Odds & sods

Posted on by

2

  • Woman slalom skiing
  • Child paddling a yellow kayak on a lake surrounded by trees
  • Dog chasing a ball at a beach with a young girl

The smell of fresh cut hay filled my room on Friday night. As I lay there, I felt like the bed was rocking under me, taking me back to my hours in a boat last week during our annual cottage getaway. It was like I was in two places. My body home at the farm, yet my mind still on vacation.

It’s hard to believe we’re halfway through summer already. The cottage week with my family is the highlight of my year. All of our kids have embraced cottaging as much as my siblings and me. Watching them play together, swim and ski–and push themselves to try new things and master new skills–is so meaningful. Plus getting to ski myself, play with the kids, and hang out with my family is special too.

Writer Nicole Ziza Bauer mirrored some of my feelings about summer in the latest issue of Magnolia.

“Summer beckons us to remember. How it felt when our days stretched out in freedom–when a sense of wonder drew us outdoors and the world wasn’t something to keep up with but to create for ourselves… A few years might have passed but summer’s welcome return can be an invitation to retrace those well-worn paths.”

We’ve had lots of special moments so far this summer–both here and away, on new and well-worn paths. And we have more to come. I’m going to take a holiday from the blog for the next few weeks and focus on summer.

Here are some of the things that have been part of our summer so far.

I love fish tacos, and I finally made them at home. This recipe was tasty and easy.

This chocolate peanut butter pie was so good I made it twice this month. (Bonus it’s vegan and gluten free.)

I bought new bathing suits for the cottage (an upgrade from my 5-year-old suits). This one is my favourite. This was Ellie’s choice.

“I want to light the Olympic torch,” Ellie said as I tucked her into bed on Friday night. Watching the opening ceremonies with her was so much fun. My highlights were the light show on the Eiffel Tower, the torch run through the streets of Paris and Celine singing from the Tower.

I’m still deep in summer mode, but I’ve been saving some back to school tips from my favourite parenting account.

“Running had prepared me for this moment. It taught me to pay attention to goodness. It gave me the tools of resilience and gratitude, of awe and optimism. And even without running, these were with me. Views could still inspire me, gratitude would always fill me. The positive approach that contributed to my running was ready to strengthen any passion or pursuit.”

Let Your Mind Run by Deena Kastor

I hope that your summer is going well.

Anyone have some good summer recipes to share? What about good summer reads? Any other Olympic fans? What were your highlights from the games so far?

Hay 2024

Posted on by

4

Haying is an experience that is always special and fun for us, even after 13 years of harvests. This year, haying has been hard. We’ve had lots of rainy days (and some torrential days most recently). More than enough to make the grass grow like crazy, but not enough time in between for our farmers to cut, dry and bale.

Our farmer cut our first field at the start of June. They finally pulled the last hay wagon away at the end of the month. In between we watched them battle equipment, race the rain, bring on more help, and work very, very hard.

Ellie and I have measured the grass, speculated when it might be cut and then when it might be baled, assessed whether the hay is dry, sympathized with and appreciated our farmers, climbed on hay bales and then jumped off, watched the tractors, balers and wagons, been grateful for this land, and soaked up the experience.

What harvests have you been watching where you live? Anyone else having a wet summer?

Green and white girl’s room – Ellie’s room reveal

Posted on by

6

Ellie’s new room is officially done. It’s green, floral, fresh, vintage, thrifty, personal and her.

When I first came up with the plan to have Ellie move rooms, she was not enthused. But as we started planning her new room, she became more and more excited. Finally she was so excited she gave me a deadline. She wanted to sleep in her new room by Tuesday night (this was about a week earlier than I had planned). So I finished off most of the final touches and our girl moved in.

This was over a year ago.

The final, final touch was some bamboo valances to cover the blackout roller blinds. I finally installed these at the end of June, and her room is officially done.

I actually like that the reveal is a year after she moved in, because she’s added some of her own details to the space now–as she should. (And she’s added even more since these photos were taken, as over the weekend we hung a little cuckoo clock Matt’s Dad brought her from Switzerland.)

Ellie’s favourite colour at the start of the makeover was green, and she chose the paint chip she liked  (Calmness C35-3-0709-4 by BeautiTone from Home Hardware). It’s much brighter than I would have chosen, but it ended up working perfectly with the vintage bedspread I wanted to use. Of course, by the time she moved in she informed me her favourite colour was no longer green. It was purple. But she’s tolerated the green.

