Saturday, 23 September 2017

Happy Autumn 2017

  Oh happy day! It is officially Autumn and outside the air has the tiniest chill. This morning my two oldest children had to go to the dentist and so my sweet husband took them. I took the two younger children to buy and deliver flowers and treats. It was the perfect way to spend the first Saturday morning of this Autumn season. I found a road side flower stand that I absolutely love and realized that one day I wish I could also have a road side flower stand!!!!





                                                Imagine if this was YOUR yard??


                                          She is picking the perfect boquet for her grandma


                                                                          Here it is.







                                       Photo taken by my six year old in my driveway




Quick side note here....my sister and I were just at the fall fair and realized that we both dress to cover our upper arms. In this picture I feel like the shape of my arms is displayed in all their glory. I remember when I was young I could beat any boy in an arm wrestling competition. These arms are from my dad's side of the family and they are built for helping and holding. They are strong arms and I am sick of covering them up...hence the tank top :)


We also found a free watering can on the side of the road today and a dog crate...so we brought them both home.

                                                           They never really stand still...


Happy Autumn to you ~ I hope whatever Autumn looks like where you live it is a season you can celebrate and enjoy xo

A Basement Renovation

  HI! How are you doing today? I wanted to do a little picture story about part of our basement because the suite is finally finished!
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  My husband and I purchased this house last Fall. When we buy a house we only buy if it can become an asset to us rather than a liability. So when we found this house we had been living in a lovely house that had  two bedroom basement suite. However the part we were living in had one bathroom for seven people and that small bathroom was also the laundry room. We were used to have no privacy and feeling somewhat cramped but I was starting to go a bit stir crazy. When I found this house I knew it was the answer to a lot of prayers I had been sending up to God. This house had so much potential for us to fit better AND it had room for a suite to be put in it! We didn't think much about it...which was a good thing...because the amount of work was ridiculous! We just bought it and moved in! This house has three bathrooms for our family to use and a separate laundry room and a little room for us to use for a homeschool/play room which is wonderful. It has been a blessing from day one.

 The transformation downstairs in the suite area though has been quite incredible so I wanted to show it to you.

Okay enjoy ~

These stairs go down into our basement. At the bottom is a door way you can just see and that goes into the laundry room and bathroom. To the left is a door that goes into a hallway where my sister's room and my oldest daughter's rooms are located. To the right is a doorway that goes into the suite. There is a door on the front of our house that the renters use to access their suite.


Please notice the ceiling and everything else about this room in the next picture. This room was a labor of love and one of my favorite parts of the house. I was heart broken it had to go but for us to live there it did.






Where you see the door way here in the far back corner that became the opening to a hall way. Behind the wall on the left is a laundry room you access from this door, and then through the door was two garages. We used all of one to make a bedroom and then part of the next one to make another bedroom. There was also a storage room we made into a bathroom. It was perfect!
This area and room you see was made into the kitchen and living room.


  In order to make this happen we had to gut this place, there was cement that had to be drilled through, we put in a separate electrical panel and hot water tank and new drywall and insulation. The place was stripped to the studs. It was a massive undertaking.

  After months of work and much drama....the suite is finished. What a huge weight off our shoulders and minds! Here is the finished product.


This is looking at the tiny front entry way and the coat closet. The front door is hidden to the right. You can see the edge of the living room window and the little electric fire place. When I design a suite the things I think of are closet space for storage, a full bathroom, and lots of light and warmth. I have lived in a couple suites in my life time and often they feel dark and cold and there is not enough storage. SO this place has storage, a view, it is also warm yet feels light and bright. I love it!


 Here is the kitchen. I love that my husband put that little bar in. The kitchen had quite a bit of cupboard space for such a small area.




You can see the door that leads into the hallway in this picture and this would be the dining room in my mind.


      A lot of this work was done by my husband but there were many helping hands along the way



                           I can imagine some comfy couches and some book shelves in this space.




In this hall way you can see the bedroom at the end, the door on the right leads to the master bedroom and then on the left is the bathroom and laundry room.


The bathroom is not large but it has a full bathtub/shower in it. The cabinet is quite large so there is ample room for towels and toiletry storage.


The laundry room is TINY but it has room for the washer dryer combo and brooms and cleaners.


                 Here is the front door :) There is a beautiful view of the corn field from this suite.


So kudos to my husband for envisioning and making this suite happen. It fits just perfectly in the space we had. My husband still has a garage area for tools and storage and our renters have moved in. I am so thankful! We are now in clean up the front and back yard mode as that has been sorely neglected.

