The people I meet...

Canada Day and Bon Jovi, Jon that is.......

well well well.....I cannot believe that I have lived this long and did not know about BonJovi.

I mean, I'd heard his songs, I'd seen him around, but I had NO IDEA.....ladies,

you know what I'm talking about!

A friend's husband won tickets to his recent concert in Moncton....so she

(a die hard Bon Jovi fan since she was 17) invited me to go with her.

So I packed up my disposable toilet seat covers, hand sanitizer,wipes,sensible shoes and off we went.

Holy Smokes! I've never screamed so hard in my life:) I didn't know half the songs (oh he sings????), but I really didn't need to (ladies, you know what I"m talking about). 

We had so much fun.

And now, about 23 years later, I have a confession to make: when I worked at a daycare all those years ago, there was a sweet mischievous little boy. One day, he brought in a BonJovi cassette tape. 

'Oh NO you don't.....you're not playing that here you're not,' I said with authority. 

Yep, I'm eating my words. So Mr. EM, if you're out there, my sincerest apologies. You were ahead of your time. 

Well, actually, you were ahead of my time. 

Who knew it would take me this long.

So on the July 1st Canada Day, I'm eating red and white.... frozen raspberries and vanilla yogurt with a sprinkling of hemp protein powder and hemp seeds-my favorite snack.

  

Happy Canada Day. You'll never guess what I'm listening to ;) 

You've heard of the Garden of Eden?

well, may I introduce to you, the Garden of Weedin'.

WARNING: images aren't for the faint of heart.

My crop circle garden, full of beautiful , glorious weeds.

(the garbage bags were an attempt to get rid of ingrown grass!)

But wait, LOOK, is that cilantro growing?  Must be from last year.

And , a blurry strawberry!

And finally, what would my garden be without the head gardener?

He's got a whole crew of thousands giving him a hand.....or....er.....a suction? Whatever those guys have.

Ok, now that I've settled on the fact that the garden of Weedin' is a go for this year, I can rest easy.

The basement? Oh yeah, the basement project 2009, phase 1,2 and 3. Still in phase 2, the painting phase. After having 4 showers yesterday to cool off, I'm taking a break today to clean up some of the 

laundry that's gone unwashed.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone:)

I was dreaming of lime green.....

but when I woke up I just saw blue....

I'm almost done I'm almost done I'm almost done.....I can do it I know I can:)

I've spent alot of time in the basement lately. I crank the tunes on the CD player.....Dave Matthews has been keeping me company. Today I think I'll dig out Paul Simon's Graceland, just because I can.

But the two who have been faithfully keeping me company are my two sidekicks, max and charlie.

When I'm done Max is usually lying on the top step waiting for me. Sweet.

This morning he just watched me go down the stairs.....

He's probably thinking, "WHAT?????? Not again woman. Why why why the basement? The couch is much more comfortable.'

He doesn't realize that very soon, after I'm done painting, the carpet will be put down and 

he will never want to leave the basement.

Have a great day everyone, whatever color you choose:)

Is it HOT in here or did I just paint the ceiling orange?

Well yes Kim, you did.

Oops, let me just wipe that off.

You see, when I embarked on this project I wanted to paint the entire basement white.

I have years of artwork to display and I don't want to be distracted by the color on the wall.

But I also want it to be fun so I asked for suggestions.

Bad idea.

Me: Jacob , what color would you like to see in the basement?

well, those big brown eyes of his just about popped out of the sockets.

Jacob: how about the entire basement orange?

Me: Huh?....... followed by laughter, followed by, ARE YOU SERIOUS?

Long story short. We compromised.

One wall.

There's going to be another wall of color. I'm hoping I can get to that later today. 

Jacob hasn't seen his wall yet. I hope he likes it 'cause that's all he's getting:)

And to all the fine citizens of Sackville, you're welcome.

I have now single handedly decreased the mosquito population in town.

If you look closely, you will see their carcases in the wall. Hee hee:)

I call it WHITE ON WHITE.

for it is a work of art. Or it will be if I survive the painting.

Part of my spring cleaning project evolved into a basement reno- a place for the kids to hangout, which grew to have a bathroom and an office for me.

WHAT?????? You mean we can actually eat at the dining room table??????

You mean the kitchen counter won't be covered in lenses, memory cards  and CDs???????

