Sketches: Baby Beasts of Burden

It starts with my already established love of the camel. And then spreads to other beasts of burden. A few wee rough sketches that have been begging me to do something with them; I'm keen to bring them into Illustrator to play with.

And perhaps start a new fabric line on spoonflower?

Weekend Project: The Spice Cupboard

So this bad boy has been on my hit list for some time now. You may note from the picture below that I have a bit of a jar hoarding issue. When I acquire the "perfect" spice jar I keep it, even if it doesn't fit in the cupboard or if I have nothing to put in it. I'm not a hoarder by nature. I'm more of a toss-er-out-er actually, which gets me in a different kind of trouble. But this area for some reason is a weakness.

So what was the final impetus to get my sorry self in there to finally organize it? A trip to our local Indian neighbourhood (Vancouver's Punjabi Market), famous for its spices, among other things. Not only is the selection amazing, but the price! A fraction of what we pay in my overpriced grocery store across the street.

So we came back home yesterday with a bag of new, fresh spices that were just begging for clean, fresh jars with clear labeling. So that's what I did.

For the labels, I kept it as simple as possible; black masking tape with a white liquid chalk pen. Good-bye old spices and excessive number of jars ... I have no room for you. Ahhh. That feels good.

Resolutions. Right On Track.

Well, my New Year's resolution was pretty standard. We recently signed up for a family membership at the Y and we are taking full advantage. The little Bub is in swimming lessons and Hubs and I collectively have taken in yoga, spinning, water running, and Latin Funk. Yup! It's awesome.

Spud had his own list this year. "I want to try 2 new sports and 1 new instrument, preferably a brass instrument, like the sousaphone." OK. First of all I want to say, what's wrong with something simple (and small!) like a recorder, my little friend? But we will tackle that later. In the meantime, 2 sports? 2 ticks.

First, curling.

This is our view. We sit behind the glass, watch, sip coffee, get caught up with each other. We even brought some paperwork with us last time.

And this is where we are sitting. Seriously. It's like we've been transported in both time and space. It's a beautiful 90 minutes I will miss dearly if Spud decides curling is not for him.

Anyway, on to sport 2, skiing!

So far we have a winner. Spud is happily going to curling each week but he is still a little unsure about it. Skiing on the other hand? An instant hit. He's had one lesson and one full day on the bunny hill with Daddio. He has been heard to say "I think I was born to ski!" Now that's not to say he's careening down the hill on his own at any great speed or anything, he's a cautious kid, but he loves it. And that's what counts. I'm sure this crazy-awesome "magic carpet" that replaces the need for any dreadful rope tow, has got to add to the love.

Makes Me Happy: Coffee Filter Snowflakes

Check out last year's snowflake curtain too.