better and we get less frizz.<br />
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Before</div>
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You can see that it takes FOREVER to dry. We still don't have it all figured out, but it is certainly more manageable than it has been. Next up will be learning to do styles that she can keep in all week without having to do much to it until her next wash.</div>
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Funny thing is, at this point, she could still care less about how her hair looks. She is a bad hair don't care kinda girl! </div>
<br />Lavender Risehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810854171786311371noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-54050599557399895152017-09-11T13:43:00.000-04:002017-09-12T09:00:49.496-04:00Back to School 2017There was a time when I hated the back to school season. The earliest I can remember is when I myself was a student. I was not opposed to learning, but I hated the structure, the being cooped up in a room all day, and not having endless hours to do my own thing.<br />
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I had a reprieve between the post-university years and my babies starting school. Those years held no feelings of sadness or anxiety. Then my firstborn went to kindergarten. Senior Kindergarten. I didn't even send him to Junior Kindergarten as is the norm these days. I should have known right then and there that homeschooling would be a great option for our family. Eventually, after a few much dread Septembers, we did homeschool. Five fun, interesting, frustrating, and wonderful years. If you ask my kids they will honestly say it was great. Then life changed again and we welcomed home our three youngest daughters. I had no plans to suddenly homeschool seven children. Nathanael was ready for high school and Squirt needed some special reading help. Thus closed the homeschooling chapter.<br />
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Having seven children under one roof, there were days I felt that I hardly had time to breathe, let alone teach. I remember doing a happy dance once the youngest children boarded the big yellow bus that first September with all seven home. Then a couple years ago, we made the decision (for a number of reasons) to homeschool the three youngest. It did not go well at all, so last year, everyone was back in school. I did another happy dance!<br />
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This year I refrained from dancing (I was just way too tired) and simply breathed a huge sigh of relief. Then I spent the entire first week waiting for the inevitable phone call that has come the first week of school every year for the last four out of five years (they were homeschooled one year, remember). It finally came today. A certain child (who shall remain nameless) got hit in the head with a ball. If I had a nickel for every time that same child got hit in the head with a ball last year, I could go to Tim Horton's and have a coffee and a doughnut too -- provided I could have sugar.<br />
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Anyways, here are the obligatory first day of school photos. Yes, I did take them the morning of the first day, but I was so busy reveling in the silence and at the same time feeling overwhelmed at the mess my house was in, I completely forgot to blog!<br />
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From left to right: Shayanne grade 12, Bella grade 9, Jillian grade 10.</div>
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Jovy grade 5, and Sophia grade 7.</div>
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Crazy! I don't have little ones anymore. Really, I am quite okay with that. Life is a whole different kind of busy these days. I run a free taxi service it seems. 😏 </div>
The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-30950914841836697392017-08-28T13:54:00.000-04:002017-08-28T13:54:25.287-04:00Under ConstuctionHello! Yes, I am still around. My crew is continuing to grow -- in size at the very least. Life has been busy (and really whose isn't?) and crazy, and interesting, and fun, and difficult, and continually full of changes. I really really want to get back to blogging, but I do believe it is time for some changes on this old blog before I get back into the blogging. A new look, some new options, and perhaps even a new name.<br />
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The next week and a bit I will be in the depths of unpacking and packing up university students and getting the younger girls ready for school, but I will try to make a post or two. I cannot promise though. It is amazing how quickly my carefully laid plans get changed on me -- sometimes more than once.<br />
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In the meantime, here is a photo of our kitchen and dining room. Nathanael moved back home Saturday night after his summer internship and two straight through years of school and work. He's only been home for short periods since he started his second year of university. Even now, he has only moved home because the apartment he leased was sold to a new owner and he is off to England for three months.<br />
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I did say life here was far from dull didn't I? 😊<br />
