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mother's day

Or rather, the day after Mother's Day, as I mostly blog last thing at night so I know that most of you are reading this the day after I write it. But today was Mother's Day. Sigh. I know I've only been at this mothering thing for about four years, but I figured out awhile ago that Mother's Day is a real rip off. I thought it was going to be a day about mothers, you know, honouring all our hard work, showering us with gifts and thanks. I imagined I'd be shooed off into an easy chair whilst my adoring husband made meals and dealt with potty breaks while I sipped some sort of fruity drink and paged through the latest issue of Vogue. 

Yeah, those of you who have been mothers for awhile now are laughing as you read that. Because YOU know that mothers get SCREWED on Mother's Day (and I'm don't mean that in the good way). It mostly ends up being a day like all the rest, but possibly with more elaborate food prep. (On a related note, read Anne Lamott's Why I Hate Mother's Day. She's one of my favourite authors, and makes some very good points here. Thanks to my girl Sara for passing this one on).

Though to be fair, I cannot complain too much this year. (I wasn't expecting much, so that helps). We all got up in the morning together as usual, with Hubs heading out to the kitchen to start the oatmeal for breakfast. I went and got the Baby for his morning breast feed. And we had a lovely time, relaxing in the big bed for the 10 minutes that it takes him to eat, and then lolling around for another few minutes smiling and laughing and poking each other in the belly buttons. It was sweet. And then when I headed out to the kitchen I was met with flowers and a little present made by Hubs (a stainless steel ring he'd fashioned from a bit of pipe at work. Really, its nicer than is sounds and fits my middle finger perfectly).

Then L.D. and I were off to church, and after that there was a big family get together at my mom's house. But I actually was not there for most of it. I ran off to act in a play; a small informal workshop/community type theatre thing in a town nearby. Which was really nice actually. Its good to put that Theatre degree to work after all those years. And after an afternoon of pretending to be someone else, I returned home to the lovely smells and happy noises of a family having fun at my Mom's house. And the food! Oh, the food. I haven't got words for how good that home cooked deliciousness is, especially when you are not the one that cooked it. So really, my Mom was the mom who got the shortest end of the stick today, as she for sure did the most work. The ribs were to die for, I'm telling you, and I know that food does not get that tasty by accident. 

Anyhow, after a day in the sun with all the fun of cousins and ATV's and then a massive dinner, we packed two VERY tired kids into the car and after some much needed baths they were tucked into bed. Though L.D. did not go so willingly into that good night. Not without a bit of fussing along the way, but it was understandable after so much excitement. (another related side link, read dooce's description of how she knew her daughter was a three year old and laugh. your. ass. off. She so nails it. No one writes about parenting funnier then that)

So, what was my point? Oh yeah, it was mother's day. And though I did not get to sleep in, or lounge around, it was still really lovely. And as I tucked my boys into bed tonight watching sleep lay its soft, sweet mantle over them, it seemed like a pretty good day. 

And then I was poking about on the youtube and I found The. Most. Fantastic. Clip. EVER. And perfect for Mother's day. Behold:

 

This video makes me wish that I was a parent in the 70's. Or rather, it makes me wish I lived on Sesame Street in the 70's. Because then Buffy Sainte Marie could be my neighbour and we could hang out with Big Bird and nurse our babies together. Seriously, how awesome is this! Best line: "and I get to hug him when I do it, see." Awwwwwww! The only thing that makes me sad about this is that it could never, ever be on TV now. People would LOSE THEIR MINDS about a grown woman breast feeding her child on national television these days, much less on a children's show. 

If you liked this you should also check out Buffy Gives Cody a Bath, which is all KINDS of adorable, and has the catchiest little impromptu bathing the baby song you will ever hear. You'll be humming it all day, yup yup. Though I have to say again, this would never make it onto TV now. Because people are crazy now, and think that children seeing naked babies will destroy the very fabric of society. Oh, 70's idealism, where have you gone?

 

ach..

I had such big plans to blog. I had pictures chosen and we had an exciting new making/food adventure that I was already to share with you, and then... the Baby decided not to go to sleep. UNTIL 10:00! I have no idea what that was about, but it was about 10:18 before he decided to lay down and sleep. Decided. I'm telling you, that kid, in the words of that pop psych guy on that Simpson's episode "he does... what he feels like." Its not as though he finally fall asleep as I rocked or nursed him. Nope, after a good long cry and a walk around the house and some quiet sitting, I finally set him in his crib, he looked up at me, and then turned around and lay down. And then I got the heck out of dodge before he changed his mind. 

