Coming along

 We have been in our current home now for nearly 6 years- about 5.5 years longer then we thought.  I spent months and months looking for a new house to rent- we had been in an up-stairs of a house on a really busy street with a mostly annoyed landlord living below us.  Annoyed because the boys were too noisy at 2 and 4 years old. The writing was on the wall, so when we found our current house- I jumped.  The price was right, it has a 3rd bedroom, no one lives below us (ie the boys can play and be boys), the yard was stunning (had a garden plot), there was a school and preschool close by- nearly all the things we were hoping for in a house, except that it was small, with only one bathroom, no dishwasher, and the eating area in the kitchen is super tight.  That and the landlord had decided to cover the wood floor in the living room with purple carpet before we moved in.  On  moving day, Dean said that we shouldn't get too comfortable- it was too small for us and we should think about looking for a new place in about 6 months.  Not the easiest thing to hear from your spouse on moving day. 

So here we are, all these years later.  I usually get restless in a space after about 3 years, and for some reason, this house has felt like home more then any other.  For the most part we just needed to get over the expectation that a house has to have a lot of space.  Somehow we realized that having good neighbours and a good school for the boys was more important then the purple rug.  We edit our closets and the toys regularly trying to keep clutter to a minimum.  And perhaps one day our landlord will be able to clear out the basement suite for us to rent as well (we had made arrangements for that a few years ago, but he lost his mojo to move stuff out). That being said, it's taken me a while to commit to hammering holes in the wall.  I finally got started in the kitchen...

Summer Plans

Now that the heat has finally arrived, the nights are long and it's June (ack!), we have been sorting out our summer.  It's tricky, not only do I have Renegade in SF coming up, but I potentially have a large order to fill over the summer months while Dean runs 2 skateboarding road-trip style camps, one in BC and one in Ontario/Quebec.  And our kids are home for the 2 months, wanting to do all the fun stuff that summer should be about.  Thank goodness for grandparents, weekends, and day camps. 
Trust me, it won't be all work and no play though- we've been invited by 2 different neighbours to stay at their cabin or go camping as families.  The boys are so excited! There are usually plans to head up to Vernon and the Island in the mix to.  As usual I think the summer will go by much quicker then we expect and all of a sudden it will be back to school.  

Red Espresso

Red Espresso:  Rooibos tea espresso folks.  Tastes GOOOD.  No caffeine.  Antioxidants.  My new favourite late afternoon pick-me-up.  Seriously. You should try it.

We are off to Vernon to visit friends for a few days and I was quickly trying to organize all this art supplies, gathering some of the doubles of stuff I already have for the little girls we are going to visit and also trying to take  a few photos.  Well, Amber has decided she really likes to be where the action is, in the center of attention.  So the minute the camera came out, so did she, looking all poised and pretty with her 'white boots and scarf'. 
I'll be back here next week- hopefully the roads are good for us! We are looking forward to some good time up on the mountain skiing and snowboarding! H.

knotty knitting

My boys have been asking to learn how to knit ever since I learned how. Here they are, PJ's on, knitting together on the couch before bed.  Johnny's knitting a red neck-warmer, Sasha picked out rainbow yarn for a scarf.  Tonight Johnny mentioned that perhaps he could bring the knitting to school to work on during the lunch hour.  Made me smile from ear to ear. 
I hope he turns out to be as crafty as this dad who's interview on Bloesem Kids was full of great ideas of things that dad's and mom's can do and make with their kids.  (Found the link for Joel Henriques over at Fine Little Day)

Early Influences

The boys have both been making 'comic books' lately. I'm not sure who's idea it was, but it's pretty fun to see what they are coming up with.  This drawing, by Sasha who's nearly 6 is inspired in part by Ed Emberley's book:'Drawing Book of Faces', which he's been drawing from as of late.  The translation is really sweet, but this one was made without the book in front of him, so I can see that it's been influencing his drawing over-all.  Interesting- I wonder who's art I should introduce him to next?   

Testimonials...

What can I say, but testimonials are great! I received two lately from friends- one from a friend developing a knack for latte art in one of my teabowls, and another from my friend who bought a painting to go with 2 that I had given her a few years ago. She recently renovated her kitchen and dining room area to go with the paintings- pulling colours out of them as inspiration. It's really rewarding to see my work having arrived at it's destination- someone's home! I only hope to recieve more of these emails from people who enjoy their 'dahlhaus creation' as much as I did making it!