~your opinion please~

At the end of August we are going camping with a whole shwack of families from the "little hamlet of loveliness"

...exciting? yes.

inspiring? yes.

do we all fit in our little 3 man tent? no.

do we need gear? yes....everything from cook stoves/coolers/stuff.......



So for all you camping folks out there: What is your favorite, must have camping item?

It has been years since we last tented it.....hmmm....pre-kids?? (I know, I know....but seriously...4 kids+moving+renovations+homeschooling=VERY busy!!) We are determined to be fully outfitted so that we can make camping a regular event...at least a few times a year. I find it kinda odd that we haven't been in so lone...Adam and I both LOVE camping/ kayaking/ canoeing/ hiking.

First on the list: a tent that will endure weather/many ups&downs/ruff and tumble kiddo's and big enough for our growing family (8 person)


my thought: Big Agnes Flying Diamond 8 Tent

a bit more $ but it seems super durable and I can order it the Mountain Equipment Co-op.

hmmm...okay outdoorsy folks...I need your expertise!

♀~we are wise, wise women, we are giggling girls~♀

Every year on the weekend of the Summer Solstice I pack my backpack and head out to an organic farm co-operative for the Wise Women Solstice retreat. In the 4 years that we have lived here I have always made sure that I make it out to at least part of this weekend of blissful women wonderfulness. This year I asked our oldest daughter, Beena now 11, if she would like to join me since, after all, she is almost a women. Her eyes were so full of light as she exclaimed " really??!!! YES!!". Her next question "mama, can I ask questions?"

You see, one of the things that Beena loves...more then nearly any thing else, is to sit with women, listening to conversations and asking all of the millions of questions that come to her creative mind. Her questions are deep and soulful, sweet and innocent, wistful and adventurous. She was beyond ecstatic to spend the afternoon/evening with all of these wonderful women who welcomed her with open arms, honoured by her inquistiveness and enthusiastic spirit.

Sharing this special, sacred time with our daughter made my day!!! heck, made my.....life!!??!! I have dreamed of doing these things with her when she was a baby...building the bond of our women connection. Strengthening her roots as she comes of age. Giving her confidence and faith in female relationships by inviting her to take part in an event such as this, where women and girls of all age, sizes, walks of life get together and celebrate our similarities and our differences. Having soooo much fun just being together. Relationships that grow year after year. Relationships that share laughter and tears....and food!! oh the food!! It never ceases to amaze me how phenomenal the food is when we all get together. Maybe we should rename the even the Hungry Women's Food Gathering!!lol

It was such a gift to be able to share this magic with my daughter. I am beyond grateful.

♀~base camp~♀

♀~Beena planting her tree~♀

♀~mmm, Greek salad for the feta queen~♀

♀~drumming to start an evening of music~♀

♀~a few of the stops along the fairy walk the Beena helped to create...enchanting lite by candles under the light of the moon~♀

~Sighs of Contentment~

We have been working hard.....really hard.....I am tempted to write fricken, fricken hard, simply to express the level of craziness to our hard workin'. Dad-e-o and I have been, as many of you know, working on our house in preparation to sell. This complete remodel has included taking down walls, rebuilding spaces, building the cabinets for the bathrooms and kitchen, building and installing all the doors and windows, laying hardwood floor and tile, painting....oh...and that lovely and utterly disgusting task of drywalling, plumbing and electrical work, lighting, creating a new bathroom, building stairs for the deck as well as a roof extension and railings...which in turn required painting, landscaping.... I must be forgetting something but you get the idea. We have done this all ourselves and 90% of it since March. Needless to say we are getting a wee touch exhausted.

But...we are nearly done!!! The excitement that is building is electric. Soon, so soon, we will have sold this house. We will be on the road, traveling with our beautiful children across Canada for around 2 months. When I look around this house I find it almost hard to believe that WE did this. Designed and created such a exquisitely beautiful space. There is no doubt in my mind that this house will sell as soon as it hits the market. And when it does....AWAY WE Go!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Anyway...the whole purpose of this post was to write about my blissfully relaxing day yesterday. We took a break! (I can hear all you jaws hitting the floor) yes, we, as in dad-e-o AND I along side our children. After spending the morning hard at work painting the deck (me) and working in the shop (Adam) we put down our tools, rinsed of the sweat and headed off to the Garlic festival. Our intention was only to stay for the duration of my performance (did I mention I'm a belly dancer?) and then head back home and back into the grubbies. The performance was awesome! Astrid, Celine and I shimmied our hearts out in the blazing sun....wow, was it HOT!! Afterwards as we were driving home Dad-e-o declares that we need to go to the beach. Its far to hot to work outside anyway, he says. Alright...I'm in.....whoops of glee and delight from the back seats tell me that the troops are thrilled with the idea so home we go to put on bathing suits and grab towels and snacks.

We decide to check out Green Lake, which turns out to be a fabulous choice and only about 45 min from home. The beach is sandy, the water clear, and, you guessed it, green! We spend an afternoon blissed out in the sun, refreshed by the water and the simple pleasure that being together brings. Man, I do sooo love my family! We hadn't been there 5 minutes and Mr. Bop had a jar filled with fresh water shrimp and some kind of crazy water beetle....my budding biologist.

As the slant of the sun shifts everything to orange we head home. Everyones need for water and lovin's fulfilled. I can hear sighs of contentment as we drive, sand between our toes, hair and tangle of wind and sun. And I wonder if we would be so thankful, so truly grateful for this gift of an afternoon, had we not been working so hard for so many weeks.

Next we just need to remeber the camera!!......although I'm sure the image in my mind will stay with me as long as my heart beats!