Anyhow, you should go and read these excerpts from Emma Thompson's journal that she kept during the shooting of Sense and Sensibility. One of my top ten favourite movies of all time. Reading her journal made me feel like I was there when they were shooting it. Sigh. I can dream can't I. Also, it made me laugh my head off. I will never read "Squirrel Nutkin" the same way again. 

amish teens

I had an unexpectedly busy night tonight, so I don't really have time for a big, long, gushy post about my kids (as is my wont) but instead will just take a moment to share a link with you. I was looking around on youtube for something the other day, and I'm telling you, I have no idea what strange order of click following click led me to this, but I was quite captivated by a reality TV show that I'd never heard anything about. And the reason I've probably never heard of it, is that its called "Amish World's Squarest Teenagers" Worst reality show title ever. Unless it was a contest to ascertain which Amish Teen was the actually the World's Squarest. Which it is not. What it is, is a surprisingly sensitive documentary style television show, in which five Amish teens go to the UK and live with four different families during the period of time which they refer to as "rumspringa", aka, a time to "sow their wild oats" before they settle down and accept the life and traditions of their church. It was surprisingly respectful and educational (another reason why I've probably never heard of it). There are no fights, or major conflicts, or swearing or backstabbing, (it is about the Amish after all) so in a sense its not really a reality TV show. But it was quite compelling. I'm almost done watching it. (in the 11 minute increments in which it was posted on youtube, 16 parts in total) And I've been quite captivated. But who knows, I haven't seen the end yet. I could be all down hill from part 15, with tattoos and drunkenness and pregnancies and wet bonnet contests and the like. Though I kind of doubt it. 

vegetables!

There's a show on the CBC that I love called The Age of Persuasion. Terry O'Reilly is the host and writer (and he also has a new show, Under the Influence, and also very good). Its a show about advertising; its history and quirks and dare I say, ethics. One thing that O'Reilly often says is that good advertising is a reciprocal relationship between the advertiser and the viewer. That is to say, there is, (ideally) an unspoken contract that says that good advertising, in exchange for your attention, should entertain you. I agree. Which is why I hate those stupid "We buy your used gold!" adds. Oh, right, let me clean out the couch and find all my broken and unwanted gold! Sheesh. Luckily, there are a few good adds. If all advertising was like this commercial, I would watch adds all day.

 

Lurpak is a Danish company, and obviously, they make butter. I especially love the bit where the toss the corn cobs and they make that nice 'poonk' sound in the pot. And the part near the end where they chop their way through a purple cabbage. Such a great add.

testing, testing

Its so nice when something works out just as you'd planned it. And I'm telling you, it doesn't happen often. But occasionally, and idea that you've been carrying around in your head forever just happens to make its way out of your brain and into your hands and then finally gets made and looks just exactly the way you thought it would. And it is so, so satisfying. 

Case in point, this pillow I made the other day.

I've been mulling this idea over in my head for aaaaaages. I kind of love the tv test pattern. I remember it well from my childhood days. My little brother and I would get up early on Saturday morning to watch cartoons, and we'd creep quietly into the living room, so as not to wake my parents (though now that I'm a parent and I reflect on that for a moment I'll bet we were not quiet AT ALL and totally woke my parents up). We'd turn on the TV, and find that there were no cartoons on yet, just the brightly coloured test pattern humming away as the local tv station got ready to start the day. 

Wow. That's how old I am. I can remember a time when there was not constant, 24 hour programming on every channel (even if it was just reruns and infomercials). Ah, the 80's; a time of innocence and wonder indeed.

Anyhow, fond memories of the test pattern have been bouncing around in my head. And if ever there was a patchwork pattern waiting to happen, the test pattern is it. But its funny how it goes when you are very into a certain technique or style of working. I see patchwork everywhere. When I was more into knitting I thought also that the test pattern would make an awesome scarf. But these days I see it as patchwork. I would LOVE to make a full sized quilt version of this, but I'm not quite such a masochist, so I decided to settle for a throw pillow.

Doesn't it just pop! I LOVE these colours. It was quite fun to do, and frankly the hardest part was finding the appropriately coloured solids fabrics. I had a few in my stash, but it did require some rather extensive searching in all my local fabric shops to find just the right shades. I needed three different kinds of black. The whole thing was a bit of an exercise in seeing, which was good for me too, and reminded me of the time I spent working as a fabric designer, having nit picky (and very enjoyable) conversations about different shades and tones. This blue was too grey, and this one was a tiny bit too green, and that yellow just needed to be smokier. You know? Ah, good times.

