Chickadee Manor

{pretty, happy, funny, real}

Capturing the context of contentment in everyday life ~ Every Thursday, at Like Mother, Like Daughter!

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{pretty} & {happy}

This week the pretty and the happy are joined together.  I couldn't decide how to separate the two.  The pretty things are making me happy and the things that make me happy are pretty.  

Grocery store carnations

Assorted sea shells from our trip to South Africa.  

We've been leaving the shells in a glass bread pan on the dining table and the kids have been studying them and trying to identify them.  We keep adding water to them as we like the intensity of the colour when they are wet.  Keeping them in water also means that the sea sponge is soft and flexible instead of hard and brittle.

A sweet little elephant carving I bought at a little antique store in Stanford, South Africa

Finally working on my Ovate shawl.  I love this yarn so much!  It is Malabrigo Aquarella in Arapey (AQ13).

 

{funny}

This little guy has a knack for lounging and making himself comfy.  I was working in the kitchen and suddenly realized how quiet it was.  I went in search of Judah only to find him watching a kids' show on Netflix whilst ensconced in a pile of blankets, pillows, and clean laundry on our bed.

 

{real}

And this is what the living room looks like at the moment, more or less.  It is a particularly warm day here for March and once the kids realized this they were out the door in a shot leaving behind all the games and assorted play things that had kept them occupied most of the morning.  We'll tidy up once it's dark or everyone is soaking wet from the snow and needs to come in to warm up and dry off!

 

 

The one where things did not go according to plan...

So, remember how yesterday I said today was going to be THE day to tackle the exterior side of the windows?  Yeah, well, that didn't happen.  Not even close.  It seems I have been slammed with some sort of virus.  I was feeling slightly iffy on Wednesday but thought it was just due to my being on antibiotics for an extended period of time due to a sinus infection.  Apparently not.  Last night was not good and today I spent almost the entire day in bed or on the couch in the living room, only getting up to help when things could only be done safely by me and otherwise enlisting the help of my eldest two kiddos to help reach things, pour milk, etc., for the littlest ones.  Thankfully, Dwayne was home over lunch and went to the grocery store (twice!) today to pick up what we needed and took over in the meals department.  Judah actually napped on top of me on the couch this afternoon and we all took turns choosing cartoons and HGTV shows to watch while he snoozed and the rest of us took it easy.  I am optomistically saying that I am trending upward but that is also how I felt on Wednesday night.  We shall see in the morning!  Those windows will just have to wait.  Or perhaps I will have to try cleaning them with winter windshield washing solution...has anyone out there tried that? 

I will leave you with some silly selfies that I took with the kids when we got out to the hunting cabin last weekend.  Everyone was glad to be out of the vehicles after two and a half hours or so of driving and more than happy to goof off for the camera! :)

 

Hazy days

We have had a lot of smoke in the air here lately due to the large number of forest fires burning in our territory and the neighbouring province.  Sometimes the air appears thicker or if it's low enough you can see the smoke lurking around tree branches.  Other times it looks a bit overcast, but when the sun tries to shine through the smoke it glows red and so does everything cast in its light.  Take my measuring cup for example.  The curtains in our kitchen were mostly closed but a little bit of light made it's way in and made it look as though my stainless steel measuring cup had a flame inside it.  The entire kitchen had a reddish tone to it.  

This photo was taken at about 8:30p.m. on the kitchen counter.

  

This photo was taken around 9p.m.  You can see the smoke creates the illusion of there being two bodies in the sky.  It is just one sun.

 

Assorted things

First - I booked our summer holiday today!  Yahoo!  We are using our Airmiles for both the tickets and the car rental.  Love that!  A note for those planning vacations and needing a vehicle that seats 7, book way in advance.  It is nearly impossible to get a mini van at somewhere with a major airport nearby.  We ended up flying into a city between our two east coast destinations.  We're okay with that, it's only a 4 hour drive in either direction.  Exciting!  Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia here we come!  We're also meeting up with family in Alberta on either end of the trip as well and visiting the fabulous Drumheller - dinosaur central. :)

Second - I have been having my furniture prayers answered.  Haha!  I was looking for pillow inserts the other day so we could make custom throw pillows.  I couldn't find any in town.  Then yesterday, lo and behold, someone selling down throw cushion inserts.  Heavenly!  Also, I had a furniture rearranging epiphany last night at about 3 a.m. (my best ideas often come at 3a.m., followed by my brain shutting down at 3:05a.m.) and that epiphany involved a certain size and style of side table.  Guess what was for sale at the house I was picking up the pillows from?  Yes, the table!  For $5.  $5 for solid wood that my kids could leap off of without damaging it.  Funny how your furniture hunting criteria changes with small kids - can it be washed?  What happens if someone uses it as a super hero launching pad?  What if they fall over and bump their head on it?  Plus, I picked up a white, narrow dresser for the girls' room for $20.  Awesome!  Oh, and there was the bedside table I picked up earlier in the week.  It has three drawers, is the perfect height for our bed, and it means I have stashing space for my books, knitting projects, assorted bits and pieces for Judah, and space for my alarm clock. ;)  It never hurts to pray about the little things...the last thing on my list to find - a rug for the living room.

Third - Tomorrow I start work on an outdoor screened room.  This is the area to be screened.  I will be painting out the green posts white and then fixing screen down that whole long side.  We'll also rig up some sort of privacy screen at the far end.  I love the summer heat and the long days but I'd much rather do without mosquitoes!