Thanks For The New Roofs Dad & Hon

Our biggest project this past summer was our house & garage roof...phew what a job that was.

But it feels so good to get it done because we were having some water problems last Spring and

we are so grateful to my Dad who worked tirelessly with my honey in the blaring sun, rain & cold. 

My Dad & honey work super well together so that's awesome & there were some pretty epic skies.

I hauled shingles to the trailer but I did do some shingle stripping on the garage (during a migraine!) and I am glad I did because it really really made me appreciate how much work it all was, yikes.

Beautiful and Awful

Spring, you were beautiful and awful.
Summer you were beautiful and awful!

Fall you've been beautiful and awful too...
Winter I hope your kinder because your coming very soon and I honestly can't wait you!

 My sore heart and sore body are craving some cozy hibernation time with my family,
time that I hope will heal some of our bumps and bruises (before more hit!!).
I hope it's going to do the same for you if your needed it too, all my fellow tender hearted ones
XOXO

Ice Side Dreaming & Scheming

Well beside loosing our heart Frenwyck, besides lots of head pain to contend with and all of the usual tribulations that life likes to throw at us randomly, it was over all a pretty good winter season I think.

 

We've been venturing out for lots of walks on the lake, licking our wounds,

trying to let go & breathe out the bad, as we watch the snow & ice rapidly melt around us.

 

 

We've been eating lunches in the Jeep by the icy lakeside..making bets on which ice shack

is going to be left to sink into the lake or whether or not we'll see a truck go through the ice!

 

 

We've been talking endlessly about summer....planning, dreaming and scheming for the new season.

Are you too already making plans?



38

I am glad that I am 'getting it'...

That growing a year older isn't a bad thing at all...It's a gift.

A birthday marks a year full of knowledge gained,

which can indeed make our journey through life easier.

It's a year of experiences had and learnt from.  I've always been big on learning.

It's 365 days of hardship & happiness, because let's admit it, life is hard

but hopefully it's always more of the latter, if your very lucky and smart with your perspective!

 

 

So today I turn another year older.

I am 38 years smart!

It's been a hard year in some ways but more so a really wonderful year...

I've been very lucky and blessed.

I've learnt to not be afraid of happiness but to grasp it and hold on for dear life, ha ha.

I've learnt to sing my own tune a little bit more clearly & not quite so shyly

and I can't wait to see what beauty and experiences unfold for me during my next 365.

Sleepy Bunnies & Falling Leaves & Barbie

It's a quiet day today...

perfect for a sweet hot tea, cozy napping bunnies & diving under a warm blanket
to start in on a new book called 'Homeward Bound' by Emily Matchar
whilst bright yellow leaves fall like rain outside of the studio windows.
I think there might just be time to squeeze in a Barbie movie too as we draw later on this afternoon...

 

 

Yep, that's right, I am 36 years old, child-free-by-choice and I unashamedly admit to
loving the Barbie movies and in fact this Friday night I plan to watch some Tinkerbell too.
That's right, bring on the super cute, the uber sweet, the girly and the sparkly...
especially on such a cold & rainy week, AH....yes...ha ha.

Sharing A Muddled Day...You Don't Mind Do You?

You know by now that here on this blog of mine,  I tend to keep to the joyful & cheerful.

You get yucky days.  I get yucky days.

But I always figure that if I am lucky enough to have you visit me here, I want to offer you

positive things like inspiration, joy, colour, whimsy, purity & sweetness...

if only but to momentarily take you away from your present muckiness.

I try not to complain or vent, it's not why I invite you here.

But, I am having one of those days where things are feeling muddled & messy.

One of those days where everything I touch screws up.

(Like my printer...I want to mercilessly murder it right now or at least kick it down the stairs!)

The smallest everyday studio task suddenly today feels like climbing a mountain with bad shoes on!

I am feeling stressed all the sudden when yesterday I was feeling blissful & balanced.

I know it's for all kinds of reasons,

poor sleep, headaches & allergies are contributing no doubt but really it's nothing in particular at all.

It's just one of those days...one of those days that every one gets.

Chaos of house renos is getting under my skin too.

I try not to dwell because I know how lucky we are to be doing house reno's at all.

To be making our sweet little home even lovelier is gratifying & great...I know this...I do.

 

Yet, dust covers everything.  Everything that I just cleaned!

One big thing leads to 10 small things before you can get back to getting that one big thing done!

