Hip Kid

Knitting machine

2010-12-01T09:17:00.002-05:00

More stuff in the new shop.

The French Pantry

2010-11-22T20:20:00.002-05:00

I've gone and done it. I've opened a second shop.

You can see some of my goods at the Willingdon Craft Fair, Dec. 10 and 11.

i scream

2010-08-21T11:13:00.015-04:00

Actually my hips scream.

For a couple of years I have been coveting the ice cream attachment by Kitchen Aid. But I found it difficult to find in Canada and every time I went to the US I forgot about it. But this year on our way back from our holiday I finally bought my ice cream maker. I knew it was a mistake to stop at Williams-Sonoma (WS) on our way back from Boston. But we were hungry by the time we hit Burlington, VT and we had to eat lunch, and I knew there was a WS there. And I knew they carried the Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment I've been coveting. And I knew I would buy it and I did.

I'm addicted.

Last summer some friends bought ice cream makers, but after the initial thrill wore off they put them away in the cupboard. They said that it made such a small amount of ice cream for so much work. And it is expensive.

I don't find that at all. Well, the expensive part yes. If you use the best ingredients you can find, it can be quite expensive. And I've been trying to use only organic ingredients (when a bottle of cream hits $7.00 it's starting to get a little expensive). But the taste is so worth it. My KA makes 2 quarts instead of the typical 1 so it makes a decent amount of ice cream. And so far I am making flavors that are difficult to find here.

I started off with organic lemon ice cream. It lasted about an hour. Really it was amazing. Then I made orange creamsicle ice cream. Amazing. Then the boys insisted I make 2 more batches of lemon. I should also say that I bought a Microplane zester and I don't know how I ever zested a lemon or an orange before. It doubles the amount of zest you get off of a piece of fruit. I also made mango sorbet. While it was delicious, it was a little gritty. I think the next time I will strain the mango.

I also bought The Perfect Scoop, which is the ice cream bible. It reads like a novel (or at least it does for someone obsessed with ice cream). The only disappointment so far was the roasted banana recipe. And I knew that it would be from the outset. I knew that we wouldn't like the flavor imparted by roasting the bananas. But I won't give up. I have searched for other banana recipes that I am going to try.

First thing though I am off to the Atwater Market to find some good quality chocolate because today I try my hand at making chocolate ice cream. I'm a little nervous. So far everything has been fruit based and not custard based.I think it will work out if I take my time.

Next up is to try out my new martini shaker.

Shel on a cow in Burlington.

Shark week

2010-08-08T11:21:00.006-04:00

The day after returning from our holiday 
I came down with a terrible summer cold.
Summer colds have to be the worst, 
but it gave me an excuse to lay around the 
house watching Shark Week on Discovery.

I know sharks don't excite everybody, but
in our house sharks rule.
We're all totally obsessed with sharks.

While we were in the Boston area on holiday
there were at least 4 great white sightings
off the Cape.

And truth be told when we went out for 
our boat ride to see whales, we were all
secretly hoping to to see the great whites.

Unfortunately, we didn't so next year we
will try a shark tour.

I'm back

2010-08-06T19:03:00.009-04:00

Finally.
In more ways than one.
I really needed to take a break and refocus.
It was helpful. I made some decisions about my 
online shop. Or I thought I did.
And some about my new shop. But enough about all
of that for now.

This is a catch up of what we've been up to this summer
for those of you I haven't been emailing or calling.

We just returned from a holiday to the coast (NE not NS)
and have returned well fed and well rested.

It was fantastic. Martin and I used to go to Boston's 
north shore every summer and then stopped when 
we had Shel. I can't believe that we haven't been back
in over 10 years.

Due to our tardiness in booking our trip
we couldn't find anything close to
Plum Island where we usually stay, but
we stayed closer to Salem and that turned out to 
be great. We found a new beach that has become
a family favorite (Crane Beach near Ipswich), 
we did the touristy
witch stuff in Salem, went looking for whales
(and saw over 20), ate loads of fantastic seafood.

We stopped in Burlington, VT on the way
back for lunch and I bought an ice cream maker.
I've made 2 batches of lemon ice cream and
I think there is no going back to 
commercial ice cream.
I had also forgotten how much I really
like Burlington. It is a very funky little
town.

Now we're back and I have a summer cold.
I'm taking a few days to recover and then
I will have more news about my new shop.

Popsicles

2010-07-14T11:18:00.011-04:00

It's been so hot here lately, I decided to make some healthy popsicles with yogurt and fresh raspberries rather than eating the sugar-filled ones we buy at the depanneur.

I bought this popsicle mold a couple of years ago and can't believe that I haven't used it yet. But that's the way I am. It all gets used eventually.

I was reading Orangette and she made popsicles from David Lebovitz's book The Perfect Scoop. If you haven't discovered David Lebovitz yet you really must read his food blog.

So today I decided to get off my duff and make some popsicles for the wee man as a surprise when he gets home from day camp later on.

I know that he will be coming up with his own recipes once he realizes how incredibly easy they are to make.