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<br />Lavender Risehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810854171786311371noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-6851020416826245192017-02-27T09:34:00.000-05:002017-02-27T09:34:03.824-05:00Still on a Declutter KickAnother month has flown by since I last blogged. I find it hard to blog when I don't really have much to blog about -- or a least not much that my two readers would care to read. 😏<br />
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I continue to be on a decluttering kick. It's a slow process though because my days are filled with pleasant interruptions: coffee dates with friends, much taxiing of children and other special things like university students home on reading break. Embarrassingly, there are a few areas where I just cannot -- or rather do not want to declutter. The one is my craft stuff, and the other is photos/memorabilia. Can you say overkill? I plan to change over to digital scrapbooking one day, but right now I want to use up what I have. It's pretty hard to use up what I have though when I don't even scrapbook anymore. I've set a goal to start again this summer. However, I REFUSE to buy more stuff. I am going to make due with what I have.<br />
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Scrapbooking and card making stuff -- including two boxes of ribbon.</div>
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More scrapbooking stuff and various idea books.</div>
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These hold craft supplies for the kids as well as stamps and stamping products.</div>
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My ridiculously huge wool stash.</div>
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Paper and stickers, among other things.</div>
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We have been blessed with a large home that allows for this sort of excess, but that doesn't mean I like it. I have already said to the Engineer that when our children all start leaving the nest, it is going to be time to downsize. I would like to see another large family put this house to good use. Do you think I can be picky about our buyer? Looking for: large, busy family to buy and enjoy our house and property as much as we do/did!</div>
The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-89062054386914840032017-01-15T17:31:00.000-05:002017-01-15T17:31:40.911-05:00The Touques {and an Afghan}I found <a href="http://www.nerdygirlknits.co.uk/free-patterns/basic-hat-pattern-adult">this pattern</a> for a knitted hat on Pinterest (where else? 😀). I knitted the first four in a solid colour. The pattern was easy to follow and they were turning out well, so then I decided to get creative. Stripes!! The remainder of the hats all have a stripe or two or many in them. They are knit in the round. If you are a knitter and have knit using round needles, you know that knitting in the round will put your stripes off kilter (think of a giant spiral) each time you start a new colour row. I even learned how to fix that! I am becoming a little addicted to wool. I made an afghan for Peach, have one started for Beans, and one planned for our master bedroom.<br />
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These belong to the four youngest. The pink ones being the three youngest.<br />
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Next was Nathanael and his girlfriend's.<br />
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Then came the bumblebee hats as I called them. These were for Peach and two of her high school friends who ended up at the same university and in the same dorm. These are their dorm colours.<br />
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Next were the ones for Beans and her boyfriend.<br />
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Then I knit this and and crocheted a neck warmer for me. I think I wore it once with the coat I planned it for and then the zipper broke on the coat. I do not fix zippers, so I had to get a new coat because it was COLD out. My new coat is black so...<br />
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I made myself and the Engineer matchy hats. His is the one with the stripe.<br />
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During the holidays, I made this one just for fun. I call it the accordion hat. 😊 Beans just thinks it is ugly. Oh well!! I think it is fun. I don't know who is going to wear it, so for now it goes in the bag of random-hats-I-made-just-because.<br />
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Last, but not least is the afghan I crocheted for Peach. The wool comes in a mixed yarn ball that you see in the background. These photos were taken when it was not quite completed. It was already dog approved however. 😃<br />
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There were a few other knitting and crocheting projects I completed, but they are currently not around for photographing, so they will have to wait for another day.<br />
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I have switched from knitting to crocheting for now because I can take most crocheting anywhere and not worry about dropping stitches.The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-14036374006637915202017-01-10T12:53:00.000-05:002017-01-10T12:53:05.674-05:00Buh Bye 2016!!I know! Here we are already ten days into the new year and I am finally saying goodbye to the old year. I guess blogging still won't make the priority list this year. I'm going to try, but I am not promising anything.<br />
