handmade gifts rock

Hey there friends!  We haven’t done something crafty here for a little while, but today we will.  It’s a handmade chipboard photo book, as part of a Canadian handmade gifts blog hop.  That means you can search this hashtag on all your social media #CDNHandmadeHoliday and find lots of ideas for handmade gifts for less than $25.  Fun, right?  It's no secret around here that I love a handmade gift.  Check out the Handmade tab in the top menu bar to see what I mean.

 But let’s get started.

October: Behind the Scenes

October perfection

Hasn’t October been a beautiful fall month this year?  I loved the progression of colour, the weather was top-notch, and some pretty great occasions happen in October too.  Looking back I realized what a busy month it’s been behind the scenes of what I usually write about here.  So I thought I’d give a little peek in pictures of life behind the blog scene from the month of October.  And it’ll give you an idea of the larger life in the Personally family.  Maybe it’s a little bit like your behind-the-scenes too.

Photo Finish 36: Lessons Learned from a Kid Photographer

my kid took this one:  Killbear Provincial Park

So hey, check out the new photographer on the block!  It’s Personally Junior.  He went on a camping trip with his Oma and Opa (my parents, God bless them) and Opa took the opportunity to teach him a bit of photography with a li’l ol’ Canon G11 point and shoot.  Opa has infinite patience for teaching, and Oma has infinite patience for board games (did I mention…God bless them!) so PJ was well spoiled for the week.

Mid-May: High Notes & Low Notes

So it’s mid-May and here are few notes on the simultaneous highs and lows of life.  No craftiness, DIY or fancy stuff happening in the kitchen.  Life is full and the days are bittersweet.  So just a bit of a week recap with a few things happening in my little sphere.

Our Valentine’s Day

Road Tripping: Montreal in Winter

The stereotypes are true.  It’s cold in Montreal in the winter.  Nevertheless we were looking for a few-day, road-trippable getaway and this is where we went.  It was just in the wake of our epic ice storm, so long hours of driving at least had this fairy-tale, coated-in-ice scenery to enjoy along the way.

Christmas at my Kitchen Table

Hello friends, old and new.  How did you spend your Christmas days?  Were you among family and friends or among welcoming strangers?  Were you home or far from home?  Was it a season of noise and plenty or of minimalism and quiet?  I hope that your soul was filled with what you were able to give and receive.

‘Twas the Night Before the Last Day of School

…and I realized that Personally Junior had done nothing crafty to add to his teachers’ Christmas gifts.  What??!!  How could that have happened?  Well, the truth is that with only one child left in elementary school a lot of that type of thing becomes a last-minute thought, or even an afterthought.  Sorry PJ, you see how it is.  But really, there are also a lot of perks to not having your mothers’ undivided attention, right?

How to Take Your Own Family Photo

Besides vacations, isn’t Christmas the next most popular time to want a family photo?  To include in Christmas cards, to frame as gifts for parents and grandparents.  Kind of an end-of-the-year milestone, right?  OK well obviously it’s just me who wants the photo and sends the cards and figures out the gifts for the parents and grandparents.  And cares about milestones.  Not anyone else in the family.  Some years it works out to have a portrait professionally done.  But most years I’ve gotten into the practice of setting ourselves up to take a family photo at home, and with a bit of experience it’s gotten easier each time. 

Organizing A Student Desk

Once upon a time there was a naive mom who thought that her children’s education would pretty much proceed of it’s own accord and all things academic would work themselves out.  A good school had been chosen, lunches were made, bedtimes were kept, she volunteered in the class.  Marks were fine, and so the mom assumed that all was well.

Chocolate Zucchini Loaf (or Isn’t She Loafly?)

So the other night it was sinking in that I have one more week till I need to perform a complete lifestyle overhaul for the whole household.  Also known as Back to School.  Maybe it causes that amount of upheaval in your home too?  I went into planning mode and pulled out all the stops…chips, wine, Pinterest.  I figured I would use this week to ease into some healthier routines, add a few more go-to foods, while continuing the organizing/nesting mode I was in.

Why Go Camping?