Oh yes Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. It's called the Royal Bank of Canada:)

So, the carpenters are gone, the plasterers finished, the plumbers and electricians will be back.

But first I have to paint.

The entire basement.

I'm an artist. I'm not into straight lines and doing things by the book. 

1. Prime the entire basement -check.

2. Paint the baseboards, doorways and trim-check.

3. Paint the ceiling. Yuck yuck YUCK- check.

4. Wash nightly with an SOS pad.....check. sort of;)

5. Borrow a dehumidifier from your friendly neighbor due to the bubbling effect.

Some people call it too humid to paint. I like to think of it as texturizing. Same deal with the bits of dirt and dead bugs embedded in the ceiling. A work of art.

Which leads me to something my lovely carpenters made JUST for me. 

There was a wasted space in the little hallway leading to my office. I asked for some shelves.

And look at the masterpiece I got......

It should be all done in another week or two.( I still have to put the actual paint on the walls.

White white white.)

It will take longer to get the 

white paint out of my hair, ears, nose and eyes.

I haven't been this excited about something in a long time.

I can't wait for the kids to have friends over. I can't wait to have my friends

over to do crafts in the crafts area. 

Ok, I've got a date with an SOS pad.

Have a fantastic week everyone:)

Brain Freeze...

you know, when you drink something really really cold and you get a fast wicked pain in your head?

Brain Freeze.

Well, did you know that one can also get it when one is exposed to too many beautiful girls and too many handsome boys?

Oh yes, oui oui. 

Three and a half hours of continuous shooting of totally decked out graduates.

Brain Freeze.

And hand freeze, for I can't seem to feel my fingers anymore!

But I did have a fantastic time with a great bunch of young adults, about to embark on new adventures.

And what better way, to start things off, with a Slushie......

Brain Freeze included.

To everyone who graduated this past week, please be safe:)

You are all beautiful.

Prom 2009

My graduation, back in the Princess Diana days, was NOTHING like the proms of today.

Man oh man. The dresses....the hair, the shoes, the makeup, the tuxes, the vehicles....it's like a rainbow of colors and textures.

And in this small town, it's cause for traffic jams.

Almost all the graduates congregate at the local swan pond for photo ops. Then they drive over to the highschool for the grand march. Every kind of vehicle, including horse and buggy, firetrucks, tractors and vintage cars, are seen driving down Main Street.

Our town only has one highschool so it is truly an event.

Hannah doesn't graduate for two years but this year, she went as a date. So I went to take pictures.

And pictures did I take.

It will probably take me a few months to get through them!

But here is one that jumped out at me.

Colton was one of my son's hockey coaches a few years ago. He loves to hunt and he works for a landscaping company thus, his hunting vest and his steel toed boots. I love it when a person's personality comes out in what they wear.

I'm off to rest my feet and my neck. My camera weighs a tonne!

And then I'm off to shoot another Prom tomorrow:)

Is this dog trying to tell me something?

1. I don't feed him enough.He feels the need to go through someone else's garbage, and bring me a chewed up tomato soup can. Lovely.

2. I need to wash the window of the back door. Oh my that is bad.

How could anyone not love this crazy little dog?!

Max, my wonderdog.

I will be back soon with more regular posts. It's been a crazy time around here. I am renovating the basement, still. The house has been full of contractors, electricians, plumbers and friends. The end result is going to be AMAZING. I just went down to sneak a peek while my buddies went for lunch. 

They just built a shelf in some 'wasted' space in a hallway. It is so beautiful, these guys  (the builders) have no idea. 

It is also Prom week around here so I'll be shooting some fancy schmancy girls and boys. I've spent the last couple of weeks meeting some beautiful babies and their mommas. Nothing like a wee baby to make one smile.

The crop circle garden? Well.....um.......kind of neglected this year so I might have to do what I did when the kids were little-throw random seeds into the garden and call it a salad garden. What comes up, goes into the salad!

I'm also attempting worm composting. More on that later.

Ahhhhhh what else......just life really. 

And man, my life is good. Really really good.

Have a great day everyone.

5 things I am grateful for.

Thanks to my friend Dana Pugh and Tara Whitney, I was up for documenting 5 things I am grateful for. 

So this weekend, I pulled out my handy dandy point and shoot and set out to capture gratefulness.

Like anyone who has gone through a major life changing event, I have spent the last three years really learning about gratefulness. The positive , the negative......for I have learned that I am grateful for all the negative things that have happened in my life. Because out of those situations, some great things have happened.