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I won't say that I am unhappy to see the back of 2016, but I will say it wasn't one of my more memorable years in a positive sense. If I had to label it, I would call it the Year of No Accomplishments -- for me anyway.<br />
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I seriously <b>did nothing</b>. Perhaps that is why the huge absence of blogging. One would think that with all the children attending school again in September that I would be voraciously reading, cleaning and decluttering ( a never ending battle in this house) like a madwoman, photographing up a storm, and doing all manner of creative activities that I crave and love.</div>
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Nope. None of that happened. In fact, I spent three weeks in November on butt rest due to a stress fracture of my toe. Lame. (No pun intended.) I originally smashed it in May. I thought it had healed until I put on a pair of my favorite boots. Within an hour, I wanted to have my toe removed. It was awful. Suffice it to say, they are no longer my favorite boots. 😏</div>
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Those three weeks and the weeks since have not been entirely a waste. I did knit. A lot. I made hats. All my children plus a few extras received a touque for Sinterklaas this year. It was quite satisfying to know that I had made everyone a hat. </div>
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I was so excited for September. I was craving quiet like crazy and hoping the quiet days would fuel me for the busy evenings and for about a month it did. I was walking (outdoors or treadmill) almost daily, I worked in my gardens, I baked, and I'm sure I did some other things too, but every day before I knew it, the girls were getting off the bus.</div>
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By October, I was unconsciously avoiding social interaction outside my family and a few close friends as much as possible. The butt rest the next month helped with that and it wasn't until late November, early December that I realized it. </div>
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An emotional breakdown? Mid-life crisis? I have no idea. The crazy thing was and still is, I am content. My days are my own even if I don't do anything or go anywhere. My evenings mostly involve shuffling children to various activities, so I feel that I need the peaceful days. I have a select few friends that I love getting together with for coffee, but other than that I am happy to just be at home.<br />
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For 2017 I have set some goals and plans. I have put together my version of a bullet journal. Mine is absolutely nothing fancy. It contains most everything I do and the things I want to achieve. If I get brave, I might share portions of it.<br />
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So, happy 2017 ya'll! In case you are wondering, the rest of the crew here are all healthy and doing well. There is never a dull moment. 😁</div>
The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-7953472013139675972016-09-06T12:52:00.004-04:002016-09-06T12:52:53.244-04:00Back to SchoolThe summer holidays have come and gone, although the weather here certainly does not indicate that yet!<br />
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On Sunday we loaded up Peach and all her belongings for her first year of university.<br />
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We delivered her to her dorm (the same one as her brother was in when he was in first year). Then took photos of the science buildings she will be studying in. They're just a very short walk from her dorm. She is taking an Honours Science Psychology. She gets her brains from her dad!<br />
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Today, I sent the remaining five off to school. Yes, all of the kiddos are back in school again. Beans and Squirt are off to grade eleven and grade nine.<br />
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They are sure that people are going to have a fun year continually confusing them! :o)<br />
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After much prayer and discussion, meeting with the principal and others, we chose to send our three youngest to the public school this year. They have a strong special education program there and we feel that it will really help them out -- especially since it will continue into secondary education as well. Our only big trepidation is that they are placed age appropriate. That means Bella is in grade eight, Bright Eyes in grade six, and Peanut is in grade four. If you know our girls, you would know that none of them are ready for those grades in any way. We will see how this year goes.<br />
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As I am typing this, I am feeling a little overcome by the silence in the house. It's not a bad thing at all, but it is going to take some getting used to again. :o) Hopefully it is a great year for all of us.<br />