Hello again, everyone.  I took myself a little technology holiday and went camping.  Thank you for allowing me that leisure.  But today is Re-entry Day One.  Yikes, it’s a tough one.  Suddenly my hair looks pretty wild.  And when did my manicure start looking so ratty?  And what do I even wear besides sweats or a bathing suit?  Not pyjamas and flip flops, I guess…

Well, we managed to fly out of the house this morning in some semblance of civility.  Without blueberry pancakes, eggs and two cups of coffee, though.  But now there is an explosion of sandy, leafy, damp Stuff coming out of the utility trailer in the driveway.  I sense it creeping towards my front door.  I think I’ll just hide out here in the back yard for awhile and look at some of the pretty pictures I took.

Very soon, all this civilization will seem normal again, maybe even good.  And I might even wonder, why do we go camping?  And you might wonder too.  So here are some of the pictures that remind me why…

Well, of course there’s that…but really that’s not what it’s ALL about. 

It’s about the freedom.  From watches, schedules, technology, mirrors.  (See fashion photo, above.)  And the enormous space.  Space to be, and feel, and gain perspective, and run without agenda or destination.  These are luxuries not often afforded to me.  Maybe you too.

There is no other time when the important activities include finding frogs, getting buried in the sand, hiking along the shore for a picnic, catching the sunset.

And the last events of the day are stargazing and counting shooting stars before zippering everyone into sleeping bags and tents.  We are lulled to sleep by the sound of croaking frogs, calling loons, and the winds blowing through the treetops.

That’s why we go camping.

Slow Down

Well, it has been March Break in our corner of the world.  But we didn’t get a break from Od Man Winter.  Far from it.  But an opportunity to slow down nonetheless.  Sleep in.  Lazy breakfasts.  Walks.  Movies.  Read by the fire.  Heavenly in its own way.

While the blog was on a break I learned a few things about Instagram and did some experimenting. Very fun.  Click on the button above to see some more results. If you are an Instagrammer let me know and I will check out your feed.

Lest you think it was all quietude and lolling around however, there are always three things in this household to keep us moving along.  Children.  Dog.  Renovations.

Children and pets do insist on waking up and being fed and exercised at regular intervals.  Sigh.  And renovations will take over your household and are best to have some momentum.  As a domino/snowball/explosion result, behind the scenes there has been some commotion.  Disassembling of furniture.  Relocating it.  Refinishing it.  Repurposing it.  The camera has been at work documenting the process.  Reveals coming soon.

Meanwhile The Dog has taken it upon herself to watch the piles of snow to see if they are receding. Are they?

 

You can only tell if you slow down.

Family Valentine’s Day: Table Decor

What a fun occasion to celebrate as a family.  Ever since we have all been able to sit at the table in a civilized manner…wait…actually maybe we’re not quite there yet.  Ever since I have hoped we could all sit at the table in a civilized manner, we have been celebrating Valentine’s Day with a festive family dinner.  Decorations, dessert, the works.  Not fancy necessarily.  Just festive.  A theme is usually helpful to simplify things but still have it pulled together.  My usual…red.

Skating

Photo #2 in my series on Capturing Winter…skating.  With a bonus addition of hockey-ness thrown in for good measure.  This is Youngest Son out on our Backyard Rink.  Relatively successful this season.  Although almost anything could be deemed successful after last winter’s epic failure.  But we persevered and good times are here again.  There is something iconically Canadian about skating outdoors.  Home video of Wayne Gretzky as a kid skating on a frozen pond in a Tim Horton’s commercial.  That part might not be true, but it should be. 

Of course not many of us will become international symbols of Canadiana because we skated in our backyards.  And there are trials to be endured.  The leaks before the rink freezes.  The bodychecking and deking of Teenaged Brother.  Tears over falls and bruises and the ever-present unfairness of life with siblings.  The inevitable days of slushiness as the temperature hovers above freezing.  Shouting at The Dog who will take off with the puck at any opportunity…it is so awkward to run through deep snow in skates after a dog who just wants to play. 

