Taking a deep breath

The last few weeks have meant more changes in our routines, in our lives. I am back at work full-time, and that, as you can imagine, is a huge adjustment. Schedules are upset, habits must change. Everyone’s a little on edge. Does that happen to you as well? As much as I crave change sometimes, I am always uneasy when it happens. The unknown, the imbalance….let’s just say, I will be happy when things have settled back into a routine.

So we needed a family activity to regroup. Since winter was still in full swing a few weeks ago, even though the calendar said otherwise, we thought we’d venture into the woods, for a sugershack experience. And to be perfectly honest, I was looking for a pretty location to take some decent pictures of my finished Cinder scarf. 

Did I mention my feelings about change? 

So, the plan was in place, details ironed out, reservations made. We woke up to bright sunshine on Sunday … and checked the weather forecast. It said -14, or rather -24 with the wind-chill. Does that sound like an idyllic day to go walk outside? My thoughts exactly! So instead we chose to regroup and …. well, clean the house, since that also needed doing. Our sugar shack experience had to wait for another week, but we did make it happen. It was still chilly, but sunny and beautiful. Still a perfect day to be wearing my Cinder scarf.

The Classic Elite Ariosa yarn is perfect for bundling up against the elements. It’s soft and gives beautiful definition to the cables. Speaking of which, how perfect is this pattern? I love the fact that it is reversible. It practically begged to be made into an infinity scarf. It knitted up quickly, and is a perfect substitute for my Herringbone cowl which I have worn constantly over the last few winters.

Summer Vacation!

This is it, school is officially out. My (not so) little boy is about to experience his first summer vacation. How terribly exciting for him and at the same time terribly terrifying for me.

As much as I enjoy hanging out with my little man, I have not spent this much time with him since maternity leave! He is the kind of child that absolutely needs a routine, spur of the moment things do not go over very well.

I still remember that feeling of freedom on the last day of school, the idea of endless sunny days stretching in front of me. Every day a new adventure, full of possibilities. I was used to playing on my own, it never bothered me, but my son is different, he craves company, and needs help to get his imagination going.

So I have been thinking of how to fill our days. We have playdates and outings lined up, swimming and tennis lessons. But I also want fun activities to do at home. After all, we will be spending a lot of time around the house! Since Aidan is not great at playing on his own, I have to find creative ways to encourage him to be a more independent player.

I, of course, started a Pinterest board of ideas, and as often happens, this sparked my imagination. My son loves "Hunt and Seek" games, so I thought....why not create one myself?

I scoured the house for little toys and items to use, arranged them on a tray, and photographed it. This is accompanied by a list of items that he has to find in the photograph. 

This is what I have on the list:

a firetruck
the letter S
the letter A
an angel
scissors
a whistle
a bicycle
a medal
a  milk carton
a ball
a lollipop
a walnut
a rock
a dinosaur
a gift-tag
a basketball net
2 postcards
an antler
a brush
a ribbon
an elephant
a stamp
a slinky
a cellphone
a golfball
a flower
a key
an eraser
a house
a garbage can
a seashell
a harmonica
a cup

I mean the possibilities are endless, right?

If you are desperate for some time fillers with your kids, you can always download my pictures from my flickr account here, and the list here.

We're playing this afternoon....

TTTKAL & Mommy Brain

You know what they say about the best intentions....

Well, I intended to participate in Shannon's TTTKAL and make a cute summer top for myself, but I mobilized too late and by the time my yarn arrived, it was one day away from the finishing deadline.I blame mommy-brain. Indecision and procrastination have nothing to do with it!

Though this deadline was extended to yesterday, the 2nd June, I am nowhere near finishing.  But, it has given me the opportunity to follow along in the thread, chat with some other knitters, and that is always a blast. To anyone that is considering joining a KAL, Shannon's are always a lot of fun. It's a great group of ladies! I can only recommend it!

Nevertheless, let me introduce you to my project. I chose the Driftwood Tee by Mercedes Tarasovich-Clark. It is very "me". Clean lines, with a little interesting detail. I debated for too long which yarn to choose. I did not have anything in my stash, and did not want to invest a lot, so I though I'd give Holst yarn a try. I have heard good things about it. The specification on their website are very similar to the yarn this pattern calls for, only a couple of stitches off from the pattern gauge. So far it is a lovely yarn, though it is a lot thinner then I expected. I personally would call it a lace-weight, but hey, I am no expert. The knitted fabric is very airy, which is nice for a summer top. 

We'll see what the finished project turns out to be....hopefully I will stick to it, and get to wear it this summer, as I do not have the encouragement of my fellow knitters to keep me going.

Updates to follow!

