kissing the sun

                                                                   life:
                             it's more fun
                             if you just
                             let the wind
                             carry you
                                  -unknown (pinterest)

there are sooooo many kites kissing the sun this weekend.

victoria's international kite festival is one of our favourites to check out....

yesterday, we made it to clover point just a little after lunch time,

to check out all the fun and festivities.

we spent almost two hours walking the beach, soaking in the fresh air
and gorgeous scenery and eventually made it

all the way to the ice cream stand at mile zero.

today, once everyone is awake and fed, 

i'm pushing the repeat button !!!

happy sundaying everyone...

erica

xoxo

two wheeling

only a biker 

knows

 why a dog

sticks his head

out the car window

                      - unknown

victoria's bike to work week is almost over (only today and tomorrow left)

and i'm happy to say most of our household have pedaled our way around town all week.

due to the nature of his work, poor ian couldn't participate.

 

it helps that i still have the chariot  to pull all my groceries in,

and that everything we need is in cycling or walking proximity.
(soccer season is well over - so no late evening drop-offs and pick-ups- yippeee)

unfortunately, i have to drive a short distance (to step class) this morning....
but will be back on two wheels by this afternoon
(and maybe the rest of the summer?!?)

wishing you all a wonderful weekend...
erica
xoxo

moment;:new boots

a moment
a friday ritual, a single photo , 
no words, capturing a moment from the week
a simple, special, extraordinary moment
i want to pause, savour and 

remember.

erica

xoxo

inspired by soulemama

journeying...

                            to learn 

                            how to ask for 

                            what we need,

                            only to practice 

                            accepting 

                            what we're given.

                            this is our journey 

                            on earth.

               - mark nepo

i've always been good at accepting what is....

'it is what it is, accept it and move on'  was always my strong card in life.

but i've always needed help in the asking department...

maybe it was because i was one of six children and never learned 

to use my voice separate from the crowd,

or maybe i just didn't know what i needed (then and even now)

most likely, it was because i was always resourceful...
i mostly knew how to get what i needed with very little help??

i just sat through a non-violent communications workshop based on

marshall rosenberg's work on communicating needs.

boy-oh-boy....i still have a lot to learn!!!

i'm still growing and learning...and it's all too exciting!!

erica

xoxo

thrifted threads: oversized and comfy

welcome to 'what i wore' wednesday

today, i link up with lindsey for some fashion fun....

my next door neighbour's blue hydrangeas have started blooming!

aren't they spectacular?

i love all the different shades of blues in them...

and how mother nature frames them with lush green.

i found this thrifted top in the plus size rack of the thrift shop.

i instantly fell in love with all the blues and greens in it

i love how oversized it is on me...

it can almost be worn as a dress, but i think it pairs well with my favourite shorts.

don't you just love loose and comfy clothing?

i was never one for corsetted fashion- so i've always been in the lookout for tunics.

lately, the weather has just been hovering around perfect (18celsius)...

and this tunic is proving just right for the season.

ian has brand new boots that he needs to break in for an upcoming big hike.

so after supper yesterday, 

we hiked up mt. tolmie (actually just a hill) to test them out.

happy hump day everyone!!!

erica

xoxo

fun stuff 05/26/15

my teal scrap blanket is growing quick (well...quick for me, that is)

to date, this is probably my eighth blanket 

(i will have to do inventory...and get back to you) 

i am enjoying the process of knitting together combinations of scrap yarn so much,

that i don't know if i'll ever be able to stop 

and actually start a 'real' project ?!?!

this week, i've picked up and started reading lisa genova's inside the o'briens.
genova is the neuroscientist who wrote about alzheimer's in still alice
this time she weaves the tragedy and horror of huntington's disease into fiction.
i love it when doctors (particularly specialists) can write and tell stories - and genova is great at it!!  she brings awareness to an illness that i would guess not many would know about.
i knew nothing about huntington's disease before reading this novel - so this an educational read for me (and i can't put it down!!!)
i am only half way through...will tell you more next week.

i also picked up and am browsing through marie kondo's the life-changing magic of tidying up.
my home defintely needs tidying up....but so far, i think this book will appeal more to those aspiring extreme minimalism (which i definitely am not)
kondo proposes a category-by category system (as oppose to a room-by-room system) of eliminating clutter.  
can you imagine taking ALL the paper throughout your ENTIRE house and placing them on the living room floor then sorting through them?   
however, i (a resident for nineteen years in a house with no closets) wholeheartedly agree with her strategy of eliminating storage systems.  

  

what are you knitting? reading?

care to share?

erica

xoxo

joining frontier dreams and small things

after swiftsure...

we had a beautiful weekend...so very relaxing.

and i'm sure it was because we prepared and cleaned our home 

for weekend company on friday afternoon...(i even did some windows !)

ian's family came for brunch and the kiddos had some friends drop by 

to hang-out and test run a new video game.

uncluttered, organized and vacuumed... and it remained like that

 long enough for me to thoroughly enjoy it.  

we really must have company over more often.

now, hello monday!!!

with renewed energy and a fresh perspective, 

i'm saying hello to the brand new week and all the gifts it has to offer

hello coastal walks...the swiftsure international yacht races are over, and our coast is clear once again !!!  there are several beaches not too far from our house - and lately, i've been drawn to them.

hello sugar detox...i'm into my fourth day of eliminating sugar from my meals and snacks and i'm feeling great.  goodbye chocolate almonds, hello bosc pears, blueberries, plums and all of mother nature's lower glycemic sweets.

hello clothesline...you will be busy drying all my duvets and covers this sunny week (the weatherman better be right!!!)

hello bubbles...i was visiting a friend last week and she and her daughter pulled out some giant wands and we proceeded to make the most glorious bubbles.  you never grow too old for bubbles...and i'm getting me some !!!

hello shoe shopping...we are slowly preparing for a summer trip that will need really comfortable walking shoes (there are so much to choose from...the trick is finding ones that teens will agree to wear)

hello making time to breath and collect my thoughts...with the ending of school and coming of exams my teens are feeling anxious lately.  by breathing deeply and being extra mindful, i'm hopefully teaching them, by example, some healthy coping mechanisms.

hello everyone... i'm almost at the bottom of this mug of coffee, then i'm ready.

erica

xoxo

joining karen and lisa

look me in the iris...

the soul 

becomes dyed

with the colour 

of its thoughts...

