A Quick Peek

Hi friends:) How is everyone? We are well and having a nice visit with my dad, who drove here last weekend from Ontario. We've made the crazy decision to drive back with him, stay for a visit with family and fly back in two weeks time. Rowan and I will miss Bri like crazy, but as far as I can tell, now is the time to make this kind of trip. I'll do my best to make record of the trip here. For now I just wanted to leave you with some pictures from my last week and a half.

I was in Homesense looking around for random items and these rabbits caught my eye. I have absolutely no use for them, but they reminded me of Watership Down, an old favourite book/movie of mine. The following two photos are of pieces I'd love to incorporate into my eventual Japanese-like garden.

These grey tree vases were so nice and could fit in just about anywhere in my house, yet I hesitated to purchase. I'm in the middle of purging useless household items and just couldn't bring myself to add more stuff till I've got the place better sorted.

My sweet boy and wonderful husband took me out for a lovely Mamas Day dinner with some friends. I should have taken a shot of my delicious meal - Sockeye salmon with salsa verde on a bed of veg (potatoes, asparagus, beets)... and a scrumptious cab sauv. So good! Instead I have a pic of my delicious boy. Yum!!

Wish us luck on our road trip. I'll check in again soon.

Take care, talk to you again soon:)

Spring Showers Bring...

Hello friends, happy early Spring days!

We've had a very mild winter and the cherry blossoms have been in bloom for weeks now, but it seems that the Spring rebirth, renewal and reorganizing bug has really took hold in the last week. Friends, family and neighbours are working on home and garden projects and I'm excited to join the movement.

We got a lot of work done around the home last year... well, my husband did. Bri built a great deck extending from the dining area through the back yard; he also installed a new tub and vanity in the upstairs bathroom and tiled the bathroom surround and floor (with in floor heating). He did an amazing job. I was too preggo to help Bri much, so I took on decorating the baby's room. While I did manage to paint Rowan's room (wearing a mask of course), the bathroom reno happened later in the fall so we decided not to paint as we couldn't really air the fumes out of the house due to weather. In fact, Bri and the electrician were working on the floor while I was well into labour - I tried to have most of those contractions in the downstairs bathroom to keep from freaking the electrician out! Anyway, my point is we have bits and pieces to finish on those projects (a hand railing on the deck; paint and decoration in the bathroom) which I'm really looking forward to. I completely forgot to take before and after pics of these projects, but I will still post pics of them when they are finally complete.

Another very exciting prospect is the transformation I am hoping to bring about in the front and back yards. I may be biting off more than I can chew, considering I will have Rowan by my side, but I really want to bring some aesthetic order to these spaces this Spring and Summer. I've been thinking a lot about Japanese gardens. The clean, simple and flowing concepts are inspiring... as are the cherry blossoms everywhere right now. I would like to incorporate the use of pebbles, rocks, shade loving greenery, pathways and slight ornamentation. I will definitely take before and after pics and share them here... should these projects actually happen.

I've located a few sites you might want to check out if you're interested in creating a Japanese garden:

http://www.hgtv.ca/gardening/articledetails.aspx?ContentId=796&cat=2&by=

http://www.aboutjapanesegardens.org/index.htm

... and if you're interested in visiting a highly regarded Japanese garden in the Vancouver area:

http://www.nitobe.org/

The picture above was taken by my brother Leslie Norman, on his most recent trip to Japan. Isn't it just beautiful?

Take care and enjoy the inspiration of Spring!

Talk again soon:)