Happiness is...

sometimes... 
a cup of steaming coffee...
or a delicious piece of chocolate...
the smell of the air after a fresh summer rain...
or sunlight streaming in the windows...
today, happiness is a pile of lovingly hand-knit items...

I guess I am in spring cleaning mode, I have been going through our closets, sorting, evaluating, making piles. I feel a little invigorated by the warmer temperatures, I am back to making lists and plans.

In the process, I pulled out all of my hand-knits to, honestly, simply admire them. They make me happy. Is that funny? I guess it is, but knowing how much time and work has gone to making them, they feel like quite the accomplishment. It is rare that your accomplishments are this tangible.

The hat on top is for a friend, she asked me to make her, she was looking for a slouchy type hat, and after looking through countless options on Ravelry she chose Norie , another lovely pattern by Gudrun Johnston. I used Malabrigo Rastita in black. It is a very easy knit, a very straightforward pattern, and the hat looks adorable!

Anyone else feeling the spring-cleaning bug? Or at least a little less like hibernating? Tell me about your own projects.

Advent Calendar and accepting imperfection

There are only 10 days left till Christmas, as I have realized with horror, and not much has happened in way of preparation. Not nearly enough. I am hauling out decorations and feverishly writing lists of things still to do before the holidays. I will never get everything done in time!

I did manage to stick to one tradition I started 2 years ago (see here and here), I made and Advent calendar for Aidan. And that, at the last minute, by that I mean the night before the first of December.

I have been meaning to photograph it , however the weather has been so overcast on weekends, that I barely get any light. This is the best I could do:

My favorite crafty blogs are full on ingenious ideas, and so is Pinterest, but due to the time constraint, I chose to go with a simple idea. Each envelope contains an activity for us to do each day. We have crafts, coloring, baking, singing. There are outdoor activities too, such as a visit to the Christmas market (another yearly tradition) and a trip downtown to admire the decorations.

Aidan has really thrown himself into the Christmas spirit this year, making sure the activities are followed and done the way he believes Santa would like them done.

Seeing him so happy and filled with anticipation, I stress a little less, as I realize that it does not all have to be perfect. He does not care if the decorations match, or the wrapping is "professional", or there are three types of cookies instead of ten, or the house is immaculate. He is perfectly content making his Christmas crafts, while humming carols, and correcting me, when I incorrectly sing along in french!

So tonight, even though my list is still long, I will pour a glass of wine for my husband and I, and we will curl up on the couch to watch a Christmas movie, and glance occasionally at the slightly lop-sided Christmas tree in our living room.

The list will still be there tomorrow morning!

Embracing the cold

Winter is just around the corner. The temperatures have slowly been dropping, we've graduated from fall jackets to winter ones, our scarves and mitts have been getting quite some wear.

My main concern in the winter is comfort. I turn to things, activities and traditions that bring my comfort. One of my favorite ways to relax (if and when that happens) is with a hot drink. I always make sure that my cupboard is stocked with all kinds of tea, coffee and cocoa. I am ecstatic that the red cups are back at Starbucks, and that I can indulge in a Caramel Brûlée. Another tasty treat is the London Fog Latte from Second Cup. And this one, I have managed to re-create at home.

For those of you that wish to try, here's how.

1TBSP Earl Gray from David's Tea
1 Cup Vanilla flavored Soy milk
1TSP honey.

Let the tea steep in the hot milk for about 5 minutes (you can use more or let it steep longer depending on how intense a flavor you are looking for). Add the honey and froth some milk to top off the drink, and voila, delicious, homemade London Fog Latte. I like to believe that this is less calorie intensive then the original.

And you know what makes this moment perfect? A tasty macaroon and the knowledge that you can work on your most recent knit project for (hopefully) a blissful, uninterrupted 30 minutes while your little one naps.

Fall is upon us

Where does time go? I blinked, and fall is upon us! As warm and sunny as our summer was, our autumn is making up for it with cool temperature and rain.

I had a couple of blog posts planned, but our outings were cancelled due to bad weather. Between that, and finishing the basement in our house, my material for the blog has been quite thin.

We did manage to drive up north for our annual apple-picking trip, and even though my favorite kind was no longer available for picking, we had a pleasant picnic and a fun outing. While the kids played, the adults sat on a bench, sipping coffee, indulging in warm apple-fritters, and feeling the warm sun, thinking of what a great summer we had.

I now have 20lbs of apples, and even though we've been eating quite a few, it seems we've barely made a dent. I might delight you with some baking-related posts. At least those are not weather-dependent!

We are continuing to live by the "love where you live" mantra, and thus were thrilled to discover that only 5 minutes from our house there is a nature-park, perfect for exploring on weekend afternoons.

Just like last year, we gathered leaves to use in craft projects at home.

