Welcome to the Place Under the Pine!
A Blog about our Life: Family, Renovations, DIY, Crafting, Cooking, Parenting, Gardening, and life in our little world.
Our oldest turned 12 (already!) and requested a cactus themed birthday party. Jen came up with some great ideas, found some awesome cactus decor, and hand made a few items.
Cactus hugs leave a mark
Apparently, cactus and holographic go together like peas and carrots. Therefore, cactus shaped holographic cupcake toppers are a go:
Holographic paper in cactus shapes - a hit!
And old pot, some pebbles, and a sink-scrubbing-sponge cut into the shape of a cactus make an ideal centrepiece for the party's table.
Cactus - scrubbing sponge style
Michael's is on trend with cactus shaped cups. Fill with 'catus juice' (aka lemonade) and thrill the tastebuds of your party goers.
Cactus shaped cups
If you have some skills in the baking department then sugar cookies - cactus shaped of course - are the way to go. Green icing and some spikes to top them off. Watch your tongue!
Cactus cookies with spikes!
Loot bags are easy with this theme, and can potentially last a lifetime. Real cacti are inexpensive and they really wow guests. It's like giving a pet - a totally unexpected surprise!
Give plants. The gift that keeps growing.
The party took place at the darkly named Boiler Room. No, there was no boiling going on, but, there was some hardcore rock climbing.
Last weekend was the first really warm and sunny weekend of the spring. We were drawn outside by the weather (at least on the Sunday...Saturday we were in an arena watching Elli play hockey). We did our traditional cleaning up of the yard and the garden. It is amazing how much garbage and random bits & bobs get buried in the snow over the winter!
The exciting part of all this clean up was the green. Yes, the green! Green leaves shooting from the ground, from the raspberry canes, from the trees...
Here come the raspberry leaves again!
The parsnips we left in the ground over the winter are still alive and growing!
This day had me thinking about last year's garden. I had a few pictures uploaded onto the blog, but, never really got around to posting them. Last year we tried a few new plants, had success with some old favourites, and completely forgot about digging up the parsnips!
The maple tree - transplanted from garden two years ago
FIRST CHERRY EVER!
First time we did corn, and it grew taller than Elliott!
Can never get enough raspberries around here
A few zucchini grew
The corn was fun to watch grow
Peas, the plant that never made it into the house - eaten by roving children
Too many cherry tomatoes!
A new member of the garden community - the Blueberry bush
UPGRADED GOALIE BLOCKER AND TRAPPER - VAUGHN DELUXE!
Elliott has spent hours (probably days at this point) playing mini sticks, knee hockey, or road hockey clad in his old street goalie equipment. A set that had taken millions of hits with balls, pucks, pinecones, and countless other random things found on the ground that are just the right size to hit with a hockey stick. The old set had done a great job, but, it was starting to fall apart. An upgrade was needed.
Elliott had been saving his money for awhile, planning and debating what to spend it on. His list was pretty short; goalie equipment, rollerblades, lacrosse stick. After mutiple trips to Sports stores, Canadian Tire, Toys R Us (the comparing between stores seemed endless...but, he did a thorough job really narrowing down the best deal and best product he could buy), he finally decided on a new goalie blocker and trapper.
He went with the Vaughn DELUXE Blocker and Trapper. It was big enough, quality built, and on sale 50% off (good shopper bonus!)...and fabric was pretty cool too!
But, how did the new equipment perform?
Great!
Elliott got on the new blockie and trappie and I took a few shots on him. Here is a quick product review video we made.
The
Food and Nutrition Committee of the Place Under The Pine has put
together a series of videos documenting the School Lunch program. The
general policy around food in the PUTP has always been focused on
moderation, variation, and holistic nutrition. The school lunch program
has tried to incorporate these values, but, there are challenges.
Finding the right container system is a challenge. The citizens of the PUTP have big appetites, and therefore, need big containers. Starting this school year, the lunch program began using a bento box style container - the GoGreen Lunchbox. The compartment system made it very easy to divide and conquer. The deep compartments also allowed for plenty of food to be packed away. Having only one box kept it simple.
