Spring..oh Sprrrriiiinnnggggg - where aarrrrrrrrrrreeeee you?

I'm going to have lots of blog about in the next few months! I'm really trying to focus and find some "me time" and have it be crafty. I noticed that I haven't picked up a single project since I was sick in February, due to a month of developing, branding, creating and working and I'm really missing doing some work by hand. First project on hand is Avari's birthday quilt. The fabric is sitting across the border as we speak and I'll have only a few months to get it done. Good thing I work best under pressure...

I'm just itching to get back outside and garden. It's coming along slowwwwly. Last year we ripped up the grass in the backyard and have been living in the middle of a dirt pit. I can't wait to see the garden come alive.

April is also the start of Super Budget 2009. We realized that we really want to be able to go places and explore somewhere other than beautiful Powell River, so we're getting focused on frugalness. The garden comes in to that because I'd love to be able to grow and trade produce. We only have a very modest space to grow so I've been researching about succession and companion planting and let's hope that I have more success than last year!

Spring is here. Ahhhhhhhh.....

I love it when spring arrives! Today felt like the real first glimpse. Warm enough to work outside without a jacket, crocuses blooming, buds forming on the lilac tree.... Spring is love!!!!

Today we spent the morning outside cleaning out the vegetable garden plot and adding the compost that has been growings since last spring. It is mighty beautiful! I put the radish seedlings out in Avari's garden to grow and once I get a trellis built this weekend, the first round of peas will be set out as well.

This year it's wonderful to have a little helper in the garden! Avari was more than happy to help me rake up leaves and move the worms from the garden we were tilling to her little plot. This is a photo of her last year. It's a goal of mine this week to try and recreate this exact photo since I still have the same dress!



Avari and I went out to the park for our annual "beginning of spring park frolic". Well it's only the second annual, but it made me think of this photo from last year, which was taken at the same time.


It would appear as if I'm a little bit nostalgic tonight!

The perfect growing solution for small spaces

I decided to pop in to Springtime Nursery today, just to see the beginning of spring. I was curious about getting some pots to grow carrots and potatoes, since we didn't have much luck in our soil last year.

It turns out that they have developed something called Paper Pots. http://paperpots.com/ - I really recommend picking some up, or ordering! Wow! They look easy to set up and grow inside. I bought a set of 3 for $8 and I can't wait to get it started when it's time to plant carrots!

I also picked out 5 primrose plants, to put along the garden border, just to add some colour. Beautiful!

Reinventing the blog. Again...

With spring quickly approaching, I'd really like to make an effort to get going again with the blog and help to document some of the fun things I'm doing with Avari.

Well, today we started with seed planting! I have no idea if it's the right time to do it, but the seeds arrived from Saltspring Seed Company (who have a huge online catalog and super fast shipping). Avari and I trekked out to Canadian Tire and bought some seed trays. Last year it was a bit of a messy disaster for planting in the house, so I wanted an easy way to sprout the seeds.


I bought 2 trays, one specific for tomatos that holds 36 plants and another for general seedlings that holds 72 plants and of course, we had to find a little watering can for Avari, because that's the best part of the whole project!


My packet of goodies.... Mixed climbing peas, cherry tomatoes, tomatoes, radishes, eggplant, peppers, lettuce and more. I started all of the packages that said to start indoors 8-10 weeks before putting outside, which would bring us to the end of april.... that's good timing I hope!


Avari trying to open up the packets


Time to hydrate the discs!




It takes a little while for the discs to hydrate so.....


obviously it's time to turn on the Christmas CD, pull out the Santa hat and be silly! (Anyone else still listening to Christmas music???)


Avari planting the mixed peas. Most of the other seeds were too small for her to handle, so she was having fun with the peas



Done! I need to get them closer to the front window, so I'll set up a few chairs tomorrow!

Where did that 6 weeks go?

Holy moly! I just finished up with 6 straight weekends of work and it by like nobody's business. I kept intending to update the blog because I had a heck of a lot to blog about, but most of the week was spent in recovery mode. I've also been on a giant book binge this past month, which has been wonderful!

So, what to share about? Avari has been signed up for her first dance class and I'm pretty excited. Being an alumni of 10 years of ballet, it's fun to imagine her following along. I'd much prefer her to be in a more lyrical emotional kind of dance, but that can be hard to find in a small town. So we have her teeny little ballet shoes, and leotard and they are hanging rather impatiently in the closet while we wait for September 8th to come around.

If you're interested to see what I have been up to this past couple of months visit http://mckinnonphoto.squarespace.com - chances are I've been present for the majority of those wedding photos!

I'm going to be talking a lot about preschool education in the next few weeks with the fall season upon us, as well as Nature Deficit Disorder, Waldorf education, getting ready for Christmas and a whole list more- I hope that you're ready!

So sorry

I know it's been over a week - but what a week it has been! I worked the 26th in Courtenay, went to vancouver the 28th/29th, and then worked August 1,2,3rd (Mt. Washington, Campbell River and Savary Island).

Needless to say, I'm exhausted and have to recover quickly before we start painting the house. Tomorrow morning.

Healthy Eating

That's me! I've been on a slide the last 6 weeks and my body has been paying for it. I've had a really hard time getting out of bed, feeling sluggish, and yucky. So, Karen and I made a pact for Health Week.

It started Tuesday, and so I'm on day 3. For some reason, today I feel pretty yucky, but I know it's my body getting rid of all of the built up toxins. I need to look up a good detox tea to make to help it all along.

So I'm doing no wheat, no dairy, no sugar (except for martini night in Vancouver next Monday...)

I'm excited because I've been wanting to get back on the health train and I really want to make it stick this time. I'm even trying to get away from eating as much meat as we do. It's not really necessary to eat it every night!

Poor Avari has had a few rough weeks, and I'm not entirely sure it's not because of my bad eating habits this past month - It's silly because I don't let her eat unhealthy food, and she gets almost no wheat except for playgroup crackers, so why do I think it's OK to pass all of the crud to her?

Healthy Week is upon us!!!

Here's a recipe to try.

1/2 cup of millet
1/4 cup buckwheat groats
1/4 cup quinoa
some fresh grated ginger
squeeze of lemon

Put all of the grain in 3 cups of water. Let it boil until the water has been absorbed and the grains are soft. Add the ginger and lemon (and some honey if you'd like) and enjoy! It's a great breakfast starter with piece of fruit, chock full of natural complete amino acids

Yum! So much better then old porriage