On the knitting front, I have been working on the Conversion Cardigan, by Jared Flood, and it's coming along great (picture to follow soon). Unfortunately it will have to be put aside for a bit, as I have now finally signed up for my first ever craft-fair. I have been threatening to so it, for a year now, and I am now officially stocking up with knits for this momentous event taking place at the end of November.

What have you been working on? Are you in baking mode? Any delicious recipes you'd like to share?

Summer B-day Party

I have always envied people whose birthday is in the summer. The possibilities for celebrating are endless. BBQ, picnic, pool party, garden party, any type of outdoor entertaining is fun. Case in point...my niece.

She turned 3, and to celebrate we had a picnic in one of our favorite parks. It has every element needed to make a kid's party perfect.

A huge playground, water games, picnic tables and lots of shade for the parents to watch the kids have fun.

I had planned to make the Spring garden Tee for Sofia, but did not get around to finishing it. At around 1 AM the night before I had to admit defeat and set it aside. She will get it by next weekend (I hope), so in the meantime here's a shot of the almost finished tee.

Seville

I promised you a separate post on our visit to Sevile, and that is simply because I believe it really deserves its own mention. It was located only 2 hours away from where we were staying on the Costa del Sol, so the hubs and I decided to rent a car and hop on over for a day.

Normally I would not venture to drive in a city I don't know, much less in a country where I can't speak the language (guess those Spanish courses never stuck). But we put our faith in our GPS and set off.

Let's just say that it took over 30 minutes to reach the highway that was only 2 km away. Why? Because street signs are almost inexistent and Jill (our GPS) was unable to pronounce the street names in an intelligible way, which resulted in us turning in circles for a while. So....there was some yelling, some swearing, some huffing and some pouting, but once on the highway we setteled in for the 157 km drive.

Arrived in Seville, we simply parked in the city centre and set off exploring on foot. I was surprised to see how many locals seemed to be out during the day. The streets we literally packed. Everyone was dressed up as if they were going to a wedding. It was really nice to experience the city life like that.
We started noticing that the ground was covered in what looked like pine-needles, and there was a familiar smell in the air, that I could not identify for the life of me.
All this walking made us hungry, and what better place to rest and enjoy a local beer and traditional tapas then in the shade of Europe's biggest cathedral, admiring this view?

Map in hand, we set out to find the famous Seville Cathedral, the biggest of its kind in Europe. It is said that church authorities declared: "Let us create such a building that future generations will take us for lunatics." (according to my lonely planet guide). We made our way through tiny "calles" lined with the cutest boutiques, little cafe's and restaurants, we admired the attention that seems to be paid to the littlest details such as the underside of balconies being decorated with hand-painted tile. We caught glimpses of colorfully tiled entryways and tapestry-clad balconies.

After this very enjoyable break, we headed to the cathedral entrance only to discover that...it was closed! Open pretty much 365 days a year, but not June 7th. It's a holiday, the Feast of Corpus Christi to be exact. This explained why the whole city seemed to be out for a walk. Needless to say we were disappointed.

Fortunately Seville has lots to offer. We spend the next 5 hours exploring Real Alcazar, and the barrios Santa Cruz and Parque Maria Luisa. The parks and gardens are incredible, little oasis' to escape to. And everywhere we went we were followed by this mysterious smell.

You may wonder why I claimed that Seville is a knitter's city. Let me explain. everywhere I looked I noticed this sign:

I got curious of course, and flipping through my guidebook I found this explanation: " It is traditionally said to stand for "No me ha dejado" meaning "She has not deserted me". These words were reputedly uttered by Alfonso the Wise, after the city remained loyal to him in the course of a dispute with his son, during the Reconquest. The double loop symbol in the middle represents a skein of wool, the Spanish word for which is madeja, thus no(madeja)do."  How perfectly adorable is that?

There are so many more corners to Seville we did not get to explore, and I really hope that one day we get to go back. I will let you enjoy some more Seville shots.

Oh, and the smell? It took me hours to figure it out. It was rosemary. Seville smells like rosemary!

Montreal Christmas market

In keeping with my newly established Christmas traditions, we ventured to a Christmas-market this weekend. Last year’s was a great experience and even though we were not fortunate enough to have much snow this time around, it was still great.

With Michael Bublé’s new Christmas CD playing, we headed to the Marche de Noël de L'Assomption. At the market, we were greeted by a wonderful smell of vanilla and cinnamon roasted almonds. We strolled by the different vendors and admired the offerings, even ran into a familiar name. 

People were milling about buying Christmas trees and warming up by the fire pits that were strewn about the market. A little train was blasting carols and taking excited kids on a ride around the neighbourhood to admire the Christmas decorations. The kids enjoyed watching people eating maple taffy, and posed dutifully with a giant nutcracker. 

