Sunday

Simple Pleasures ::
Cardboard containers.
xo

Apple Bread

We live in a character filled {read: old} house with fresh air flowing through its rooms {read: drafty}. So when the weather becomes frosty we find comfort in our kitchen next to the cooker...which is quite often filled with a baking cake. It all sounds lovely and romantic...but there is usually a moment tucked in to this process...where some serious deep yoga breathing is taking place and/or a bottle of wine is being uncorked. Staying warm can be a little exhausting...a little dusty...but well...WELL worth it in the end. Apple Bread you're warming our souls.xo

4th Thursday in November

Happy Thanksgiving to the American folk! In honour of the day, Arlo wore his very finest frontiersman accoutrement.
xo

Storytime Wednesday, No. 1

Once upon a rainy day, the young boys along with their mother decided to go for a bus ride. They waited both patiently and impatiently for the bus to arrive."Is that the bus?" asked the oldest boy
"No. That is a yellow car." answered his mother.
"Is that the bus?" he asked again.
"No. That is red pick-up truck." answered his mother.
"Is that the bus?" he asked.
"No. That is a white station wagon." answered his mother.
18 hours 5 minutes later, they heard a familiar roar of an engine and the oldest boy exclaimed,
"That's the bus. Now I remember! There it is!"
"Phew" sighed his mother.
The young boys along with their mother took the bus all the way downtown. Two blocks and 90 seconds later, they arrived. Dodging cars and raindrops, they carefully crossed the street and found their friend sitting at their favourite croissant shop."Would you like to join us on our bus adventure?" asked the oldest boy.
"I would", his friend replied.
And so they chose the first bus they saw, climbed aboard... and took it to their destination: Absolutely-Nowhere's-Ville. The youngest boy fell asleep. The oldest boy along with his friend did not.They rode through puddles. They rode around bends and over bridges. They rode and they rode...until at last, the bus stopped. And there they exited...down the steps...and out the door."What now?" the oldest boy along with his friend asked.
"Food" the mother replied.
And so the two friends ate...side by side...planning their next great adventure.Until then...
The End.
xo

U

U is for:
UnisonousUnfinished {don't worry Arlo} Us {thank you to our photographer, Miles}UniqueUncle Jamie {from far away, a shout out to you}and lastly, the letter U is for Unconditional
Um ason piw a'ni U {as said by the Hopi tribe, goodbye U}
xo

The Letter U

xo

Low Down Case

"Hey! Watch Me! It's a low down case M!" exclaims Hugh."And now look. A low down case K" he adds.Clearly our family has a thing for the alphabet. We are entering to what I feel may be the most challenging section of our Letter of the Day game....U-Z. We will resume on Monday...but for now, we are finding inspiration through Hugh's interpretive dance moves of all the low down case letters.
xo

Cool Tricks

That hand.Not mine, his. That hand kept Arlo awake for most of the night because it can do a very cool new trick. It can open and close on Arlo's command. It can wave to me. It can wave to you. But most of all it prefers to wave to Arlo. Open and Shut. Open and Shut.
Cool Tricks.
xo

Guest Starring Miles

I am about to do something very Un-Canadian...so for the Canadian readers, you may need to brace yourselves, for I am about to praise the weather. I'll give you a second to pull yourself together ::

The sun has been shining for the past twelve days! Our brilliant blue sky is filled with birds singing their way towards Nana and Grandaddy's house. On the ground, our jackets are lying in the green grass as only our lightest sweaters are needed. It is November in Canada on its very best behaviour.
REJOICE!
Today, we found ourselves basking in all of Mother Nature's glories out at McCully's farm. Miles and Hugh ran through the fields, tackled hay bales and Arlo and when the warmth from the setting sun began to move further away, the boys took comfort in the greenhouse among the scarecrows. Oh November in Canada, you please us so!
xo

Vive La Violin

It is always during Hugh's violin lesson when I notice the dirt ground into his finger nails, the spots on his shirt, leftover lunch on his cheeks and mismatched socks on his feet. In his teacher's sophisticated living room, where his lessons take place, we are surrounded by a grand piano, a pump organ, violins, cellos and countless music books from the likes of Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. And there, lying flat out on the posh wool rug, our own masterpiece, Hugh. I try to gracefully lift his limp body off the floor whispering encouraging thoughts in his ear like, "Santa is watching...get up and play the violin." {such award winning parenting moments} I then smile, make an excuse, "Wow. Must be tired today!" and silently shrink while hearing the words of David. And that has been the scene for the past 4 lessons. But today, my friends, today...we had a breakthrough. Just as I was about to throw the bow and strings in, Hugh had a remarkable lesson. He listened. He sat. He stood. He participated. But most miraculously, his finger nails were clean, his shirt...spotless, his cheeks...shiny and his socks...a perfect pair. And tonight just before bed, Hugh played a little tune {not sure what...but don't care} for his biggest fan.
xo