Leftovers have been incorporated into lunches more often this year. There are plenty of benefits to leftovers - They are already made. They add variety to lunch. They are often healthy as well.
With three little citizens now requiring lunches daily, a production system to put everything together needs to be efficient. Watch the lunch making process in action.
There is also a need to ensure the food that is sent is enjoyed by the young citizens. That the correct amount of food is being sent. And, feedback documented and future lunches adjusted accordingly.
Research into improving lunches is a never ending task. There are plenty of resources on the web to inspire you. The PUTP has put together a youtube playlist of various school lunch ideas - everything from rainbow bread sandwiches to shaped cheese. Click the LINK to watch some of the best youtube school lunch ideas.
PREVIOUS SCHOOL LUNCH IDEAS VIDEO SERIES - CLICK HERE
The faint aroma of fire, fresh cut lumber, manure - primitive smells...smells that bring you back to a simpler time.
The buzz of people
is loud, but, interestly not disturbing at all. It must be the lack of
cars, wireless internet, smart phone chirps...modern noises...that make things feel natural, peaceful.
Even though there is excitement, running, and lots of activity...things feel slow. Not an annoying slow like a traffic jam, but, a slowing down of life.
It was a great experience to take a day off of the modern world. And, a great way to realize you need a little slowness, a little back to basics, a little less technology, in our life.
SENTIMENTAL PIANO PIECE NOW HOLDS HATS & KEYS...AND MEMORIES
Earlier this year the citizens of the Place Under The Pine removed the ol' piano. That big wooden box with the white keys that sat in a long line of family living rooms - for 60 years - had worn down and become somewhat of a burden. But, that doesn't mean it didn't have any value. No! It had mitt-loads of sentimental value. Which is why when the citizens broke the piano apart they carefully removed and put aside some of the special, in a visual sense, pieces. One such piece was the sheet holder. This is the part on the piano that held the sheet music. This was one of the main focal points of the piano, so the sight of it instantly reminds you of the old piano. Which is why repurposing it is such a great idea.
The sheet holder
It was not a big project, the citizens added some hooks and hung it on a wall. But, it has a big effect.
Hooks for hat or bags
Small hooks for keys
Even though the piano is gone, the memories are brought to life everytime a pair of keys are hung, or a hat is tossed over one of the hooks.
I can still hear Hot Cross Buns!
Here is a quick video of the process to help you along.
Changes are abound in the Place Under The Pine. Floors, ceilings, and even closets are being replaced, updated, or transformed.
The latest project has been one of transformation - turning a closet into a desk.
The closet was originally being used to hold coats, shoes, umbrellas...front door stuff. The problem was the location of the closet did not match the contents. The closet was not at the front door. Instead, the closet was in the living room - a few meters from the door and up three stairs.
The closet never functioned well for the citizens of the PUTP.
For years, Jen had the vision of this closet turning to a more usable space. A space for crafting, computer-ing, sewing, homework-ing...that kind of thing. The location was ideal being in the living room and not out of the way in a dark corner of the basement (where it would never get used).
The citizen construction crew finally broke ground and cleared out the closet. Not too long later they ended with this:
Watch this citizens in action in this short documentary "Transforming a closet into a desk"
The citizens of the PUTP love reusing materials in their projects. Crazy ideas like an old door as the desktop were tossed about. But in the end the desktop and drawers were sourced by a retailer known for its easy to read assembly instructions - IKEA. Convenience won out on this project.
The floating shelves were found at Home Depot. They were easy, easy, easy to install and look very sleek. In a confined space like this former closet every extra milimeter makes a difference. So, a floating shelf, sans brackets, takes up less space.
The result of this project is more than just another desktop to place a laptop or write a letter (writing a real life letter, what, it could happen?). This space adds another dimension to our living space. It adds a much needed 'public' zone for the younger citizens to use the computer/internet. Our living room can now accomodate more activities of life and bring everyone into the same room at the same time. One way to think about this office nook is that it brings our family closer together.