Until….a familiar sound caught their attention. Surely it could not be? Did someone really say “HO, HO, HO”?

To everyone’s delight Santa made an appearance at the market. Of course, we also had to greet him and tell him about our own wish list, which by the way includes a garbage truck (don’t ask).

It was a wonderful outing and I can say that this is definitely a tradition I will hold on to.

This weekend I will go around the house and photograph some of our decorations to share with my readers.

The Dog Days of Summer

All’s been quiet on the blog-sphere, at least for me. I guess that my plan of updating the blog every week was a little ambitious. A lot of things have been going on lately, and between selling a house, building a new one, finding a new daycare and another job, my mind and time have been occupied.

So here’s the plan. As I have joined the luvinthemommyhood summer sweater knit-along, I’ll be posting about my progress. Because this is one project I will not give up on. It’s my first KAL ever, it’s my first real project for myself, so this is something I will see through. Following the progress of my fellow KAL participants, I cannot help but freak out when I see that some have already finished a sweater, and starting on a second one!!! Talk about motivation!

In parting, let me share some summer-feelings with you. I cannot believe we are already in July. I always panic when I realize how fast the summer is passing. It is my favorite season; I can never get enough of lazy afternoons, spent in the shade, with a good book or an interesting knitting project, enjoying a nice breeze, while bees are buzzing around and kids splashing in the pool, laughing and squealing with delight. I love packing up a blanket and a picnic basket, finding a cool spot to lie down, looking up at the leaves and seeing the sunshine peek through. These images, these thoughts are what gets me through our long, cold (did I mention long?) winters.

So keeping this in mind, can you blame me for slacking off on my knitting???

Spring Inspiration

It’s finally happening. The temperatures are rising, the sun feels warm, and on our walk this weekend we saw crocuses and snowdrops. I bought a pink hyacinth for the kitchen windowsill and it smells incredible!

No knitting updates for today, but I can tell you that April will be an Easter-themed month, and I am even planning my first give-away!

Flowerpots need sleeves too

So I don't have any words of wisdom, no particular insights, no funny story for you today. I'm still waiting for spring but it seems I still have a long wait ahead.

I am planning to plant some flowers on our patio, to buy a new umbrella and coloeful pillows. I have this image of warm and sunny afternoons spent there, enjoying a glass of lemonade, my needles clicking away. That's not too much to ask, is it?

In the meantime, inspired yet again by Debbie Bliss' "The Knitter's Year", I made these three flowerpot sleeves. They just looked cute

Trying to phtograph this FO, I was wrapped in my parka, with my gloves and hat on, hoping the set-up would not get blown away by the -20C wind.

So really, under these weather-conditions, flowerpots DO need sleeves!

Cabane à Sucre

The days are finally getting a little warmer, so we were looking for a fun family activity. March and April are traditionally sugaring off season around here, so a plan was hatched. There are numerous sugar shacks in the Montreal region, pretty much something for everyone’s taste.

We chose the “Sucrerie de la Montagne”, as it was warmly recommended by friends. A little research revealed that it is designated a Quebec Heritage Site, so it was certainly going to be an authentic experience.  It’s about an hours’ drive from our house, and we passed the time listening to a medley of A’s favorite songs , such as “Whoomp there it is”, “I’m too sexy”, “Jump” (Kriss Korss), “Paparazzi”, and the Barenaked Ladies’ “Snacktime”.

As soon as we left the city I felt this sense of calm descend over me. I’m always surprised to see how caught up we get in the stress of everyday life. Try as we might, it always gets a hold of us. This is why outings are so important to us.

We arrived early, so we took a walk around the 120 acre forest of century old maples,  before it got too busy. It’s all old log cabins, some of which can be rented for overnight stays. They have their own bakery, where they make bread and sugar pies, and of course a distillery to transform sap and maple water into delicious maple syrup.

Brunch was served in a room warmed by a crackling fire, on long picnic tables. The waitresses wore traditional garb and we were entertained by two musicians singing French chansons. It really seems they are living life as they did years ago.

We feasted on pea soup, tourtiere (which is meat-pie, a local specialty), sausages and maple smoked ham, a delicious egg soufflé, mashed potatoes and meatballs. And as if that was not enough, we finished the meal with pancakes drenches in maple syrup and the most delicious sugar pie.  I personally enjoyed the tourtiere best, A was a big fan of the ham and S though the eggs were *eggstraordinary* ( ;-)sorry, I could not resist).

The drive home left us content and lethargic, ready to nap on the couch with the sun streaming in the windows dreaming of a spring that is…oh, so close!