homer beach.

Kids plus water plus sand = heaven. Just don't get too wet.

...and we're back.

We've been in Ontario for most of June. So many photos. Such a great visit.
Thanks to everyone who made it possible.
Love Oona

Above photo is taken from a deer stand on the ridge near my parents home on Manitoulin Island. Oh, and I finally changed my profile picture. It seems there just aren't very many pictures of me unless they are self portraits, like this one.

painting for me.

I don't paint very often. I enjoy it very much and playing with colour is my favourite part . I buy paint. I buy canvases. I worry about not creating meaningful art, and this is an example of art without a lot of meaning. I've always really like painting abstract landscapes and this time I simply wanted to experiment with a horizon line spread across three canvases. It's been in my head for some time now, maybe over a year. I've been focused on making our bedroom a more cohesive and relaxing space and there was a blank wall above our bed begging for something. I woke up really early yesterday and started a quick pastel study. Everett woke up and watched and participated a little, but honestly this took maybe an hour. Thank you public television.

fiddleheads

I just love these shapes and patterns. I want to remember them in the winter.

inside. outside.

Where have I been?
Much wonderful time outside + terrible twos + wonky sleeping habits for all = no time for the computer.

Except for craigslist... I always seem to be able to make time for craigslisting.





















Our kitchen is finished! (We have some small outstanding items (like what to do about the light above the kitchen sink, getting the cover cut for the range hood, waiting for cabinet hardware... blah blah blah backsplash)... but we have countertops and a sink. It took me forever to take these pictures... I should have just photographed the chaos that is real life, but then you wouldn't be able to see the countertops. The countertops are nothing really "special", but if you are curious it is Formica Solid Surfacing in Real Concrete. We love how it all worked out with the floor and the cabinets and we're really happy with the integral sink. We feel like grown ups. As for all the old stuff, we sold our old kitchen cabinets, complete with countertops and sink, on craigslist. We donated the awesome but not-matchy dishwasher to the habitat for humanity restore. We gave the old fridge to a friend and the old stove was a fire hazard.

As for outside, it is really getting green out there. We had a good day or so of a good cleansing and nourishing rain last week (which allowed me to temporarily catch up with laundry and other indoor drudgery) followed by more gorgeous sunshine. I planted much of the raised beds on Mother's Day - kinda early for us but I planted cold loving plants like broccoli and lettuce seeds. The arugula and all the radishes are up and happy looking. The peas and carrots should be up soon I hope. I just planted beans yesterday and I'm still toting the cucumbers and zucchini inside at night. I think they'll probably stay on the deck this summer to make room for more carrots in the garden.



Matt also built a compost bin so that we can deal with most (hopefully all) of our yard waste. It looks pretty good from the deck too. So, between that and the worm bin (which is doing much better since I stopped poking at it) we are set up to compost almost everything.
That platform at the back of the yard is for the old fireplace that we took out of the house. We're going to try it as an outdoor fireplace. Right now it's like a stage for dancing and jumping and twirling.

best mother's day present ever.

Two planting beds and a sandbox. Plus, a whole week of gorgeous sunshine. I can only hope it will last.


Matt worked very hard this past two weeks getting these built and installed. Of course, Everett helped, even though in this case he proved to be the worst helper ever. His sandbox is slowly being filled up with sand. It's going to take a lot of sand.

I'm so grateful because I did not think that I would have a garden this year - we have so much going on - and I never expected that they would be raised beds with a little cedar bench all the way around for my pregnant self (o yes, we're expecting in October) to perch on while I plant, weed and harvest. I think they are beautiful. The pavers showed up on Friday at a garage sale, and we immediately dug them in between the beds. I hope to have little volunteer plants show up along the pathway... preferably pretty ones. Eventually, a bench, maybe not that bench, or a little table and chairs will be centered on aisle with a (permanent) fence along the yard and perennial edibles gardens on either side of the bench.... strawberries, rhubarb, asparagus?who knows. I'm just so happy.




p.s. and a note to my father and anyone who is wondering.... I did line the pressure treated wood with black plastic after all. It was going to nag at me... is my soil poisoned, is it safe to grow food? Now it's done, and I don't have to think about it anymore.

worms.

We have worms! A couple of days ago I purchased an established worm bin off craigslist... (sigh, ah craigslist, my online shopping addiction).... It was a great coincidence since I been curious to try vermicomposting and was keenly gathering information on the subject when I noticed this worm bin for sale... I haven't taken a picture yet... it's not necessarily the most attractive thing. Anyways... I still have lots to learn, but so far things seem manageable and it does not smell... really. I'm keeping it in our garage which is kept above 40 degrees F. I've added vegetable and fruit scraps, coffee grounds and I've put in more bedding.... but there is still lots left over from the previous owner so I'm kind of just monitoring it. There's also plenty of worm castings (which is the good stuff for fertilizing plants) which I hope to use some of today. So... that's my earth week experiment.

Everett also helped me gather some litter from around the park today. It's so exciting when the snow melts... yet so sad to see the junk.
Ponder this: Why do litterbugs put the lids back on their bottles before they toss them into the woods?