ColdWater

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Mr. K has a show coming up at The ColdWater Gallery, which is located in cottage country. On the weekend he had to drive up and measure the large beautiful space, so the child folk and I tagged along.

The weather was gorgeous, so after an ice cream treat, we took a little trip over to Balm Beach. The lovely owner of the gallery gave us top secret directions to a special stretch of beach that was virtually unpopulated. Thank you Luba!

Sun, Sand and Water have got to be one of my favorite combos. Little feet loved it also.

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Western Party

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Big K and Little K were both born in February, thirteen days apart. We celebrate with one big bash and this year's 'theme' was a western party. The entire month before, I busied myself making sheriff badges, stuffed wooden ponies, decorations, games etc ... but on the day of their party the entire family had a horrible flu that kept big K out of school for an entire week and Mr. K sick for three weeks. The party was cancelled.

Last Friday, we checked the weather, decorated the backyard, gathered our friends and shouted a big 'SURPRISE' to two shocked little people.

After the big reveal, costumes were handed out - cowgirl/boy hats and bandannas.

At my request, Mr. K made a cardboard cutout of a sheriff and each cowpoke had his/her photo taken.

The ponies that I had laboured over were finally distributed but there was a hitch: to earn a deputy badge, the cowpoke had to successfully complete the pony riding obstacle course!

Badges were decorated and the games continued.

We played the ol' standby of pin the tail on the donkey and a new one - slimy bug toss.

Thankfully it was a gorgeous day, but the sun was really intense so we took cover under the umbrella and enjoyed some lunch. Due to the heat, I pre-scooped ice cream and served it in ice cream waffle bowls with sprinkles and chopped brownies instead of cake.

While the cowpokes ate, I hid plastic farm animals around the yard. I had doubles and told the deputies that I required their assistance. A robber had stolen half of my farm animals and I gave them each one and they had to find the match to the pair.

After all of the animals were returned to me, they deputies received medals of honor and fake money as a reward.

The night before I had set my studio up as a general store. Each child was given a loot bag and got to go 'shopping' with their money. I chose marbles, harmonicas, whistles, rubber snakes, gummy snakes, lollipops, jewelry, barrettes and other little treats for the shop. The deputies went wild!

The Western Party was a success, despite the four month delay! All the little cowpokes successfully kept the surprise secret and participated eagerly in all the activities. Even the Sheriffs had a ton of fun. Yee-haw!

This is my face on roughly four hours of sleep.

A generous 'thank you' to all of our cowpokes for joining in the festivities and helping to make amazing memories for our family.

Thanks for stopping by.

MJ R.I.P

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I'm not here to wax poetic on his death or discuss the controversial life lived by Michael Jackson.

I just have to say that Thriller was the soundtrack to an amazing part of my youth.

My first heart-pounding slow dance was to Human Nature.

The music of The Jackson Five are part of a regular rotation of songs the child folk and I dance to, and most recently big K performed to Micheal Jackson's version of Rockin' Robin in her dance finale.

This Jackson Five's Top of the Pops video was performed the year I was born.

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Outdoor Play Area: Part Four - Tout Finis!

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Before and After !
Click image to enlarge.

Ta Da!

Here is the before and after of the child folk's outdoor play area.

What began as a wild and enticingly dangerous corner of our garden with an open window well etc ... has finally become rock soup and worm rescue HQ!

I really had my heart set on making some kind of flowing canopy/tent top to the kitchen, but in the end decided to top it with wood and shingles. Only some of the miles of bunting I made was used to trim the top.

I purchased four colors of oilcloth, stitched them together and stapled them under the kitchen top both in the front and in the back. Besides looking mighty cute, they keep the rain out of the storage space.

I used the same oilcloth to make reversible cushions for the wee benches.

The chalkboard is simply a stretched canvas painted with chalkboard paint. Mr. K had an extra canvas stretcher and I covered it with an end scrap of oilcloth and drilled it into the top of the chalkboard to keep some of the rain off.

The child folk painted the art on the wall and I used some varathane to coat them.

The burners are simply drink coasters purchased at Ikea along with the other kitchen accessories.

The best part of the play space is that it gets used rain or shine. So far it has been a restaurant, a castle, a dungeon, a ramen street stand, a space ship, a school, and a home for poor souls captured by the evil dragon and forced to live on Virginia creeper leaves and pebble stew.

When it gets muddy, I hose it down.

Summer fun!

You can see the entire process here: part one, part two, part three .

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We're Off To See The Wizard ...

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Tonight is the night! The child folk's dance school presentation of The Wizard of Oz will be performed by munchkins and monkeys alike.

At the ripe ol' age of five, Big K is a veteran performer and is so excited to be a part of this wonderful show.

This is Little K's premier performance and despite the pre-show excitement I expect there will be a lot of little butterflies flapping around that tiny tummy.

I have had a busy week of costume resizing, dress rehearsals and such but will be back next week with some project wrap ups.

Wishing you all a wonderful weekend.

Thank you for stopping by

Departures

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I love film. I have a University Degree to prove it (ha!). I just can't stand sitting in a theatre to watch a film.

I like the atmosphere, and the popped corn - but these short (barely 5'3) legs can not sit for more than thirty minutes before they make me want to lose my mind.

But I will do it gosh darn it all - just to see this film: Okuribito (Departures is the title in English, however the translation is literally 'the one who sees you off').

As soon as Mr. K stops working for five minutes, I will take him and a box of tissues and I will sit and watch.




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Pancake Sunday

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Easy Pancakes

1 cup all-purpose flour ( I use organic whole wheat)

2 tbl spoons white sugar

2 tbl spoons baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 egg beaten

1 cup milk

2 tbl spoons vegetable oil

Mix dry ingredients together and make a well in the center pour in wet ingredients.

Mix until smooth.

Cook.

Serve with Canadian Maple Syrup.

Eat.

Yum!

I like to add bananas, blueberries, or flax seeds to mix it up.

I always double the batch as we like to have them the next morning too.

Oh Happy Day!

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