Raspberry Yogurt Popsicles Adapted from The Perfect Scoop, by David Lebovitz

Use whole-milk yogurt, not low-fat or nonfat. It tastes better, and it makes for a better tasting popsicle.

Recipe

2 cups (480 grams) plain whole-milk yogurt
2 cups (240 grams) fresh or frozen raspberries
¾ cup (150 grams) sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice

Combine all ingredients in the jar of a blender, and process until smooth. Set a strainer over a bowl (or other vessel) with a pour spout. Press the mixture through the strainer to remove seeds. Divide mixture among popsicle molds of your choosing and freeze for 4-5 hours. If using something other than real popsicle molds, freeze for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the mixture begins to set; then insert popsicle sticks. Freeze until very hard.

Happy Canada Day

2010-07-02T15:46:00.004-04:00

Bit late posting this, but I was sooo tired when I got home last night.

We had a great time in Montreal West with friends. Fireworks were short but beautiful.

Summer plans

2010-06-29T13:57:00.005-04:00

Usually, we have our summer plans all mapped out already, but this year we are late and it shows. We have been discussing where to go and what to do. I found this lovely lighthouse in my search and wish I had found it earlier. They are already booking for next year or the year after.

Homemade Lemonade

2010-06-09T11:05:00.009-04:00

This recipe is used at most US State fairs.

A pitcher of it never lasts very long and
is a little on the tart side.

Homemade Lemonade

1 c. sugar
5 c. water
1 c. lemon juice (about 6 organic lemons)

Instructions:

Simple syrup:
Cut into chunks the rinds of 2 lemons (skins washed).
Put in saucepan.
Cover with sugar and 1 cup of water.
Bring to a boil, then simmer until sugar is dissolved 
(about 5-6 minutes)
Let cool.

In a pitcher, mix 1 cup of lemon juice with 4 cups of water.
(I usually strain the lemon juice to get rid of the pulp)
Once the simply syrup is cool, strain into pitcher with
lemon juice and water.

Refrigerate. Enjoy!

I heart Chicago

2010-04-29T18:32:00.013-04:00

I've been in the Chicago area for the last week. The days have been busy, but followed by very enjoyable evenings at some fantastic restaurants. Last night we ate at a Spanish tapas restaurant that was so good I was tempted to go back again tonight. The restaurant is in a Victorian home that was converted. It is absolutely beautiful and I had the most fantastic passion fruit martini.

Looking forward to going back home tomorrow.

blank pages

2010-03-19T15:48:00.009-04:00

we love good food at our house
but i realized that we are always
cooking the same things

i spend so much time reading
and clipping
recipes out of newspapers
and magazines
i have a huge collection that
i always meant to get around to trying
but never did

until recently
i've started cooking and baking 
my way through the pile

a few years ago i bought this lovely blank
leather bound book in Italy
and never filled it
so now as i try recipes
if they are a success
they are included in my blank book

i have entered a few of my favorites already
such as joe beef's lobster spaghetti
my special carrot cake
poulet chasseur
my mom's oatmeal cookies
and lemon cloud pudding

hopefully soon it won't
be blank for much longer

happy birthday

2010-03-17T11:54:00.006-04:00

so many birthdays in March
lots to celebrate
happy birthday to the husband
and all our friends born in this
springy month

what to do today?

2010-03-05T16:46:00.013-05:00

today was the last day of the school break.
what to do with
the day in front of us.
we had a lazy morning
did a little shopping
a late lunch at a favorite Mexican place on the Plateau

chicken quesadillas
salad
nachos
salsa
Corona
a little more shopping
Alice in Wonderland
and a little wine to top off the day

liquid gold

2010-02-22T15:59:00.019-05:00

There are many opinions as to what defines liquid gold.

oil
gas
water
wine
whiskey

But I think that I am now going to define liquid gold as this $41(CAD - tax included) bottle of organic Madagascar Bourbon pure vanilla extract.

I recently visited the kitchen store Wilfrid and Adrienne in Westmount and was talked into buying this outrageously expensive bottle of vanilla.

Granted it didn't take too much to talk me into it as I LOVE LOVE LOVE vanilla and have gradually been buying better and better quality.

And I could have bought the non-organic version for $10 less, but if you are going to go all out, just go for gold. Right?

Once I brought it home and opened it, then opened a $12 dollar bottle, and an $18 bottle to compare.

It definitely smelled smoother. But the real taste test is not necessarily how it tastes in the next batch of chocolate oatmeal cookies, but in steamed milk with a little vanilla stirred in.

I rushed off to school to pick up the wee man as he is my main test taster (and a fine one to boot). I knew that whether I liked the result or not he would be brutally honest as to how good it tastes.

Not to tarnish the results, I didn't tell him that it was a new (aka expensive) bottle of vanilla and waited with bated breath as he took the first sip.

He first said it smells great. Then tasted it. As I had only put about a teaspoon in the taste was very subtle, but he loved it.

