Make and Listen Along: Hanging Photos Version

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

Alright. A day late here but well, life...

There has been plenty of making going on with the wizard of the house making up wizardly things (Thank you grandma for getting her started!), the Lego designer going full steam ahead and other projects here and there. The kitchen has still been somewhat busy with making goodness from this book and a few things from this book. But some of the biggest news around here is that we are finally moved in.
The photos are up!

Last weekend, after a whirlwind trip to Maine, we came home to do some work and "spring cleaning" of sorts on Sunday. Kinda funny to think about spring cleaning a house we have only been living in for a few months, but things like dusting photo frames and lamp shades were not my top priority when packing them up. (Okay, dusting is never my top priority, but especially when moving!)

After they were cleaned up, using a toothbrush to get between those really great little pieces of bamboo, they were hung up.

Now to get the photos updated!

The listening around here has been really quiet. Mostly listening for new bird sounds and finally identifying that really haunting sound coming from the forest, as the raven. And it was being dive-bombed by a crow as it flew overhead. (An exciting observation round these parts.)

Oh, and one more thing. I made an instagram account for Mud Puddles to Meteors where I am posting daily nature photos. I am still figuring it all out, and wondering about this cross posting with FB, twitter, and such, but so far having fun with it. If you are on instagram and want to follow along my account is: mudtometeors.

Your turn.

Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!

Make & Listen Along: Sick Days Version

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

On Monday the he kiddos came down with the sickies for the first time in over a year. Thankfully, they did not have all they could have and I was met with managing only a set of fevers, soar throats, head aches, and running noses - as if that is not enough. (But of course it could have been worse, much worse.) I relied on my regular remedies and, now with the apothecary of EO's at my disposal, I used all kinds of essential oils to help out too. They are both recovering nicely (the little man has the nose faucet still going) but they are doing pretty well. Now knocking wood, crossing fingers, all other such measures so I don't get sick!

The week is a bit of a blurr but we did manage to make some sunrise bread (we made it GF) from Heather's 30 Day Vegan class. It was really super yummy and is on our make again list for today to take down to Maine for the weekend. Her new spring class starts on May 12th if you are interetested. We are by no means vegan but I learned a lot because Heather is just so knowledgable about food and wellbeing in general. (And now I must admit that when I went over to grab the link above I got lost on Heather's blog again... just so much goodness over there.)

The listening was pretty quiet overall. The kids did watch/listen to a Woodsmaster DVD at some point (they check them out from the library here). Always lots to learn about survival from the Woodsmaster.
And they listened to my very best voices when reading aloud the Bone series... all nine books, plus Rose, and now we are on to the Bone Handbook. Whew!

And the above photos have nothing to do with anything in this post other than the fact that I helped my camera make them while getting some fresh air in the rain. (I just love pussy willows and I am beyond happy they are here in our new yard! Yay!)

Your turn.

Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!

Make & Listen Along: Essential Oils Apothecary

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

The sewing machine and knitting needles have still been sitting idle, but I have been making some new spaces. 

For my birthday, at the end of March, my in-laws got me an apothecary cabinet for my ever growing collection of essential oils. We have been using essential oils for some time now and I am officially sold on their value in promoting health in our home. 

With this in mind I was musing about a cabinet to hold all of my oils and other things I use with the oils. My in-laws are always antiquing down in Maine and began a search for a cabinet. Of course, I had no idea this search was going on and was greatly surprised, and thoroughly delighted, to see the wonderful little cabinet filled with the most awesome little drawers show up on my birthday. As it turns out, they came up empty in their hunt around Maine but found one in Wisconsin and had it shipped in time for my birthday. Such an awesome and most perfect gift!

I have been fiddling with the best way to use the drawers and have hit upon a happy medium of placing our most used oils on top for easy access and a system that organizes oils in the drawers according to those blends used most with certain family members (each member of the family with their very own drawer) and a general extra supply drawer. 

There are also drawers filled with my oil reference cards and recipes, bandaids, and terra cotta pendants for diffusing oils around our home or in the car. 

I am super excited to have this great little cabinet sitting in just the perfect spot (centrally located for all to access) and filled with all the things we need to use the essential oils as part of our daily routines. 

To finish it off I placed the wonderful collection of succulents brought over by my dear friend Tamara. They look so fresh and vibrant sitting there. 

A great little space made in this still very new-to-us home!

We have been doing more baking and the kids have been doing lots of their own brand of making, all the while listening to our usual music selections. The Hobbit is still making for a nice nightly listen. (But there is only about an hour left so we are going to need to find a new audiobook soon!)

