Snapshot

We're headed up to the lake this afternoon to take some pictures with the family. I'm anxious and excited. I haven't been in picture with my kids since May -- I really need to teach Joe how to use the DSLR.

Hopefully we get off a few good shots. I haven't had a belly button in three years, so we'll have to get creative with angles. I don't want to be photoshopped into perfection, but sometimes my mommy body gets the better of my emotions. Fingers crossed for cooperative children, soft lighting and a good hair day.



* all images via pinterest

Annual Papa Stronsay Bonfire

 Saturday 25th August saw the long awaited annual Papa Stronsay bonfire and BBQ.  It had been planned for earlier in the year, but due to bad weather it had to be postponed.  Thanks be to God, the weather turned out fine on the evening of the 25th!  We were glad to welcome a good number of the Stronsay community to Papa Stronsay for the occasion.

Br. Seelos celebrated his 21st birthday on the 22nd August.  Therefore he was given the honour of lighting the fire.

Blessing the fire:

 Domine Deus, Pater omnipotens, lumen indeficiens, qui es conditur omnium luminum: novum humc ignem sanctifica, et praesta; ut ad te, qui es lumen indeficiens, puris mentibus, post hujus saeculi caliginem, pervenire valeamus.  Per Christum Dominum Nostrum. Amen.

Lord God, Almighty Father, Maker of all light, and the light that never fails; hallow  this new fire, and grant that after the darkness of this world we may come with pure hearts to Thee, our perpetual light; through Christ our Lord.

O my Jesus, forgive us our sins and save us from the fires of hell; lead all souls to heaven, especially those in most need of Thy mercy!

Selection Sunday

We finalized all of our lights last month and the orders have been trickling in daily. Install isn't for a few more weeks, but it's been fun to sign for these deliveries and see some of our choices come to fruition. We are capping the lights in our informal dining room until the kids stop stabbing forks into the dining table (at which point we'll get a long farmhouse table). So in basically 6 years we should be ready to install the lanterns. I kid...I hope.



We're also reusing the lantern from our current dining room in our foyer. I wasn't sure what I wanted to put in the foyer and I didn't want to make an expensive mistake. So we'll live with our lantern for now and that will buy me a year or so to decide on the size and shape of something for the main entry.

(1) powder bath // stanway sconce ; (2) kitchen island // country industrial pendant; (3) informal dining room // small cornice hanging lantern; (4) upstairs hallway // Livex Lighting Harbor; (5) mudroom // country semi-flush bell jar lantern; (6) master bath // bryant sconce; (7) jack and jill bath // Norwell Lighting; (8) guest bath // Murray Feiss American Foursquare; (9) formal dining room // reed hanging light; (10) all closets // Seagull Lighting; (11) laundry room // Schoolhouse Electric Newbury; (12) butler's pantry // sienna flush mount.

We finalized our exterior lighting as well and scored an awesome deal on our lamp post since it was a discontinued Martha Stewart Lighting post. Our vendor did an incredible job finding affordable wall sconces that matched the post from another company. And after a bit of a wiring debacle wherein our exterior lights were wired in the wrong place completely (thankfully I noticed before the siding went up) we managed to get everything fixed. I think the exterior lights are some of the last things to go up at the house.

(1) exterior wall sconces // Seagull Kent; (2) outdoor fan // Monte Carlo 5WF42BK; 

(3) lamp post // Martha Stewart Lighting.

One of the fixtures that are a necessary evil for our family are ceiling fans. I know people either love them or hate them. But I need one on to sleep and my kids need them on as well. Plus there's nothing like fall in Upstate NY with the windows open and the fans running. The air is incredible. I tried to pick something that would just melt into the ceiling and not create too much of a visual ruckus, but frankly this fan is in nearly every room in our house. And that's just that. 

ceiling fans // Monte Carlo 5HM52RB

blurry and bleepy...

the august weeks 

have passed in a blur and a bleep.

i think summer can be a little like that.

day to day routines fall apart,

lazy ways leap at the chance of dallying all day by your side.

however when i look back, i see no lazy moments.

just moments i intended to spend on some thing,

only to have it taken over by another thing

or another body.

every trailer deserves a bit of feeling loved, Gladys was most delighted with the kitschy plastic flowers i found for her

Our Gladys has been the center of my attention,

each and every morn as i rise.

upon climbing the stairs late at night,

i reflect, she got a look in, 

for mere moments of my day.

with it in the high 90's outside, inside Gladys, we sweated it out together and marvelled how quickly wallpaper paste dries when its hitting a 100 inside a trailer

a right old motley crew waits patiently for their moment to shine

Gladys's cubbies were a little the worse for wear till we dabbled with wallpaper scraps

so with things a little blurry here at the shed,

a few bleeps joining in the party,

and knowing it is exactly 10 more days left 

without a 6:30am alarm set for school.

i'm embracing the blurriness,

encouraging the bleeps

and spending the last week of summer,

with my lads of three, Gladys and my critters.

some days little olive can't take the blurry bleepiness of our august days

i'll be back the first full week of september

with news to share of Our Gladys,

and our latest 'bonkers but could be brilliant' adventure together.

Gladys has her own cat so she never feels alone and frightened in the dark late at night

till then, wishing you all 

a few blurry, bleepy moments of your own

in the best possible way.

Tif