We're in!

We made it into our house, just before the throngs arrived and the Solstice party started. Things are still rather sparse, as most boxes are still unpacked but we'll be able to settle in slowly and spend the holidays together in our "new" home. I am so very glad. We even managed to get a tree today, and Ari loves last years thrift store candle tree (so many to blow out at the end of dinner!) He is adapting pretty well and we are trying to keep things as mellow as possible with all that there is to do. I think he's pretty happy with the new space.
And Sammy is done! I still have some last minute crafting for other gifts, but this one is done. He has not made his arrival yet though, I am waiting for a time when things feel a little less hectic so that Ari can really get to know him.

Here is the detail on his clothes- that bird trim makes me happy.
And here he is snuggled (squished might be a better word) into a wooden doll cradle my mom found at a garage sale last summer. And the fuzzy acrylic blanket? That was my doll blanket as a girl. Makes me all sentimental.
There was a lovely solstice gathering at the farm last night. A potluck and candle lit walk through the woods that the kids just loved. The moon was out and the night was warm. Most of the pictures I took looked like this:There was also a sun pinata that Ari took a swing at and managed to bump lightly a few times before the big kids got to breaking it open. He filled his pockets with coloured feathers and jingle bells, completely bypassing the candy (I don't expect that to last forever!) He woke up this morning saying "kieeds!" (kids) and "party!" and we assured him that there was going to be plenty of festivities to be had in the days to come.

Merry Merry!

makin' stuff

I managed to unearth a few things from the heaps and piles in the craft corner to take some pictures. I made a zillion felt stars and a few little pears for the tree I still hope we'll get. Making these was therapeutic, I could imagine them on a little tree in our finished home and I would feel less scattered and antsy. There is also something very exciting to me about starting our own family traditions, and small as these are, they are something that will likely be hauled out by little hands for years to come, and that thought makes me smile. Ari is already breaking them in.I had made a bunch of these before I got the purl newsletter with a tutorial on making felt stars. Theirs are lovely, and the instructions helped me figure out how to sew the loops on properly, but just for the record, I made mine first!
And this is the last sleeve of a little sweater I am knitting for Sammy-the-solstice-doll. Sammy has a full head of hair now and some half finished clothing, and he is still just hanging out patiently with his arms outstretched, hidden under the piles of other projects, just waiting to snuggle his boy. I started this sweater ages ago, and just pulled it out again. It feels like a frivolous sort of project. I've been telling my husband that it is a a way to learn how to make a real human sized sweater. Which it is. But it is also fun just on its own.

And there is also some fun projects emerging from this bag of wooden goodness. I found that my local hardware store carries tons of wooden forms for cheap- trees and dolls and snowmen and beads and doll pins and eggs and fruit. I was giddy picking them all out and I think the fellow at the counter thought I was a little wacky. He also likely would have preferred that my toddler had not been throwing the beads around the store shouting "Ball! BALL!" before I could catch him.

And there is still lots of tromping in the snow going on around here. The weather has been beautiful and just right for playing. Cold enough not to get soupy, but not so cold that your nose hairs freeze. Just right.

a floor sander, a sleepy baby, and me.

Here are my feet on the smoothest, loveliest floors north of Vancouver. Also pictured is my dear friend the floor sander for whom I have developed a strong affection. I really couldn't have done it without her hard work and dedication.

I do not have a picture of the other things that have been going on around here, because after the big push to get the floors sanded and varathaned, (not totally done yet) I started going a little crazy. I have been in serious denial about how much work there still is to do and how quickly the time has gone. I actually counted how many days we have left before this house we are staying in fills up with guests and relatives (not our own,) and I started panicking. I have been managing to keep it together with being out-of-home all these months, but something about the idea of not having a home during the holidays makes me want to sit down and cry. And with Perry working full time, there isn't much I can do during the day towards getting the project done. Construction zones just aren't good places for toddlers. So I started crafting. What else is a girl to do?

I don't have any pictures of projects just yet, they are all in a big heap in the corner of the room we are living in, and I keep forgetting to take out the camera. I will. That is something else I can do while I twiddle my thumbs waiting for Perry to get home so we can get some work done.

I do have a photo of my adorable boy sleeping, however. This nap (when was it? I can't remember, it's all a blur,) was an exceptional one, he just fell asleep while reading books to himself. This never happens. Never ever ever. This terrific, wonderful baby of mine is not wonderfully terrific at sleep. It is not his strongest trait shall we say. So a nap in a pile of books is most certainly photo worthy.

And I am still holding out hope of being in our house before the the holidays. I envision our beds set up in the bedrooms, a christmas tree with a few decorations (I've been sewing those, we've never actually had a tree before) and not much else, but creating a special little family space for ourselves. If we really work really really hard...maybe...

how to keep warm in winter

:: Ari and mama colouring collaboration::

It's funny that as soon as I posted about the joys of getting outside with my little guy, the temperature dropped so low we couldn't get out at all. We've had frostbite warnings for several days and the wind was so cold that when we stepped outside for a moment, Ari just gasped for air, so inside we've been staying. This big house we are staying in is hard to keep warm in this kind of weather, and so we didn't stray far from the wood stoves and spent lots of time snuggling under blankets. :: snow on the back deck:

Today we were able to get out for a short walk before we got too cold. The wind has died down and now it is clear and beautiful, but still hovering around minus 25, which is pretty cold for a baby (pretty cold for me too!) Our pipes froze when the temperature dropped and the dishes were piled high and we were itchin' for baths. We managed to sort our the heater and heat tape in the crawlspace and some of the taps thawed, but we were still without hot water in the kitchen side yesterday morning. I checked it before putting Ari down for a nap, and it was still frozen, and I ended up falling asleep with Ari, which is a rare occurrence. When we woke up and I brought him downstairs I found that I had left the hot water tap on and it had thawed out nicely, but apparently the drains had frozen in the meantime. The kitchen was a lake.

Our phone had died earlier that day so I couldn't call for help and Ari was desperately asking for the potty (warm running water will do it every time!) The drawers by the sink had been left open and both the cutlery and dish towels drawers were spilling over. After swearing profusely and standing in the middle of it all wondering what on earth to do, I started mopping. I found a dry spot for Ari and the potty and later stuck him in his highchair with cookies (helpful things those cookies!) and rung out the dish towels a thousand times, emptying the bucket in the laundry room. I managed to get the water mopped up and the dishtowels in the wash and the baby out of the highchair before collapsing on the couch with a drink. I almost never drink, but this seemed like the right occasion. The drains have since thawed, and after another crawlspace expedition, the saggy drainpipes which were the cause of the problem were fixed, so there will be no more drains freezing. And now the dishes are done and we've had baths and done laundry. All good ways to keep warm in winter.