Thursday 22 November 2012
Saturday 10 November 2012
Great Classic Literature that everyone should read
Today is my favorite kind of day... pouring rain and howling wind and a Sunday! Perfect for reading a good book under the covers! And on days like this I always find the classic novels to be the best, something about the time periods and the formality of them just transports me far away and the dustier the book, the better. So for those of you who have never tried an old book and for those who have tried them all and are running out of ideas, I've put together a list of my favorite classic novels in no particular order for you to enjoy:
Emily Gaskell - Mary Barton, North and South, Cranford, Wives and Daughters
Jane Austen - Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey
Charles Dickens - Little Dorrit, The Old Curiosity Shop, The Adventures of Oliver Twist, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend
Miguel De Cervantes - Don Quixote
Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels
Henry Fielding - Tom Jones
Laurence Sterne - Tristam Shandy
Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights
Anne Bronte - Agnes Grey
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
Gustave Flaubert - Madam Bovary
Louisa May Alcott - Little Women
Herman Melville - Moby Dick
Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karinina, War and Peace
Mark Twain - Huckleberry Finn
Lewis Caroll - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
George Eliot - Daniel Deronda
Marcel Proust - In Search of Lost Time
James Joyce - Ulysses, Finnegans Wake, Dubliners
Alexandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask
Oscar Wilde - The Portrait of Dorian Grey, The Importance of Being Earnest (a play but still a good read)
Ernest Hemingway - For Whom The Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea
Virginia Wolfe - Mrs. Dalloway
J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit
Kenneth Graham - The Wind In The Willows
J.D Salinger - The Catcher in the Rye
George Orwell - 1984
E.B White - Charlotte's Web
Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita
Peter Carey - Oscar and Lucinda
Salman Rushdie - Haroun and the Sea of Stories (modern but it's wonderful!)
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Golding - Lord of the Flies
Emily Gaskell - Mary Barton, North and South, Cranford, Wives and Daughters
Jane Austen - Emma, Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Persuasion, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey
Charles Dickens - Little Dorrit, The Old Curiosity Shop, The Adventures of Oliver Twist, Bleak House, Great Expectations, Our Mutual Friend
Miguel De Cervantes - Don Quixote
Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels
Henry Fielding - Tom Jones
Laurence Sterne - Tristam Shandy
Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
Emily Bronte - Wuthering Heights
Anne Bronte - Agnes Grey
William Makepeace Thackeray - Vanity Fair
Gustave Flaubert - Madam Bovary
Louisa May Alcott - Little Women
Herman Melville - Moby Dick
Leo Tolstoy - Anna Karinina, War and Peace
Mark Twain - Huckleberry Finn
Lewis Caroll - Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
George Eliot - Daniel Deronda
Marcel Proust - In Search of Lost Time
James Joyce - Ulysses, Finnegans Wake, Dubliners
Alexandre Dumas - The Count of Monte Cristo, The Man in the Iron Mask
Oscar Wilde - The Portrait of Dorian Grey, The Importance of Being Earnest (a play but still a good read)
Ernest Hemingway - For Whom The Bell Tolls, The Old Man and the Sea
Virginia Wolfe - Mrs. Dalloway
J.R.R. Tolkien - The Lord of The Rings, The Hobbit
Kenneth Graham - The Wind In The Willows
J.D Salinger - The Catcher in the Rye
George Orwell - 1984
E.B White - Charlotte's Web
Vladimir Nabokov - Lolita
Peter Carey - Oscar and Lucinda
Salman Rushdie - Haroun and the Sea of Stories (modern but it's wonderful!)
F. Scott Fitzgerald - The Great Gatsby
William Golding - Lord of the Flies
Monday 8 October 2012
A few of my favorite things
In light of Thanksgiving I thought I'd write down a few of my favorite things in life that I am grateful for, and we could start a gratitude list. What are your favorite things?
- children's laughter
- giant trees with sunlit leaves
- tea and biscuits and a delicious book
- cats that stumble and then check if anyone is looking
- dogs running at full speed along the beach
- color! everywhere and anywhere it amazes me
- warm blankets on cold rainy mornings
- fresh drinking water right out of the stream
- piano playing at night in the apartment above me
- pumkin pie covered in fresh whipped cream...for breakfast ;)
- the quiet in my mind when I start a new painting
- warm glowing windows on snowy evenings
Sunday 7 October 2012
Gratitude
In light of Thanksgiving and the full weekend ahead, I just wanted to send out a quick post on Thankfullness. Because no matter what you have, someone else will always have more, and no matter what you lack, someone else out there always has less, I would just like to stay in the moment this weekend and say thank you for the people with which we get to share it all with. Without others, there is nothing to share at all.
