something I can groove to...

... and friends to groove with.

What I love about all of the friends that I have in my life is how they refresh my spirit and inspire the best parts of me to come out again. I need my friends, even if it's only once or twice a month (year) that we connect. 

Good friends always have something to share, and in the case of last night, something musical! Simple-drives and wine bottles in hand (latte for me) they arrived last night willing to share their cherished, highly sought out music collection with one another. What a gift! No USB port on my laptop went empty while we cut and pasted, high on the possibilities of songs to hear and i-pods to be made-over.

Thank you girls, because as I sit here completely drained from a week of work and life, I can be a little closer to you as I listen to the songs that have  most likely seen you through your summer, your year and everything that has happened to you.

Love Always, 

Joan Blondina

feeling crafty once again...

... and finally inspired!

I am sad and ashamed and shocked to admit that I am secretly relieved that summer is over. Please, no throwing rotten tomatoes! Hear me out! This summer was hot and stale; made even more hot and stale by my super life-giving, blood-pumping, hormonal body. And I was tiiired in a way that I can't properly describe. Not the kind of tired that you get after a long, hard day of work or an all-nighter party. The kind of tired you would get (I can only imagine) from running a marathon up a hill carrying a 40lb backpack and then building a house and then on the way home weeding everyones front lawn. Except that nothing like that has been accomplished. Although it is a pretty big deal to grow a whole new organ, and to prioritize the nutritional needs of a new life. While I have absolutely no reservations about sharing my body with this child, I did observe my lack of interest in much else. I didn't do much cleaning or cooking or yoga and barely any crafting, considering that I typically have 10 little projects on the go. But, as the seasons change so does my spirit. I am feeling revived and much more comfortable and ready to participate in the world again!

Here are some crafty ideas that I have up my sleeve, thanks to the many inspiring women out there in this big world of ours:

These are button cookies, and the instructions can be found here! They are absolutely adorable and although I don't bake I can't imagine that they are very difficult.

I don't read the newspaper (I just don't get media's idea of 'news') but I know where I can get my hands on some. These are a cute little way to give gifts, and the instructions are here. I can imagine lots of other creative materials to use...

Why didn't I think of this? It's a picture frame made into a dry erase board with the use of some pretty fabric! You are welcome for providing you with an easy and impressive handmade birthday/mother's day/Christmas/any day gift. Here is how you make it. Handmade could not be easier.

Finally, I don't remember where I got this photo from, so I can't source it, but it inspires me to make some hair pieces in fall colours. This summer I learned how to make fabric flowers (thank you Internet) and it's a really simple and relaxing process.

Hopefully I continue to stay inspired! I welcome some cheering on from anyone who reads this! Soon I will photograph and post some more knitting/crochet that I have been working on. And something tells me there will be some pregnancy related posts on their way...

P.S. You have seen the extent of my blog-design skills. If anyone out there wants to volunteer to make it prettier I would be glad to accept the offer. I might even make you some button cookies!

Love Always
Joan Blondina

what i've been up to...

I've been up to a lot this summer, and seemingly nothing at all. Back in the spring, I mapped my summer out as follows: read various books on self-discovery and personal development, spend my days on a blanket in the park, find a signature summer wine, work on my green thumb, perfect a fancy hairdo, and knit a supply of hats, scarves, and various other items to sell in the fall. Instead, I  spent most of July and August laying on the floor of my living room watching reruns of "The Office", watching my bottles of wine collect dust on the wine-rack, and let all the herbs in my balcony garden go to seed and the tomato plants suffer starvation. 


It turns out that, to my surprise, while I was making my summer plans my body was spending the month of June making a tiny blueberry sized baby!!! The perfect little disruption from my selfish, indulgent summer plans! 


We are so excited to be making this little gift, and despite one month of despising everything edible and being too EXHAUSTED to do anything other than breath, I feel AMAZING! As I write this I am 14 weeks, or three and a half months pregnant. Yay second trimester!! The little Sea Monkey is about the size of a tomato, and is probably sucking it's thumb right now, the little monkey! Here are some photos from last week:

The Sea Monkey is laying upside-down here, but still managing to give a little "wave", although I think it's actually the umbilical cord. 

Here we can see a profile of babe's perfect little face!! AAAWWW!!


Since learning of the little monkey, we've been busy reading about "what to expect", attending midwife appointments, hearing the perfect galloping heartbeat, and dreaming about what little babe will be like. I tried to hold off on knitting anything for baby for as long as I could, but today I just had to make this heart-melting little baby hat: 

Couldn't you just melt?! It's made from the softest organic cotton in such nice colours. I am itching to make 100 more adorable tiny hats!


Ok, enough baby talk for now. I have also been into a few other things this summer, including some quality beach time, learning how to dragonboat, and a beautiful August wedding!