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Sorry! No photos of Nathanael. He is in his third year of study, still living in the same house, with several of the same roommates, and working at the university pool when he is not studying. All is well!Lavender Risehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09810854171786311371noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-50243703504215990822016-06-02T10:16:00.000-04:002016-06-02T10:16:03.167-04:00Mastering the Granny Square {My Continuing Quest to Learn to Crochet}I taught myself to crochet about ten years ago now, but I didn't fully understand where the hook was supposed to go when starting a new row. Thus the few very basic projects I made had a rather strange look about them ;o). In late June, early July last summer, I was rather preoccupied even during the quiet times and I knew that reading was not the therapy I needed. I needed something to keep my hands busy because my mind was not going to slow down enough to read a book.<br />
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I am left handed when it comes to writing, eating, and apparently, crocheting. Murray's mom was left handed too, so I thought she could teach me and had taken my crochet up with me when they were still living on the farm, but alas she had learned to crochet right handed and my dreams of her teaching me were dashed. Finally, last summer, I watched a YouTube video that taught it left-handed. It finally made sense! I was so thrilled that I took my work up to the hospital to show Mom. She seemed pleased. I don't think I will ever be as good at it as she was, but I am glad I could show her yet that I had finally learned to <b>properly</b> crochet too.<br />
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I have since learned to do a granny square. So now I am making a couple afghans and a lap blanket (maybe?).<br />
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<i>You've heard of the ugly Christmas sweater? Well, I am making the ugly Christmas afghan. :oD</i></div>
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<i>This is new wool I bought. It's actually cotton. I have no idea why I bought it except that cotton washes up nice?</i></div>
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<i>My leftover wool...</i></div>
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I have been telling myself that I am not allowed to buy new wool until I have used up my entire stash. Granny squares are great for that! Too bad I don't seem to have much time lately for any crocheting...The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-80150706874839613062016-05-30T10:09:00.000-04:002016-05-30T10:09:12.832-04:00The Dining Room {Good-bye Dark, Hello Bright!}Although I do love the flower pot orange, the colour was just not working for me in our dining room. It always felt dark in there and we tend to spend quite a bit of time in our kitchen/dining area. Being a northern exposure it is darker to begin with, but I was getting to the point where I felt like the orange was sucking the life out of me. It was time to paint!<br />
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I chose Benjamin Moore's Edgecomb Grey. Some of my children had a hard time liking me switching to grey, but when I told them it was grey walls or cut down our big Crimson King maple, the boo-hooing suddenly stopped.<br />
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The last two photos almost make the walls look cold, but in real life, it's not cold at all. It's cozy and relaxing feeling. The printed sign is from our paint store where I purchase all my Benjamin Moore paint. The photos of the Amish and Mennonite people were taken when the Engineer's parents sold their farm. As much as I love those photos, they will never be available for sale because, well, truth is, I never got any of those folk's permission to take those photographs. Horrible, I know!The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-40021698401655692092016-05-28T07:01:00.000-04:002016-05-28T07:01:21.146-04:00Silly Girls!Our rhubarb is growing like crazy and producing some giant leaves. The other night the three oldest girls gathered on the front lawn and got a little silly. Stress relief maybe?<br />
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At least they can't say they never have any fun!The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-89364796449744686232016-05-27T11:05:00.000-04:002016-05-27T11:05:08.227-04:00Discovering My Home Style {Farmhouse}In perusing Pinterest and looking at what I pin, I have discovered that I really like the farmhouse style of decorating. Not the industrial farmhouse style, but the bona fide country farmhouse style. Minus the white kitchen cupboards. Why would anyone living on a farm who was in their right mind put in a white kitchen!? Don't get me wrong, white kitchens are beautiful, but with children, animals, and the dirt that comes with country/farm living, why would anyone put in white cupboards!?<br />
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Anyhow, white kitchens aside, I love the farmhouse look and have slowly been adapting it to our home.<br />
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<i>This is what you see just to your left when you walk in our back door. Bench, watering can, and mirror were all given to me by my parents. I'm quite liking the fact that they're downsizing! ;o)</i></div>
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<i>I broke down and bought this bouquet the morning of the prom.</i></div>
