When Tommy goes down for the night, we get to have a couple hours with Emily all to ourselves. Last night we went through some craft magazines and made Christmas cards. It doesn't seem like the greatest photo, but it's times like these I'll want to remember.

Tommy's talents extend as far as making sniffing sounds with his wrinkled nose and walking at the same time.

Nothing's better than a yogurt tube right after school.

Mom, this pic is just for you, because I know you love those poofy lips as much as I do, grape yogurt and all!

Okay, another one just for my mom. There they are! All six of them!

At this point, Tommy's life mission couldn't be more simple: Touch the little plant while mommy says "no".

Just up from a long afternoon nap. Tommy loves hanging out by the window to see what the cats are up to, or if the sheep are grazing nearby. Or just to squeal and alert us that there are still a couple of balls sitting on the grass.

Thanks to Steve for capturing me in my happy place.

I was digging through some of the old pics already in my puter files and found this lovely one of my lovely one.

A day in the life...

Emily the Incredible, Tom the Fashion Victim, Ang the stay-at-home-mom-who-likes-it-that-way, Steve the Kaber Toss Champion, Fall Frolics, Pet Snails, A Harvest of Wild Mushrooms and Mouth-watering Tomatoes.

A Sunday at the log cabin. Lesa's and Jildaz's friends from Vancouver bought a property near Powell River at the same time we moved here. After 2 years of painstaking labour and trips back and forth from the city, they've finally settled into their gorgeous new home. This means we have some new pals that don't require a ferry or two to visit.

I hired this exotic beauty to help out around the house so I could watch soaps and check blogs all day.

Poor, poor mannequin...
They can take her body, dress it up in a $4 starting bid nightmare for eBay, they can even take her hands, but they will never take her soul. Even now she maintains a dignified and unsuspecting glance through the window pane. But if not in the eyes, in the hands we can see that somehow she knows her body is being used for wrongful purposes such as seen below...

This weekend Lesa and I will discuss all things pertaining to her wedding. My only hope is I can steer her away from the bridesmaid dress she's chosen. She's very stubborn so wish me luck.

The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe has filled mine and Emily's heads and hearts for the past 2 weeks. We had almost finished reading the book (thanks to our teachers/gov't for leaving us with nothing better to do, no seriously, thanks!) when Emily had her first sleepover party here with her best pal Cheyenne who brought along the movie! After a fun-filled day of crafts, litebrite, barbies, playing candyland, and a quiet but giggly coloring session at Robin's donuts, the girls were ready to kick back. Suddenly they had their pjs on and cleaned up a bit before sitting down to the junkfood feast they had prepared and displayed in front of the couch earlier in the day. Complete with doilies, hand-crafted decorations all over the walls and little roses everywhere, even in the food, the spread was gorgeous, funny, but gorgeous. Emily even made a cotton ball Aslan to sit proudly atop the tv. I snuggled up on the couch with them to watch the BBC version on screen. I was a little too cozy and fell asleep but was vigorously shaken just in time to see Aslan, or actually, to see Emily see Aslan. It's quite something to be able to tell your impressionable 6 year old that Aslan isn't a character based purely on someone's imagination. With all the stuff they dream up to entice kids into a fantasy world, finding something they can really believe in, that entices them on a far deeper level, is something I fantasize about. We weren't able to finish it that night but it didn't really matter. It is this version that we're waiting for. (I know my expectations are set waaaay too high but if Disney disappoints, I'm suing.)

Many times I am overwhelmed by the sheer goodness of God when I look at these faces.

What a rush

Slinky Malinki

I've really needed this old friend of mine to work her magic in my soul this last while. And she couldn't have picked a better time to sail my way. Lesa is the most intuitive woman I will ever know. Our friendship has been a sort of emotional romance from the beginning. I've retrieved a few of our favorite songs that we loved and memorized before we were even teenagers to embellish a wee blog about my best friend.

She cooks, she cleans, she launders, she ponders, she crafts, she laughs, she is a friend like no other, 'cept maybe your mother, she brings many skills, she pays her own bills, she sees right through ya, just like she knew ya...

Although I was relieved when it worked out for Steve to go to Manitoba last weekend, I imagine it would have been pretty lonesome had Lesa not made the crazy journey out again (second weekend in a row!). Thank you for the hysterics as well as for the tears, and for all the simple moments in between.
The old house by the sea, and its' occupants, await yours and Jildaz's return in 2 weeks!
(All thanks to Jer for getting the song clips on here)