Warren's parents bought a beach house in Port Stanley this summer. It's located on Lake Erie on the most beautiful beach. We spent some time there tanning, swimming and enjoying family sillyness! I made sure to grow a nice little pebble collection for a beach-inspired craft that I dreamed up. 

The beach also inspired me to make these nautical bracelets for my dragonboat team to wear while we raced:

More summer crafts included some fabric flowers which the bridesmaids wore at my friend's wedding:

I have so many beautiful photos from that wedding... but that will have to wait for another day.

For now, I hope you enjoyed our little news, and looking at some of the crafts I have been working on this summer. 


But, alas, I must sign off. Being a baby incubator it tiring and it's late!
Love Always, 
Joan Blondins

something so beautiful...

...to be alone. by yourself. and enjoy your own company without checking 'bbm' to see if your friend read your message (why did they not reply back??), or calling someone up just to fill the silence.

I love this little clip (click here!).

Love Always,
Joan Bloindina

beautiful signs of summer...

When it's super hot and sticky like it has been this past few weeks, the first instinct I have is to complain. My hair is frizzy. My clothes are sticking to my skin. I can't sleep. The cat's are cranky. But then I remember that I love summer! Here is a small list of the nice little things that means it's summer:

~stained green thumbs from opening pounds of sweet-pea pods
~several shampoos before the campfire smell leaves my hair
~strawbetty-red stained blotches on the wood cutting board
~kids playing at the park on the walk to work
~sand in the car, bugs on the windshield
~sleeping with no covers
~rainbows over the cityscape
~caring for friends and family's cats and gardens in their absense
~flip-flop tan lines
~ signs of life EVERYWHERE
~ a collection of SEASHELLS, STONES, and other TREASURES at the bottom of all my purses

I have to remind myself to appreciate these little things. Once winter arrives I ache in their absence.

Love Always
Joan Blondina

1 of the 100 things I love about yoga...

There are so many things that I love about Ashtanga yoga. I have been doing yoga for about 4 years, but only consistently for a year. By consistently, I mean that it is consistently in my life, despite my sporadic lack of discipline. Nonetheless, I love it and the benefits are infinite.

One significant gift that yoga has brought into my life is a more positive body image. Never am I so in touch with my body as when I practice yoga.

In the most obvious way, you can’t spend three to five hours a week head to toe in skin-tight lulu spandex without confronting some lumps and rolls, no matter who you are. No three-way mirror required. You get to be up-close and personal with what your mother gave you.

On a deeper level, I have learned to see my body as a tool rather than a burden.

I can’t hide from myself halfway through a class when I am attempting to curl myself around myself and at the same time breath and then ‘pop up’ into a vinyasa. Here I am forced to understand my abilities and limitations.

I have some pretty wise teachers at my studio. I can say that without a doubt that I have learned more from them than five years of university. Many of them say ‘if you were meant to have a perfect asana right now you would.’ Wise, right? One teacher in particular says ‘if you can, you must’. Also wise!

This dichotomy between acknowledging what you are able to do and knowing the difference between not being able to do something and not wanting to is powerful.

It is in the most difficult poses that my body teaches me important lessons about who I really am. Do I give up, or persist? Do I panic and distract myself or do I embrace the discomfort? Do I honour my body and where it’s at today or do I crank myself into Marichyasana B and risk injury? These considerations lead to answers about the real me. There’s no fooling anyone in yoga. Not even yourself. 

In yoga body is my teacher, so how could I not learn to love it?

I won’t lie and say that I love my body every day. I can certainly get caught up in expectations and comparisons. I might see someone with a flat stomach and think ‘I should get a personal trainer…’ but really, I am smart enough to know that no one has a perfect body, and yet everyone’s body is perfect. It’s about having a relationship with your body that is mutual; a little give and take.

For the most part I accept my body as perfect for me. If I was meant to have any other body, I would. And if I really wanted to I could. But as it is right now I understand it. I do my best to give it respect, and I am blessed with mobility and freedom from pain.

Thank you Body! In yogic tradition:

shantih, shantih, shantih

OM

Namaste!

Love Always,

Joan Blondina

i gotta get home there's a garden to tend...

I gotta get home there's a garden to tend

there's fruit on the ground and the birds have all moved back into my attic, whistling static,

when the young learn to fly I will patch all the holes up again

well i can't believe that my lime tree is dead

I thought it was sleeping

I guess it got fed up with not being fed

and I would be too I need food in my belly and hope that my time isn't soon

so I try to understand what I can't hold in my hand, and where ever we are, home is there too

and if you could try to find it too, cause this place is overgrown into with works in bloom,

home is wherever we are, if there's love there too

in the back of our house theres a trail that wont end

we were walking so far that it grew back in,

there's no trail at all,only grass growing tall,

get out my machette and battle with time once again,

but i'm bout to loose because i'll be damned if time don't win

I gotta get home theirs a garden to tend, all the seeds from the fruit burried again

there own family trees teach them thank you and please as they spread their own roots they watch their young fruit grow again

and this old trail will lead me right back to where it begins

So i try to understand what I can't hold in my hand, and whatever I find i'll find my way back to you

and if you could try to find it too, cause this place is overgrown with works in bloom

home is wherever we are if there is love there too.