Your turn.
Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!

Make & Listen

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

This week the making in the kitchen started to take shape again, in earnest. After stocking the pantry with the needed flours and such, baked goods actually make it to the table after a long hiatus. 

The Allergen-Free Bakers Handbook came through again with the Morning Glory Muffins. They were yummy and packed full of good stuff like shredded carrots and apples. 

 The twigs on the table are doing what twigs to when they are brought into the heat of the home - they are bursting with leaves. The birch is the most beautiful and bright of them all, but we have been making sure to keep tabs on them all, even the very slow moving alder.

Wes has enjoyed having them on the kitchen table along with the rest of us.
Of the birch he said it is thinking, "Yay! It's spring! ... and now I'm dead!"
All in the name of science and a sneak peek at the spring to come.

I am still making lots of photos as well. Between ice storms, and the never-ending winter, there is much to see and photograph out there. With fresh snow falling almost daily we are certainly getting our bit of winter in this year, no matter what the calendar says.

We are still listening to The Hobit. It is long and takes even longer in short little doses, but is still being thoroughly enjoyed.

Your turn.
Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!

Make & Listen Along

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

The sewing machine has been sitting idle on the desk, the embroidery floss still nestled in its sweet little box, and while the knitting needles have come out to play later at night, the rest sits waiting for the right time to put needle to fabric and make new things for this house... and a few other things dancing around in this brain of mine.

I had every intention of coming to this space to share a few things this week but alas, life!

This week I have been...

making lots of tracks in the snow, as I follow little people on their explorations...

making a whole lot of photos of things big and small, as we rediscover this place we have grown to love...

making progress on the book, as Annie and I are both finally getting settled in to new adventures...

making lots of time to visit with friends, that we have been away from for much too long...

And so much more...

That knitting I spoke of...
It has been coming out as I snuggle in bed next to the little man listening to The Hobbit. We are chipping away at it a little each night before bed and enjoying every bit of knitting and listening along.

Your turn.
Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!

Make & Listen Along

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

While there have been lots of lists being made of things I want, and things I want to make, for this little house of ours, I have been mostly just making up house lately. Making it livable, practical, and well, ours.

There are a few spaces that are quickly becoming favorites in this home, and the kitchen is fast becoming one of them. It is amazing and really fun to cook in, eat in, and just generally live in.

The other morning, while waiting for breakfast to cook up on the stovetop, I took a few shots to give a little photo tour of the backdoor entry & kitchen:

We need some hooks in here for hanging up jackets and things but the little shelves have worked awesome for shoes. The washer and dryer are hiding in that cabinet on the left there... perfect for muddy things to head right into the wash!

I love the light that comes in from the big window and the view of the bay is wonderful (the same view we see from the big window in the living room).

The little planter is waiting for paper whites that never got planted (soon) and a twig study of trees in the yard has already begun.

Hello from my new kitchen! 

I have never had stainless steel appliances or a glass stovetop like this one. Any tips for cleaning are most welcome!

As for the listening...

The little man and I have been listening to The Hobbit before bed each night. He is loving it!

I downloaded it for the road trip but sister did not want to listen. After she heard us listening in his room each night she got hooked and pulled the book from the shelf to read ahead. She finished it in two days! (Yes, the girl who claimed she just could not read a chapter book that big!) Now she is ready for Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. Finally!

Your turn.
Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!

Make & Listen Along

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

The boxes have officially come out of the garage and are being filled. I am finding it quite amusing that I can find boxes pre-labeled from the last move (a whole year ago) to go with each room! I do have to make a manifest for this move; each box must be numbered and the contents listed. That is slowing things down a bit, but I am not complaining much because it is the only hoop we have to jump through this time around. (Being permanent Canadian residents is making the process much easier.)

I have been making some serious decisions about what to keep and what goes. Mason jars have reproduced like bunnies around here but with garden dreams, and the canning that goes with a bountiful garden, dancing in my head I can't let them go!

Our collection of scissors and punches was also a bit out-of-hand so I shipped some of those off to a sweet friend and kept just a few for us. 

Speaking of shipping things...
I have started boxes for friends filled with things I think they would like. Things I can bare to just send off to the thrift shop. Those will be mailed out today! It is great fun to share!

Then there is the matter of art supplies. What stays? What goes? What stays out for the next week? What comes with us on the trip? I am telling you... pressing issues! 

I have been checking lots of things off my lists but more seem to be added... those little boxes in my organizer seem to be reproducing like rabbits too!