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<i>The mirror was originally wood that I spray painted white. (Yes, loving on the spray paint again!) The frame is from the Philippines and is made with rolled paper. It holds the first photo of our newly enlarged family. The jar on the shelf is a painted mason jar (just acrylic craft paint and sealed with a matte spray varnish), and the hanging jar is just from the dollar store. The tulips were picked from our gardens.</i></div>
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<i>To the far right is the laundry room. My dream is to switch the machines to stackers, but if it's not broken, you don't fix it, so I will live with it the way it is for now.</i></div>
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<i>The green mason jar is from <a href="http://canada.michaels.com/">Michael's</a> and the multicoloured jar is thrifted, but originally from <a href="http://www.pier1.com/">Pier 1 Imports</a>.</i></div>
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<i>The glass jar is also thrifted, and the galvanized pot is another "cast off" from my parents. It holds luscious scented soaps from <a href="https://www.melaleuca.com/">The Melaleuca Company.</a></i></div>
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<i>Every country home needs rubber boots, right? :o) This pair holds all the random objects that fall out of my family's pockets -- mostly hair elastics, buttons, change, and safety pins.</i></div>
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<i>To your immediate left when you walk in the door is this sign. It's made by a wonderfully talented wife and mom at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/OwlCraftThat/?fref=ts">Owl Craft That.</a></i></div>
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<i>You see this pic on your right as you leave. Also from my parents. :o)</i></div>
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Every time I paint this room (third time now), I go darker. The colour<br />
is now Benjamin Moore's, Copley Grey. It's my favorite colour yet for this room!The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-75071907076842628442016-05-25T10:32:00.000-04:002016-05-26T09:09:51.558-04:00Prom!This much-anticipated event arrived and departed in a whirlwind of activity over a week and a half ago already. The Engineer and I spent much of the week outdoors getting our rather neglected property looking decent again. It has been so cold this spring that up until this past week, we hadn't spent much time outdoors. It was beautiful most of the week, but Saturday's forecast never changed. Cold and miserable. Which is exactly how it turned out.<br />
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However, a scramble to get the house clean and tidy and set up the studio lights worked well and we took most of the group of fourteen prom-goers photographs inside. What a fun afternoon it was!<br />
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Follows are mostly all the outdoor ones because, truthfully, I haven't edited the studio ones yet. (They are giving me grief! So glad I edit in RAW or it would be even worse!)<br />
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<i>(For those of you who have that keen photography eye, yes, I am aware of the blotchy wall. I will fix it another day. I was having issues. Time is of the essence at the moment!)</i></div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/362/2AA5482211AE17F52766281CB6984678.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: 0pt none ! important;" /></a>The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-87397102681843412682016-05-10T14:39:00.003-04:002016-05-10T14:39:43.230-04:00What the Adoption Books Don't Tell You...<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA623FTDunQ_gcDWHVuAYmfMTu-zZTG560CElPC6cnnYNKpAl2RAmptzt16Y4ZvvpsYbOAW_CkKAindzB4cW11BWK7LJPWB0wemQ40HWbNcoT4duTrnCrD3KVPomCgeoEeAYttcU9YVS0/s1600/1988rev1ag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiA623FTDunQ_gcDWHVuAYmfMTu-zZTG560CElPC6cnnYNKpAl2RAmptzt16Y4ZvvpsYbOAW_CkKAindzB4cW11BWK7LJPWB0wemQ40HWbNcoT4duTrnCrD3KVPomCgeoEeAYttcU9YVS0/s320/1988rev1ag.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
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We had adoption training and I read almost every book I could get my hands on, but it's not enough.<br />
Our daughters will be home five years this June 11 and almost every day I go to bed shaking my head and wondering, praying. "Lord, there has to be a way to help these girls!"<br />
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This year, we have reached the pinnacle of frustration! What can we be so frustrated about? By all accounts, if you see us out and about, our three youngest look like they are pretty well adjusted. They seem bright enough. They're obedient. They look happy. I want to say that they put on a good front, but that's not it. They are all those things.<br />
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The adoption books all talk about loss, and anger, and acting out. We have dealt with very little of that. At least in the physical raging, desperately upset child, sort of way. They outgrew that in their first year of being home. Holidays are not a big trigger point for them. Eg. this Mother's Day, they didn't even talk about their bio mom. They very rarely do. They would rather talk about life in the orphanage, but even that doesn't happen often.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Pnku2r_4UZOOBfrFoJoje3ET5o6qflXnmgs_eZfO7w5E6kcNXwaeQYNuf0Uefk9KUnilHwGqxExs_N8cbs98GFVPuRgJUP5NOFbaJggElMTZOaodDD60Q3Sk-t6yaqeI_4i7c7SGpZE/s1600/DSC02088aq.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Pnku2r_4UZOOBfrFoJoje3ET5o6qflXnmgs_eZfO7w5E6kcNXwaeQYNuf0Uefk9KUnilHwGqxExs_N8cbs98GFVPuRgJUP5NOFbaJggElMTZOaodDD60Q3Sk-t6yaqeI_4i7c7SGpZE/s320/DSC02088aq.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