I worked from the image I found on wikipedia, but did not try to print it out because there's no way that the print out would have matched the screen. I relied on my own (somewhat faulty) colour memory, a whole pile of swatches and the good old hold-it-up-and-squint method. Such fun. Really, I'm not being sarcastic. And I'll tell you that greyish-bluish square in the bottom left hand corner was the hardest to match by far. I had to settle for close. Because really, nice as this cushion is I'm pretty sure that no one will ever use it to calibrate their television screens. 

I'm going to be selling these during the Christmas season, and I think I'll even make up a few tote bags with this pattern as well. I've got my etsy shop up and running again (as you can see on the right there, I've got links to my shop with the new bibs I've listed for sale) and I think I'll probably make a few of these cushion covers to put in there as well. Not the whole pillow mind you, because that'd cost way to much to ship, but I thought ahead and used an easy to find Ikea pillow blank inside it. That way, if you live in South Africa or the Netherlands or Australia and want to buy one of these puppies, you don't have to pay for a great big pillow-filled box, but just a slim little envelope with a folded flat cushion cover in it. Just trying to think ahead. 

Dickens (with four M's and a silent Q)

Busy day today, lots going on, making, baking, my sister's birthday party, kids were cute etc. But I don't have anything along those lines to post tonight because when the day is that full I tend to need to just shut down and relax in the evening. Also in a day that busy I forget to take photos, and you know I hate to blog without a picture. 

Anyhow, I relaxed and treated myself tonight by watching the final episodes in the televised BBC version of Little Dorrit. Dude, it was soooo good. I love me some period drama. Not the overly smarmy ones, but some good, real, gritty ones with good acting and excellent design. So Little Dorrit rang all my bells.  

I watched a televised version of Nicholas Nickelby awhile back that has me on this Dickens kick. Now I just really want to go back to school and study his whole oeuvre. His stuff is great. I don't know why I never read it in school. Dense, amazing characters, and often darkly funny. But man, they are looooong, which makes them hard to get through when you have about a half an hour a day for reading, broken down into 10 minute segments, even if you are a voracious reader. I'd like to set myself the goal of reading through all his works but its probably not practical for me right now. Someday.

But I do intend to go to the library tomorrow and get ahold of a copy of Little Dorrit. I know the pacing will be different from a miniseries, but I'm so excited now to learn more about the characters that just this little peek into their world has made me very interested in. (ugh, that was an awkward sentence, but I'm really too lazy/tired to change it.) Its so funny, but Hubs watched them all with me, and in between episodes, we'd find ourselves talking about the characters as the day went by. Wondering what they'd do next, trying to puzzle out their motives and such. It was really fun. The last time we found ourselves talking about the characters in a TV show this much was when we watched Six Feet Under. I still wonder what those characters are doing sometimes. (Oh Ruth, are you happy....?)

Anyhow, suffice it to say I reccomend this version of Little Dorrit. The acting was amazing. I have new actor crushes on many of them due to their brilliant performances. (especially Matthew MacFayden as Arthur Clennam and Eddie Marsan as Pancks) (Also, [second parentheses, eep, now we know its late at night] I now want to have lots of cats so I can name them after Dickens characters. Specifically one called Smyke and one called Pancks) Oh, and I want to go around Venice in period costume, preferably with a corset and leg o' mutton sleeves. 

Yeah, I'll probably have to settle for just reading the book. Maybe I could do it in a canoe on my parent's pond. Canoe... gondola... its not that much of a stretch. 

garden

After last years dubious 'success' with squash we decided to scale back our gardening efforts this time. After all, I have another little body to take care of and more diapers to wash and less sleep, so a big garden did not seem prudent. Also, have I mentioned my stance on weeding? It is ambivalent at best. (Stop that guffawing, Dad, I can hear you from here.)

So here is this year's garden:  Well, half of it at least. This is the plot that is inside of the little fenced off play area that the Little Dude gets up to his sandbox shenanigans in. Also, its right next to my laundry line, so its the bit that gets tended to the most. I weed it (half-heartedly) in between hanging out loads of laundry, and the Little Dude loves to water it, if given the chance. And he ONLY gets the chance when there is no laundry on the line. Because he's a bit overzealous. He loves to help me with the garden. Anything involving dirt and shovels is right up his alley. I think it must skip a generation.

This garden is mostly herbs and salad-y things.     A nice little bit of basil, both Italian and Thai varieties. 

A good whack of Arugula, because I love Arugula salads, but its very expensive at the store and comes in one of those stupid big plastic containers that you can't recycle. It tastes very good despite the fact that something is eating little round holes all through it. Annoying, but still edible. (Any tips, you gardeners out there? Caroline, I'm looking at you.)