With house reno's things always have to get worse before they get better, I know this too.
(it doesn't help that my upper studio is all messed up right now due to a big window installation we undertook last week! We can't decide on something, other things pulled us away, so it to sits undone).

It's just one of those days where my energy just isn't matching up with all that needs to get done.

I just wanna nap!

and truthfully my head is just abit too sore to be the 100% that I wanna be today!

But in writing all this, I realize, I am not complaining or venting or bitching, I am sharing & that's ok.

Because what's the point of blogs if we're not sharing from our authentic selves right!?

Maybe knowing that I am stuck in muckiness too will help you outta yours?  who knows!

And in writing this, it's focused me enough to realize that I need to stop.

I need to stop & go to the water.  Because being near water always soothes me.

How do I forget that though!  How on earth does that happen!

I am in the middle of messiness and dust, yes...but I'd really rather be nowhere else.

So, I am stopping...just for abit.

I am going to pop some codeine, grab a bottle of water & I am going to go sit by the water.

It'll help balance me & help me to steep in the gratitude that I should more easily be soaking up.

 

What do you do to get yourselves out of muddled times?

 



Fullness

Ahhhhhh....

 

(Happy Heart Sighs Enter Here)

 

 

My arms are luckily hardly ever empty...

My heart is so so very very full...

I am feeling gratitude for it all extra much this week.

Hope you are too.

A Firm Belief & New Hair

What do you think of my new hair cut?

I gotta say it's my most favorite yet...and now it's also bright red....yay!

I am not usually one to spend much money on my hair

I'd usually rather be buying pencil crayons!

but lately I feel the need to splurge on myself, so every 6 months I've been treating myself

to a salon visit, to cruelty-free dye jobs & to the wonderful head massages they offer.

 

I am a firm believer in being kind to oneself...

life is hard, people can be very mean...so you must be kind and nice to yourself.

Don't you think?

 

 

So when I feel the push and pull and nagging sensations of stress and muckiness,

I will often go out and treat myself to something, it doesn't have to be big,

for me it's sometimes a new eyeliner, or a pretty new bra, or nice new undies,

or a pricey super big coffee from Starbucks (cause we finally got one here in town!).

Sometimes it's an hour of rummaging through Value Village for new blouses ...

Sometimes a new yoga dvd or a new plant for the house.

 

Whatever it is, big or small, whatever makes you feel better,

whatever picks your spirits up, DO IT!

and don't feel bad about it.

Treat yourself.

Be good to yourself

cause we're worth it and much much more.



Smile, the Hard Part is Over

Ahhhh...it's good to be back.

I don't think a 'real' blogger can ever stay away from their blog space for too long, ha ha.

Whenever I am away, my brain is making blogging notes and

I think constant "oh gotta tell everyone about this and that..." ha ha!

 

Anyhow...

I came upon this sign after climbing a steep set of hills,

you know the kind that makes you breathless, feel old, outta shape

and question what the hell your on this hill for, ha ha!

and

I loved it...

I thought 'ah why can't life give us more signs like this'....

just kind little reminders that we're over the hurdles...

that we're re-entering some calm space...

that we're tough nuts and can handle a lot all at once

& that all is well!

 

It's felt like a rough past few month to be honest.

I mean life is always tricky, there's always some kind of hurdle or another, daily most likely.

This isn't me complaining...it's just me sighing a big breathe of release and relief!

It's me recognizing that I've had a rough go.

Sometimes it's extra hard when you know you have some healing & mending to do but

you just don't have the energy or space or time to do so...things start feeling even more muddled.

 

 

Jinny getting super sick than dying and passing away in my arms

(was, as always so hard on us, body & soul).

I've been telling myself 'DO BETTER'...

when one of the rabbits is sick, just be better, deal with it better!

SO, I tried to keep my business up and in her final week, I had a big magazine article due &

well, it felt very tricky for me to navigate that with a dying animal at the exact same time.

Than on top of sore hearts, we worried over Jaks, he missed his girl, he was lonely,

his eating dropped, his poops got really small (which is not a good sign in bunnies).

Than I had a solo exhibition I was preparing for...which is easy for some but never for me.

Headaches have been in high gear, the new meds that I thought were helping seemed

to stop working and the insistent pain has just been leaving me feeling very depleted...

and even somewhat weary for spring & summer...seasons that typically take a lot of energy!

Than we had 3 new bunnies to settle in...which we are still doing...they are still very new.