In Ellie’s old room, she had my childhood bed, which had cubbies with sliding panels in the headboard. She liked those secret hiding spots and requested the same style in her new bed. I had plans to build a headboard, but then I found a double size headboard with cubbies in a thrift store. I was amazed at my luck and that re-energized me to get moving on the makeover.

I added bead board to the headboard to match Ellie’s bookcase and then painted the whole thing white. I attached the headboard to an old metal bedframe that we had in the barn, and Ellie picked out some handles for the sliding panels. It all came together so well. The cubbies are full of “treasures.”

The bed is covered with a vintage chenille bedspread from my grandparent’s cottage. I love this bedspread so much. The colours are so vibrant and the contrast of the green and the pink is so pretty. Plus the fringe is super fun.

The bookcase and dresser moved from Ellie’s nursery and they work great here. The mirror I thrifted for this space when it was the guest room.

I also moved in her Ikea Strandmon wing chair. It is too large for the space and we don’t use it anymore for reading, but it’s been a comfort to Ellie to have the chair. As excited as she was for her new room, she was only up for so much change.

I kept the same dropcloth curtains that I sewed for this room back when it was the guest room, but I added blackout lining. Probably unnecessary since I also bought blackout blinds. We’ve never had to close the curtains. I like that they’re a neutral colour but not white. They add a little bit of contrast and also soften the bright green walls.

The bamboo valance is a technique I’ve used in all of our bedrooms so far. I even used the same blind, just chopping it up for each window. The delay in finishing Ellie’s room was that I didn’t have very much blind left. I had to reweave part of it to make sure it was long enough to cover the top of the window. This was a tedious job that took me awhile.

On top of Ellie’s dresser is a treasure that I’ve had in mind for her room always. My Mom’s flower girl lamp. My Mom’s grandparents had a furniture store, and she remembers going in when she was about Ellie’s age and being able to pick out whatever she wanted. She chose this lamp. The lamp was in my room for a little while when I was little. I love that it’s in Ellie’s room now.

Above the dresser are four photos of Ellie with Matt, me and her grandparents. I wanted her to see how much she is loved and have these important people present for her every day.

She’s added her calendar to the wall, coffee filter butterflies on the curtains, a sparkly glass ball in front of the window, suncatchers on the windows, lots of toys and treasures in the headboard cubbies and other places too.

It’s become a really fun, comfortable space that is unique to her.

I’d love to hear what your favourite detail is from the room. Do you have a favourite memory of your childhood bedroom?

Home Goals 2024 mid-year report

Posted on by

4

We are halfway through the year, and it’s time to check in on how I’m doing with this year’s home goals. At the start of the year, I said that I needed a reset, and I planned my projects with that in mind. As I review the list, I feel like I’m doing pretty good. I’ve made progress in most areas. It’s nice to feel like I’m more organized and getting through things.

I also feel like this update might be a bit premature as I have two reveal posts coming soon.

Read on to see how I’ve done so far.

Driveway

Woman on a small orange tractor dumping dirt alongside an asphalt driveway

Guess what? I can finally say that the garage and mudroom renovation (begun in 2021) is done. Yup. We have a paved driveway. All the details and photos coming soon.

Coop

A new wall being framed for the exterior of a barn

Slowly but surely the coop is moving forward. We’ve had a new foundation wall built and I’ve started framing the exterior wall. I’ve also been working on clearing some of the “yard” around the coop. This long-awaited project is happening.

Vegetable garden

The vegetable garden has been crossed off the list for 2024. I’m a bit disappointed, but I know it was the right decision. We are working off and on in the other gardens, and I’m seeing progress there which feels really good. And despite our neglect, we have had some good harvests. One and a half pounds of asparagus–our best ever–and raspberries, which are starting now.

Clean-up inside

Woman statue lamp and silver box sitting on a dresser in front of a framed photo and mirror

I made a few tweaks to my bedroom, added a craft shelf to Ellie’s soon-to-be playroom, cleaned out a few other spaces and finished off the final details for Ellie’s bedroom (another reveal that is coming soon). I still have a lot to work through, but we’ve made some progress and I can see the future.

Clean-up outside

Uhaul truck in front of a barn

I’ve chipped, I’ve mowed, I’ve pruned, trimmed, picked up rocks, tarped. Our new chipper has been a great addition. I’ve already started rebuilding brush piles, but they’re more contained, and I know I can clean them up again before they become gargantuan. I’ve run the rotary cutter over the septic bed and along the edge of the front field, and I’m confident I can continue to maintain these areas. I’ve “groomed” a few new sections of the property, and getting each of them cleaned up feels like a good accomplishment. I also had a milestone last week when the first big load of Matt’s stuff left the barn.