If the wee man loves it, then that's good enough for me.

lull

2010-01-31T22:17:00.014-05:00

I love the post holiday lull.
lounging around in pajamas until late in the day.
sometimes all day
eating a late breakfast
that can sometimes be confused with lunch 
early dinners
or late dinners
eating by candlelight
warm baths
with nice scents
sometimes baking cookies
having wine by the firelight
boardgames
books
movies
making plans
but not keeping them
sometimes it can last for a long time, but this year it 
seemed to go by so quickly.

i want the holiday lull to come back
and to do it all over again

i always say that i hate winter
but the truth is
i love it
it is very disappointing that this has been 
a non-winter
very little snow
which means very little
sledding
skating
snow days
wine by the fire on cold days

there is still time
before spring arrives
(the worst season in my opinion)
for another lull

montreal smoked meat

2010-01-06T19:12:00.007-05:00

The husband phoned around 3:00 pm and asked if we wanted 
to go out for dinner
It was snowing and blowing and we said no thanks
He phoned around 4:30 and said don't make anything 
I'm bringing home Schawartz smoked meat

I feel sorry for anyone who's not in Montreal for Schawartz 
smoked meat

happy new year

2010-01-01T18:52:00.025-05:00

new year's wish for friends and family

the happiest of new years
good health
lots of wealth
and friends to share it with

some sights around our house today
max looks like he's nursing a hangover

what's that on the counter? 




fresh tarragon, fresh thyme, garlic, lobster, cream, and brandy

must be the annual new year's lobster pasta feed

cherry pie to top it off while watching Julie and Julia

Sledding at Hampstead Park with Jodi and Murray and the boys

Well, to finish off the day I have compiled a list of things I would like to accomplish in 2010. It doesn't mean that I will, but there are a few things that I would like to do.

Reno the upstairs bathroom
exercise more
learn to make brioche
learn to sew properly
open my second shop on esty
finally get my drivers license
take more pictures
take better pictures

We'll see how it goes.

Here's hoping that you had a fun new year celebration and all the best in 2010.

christmas food

2009-12-29T09:43:00.020-05:00

Christmas is not a time to go on a diet
I love to bake at Christmas
and this year I really did quite a bit

My mom was always a great Christmas baker
There were always Christmas cookies
but more than that I loved her pies

Very early on she relegated the job of the 
Christmas pudding to me and I became quite
adept at it, however, what I've missed most
since leaving home is my parents mincemeat

We're not talking the kind in a jar
but a serious mincemeat that took a long
time to cook and was put into the basement 
cold room for months

I've tasted a lot of mincemeats (warily I might
add because of the meat content and I am picky
about meat) but NONE can match her recipe

My father was a hunter and they always put deer 
meat and suet in their recipe
I am not a big fan of game meat but it did make a
huge difference in the mincemeat
a lot of people put in beef, but really it is not the same

I have thought for many years that I would try it
but didn't think that I was up for the task or commitment
and even if I found deer meat (which surprisingly is fairly easy)
I didn't think that I wanted to use it

Then a while ago I picked up the Christmas baking issue
of Cooks Illustrated magazine and there was a "no fail" mincemeat recipe
using no meat
For some reason this recipe stuck with me and I said that I 
was going to try it
I went out and bought all the ingrediants and planned on making 
it closer to Christmas
We were having friends over for Christmas dinner so I figured
no time like the present to try out the recipe (while making
a cherry pie as backup just in case)

Turns out that there are not a lot of mincemeat lovers
out there (no surprise) but I LOVED this recipe
and I have to say that it tastes quite close to my 
parents recipe
It is quite easy to make (although in total takes about 4 hours)

I've printed out the recipe below. If you try it let me know how it turns 
Note: that the pie crust they use contains vodka but I've used
Martha's Stewart's pie crust recipe (always use it and my pie crust always 
turns out great) I see no reason to put vodka in your pie crust
I also used brandy in this recipe which my mother never did

Modern Mincemeat Pie

3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled,cored and cut into 1/4 inch dice
3 large McIntosh apples, peeled,cored and cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 c golden raisins
1 c currents
3/4 c packed dark brown sugar
1 stick (8 tbsp) unsalted butter
1/4 c diced candied orange peel (optional)
Grated zest and juice from 1 orange
Grated zest and juice from 1 lemon
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tso ground cloves
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 c apple cider, plus more as needed
1/3 c rum or brandy

Place all the ingrediants except for 1/2 c cider and the rum in a large,
heavy saucepan and set over medium-low heat. Bring to a boil and simmer
gently, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching, until mixture thickens
and darkens in color, about 3 hours, adding more cider as necessary to prevent
scorching.

Continue cooking,stirring mixture every minute or two,until it has a jamlike 
consistency, about 20 minutes. Stir in remaining cider and rumand cook
until liquid in pan is thick and syrupy, about 10 minutes; cool mixture.
(At this point the mincemeat can be refridgerated for several days).