                -marcus aurelius

harlow was needing a good walk...

and i was craving for some colour therapy

so we headed to government house

one of our favourite public gardens,

to check on the beared ones.

it was like walking into a box of crayons,

the extra large 120 crayola size!!!

lately, we've been visiting this garden at least twice a week

to monitor the ever-increasing colour display.

 the irises are definitely peaking right now...

and the variations were endless

if you are ever in victoria,

this is one place you must visit.

there are seventeen different gardens in total

and admission is free.

if no one is answering the door at our home

this is one place you will find me !!!

erica

xoxo

clap along...

because i'm happy...

clap along

if you feel

like 

a 

room

without a roof !!!!
clap along 
if you feel
like
happiness 
is the truth !!!

                 - pharrell williams

(don't you just feel like dancing and clapping 
whenever this song comes on?)

with such beautiful weather

it is hard to keep anyone inside.

as you can see,

my two have not yet outgrown their box of chalks.

for years now, our street has been designated a cycling route through the city.
it's great because we get to wave to hundreds of cylists everyday (many are friends).

oh...and my kids have officially taken on the duties 

of chalk-art greeters for our block.

wishing you all wonderful weekend !!

erica

xoxo

moment 5/22/15

a moment
a friday ritual, a single photo, 
no words, capturing a moment from the week
a simple, special, extraordinary moment
i want to pause, savour and 

remember.

erica

xoxo

inspired by soulemama

whiffing briar

now and again (more often lately),
the one thing i ache for, 
that is so uncharacteristic of the landlubber me,
is the whiff of briar by the ocean.

here in victoria,
the land of butchart and other gardens,
there are blooms everywhere - almost year round.

but the scent of the wild briar 
is probably the sweetest i've ever encountered
especially if inhaled oceanside.
the combination is intoxicating...happiness guaranteed !!!

we are extremely lucky on this lower part of vancouver island,
there are no industries to pollute our air.
once in a while, if the wind is wrong, 
one gets an alarming sniff of a very distant pulp mill.
but with the demise of forestry, this is becoming rare.

so i have learned 

to inhale 

deeply...

erica

xoxo

thrifted threads: crochet love

we spent a lot of the weekend exploring the west coast of the island
i love all the little botanical gardens and tidal pools that are filled with marine life.
check out these beautiful sea anemones...

oh and yes... this is a 'what i wore wednesday' post

i'm linking up with lindsey and the ladies for some fashion fun.

the temperature has warmed up quite a bit around here

but i am always ready whenever that ocean breeze picks up.

i found this thrifted long-sleeved crocheted top last summer

and it has been perfect for the beach.

as you can see, i've moved into my favourite shorts ...

oh, and the crochet necessitates a tank top !!!

i have fallen in love with all things crocheted

lucky me, i've found several pieces at my favourite thrift shop.

one day...i will surprise you with one off of my own needles

(but i wouldn't hold your breath...hehe)

yup...life by the coast has been good.

anemones and crocheted sweaters ...such lovely treasures!!!

wishing you all a lovely wednesday

erica

xoxo

fun stuff 05/19/15

knitting

i am going to call this my teal blanket 

since i'm trying to use up more teal scrap yarn than blues.

it's coming along really quickly...

with the beautiful weather, i've been knitting out in the back yard quite a bit.

I have been keeping watch for hummingbirds,

they have found the new feeders i received for mother's day!!!

reading

marilyn robinson's lila is probably the most beautiful book i've read this year!!!

i have read it all the way through and have started again (immediately).

robinson writes so beautifully about loneliness, about kindness, about friendship 

and a very special love story (plus much more).

i read her gilead a while ago but must now pick it up again 

because of this poignant prequel. 

read it....you must, YOU MUST !!

what are you knitting? reading?

care to share?

erica

xoxo

joining frontier dreams and small things

extra-long weekending

hello and good morning everyone !!!

we are in the middle of an extra-long weekend in victoria,bc

with victoria day monday (hurray...) and 
a school district pro-d day tuesday (yipee...)

the weather has been glorious...

so we are outside enjoying every minute of it

yesterday...we decided to visit finerty gardens up at the university grounds

come take a look...

the rhododendrons were in full bloom

and they came in every colour of the rainbow

finerty is a free public garden

and is situated in the beautiful grounds

 of the university of victoria (ian's and my alma mater!!)

we use to visit these spots in betweeen classes and to break during study sessions

and i seriously do not know how we got any work done back then

the whole garden is spectacular

but my favourite places are still the ponds !!!

these yellow flowering bush

let out the most fragrant scent...

ian always heads straight to it for a quick fix !!!

i have my fingers crossed that my son chooses UVic for his undergrad

I've pointed out the spot he will find me sitting 

(if he ever wants to meet up for lunch...)

it is always such a treat visiting this garden...

we are lucky because it is just a twenty minute bike ride from home.

erica

xoxo

joining karen