The one week countdown is on. We leave here a week from tomorrow! Eek!

We have been listening to the usual tunes and lots of Olympic Games coverage latley. The games have been a nice distraction... and I just love the Olympics!

Your turn.
Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!

Make & Listen: Making big changes

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

Many of you know, but many of you don't. So hear goes... We have made a major change of plans. We are heading east instead of west with this move. It is a huge change but as happy as we were about going "home" to California, we are even more sure and happy about our decision to head back to Nova Scotia, truly our new home.

When we were in the middle of this decision making process I was literally sick with worry about making the right choice. It is no little thing to make a life altering decision that pretty much seals the deal for ever going back to your native home. 

Each place offered the sea (which I miss so much it hurts) and friends and family nearby. Each place offered it's own types of opportunities, very different opportunities, but non-the-less there and real and wonderful. 

 

A few things came up that made us seriously rethink our plan to head west. These things were big things that made us pause and take a collective deep breath and really consider what we wanted for the future. A good long time was spent making a list of pros and cons. NS came out on top in the pros department, and not just on top but heads, elbows, knees, and toes (while doing handstand) above Cali for the pros. 

The really interesting part of that list were the things that made it onto the cons side of the list. There were about the same amount of cons for each location, but the cons in Cali were those solid, carved in rock, unchangeable kinds of cons. The cons in NS where those things that fall under attitude, and frame of mind. In other words, things we actually have control over. 

Add a few very emotional conversations into the mix and a very heartfelt decision was made to truly make a new home back in our old adopted home.

So we are still preparing to pack. We are still leaving New Mexico at the end of February. We are just making the long, long, trek across the continent (in the middle of winter) again, to go home to Nova Scotia.

(The photos above were all mined from my five years of Nova Scotia photo files.)

Make and Listen Along

 Make & Listen Along

~ On Thursdays I will post what I have been making and listening to as creations grow. 

If so inclined post, on your blog or flickr, about what you have been making (on your own or with little hands by your side) and listening to while you create. It can be new music, flash backs, a song or a whole album... whatever you like. You can be stitching with needle & thread, yarn, paper crafting, painting, cooking... and beyond. Share what you are making and the tunes that are fueling your creativity. Then come back to my Thursday Make & Listen Along post and leave a link in the comments so we can be inspired right along with you! ~

First, I want to thank you all for bearing with me and my mesa photos. I will totally admit to an addiction over here and well, I have no idea what my next view is going to hold so I am kinda soaking it up while I have it!

But, I am not just making pictures of sunrise, sunset, and everything in between out there...

I have been making lots of lists. Oh, the lists involved with moving; they seem to be never ending.

I am super happy that I stumbled upon a great conversation on Twitter sharing the Bullet Journal concept.

I ordered a new moleskin and set it up ASAP. I followed the tutorial linked above and brought in a few of the ideas I liked from Michelle's journal. I can't tell you how much I love using this to organize my days. 

I was not so sure about an index at first but it is awesome. This is where the page numbers of lists and months are noted. I did not realize just how handy it would be to not only have all of my lists in one place but have an index for finding which page they were on. I am a big maker of lists and love having the index to help me keep track of them.

I also really like the way Michelle laid out the monthly calendar page. I am using this page to not only record things that are coming up (like a trip to the dentist) but also things that we have done. I covered up some private things with sun and clouds in the photo below but you get the idea.

The open space at the bottom is used to keep track of goals for the month but since this is a moving month most of those things have their very own lists right now.

There are also weekly pages for the days of the week and weekly goals. These are by far the busiest pages in the book. 

I keep my trusty micron pen attached to the outside of the journal. (I have a big crush on micron pens!)

In the back pocket I am keeping this beautiful book of sticker from Geninne, for when I want to add a little color and pretty nature to a page. I also keep a few thank you notes that I can whip out on the fly so I don't forget... I need to stay on top of those thank you notes! 

I am very happy about this system and expect a long future with my bullet journal. 

In other news...

We made some Valentine inspired nature hearts. You can read all about them over here.

I have also been, very slowly, knitting a few rows here and there on my dish cloths. 

The listening has been surprisingly quiet around here. Pentatonix and The Lumineers show up every so often, but quiet seems to be the order of the day in the middle of the growing chaos of moving.

Your turn.
Please share what you have been making and the tunes on your playlist. And don't forget to leave a link to your post if you played along so others can visit your Make and Listen posts. 

I have been trying to get around to visit your posts each week (sometimes it takes me a few days) and they are wonderful! Thanks, to all of you who are joining in and linking up!