To assemble and bake the pie:

Adjust oven rack to middle of oven and heat to 400 degrees.
Roll out pie dough. Put filling in pie dough and cover with second piece of
pie dough (as normal pie construction instructions)
Cut 3 or 4 slits in top of pie for air to escape.
If dough is very soft put in freezer for 10 minutes ebefore cooking.

Bake until crust is light golden brown, 25 minutes.Rotate pie and reduce oven
temperature to 350 degrees; continue to bake until juices bubble and crust is
deep golden brown, about 35 minutes.
Transfer pie to rack and cook to room temperature before serving.

a christmas card

2009-12-26T15:27:00.011-05:00

i know, i know
this post is really late coming

and thanks to all of you who phoned or emailed to let me know

how incredibly out of date my blog is and
what is my news

it has been a very nice christmas
filled with lots of good friends, good food, good wine

our bellies are full and we are spending the day

playing video games, watching movies, napping

thinking about buying some milk

but not sure we want to go out in the freezing rain

at least we are not the cable guy from videotron
up the ladder outside our window fixing our wires

we are well now shel and I have had a lot of colds since the autumn shel has learned how to skate and has been taking guitar lessons he received a new guitar for christmas with fancy black picks and just before christmas earned his blue belt in karate through nothing but sheer hard work martin also earned his brown belt in karate

i haven't been taking as many photos as I would like i think that's why i've not been posting so often this holiday will be good for me i'm going to nap and take time for myself and go see some movies and take some pictures

we're looking forward 2010 hoping you are all well and looking forward to hearing from you soon

Winter - where art thou?

2009-11-23T14:57:00.003-05:00

Not that I'm complaining. It's almost the first of December (ok panic mode) and it feels like early October, but this just isn't normal.

We are ready for winter. The snowtires are on the car, shovel is waiting in the garage, bought new snow boots for everybody, but today it's bright, sunny and warm.

Usually by mid-November we are rushing to put the Christmas lights up so our fingers won't be frozen by waiting until December. This year, not so much. It doesn't even feel like Christmas is only 5 weeks away. Put the Christmas lights up, are you kidding, tonight the only thing that we are lighting up is the bbq.

Walked to Starbucks today and saw that my neighbor's rosemary plant is doing very well in her garden. Another neighbour has some hanging flowers that are blooming. We were chopping down the plants in our garden this weekend and I found that my rosebush actually has buds on it and it's too warm to wrap it up yet.

So weird. Not that I'm complaining.

I heart new furniture

2009-11-20T09:45:00.011-05:00

Image from apartment therapy.

I've decided to change my downstairs office (or also affectionately known as the junk room) and make it more hospitable and a room to actually spend time in.

I would love to find this little sofa in grey.

I'd put it in the corner next to the glass doors with this big reading lamp.

I wanted to buy this house (it's the house at 4149 Beaconsfield with the BIG SOLD SIGN on it), fell in love with it as soon as I saw it, but it sold the next day before we could even go and look at it.

Instead of furniture the husband wants to buy a snowblower. Somehow I think that he'll win this battle and then we'll not have any snow this winter at all.

I heart fall

2009-11-15T08:46:00.011-05:00

Boubou looking at snowflakes last year.

If it wasn't for the fact that winter follows fall, it would be my favorite time of year. I don't really like the cold, and the it seems that it takes spring forever to get here. But there are things about fall that I love:

I love the cooler temperatures, closing up the garden for the winter, getting ready for the first snowfall, buying new shovels, the softness of cashmere hats and scarves, planning Christmas and Hannukah parties, stacking firewood to be enjoyed when the weather turns crisp, the sense of expectation and appreciation, the sense of closure.

I also really enjoy fall cleaning. Some people are spring cleaners, but I'm a fall cleaner. If I'm going to be closed up in my house for the next 6 months, I want to get rid of all the junk that I've accumulated over the last year and I want to be able to see through my windows.

This year I'm a little behind in everything. I've been fighting colds and the flu all fall it seems. I usually always have my holiday shopping almost done by now and I have barely started. I told the husband to book time next weekend and to get a babysitter because we are going out to get as much done as possible.

I've made my lists and I'm checking them twice. Time to get organized before the first round of parties hits which is in a few short weeks. Need to make hostess gifts and gifts for teachers and crossing guards.

I guess what I also like is that this is the time of year to say thank you. To show those who make our lives easier that we don't know what we would do without them. So as busy as this season gets, I do enjoy every minute of it.

A late Thanksgiving post

2009-10-14T17:32:00.009-04:00

I had meant to post on Thanksgiving Day, but I've had a terrible cold that put me down for a while. I'm just starting to feel like myself again.

So due to the terrible cold most of my long weekend was spent moaning and groaning and feeling sorry for myself. That is when I wasn't wiping my nose, or taking Tylenol, or pontificating on the evils of prolonged usage of Advil on the liver.

Then on Monday morning (Thanksgiving) I'd had enough of myself and said, we're going hiking. So off we went to the wilds of Oka and hiked the Calvaire trail. It was lovely. It is a connection of trails about 5 km long with little chapels or prayer stations dotted along the way. All connected at the top by a group of 3 small chapels. And what a view from the top. Magnificant. I had expected to see more red and yellow foliage, but there was still a lot of green.