I am most grateful for my two children. Period. They have literally saved my life. So I am grateful for them and to them.

Having said that, I have no images of them this weekend...they were not with me so I had to narrow down some other things. I am grateful for so many things so this was a hard challenge.

But here I go.

Five things that I was grateful this past weekend. By Kim McMillan.

1.I am grateful for LOVE.

yes, that is what you think it is. A pile of cow poop. Big and stinky and rich in nutrients.

But love you ask? Where' s the love?

well, the love is in the fact that two people, my friends Laura and Robert, have such a strong love for each other, and they love me so much that....that they spent their Sunday morning digging through this pile of poop , looking for worms for my worm composting. 

I"m grateful for piles of poop, and I'm grateful for LOVE.

2. I am grateful for HUMOR.

And the humor of strangers. As I drove by this woodlot, I spotted this little sitting area with a home made sign. I later found out it's a joke between neighbors, which made it even better.

Humor. Humor's big in my life and for that I am grateful.

3. I am grateful for the modern indoor toilet.

Need I say more?:)

4. I am grateful for Beauty.

It's growing all around me. Tiny little flowers in the grass, almost so small, only the bugs can enjoy them. And that makes me appreciate them even more.

5.I am grateful for companionship.

Who would have ever thought that these two crazy animals would bring me so much joy? They are my two boys.....they love me unconditionally. When I'm all alone, they sense it, and they are never far from my side.

I could have a blog just for things and people I am grateful for. I could have posts until the day I die.

Gratitude , as my idol Martha Stewart, would say, "it's a good thing."

Thanks Dana, Thanks Tara.

Have a lovely day everyone:)

Meet Emma.

She's 4 weeks old and absolutely S.W.E.E.T.

I"m going back for another visit next week; how lucky am I?

I think I found the ultimate tape!

When my kids were little, I went through endless roles of masking tape.

I would tape roads all over the playroom floor.....until we had an entire town.

Then we would set up buildings and drive cars and trucks all over the place.

Can you imagine what fun we would have had if I had found this then??????

Oh I know. The kids would not have eaten. They wouldn't have been 

bathed.....we would have taped the entire house, leaving no surface 

untouched. We would have been lost in our own house.

Go to Up to you Toronto and find some great stuff.

Fresh Milk.

Go get some at fresh milk photos.

This group of photographs evokes such a happiness in me. I can't stop smiling. And feeling good.

And inspired.

Fresh Milk.

There's even a book with all the winners, due out in October.

I will be first in line for a copy.

Going to get a glass now.

Fresh Milk.

Have a great day everyone:)

PS. I found out about this here. Anna Kuperberg is one of my favorite photographers.

She is amazing. And one of her images will be in this book.

We interupt this Mother's Day for a public service announcement:

The Spring Cleaning Party got totally OUT OF HAND.

It got WILD, it got Crazy. 

Remember my living room from the last post....the BEFORE pictures.

I was so embarassed at the clutter, at the messiness. Fortunately, the pictures

did not do the dust bunnies, the dirty baseboards and the multilayered, almost

petrified dust, justice. 

Oh no, you got the good, the bad, but not the ugly.

So like any good party, sometimes, things get out of control.

And.......

This......

Is......

What Happens.........

Oh my! bet you weren't expecting that, were ya?!

It's all part of a bigger picture. A picture, that when finished, will bring so much happiness to my life, I can''t describe it.

All this stuff, and believe me, it's only a fraction (I can heard the gasps and screams from all the neat people of the world), of the stuff.

The stuff that is 45 years of a collector of things. A collector of life is how I prefer to describe it.

The stuff is 15 years of 2 children and their stuff.

The stuff is an accumulation of 8 moves. 

The stuff is my former life of making children's furniture.

I don't exactly like to get rid of things.

The party will end in the basement. But it will have an affect on every room in the house.

I know that some people will be downright horrified of this mess, but to me, it is glorious.

I know what it means, and it's been a long time coming.

I could not be happier.

Happy Mother's Day to everyone I know who is a mother, and to everyone who is a child.

Happy Happy Mother's Day.

I love you all.

24 hours later and Day 2 of Spring Cleaning Party.

Well my friends, it's 24 hours later and guess what?

The dining room table is still clear.

I did remove the champagne flutes as Prince Charlie would surely knock them 

over while trying to get a sip.

