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  • May 5, 2020

    in the gardens, early may 2020

nearly there
March 14, 2018

We woke up a few days ago and it felt different somehow.  The pungent smell of awakening earth, coupled with the sunlight reaching into dusty corners of our home.  Our creek is gurgling at a faster pace.  Chickadees are changing their tune.  The snow is heavy and wet.  And just like that, spring is nearly here.  With snowdrops peeking their heads up through the snow and leaves, and pussywillows beginning to reveal themselves, it truly feels like we have turned the corner.

Winter boots are traded in for running shoes, which seems optimistic to me, however, it certainly allows for lighter feet to race up and down the driveway.  Our country lane is bare dirt freckled with puddles and we are making daily walks to the river.  The other day we watched as swans peacefully glided in aimless circles.  Suddenly a kayaker rounded the corner and the five swans alighted, flying so close to our heads it seemed we could jump up and touch them.  They are far larger than they appear from so far away…their wing span is around seven feet!  It is just a fifteen minute walk from our house, and we had taken only one of our dogs on our walk because we could only find one leash, leaving the other three at home.  And the entire time we could hear Cocoa howling away for us, upset to be left behind.  I felt an inner pressure to hurry home to her and when I mentioned to Huckley and Sunshine it was time to leave, it was apparent Sunshine had a severe low blood sugar that I was very unprepared for.  After stopping her insulin pump and giving her the only juice we had, we were still a good hike away from home.  She is too big for me to carry, so I was inwardly stressed out about how white her complexion was and how weak and tired she was feeling.  Anyhow, I firmly encouraged the two of them to keep up the pace, and the last stretch Huckley ran ahead to the house to grab more juice.  Luckily, we made it home in time to replenish her glucose levels without incident.  It seems that despite all the years we have lived with Type 1 Diabetes, it is easy to slack a bit and not pack the necessities ~ never again!  A regularly carefree walk had turned me into a pile of nerves.

We have been blessed with many bluebird days here in our normally dark mountain valley, and the kids are pulled outdoors for the afternoons, after our lessons have wrapped up.  Fairy houses are built with bits and odds found lying under the receding snow, and with boots on, the kids are climbing our old oak tree again.  I feel a huge outward exhale at this time of year, like I have been holding my breath for a long time.  More than any other winter, I realize how much of a warmer weather person I am becoming.  Maybe it is my own aging, maybe it is solo parenting so much in the winter months?  But, this nourishing exhale is a relief of sorts because I can finally breathe deeply again, inhaling all the earthy goodness that spring is sure to bring.

This seasonal shift brings me such hope, and I wish you the same.

xo Jules

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family life  / huckley  / moments from the week  / sunshine


return of the yarn along
March 6, 2018

I was quite thrilled when Ginny announced she would be resurrecting her yarn along.  I seem to have derailed from keeping track of my projects for the last long while and thought this would be …

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8 Comments

snow globe
February 27, 2018

While other parts of the world are embracing snowdrops and bare ground, we are still living in a snow globe.  There is the temptation to wish for spring and the thrill of new life unfolding, …

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2 Comments

beginnings
February 13, 2018

We turned the corner with the calendar just as the sunny light is lengthening and reaching corners it hasn't inhabited since October.   Now I find that we are in that stretch of yearning for springtime...or …

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6 Comments

deep winter
February 8, 2018

We are having another good snow year this year.  After a frigid December, the new year has been milder along with a crazy amount of snow.  So much snow, in fact, that several neighbours have …

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2 Comments

wisdom from the elders
January 31, 2018

This flu circulating around everywhere seems to be a whopper this year.  Perhaps there is some media hysteria that is fueling the flu fire, but from what we've seen, it is a doozer.  It sounds …

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in review ~ more favourite photos 2017
January 30, 2018

And the last of my favourite photos from 2017... solar eclipse preparations and our new weekend home, the bus... a little morning poker playing and our sweet Pumpkin... the boys love biking and lego a maple tree near where …

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  • a little crafty nest

    Jules Hello out there, I'm happy you stopped by! My name is Jules and I am grateful to share my family's homegrown adventures here...from homeschooling to homesteading. This space is my own reminder to savour the beauty amidst the chaos and messes of motherhood...to see the extraordinary in the everyday ordinary. Thank you for joining me.
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    Our Shetland ram, Argyle, is fairly busy lately. Our Shetland ram, Argyle, is fairly busy lately.  We finally started breeding the Shetlands and then we added Stella Blue and Little Luna.  We will be lambing a bit later than usual this year, in early June.

Here, Argyle is demonstrating the Flehman response, a behaviour of most mammals.  The curling lip helps transfer the pheromones of the breeding ewes into a scent organ behind the front teeth.

He might make us humans giggle, but the lady sheep are doing the cha-cha-cha in circles around this handsome fella.
    I couldn’t resist the Bern. So good. I couldn’t resist the Bern. 

So good.
    Beginning the year with a requested Danish Tie Wra Beginning the year with a requested Danish Tie Wrap Shawl for my sweet Sunshine.  This is her Cross Canada souvenir from 2019 when we drove our Skoolie @adventures.with.gladys across the country.  We stopped at fibre mills in each province and I collected yarn.  Sunshine chose these colours herself and wants a cozy wrap for snuggling under. ❤️

Sunshine chose Maritime yarn : the pink and purple are from a farm in Nova Scotia called Lismore Farms and we saw their sheep and shopped in their big barn converted into a lovely studio, the black and blue yarn was purchased at Brigg’s and Little mill in New Brunswick which was fun to visit the oldest Canadian wool mill, and the white is from PRince Edward Island’s MacAusland’s Woolen Mill. 

The shawl is now at the point where it is a little slow going getting one row done.  But steady steady, I’ll get ‘er done!
    My crafting mojo hit rock bottom last year. I man My crafting mojo hit rock bottom last year.  I managed to knit one single hat that took me months because I kept setting it down.

But like everything in life, there is a season and I am ready to dive into some projects again.  I thought an inspiration board might keep me going ~ has anyone made these before?

From left to right, top to bottom :
~ Estuary skirt (shown is @katiescarlettmakes) by @sewliberated
~ learn to punch needle like @bookhou 
~ vest like this one by @meditativemasker using my own lambs wool yarn that will be back from the mill in early autumn hopefully
~ a quilted vest inspired by the quilted coats made by @brittney.frey 
~ chamerion poncho by Christina Danae shown here by my dear friend @loritimesfive 
~ finish my quilt for my daughter
~ sew a few skirts like this one from @tworoadsvintage 
~ fade shawl like @lauri_is 
~finally make a pair of socks and I would like to make these from @yarnharlot 

This seems a bit ambitious but even if I can be inspired by one or two things that would be wonderful.  Any projects you want to make?
    A bluebird day is a great day for snacking on the A bluebird day is a great day for snacking on the Christmas tree. 🐑🎄🐑. We had stood the tree outside in the yard for a bit after the holidays, enjoying its evergreen boughs.  But the time came to treat the flock.  Lilac didn’t seem to mind the pokeys.
    Our wee little pond sunk twelve feet because the w Our wee little pond sunk twelve feet because the water table dropped...as it does every winter.  If we had lined it with plastic this wouldn’t happen...but plastic isn’t an option for our family and so we deal with seasonal fluctuations in pond depth.  I say it is part of the charm and aren’t we lucky!  Meanwhile, the kids had one glorious day of ice skating on our wee little rink.  Oh, so very Canadian.  Now we will fill it up again to support the ice layer and hope for more perfectly bluebird rink days. (The kids put the branches across where the ice crackled fiercely...their own protective buffer).
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