First visit of the year to Katies Crossing.....

Laurence drove us out to Katies Crossing and we had hoped to have ice creams, but they don't sell ice cream until after May Long Weekend!!!!  Wahhh!  Good job I bought ice cream for at home so Sam was happy :)  We ended up having supper there instead and then had a walk around and played for a while as we always do!!  :)  It's always a great place for a photo opportunity!!  :)  

Easter treats...

Yummy chocolate Easter nests :)

Easter story...and bubbles on the deck...

After brunch we all relaxed on the deck for a while - I read Sam and Abby a book all about Easter traditions in different cultures - and the history behind them....and then they played bubbles for a while.  Laurence and I threw the ball for Rosie..Sam dug a snow fort for a while in what is left of the snow in the back yard....

Good Friday Brunch...

We had hot cross buns, coffee, juice, chips and cadburys creme egg cakes out on the deck this morning.  It was a lovely sunny day - in fact the cakes started to melt a bit!!  

The Hot Cross Buns were yummy :)

As you can see, my extremely tasteful salt and pepper set were there to give the table an extra Easter/ Springtime feel :)  

Friday Five....

1. What is your favorite Easter tradition?   Two traditions that we have...one is to have Easter brunch outside on the deck - laying the table all nicely and making a real effort with croissants and jam, juice, hot cross buns, eggs and toast, coffee or whatever we feel like....The other tradition is that we have a big egg hunt - well two really - the first one is first thing in the morning when they get to hunt for their main BIG egg...this is hidden in the house somewhere and they have to find it, but we've always been good at hiding the older kids eggs REALLY well :)  In the afternoon  we also have another egg hunt to hunt for hundreds of little eggs - we try to have this outside and because we have 16 acres here, we are able to hide the eggs in the woods, through the long grass in the back fields, all around the front yard....The children rush off with their baskets or bags and fill them with the eggs they find :)

2. Are you a "shower" or a "long, hot bath" kind of person?   I LOVE long hot bubble baths and if I have a magazine, a nice drink and can top the hot water up, I will stay in there de-stressing and relaxing for HOURS :)  I also like long showers...and often daydream to the point I have no idea how long I've been in the shower - good job I'm not on a water meter...and sorry but no I'm not very good at saving water....

3. Can you parallel park and if so when is the last time you did it?   I managed it in order to pass my driving test in the UK, but don't think I've ever had to do it since....I park anywhere BUT somewhere I have to parallel park!!

4. What is your favorite Easter candy?  Cadburys Creme Eggs.

5. Easter: do you go all out with the Easter Bunny or focus on the religious part of the holiday?  Easter is one of my favourite holidays - I love that it symbolises Springtime and renewal...I love that it's a fun family holiday with plenty of events happening around the area, but that the children don't expect much more than a few chocolate eggs to hunt and maybe some eggs to paint!!  There is no need to have to decorate over the top or spend endless money on toys and gifts....it's a holiday full of tradition and I think I have almost as many memories of Easter as a child as I do Christmas - maybe even more!

Being from England, we don't really 'do' the Easter Bunny....and as we are not a religious family, we don't particularly focus on that aspect either - although I do teach the story of Jesus and the Christian beliefs - just as I teach the Pagan ideas and other reasons behind holidays we celebrate.  I try and make holidays as much fun as possible - and full of traditions that the children will hopefully grow up remembering and will want to pass on to their families - not all of them but some I hope....

Friday Fill-ins

And...here we go! 

1. Pardon me, but this was your choice - didn't you think about the consequences???

2. The Prairie Gardens Coupon was SUCH a good deal.

3. I was surprised to find that I really like driving downtown and being able to get to all those places I used to have to get the LRT or get driven to. I love having my independence!!

4. Facebook is one of my favorite forms of entertainment. 

5. Hi, my name is Jane Fernandez and I'm an artist.

6. I love hanging with my kids and listening to them play happily at the pool or lake or playground on summer afternoons.

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to maybe seeing Samantha or watching a movie with the kids....maybe Tangled! Then chatting with Mr TDH for a while before bed, tomorrow my plans include Going to the Prairie Gardens to enjoy their Easter festivities with the discount coupon I got and am soooo pleased with :)   Sunday, I want to enjoy an Easter brunch on the deck, hunt for our big eggs and also have an easter egg hunt for mini eggs inside, and take Rosie out for a lovely walk before having our big Easter dinner  and Monday I want to head to the Zoo...and catch up with Mr TDH in case our weekends have been too busy to be in touch with each other....

Sunset tonight...

The sunset from our road as we drove home....

Train Crossing!!

After Chris's play I drove us to South Edmonton Common for us to get things we needed for our Easter Weekend.  Laurence then drove us home form there along Ellerslie Road, and came upon his first train since driving :)  I snapped these two pictures :)

Chris performs on stage.....

Chris was in a  play tonight at his school, so we all went to watch him.  It was called The Shirkers, and was a one act play.  It was REALLY good - sad and quite similar to Romeo and Juliet in a way...but very good!!!  Chris played a character called Dick Murray....he looked so grown up and tall and mature up there on the stage...he looked like a man...which of course he is....but still, it's hard to see.....and hard to face....I still think of him as my little boy....he did REALLY well though and I was very proud - even Sam sat in silence through the whole thing and enjoyed it :)  

It was excellent :)  

Brave girl :)

Yes, this is me.....driving in downtown Edmonton....in rush hour :)  

Easy peasy :)  

And I love it :)  I love that I can drive anywhere now and I don't even think about it and don't even worry about it ever....I just go :)  Sooo hard to believe that just 12 months ago I was such a different person!!!  