Full Circle

BC...before children....we may or may not have mocked houses with old, rotting pumpkins on their front porch. Who am I kidding? We mocked and we mocked hard. "Shame on them" we would tsk, "It's the middle of November!" or "Man, they are laaaaazy!". BC...yes, we remember those naive days well. And although now happily AC...after children...it is also the moment when innocence packed its bags and fled. Our understanding of perished pumpkin porches has changed...dramatically. When carving a pumpkin with a child, not only is a jack-o-lantern created...but also a person...or in our case, a family. A family of jacks with names...none other than our own: Daddy. Mommy. Hugh. Arlo.We underestimated how heartbreaking a 3 year old would take it when told to throw away said family. He sees beyond the sunken mouths and the moldy eye sockets. He scolds the hungry squirrels as they gnaw away at his 'Hugh'. He protects and cherishes with such significance, that we have now met our own mockery face to rotting face. And it ain't pretty...
xo

7 Months

Dearest Arlo,
Today you are 7 months.
And while our garden may be withered, you are quietly...unassumingly blooming. A chubby flower with beautiful rosy cheeks budding right before our very eyes.
You have genuine preferences :: choosing to chew on the stick made for honey jars...but not the stick made especially for teething babies.
You have heartfelt desires :: lamb with sweet potatoes...avacado...and your very favourite, the magnificent mango.
You have specific rules :: 1. sweet and savoury foods must be served together. 2. it's okay to say 'boo' and pretend to scare you but it mustn't be said too loud or with too much gusto. 3. same goes with tickling. 4. there shall be no snow blowers started up anywhere near your presence...5. time spent in the Exersaucer must be for emergency purposes only and even then it must be kept to a bare minimum. 6. the same cannot be said for the jolly jumper....and lastly, 7. Hugh must share his machine toys with you because you've decided you like machinery too...especially the wheels....and Hugh must also try not to wake you up when you are sleeping.{Okay, maybe #7 is our rule...but it's a good one!}
You have blossomed :: into a real live person...and how very proud we are of you!! Happy 7 Months Arlo!
xo

Saturday Afternoon

Simple Pleasures ::
Improvised backyard hot tubs.Thanks for the inspiration Hank.
xo

Saturday Morning

Simple Pleasures ::
Buttonsxo

The Return

Honnie and Sweedie are back! Silly me, I guess that's quite obvious from the photo above...psst Honnie's the one sitting on Hugh's left.
We've heard bits and pieces of Honnie and Sweedie over the last few months. But only recently have they returned from, what we gather, a very adventurous sabbatical.
Honnie and Sweedie are now adults. And are married...to each other. Ahem, let that one sit in the ol' rocker for a little while. They have been globe trotting all over the place. In Hawaii things got a little rocky when Sweedie pushed Honnie out of a fishing boat. But all was well again when Sweedie pulled him back in. They were recently in England, driving monster trucks on York Street. {How Hugh came up with this one is more than any of us can figure out!}. The most interesting bit of news...although perhaps not as intriguing as their recent nuptials...is Honnie has been saying the words 'hate' and 'stupid'. Two words forbidden in our home. Fortunately for Honnie, Hugh has been helping him choose different words. However, Hugh reports every day...sometimes five times a day, that Honnie just really likes those two unsavoury words. We all agree it makes Honnie less clever to speak in such a manner and hope he can work through his vocabulary road block. Sweedie, on the other hand, is laying low and keeping his/her distance.
And there we have it...Welcome home for now Honnie and Sweedie. We look forward to your stay.
xo

Red Sneakers

There are things about myself I cannot explain...or rather wish not to dive down deeply enough to explain...for instance, why do I love pulling the feathers out of our down filled pillows and blankets? Or why do I never shut a kitchen cabinet door? Or why do I let our house plants get to the nearly-dying-of-thirst stage and then feel a heroic satisfaction when I water/rescue them?
But something I have no problem explaining is my heart racing love for Hugh's sized 8, red floppy canvas sneakers...with the over sized laces....I love them so.
1. Look how fast they can run!2. Look how high they can fly! 3. Look how pretty they can sit! Oh Red Sneakers, won't you be mine?
xo

T

The letter T meant Two Things Today ::
Tea...of course!and Train ::
the farewell kiss...
the welcome wave... Ta-Ta T
xo

The Letter T

Brought to you by Tootsiesxo

Sunday

Simple Pleasures ::
Swing spinsxo

Saturday

Simple Pleasures ::
Crunching leavesxo