Sand and Thread

There’s a war going on in our household right now, and i’m not sure which substance will win. A fine layer of play sand coats every surface, evidence of the children’s continuing delight in the sandbox (yeah). Likewise, there are blue threads EVERYWHERE, since I furiously assembled my newly-arrived pattern
(Did I mention my patterns arrived?)

to produce this:

Or, for a more steady look at it, see it on Debbie:

Needless to say, it’s been a crazy time at our house.  great, but crazy.  i’ve had some creative stuff on the go:

a skirt for agatha, and my continuing obsession with drawing on my running t-shirts:

also, this weekend, The King of Mountain Bike Cool, aka Marshall Cant, aka my dad, rolled into town for the NorthShore Bike Fest.  Photo op with grandbabies:

it was pretty sweet to be up on the deck overlooking the show.  it was likewise sweet that dad gave me some of the famous Peet’s Coffee.  (Check out the way he wrapped it for the journey home.  classic dad.  love it.

so, there you have it.  a few of the things i’ve been up to, described in a totally chaotic and random fashion.  largely explained by small monkey-like child sitting on lap, alternately trying to attack keyboard, and pestering to watch the cake decorating timelapse, which i have promised he may watch for the hundreth time, once i’ve finished furiously posting.

for my Question o’ the day:  when you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

Sometimes, I am such a beach.

sorry for the pun. couldn’t resist it. or this:




Question’ o the day: what will you be eating for dinner tonight? totally random, but looking for suggestions.

MayLongWeekendFamilyFestExtravaganza 2009

Here’s a whole set of photos from the long weekend, which we spent at Keats. The weather was great (for a Vancouver May long weekend) and i even mistakenly crisped like a lizard on Sunday. (In fact, am still a bit sore. i always forget how intense the sun is at this time of year).  The writing for this post will be some what abbreviated, since the children are beginning (quel suprise) to resent the fact that i’ve spent half an hour on the computer.  of course, with small people that’s not an unbroken half hour, of course, but one punctuated by, “Did you fill your shorts again?” and, “Mom, I can’t find the hairbrush,” and, “Mom, do you want to see our magic show now?”  (about 10 times in 5 minutes).  anyhoo, here are the photos:

what a lovely thing to have a professional photographer in the fam.

Here agatha shows us her “Fruit Compromise”, as she terms it–it’s not a most desirable “fruit stick”, but it is dried fruit.
Moses discovered the fun of a playpen this weekend, and my children discovered the joy of making adults put them in and out of it to “play with Moses”. Or, in this case, “bake” him, as Edmund declared, waving the drool-covered spatula.
self-explanatory.
Crab catching at Salmon Rock.
and, last, my attempt at a Baby-and-Mummy portrait. aren’t they the loveliest?
so, there you have it. we are truly grateful (thanks, Milley Parents) to have such a wonderful place to escape to.

tune in tomorrow, when Jenn returns to gripe about her life in a most detailed and cantankerous fashion.

Question o’ the day: what’s your favourite beach activity? should I clarify, and say “favourite legal-in-most-countries” beach activity”? i’m awaiting your answers.

As promised

I am here posting some photos. It’s going to be a big post, so prepare yourselves, and be patient with your browser.

Up first, some soccer moments captured by a proud and bemused father:

Our lovely Garden Park, home of Soccer Mania. And last but not least, the most important tradition:
The Halftime Orange. Must confess, due to a complete ignorance of team sportage, I had no idea what this was, until I was recently enlightened. I still have no idea as to the origins of the ritual–refueling, team-building, a defense against scurvy….?

Next in the docket, some pics (does anyone else loathe that shortened word as i do?) from our visit to Aurora’s abode. Still loving the manual focus on the portrait lens:
oh, the bette davis eyes on that one…

who doesn’t love trying on the guests’ shoes?

Still more to come.  Friday was Agatha’s first Sports Day, and from what I observed, it looked like a giant FunFest for all involved.  Here she is in one of the relays:

And here, skipping to the Final Tally of Points:

Not done yet.  Here is a final one for THIS post, stay tuned for another whole post about the long weekend:

The First of Several (hopefully)

this was one of the several things that happened last week. i’m getting to posting about the rest, i swear, so stay tuned…

Answering the Call

So, Meg’s put up this “Friday Love List Challenge” b/c her Friday is big on suckage today. Since there’s already a “jen m” in her responses, hemm. hemm. i thought i’d do my list here, since the categories are so delightful and suitably timewasting. thus, I give you:
A Meg-Inspired List of Jenn Loves

1. Song you love Betwitched, Bothered and Bewildered–Ella Fitzgerald
2. Book you love The Yiddish Policemen’s Union–Michael Chabon
3. Type of cuisine you love French. French. French.
4. Beverage you love a cm of Rose’s Lime Cordial in the bottom of a chilled tumbler, doused with a lot o’ iced tonic water, and topped with a twist of lime
5. Cookie you love straight-up homemade choco chip
6. Ice cream flavour you love not so much the ice cream fan, but espresso flake is tasty
7. Place you love to go California. anytime, and almost anywhere in it.
8. Thing you love to drive the Jetta wagon with Kermit antenna-topper suits me fine, since i’ve only been driving again for about a year
9. Place you love to live i haven’t decided yet.
10. Movie you love Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day
11. Time in your life you loved summer of 98. keats. i know, i know, meg. so lame. but so true. sunshine almost every day, salt spray, ocean swims, laughs, too much junk food, jokes that lasted way too long, and anything, or everything, seemed possible.
12. Person you love Boy
13. Cute picture of a baby animal you love (provide link) i don’t do animal pictures. somehow, i just can’t. nor do i want, right now, to surf the interwebs for them. it just creeps me out. sorry. i try, but i can’t.
14. Item of clothing you love most (that you own) it changes all the time. right now, it’s my 50’s style, pintucked, and belted shirt. I feel like Doris Day. in a good way.
15. Way of relaxing you love best watching movies with my kids. which is what i’m going to do right now. Bowdlerized “Sound of Music” here we come!!! ah. the glory of chapters on dvds.

Thanks, meg, for the task. hope you’re feeling better soon.
Any takers for a love list? go ahead and copy and paste, i’d love to hear your favs.

Not to be left out

I also captured these images this morning of Edmund, discovering the joy of sorting and patterns.

Next Question O’ the Day:  What was the last actvity that you were really engaged in and absorbed with?

A day at home

Agatha’s home sick today, so it’s been a chance for all of us to mellow out a little bit.  i’m practising with the manual focus on my portrait lens, and Agatha actually (for once) obliged me by sitting for a few portraits.  here they are:

Question o’ the Day:  What was the last thing that really made you smile?

My Weekend: A Photo Essay

Intrepid explorers, we set off looking like this:

This was the view from our room (photocredit: Jaegen Milley):

There was a lot of this:

this:

and playing on this (photo by jaegen):

and on these:

It was all hosted by these fantastically generous people:

and

The rest of the crew:

What a place! (Barnabas, Keats Island, that is)

pond photo by jaegen, too…i think our photography styles are really working together, don’t you?