Not to say that they aren't suffering from a huge loss. They are! It manifests itself in a completely different way than the adoption books and adoption training ever told us about. (Maybe someday<b> I</b> will have to write a book, but these days, I am barely keeping my head above water.) These three little girls have yet to develop thinking skills. Everything is done by rote or imitation. They <b>rarely </b>think for themselves. For example, if our schedule changes because we are running late and I tell them to dress before breakfast, well the next day they will dress before breakfast again. If one decides that it's warm enough to wear shorts in March, the other two will promptly put on shorts too. They leave no room for individuality. Oh, and before you think that one of them actually thought about the fact that it might actually be warm enough in March to put on shorts, yes there is occasionally a glimmer of thinking, but the odds are higher that an older sister put on shorts that day for a reason that could be completely unrelated to the temperature.<br />
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They were in school for four years. Although the school did their best to help them out, we could see that they weren't advancing very well. We didn't pull them because I thought I could do a better job, but rather so that I could tailor their education to better suit them. In the meantime, we had Bright Eyes tested. Yes, she has some learning difficulties, but to this day, I still feel that she is stubborn! All three of them have a poor work ethic. They try to find the simplest and quickest way to get things done often choosing to completely ignore any instructions given. Again, they don't want to have to think. If everything could be memorized, they would be fine, but we all know that most things in life require one to <b>think</b>. Read, think, discern, and you can do almost anything. Don't do any <b>one</b> of these and you will not get very far in life.<br />
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In September, I began homeschooling them similar to how I had schooled their older siblings. It was a nightmare! I could not leave the room at all. They could not be trusted, and someone was always finishing something that needed to be looked over before they could move on to the next thing. Eventually, Murray found an online program. It works better for them and me, but they have learned ways around it to "cheat" too. Their writing is still not improving despite the comprehensive grammar and writing this program provides and again, I find myself at my wits end! I have actually gone out to the garage and screamed in frustration.<br />
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I ask myself questions. I wonder if it's because they are biologically three sisters? Is there chemical damage to their brains? Is it their genetics? Am I that lousy of a mother? Is it all the fault of adoption trauma? How are we supposed to raise them into decently functioning adults?<br />
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To put into perspective how behind they are, I will share their age and where they are at grade wise according to their age and where they should actually be if they weren't adopted and had grown up from day one in a normal functioning home and family.<br />
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Bella is twelve (She is a December baby, so that does make her a young twelve.) She is currently working at a grade three level. Realistically, she should be in grade seven, a year behind Squirt (who is in grade eight and is also a December baby). If she was still in school, she would be in grade six. However, even socially, she is not close to the behavior of a grade seven girl. She and Squirt rarely play together because Bella is so juvenile yet in so many ways.<br />
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Bright Eyes is eleven and is sort of doing grade two. She hasn't mastered writing at all. There is no subject-verb agreement. Punctuation is unheard of and often, even the sentences are not coherent. If her life had been normal from birth, she would be in grade five -- grade four if she was still in school. Again maturity-wise, she is not even close to the level of her would be peers.<br />
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Peanut is starting grade two work. Her writing is awful, but likely the closest to her grade level of the three girls. She too is very immature for her biological age. She would be in grade three if she had had the opportunity to have a normal life from the beginning and grade two if she was still in school. She is definitely the most feisty and vocal of her sisters. She needs a constant eye on her and a firm hand guiding her, which despite driving me crazy some days, I find encouraging. I feel the most hopeful for her.<br />