Sunday 30 September 2012
Great Ideas for Home Made Toys
I love the moment in a child's eyes when they realise that they can make or do something all by themselves, and when you tell a child they can make their own toys, well their eyes practically pop out! Hand made toys are durable, economic and meaningful, sometimes they can even become heirlooms passed from generation to generation. They generally last longer than bought toys (which means less land-fill waste) and so does the quiet time in your house when you teach your children to make their own fun! So here are some great ideas for making your own children's toys:
1. Blocks - these will have to be cut, so they require some woodworking skill, but they can be painted bright colors with child safe paints and if you're feeling fancy, remember they don't all have to be square to be blocks, try making some whacky shapes for endless building possibilities.
2. Rag dolls - there are countless patterns online for dolls and here too, get imaginative, because making them is as much fun as playing with them! I have a beautiful doll that my mother and I made together when I was 7 years old and I still remember the stitches I had to learn as we made it. Here's a fairly simple pattern to get you started: http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/free-doll-pattern.html
3. Kites - make a kite on a rainy day and the sun will surely come out when you're ready to fly it! You can use newspaper or fabric, either will work and of course be sure to decorate them brightly! http://www.allfreecrafts.com/kids/paper-kites.shtml
4. Felt Cutouts - This is a simple and endlessly creative toy, just glue a felt covering onto a square piece of wood and you have a scene. Then make cutout images from other felt pieces, of any theme you like and you can place them on the scene, arranging them however you like, and they will stick lightly onto the background. I have one that I created with a background of blue sky and green grass and made cutouts of a barn and trees and farm animals, but you can make a holiday scene, a clothing store or a tea set or space ships, anything really.
5. Jump rope - the softer the rope the better for jump rope so that it bends and swings easily. You can tie each end into a knot for handles or get fancy with large beads or wooden cylinders, its up to you.
6. Paper dolls - for the artistic child, these are great fun, use a thicker paper or cardstock cutout for the doll and thinner paper for the clothing, and remember to add folding tabs to the clothes so that they stay on the doll. Kiddley.com has some good basic templates: http://kiddley.com/2006/11/01/diy-paper-doll-templates/
7. Matching Games - This game can be played with a simple deck of cards, using the numbers and colors to indicate a match, but you can also make your own beautiful game set by gluing your favorite pictures onto card stock cards or even painting your own wooden masterpieces as a set.
8. Puzzles - these too, can be created by pasting your favorite picture onto cardstock or wood and then cutting out the pieces, but again you can also paint your own image and make the toy that much more special. Be sure to seal your wooden puzzles with a non-toxic varnish.
9. PVC Pipe - you can do a lot with PVC pipe but the most popular toy ideas are to make flutes by drilling holes into short pieces, or making marshmellow guns, for some harmless action, and I will add a video tuturial link below for each.
10. Bubbles - Always fun, here's a recipe and experiement with thin wire to make your own fun-shaped bubble wands.
Bubble Recipe
1 Cup Water (2)
2 Tablespoons Light Karo syrup or 2 Tablespoons Glycerin (3)
4 Tablespoons Dishwashing liquid
11. Rubber Band Ball - All you need is a pile of thick rubber bands and just start wrapping them around eachother. The more colorful the better and be sure to use the thick ones because it hurts way less if you accidentally snap yourself...trust me!
12. Playdough - this is another great inside toy for rainy days. Here is a good recipe from http://www.playdoughrecipe.com
How to make a PVC pennywhistle:
How to make a PVC marshmellow gun:
For ideas and recipes, thanks to:
http://maryeaudet.hubpages.com/hub/HomemadeToys_Perfect_For_Christmas_or_Anytime
http://www.playdoughrecipe.com
http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/gamestoysartscraftstideaskids.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-JN_vMXSP10
http://kiddley.com/2006/11/01/diy-paper-doll-templates/
1. Blocks - these will have to be cut, so they require some woodworking skill, but they can be painted bright colors with child safe paints and if you're feeling fancy, remember they don't all have to be square to be blocks, try making some whacky shapes for endless building possibilities.
2. Rag dolls - there are countless patterns online for dolls and here too, get imaginative, because making them is as much fun as playing with them! I have a beautiful doll that my mother and I made together when I was 7 years old and I still remember the stitches I had to learn as we made it. Here's a fairly simple pattern to get you started: http://www.make-baby-stuff.com/free-doll-pattern.html
3. Kites - make a kite on a rainy day and the sun will surely come out when you're ready to fly it! You can use newspaper or fabric, either will work and of course be sure to decorate them brightly! http://www.allfreecrafts.com/kids/paper-kites.shtml
4. Felt Cutouts - This is a simple and endlessly creative toy, just glue a felt covering onto a square piece of wood and you have a scene. Then make cutout images from other felt pieces, of any theme you like and you can place them on the scene, arranging them however you like, and they will stick lightly onto the background. I have one that I created with a background of blue sky and green grass and made cutouts of a barn and trees and farm animals, but you can make a holiday scene, a clothing store or a tea set or space ships, anything really.