Personal goals

Earlier this year I also shared some personal goals. Here’s how I’m doing on them:

  • Walking: 290km (48km per month–ahead of my goal of 42km per month)
  • Monkey bars: I still do them every week and whenever Ellie and I visit a playground. I haven’t mastered a chin-up yet, but I’m working on it. I definitely feel that my grip strength has improved.
  • Reading: 19 books (not quite on track for my goal of 50 books this year)
  • 1,000 Hours Outside: 644 (in pretty good shape to hit our goal, I hope)
  • Family albums: I’ve completed 2020 and am hoping to finish 2021 as well. That would leave me with just 2022 to catch up on (and ’24, of course).
  • Rest: Still my hardest challenge. I’m more conscious of my need to rest and I feel like I’m doing a better job of listening to my body. Though I still need to go to bed earlier.

These personal goals are less about making big changes (aside from rest) and more about maintaining a balance for myself. They’re a good reminder of some of the other things that are important to me.

Overall, I feel like I’m making good progress, and that feels good. This mid-year review makes me proud of what we’ve accomplished so far and gives me motivation to keep going.

How have you been doing on your projects so far this year? Is anyone else doing a reset? What are your big goals for 2024 (home or otherwise)?

Canadian and conflicted

Posted on by

6

Today is Canada Day. Eleven years ago, I was so excited to be flying the Canadian flag at the farm on July 1. Over the years, my attitude has changed, and this year I feel even more conflicted.

The flag is about my identification as Canadian and my pride in my country. But this year, I feel less connected to Canada’s current direction and less pride.

Growing up, I was taught that Canada is a great place to live, a place of diversity and acceptance, a champion for human rights. Those things are true, but only to a certain extent.

Over the last several years, I have learned more about Canada’s struggles with inequality, intolerance and injustice. At our country’s worse, it devolves to discrimination and abuse.

The ongoing treatment of Indigenous peoples and the awful situations so many are living in do not reflect the Canada that I want to identify with. I recently read Garbs Chief Sheila North’s memoire. She wrote, “Our country and all Canadians have learned the same views from generation to generation, creating systemic and institutional racism everywhere.” Centuries of abuse have damaged generations of people, and the government shows little willingness to change its course.

The government’s response to Israel’s attacks on Palestinians does not demonstrate respect for human rights and equality. I identify as Canadian, yet I don’t recognize myself in my government’s stance. Palestinians and Jews deserve to live. They deserve to be safe in their homes.

I teach my child to respect others, be kind, not hurt people and not take what doesn’t belong to her. I also teach her that people are different, but that doesn’t change how we treat them.

Throughout the protests during Covid-19, I felt uncomfortable with the flag in front of our house. What if people thought we were one of “those” people? Those people who seemed so intolerant and who had co-opted the flag. I refused to take it down, but I let it get very tattered, perhaps a representation of my feelings at the time.

Paul Litt, a history professor at Carleton University, talked about some of my feelings. “Where there’s evidence that maybe Canada means something different than what you imagined it to be — an extension of yourself — that has great potential for dissonance.”

Canada is a place of goodness. But we have a long way ago to ensure that goodness is universal. It is up to each of us to be open, speak up, vote, learn, teach and listen.

North talked about the “Seven Teachings that many Indigenous people adhere to: Love, Respect, Courage, Honesty, Wisdom, Humility, Truth.” These are values that represent the Canada that I want to live in.

Odds & sods

Posted on by

0

Summer is underway here, and it’s been so much fun already. Ellie is finished school. We’ve had ice cream, a heatwave, water fights and a campout. We’ve gone swimming, strawberry picking and to the zoo. We’ve also done some work on the coop, mowed the grass and tackled the usual household chores. In all, it’s been just what we like–a good mix.

I wrote an article for our community newsletter about my summer philosophy. I’m going to share part of it here in the hopes that it encourages you to “do” summer.

“A few years ago, I made the decision to “do” summer. That meant saying yes to opportunities that came along, soaking up the great weather, being a bit flexible on the schedule, and spending time outside. Nothing was overly complicated or expensive, yet we had the best time.

How to “do” summer

Summer should be relaxing and fun, and our activities should help to achieve that. Eat meals outside instead of in the house. If a friend invites you to go swimming, say yes. Notice the animals, insects, birds, flowers that share our environment. Maybe have a campout in the backyard or stay at the park a bit later. Enjoy some farm fresh or homegrown food. Find simple moments to experience the fun of the season.”

As we begin summer, here are some of the things that I have my eye on.

The transformation of Bluestone Cottage has been incredible to watch. Daniel’s style is one of a kind.

