Slow Living Project: Raise

I’m pretty sure I’ll be saying this every month, and that I won’t tire of saying it either: what a beautiful and inspiring month it’s been for the Slow Living project. Melanie and I continue to draw inspiration for our own living from your images and words. For anyone new to this blog, Melanie and I started a  year-long slow living project back in August, where each month we invite others to share their slow living moments, each month with a different focus. For November, we focused on the word ‘raise’: how we raise our children and the next generation, but also raise in the broader sense of the term.

I was particularly inspired by those of you who shared images that gave a double meaning to the word: raising little bakers while raising bread dough, raising explorers and nature lovers, while raising a lean-to. Then there were the photos about raising nurturers, artists, homesteaders, readers, and gardeners. I loved seeing how you raise your children by passing on favourite traditions and sharing between generations. There were some honest moments of the challenges of raising children, how it can be so hard to ‘yes’, but so rewarding to. I loved the aspirational and metaphorical ideas related to raise, raising our compassion, raising our hopes, raising community, raising imaginations. Then the literal, but very classic and nostalgic images of raising: the hopes we place in an unborn child, an infant, and seeing our children grow into and out of things.

Thank you everyone for the inspiration…it was very hard to narrow my selections down to these ones below. You can view all the contributions here #slowliving_raise.

Nurturers and homesteaders

Photo by @littlespringandautumnjourney

Photo by @littlespringandautumnjourney

Photo by @megchittenden

Photo by @megchittenden

Photo by @growingwildthings

Photo by @growingwildthings

 

Saying ‘yes’

Photo by @magdalenadom

Photo by @magdalenadom

Photo by @petalplum

Photo by @petalplum

 

Passing on knowledge and traditions

Photo by @mama_2thelittleones

Photo by @mama_2thelittleones

Photo by @lillalinaea

Photo by @lillalinaea

Photo by @mrsnomi

Photo by @mrsnomi

 

Compassion, imagination, hope, community

Photo by @thedevinetribe

Photo by @thedevinetribe

Photo by @amandajanedalby

Photo by @amandajanedalby

Photo by @danceypantsdisco

Photo by @danceypantsdisco

Photo by @thebrookeway

Photo by @thebrookeway

 

Bakers, explorers, artists

Photo by @seedsandstitches

Photo by @seedsandstitches

Photo by @faithevanssills

Photo by @faithevanssills

Photo by @amerryadventure

Photo by @amerryadventure

 

Growth and nostalgia

Photo by @findingjoyforus

Photo by @findingjoyforus

Photo by @theloopfactory

Photo by @theloopfactory

 

Melanie’s selections can be found over on her blog www.geoffreyandgrace.com.

Thank you to everyone who participated this month and shared their slow living moments, please join us in December as we explore the theme ‘gather’ in the context of slow living. In many places around the world December is a time to gather. But, gather can be played with and interpreted broadly. I find gather to be a particulary ‘slow’ word, it implies thoughtful selection. But ‘gather’ can also mean to increase, to collect, to harvest, to summon, to understand. Whatever it connotes for you, we’re excited to see how you are inspired to focus on gathering this month. Please share your images with the hashtag #slowliving_gather so others can be inspired.

You can find previous month’s selection by searching my blog: “explore” “nurture” “love” “renew” “raise” “bloom and harvest” “create” “gather

Our Pinterest board ‘Slow Living Moments’ includes all photo selections from the project visit it here.

***

Let’s be friends! Please come find me in other places:

Strawberry Picking

We live in Canada’s national capital, so Canada Day is a pretty big deal here. Lots of people, locals and tourists, congregating in the downtown like sardines eager to see bands and buskers, eat street food and watch the fireworks. As a couple, Matt and I always enjoyed partaking in the patriotic festivities. But with massive crowds, noises, sites and smells amped up to the max, we had a feeling we would need to find our own family tradition for Canada Day once we had children. Even for our outgoing social butterflies, Canada Day in downtown Ottawa was just too much for our children. (We learned the hard way through experience: tantrums and tears).

With strawberries in prime picking season and with the fields safely outside the downtown core, we happily adopted strawberry picking as our family’s Canada Day tradition. This year was no different, except that when we arrived at the farm to pick, there were only off-the-shelf berries available for purchase, as the farmer didn’t want people walking in his fields following overnight rain. We decided to go for a hike at a nearby lake instead and go picking at the soonest opportunity, which luckily was just a few days later.

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Sen thought it was pretty funny to fill his pocket with snacking berries

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

While a rascally Sen runs off with the basket, Ro is charmed about using her skirt to gather

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

But wait…”Mama, ooooh it’s getting heavy!”

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset

Tired kiddos getting silly

***

Thank you to our kind sponsors for outfitting Ro and Sen:

Organic clothing by Nico Nico from Little Heirloom, a lovely Canadian shop, that ships worldwide. LIttle Heirloom is especially great for Canadian shoppers looking for premium brands and organic clothing with domestic shipping rates.

Leather sandals are by Salt Water Sandals and are available from Mini Mioche, another superb Canadian shop stocking organics, shoes, bags and much more, and shipping worldwide.

***

Processed with VSCOcam with c3 preset   You might also like my post: Making Summer Lists

Processed with VSCOcam with a9 preset   You might also like my post: A Wild and Beautiful Life

Processed with VSCOcam with f2 preset   You might also like my post: Creative Mother Kaity Ferrell