And the spinach is doing very well. And it also makes me happy not to buy it, and its accompanying big stupid, plastic non-recyclable container. I gave it a really good harvest the other day.

See that, cut it back considerably. And only two days later its come back up quite a bit. I expect we'll get a number of nice harvests out of it. These two baskets were about a half a pounds worth. Enough to make a nice Egg and Feta Phyllo Pie. Yummy. 

Oh, and Hubs also planted some radishes, just because the seeds were 25 cents a packet, and they grew, sure enough, but the problem is, they taste terrible. I'm pretty sure I hate radishes. Nasty, peppery, good for nothing vegetable. Unless I just don't know how to prepare them properly. Again, if you have any recipes or tips, let me know. 

But best of all was my discovery with the Little Dude today.  Our first two ripe tomatoes! See, we don't suck as gardeners after all! They are from the other bed, just outside our play/laundry area, that doesn't get quite as much care and weeding. It has some tomatoes, dill, lovage, raspberries, rhubarb and watermelon. Most of which I fully expected to fail. Except the dill. An idiot could grow dill. You practically have to fight dill off after a point, it quite takes over. I've never grown watermelon  in my life, but L.D. insisted that we would grow watermelon in our garden and he's told us so, so many times, that it seemed a fait accompli, and we decided not to argue with him. 

Hm, I just read that all over and it sounds terribly British. I'll tell you why, its because we spent the evening watching two episodes of Downton Abbey, and it was frightfully good. But now I'm going to talk with an affected British accent for the next two days at the least. Pity. Either way, I recommend it. Can't wait to watch more. Its splendid so far. 

Golden Globe Fashion Notes

So, I almost wasn't going to blog at all, because the Golden Globes are on tonight, and I do like a nice awards show. The combination of pretty dresses with bits of comedy, with stretches of slightly boring-ness make it the perfect accompaniment to getting some quilting done. Seriously, when I'm trying to work on some more involved handwork, I really can't watch something to interesting. For example, if I'm watching The Office or Mad Men, I like to give it my full attention, but an awards show - that's perfect for popping back and forth from the sewing machine to the ironing board with half and eye on the TV. 

Plus also, its a perfect excuse for really good snacks. I almost invited people over just so I could make my Mom's taco dip recipe (which I really can't justify making for just Hubs and I, no matter HOW pregnant I am) except then I realized that if I did that I'd have to at least clean the living room and probably vacuum, so I scrapped that idea. Then this evening rolled around, and when I went to find some good snacks, sadly the cupboard was bare. This was intentional and preemptive strategy to keep me from eating sugary high-fat crap in the evenings, because Dude, this baby does NOT need to get any bigger. But it was non-the-less disappointing to realize that I would have to eat a healthy snack while I watched the Golden Globes. I was hoping for chips and dip or maybe a bit of ice cream, but I ended up with an apple and cheese and some almonds. Snore. Ah well, much better for my little ole' fetus.

Anyhow, I still haven't finished watching them, but I'm taking a break to give my fashion notes thus far. You'll have to click on the links for photos.

a) There seem to be a lot of spangly dust ruffle-type accessories. Like on Jennifer Lopez and Scarlet Johanssen. Both these ladies looked fab, I'm just saying, the sleeves and-or capelet things were... excessive maybe?

b) I wish Victor and Rolf would do a day-wear maternity line, because pregnant Natalie Portman looked great in their dress, and I need new maternity pants that don't suck. (Plus also, I'll bet Natalie is sick of the fact that the only adjective anyone uses to describe her these days is 'radiant' or 'glowing'. Branch out fashion journalists, step away from the cliche) 

c) I adore Tilda Swinton, and I don't mean this in a mean way, but with the right wardrobe and hair and prosthetic teeth she could play Montgomery Burns if they ever do a live action version of the Simpsons. And I bet she'd nail it, because that woman can act anything and anyone. 

d) Vastly different outfits, but I'd give the best dressed award to either Amy Adams or Anne Hathaway. They both looked fabulous, and I'd wear either of those dresses in a flash. That is of course, if I had an occasion or a waist. I'd look pretty silly with either of those strapped over my expansive pregnant equator as I made the rounds at the local No Frills. But a girl can dream can't she?

blackout

So, we'd just finished up dinner, and potty time and were making our way out of the bathroom when all of a sudden, things went black. Pitch black. Can't see your hand in front of your face black. Luckily, the Little Dude is not afraid of the dark, and luckily Hubs is the kind of man who is generally prepared. So it was only a matter of minutes before the flashlights were found and some candles rounded up. There was a crazy wind storm going on outside, and most of our town had lost its lights. The entire subdivision across the street was dark, but a quick phone call to my parents (three country concessions out of town) told us they still had power. Anyhow, even if their power did go down, they'd still be fine. My Dad is uber prepared, so they are pretty much ready for the Apocalypse; generators, solar panels etc. Plus my mom has, like, four times the freezer capacity that we have, so by the time people in town are eating their cats, my mom and dad would still be tucking into fine home made reserves. 