I had a terrible crick in my neck last week. I’m hoping this pillow will help.

I love a furniture makeover. Repurposing a hutch into a gardening station is something I never considered, but I love the idea. And my Mom has the perfect hutch in her basement…

Can we improve our physical health by changing our mind?

Why women should get outside and embrace adventure.

“To save wild places and wildlife in Canada’s North, we must also save them in Canada’s south… Natural areas on our doorsteps remind us of our connection to those vast, untrodden wild places that lie beyond the horizon.”

Where The Falcon Flies by Adam Shoalts

We’re ending the month with our first summer getaway this week. I’m also anticipating at least two ice cream cones. I hope that you will consider “doing” summer, whatever that means for your family. Have fun and embrace the season.

How have you celebrated summer so far?

Firewood and a father

Posted on by

2

Firewood is Matt’s Dad’s thing. He heats their house with wood and has a huge, carefully constructed, diligently managed, well-sheltered woodpile. He also has all of the saws, axes, sledgehammers, wedges, and a wood splitter to prepare that firewood–and the experience to use them.

Man in coveralls and earmuffs cutting a tree with a chainsaw

When we ran out of firewood this spring, he immediately committed to restocking us. (He might have been a bit horrified.)

All of the firewood we have ever had at the farm has come from Matt’s Dad’s efforts (and ours). In fact, on our second day of owning the farm he cut his first tree here and one month into the farm we had our first woodpile. There have been lots and lots of trees and cutting and splitting and piling since then.

A few weeks ago, Matt’s Dad and I had a big firewood restocking day. I have always been the gopher when it comes to cutting wood. He saws. I carry, hold, split and stack. He’s offered at various points to teach me to chainsaw, but I haven’t taken him up on it. I finally did.

At first I was uncomfortable. I am very conscious of how dangerous chainsaws are. The saw was also super heavy and felt awkward for me. (Side note: He is much stronger than I realized.) But Matt’s Dad was patient and thorough, and he set me up and gave me the confidence to stick with it.

We started with three smaller trees that had died or blown down. Then he spotted a huge dead ash tree. As I kept cutting the smaller trees, stopping now and then to load the trailer, he went for the big one.

It ended up being a full day of cutting–for both of us. Three trailer loads and some very, very big pieces of wood. It was one of the best days I’ve ever had with Matt’s Dad.

Man with a wheelbarrow looking at a large fallen tree
Man and woman smiling while standing behind a pile of large logs

Last weekend, he came back and finished the job, splitting all of the big pieces while I stacked the logs in the woodpile. We are now fully restocked with enough firewood to last for probably two years.

Man splitting logs with a wood splitter in front of a pile of firewood
Man splitting a large log in half on a wood splitter
Stacked firewood

For Father’s Day, I want to celebrate Matt’s Dad. He does so much for us. Just like Dad’s are supposed to. He watches out for us, considers us, helps us, makes sure we have what we need, teaches us and spends time with us. I am very grateful to have him in our lives.

Trees from my Grandpa

Posted on by

2

Farm driveway lined with evergreen trees

I have always wanted a tree-lined driveway. Big maples arching over the lane making a tunnel of green.

Matt and I planted 6 trees along the driveway (5 maples and 1 linden) to try to make that happen.

At the bottom of the driveway, there are already some well-established trees. These ones were evergreens. Not what I envisioned, but they provide a great windbreak and snow break around the gate. However, there were some gaps. Whether trees were never planted there or the trees died, I don’t know.

Evergreen trees at the edge of a gravel driveway

This spring we unexpectedly had the opportunity to fill in some of the gaps.

It started when we were helping my Mom in her garden. There were two little saplings that had grown from cones from the neighbour’s trees. The neighbours used to be my grandparents and my grandfather planted the spruce trees that shed the cones.

My Mom didn’t want the saplings, so I dug them out and brought them home. They have happily taken root amongst the evergreens around the gate. I’m hoping they’ll fit right in once they grow up.

Small evergreen tree surrounded by woodchip mulch

On the other side of the driveway, we planted 4 more little evergreens. These ones are even smaller than my Grandpa’s trees. They had popped up on the barn ramp, so I decided to relocate them. It turned out they fit perfectly in the gaps on the opposite side–or will once they grow.

View across a field of tall green grass

Diana Beresford-Kroeger (please read anything by her) says that if everyone on earth plants 1 native tree per year for the next 6 years (48 billion trees), we can reverse the effects of climate change. I’m trying to plant more trees around our property as a small way to help.