"Home" by Jack Johnson

Pretty, eh?

Love Always,

Joan Blondina

on the road again...

It's been pretty hot and lazy around here (to clarify, I am NOT complaining!). It is so hot, in fact, that even the cats are too lazy to hunt my yarn which I have carelessly left out a few times.

So I have not yet documented our last road trip, which was over two weeks ago. 

We love to travel, and hopping in the car with camping supplies, towels and flip flops always reminds me of the first summer we were together. We have always loved our little adventures. 

This adventure began when we shipped the kitties off to Warren's brother-in-law's house. It was super nice of him to take them, especially because he is extremely allergic to pets. He's a good guy!

Next we headed to Whitby to spend some time with my parents. They will be moving soon, so that was one of our last times to enjoy the house together. We also visited my sister's new apartment where we broke the place in with the world's best falafel (which, surprisingly is not in Lebanon or Israel, but in Ajax ontario ;)) and some laughs! Warren and dad golfed (woot woot dad! You beat Warren twice!!) and mom and I shopped at value village and had wine on the deck. I love my parents, and this was the best possible way to start the vacation.

Next we hit the 401 east for Ottawa to spend Canada Day with a good friend of ours D-vo. 

D-vo is a great guy; one of the best. He always shows us a great time, and is the best tour-guide in the city. He didn't grow up in Ottawa, but I swear he knows more about it than any capital city native. He brings us to the best restaurants, the coolest bars, and introduces us to amazing people. There are always things planned from parties, to D-vo style tours of the city, to surprise trips to exotic provinces ("Sara, did you bring your passport"?). This time was no exception!

So, being Canada day, the plan was to be super touristy and hang out downtown, have some drinks at the market, see the queen, stop in at a party, and see some fire works. 

Downtown was pretty well all closed down for the celebrations. Everybody wanted to see Queen E herself. 

 And guess what... we saw her! Do you see her there. She's really tiny, but there she is, with her red suit and white hat! Yup, we waited through all the (ahem) Canadian talent to see this... we were ready for a drink by this point!

We spent the day walking around, amazed at the sea of red. I love Ottawa. It is a city with a lot of spirit. If it weren't for the epic winters, I might already live there.

We walked until the sun went down, and enjoyed the best fire works I have ever seen! 

D-vo really showed us a good time, but it was time for us to move along. We got up early the next morning, grabbed some coffee/tea and hit up the nearest grocery store for supplies for our next adventure. 

A few hours west, and were were, once again, in Algonquin park. To prove to you how much I love it there, I hereby am going on record that when I die I want my body's ashes sprinkled onto one of the beautiful, crystalline lakes that live here. I love this park. It's by far my favorite in Ontario. Five minutes into the park we were greeted by this lovely creature:

a MOOSE! I know you can't tell, but trust me, it was a moose. She was pretty camera shy, so this was all I got. But don't worry; I met plenty of critters who were willing to pose for a shot. More to come...

But first we had to set up camp, and get on with the relaxing! Here are some photos of life at Pog Lake.

Obviously, we were in the wild, and were lucky to see a few, non threatening, cute critters! I am a big animal fan, and I love doing wildlife photo shoots like this:

On a canoe ride we saw this beautiful loon tending her nest. Warren called her lazy... men. The next day when we paddled past we saw that she had abandoned her nest. When we looked around we saw this:

AAAWWW! She was taking her little fluffy babe for a swim!


Other critters we saw:

Ya, nothing too ferocious or anything. By the time we were up and about it was too hot for any bigger animals. Probably for the best. I saw this on the news this morning. Better to photograph the little guys!

When Warren and I go camping we like to make really good food. No hotdogs (god forbid!) or jiffy pop. We make REAL food. Slow food. 


We did some spicy veggies over cornbread:

A campfire pizza:

Corn and potatoes with an organic, free range chicken:

And not ever to be left out of our camping ritual, HOME MADE MARSHMALLOWS, with graham crackers and organic dark chocolate. Ya, you're jealous, I know. There are no photos of the actual s'mores in action, because that happened after hours, but here are the marshmallows: 

They are the yummiest, fluffiest, vanillaiest things you will ever eat! Next year, come camping with us and you will see!


We had a lot of fun on our little getaway together. It will be too long until the next one. I will just have to look over these photos over and over again and relive the relaxed, easy feelings of being on the road.


Love Always,
Joan Blondina