resurrection fern

we wish you a merry christmas

a happy solstice 

a peaceful winter

when it arrives 

snow

and evergreens

little snow coated mittens 

red noses and cheeks

layers of handknits 

the love of family and friends

kindness to and from strangers

xxoo

oma, lilith and lachlan

5

all these photographs were taken on our visit to black creek pioneer village 
a wonderful place to visit at any time of year 

but even more so at christmas

looking forward to taking them for the candlelight walk when they are a little older 

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a solstice hello

just dropped in for a little hello and to let you know i am well 

and life is so beautiful and full right now

i spend almost all my free time with my grandchildren 

lilith and lachlan 

who are both growing in beauty and grace 

my heart swells so much sometimes that i feel it literally may burst

we have been exploring the garden , forest, local parks but their favourite place is the wetlands 

the preserved eco system that is between this town and the one just north

here we see turtles, frogs (all shapes and sizes), fish, heron, duck families, geese, beaver, deer, snails both aquatic and land

lili informs most people we meet on the trail not to step on the snails and is usually met with a smile

they love the surrounding meadow and the abundance of wild flowers in june

we usually bring a snack or picnic lunch and sit on a bench listening to the chorus of frogs

lili holds on the memory of these outings and talks about them for days usually starting with 

the phrase : "oma, remember when ....."

this past weekend while lachlan was napping lili went up stairs and changed into a dress i had made for her last year 

when she arrived down on the porch she asked if we could make her a crown 

this is what happened

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i am really looking forward to taking them camping next week

 

 

lili and lachy

lili and lachy

1.5 and 3 years old already

growing in strength and capabilities

lachy has started to colour with every crayon in the box

he adores his sister and wants to follow her everywhere

lili loves to explore

puddles, ice, the corners of oma's desk

she adores dressing up and dancing

and especially loves to dance to the classical music of fantasia

she pulls out the ballet slippers as often as the tap shoes now

she is trying to make sense of this natural world

we talked about the woodpecker pecking at the large maple tree

to feast on insects

oma, are insects like bugs under the rocks

yes lily they are

when it started snowing again on sunday

she asked is christmas coming again

xx 

instagram weekend

as just as the calendar turned to november

first snow

first window frost

first snowman

there was no shortage of sunshine on sunday

inside and out

and as lilith has been telling us for weeks no

indeed

winter is coming

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once upon a time

in the land of resurrectionfern

lived a dancing fairy princess

and a gentle dragon

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they became the best of friends

xx

a guest post

lili taught herself to use the camera on my ipad yesterday

and i am really in love with her perspective and compositions

her favourite subjects being her ballet slippered feet and her

sweet little brother whon she still calls baho or brother

or lucky if he is being especially adorable

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she even caught oma changing "lucky's" diaper

:)

 

using up every last bit

long before i went to iceland i decided to knit myself an icelandic sweater for the trip

i am very fortunate to have a lovely little wool shop just a few minutes walk from my front door

owned and operated by a norwegian

i told her what i was looking for and she showed me the upstairs storeroom

if i helped her carry bags of peer gynt yarn downstairs into the back sale section

i could have what ever i wanted at half price

of course i took her up on the offer

decided on the colours, took her advice on how many balls of each to purchase and away i went

i knitted up my sweater during the coldest winter months

enjoyed wearing it in iceland

but i had so many balls of yarn left over

i think she misjudged by size since when i went into the shop i was wearing one of my thick winter parkas

i challenged myself to see just how many other things i could knit up before the wool ran out

i met lachlan a fair-isle vest for his first birthday

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a cowl with triangles

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two toques with giant colourful pompoms

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and lastly i made a fair-isle brimmed hat that i think might just look darling on lilith

i added three coloured tassels

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i only have a ball of ivory yarn left

some mittens perhaps

:)

(i only used a pattern for the icelandic sweater and the rest i just made up as i went along)

 

when she was two

i thank lilith everyday

for bringing me 365 x 2 days of joy

for teaching me

for reminding me to slow down , be mindful of every thing

to speed up, to dance with all your limbs

to be reminded that everyday is special

celebrate the small victories

happy birthday my lili sunshine

we all love you so very much

xx

oma

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this is joy

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lilith and snowman

a thrifted fairisle sweater with lobsters

yes lobsters!

a handmade cowl from a very dear friend in france

a sleeve of an old cashmere sweater turned into a hat

a snowman that i am told looks a great deal like edgar the cat

but the most joyful thing is that smile

xx

oma

 

instagram first weekend of advent

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extra long weekend

overflowing with activities

scientific assembly of family physicians of ontario

soft red wool in my hands

visit to ooak

sleepover with lilith

wreath making for mama and papa

fresh snow tasting

a sled ride

round , round and round

cuddles and giggles

the christmas postman is her favourite story book these days

ordered her a new copy to place under the tree

tamara gave me my first advent gift

placed in the canoe

each day

a thrifted treasure

this ceramic vessel has the most gorgeous indigo blue on the inside

love

picked up my niece at the airport and treated her to brunch

she might be moving to toronto next year to continue her studies

and a new countdown to christmas displayed in the studio

a gift from a wonderful woman

more about that tomorrow

xo

m