Small evergreen tree seen from above surrounded by woodchip mulch

Even though the evergreens are not part of my vision for a tree-lined driveway, they are a practical choice to shelter the area around the gate. I also love that I have two trees from my Grandpa here at the farm now.

Have you planted any trees this spring? Is anyone else relocating trees from one home to another? Do you have any family heirloom plants?

Pick and choose

Posted on by

6

When it comes to work on the farm, I often use the phrases “pick and choose” and “cut my losses.” I can’t do everything. This is a reality of life, whether you have a farm or not.

When I picked the barn cleanout as my priority for this spring, I knew the timing would coincide with garden prep season. The result is that the gardens have had very little attention.

I managed to pretty much prune the raspberries (something I usually do in the fall). I weeded a little bit around the rhubarb, asparagus and raspberries. And when mowing season started I pushed the mower into the vegetable garden. I have also spent a bit of time in every flower garden, but haven’t made it completely through any of them.

It is time to pull out another phrase and cut my losses. So I’m crossing the vegetable garden off my list for this year. We had a beautiful asparagus harvest–our best yet. I’m hoping for good raspberry and grape harvests again. But that’s it. I’m not going to plant the garden this year.

I will mow as much as I can to avoid it being completely overrun. I will try to weed the raspberries every so often so that we can get to them to pick. But I don’t feel up to doing more right now.

This is where picking and choosing come in. I’ve picked my priority. I can’t choose everything. So in making my choice, I let other things go–cut my losses.

When I want to put my hands in the dirt and make some progress outside, I have plenty of flower gardens that can use the attention. And Matt’s Dad has stepped up and offered Ellie some space in his garden. She loves growing things, but she’s not into the work of a garden yet, so help from Matt’s Dad means a lot.

I’m a bit disappointed. Every year I hope that I will make some headway on the garden and get it to a point where it’s more manageable and productive. To miss another year pushes that goal farther out again. But a garden takes time, and this year I don’t have that time. So rather than keeping it on my list and letting it take up space in my brain, I’m crossing it off. As I do that, I’m also a bit relieved.

Someday we will have a beautiful, productive garden and the time to care for it. But not this year.

Are you doing a vegetable garden this year? How are your gardens growing so far? Is anyone else taking things off their to-do lists? Or perhaps adding something new?

Odds & sods

Posted on by

2

Working on my laptop in the barn

I feel like I’ve been going full speed ahead this month. My main focus has been the barn cleanout I mentioned last month (hence my office, above). It’s not been the most fun project. It’s a bunch of stuff Matt had that he enjoyed, but it’s not something I’m interested in.

There’s baggage because it’s Matt’s and he should still be enjoying this. There’s also baggage because it’s a tonne of stuff (and some it is a pretty big mess).

But one of Matt’s friends whom I’ve not heard from since Matt died and that I had no idea how to contact reached out to me just as I started to sort through things. He immediately offered to help, so while I’m counting and organizing, he’s cold calling and trying to find people who might be interested in this stuff.

I feel like Matt had some influence on his friend, so it’s nice to know he’s with me, doing as much as he can for us.

The cleanout has felt all consuming, but I am making progress. I’ve also had some time to get lumber for the coop, work with Matt’s Dad to continue to rebuild our firewood, celebrate Matt’s Dad’s birthday, chip up a whole tonne of brush, plant some trees with Ellie, join a community clean-up to pick litter out of ditches, do a bit of gardening, have a few work meetings, and do a bunch of other things. I won’t say there’s balance this month, but there’s productivity.

Here’s some other things I’ve been up to.

We had our best asparagus harvest yet! This tart and this pizza were excellent ways to enjoy it (Smitten Kitchen never lets me down).

I bought these nesting boxes for the coop (influenced by the Elliott Homestead)

Detach, discover, delight, determine–the steps of a digital detox (via Darren Whitehead on the 1,000 Hours Outside podcast)

50 things I hope you know (1,000 Hours Outside again)

“A book of relationships: with the animals, with the land, and with a calling” (quote via the book’s editor)

I’m considering buying a ceiling fan for our front hall to help regulate the temperature between upstairs and down, but I’m not sure how much of a difference it will make. Any advice?

I’m finishing off the month with… you guessed it… more time in the barn. I’m hoping to make some really good progress this week. I also have a special project for one of my clients, lunch with one of Matt’s Mom’s friends and Cigo’s annual vet check-up. I also really need to mow the grass. It’s getting hard to distinguish between our lawns and the hayfields.

Who else is going full speed ahead? Has anyone achieved “balance” this month? Any other asparagus fans out there? What was the highlight of May for you?