I think I will leave the table permanently set:)

So now, on to Day 2 of the Party.....

My mother would be horrified to know that I am posting these

photos of my living room for all the world to see.

But  but but....I've got ALOT worse where that came from!

so here's the living room BEFORE:

I knew it was cluttered, I knew it had that 'lived in look' but I didn't realize just how messy it was.

Stuff.....all this stuff.

I am a collector of sorts....all sorts of things! Junk. Clutter.

And I admit one of my major challenges is not putting things away.

Examples.....the handcream, the view master, the file box, the knitting,

the magazines on the floor, the movies.....oy.

Ready set go....it's gonna be fun:)

Have a great day everyone.

I feel naked.

In fact, I think it might be easier to be naked.

I'm putting myself out here....showing my wild side so to speak. Showing my flaws.

But if you read my previous post, you would see that I'm participating in a Spring Cleanup.

Here's my dining room table before:

I don't have a working space so I use that as my excuse. But the new running shoes???? The tool chest????

The papers, the file box, the birthday cards?????? 

Oh, and then there's the cat tail!!!! He is never far from wherever I am:)

Stay tuned for the after picture.

Anyone else participating in the Spring Cleaning Party?

UPDATE-

after:

I actually set the table with champagne glasses 

because I think I should be celebrating: there was 

actually a surface underneath!

And you'll note that I have a new table runner and 

napkins, thanks to my sweet friend Alicia.

Can't wait to tackle another task:)

Spring Cleaning Party on.

I would also like to add a thanks to Tsh Oxenreider of SimpleMom.net for

inspiring me to get going on this.

This is a quote from her blog in which she talks about Dave Ramsey:

In fact, I’m listening to Dave Ramsey at this exact moment, and he just said,“Your attitude at the beginning of the task that determines how well you finish. How excited you are about something determines how well you do it.” Well said.

Well said, and well done.

It's a Party...

and we're all invited.

Go to Simple Mom

It's gonna be fun:)

I MET ELTON JOHN!!!!!!!

Yes it's true...

I met him....

I shot him...

He was very elusive as I guess I was considered paparazzi.

I actually didn't recognize him at first as he wasn't wearing his signature glasses.

He was always surrounded by girls so it was very hard to get a good shot.

Ladies and Gentlemen...... 

Elton.....John..........

Rocketman.

Yes, I met Elton John the rooster. And man can he sing;)

And he sure takes good care of his girls.

Have a great weekend everyone:)

Spring.

Quote found at one of my favorite blogs- here.

Double click on image to make bigger:)

Hope.

HOPE is the thing with feathers
That perches in the soul,
And sings the tune without the words,
And never stops at all.  -Emily Dickinson

Thankyou to my friend Jill, who introduced me to this quote and quietly and lovingly reminds me that there is HOPE.

But it IS easy being green....

This guy was so ahead of his time. 

He just didn't know it.

Like every designated day on the calendar, it's too bad 

that most of us think we have to wait for a special day

to celebrate....and make even one small change.

Do it for Kermit. Do it for Miss Piggy.

Heck, let's do it for all the Muppets .

Do it for Peter Sellers....Just be yourself.

Happy Earth Day Everyone:)

ETA: If you feel you can't do anything today, just watch Oprah.

I just watched about the Garbage patch in the ocean.

I feel sick to my stomach. It's so so horrible.

The truth.

It's official.

I am now the parent of two teenagers.

Yes, two of them. Double the fun;)

Yesterday we celebrated that last day of Jacob's 12th year.

And quite frankly, I still have it in my mind that he is 10.

Ten. Lovely number. Lovely age.

But alas, all my motherly powers cannot stop the aging process.

For if I could, it would be all about me!!!!!! 

He went from being constantly hugged and kissed and loved,

to swimming with sharks.

He 's still hugged and kissed but not as much.

And of course he's still loved.....even more.

How lucky I am to have such great kids.....that I am able to celebrate each year as they get older.

Happy 13th Birthday Jacob.

He won't leave me alone.

He jumps on me in the night.

He sleeps on my shoulders in the night.

He head butts me in the night.

He snores. He purrs.

He generally keeps me awake on and off all night.

And then....guess what he does all day long?

It must be exhausting trying to get my attention all night!

But that's why I love him. Good 'ole Charlie.

Happy Friday everyone:)

A parking ticket and duct tape.

