Going on a 'Staycation'

(original tea image courtesy Pixabay. A little added photoshop artistry, me)

It's nearly the end of February, a time of year Henry and I begin to long for warm weather. He starts itching to get out his boat and fishing rod and I'm knee deep in seed catalogs and drooling over all those fabulous gardening boards on Pinterest.

We had hoped to take a trip down to the coast (B.C.'s west coast), lounge around in our favourite Bed and Breakfast, visit with my sisters, and go on a few adventures but . . . truck repairs, dentist visits and new glasses have put that out of reach for the time being.

What to do, what to do . . . 

Normally I would plan a lovely 'Staycation' at home that would include adventures here at home, working on a big project or lots of learning about some new project I'm hoping to do.

But this year???

This year I'm tired. There's been lots going on for months and, although my post shingles pain is mostly under control these days, I feel rather worn out.

 I have something totally different planned for this 'staycation' This year it's going to be all about resting and relaxing. Poor Henry's still going to have to go to work, so all his relaxing and resting will happen in the evenings. (not to worry though, he had a lovely golf holiday last fall)

Me???

I'm going to be madly getting stuff ready for the ultimate 'at home' retreat week. I'm cleaning and fluffing and staging lovely vignettes around the house. I'm going to bake all my favourite cookies, squares and cakes and pop them in the freezer so I'll (okay, we'll . . . I might share a few things . . .) have tasty treats all week with out any effort from me. Some of those cookies won't even see the inside of an oven. They'll just be yummy dough. If I'm really, really smart I'll put together a few things to make quick meals next week but, and I hate to say it, I'm pretty sure there will just be a whole lot of 'Help Yourself' suppers instead.

There will be piles of books beside the bed, movie marathons and . . . I may not even change out of my pj's!

I do have a few things booked that will get me dressed and out of the house, so I won't be a total hermit. For the most part though, I'm going to pretend I live in Regency England and not 'At Home' when people come to call. Or in this day and age, email, Facebook and text . . . ;D

Sigh, I can't wait. But now I'm off to wash the sheets and scrub the bathroom. There's nothing cozier than a bed with crisp, freshly washed bedding that's piled high with pillows and extra blankets. Add in a sparkling bathroom complete with fluffy towels and fresh flowers???

Bliss.

See you all in March!

Creating Gingerbread Houses and a Contest

For longer than I can remember, I've made gingerbread houses with my kids. When we were young, my siblings and I would visit my dad in the bakery while he was making gingerbread houses and 'help' him decorate.

You'd think, now that my kids have all grown up, that this tradition would have petered out . . . . but, in fact, they like it even more now than they did when they were younger. Morgan and Kim even came home to decorate with everyone and left their creation behind for me to enjoy. (Smartie the cat would devour it if they brought it home.)

I love that my kids enjoy creating. And to celebrate that with all of you I've decided to have a contest!

Here are the rules:

• The person who can choose which gingerbread house belongs to which creator correctly, for each house posted here, will win the desk version of this year's Whimsey Photography calendar.

• Who ever gets the most creator/house combinations right will receive the calendar. Should there be a tie, I will make a random draw for the winner.

• You have until Thursday, December 18 at 8pm to give your answers. 

The winner will be announced on Friday, December 19th at 12 noon. The contest is open to everyone, no matter where you live. Shipping is on me! 

I'm still having trouble with my comments here on the blog, so, rather than leaving your answers on the blog please go here to leave your answer on my Facebook post. (click on the blue word 'here' to get to the proper Facebook post)

Now to introduce you to the creators  . . . .

My oldest daughter Crystal:

My next daughter, Holly (with a friend):

Holly's boyfriend Alex:

Morgan and his new bride Kim (they did one together):

And Jesse:

Here are their creations in no particular order:

 House number 1:

House number 2:

House number 3:

House number 4:

And house number 5:

And just to get you started . . . I posted one of these house and it's creator on my Facebook page, If you haven't seen it yet, head over to A Life Of Whimsey on Facebook to find out which one it is.

Good Luck!

Happy Valentines Day!

I decided I wanted to do something fun for Valentines day and make my own card for all of you.

A little digital art if you will.

Henry's not huge on the whole Valentine's thing. He always says everyday is Valentines day . . .

It certainly lets him off the hook romantically speaking doesn't it??

Any hoo . . .

I decided that if Valentines day was all about love it, could just as well be about the love we have for friends and family as well.

Thus my card.

I started with this picture just because I think these pigs are so darn cute. I took it while Henry and I were on a romantic weekend away so it's an appropriate one for the occasion.

(don't forget to click on each image to get it full sized.)

A lot of experimenting and playing around and a few hours later I came up with this:

Happy Valentines to all of you! I hope your day is a beautiful one.

It's a New Year!

Hello 2014!

I like to start the New Year with some type of plant project and this year is no exception. I received two amaryllis bulbs a few weeks ago and finally found the time to plant them.

                                     


I've been reading a few blogs today and many of them talk about what their new goals, resolutions or words are for the New Year.

I'm not too big on resolutions, I think they often set you up to fail.

Words for the year can be fun though. Last year Barb's at Keeping With The Times was work and if you check out her beautiful blog you'll see she worked hard  . .

I've set goals for myself in the past although not necessarily because it's the new year.

Towards the end of October I decided to work towards one last goal for the year. I was going to give my all to the coming Christmas sale. There was to be no excuses for not doing my very best in all aspects of the sale, both in the making and the marketing.

In the end. . . I was very proud of what I accomplished. Although attendance was not what I hoped, it wasn't because I fell short somewhere. It just was what it was.

  And I'm okay with that.

I'm not quite sure yet what I'm going to focus on in the year ahead. . . 

Well. . . that's not quite true. . .

I know I want to make my sweet, laid back, very accommodating husband Henry my first priority for a change.

Over the years, kids, bus driving, Ladies Aid and many, many projects have managed to sneak ahead of him when it came to priorities.

My kids are grown (although two of them still live at home) and I'm not driving the bus or running Ladies Aid anymore.

Projects though. . . Oh my . . . I don't know how it happens, but a project can take over my life to the point that I become deaf and blind to everything. else. going. on. around me.

And Henry just smiles and says "Whatever makes you happy dear. . ."

Well, this year what will make me happy is to make HIM happy.

 Now all I have to do is figure out the very best way to do that.

He likes to tell me that I should be catering to his every need, at all times . . . tongue in cheek to be sure, but . . .

What if ???  And  . . . how would that look?

I'm not sure yet, but I'm looking forward to figuring it out.

There are a few other things I want to work on this year but I've decided not to stress myself out by making a public declaration. I'm just going to pray and try to do a little better each day without beating myself up when I don't measure up.

I did think it would be fun to try a 365 photography project this year though, so I'm joining Kelly from FocusingOnLife in her Year in Photos project on Flickr.

Here's what I took today:

I had planned to announce a giveaway today as well but I'm not quite ready, so you'll have to tune in tomorrow for all the details and the chance to enter. (Aren't I sneaky. . .  ;D)

I hope you all had a lovely time ringing in the New Year.