fall walk in the woods

This morning, Jayla and I went for a walk at one of our most favourite and local conservation areas. I love the smell of the woods in the fall.

Here is a sampling of the conversation we had:

Jayla: “Mommy do you believe in fairies?”
Mommy: “Yes, I do.”
Jayla: “Yeah. Fairies are nice. I have never seen one, but I am sure they are nice.”
Mommy: “Yes, I’m sure they are nice too.”
Jayla: “If I ever saw a fairy; I mean if they ever let me see them, I would keep that secret. If I told someone then they would probably want to put them on the news and I’m sure the fairies wouldn’t want to have their faces “flastered” all over the news.”
Mommy: **sniggering to myself** “Absolutely. I mean who would want to have their face “flastered” all over the news.”
Jayla: “Yeah, that would be bad for them.” “It is much better that they are a secret”. Don’t you think so Mommy?”
Mommy: “Yes, I do.”

There is a special spot in these woods where we have constructed a little fairy house. It is at the base of a tree. It curves inwards and there is a perfect spot just big enough for a modest-sized fairy family dwelling. There is a roof made from tree bark, and a large bed made of moss. They even have a fungus table and plates made from acorn caps.

Every time we hike in these woods we go and visit our fairy house and make any necessary repairs. Today Jayla found some tiny little mushrooms and put them on the table in their little acorn cap plates.

“[W]hen the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies. And now when every new baby is born its first laugh becomes a fairy. So there ought to be one fairy for every boy or girl”. ~James Matthew Barrie, Peter Pan

weekend with my girls

My oldest daughter began university this fall. Yes, university. I can’t believe I have a daughter that is old enough to be attending university. We are all very proud of her accomplishments and she is very much enjoying post-secondary education thus far.

This weekend Kiera came out for a visit. She is currently staying with her grandparents who live closer to her school. So, when she is able to, she comes home and visits with us. This was one of those weekends.

Saturday was spent doing a variety of things – Jayla had an art workshop; Lianne had rehearsals for a school musical she is in; the dog went to a rabies clinic to get her vaccination and the rest of the time we just hung out here at home.

On Sunday, the girls and I met up with my parents at Lang Pioneer Village for the day. It was the annual Applefest there. The weather wasn’t the greatest, but we had a fun time anyway.

jayla and little ellie

I have been a fan of Jennifer Murphy and her adorable bears and other stuffed creations for some time now. Last fall I was drooling over her latest creations and Jayla happened to see a bear that she absolutely fell in love with. Her name was Ellie. And the funny thing is, one of Jayla’s dear friends (she lived right across the street from us) is named Ellie. It was just too much of a coincidence. I decided then and there that I absolutely had to purchase a Jennifer Murphy bear for Jayla and it had to look like Ellie bear and it would be for her 8th birthday gift. Jennifer Murphy is an amazing artist, and an even more amazing person – so kind and generous. So, she made a custom bear for Jayla working within my budget – voila “Little Ellie”.

My camera decided to take a vacation this summer; but it is working now and so I was finally able to get a few pictures of Jayla and Little Ellie together. She adores her. And so do I.

Check out Jennifer’s blog.

happy fall everyone

Today, Jayla and I made a dragon bread together to celebrate Michaelmas – the feast day of Saint Michael the Archangel.

“England’s patron saint, Saint George, was the Archangel Michael’s earthly representative. In heaven Saint Michael was the angel who threw Lucifer out for his treachery, and on earth Saint George was famous for slaying dragons and rescuing princesses.” – Mrs. Sharp’s Traditions by Sarah Ban Breathnach

poor little Will

Our little kitten, Will, was bitten by our dog over the weekend after Canada Day. We didn’t see what happened between them, but we heard it and went running to find the dog laying guilty on her bed and we had to follow the trail of blood to find the kitten cowering under the side table beside the sofa. He had a bite to the forehead and also to the side of the nose, just missing the eye. He was also bitten on the upper arm and has 2 fractures there. I really didn’t think he was going to make it through the night; he looked really badly hurt. He did and he is continuing to recover and heal. He will be going to our local vet to get a new cast put on on Tuesday – the one he has on in the picture is a temporary one. This all happened at 11:45pm on a Saturday night and we had to drive quite a distance that night to find someone that could care for his injuries. I later found out that our local vet is available 24 hours – 7 days a week. Ugh!

cat lady

Willa

Willa’s sister — yet to be named — any ideas??