Feeling a little hungry after our hike we stopped by the Oka Monastery to buy some cheese and maple chocolate. Originally made by the monks, they still oversee the production.

I was even feeling well enough to cook the fowl and make fresh cranberry sauce and giblet gravy. So all in all not a bad day.

Today's gonna be a good day

2009-10-10T19:56:00.003-04:00

This summer I discovered Fitflops. For the uninitiated these sandals are supposed to do everything from giving your bum a great shape, to strengthening your legs, to giving you a workout while you walk. I just think that they are the most incredibly comfortable sandal. I wore mine all summer and was sad to think that I had to put them away when fall arrived.

Then today low and behold while we're all out shopping at Rockland I found these beauties. Fitflop slippers.

I couldn't believe it. They also had little boots but they looked too much like Uggs for my liking (ugh). Didn't have time to try them on as it was 5 minutes to closing and I hate to be rushed. But I'm heading back tomorrow. Yeah.

Big sale in the shoppe

2009-10-09T10:01:00.003-04:00

I've put all my short sleeved tees on sale in the shoppe to clear out my summer stock.

I have been spending more and more time designing for my adult tee shoppe. So is this the beginning of the end for my children's tees?

Not sure yet. Have to make some decisions.Can't do it all.

Have a lovely Thanksgiving weekend. And eat lots of turkey.

the carcass of summer has been incinerated

2009-09-03T20:17:00.005-04:00

The last night before school started and Shel turned to me as I was putting him in bed and uttered these words, "The carcass of summer has been incinerated."

But where, I asked him, did you pick up this language?

He looked at me incredulously and said, "The Coneheads".

A little overdramatic, but accurate.

Why is it as soon as the page turns from August to September you can feel the difference? One day it's summer and the next day it's September. Almost fall.

Pictures of the night sky taken on the way back from Ottawa to Montreal.

August 2 - back to school (shopping)

2009-08-02T16:43:00.004-04:00

This is what August 2 looks like. Can you believe it?

I thought that I would be ahead of the game by picking up some school supplies this morning at Jean Coutu. So this afternoon I'm bragging about it to another school mom who tells me she has finished her back to school shopping.

what the.....?

You've got to be kidding me.

So I rush off this afternoon to pick up a few more things and the place is packed with mothers, arms laden with school supplies. They poor clerk at Jean Coutu can barely get the stuff out of the box before it is snapped up.

It was too crowded for me so I grabbed a few things and plan to go back this evening to try to finish most of what is on Shel's list.

Now if I could only understand what most of it is.... what's a Blue Lepage Fun Tak?

Summer in NYC

2009-08-01T08:20:00.016-04:00

We just got back from spending 5 days in New York instead of our usual trek to Nova Scotia.

I was concerned that we would have terrible weather and be stuck in our hotel room, but it was magnificant.

We did all the usual tourist stuff, but we also spent a nice afternoon in a children's park in Hell's Kitchen. I thought it was a non-gentrified neighbourhood, but turns out it still costs a fortune for a 1 bedroom apartment there.

We stayed on the Upper East Side and found lots of little restaurants. On our last trip to NYC our eating experience was not so positive, but this time we were very happy. I recommend Angelo's for Italian and Wild Ginger for Thai.

I bought this at Williams Sonoma and can't wait to try it out with both sweet and savory fillings.

(first celebrity sighting - guy from Bedtime Stories) (second celebrity sighting)

Cape Breton dreaming

2009-07-18T09:37:00.007-04:00

First official day of vacation. Great trip planned to NYC, but I still wish we were going back home.

Cape Breton, near the Keltic Lodge

2009-07-02T12:53:00.006-04:00

Wow, it's been a while since I've posted. Just too many life events going on.

School ended for another year
Summer camp started
Visit by these lovely people.
Computer problems - now sorted out
Planning a vacation here
Leaving the life of a consultant to be permanent (that was scary)

I'm going to try to be more faithful to my blog and post more often.

To do list for the summer:

Buy an ice cream maker and make loads of homemade ice cream
Actually use my panini maker
Return here
Create a business page on Facebook
Improve my tennis game (I have to now that the wee man is in tennis camp
Get out of the city more
Introduce the wee man to "campy movie night".
Start my latest venture and focus on it for a while.
Read a classic that I've always meant to get to.
Schedule more playdates and not just spend the weekends running errands
Improve my roundhouse kick.
Finish decorating the wee man's bedroom.

That's a good enough start.

I had computer problems a while back and as a result I lost all of my favorite links. At first I was horrified, but then I managed to find the ones that I frequented the most and found some fantastic new ones. Here are some of my new favorites. Great reads.

Newest obsession: Apartamento

Old photos

2009-05-28T17:08:00.008-04:00

I recently found these old photos.

First bbq of the season

2009-05-25T13:06:00.005-04:00

Well, not really, we bbq all winter long, but this if our first family bbq where we ate outside.