Delicious!!

Susannah baked Easter shaped sugar cookies at school today - and they were amazing and delicious!!!  Soft and yummy :)  Mmmmmm  :)

Bounce!!

Rosie sat waiting patiently for her turn :)  

Stages of a canvas creation...

Deciding what to do with the canvas - deciding on the design/ elements/ colours etc etc:

Creating the background and prepping it for painting:

Painting the background over the prepped canvas:

Adding the girls and elements....arranging them and deciding where to put everything before sticking everything down:

Almost finished:

Close up of the girls:

Close up of the Truthteller and his message (I actually outlined the wording in pink before finishing:

Tag time for Wednesday...

What's your current obsession?   She-art canvases...using SR themes...

What are you wearing today?  pj bottoms and a grey top - I'm relaxed and comfortable to create art in :)

What's for dinner?  We had fishcakes and fries...or pizza and fries...depending if you liked fish or pizza....there was salad or vegetables too.

What would you eat for your last meal?  I think I'd like to  go to a buffet of all my favourite foods :)  Try a bit of everything :)

What's the last thing you bought?  soup (Sam), Turkey sandwich (Abby) and bagel (me) for lunch at Tims today before we headed to the dog park with Rosie for a lovely long walk :)

What are you listening to right now  nothing but Rosie breathing and me typing...

If you could go anywhere in the world for the next hour, where would you go?  I'm quite happy here actually..I'm tired and will be happy t go sleep when I finish this tag :)  Tomorrow is going to be a busy and long day!!  :)  Fun though!!

Which language do you want to learn?  I would like to learn Spanish...although at the moment there is the possibility of me learning Italian from a certain tall dark and handsome stranger hahaha!

What do you love most about where you currently live?    The changing seasons, the cosiness, the views, the privacy, the silence, the stars, the space, not feeling claustrophobic, it just feels like home.

What is your favorite color?  turquoise.  

Chocolate or vanilla?  chocolate - although if it's ice cream I like really good vanilla bean ice cream :)

What were you doing 10 years ago  I'd just moved up to Scotland to be with Lloyd...the children came to stay for Easter and we went to Edinburgh zoo with them.  Susie ended up staying with us but the boys went back to finish school until the Summer. 

If you had $100 now, what would you spend it on?  A spare $100???  I'd go to DeSerres and buy canvases and maybe to Whyte Ave and pay for a place at Art on Whyte.  Or maybe I'd just be sensible and stick  it in my savings account.

What are you going to do after this?  go to sleep.

What are your favorite films?  I watched 'When A Man Loves a Woman' on Monday night, and I have to say that that is STILL one of my favourite movies of all time....and Andy Garcia is still gorgeous....which is kind of funny because Mr TDH looks a bit like him lol!!  :)  Which is kind of why I watched it ;)  I also like 'You've Got Mail'....'The Wizard of Oz'....and 'Going The Distance' :)  .....and 'Paul' is fantastic too :)  oh and 'Up' is also brilliant :)  

Do you collect anything?   I have a collection of Willow Tree Angels - several of which my wonderful friend Val has given me.  Many of them have special meaning!!  I recently started collecting swans - just certain ones I see that I love - glass ornament ones, crystal ones etc...I only have a few, but if I see them in thrift stores and like them, I will get them.  Swans almost always mate for life.  Thats come to represent something important to me - something I thought I had and something I hope to one day have.  I also have a collection of Kelly Rae Roberts artwork - prints and canvases, including one original piece!!  :)  

What makes you follow a blog?  If it inspires me and interests me.  If I learn something from it.  If it makes me laugh or has beautiful photography....

What was the most enjoyable thing you did today?  Going to the dog park with Sam and Abby, splashing in the puddles, watching Sam having so much fun in the water...watching Abby playing with Rosie on the hill.  

What is on the top of your to-do list?  Make the phone calls on the list I have!!

What's your favorite time of day and why?  Late evening.  I have plenty of energy and time to myself and almost always feel at my most inspired to create art :)

My Truth Teller knows :)

On Monday I met my wonderful friend JoAnne for coffee...and to complain about the fact that her Son had NOT sneaked me in his case when he had gone to Hawaii - or brought back any hot weather with him!!!  ;)  It was like Christmas when we saw her though as she had gifts for us all - a lovely frog holder for Abigail - the frog is full of beans and sits on a table and holds a pouch that hangs down to hold bits and pieces for you - Abigail uses it beside her bed to hold her DS :)  

Sam had two calendars which he LOVES - one has an ice cream theme and the other has animals and birds - wildlife of Canada and he has been crossing off the days and looking at all the pictures and getting us to read it all to him :)

JoAnne gave me this GORGEOUS wall plaque and hook that I had seen at the garden centre a few weeks ago.  It has a bird on it, and birds are my Truthteller symbol :)  I choose to listen to them and the truth I REALLY know about myself than the lies I have been fed by others and society and even by my weaker self over my lifetime....I'm also collecting hooks of all kinds to go in the mudroom - all unusual hooks - although I'm not sure I'm going to put this one in the mudroom because it's too beautiful - I think I might put it in either the main hallway or my craft room....

Thank you JoAnne - it was so thoughtful of you - and I especially love that you wrote on the back of it!! I will treasure it - and it came during such a difficult couple of weeks.

I treasure your friendship too!

xxxxx