Olallieberry

Early Garden Study

Yesterday was the first really beautiful day we've had since our rash of late season snowfalls began. It's hard to believe that all along under that heavy layer of snow mother nature has been coaxing her brood out of its sleep only to have it emerge with an explosion of colour at the first touch of the warm sun's rays. The last traces of snow are gone. The windows are thrown open to welcome the fresh breeze, and the house is filled with the sweet sound of birdsong loudly announcing their return from their arduous journey. I enjoy the gentle sound of raindrops as yet another impromptu shower passes overhead before the sky clears again to a magnificent blue.

Oh how I love Spring.

Around The House

Raincoat, bread pudding, mantle, succulent, Sophie's coconut sweet bread (yummy).

The snowy rain appears to have deserted us for the time being. I am amusing myself by taking random photos and playing with them in PicMonkey, which is effectively satiating my need for colour at the moment. xox

Rain, Sleet, Snow... And A Good Dose of Wind for Good Measure

Unpredictable is the best descriptor for April weather on the Canadian Prairies. While the sun warms the earth trying to coax the greenery forth, the elements continue their brazen battle. We have snow this morning. And Mr Weatherman tells us we can expect it to continue. All weekend. This equates to staying inside although I am dying to be outside poking around in the garden. For the time being I must find solace in visiting lovely blogs like Vicki's garden that capture Spring so beautifully. Thank you for that, it is food for my soul. In the meantime I will continue knitting on the Rikke Hat (details ravelled here) which although may seem completely out of season to most of you, really isn't, considering what I've already described. This combined with the Little Dorrit miniseries on Netflix (I am loving Netflix these days) should alleviate any lingering case of the grumpies of which I am firmly resolved to overcome.

Weekend Highlights

The long weekend was amazing--so many pleasurable activities! First of all thank you so much for your very kind comments on the table runner in progress. I'm happy to say Easter went off without a hitch as I was able to finish it on time. Most of Friday was spent walking from the computer to the cutting board to the ironing board to the sewing maching. Saturday I got up very early and coloured eggs all by myself. I know dear friends... this is a very sad thing and requires some explanation: The kids decided this year they are far too old for such a frivolous and totally uncool activity. I admit it was nice to have the creation process selfishly controlled, but the whole business was really rather lonely I'm afraid. Maybe next year they'll realize the fun and frolicking they missed and recommit (hoping). After cleaning up from the eggs and doing a little baking, I hunkered down to hand stitch the binding on the table runner while watching Shutter Island on Netflix. I was not looking forward to this step as I had so many other things to do, but much to my surprise it ended up being very relaxing and truthfully the most enjoyable part of the whole project. Sunday we had family over for the day, and the rest of the weekend was all about curling up, relaxing, reading, and knitting (joy!)

Hope you all had a wonderful weekend too and that your week ahead is just as marvellous. xo

Spring Table Runner

Loving this Easter weekend so far, getting my fill of all the things that have eluded me for the past while. Baked this cake, just because. (I was a little short on the berries because somebody found them before I had a chance to put them in the cake.) After a jaunt down to the local movie theatre to see the Hunger Games with the kids, I'm now reading the second book in the series. I'm also making a super fast Spring version of this gorgeous tablerunner from Purlbee. Of course I'm cheating just a little as we're hosting Easter dinner on Sunday so time is of the essence here. Rather than hand appliqueing the squares I used fusible adhesive then quickly sewed around each one with the machine. I've had my eye on this project for awhile and with Easter on the horizon I really want something to reflect the fresh delicate colours of Spring. 

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend dear friends, I'm now off to finish the binding on the runner. Happy Easter! xox

Curiosity

I had a sudden urge to sketch the other day, so I began rummaging through drawers and boxes looking for my art pencils. I just managed to set myself up with paper, eraser, and a few little odds and ends when my dearest little companion suddenly popped up out of nowhere.

"What are you doing?" he asked.

"Sketching," I answered.

"Facinating (yawn). I'm sure I can find a much better use for those; here, let me show you... No, really, I insist! Look!"