I love cats. I have always loved cats. I love all animals. However, if I have to choose whether I’m a cat or dog person, I would have to say I am a cat person. Since meeting Jean, I never thought I would be able to have a cat as a pet ever again – he is allergic. And then one day, on a very cold day in February a cat collapsed on our doorstep. We took her in and nursed her back to health. I put her on a raw food diet and lo-and-behold, Jean wasn’t allergic to our dear Sally. We are not exactly sure how old Sally is, but the vet said she is definitely over 10 years old.

Yesterday evening I started out for my walk. I didn’t get very far. A teenaged girl was walking towards me with 2 kittens. I remarked how cute they were. She asked me, “do you want them?” We walked back to my house. I called Jean. He said yes. Now we have 2 more cats.

Just call me “the cat lady”.

**edited to add: Willa is really Will — oops, how could we miss that one. Will’s sister is now named Lille.

photo shoot

This weekend a dear friend of mine did a photo shoot with my three girls. The location was the beach. Sebrina is an amazing photographer and the most amazing part is that she just began last summer. She captured my girls exactly as I had hoped. Their personalities and beauty shine through in the photographs. And the best part — it was so much fun.

Just look at the results.

ode to my mother

just when the
caterpillar
thought the
world was over,
it became
a butterfly.
– proverb

Happy Birthday Mom!
I Love You.

**edited to add:
this photo is from my mothers’ birthday celebration this year. i mailed out these butterflies to friends and family, i asked them to decorate the butterflies and write messages on them and then mail them back to me in time for her birthday and then presented her with them on that day. she was so surprised and thrilled.

favourite places

For the past few days – from friday to monday – i was blessed to be able to spend some time at one of my favourite places.

Thirteen Moons

On friday I arrived for dinner and then participated in the drumming circle. If you have never been to a drumming circle before, here is a definition and explanation from the Thirteen Moons website:

“Discover the healing properties of a drumming circle! Throughout history, women have gathered in circles to drum, dance and connect with one another as a community. Drumming circles offer an excellent way for women to explore their own personal rhythms while sharing in the spirit and song of the drumming circle. Thirteen Moon’s full moon drumming circles use rhythm as a meditative and therapeutic activity. Everyone can participate regardless of musical background.”

And if dinner and drumming wasn’t enough, I spent two nights here in this beautiful space. There is something so healing about going to sleep when the day is done in total darkness – no street lights or artificial lights of any kind. Just moon light and star light. Then waking up naturally as the day brightens and to the sound of the birds singing. It seems so simple, but the healing benefits are so profound.

One of the trails leads to a labyrinth on the property, and each day I walked the labyrinth with a specific intention that I would meditate on as I walked it. Whenever I enter with a challenge or question I always come out feeling clear, inspired and energized. Once again, something as simple as walking the shape of the labyrinth, can be so profoundly beneficial.

I spent the first part of Mother’s Day here at Thirteen Moons and it gave me some special quiet time to contemplate my role as a mother of three beautiful girls. I thought about my own mother. I thought about the love that I feel for her and I poured that love into a handmade card for her. Later when I arrived home I received 3 lovely handmade cards from my girls and I could feel the love pouring out from their cards. It was the best gift in the world.

“The heart of a mother is a deep abyss at the bottom of which you will always find forgiveness.” – Honore de Balzac

nourishment :: bath time & poetry

Water

ripples
waves of velvet on her skin
floating like flying
endless waves washing over
thoughts floating, then fading away
here comes a ripple again
each thought like a pebble
creating concentric circles of revelations
then nothing
then less
and less
then still

colleen belliveau
jan-01-06