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Not only are they behind their would-be peers academically, but even in their slightly corrected grades at school, they are all socially behind their peers. It doesn't seem to have an effect in the younger grades, but we did start noticing with Bella last year that she was being left out of many of the happenings of her classmates. She is generally a happy and sociable girl, so she either didn't notice, or it didn't bother her as she still had a friend or two to spend time with.<br />
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Having the three home together worries us because who do they have, but each other. No one is more mature than the other, and because they seem to feed off each other, they don't gain any social skills by being at home all the time.<br />
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Add to all this frustration, are three older sisters who lead normal busy teenage lives and who still need their mom and dad very much too, and perhaps you can understand why we are at a complete loss.<br />
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I've prayed, I've ranted, I've cried, sometimes in turn, sometimes all at the same time, but we have yet to figure out and understand what will help our girls grow into healthy functioning young ladies.<br />
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There must be more adoptive families out there who are facing these very similar struggles, but we have yet to find them, let alone find answers on how to help our daughters.<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/362/2AA5482211AE17F52766281CB6984678.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: 0pt none ! important;" /></a>The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-38430607631188591172016-05-09T21:22:00.000-04:002016-05-09T21:22:14.463-04:00I Made a Coffee BarWhen you have a large family, any flat surface becomes a catchall for kid's stuff. I've seen everything from the usual papers, pens, and pencils, to stranger things like dirty socks, shredded candy wrappers, and baseball gloves sitting around.<br />
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Now that the buffet (as we call it) has been turned into a coffee bar, there is little space for all that "stuff."<br />
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I am not a coffee connoisseur. I drink pretty much any kind of coffee. Although, I do try to buy fair trade coffee as often as I can. I do however, like my fancy teas. I love the chai teas, as well as dessert teas. My least favorite teas are the fruit teas. I'd rather eat real fruit thankyouverymuch. The girls love their hot chocolate as well as a variety of teas. Nathanael's tastes run pretty similar to mine. Murray, on the other hand, will drink most hot beverages -- coffee being the exception -- if you hand it to him.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KE51wvZnrpmRfD2NOx-2R7lpeULOpAIA6Md_C_Gpe4eOK15vF20u4OL1I_rUCcYdWgQGztO3CAMuA4iaaC9a7MB7ylJ0m2iTn2L6lf8gJ73I_6qZzvJJlZIoPZQbCTNKS1q7OnadDq0/s1600/DSC05918A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_KE51wvZnrpmRfD2NOx-2R7lpeULOpAIA6Md_C_Gpe4eOK15vF20u4OL1I_rUCcYdWgQGztO3CAMuA4iaaC9a7MB7ylJ0m2iTn2L6lf8gJ73I_6qZzvJJlZIoPZQbCTNKS1q7OnadDq0/s640/DSC05918A.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47r0gO7mze_cCkIj0NukN91PHBybWqBx-anpVLCnEXHJpllnPcK0Va1WQ4BnKwBKnrTyPKYupKrhKjYbxZoTvpMPc-8t8EbK_SUgbk1eu7lc28hkXG67xL9quuoS9_8f2HYByRmfSXqE/s1600/DSC05921C.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj47r0gO7mze_cCkIj0NukN91PHBybWqBx-anpVLCnEXHJpllnPcK0Va1WQ4BnKwBKnrTyPKYupKrhKjYbxZoTvpMPc-8t8EbK_SUgbk1eu7lc28hkXG67xL9quuoS9_8f2HYByRmfSXqE/s640/DSC05921C.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>The country crocks are from my mom, as is the biscotti jar on the far right. Sorry! I think there has only been biscotti in it once. I do believe all of them were purchased at thrift stores.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyOeaxhl-4sADvOylOeZQVEyTe97fSf3wAEjT_J4s-d3IHTcd5qF7deLgs9dZPswimQrZq8-_pzUJa6CfN3drXfs1TNVWXT67Sk09PrqtcTmQk4PvxXd9SASZvEEbnrS3MyHuN8UIj4M/s1600/DSC05920B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuyOeaxhl-4sADvOylOeZQVEyTe97fSf3wAEjT_J4s-d3IHTcd5qF7deLgs9dZPswimQrZq8-_pzUJa6CfN3drXfs1TNVWXT67Sk09PrqtcTmQk4PvxXd9SASZvEEbnrS3MyHuN8UIj4M/s640/DSC05920B.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>I fell in love with these prints by Melanie of <a href="https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/VisionCity">Vision City Paper</a>. I have my eye on a few more that I would like to purchase in the future. Go on and check her out!</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_IMC2NGo3KdS_RhyU-pkIl0Q95PLFB-BSu6-TQLLAvfoVrAhv8bn6arHdXX0m4mock521_Aq5xMJ6tWl2EFFfip7gJR68JRGWsBMUjjIMvPMkR8K3OakzuWPeNuV_tSWmcKD-diQXhI/s1600/DSC05923D.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2_IMC2NGo3KdS_RhyU-pkIl0Q95PLFB-BSu6-TQLLAvfoVrAhv8bn6arHdXX0m4mock521_Aq5xMJ6tWl2EFFfip7gJR68JRGWsBMUjjIMvPMkR8K3OakzuWPeNuV_tSWmcKD-diQXhI/s640/DSC05923D.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>This beautiful tray is from <a href="http://www.winners.ca/en/">Winners</a> and handmade in the Philippines. I couldn't resist not purchasing it a few years ago already. The teas are from <a href="https://epicure.com/en">Epicure</a>, <a href="https://www.davidstea.com/">David's Tea,</a> and <a href="http://www.teavana.com/">Teavana</a>.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2IJoHO_QfvX97u_pJbdQxZ_yj7x04altKVnrmb_NpVCm6K5Z3Vavvn-8vD6X33SnJS6BVUKDsBXbUbZV6mV-SXcwbIdAYU_LuZAVTLVOBDml6fUvqR9zuKvJcrAKDehrjx3TFvMTyVY/s1600/DSC05924E.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2IJoHO_QfvX97u_pJbdQxZ_yj7x04altKVnrmb_NpVCm6K5Z3Vavvn-8vD6X33SnJS6BVUKDsBXbUbZV6mV-SXcwbIdAYU_LuZAVTLVOBDml6fUvqR9zuKvJcrAKDehrjx3TFvMTyVY/s640/DSC05924E.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
