Tie-Dying T-Shirts... And Hands

The fog finally lifted last week and we saw the sun. Little C and I took full advantage of the weather and spent a lot of time in the backyard playing. One day, we dug out a tie dying kit we had bought at Michaels a few weeks ago and got to work.

The kit we bought was made by Tulip a few weeks ago. It was a one step Tie Dye Kit. We used a 50% off coupon, so we got it for a pretty good price. They have many different sized kits. They even have one for a tie dye party! We chose one with 5 colours. 

After buying the kit, we headed to Walmart for some cheap t-shirts. We found some great plan white tees on the clearance rack. You don't have to buy new t-shirts thought. I remember tie dying everything I could find when I was a kit - white t-shirts, socks, underwear, anything! 

What I like about this kit is that it's easy. The instructions are easy to follow and there are lots to pictures to help.

Step 1 - Wash your items. You can tie dye dry fabric or wet fabric. I decided to go with the wet method. I think the dye is able to spread inward better, although I'm really not sure.

Step 2 - Tie up your fabric. There were lots of suggestions in the instructions that came with the kit, so I showed C the shirt and he chose a design to try.  This is what our shirts looked like after I had them all tied up with elastics. We tried to do a big bulls-eye, some smaller bulls-eyes, a swirl, a crumpled up ball, and some stripes. The best part of this project is that anything goes! You can't really mess it up... it may not look like the picture, but it will still look okay!

Step 3:  Now, take a deep breath, because it's time to get messy. The kit we bought came with these awesome squirt bottles. The dye was already in the bottles. I just had to fill them with water up to the line, put the cap back on and shake, shake, shake. Easy.

Step 4: start applying the dye. Here is my big piece of advice. Use the gloves. Actually, get yourself a better pair of gloves before you start. The gloves in the kit weren't the best. They didn't fit my hands well, and they definitely didn't fit C's. We started with gloves, but they were soon dropped on the grass. Big mistake. Dye really works. Even on skin. Ugh. (Over a week later, I'm still cleaning dye out of my nailbeds.)

Step 5: Wait. Wrap your clothing up, so the dye can do its job. I put each project in a ziplock bag to make sure that it didn't leak. 

Step 6:  The next day, take each item out and rinse out all the extra dye. There will be a lot. I was surprised, and sure that the shirts would be white when I was done. Luckily, they weren't! It did take a LOT of water to do this. 

 

Step 7:  Dry time!  I would suggest washing again, with items of similar colours. I have a feeling they will run for a couple of washes. 

This was definitely a fun project for outdoors. Grab your coupons, head to Michaels, and then search your closet for white t-shirts for some budget friendly fun!

Summer Fun

Adventures don't have to take you far from home. Honestly, with a toddler, adventure can be found pretty much anywhere - basement, backyard, or flying through the air from the coffee table to the couch. I always have to remind myself that usually the best times are the times that are spent on simple activities. That's what we've been doing lately. Last week, we explored some of our local parks. It was free, fun, and outdoors!

Harbour Passage is a sweet walking/biking/strolling trail along the harbourfront that links the uptown with the west side. In addition to the beautiful sights, there are panels along the route to explain some of the history and wildlife of the area - shipbuilding, seals, the port, Fort LaTour. Of course, I didn't get to spend too much time reading them, but there seem to be more popping up all the time. Over the years, they've added more highlights, including public art, learning stations, and a children's section. Last week, C and I went for an evening walk, looking at the water, flowers, wildlife, and stopping at the children's play area.

I don't know why, but I never think about going to Rockwood Park. It's a shame, because it's a beautiful park. We're lucky to have such a great green space in the middle of our city. It's like our own Central Park. Actually, Rockwood Park was designed by a member of the same team who designed Central Park, in New York City, so it really is Saint John's version!  We spent the morning, one hot Saturday, exploring the trails, checking out the ducks, and eventually popping into Lily's Cafe for lunch on the patio overlooking Lily Lake.

Our other large green space in the city is the Irving Nature Park.  This park seems to be growing all the time. When I was a kid, it was Taylor's Island and Saints Rest. I used to go to the beach to beach-comb and fly kites. I think it opened as the Irving Nature Park in the 90s, and since then has grown to include the Sheldon Point Trail and the Children's Forest. On foggy mornings, we like to stop at Saints Rest, to walk the beach before breakfast. This typically includes throwing rocks into the water and trying to miss getting his by the waves. We always leave covered in sand and soaking wet. Sometimes, we are lucky to spot some wildlife, like deer.

Of course, close to our house is Seaside Park. It will be changing a lot next year, so we're trying to take advantage of it now. There is a little playground and a road that leads to the most beautiful views of Partridge Island and the Bay of Fundy. There are big pieces of granite to sit on and watch the ships come into the harbour. It's peaceful. If you continue down a pathway, you can walk along a path that can take you to Bayshore beach in one direction and Duck Cove beach in the other. Of course, the rocks also make the best jump-off rocks with is a bonus!