You can tell that Max is really into it. We did have pity and give him a wee bite of bacon.

I am not a beer drinker, but I did enjoy this Cheval Blanc Blanche. Very light and had an aftertaste of ginger.

We're all in various stages of recovery from spring colds and viruses. It really has slowed things down. I had hoped to have a lot more accomplished but it will all be done in it's own time.

Gift certificates available in shop

2009-05-19T19:44:00.002-04:00

Making gift giving easier. Gift certificates are now available in the shop.

Jellyfish tees

2009-05-18T16:31:00.003-04:00

More jellyfish tees. Some for the shop, some for birthday lootbags.

For my son on his 8th birthday - 100 Rules to Live By

2009-04-19T13:36:00.057-04:00

Another year has passed (already). Every day I marvel at this person you are becoming (I still see you as the little guy in the photo). Soon you will be the one giving me advice (or at least just telling me what to do), but before that happens I have a few words of advice that I should pass on to you. So I've complied this list of 100 rules or quotes mostly made up of things that I have learned or would have benefitted from myself. This list is by no means exhaustive and you may not agree with everything, but trust me, if you follow half these rules you'll do ok.

Know how to eat a lobster.
Never, never rest contented with any circle of ideas, but always be certain that a wider one is still possible. (Pearl Bailey)
Know which utensil to use and when.
If you do get into a fight, hit back, hit hard. Make sure he goes down.
Use your napkin.
Women love it when men smell good.
A rainy day can be just as beautiful as a sunny day.
Make sure you have two sets of keys in case you get locked out.
Remember birthdays (especially your mother's).
Unless you are at the gym, never wear white socks.
White shoes can work, but you have to be confident you can pull it off.
Know your cuts of meat before you order at the butcher. He'll respect you more and you'll get a better cut.
Try to see life the way your art teacher taught you.
Be kind.
Don't be embarrassed to ask for directions.
Know how to dance.
Use dental floss and keep good dental hygiene. None of which should be done in public.
Be a good swimmer, but always fear the water. It is more powerful than you are.
Make sure your professors know you by your first name.
A white, button down shirt always looks good.
Know how to use an iron.
Know how to tie a Windsor knot.
The 70s produced some excellent music.
Make sure you can rock out to the same music as your dad. It'll give you something to do together when he gets old.
The only jewelry you should wear: a wedding ring and a watch.
Don't be the last one to say "Good morning".
Listen to children, they have very wise things to say.
Respect animals.
Own a good set of china and a set of every day dishes.
Some days you may be too well to go to work.
Take a road trip.
Once in your life work in the service industry, it can tell you a lot about human nature.
If you need to take time off between high school and university, but not too long or you will never go back.
If you see someone looking at a map, offer directions.
Being a kid is fun, but being an adult has its moments too.
Look at people when you speak to them.
Know how to drive a stick shift.
Know when it's enough.
Putting it in writing is forever.
Don't spend all day baking croissants when a great patisserie is around the corner.
Respect the earth.
Swim with the narwals, don't just limit yourself to dolphins.
Have children.
Always bring a hostess/host gift.
Never take the first swing, but stand up for yourself. You'll only have to do it once.
Vote. If you don't vote you don't have the right to complain.
Watching old movies with someone you love is special.
Don't let anyone make up your mind for you.
Know where you came from.
Know when to not say anything.
Be selective about revealing personal information.
Our whole lives are governed by time, measure it with a fabulous watch.
Have a dinner party at least once per month.
Compliment others.
Good sportsmanship = good character.
Know how to cook both dinner and dessert.
Chocolate can be considered health food in certain circumstances.
Red is definitely your color.
Believe in something.
Your childhood friends will be amongst some of your most important relationships and the ones you will remember.
Don't leave laundry under the bed.
If you only have time to do one chore, do the dishes.
Don't take crap.
Someday there will be something more important than bionicles.
Sing.
Watchout for sharks and not just the kind that swim.
Don't tip for bad service.
Bragging is really unattractive.
Just because someone says "I love you" you don't have to say it back. Unless it is your mother.
Women love shoes. Don't understand it, just know it.
Know how to take good pictures.
Know a good joke or ice breaker.
Don't waste your money on inferior wine.
Listen to opera.
Own a stylish overcoat.
Comb your hair and brush your teeth before you leave the house.
Don't expect life to be entirely easy. Sometimes the things most worth having you have to work for.
Read literature.
Travel. Go everywhere you can, but always come home.
Open doors, pull out chairs, stand when someone comes in the room. This has nothing to do with feminism and everything to do with good manners.
Never correct someone publically unless they are an asshole (sorry about the language).
Patience is a virtue, unless it's not.
Be physically active.
There are 2 things you should never compromise on; a bed or shoes because if you are not in one, you are in the other. (this bit of advice is thanks to your paternal grandmother).
You don't always have to be in the driver's seat, sometimes the passenger's seat has the better view.
Save your money.
Never accept things at face value. A little insight can go a long way.
Read the instructions first.
Carry kleenex.
Invest in real estate as soon as you can.
Don't make excuses. No excuse is better than a bad one.
It's a fact, no one's cooking is as good as your mom's.
Turn your phone off after 9:00 pm.
The more languages you speak the better, but choose your languages and your language wisely.
The problem with winning the rat race is you're still a rat. (Lily Tomlin)
Lying on your back looking at clouds can be a great way to spend a day.
Accept your actions, everything is for a reason, and move on.
Own a tool set and know how to use it.
Be yourself, no one is more perfect than who you are.
No matter where you go or what you do, your dad and I will always be there for you and love you to pieces.