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<i>My little honey pot is also from Winners. </i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHP5-NAQVoA9IsG3IQjEhFw6J9lC3FdG6A7he7NGfolmzEvov-lf3RiEyA08wR8A8VrIWqdAow5qmiFJEv_MScAkcM7SaipCZd6jiThzaJ8c91axFU3hBz1xmBSjDja9UmiurNx0VXmSo/s1600/DSC05925F.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHP5-NAQVoA9IsG3IQjEhFw6J9lC3FdG6A7he7NGfolmzEvov-lf3RiEyA08wR8A8VrIWqdAow5qmiFJEv_MScAkcM7SaipCZd6jiThzaJ8c91axFU3hBz1xmBSjDja9UmiurNx0VXmSo/s640/DSC05925F.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
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<i>The plant is fake. :o) Really! I found it at the grocery store.</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDrFIeRDc-Ot3u6-MseofS-3a5lYiMWa3cL7sk8vEWI4PUqspJIB9drCLS3l-_Bn7rd5ZV9egXPt3aTzygEH-DGp3wkQF_edxsGfp0uNhxjsV4tIbRUYpDlM4Gqz7enRVCdgbJVr-rc8/s1600/DSC05926G.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisDrFIeRDc-Ot3u6-MseofS-3a5lYiMWa3cL7sk8vEWI4PUqspJIB9drCLS3l-_Bn7rd5ZV9egXPt3aTzygEH-DGp3wkQF_edxsGfp0uNhxjsV4tIbRUYpDlM4Gqz7enRVCdgbJVr-rc8/s640/DSC05926G.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>My Epicure teapot is behind the "glass". (It's actually plexiglass, replaced by my dad after a kid fell and destroyed the original glass and soldering pattern. Thankfully the child was uninjured!)</i></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh440jj8lvYC5-52bljtXBPx-_caOTcZGtMIy4xoHLDGbb4EEmE8YBX_bjh0FH2K-tI3_DAo5btkgrYJBtFB195ugR1A826-9nExmSzalZtxZTFfh9UCiMaYKMofY9V41J3XK-dj-bcyBo/s1600/DSC05927H.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh440jj8lvYC5-52bljtXBPx-_caOTcZGtMIy4xoHLDGbb4EEmE8YBX_bjh0FH2K-tI3_DAo5btkgrYJBtFB195ugR1A826-9nExmSzalZtxZTFfh9UCiMaYKMofY9V41J3XK-dj-bcyBo/s640/DSC05927H.jpg" width="512" /></a></div>
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<i>The first teapot I have ever owned that doesn't leak and keeps our tea hot for quite awhile too! (It apparently makes a great mirror too! Haha!)</i></div>
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My coffee maker is a <a href="http://www.cuisinart.ca/cuisinart_product.php?item_id=289&product_id=334&cat_id=2">Cuisinart</a>. I wanted a coffee maker that had a hot water option. This was the only company that had this option -- at least in <b>my</b> price range. I waited until it went on sale at <a href="http://www.canadiantire.ca/en.html">Canadian Tire</a>. There are mixed reviews about it, as with any product, but so far we're very happy with it. The only thing we struggle with is filling the water reservoir for the coffee. It's at an odd angle and inevitably I spill some water almost every time. </div>
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The best part about the coffee bar? There is very little room for <strike>junk</strike> stuff to collect! They still try, but I'm much quicker to convince them to put it away in the proper place.</div>
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/362/2AA5482211AE17F52766281CB6984678.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: 0pt none ! important;" /></a>The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5222945587640777221.post-11570624122344557962016-05-06T06:19:00.000-04:002016-05-06T06:19:07.931-04:00The Bush in AprilSpring is late this year, but it's beginning to bloom in the back bush.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Ao3qpl6r-pntrJuwr1zBXEHGdH3s7YGmotp6QqMloWIa9TMLd-kwwMup2u_2-mi3i9IZhspkC0metzeqbtCBJXmh1YdyD3QX2oNuRF3n1-IyeeWl3JCRp0shda0H5PAOSXI1Rik9RR4/s1600/DSC05653A.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="512" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6Ao3qpl6r-pntrJuwr1zBXEHGdH3s7YGmotp6QqMloWIa9TMLd-kwwMup2u_2-mi3i9IZhspkC0metzeqbtCBJXmh1YdyD3QX2oNuRF3n1-IyeeWl3JCRp0shda0H5PAOSXI1Rik9RR4/s640/DSC05653A.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<i>Trout lillies.</i></div>
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<i>Anemone.</i></div>
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<i>Yes, there really are red trilliums. They are rare, but I found a few this year.</i></div>
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<i>Look at all the pollen on his legs!</i></div>
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<i>The green is winter wheat. It looks like a lush carpet, but really it's not that lush. We'll just pretend it is.</i></div>
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This weekend is Mother's Day. The trilliums should be just hitting their peak. I'm going to make sure I fit in another walk to the bush!<br />
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<a href="http://www.mylivesignature.com/" target="_blank"><img src="http://signatures.mylivesignature.com/54488/362/2AA5482211AE17F52766281CB6984678.png" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% transparent; border: 0pt none ! important;" /></a>The dB familyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15170331499885879774noreply@blogger.com1