Last week helped me remember how lucky we are to live in Saint John. We have so many parks to go to within a short walk or drive. It's something to be proud of and support.

Towers and Strawberries

Last week was a pretty tame week. Even though it's summer vacation, I have been finishing up some work stuff. Last week, I was involved in some professional development and this week I am out of town for a few days. After that, I can breathe easy. Vacation will have finally arrived for me. 

We had some nice weather last week, so we did a little exploring. One day, we decided to go for a neighbourhood walk to visit Carleton Martello Tower. I sometimes forget all that our neighbourhood has to offer. Not everyone can say they live within walking distance of a 200-year old National Historic Site.
Carleton Martello Tower is a small defensive fort that was built during the War of 1812.  It's my understanding that there are many Martello Towers scattered throughout the world, including the Prince of Wales Tower, in Point Pleasant Park.  In the past few years, they've added a lovely interpretive centre. The Tower itself houses a powder magazine and barracks. It also has a gorgeous views of the city, including the port, harbour, uptown and Partridge Island. 

Unfortunately, this turned into a bit of a mis-adventure. You see, Martello Tower received some impressive funding recently which will allow for it to be completely restored.  I believe it is going to be totally dismantled and re-built. It's a pretty big deal. I knew this, but didn't realize that it was starting so soon. Needless to say, the tower wasn't open to go inside. The interpretive centre is still open, but that's not very exciting for a 2 year old. The guide in the centre was great, and gave C a little colouring book and explained that we could still explore outside, so that's what we did. It will be exciting to see the tower refurbished and visit it once it is complete. 

We climbed all the stairs to get to the base of the tower. 

We stopped to look around, but it was a little foggy. I have to say that in this part of the west side, this is what a little foggy can look like. When it's really foggy, you wouldn't be able to see the any of the church steeple or even some of the nearby trees.  It can get pretty thick. Sadly, the normally beautiful views of the city could not be seen that day!

Then we climbed down again.

C was a little upset that there was a gate locking him out, but luckily, 2 year olds are easily distracted and we just ran up and down the pathways a bit and stopped to smell the roses (literally!) A little stop at the store for a tiny tub of strawberry ice cream helped end the afternoon on a high note. Eating ice cream with a little wooden stick makes everything better, doesn't it? 


Later in the week, we went strawberry picking. C has loved picking wild strawberries in our yard lately, and was doing such a good job, I figured he'd love to see a big berry patch. I hadn't been strawberry picking in many years, but I had a flashback to sitting between the rows and stuffing my face with strawberries as a kid. Our berry picking trip went the same way! We drove to Bates Landing, in Long Point, which is near the Kingston Peninsula. We took the long way, so we could take a ferry ride. 


I knew we wouldn't get many berries picked, and we didn't, but it was fun. I picked berries and put them in our bucket, and C would pick strawberries out of the bucket and put them in his mouth. It was a very effective process... for him! He also liked playing with the hay and squishing berries that were on the ground. 

I kept telling him that he couldn't eat the berries, but he wouldn't stop. The ladies picking around us kept saying he could eat as much as he wanted! There were so many berries on the plants, and some were starting to get moldy, so they were probably right. There weren't enough pickers for the berries. He was just helping the berries live up to fulfill their destiny of being gobbled up! After getting the berries weighed and paid for, I gave the girls a few extra dollars for the strawberries consumed during our time in the berry patch. It's not like they didn't know. He had red berry juice smeared all over his face!

Before stopping home, we went to Kredl's in Hampton for lunch at the Cookhouse and picked up tea biscuits and whipping cream to have with our strawberries that night. 

Strawberry shortcake tastes like summer!  There is nothing better than fresh, local strawberries. They taste even better when you pick them yourself. I think we'll be making this a summer tradition. Hopefully, next year, I have a better helper and not just an eater!

Summertime!

Summer is finally here! The weather has been beautiful, and we're ready for some fun and relaxation. 

I have been really bad at updating this blog, but honestly, I never intended to regularly update.  (I'm an admitted scatterbrain, so what else would you expect?) Besides, life has been a little short on adventure for the past few months.  Thankfully, that's about to change. Summer means a less scheduled life, which I've been looking forward to for quite a while. I'm off work for the next 8 weeks, and I want to make the most of it. I see outdoor adventures, crafty adventures, cooking adventures, and maybe a few house reno adventures mixed in. I'll have to sprinkle in a little work to prepare for the fall, but that's fun for me anyway. 

I have no list, no schedule, and no plans. That's different for me. We'll see where it takes us this summer. 

Today's adventure may not be fun, but very necessary. Clean the house! Our poor little house has been neglected lately, so today is filled with tidying, cleaning out, and the ultimate adventure: laundry catch up! Wish me luck!