But I digress. My point is, we had no power. But we did have candles, and some flashlights, and its not that cold out yet, so after briefly debating it Hubs and I decided not to flee to the comfort of my parent's home, but to stay put and deal. How bad could it be? We filled some pots with water and tidied the kitchen (but did not do dishes) and then.... we sat. I'd been to the library with the Little Dude just recently, so we had some new picture books. We pulled a couple of chairs up to the front window, and watched the cars go by, and looked for blinking planes in the sky, and watched the houses across the road, as occasionally a flashlight would make its way from room to room as our neighbors negotiated their way through the dark. And then.... we were bored. Well, not the Little Dude, he had his own flashlight (Joy!) and the occasional car to point at and a little hand crank food mill that he'd pulled out of a drawer while we were looking for the candles. He told me that he was "makin' djus for mama" as he industriously turned the handle. 

But I must admit that Hubs and I were a bit at a loss. I was pretty bummed. I look forward to my evenings as a time to be productive and relax (at the same time, oxymoronic, I know; I blame my Calvinist upbringing) so I usually like to watch TV (on the television) and sew (on my sewing machine). Clearly, those options were right out. I thought I might read. But I'd finished my really good book, and am now just reading a couple of non-fiction parenting books. Good books for filling up a little space here and there as I wait in doctor's offices, or for photoshop to load up on my very slow computer. But not the kind of thing that I'm dying to sit down and read for a couple of hours. I could crochet at my blanket, but I'm still a little stumped by the colour quandary, and candle light does not exactly make for optimal colour nuance viewing. And even if I could decide on a colour scheme, crocheting would only occupy my hands. I'd be bored if I wasn't also watching or listening to something. Right? I folded laundry by candle light while I thought it over. Hubs was busily writing at the kitchen table. "What are you working on?" I asked. "A list of emergency preparedness items we should have for next time" he said. Right. There's my practical man. Then we remembered that we had an Ipod and a passive amplification speaker, so we put that on, and Sufjan Stevens helped us not feel so silent and weird. I must admit it was creepy, especially watching the cars go by in the silence. I mean what were we going to do otherwise? Talk to each other? Finally, after an eternity passed (about an hour all together) it was bedtime for the Little Dude. We all went downstairs to his room together, to read stories by flashlight, and tuck him in. And just as we were beginning our new library books - fwoosh, the lights came back on, just as suddenly as they'd gone off. 

We were so relieved! Or at least I was. My evening would not be wasted after all, I'd get stuff done! Plus, we could microwave some popcorn for a snack. Yay!

So tuck in was accomplished, popcorn popped, and a PVR'd episode of Glee cued up. But... I feel... um, bad I guess. I've always thought of myself as a person not totally dependent on modern technology. I can cook from scratch, I'm an avid reader, I don't have a cell phone, I KNIT for Pete's sake! But when actually faced with a complete lack of electricity, I hardly knew what to do with myself. Its obvious that not only do I rely on technology, I am also a shameless multi-tasker. When handed the opportunity to do nothing, I can hardly handle it.

So, I'm going to have to think about this. I'm always singing the praises of 'simplifying' but I have a feeling now that it entails a bit more than having an (admittedly) half-assed garden and knitting the occasional pair of mittens. Food for thought. 

Now, excuse me while I go and plug in my sewing machine. 

lil' deer

Last week I posted about feeling overwhelmed when Hubs was away for an overnight. Well, this does not make up for missing him for a day and a half, but it sure is sweet. 

Awwwwww! I know, just look at that lil' deer! Hubs saw him in the window of a second hand shop while he was away, and just had to buy him to add to our slowing growing collection of little ceramic/porcelain deer figurines. Or, at least, quadrupeds. One of them is a giraffe, so the collection is not strictly deer. 

Hubs is not really a 'flowers and candy' kind of guy, so when he does bring me home random sweet little gifts like this, it means a lot. And how cute is this guys' little face? Very much like the stop motion animated Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer face, so he's probably from the 60's. He's also got a lovely lustrous glaze. A very nice addition to our herd.