As far as I can remember, I have never received a parking ticket.

But today I got lucky.

In this small town that I live in, there is not alot of parking. And the parking that is on the main streets (there are two), have 2 hour parking. Frustrating to say the least. But usually one can get errands done downtown within the 2 hours.

If for some reason one needs to be at the university and one forgets about the 2 hour time limit, one can get a parking ticket.

I think $25.00 would be a reasonable amount as a fine.

But OH NO, it's a $50 fine according to Bylaw #199.

That's a day's wage. That's a day's pay.

Gone. Done. Over. 

I know that it was my fault, so I guess I'm disappointed in myself, that I completely forgot about the parking. 

But $50???????????

So I came home and found something , non edible , to cheer me up.

And lookie what I found at Spoon Sisters. ?

Now I can't use it to pay my parking ticket, in fact my parking ticket is worth 5 rolls of this beautiful stuff.

It made me happy just finding it.

But I may just need a little chocolate to ease the pain of the parking ticket.

Happy Valentine's Day.

Yeah I know.

But the way I see it, everyone celebrates it on February 14th.

That's a whole lotta pressure.

And shouldn't we be celebrating every single day?

On February 14th every year in our town, two art galleries put on a fundraising event. 

There's amazing art work to bid on, there's a cake walk, there's a photobooth

(with a real live Polaroid camera), beverages, lots of treats: all in all , 

it's a night of fun and festivities.

Everyone dresses in red and has a great time. And the bonus is that funds are raised for 

two fantastic galleries- Struts Gallery  and  The Owens Art Gallery.

Its called The Sweetest Little Thing.

Next year though, I think I'm going to rock the boat and go dressed as the Easter Bunny;)

Me, Jen and Kelly in the Photobooth.

Color, tape and too much time.

Color- I love it. Who doesn't?

Tape- I love it. Who doesn't?

But COLORED TAPE???????? Yes I said colored tape.

Masking tape, duct tape, electrical tape, sports tape, scotch tape, packing tape.....tape, tape, TAPE.

I love tape. I adore tape. But colored tape makes me particularly happy.

For example, look at this Japanese masking tape from Happy Tape. Look at the beautiful colors.

Or this packing tape from Tapeswell. Does that not make you want to pack everything up?

Or if you have something you want to dress up, you can go to O Boiler.

Yes, I have too much time on my hands to be looking and dreaming about all this tape.

But before you judge me too harshly....look what I could do with all that tape if I had it......

Look what artist Jim Lambi created.....

found at Freshome.com.

Color, tape and too much time.

One can never have enough of all three, in my little opinion :)

Peace this Easter...my love to everyone.

For Mo.....

Oh yes we can.

And we will:)

Salad.

Ever feel...

mumble jumbled?

 

Tired but restless?

Happy but sad? 

If you were a doodle, you'd be a scribble?

Mixed up, confused but clear?

Like a salad of emotions,

tossed up with thoughts from the past,

some fears of the future but made

with the lettuce of today.

It's like a new recipe every day.

Some times I'm gonna like it.

And sometimes, I just have to accept it.

And then I hear my 12 year play the drums.

And see his smiling face.

That makes any salad taste good.

Have a great week everyone:)

Today.

Cheers to Cheeseburgers and Milkshakes.

I got to spend the afternoon with two of my favorite people, Bec and Isabel.

Both beautiful, both talented and both fun fun fun.

We hung out at Mel's Tea Room, a culinary hangout institution in Sackville.

It's a great place complete with a soda fountain, a juke box and great cheeseburgers.

Both Bec and Isabel are graduating this year. They are so smart about life. I am amazed as I didn't know half the stuff that they know at their young age.

I am so excited for them as their futures are so bright.

I know I sound like a broken record when I go on and on about how lucky I am. For when I enrolled in my first photography course two years ago, I thought I'd just learn about photography.

But after my first class with the Professor, Thaddeus Holownia  , I quickly figured out that the photography was really secondary to what I was going to learn about life and communication. It was amazing to me, that this teacher who had been teaching for over 30 years was still so passionate about photography, about teaching, about life.

And to have this incredible opportunity to be with these young students....well, they have had such an impact on me.

So cheers to cheeseburgers and milkshakes at Mel's.....and to students and teachers and people who make this world a better place.

 

How to tell it's spring in Sackville...

taken this morning with my trusty little point and shoot