But we persevere.  Why?  For a reason to be outdoors in the dead of winter.  For family-friendly fun.  For laughter.  For making memories.  That’s why.

DIY Family Photo

Props.  Not the fist-bump kind. The kind for using in a photo shoot.  

Of course, “photo shoot” is possibly an elaborate term for trying to get the family to co-operate for a current family picture for the Christmas card.  However…in real life this scenario can be an unnecessary stress, and a few props will make your life easier and your photo better.  So here we go.

First of all, outdoor overcast light in an open space is the easiest to photograph in.  No weird shadows, no squinting. 

Secondly, if your backdrop is NOT something fabulous like the Rocky Mountains or a Caribbean beach, then try to make it as simple as possible…fence, brick wall, hedge, etc. 

Third, props.  Two things…something on which people can sit, perch or lean…and something simple that lends purpose or timeliness to the photo.   In this case the bench from the deck and a little fir tree borrowed out of the indoor decor.

Set up.  Even a little bit of thought and prep will help this go a lot more smoothly.  One co-operative assistant is also useful.  Warn everyone ahead of time so all the groaning and eye-rolling is out of the way.  Pick through their closets (or floors) and find what you want them to wear.  Set up your camera.  Explain to each one where and how they will sit.  Then let them chill while you figure out the last details of focus, exposure, timer/remote.  And you’re ready to go.

Not perfect.  It was –3C and it did actually start precipitating some frozen substance.  Husband forgot to fix the boot/pantleg situation.  Two other shots were maybe better but The Dog wasn’t looking.  And see how happy everyone looks!?!  It’s worthy of being sent out to the family and friends who love you.  Some may even keep it on their fridge for an entire year.  All for zero expense and a little time and effort on your part.

We wish you a Merry Christmas.

Celebrating Advent

I am a believer that some things in life can remain simple and sacred.  And one of things is the Advent season.  Technically beginning the fourth Sunday before Christmas and culminating on Christmas Eve, it is a season of preparation for and anticipation of Christmas.  Retail and media in our culture do dominate.  But for a few minutes, as many evenings as we can, as many as are home will gather around the lighted candles to sing a few carols and reflect on the meaning of Christmas.

So, now you are thinking thoughts like idyllic, romantic, religious maybe.  Not so.  If only you could imagine the elaborate schedule of turns for the lighting and snuffing out of candles that evolved over last year’s Advent season, instigated by Teenaged Daughter.  It required lengthy debate over fairness vs. unfairness at the start of EACH evening, I assure you!  Or how about the evenings when The Children decide that musical instruments should be played?  By the time instruments are out and tuned, and carols have been chosen that everyone can play in their key signature of choice (“What, am I supposed to transpose this on the spot????”), romance and religion are the farthest things from anyone’s mind.

Nonetheless, we persevere, because it helps us to stay focused in the midst of a consumerist, over-the-top, too busy culture.  And on occasion, there IS an idyllic moment…simple and sacred.

O come all ye faithful.

Life of Pi

What a great book!  I read it after it won the Giller Prize once upon a time.  Perfect tension between the magical and real, with no answers as to which one is the stronger.  Brilliant.

So here's the thing:  the movie version by Ang Lee is being released today! Awesome!  Never expected it could be done, and to boot it is being HIGHLY rated...four stars from the Globe and Mail!  

So here's really the thing:  I have (so far) successfully instituted a rule in this house that you read the book before you watch the movie.  

Alright, I made one exception for Lord of the Rings, which Teenaged Son (who was not Teenaged at the time) had not yet read.  And is, in fact, STILL reading...but I digress...

I do WANT to take The Teenagers to see this film, but guess what? Yes.  Neither of them has read the book.  Although I have been throwing it in their direction for years...yes years...there it sits.  Charmingly displayed on Teenaged Daughter's shelf with other colour-co-ordinated books which have all been read and a matching piggy bank.

And Teenaged Son will be studying it in English this year and I said See, I told you you should have read it!

All to no avail.  So, what to do?  It seems possible that my influence in this area is waning, and my angst is being noticed by no one but me...

Sigh.

But seriously, you really should read it. Really.