29°58′31″N 31°08′15″E

Happy together. Carman, MB; August 2015.

As my cowboy works away from home, I work away on the home. It was a good and grey weekend to organize each and every nook and cranny that was driving me nuts, bake some loaves with my brother, make fresh pasta for my colony, get the darkroom rolling, process many rolls of film, get a pedicure with the women of my family, wash the floors, move the plants around and listen to Joanna Newsom a few times over. Tomorrow my sweetheart will be home at last. I look forward to his grin upon arrival.

What a year it has been! I am beginning to feel settled in our nest at last. What a relieving feeling after a frantic month of hard work shining this gem up. Today after putting my work room into working order, I suddenly felt at home. Tomorrow I head back to work in a new family home in the neighborhood to entertain two of the most hilarious four year old twin boys I have ever met. Noam and Efram. I shot their brotherhood portrait on my back porch last Thursday afternoon. Boys and their bikes. I like them and I think they like me.

On the first of September I will begin my career as a Montessori teacher guide at Winnipeg Montessori School. Perhaps the universe led me to those two little creatures to warm me up for what is coming in hot: big kids! These little guys are not toddlers anymore (although I am glad I knew them when they were). They can ride bikes and put on their own clothes. They can sing entire Raffi songs and run for hours. They don't need naps and they both think the food I cook tastes weird. On Thursday we spent hours in the park across from their home building elaborate nests out of grass for objects found in their toy box. Pretend eggs. It was wonderful!

Being around kids with such charged imaginations is a whole new world for me after years spent caring for 0-2 year olds! Noam and Efram have already rattled off many ideas for the art class at my new school when I asked them what they liked to create. Q-Tip skeletons!! Obviously. Genius. We have made circus caravans out of paper and knights holding bloodied swords, alligators and headless dragons out of cardboard for the enormous castle we build out of blocks. I am constantly reminding myself that it is "the process not the product" that is important as I create alongside the brothers and prepare to transition into the classroom and assume my role as teacher-guide. By letting go of what I think looks best, I am free to observe the brothers create in such a wild and loose way. This very freedom inspires me to get to work on creative projects when I get home and just enjoy the process instead of being hung up on my end result. Simple pleasures.

Now that all of my latest wedding film has been processed and is ready for professional scanning, the latest project on the go is a large stencil for a special client who came to me with a dear photo of her grandparents standing in front of the semi nose-less Great Sphinx of Giza. I came up with an illustration based off the photo a while ago and only now have had the energy to put into the physical projection and stencil. I love this piece and I look forward to creating many more wall hangings inspired by my own great grandparents. I am picking up steam as autumn blows in. Life is wonderful. I am home and Iain is on his way.