Emmett doesn't feel like he's settling...

he wants a buddy but none of our little monsters are accepting him yet which has been well...rotten!

 

But today is feeling better.

Taxes are done and my April newsletter was sent out on time...(it's the little things after all, ha ha!).

I've been invited to showcase my portfolio with a very impressive (& intimidating)

collection of artists online, so that's being set up right now.

I was delightfully surprised with a phone call from CBC this morning wanting to interview me and get the dish on my show, yay (thanks again so much Jenifer, it was lovely chatting with you).

I've reconnected with some souls that were and are very dear to me so that's feeling good.

I am SO excited and happy with the work I am putting forth right now.

 

So yes...things are feeling better...

and the jazz is on & I have rabbits surrounding me & an afternoon for art ahead of me,

so it's a good good day.

 

How are you doing???

 

36

I am turning 36 today!

Holy Smokes!

I don't feel 36.

I like to think I don't look 36, ha ha!

But ya know, this was the first birthday where I was feeling this nagging feeling like

'Ugh, I don't want to turn a year older', let's ignore it...maybe it'll go away, ha ha ha!

 

I wouldn't want to go back to my 20's.

I've loved my 30's

but now I am past the mid-point on the way to the 40's and that's feeling stressful!

 

Stressful I think because I've just been feeling really behind on things!

When we're younger we set these huge and long do-to lists for ourselves.

We not only have to live up to our self-appointed life plans

but we naively set a time schedule to them too...

and I just think that's where the stress can start to creep in!

When you remember your plans and realize that your a decade or so behind...

it's a scary and a huge YIKES moment!!!

 

It's all like this heavy piece of luggage we tote around with us

but very rarely open up to see if what's inside is still needed, still wanted or still valid!!!

 

So I need to open up my luggage...

take a really good long inside, gently toss out what's not needed & fold in the new stuff that is!

To do so is to continue on my path to be super kind to myself.

To let go of some stress...

to smartly live in the present & to continue to grow into who I want to be.

To continue working hard for the future plans I need now...not the future planned so very long ago!

 

 

Cause ya know I've learnt this so far in my 35 years...

 

Plans need room to change & grow in order to be fulfilled.

Our needs change with life and that's more than normal & right...it means we're growing.

Sometimes beautiful sacrifices must be made in order to pursue a dream...and that's okay too.

And, we must NOT compare our journey to anyone else's because we all walk our own unique path.
BUT, we shouldn't be afraid to check in with ourselves often

because new dreams might be sitting there unrealized

and those new dreams may totally outshine & outweigh old dreams.

 

 I also started thinking about all of the loved ones no longer on this earth...

the souls who weren't lucky enough to see their 20's or 30's or 40's etc

and I am filled with this hugely warming and immense sense of gratitude & luck that I am here.

I am here to learn & live & grow and indeed turn a year older.

It's a blessing, plain & simple.

And those who know me well, know that I love celebrating my birthday, ha ha.

I want to celebrate it, I want to dance, I want to laugh

and yes, I want oodles of presents to open, ha ha ha.

 

So come on year 36.

Bring on all of your ABUNDANCE & LUCK

& GOODNESS & Sweetness &

LOVE LOVE LOVE & of course LEARNING!

I am ready.

Friday Today

Today...

Today was full of time helping a sweet bun hop around...

and some time for a couple of baths and blow dry sessions as well to clean a wet little bum.

It was gentle time taken to soothe the bunny after she got stuck underneath a shelf!

(that was a new one! but something we always have to look out for now...Ella getting stuck!)

It was time in the sunlight with rabbits napping all around me and with a great book...

& time nursing a slightly sore head after spending all night last night with a really super sore one!

It was watching Ella Luna get all excited when she saw Jonathan pull in the driveway...

and Jonathan in turn smiling huge and happy to see his girlie's in the window waiting for him.

It was a day where I was delighted and surprised when my honey came home with

our favourite bread, my favourite Kefir milk and not one but

THREE bouquets of beautiful flowers for me to spread throughout our cozy home.

It was a day with delicious homemade pad thai for dinner...

a documentary on the Titanic and really great green tea I got my acupuncturist.

A day where taxes were finished up, lots of laundry was done &
the next Bijou's Whimsy newsletter made.

It was time spent on sorting vintage buttons & getting excited about future projects for them...

and it was time spent on a watercolour featuring a rabbit with a basket...

It was pretty much a spectacular day...

How was your day???

What filled your time with beauty & abundance?

XO Mandy