We had a full and wonderful weekend. It was great, I’m exhausted. I need a good night’s sleep…followed by a nap. But it would be a good nap, a wake-with-a-smile-on-your-face nap.

We’ve had farm fresh breakfast;

baby’s first food, sobbing that baby is growing up;

exciting news for us, exciting news for friends (more on that later);

plans, idea, questions, more plans, brain blanks;

late night (and slightly incoherent) girl-time;

popcorn and smoothies for dinner; no thoughts of cooking while our thoughts are busy elsewhere;

a girl’s first, and much anticipated, magic lesson;

a van full of organic goodness thanks to our newly discovered local food co-op (hooray!)

(yep, those are bags of oats and flour for a family of eight);

and my favourite pantry refill – 2.5kgs of organic, fair-trade cocoa…brownies to follow.

Welcome to a new week, friends! Hope yours is full of light and joy. 

We started out with snow. It soon melted although we saw flakes come and go all weekend.

We ventured to the zoo, despite Dan’s deep wish to avoid the zoo on weekends and holidays. It was lovely. The threatening snow scared off the crowds, there was added Easter fun, and newly hatched butterflies. We came home with happy children and Easter eggs.

Dinner was made early in the day and waited in the oven while we took in the zoo sights. A kitchen cleaned spic and span by hubby before we left the house. Friends for dinner. Friends who are family. A surprise and very welcome addition at the table (in the shape of friend, not food). Peach pie from freezer to oven, dripping with the promise of summer.

A day of spring cleaning, from top to (almost) bottom, all hands on deck. The reward of a favourite dinner out egged us on. The impromptu park visit was a nice bonus.

A baby growing so fast. Too fast. Attacking crawling and tongue rolling with great zeal.

Late night knitting, adding beaks and wings, dreaming, and entertained.

Easter morning, sunny skies, blessings in abundance, joyful celebrations. An easter egg hunt, playing with friends, stolen moments with a book, tackling the leftover cleaning jobs, three girls/one hairbrush. Local ham, scalloped potatoes, and steamed broccoli, cooked by the man and shared with my aunt who joined our table. A plate passed over the fence to a neighbour.

And, maybe, more peach pie.

Peaceful, beautiful, perfect, blessed.

So good. So full.

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joining Amanda for weekending

Wishing you all beautiful beginning to your week!

This weekend was a lot of good things.

It was homemade pizza, hot and gooey;

roasted chicken and simmering stock;

a skiff of snow, sledding over nearly bare ground, a quick melt, and muddy everything;

friends for laughs, and tears for friends;

a huge mess of chili and cornbread to share;

siblings sharing and siblings bickering;

the power of good music to stir up a soul;

a big bowl of coleslaw and a bowl of brownies and ice cream;

aches for name calling and fair-weather friends, bullies and growing pains – and trying our best to comfort these little ones with big emotions;

remembering stories of love, teaching stories of love;

sorting through a slew of treasures searching for just the right finishing touches (and a friend who can enjoy a jar of buttons as much as I can);

the Amazing Backward-Crawling, Circle Spinning, Smiley-Faced Baby paired with the mind-numbing excitement of tax preparation;

and a fresh start for a new week.

Isn’t it incredible the wonders a weekend can hold?

How was yours?

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joining the lovely Amanda for weekending

It’s been a week full of red and white hearts. Baking – everyday and extra special. Sharing love, receiving love…and sometimes forgetting. Laughter, tears, and exhaustion. Thankfulness for health and sticky fingers. Blessings from friends and prayers for friends.

We’re looking forward to a very busy weekend (by our low-key standards anyways). It’s a long weekend for us here with Family Day on Monday, and I’ve filled it fun plans. Dan always laughs at me when I complain that we haven’t seen anyone for a while because I promptly follow that up by booking us like crazy with visits to and from friends. We’re looking forward to catching up with some lovely people this weekend. And visits from friends always requires fresh baking, right? So I figure it’s an excuse for more cupcakes (I’m weak for the suckers), another batch of sticky buns, and perhaps some experimenting.

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Happy Weekend! How’s yours shaping up?

The weather does not quite feel like January – although I’m quite certain will be seeing those temperatures again. Despite the illusion of spring in the air, it was indeed the last weekend of January.

My weekend began with an escape for a most welcome massage from a most skilled friend. A family visit to the science centre and pizza back at home. There was a new book to read, a lunch date with a beautiful mama-to-be, dress up time, soup that tasted good and felt good too, the end of this series snuggled on the couch with hubby, and only one casualty. Warm (to us) weather, penguins in the snow, and spring coats with ski gloves outdoors. While indoors I baked up a storm, danced with florence, smiled at a girl, and did lots of washing up.

And at the end of it all, three new recipes you’ll get to see here soon and a treat you may have seen before, the next instalment, and knitting needles in hand.

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How was your weekend? Hope you’re enjoying a bright start to the new week. Wish you could stop by for a slice of pie and a steaming cup of tea!