I hope you enjoyed seeing this transformation ~

Love Tansy

Wednesday, 20 September 2017

Grow Lovely and Strong When Everything Hurts

   There are golden moments in life where everything feels wondrous. It might even be a moment where you didn't even realize how wondrous it was....until it was gone and things changed. Sometimes I feel that way when I think back to my first year of marriage. Things were far from perfect but they were golden and wondrous and we have so many happy memories. Life was romantic, flavorful, there was just enough responsibility but not too much. We could travel, feel fancy free, work at jobs that felt exciting and amazing. We were not weary.
And then...
We were.
Serious illness, loss, unknowns, it does that to you and it can happen so quickly.
Not too long ago I was standing on a beach in the rain with a dear friend and I felt happy and hopefilled and then the next day there was searing pain and loss.
We just don't know what the next moment will bring.
And that is a good thing.

  So today as I rushed headlong through it ~ just trying to keep a fussy baby with a cold feeling like he can manage his existence, trying to make meals and do school work with a seven year old who could care less about incredibly boring Math, or keeping up with a  twelve year old who's sole focus is facetiming with her friend, and as I go and go ~ doing, doing....I thought back to other times when everything hurt. I realize today the hurt is not really there. The awareness is there, the memories, but not the hurt.

  There comes a time, if you keep on going, and you keep working through it, that the hurt lessens. You realize that you've had these beautiful golden moments in life and you start to try to savor them more and more when they come. They can look different than moments in the past. You appreciate the days when nothing hurts as much or not at all. You focus in on the thankfulness, you release what you can't control, you appreciate all you can do, your gifts, and all who you are.

  I found this verse that my great grandmother had embroidered on a piece of fabric
It reads:

'Let me grow lovely, growing old.
So many old things do.
Laces and ivory and gold.
And silks need not be new.
And there is healing in old trees,
Old streets a glamour hold.
Why not I as well as they
Grow lovely, growing old.'

  All these moments in life the golden ones, the bitter cup ones, they have potential to age us well or to wizen us.

  In your pain and sadness know there are golden moments ahead. Lift your eyes, let your spirit grow as you age, look for the healing in the old trees, see the beauty in yellowed lace and brick lined streets. You can grow lovely and strong even as everything hurts.

Love Tansy


Friday, 15 September 2017

Cheery People

  There are people in life who are more cheery than others. They remind me of sunshine or those little sweet flitting birds that just sing and sing all day. They just sort of emanate sunshine as they go about their day. I really REALLY love those kinds of people...and I am not one of those people.... not at all. It sucks. If I am ever laughing just a bit...my family knows I am not feeling well. I literally laugh when I am sick and feverish. Other than that I don't laugh all that often. Why is this? Why am I like this? I WANT to feel happy and I want to be a ray of sunshine. What is it? I really don't know. I have thought of all sorts of answers. None of those answers changes the struggles. However even in feeling how I feel I am thankful. Even in feeling all the angst I know truth. I hope that if you struggle with anxiety, emptiness, sadness, overwhelm...and all the other things that seem to crowd into every day...I hope you also feel joy when it is needed most, and that you feel hope.
Hope is what fuels me, and Jesus. He helps me through everything.
Sending you lots of love today
Love Tansy

 This is my cousin and my sister.....both full of life and laughter. I love them dearly and am so thankful for their sunshine in my life..



Pictures of Our Mountain Climb

 
These are the pictures I took with a very small and not awesome quality camera of our mountain experience. I hope you enjoy them anyway :)


                                        We have finally arrived at the trail head! Yay!!



         The heavily fortified parking lot so that no vehicles have access to the Alpine Meadows.



                               My husband's outfit just cracked me up every time I looked at him!!!

                                                          The road turns into a path


                                                       The beauty is so refreshing to the soul 










                              He is the reason we went on the hike. He never gave up asking to go.









                                             I carried him sometimes when he needed a snuggle.



             We are about half way there in this picture. I was hoping this was the top...NOPE!


                                        We both got to the top last...but we got there.



                                                     This is the top. We have arrived!!!


                                                   Beautiful views from so high up.







                                          My husband and son are at the very tippy top



                                             Here is the valley below where we live











                                              She was writing on the rocks ~ in her element!


                                                                He is also in his element.



Now to get back down.....









                                                                Snuggling my sweet baby



He was our inspiration and he was a hero on the way up and down. A big check mark on his summer wish list!!!!