Stuff is Just...Stuff

I am happy to introduce to you my friend, blog sponsor and mama extraordinaire KC Pagano from Little Homestead in the Desert.

KC has become a dear friend over the last few months and I am so pleased to have her guest posting here today.

Thanks KC!

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

During my recent visit back to my childhood home, I found several boxes I had packed away when I moved out. These boxes contained pictures, letters, journals and various paraphernalia from high school. I had taped them up so carefully and written in permanent marker that they were not to be thrown out! I sit here now ten years later thinking: I should throw all this out! I've read through the journals filled with teenage angst and think, if I could just tell myself that none of it will matter ten years down the road.  The funniest part is that the me I read about in those journals is not the me I remember.  The me I remember was so much more interesting than the boy-focused me in those journals.

I've come to the conclusion though, that stuff is just stuff. These boxes are filled with huge emotional baggage; baggage that I have long forgotten about. So I threw them all out! The only thing I kept were some pictures of my grandfather, who has passed on.  But all the graduation stuff and movie ticket stubs, receipts and napkins from themed restaurants; all gone. Getting rid of things I didn't even remember I had put aside felt so good.

Having taken care of the past makes me want to move on to the present and get rid of things that may be bogging me down now, because after all, stuff is just stuff. And stuff takes up precious space and creates clutter. With clutter comes chaos and with chaos come stress. Our insistence on holding on to objects we don't use comes from a desire to see ourselves as something we thought we were (or think we should be), not what we are now. So now (hopefully) I can throw out clutter without the blink of an eye. Well, maybe a little blinking because it is covered in dust!

Yarn Along

Not much has changed this week, there are a few more rows on my current Christmas present, but really, I was hoping to have it finished. I am sticking with the same excuse as last week...the sunshine, the heat, the garden, all of them calling my name. I did manage to sit outside for a little bit and knit over the weekend, but you know as soon as you sit down the voice of an excited little one calls out. I was called from the back deck by squeals of delight over yet another frog he found. How can I knit when there are frogs to build habitats for?

So I continue knitting a little more slowly, but hey, that’s why I start Christmas presents in the spring, so I can take my time, not feel rushed and enjoy the process. So I will cut myself a little bit of slack and hope that this week finds me a little more time so that I can finish this hat.

Reading continues as per usual – doula training and Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature. I do want to pick up something a little less heavy, something that I can just sit back with and read for the joy of reading and not to study.  There are quite a few books on my wish list so I think I need to narrow it down to one or two and place an order this week.

What are you knitting and reading this week?

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Linking up with Nicole over at Frontier Dreams for Keep Calm Craft On

Linking up with Ginny over at Small Things for Yarn Along.

A Garden Tour

Well the time has come for me to share with you our garden. Vegetables are in the ground, the new perennial bed has been planted, the pots around the deck are full and things are starting to look like summer around here. We have been blessed with some amazing weather - high temperatures and lots of sunshine. I do love it, but was wishing for a little bit of rain, I was getting tired of dragging the hose out...note to self add irrigation system to top of to do list for the fall.  My wish came true Sunday night and we had an amazing rainfall. I am hoping for more over the next few days as well.

With rain overnight and sunshine during the day things really do come alive and I am amazed at how things have grown in the short 10 days they have been in the ground.

So come along with me for a little garden tour. It will be the first time this season but certainly not the last.

Welcome friends!

Our home

The new raised beds.
Planted with kale, Swiss chard, strawberries, beets, onions, carrots, squash,
zucchini, tomatoes, peppers and herbs.

Swiss chard

Kale...my fav!

The new tomato trellis

New perennial beds - full of bee, butterfly and humming bird loving plants.

More of the perennial bed

The perfect spot for morning tea

The backyard

Our little cottage

The experimental bed, everything direct sowed about a month ago.
Carrots, beets, Swiss chard, kale, lettuce, leeks, cucumber, basil.
Still to go in beans and snow peas.

Leaf lettuce, I had a few leaves for dinner last night.

The fire pit

Work in progress - the chicken coop

A view from the back corner of our property.

The gate that opens for us to explore.

Reece's secret garden, being loved and enjoyed.

The first wild rose.

The back deck

The deck fireplace - the perfect spot to relax once the little man is tucked in.

Reece's little garden - garlic, tomatoes, strawberries and cucumber.
He also throw down a whole bunch of poppy seeds, fingers cross they come up.

A little reminder for the plants in Reece's garden :)

Reece's play space.
Teepee, swings, rocks to climb on, a balance beam and sandbox.
The teepee needs a new cloth and there is a music wall to be added this year.

A view from the cottage.

Columbine - beautiful!

A view from the driveway.

Hope you enjoyed the garden tour. It has been a pleasure to share it with you.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Linking up with Elisa at Elisa Loves for Nature Walk

A Trip to the Market

Saturday is market day for us, and we look forward to it all week long. We usually hit the Peterborough Farmers Market, but once a month we head into the big city of Toronto for the Evergreen Brick Works Farmers Market.

It is a bit of a drive for us, about 70 minutes, but it is worth it. You see Evergreen Brick Works is not just a farmers market, it is a little piece of Mother Nature in the big city. And while I go for the market, I also go because it is an experience, a truly wonderful experience, each and every time.

Evergreen Brick Works is an abandoned 120 year old factory that made bricks; the bricks that actually built Toronto. It has been transformed into an environmental center where communities can discover how to live, work and play more sustainably. It is an amazing spot and we love it!

I could tell you more about it, but I think some pictures would give you a much better idea. Take a look at this wonderful, inspiring and innovative place.

A living wall - beautiful!

A view of the market from the back

Turn around and you see this - this used to be the quarry

An amazing children's area

It was make your own kebab at the fire pit on Saturday



Toronto means lots of goodies...
for Reece a gluten free vegan ginger cookie sandwich with ginger icing in the middle



Yes, he really enjoyed it!

Fun!

Hey mom!

Love this!

Being careful :)

Watering the plants

Watching as they "cob"

YES!

Now to explore the old quarry

Looking for turtles

Gorgeous

A friend

Looking for more frogs

That is the old factory in the background

Let's go!

Stopping to smell the roses

Another friend

As always, Reece and I enjoyed our visit to Evergreen Brick Works and look forward to going again in a few weeks.

If you live in the area and have never been I highly recommend it, you won't regret it and your kids will love it!

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Linking up with Naturally Crafted Mama for {into nature}

Linking up with Happy Whimsical Hearts for Happy Family Times