Happy 8th birthday my beautiful boy.

Hip Kid on MyMomsView

2009-04-05T12:15:00.002-04:00

Lynette at My Mom's View has written up Hip Kid on her blog and is hosting another Hip Kid BYOB giveaway. Check out her blog it has lots of great stuff and interviews.

And the winner is.....

2009-04-01T18:46:00.004-04:00

And after much delay due to colds and flu, the winner is.....

Mona!

Congrats Mo, your name was pulled out of a hat by the wee man. I will be in touch shortly to make sure I have your latest address. Enjoy!

Hip Kid Spring contest

2009-03-24T08:58:00.005-04:00

In celebration of spring (sorry for those of you who are living where it is now snowing) and because I haven't had a contest in a while, I am announcing my Spring 2009 contest.

The lucky winner will get a byob bag and key fob.

All you have to do is leave a comment below this blog entry and on Sunday, March 29 I will randomly select a lucky winner.

So that's it. Good luck and happy (almost) spring.

Please note that this contest is only open to Canadian and US residents only.

Playing around with Photoshop

2009-03-06T14:27:00.003-05:00

Although I should have photoshopped a haircut while I was at it.

New look

2009-03-04T10:09:00.002-05:00

The old blog was well over due for a new look. I like this one better and maybe more changes to come.

Raccoon Mom

2009-02-25T14:25:00.006-05:00

I now know what I am. I'm a raccoon mom.

Last week after my root canal appointment while I was waiting for the husband to pick me up at the Second Cup, I picked up a copy of The National Post and started reading an article about moms who feel so private time deprived they go without sleep just to get some time to themselves. - Raccoon Moms.

As I read, I couldn't believe it, they were talking about ME! This is how I've been living for years. Well, 7 years to be precise.

The husband has been telling me for....well a long time, that I need to get some sleep, but I always found it hard explaining to people that I feel as if my time is being robbed if I sleep. I find it to be such as waste of time because when the wee man is up I want to be with him, making sure he is getting the best of me, but once he's in bed, it's mommy time!

Once everyone is in bed then I get to "me" things. Things like:

Reading the paper (although I have given up my newspaper habit recently and found myself easily reading 3 books a week)
Blogging (duh)
Watching movies
Designing stuff for the etsy shop
Finishing up contracts that are long overdue
Planning renos
Thinking
Emailing
Just sitting

I could never give this time up, not even for sleep. I'm just glad to hear that I'm not the only one.

My favorites

2009-02-15T15:02:00.006-05:00

My name is Suzanne, and I am a flickr addict. I can't get enough. If you leave me alone with my computer, even with looming deadlines, I will still sneak a look. My Favorites pages are starting to get up there in numbers.

I don't think this is a bad thing. I am totally in awe and am inspired by what I see there. There is so much talent on flickr. I think that it gives a whole new meaning to amateur photography. Some of the photographers who call themselves amateur are being far too modest.
Here are just a few of my favorites.

It's curious as to why people pick certain photos as favorites. Is it a color that reminds you of something? A facial expression that reminds you of someone? A house that reminds you of somewhere? Or you just wish you had taken that particular photo?

New in the shop

2009-02-13T17:32:00.003-05:00

Have gotten back into doing bags.

Comfort Food

2009-01-22T18:05:00.002-05:00

The husband is a really good cook and he loves to cook, which makes all of us very happy. He watches all the cooking shows (well his favorite is a bbq show, men love comparing how big their bbq's are) and we benefit from it.

But he also is really great with the slow cooker. Some of our favorites are:

bbq ribs
pork steaks with dried fruit
and chicken braised in sweet peppers

But our new favorite is pork roast in onion gravy.

I look forward to the weekend just to see what he's going to cook up next.

Shauna's Birthday Brunch at Lemeac

2009-01-12T19:13:00.007-05:00

It was amazing!

A year in pictures

2009-01-02T11:31:00.018-05:00

Joe Beef's Lobster Pasta

2009-01-01T18:08:00.007-05:00

As promised here is the lobster pasta recipe that I made for New Year's Eve dinner.

WARNING

The only clothes I fit into today are my pajamas. I see some serious gym days in the near future.