5. Jump rope - the softer the rope the better for jump rope so that it bends and swings easily. You can tie each end into a knot for handles or get fancy with large beads or wooden cylinders, its up to you.
6. Paper dolls - for the artistic child, these are great fun, use a thicker paper or cardstock cutout for the doll and thinner paper for the clothing, and remember to add folding tabs to the clothes so that they stay on the doll. Kiddley.com has some good basic templates: http://kiddley.com/2006/11/01/diy-paper-doll-templates/
7. Matching Games - This game can be played with a simple deck of cards, using the numbers and colors to indicate a match, but you can also make your own beautiful game set by gluing your favorite pictures onto card stock cards or even painting your own wooden masterpieces as a set.
8. Puzzles - these too, can be created by pasting your favorite picture onto cardstock or wood and then cutting out the pieces, but again you can also paint your own image and make the toy that much more special. Be sure to seal your wooden puzzles with a non-toxic varnish.
9. PVC Pipe - you can do a lot with PVC pipe but the most popular toy ideas are to make flutes by drilling holes into short pieces, or making marshmellow guns, for some harmless action, and I will add a video tuturial link below for each.
10. Bubbles - Always fun, here's a recipe and experiement with thin wire to make your own fun-shaped bubble wands.
Bubble Recipe
1 Cup Water (2)
2 Tablespoons Light Karo syrup or 2 Tablespoons Glycerin (3)
4 Tablespoons Dishwashing liquid
11. Rubber Band Ball - All you need is a pile of thick rubber bands and just start wrapping them around eachother. The more colorful the better and be sure to use the thick ones because it hurts way less if you accidentally snap yourself...trust me!
12. Playdough - this is another great inside toy for rainy days. Here is a good recipe from http://www.playdoughrecipe.com
A cool playdough recipe
Ingredients:- 1/2 cup of salt
- 1 cup of water
- 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar
- 1 cup of flour
- 1 tablespoon of oil
- Food coloring
- Mix the flour, salt, cream of tartar and oil in a pan.
- Mix the water with the food coloring.
- Add the water/color-mix to the other ingredients, stir well.
- Cook on medium heat for 4-5 minutes, while constantly stiring.
- When the mixture becomes “doughy”, remove from heat and start kneading. (the dough will be hot, so mind your hands)
- When desired texture is achieved, the playdough is finished, enjoy!
How to make a PVC pennywhistle:
How to make a PVC marshmellow gun:
For ideas and recipes, thanks to:
http://maryeaudet.hubpages.com/hub/HomemadeToys_Perfect_For_Christmas_or_Anytime
http://www.playdoughrecipe.com
http://www.artistshelpingchildren.org/gamestoysartscraftstideaskids.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=-JN_vMXSP10
http://kiddley.com/2006/11/01/diy-paper-doll-templates/
Thursday 27 September 2012
Louie Schwartzberg talks about Gratitude
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=gXDMoiEkyuQ
When the world seems too big, or too hard, I watch this video...and I am grateful.
Simple living in small houses
Right now I live in a 400 sq foot apartment with my family and I have to say, I relish the comfort of living close. Growing up, we lived in bigger homes and without a thought, we each would shut ourselves up in our own rooms, where we barely had to meet in passing, living almost like roommates. I thought that it would be more peaceful, each person having their own space and privacy...but somehow instead of being happier with each other, we became like strangers. Good news went unshared and conflicts went unresolved because there were literally too many walls between us all. Living in each other's pockets now, it can be crowded and grumpy, sure, but even the grumpiest moments are shared between all of us and that makes them precious. Happiness really isn't about the things you have, it's about the things you share, and in my tiny home I've found that less space makes for more room, room for love and growth and the things that really matter. So, as I've been reflecting lately on my minimalist living arrangements, I've gathered some great web resources and I thought I'd share them with you and spread the inspiration of living in small homes!
Small Living Resources:
Living in Small Houses: Dramatically Reduce Your Debt by Living Large in Small Spaces
Small Space Living: is dedicated to bringing you books, designs and products that can make smaller living more comfortable and enriching. http://smallspaceliving-about.blogspot.ca
Small House Society are a cooperatively managed organisation dedicated to the promotion of smaller housing alternatives which can be more affordable and ecological.
http://www.resourcesforlife.com/small-house-society
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