And again...

When my mom called to sing me Happy birthday, she said that the morning I was born, the weather was exactly like that, unseasonably wintry. The girls had put their best dresses and the breakfast table was covered with colorful drawings and love letters. He handed me a green juice, surprised me with one of my dream lens and spent the day cooking a vegan feast for me. Love all around.

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It was a day of such simple pleasures: a forest of snowmen, a new game, the very first bottles of biodynamic sparkling red wine from vines we planted a few years ago with our girls and harvested together, my favorite chocolate vegan pie and watching their excitment as they learned to play the Wii.

I like where this life is going. I can't help but expect the best.

Pumpkin on the couch

I woke up to a pumpkin on the couch. And the day only got better from there.

Determination

She sewed for 3 hours straight and finished it first thing when she woke up. 
Her determination truly is a two-edged sword.

Adventures frame my life

6 hours straight outside, in nature. 6 hours of sun. 1 summit.

The smooth bark of beech trees and translucent blond leaves shivering in the wind. The long shadows of trees on the cristalline snow, like the ghosts of winter.

9 km of snowshoeing. Lots of breaks. The first pic nic of the year. Hot almond chocolate milk at the top. Very proud smiles. And a long hike back home.

Ahhh! These little adventures, I live for them.

The bubbling fountain

I emerged feeling defeated and sad, not knowing what to do with that fountain of inconvenient feelings bubbling inside. I turned my face to the sun and took a few deep breaths. It was just the grace I needed.

Right now: Spring skiing and love

She pulled out her traveling machine plan at breakfast and said: “Where would you want to go this morning, mama? Utah, Costa Rica or Italy?” “Costa Rica, for sure!” I answered without hesitation, watching outside the window as more snow fell from the sky. 

But we grabbed our skis and went outside. 

After a mere kilometer, we both fell in the heavy sticky snow that made backcountry skiing so hard for her and laughed our hearts out. Then, she asked about life on other planets and oxygen and why our heart beats faster when we exercise. In the same breath, she said: “It might look like winter, but it smells like spring in the forest, mama.” 

I turned towards her and said: “You know, there is nowhere I’d rather be but here with you, sweetheart.” And we both smiled in the wet embrace of Mother Earth. Fully present. Fully alive.

Expectations

The day in waves. From gratitude to frustration + back.
My head in overdrive.
Pretty images of tulip fields and windmills.
More highlights than most days, despite it all.
Or perhaps, because.
Funny what happens when you drop all expectations.

Deep breath. Peel the carrots. Exhale.

I could have peeled 50 lbs of carrots that way. Something in the repetitive movement, the meditation, helped me come back to my center.
Only he knew how much I needed the mental space. 
Then, laughing and singing with her in the car felt like a million bucks.

It was

It was the sky. It was the new light flooding the kitchen at 6 pm. It was the songs of the waxwings already back from their winter migration. It was the twinkle in his eyes when he talked about the mountains. It was their duo. It was their laughter.

The grey and the wet

Trying hard to embrace the grey, the wet, the snow, the ice. Trying.
I am so ready for spring.

Her guitar

She takes it out at least 10 times a day just to feel it in her hands. She had been talking about learning to play for so long. There is something to be said about how wonderful it can be to wait for something.

Winter encourages minimalism

A great quote from a great book I just finished that reminds me a lot of our Yukon winters.

« Shovels, gloves, toys, and buckets. Boats, bicycles, cars, and sheds. Roads and houses. All buried. The world is wiped clean with every snowfall – smoot, perfect, inaccessible. The bustling busyness of gardens and berries and construction projects fades into a distant-seeming memory as one by one, each time-sucking project disappears beneath the white. The only cars visible are the ones that work well enough to be driven every day. The only doors that open are the ones repeatedly shoveled. The only paths walkable are the ones repeatedly stomped.

Everything else? You’ll see it in May. Or maybe June. You probably didn’t need it anyway.

Winter encourages minimalism. » - Erin McKittrick, Small Feet, Big Land (Adventure, Home, and Family on the Edge of Alaska)

:: Lili, my friend's daughter, building a fairy garden on top of a rock ::

Celebrate

There was so much to celebrate. And then some.

The 30 min infinity scarf

We watched the video and she had understood after 5 minutes. I struggled for 20 and became grumpy. "Take your time, mama, it's useless to get mad". The first project she nailed before me. I set the yarn aside and watched her. She was beaming. I basked in her glory.

 

The promise of spring

It was a puddle-jumping, sun-basking, summer-dreaming kind of day. The promise of spring made us all giddy with excitement.

A taste of spring

The maple taffy wasn't that good. But the weather was glorious. And talking with her sitting in the snow while the kids climbed on the boulder was the best part.

Sick

Two sick fairies, in and out of bed, sunrise to sundown. Lemon thyme honey popsicles. Painting fireworks. A new client. A super long bath. While I don't like to see them feel this way, I love that added tenderness that sickness always seems to reveal.

Work. Clean. Repeat.

A makeshift office in the gymnasium during circus class. Watching her read to her sister for 30 minutes during the violin lesson. Spelling while making sushis. A new dress. Almond croissant. A very clean house. Two visits. One ACCEPTED offer. OMG.

Dance!

It's been a crazy, crazy week. We haven't had that much work in years (but we sure are not complaining!) and we just put the house for sale! So, we were really looking forward to the Dance Party our friends organized for their son 10th birthday to get out and have some fun.

Evan is a self-taught dancer and he pretty much dances all the time, so this party was HIS night! It was so great! Even the adults ripped it up on the dance floor!

 :: A real dance floor with strobe light, a giant screen and papa and big brother as DJs ::

 :: Delicious and healthy mocktail bar, with professional barmaid Liz ::

 :: Amazing art projected on a giant screen ::

 :: Evan taught the other kids some choreography. Here: Gagnam style! ::

 :: Great games to get the kids that were more shy to get into the groove ::

  :: An a make your own sundae bar with homemade caramel and hot fudge! ::