Tuesday, August 16, 2016

Where've You Beeeen???!!!

Something my dear old dad would exclaim when he was made to wait for someone for more than a minute past the set deadline ... "Where've you been?!"  And that's what I hear in my head when I see how long I have been away from blogging. I wonder if anyone even remembers I was here.

All I can say is that summer got in the way ... and four busy daycare kids ... and one of my own who left home (temporarily) ... and my daughter ... and my dad ... and vacations ... well, basically all of that is encompassed in the busy-ness of summertime. Needless to say I'm exhausted every evening, and once I've had a refreshing swim and then supper, I'm ready to chill and read or watch movies before bed.

All summer I've been wanting to share things with my blogging friends, and although I tried a couple of draft posts, nothing got published. I've been on vacation last week and this, and have finally, finally, been able to catch my breath this morning (as it rains!) and chat with my old friends :)

First, I wanted to share some of the crafts I've made with the daycare kids. Nothing too mind boggling, but thankfully, I have kids that just love crafts! From Pinterest I found this simple and fun project of weaving. We made the looms from cardboard, and the older kids set to work weaving various yarns and beads. I think they turned out really well, and it was a good two afternoons of quiet entertainment ;)


The "God's Eyes" are a favourite as well, and the inexpensive variegated cotton yarns work these up quickly.



While down at the beach, we picked up a bunch of boring brown Canada geese feathers. I had an idea in mind ... why not brighten up these dull brown feathers!


With a bit of acrylic paint, we created these pretty feathers ...


I think the geese would be happy to have one or two of these back in their wings, don't you?


We also did some "faux sun prints" which I have written about before.


I forgot to take a photo of the finished products, but you can see how this craft turns out (together with a tutorial) here.

We also made some garden flags with the kids' handprints ...


I have a tutorial here if you're interested.

We've also been working on some improvements in the house this summer. We finally bought some new interior doors to replace our ugly cheapo slab doors that I've hated since we moved here, um, 20 years ago! They look great, and although we have so far installed just the doors in our main hallway, the change is remarkable. I'll share some photos of that soon. Right now there is a huge mess in our house as we tackle another room ... my son's bedroom. His room has not been changed since we painted it after he left his crib. He is a collector of things, and all of this stuff has now been emptied from his room and fills our living room and hallway ... ugh!




This summer my son has been living away from home in the far north working at Algonquin Park! While he's away we decided to paint his room and change it up a bit as a surprise. He did tell us that he wants his room painted in the colours of a Maclaren 675LT ...


... so grey walls with bright orange accents. We picked up the grey yesterday. It was no mean feat trying to choose a good grey! Orange is the "in" colour these days, so we've been finding a few bright orange details here and there. There is some structural change that my husband needs to do before the painting begins. 


On one wall is this handy small closet (above) that my son has used as different things through his life in this room. The cupboard extends a couple of feet to the left and right of the opening. It was originally my sewing cupboard until he was born (it used to have a door covering it). Then it was a play space where he and his friends could climb into and read or play games. We've even used it as an extra sleeping space for overnight guests (small ones!). Then it became his entertainment centre with a TV and gaming equipment. Now we're ripping back the walls on either side of the doorway and fitting in some shelving units to make it more accessible and tidy. We have an electrician coming in today to wire in a new outlet at the back of this space to accommodate all his electronic things. After that we can get to the painting ... can't wait!

And in the spirit of catching up with all my news, my daughter graduated from her four-year university course from Trent University in June. We all attended her convocation, which was held outdoors in the freezing cold weather. It was a wonderful ceremony though, very light-hearted and entertaining, and she looked radiant. We're so very proud of her!


My daughter and her good friend & roommate who also graduated this year (but on a different day).
This is overlooking a portion of the university campus which is situated on two sides of a large river.
The four of us in front of my daughter's first-year residence
We've had a couple of good camping trips this summer ... just returned from ten days in Algonquin Park two days ago. As I mentioned, my son is up there working this summer and enjoying every minute of it! We were able to see him a few times, and he took us on a tour of the lake where he is living and working. It was so nice to see him doing something that he loves for the entire summer. I'm glad he made a break from hanging out with his unadventuresome friends here in town. I'll write about our time in the park in a separate post as this one is becoming a bit long! It's nice to be able to share some things with all of you again ... I've missed you all, but I will be able to get back into a regular routine of blogging again once things settle down again in the fall (but hopefully before!). Rainy day here today ... a bit grim, but gosh we sure needed this rain, it's been a scorching hot and dry summer!

Here's a little sneak peek of our vacation last week ...





Thanks so much for stopping by!

Wendy








26 comments:

  1. It was so nice to hear from you and thanks for the update on everything. Congrats on your daughter! The crafts are wonderful!! Hope you enjoy the rest of the summer.
    Julie

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  2. I would love you to me Mother Daycare for my younger children! Time sometimes passes so quickly that entire months can go by without it being noticed :-) Congratulations to your daughter. x

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  3. It's nice to see you back, gosh you have been busy. Love the feathers they look fab! Congratulations to your daughter isn't it wonderful watching them graduate x

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  4. Wonderful to catch up with you my dear! Congratulations to your dear daughter on her graduation, the pictures are wonderful, especially the family group, you all look so wonderful and happy, especially you - very glam outfit! I love the crafts you have been doing with the children too. Hope your son likes his newly painted bedroom and that you get everything back in to his room soon and can continue with your door renovation project. Enjoy the rest of your break and the rest of the summer!! xx

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  5. It has been a jam packed summer for most I think . Wonderful crafts you and kiddos have been doing , I do like the fancy feathers . Lovely photos and post . Glad you have been having a good summer to . Congrats to your daughter . Thanks for sharing , Have a good week !

