Can’t wait to read to our little baby! Hubby and I are such bookworms ourselves, it is definitely one activity we look forward to embracing even more and using to bond with our child. Loving all the vintage picture books on Etsy these days! Need to pop down to my parent’s basement and snag some of the Golden Books!
Category: Family
The longest month
I’ve been absent from this space for quite a while. Absent from a lot of things, actually. And yet, I can’t believe it hasn’t even been quite a month since my oldest brother passed away. Every week feels like forever.
Our small family gathered yesterday to bury him in the Queen’s Park Cemetery. A chilly autumn day, fitting for such a solemn task. No speeches were said. Not many words left at this point. Just tears and hugs, and photos. My family can’t do anything without taking photos. I suppose it will be a way to remember his urn and the collection of things we buried him with. We each had items to put inside his urn vault, symbolic things to keep him company as he goes forward.
I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so weary. There’s been plenty of challenges and hardships for my family in the past several years, many of them revolving around Blake, and I was weary then. This, though, is so very different. In previous years, there was the weariness of the unknown, the worry of what may or may not happen, trying to brace ourselves for different possibilities and outcomes. But now, the outcome has been determined, our worse fear has come to pass, and he is gone. Just like that. Sudden in so many ways, though not completely unexpected. And not without some relief mingled in all the hurt. Maybe that’s why I feel so extraordinarily weary… the crazy mix of emotions… missing him and yet glad he no longer suffers, grieving a death while anticipating the birth of our first child, looking back at so many memories while needing to look forward… it’s tough to say the least. I’m sure anyone who has lost a loved one can relate.
I’ve had to make a few changes lately to keep my health and sanity. First off, I’m no longer working at the doggie daycare. I’m missing all the pups like crazy, but there was just no room in my schedule to continue doing that, while we deal with everything else. There is now just two and half weeks until my first Christmas craft fair! That alone feels insane and overwhelming. There is a lot of crafting that needs to happen and I’m tempted to enlist help (one of my big weaknesses, but I’ll may need to overcome it if I want to get enough inventory made). Hubby and I are also on a mission to get the nursery set-up and get a bit more organized for the arrival of baby. Who really wants to go shopping for all the basic baby things during the Christmas craziness?! Certainly not us. We’ve even started looking into hiring a postpartum doula to give us a hand. Given the year we’ve had, we thought it might be a good idea to have the extra support while we learn to take care of baby.
As busy as it all is, I’m also very aware of breathing in each moment a bit more. Taking the time to watch my belly and marvel at the kicks baby can already produce. Not wanting to miss the glowing yellow trees during this lovely autumn we’re having. Even just enjoying that fact that hubby and I get to eat breakfast together most mornings and many, many, more blessings.
Hoping that in the midst of all of life’s craziness, you’re able to stop for a few moments each day and marvel at just being here.
He has been set free
Blake Springer
May 12, 1971 – September 10, 2011
Praying that my big bro has finally found a peace
that he never knew here on earth.
Yarn heaven
My husband might think it is slightly more hell-like than heaven-like though. I do have to admit that the craziness in the dining room is getting to me a bit too. My mother-in-law dropped by 12 more garbage bags of yarn last weekend. This pile is much more chaotic, with similar types of yarn in three or four bags mixed with random bits. It is taking more organization than the last load and as such, I’ve had to spread out a bit more too (though still keeping it contained to the dining room). Don’t get me wrong, I’m loving digging through the bags and discovering all sorts of beautiful yarn treasures!
Once I am all done the Make It show, then I will have to sit down and figure how I’m going to go about selling the yarn. I need to decide if I will sell the yarn through my current Bubblegum Sass shop or open another one dedicated to yarn supplies. Something tells me that a light box might be in order for taking good photos. Feels like another new adventure awaits me.
For those of you wondering why our dining room has been invaded by bags and bags of yarn, I am blessed to have Judy from Jen By The Fjord as my mother-in-law. She recently closed down her yarn shop in the Charles Reid Mall in Banff (was previously in Harmony Lane). Several years ago it was located in Canmore. Same shop and same lovely lady running it even back then. For now, big changes seem to await her. I have been tasked with not only trying to help her sell some of the yarn inventory online, but also with making endless beautiful things from it. I don’t want to disappoint.
Here’s a tiny peek at some of the stash:
What I did with the extra hour
The time changed here on Sunday. We set the clocks back one hour and like most people I technically spent my extra hour sleeping. I needed the extra bit of sleep after quite a full crafty Saturday. Although the morning was spent with the usual bit of house cleaning and laundry, I had a lovely afternoon at a friend’s Stampin’ Up! Christmas card making party. It was just what the doctor order too! We all work together and last week was full of extra stress, so being able to come together and make some pretty cards was a good release.
Following that relaxing afternoon, my hubby and I drove out to Banff in the evening. His mother and grandmother live there and his mother actually owns a yarn store in the town of Banff called Jen By The Fjord. She recently moved into a new location, so for any locals interested in checking out her shop, she is in Harmony Lane on the second floor. It’s a bit hidden, but worth a visit! Our mission, besides spending some time catching up, was to put a yarn order in. I’m definitely ready to move on from working solely with yarns purchased from Michaels and while I’m still learning about different yarn types I thought it best to turn to a professional. When your mother-in-law happens to be that professional, it’s even better! So after some back and forth and much touching of yarns, I decided on a few types to order: Punta Yarns Meritwist, Sandnesgarn Alfa, and Garnstudio Eskimo. I was even able to bring some balls home to play with (I *heart* my mother-in-law) and picked up some Garnstudio Fabel yarn to make socks (have to start the Christmas present making soon).
With the yarn order placed and some carrot cake in my tummy, hubby and I drove home along an eerily quiet highway in the dark, arriving home at midnight. So yes, we were thankful for the extra hour on Sunday to get plenty of sleep and still do all the rest of the errands that have been piling up the last couple of weeks.