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  6. Hi Wendy, I missed reading your wonderfully written posts. Congratulations to your daughter on her graduation. Have a lovely rest of the week; Gaia

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  7. I've missed you! Welcome back and many congrats to your daughter. You've certainly been busy - and so have your little people, I just love that weaving - so I hope your holiday was relaxing and restorative. I look forward to seeing more. x

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  8. Big congrats to your daughter!
    Every time I've wondered about your blog silence, I've pictured you paddling around lovely lakes and islands. Looks like I was right at least part of the time ;)

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  9. I remembered you were here. Sounds like a busy summer!

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  10. Sweet Wendy, what a joy to see your post...I have been wondering how you were doing :) It sounds like you have been enjoying the summer and I must say that I'm looking forward to seeing photos of your vacation :)

    Congratulations to your daughter - what a joy and sweet accomplishment! The picture of the four of you is precious.

    Have a beautiful week, dear one. Hugs!

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  11. I wondered about you! I hoped there was nothing wrong. So I'm really glad to hear that you have had a great, busy summer. I look forward to hearing about your camping trip! xx

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  12. Hello, I am glad all is well. You sound very busy and I am happy you were able to have some fun times too. The crafts and feathers look beautiful. You have a lovely daughter and a great family shot at the graduation. I have heard wondeerful things about the Algonquin park, I can see why your son would love working there. Lovely series of photos. Happy Wednesday, enjoy your day!

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  13. We missed you last Saturday, Wendy! Glad to see that your summer is going well! Congrats to your daughter for the completion of her degree. One down, one more to go...

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  14. I knew you would be out in the woods and fresh air somewhere. Sad to read about the fires at Algonquin, I worry about the displaced wildlife.
    Most of us have not been on our computers a lot over summer, I've been averaging 2 books a week and now that it is a bit cooler perhaps some gardening.

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  15. You have had a busy summer! Congratulations on your daughter's graduation. What a wonderful way to spend a summer, working at a park. Glad to see you back, and oh my, is that a moose I spied?

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  16. Love all your daycare crafts, especially the painted feathers. I think lots of bloggers have been taking a break this summer. Good to see a post from you again.

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  17. Hi Wendy,
    So good to see you here! You were missed and even though I subscribe to your posts, I did wander over here from time to time just to see if you sneaked in a post.
    What a wonderful photo of your family, everyone is handsome & pretty! Congrats to your daughter, I know how proud you must be!
    Happy Hugs to see you here again:)
    Jemma

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  18. Lovely to see you back and catch up with all your news Wendy. I know I've said it before but the kids that come to you for day care are so lucky. What a lovely start to their lives!

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  19. Hi Wendy, so glad that you are back and that it is because you have been having a fun and busy summer. Love all the children's artwork - lots of talent there! Such clever ideas - the feathers are beautiful, and so are the weavings and flags. Your son's room is going to be wonderful and such a nice thing to do for him while he is away. Congratulations to your lovely daughter on her graduation! It takes such discipline and dedication when going to school - good for her. Love the proud family photo :) Fun to see the 'slices' of your vacation. xx Karen

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  20. Wendy, you've gotten a lot done! Can't wait to see the new doors. I'm sure they make a huge difference. We just had one awful door in our house, but it took us just as long to get around to replacing it with a door with some character.

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  21. Wendy, you've gotten a lot done! Can't wait to see the new doors. I'm sure they make a huge difference. We just had one awful door in our house, but it took us just as long to get around to replacing it with a door with some character.

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  22. Wendy, you've gotten a lot done! Can't wait to see the new doors. I'm sure they make a huge difference. We just had one awful door in our house, but it took us just as long to get around to replacing it with a door with some character.

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  23. Hi Sweetie!! Love catching up with you again and nice to have you back. ;) Sounds like a wonderful and very full summer!!

    Your crafts - as always - are adorable and so clever. And your kiddos are so good looking and sounds like they're turning into wonderful young adults. You must be one proud Mom. ;)

    And love the home projects you're up to and can't wait to see the finished results!!

    Have a wonderful weekend and blessings to you Wendy. xoxo

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  24. Congratulations to your daughter Wendy she's a very pretty girl. You have been busy no wonder you had no time to blog, it's lovely to catch up with all your news. Have a great weekend. :) xx

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  25. Congratulations to your daughter! Looks like you had fun crafting with the kids. The feathers are very pretty. Welcome back!!

    -Soma

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  26. Good morning, wow you all have had a very busy summer-Love love all the art and crafts-especially the weaving and feathers. Congrats to your daughter and sounds like your son found an excellent summer job-good for him. we have had an extremely hot and humid summer here as well but we have also had much more rain than normal so everything is growing out of control-feels like a rain forest enviroment instead of the woods lol glad to see ya back Hugs Kathy

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Thanks so much for leaving a comment, it's nice to know when you've stopped by! :)

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