Ingredients:

3 lobsters, cooked, meat and shells reserved
3 cups (750 ml) whipping cream (yes this is the correct amount)
2 cloves garlic, minced (I used garlic de Provence)
1 bay leaf
4 sprigs of fresh thyme (it is essential to use fresh herbs)
2 tbsp (25 ml) of cognac or brandy (I used Napoleon Brandy)
1 sprig fresh tarragon
1/2 (2 ml)tsp Tabasco sauce
4 oz (125 g) thick bacon, cut into 1" (2.5 cm) strips
1 pkg spaghetti
1 tsp (5 ml) salt to taste
1/2 tsp (2ml) freshly ground pepper
2 tbsp (25 ml) chopped fresh tarragon

Cut the lobster in large chunks. Reserve (note I cut it into smaller chunks because I don't like the pieces to be too chewy and it works better for children)

Place cream in large saucepan and add garlic, bay leaf, thyme, brandy, tarragon, and Tabasco. Bring to a boil. Add lobster shells and cook VERY gently (as cream will burn on too high a heat) about 1 hour. Strain cream into a deep wide skillet or wok.

Cook the bacon until crisp and drain on paper towels.
Just before serving, cook spaghetti in a large pot of salted water until just about tender. Add lobster meat to cream and gently reheat. Drain pasta and reserve 1 cup (250 ml) of pasta cooking liquid. Add spaghetti to cream sauce. Add bacon. Cook gently until sauce coats noodles well. Season to taste (you must use fresh cracked peppercorns)to taste. If mixture is too thick add some reserved cooking liquid.
Serve in a mound with fresh herbs and additional pepper sprinkled on top.

Makes 4 to 6 servings (in my opinion, it only serves 6 if you really are skinny and don't eat).

Calories: Be afraid, be very afraid.

Enjoy!!

BTW if there is any brandy leftover, have a glass.

Is everyone as happy as I am that Christmas is over?

2008-12-26T17:09:00.007-05:00

I don't mean to sound like Scrooge, but this year leading up to Christmas was craziness. At one point in November I thought I was ahead of the ball, but then December just snuck up on me and voila I was unprepared, exhausted, and over-extended.

The husband and I usually have a rule that we only except a certain number of invitations and the others get polite refusals, but this year it seems that the husband was in the mood to socialize. So we had lots of fun, but now I'm tired. I'm even wondering if the rest of the family will think I'm really weird if I take the tree down tomorrow. Nah, I'm not that much of a scrooge.

It started off with the husband pulling a muscle in his neck the first day of our 2 week vacation. He has been so much fun to live with, in all fairness, he was in enough pain to go to the CLSC and when that didn't work he took my advice and went to acpuncture. I'm happy to report that he had his second treatment today and he's much better. But it held us up doing a lot of what we needed to get done.

Then the wee man got a cold the same day, and Henry, our long haired cat, decided he had an upset stomach. It would have been ok if he had of kept it to himself, but he pooped all over our bed and then ran through the house getting it all over the carpets, floors, furniture, etc. Not to mention how much he smelled. We had to phone our vet and beg and when that didn't work threaten, for him to buzz Henry 2 days before Christmas. Then once Henry was cleaned up, we had to clean up the house. We are still looking for someone to clean the carpets.

In the end, it all turned out ok. We had Christmas lunch with Romanian friends and only left their house because we had dinner guests coming, otherwise, we would probably still be there. I have never seen so much food. It just kept coming. I knew we were in for it when we walked in their door, sat down and they handed us shooter glasses (60 proof) and then followed by homemade wine. We're having them over on the weekend for lobster (they've never had) but I can't say that we will prepare half the amount of food that they did.

After all the whining that I did over my failed gingerbread cookies and my Nova Scotia friends coming to the rescue with recipes, I went to Maxie's Kosher Deli and bought cookies. Way more civilized. So Christmas Eve the wee man put some on a plate for santa and later in the evening santa decided that she would eat a couple (it was only the right thing to do), and then after consuming a couple realized that she had seen the cat licking the cookies earlier (she forgot because santa was also left a glass of wine).

Santa was very generous this year and I'm still getting used to my new lens. I had to get my Bryan Peterson book on Exposure out to review some technicalities.

The wee man got an orgami kit and has been making penguins like crazy. The red one looks like it turned to look when I snapped the photo.

He also got a paper airplane kit and is making some wicked airplanes.

Tomorrow I'm back at the gym to burn off all the Hungarian sausage, chocolates and wine that I consumed, then maybe a trip to Murray Hill for a little sledding. Hope you all are having a great holiday.

A Quebec Christmas

2008-12-23T23:43:00.006-05:00

There are many things that I love about Christmas in Quebec. Maybe it is the old world charm that comes from living here, or maybe the love of food and the joie du vivre. Either way, Christmas is magical.

It could also be little things like making cookies with the wee man (our first batch of gingerbread was not so successful, but thanks to our Nova Scotia friends we now have wonderful recipes for sugar cookies).

Most people receive Christmas cards at this time of year, but was has been nice has been receiving emails from people that I normally don't exchange cards with, but we've had a chance to talk and share memories online.

My old Nova Scotia friend, Eleanor, reminded me about our Christmas tree, which was a legend in itself. Every year my father would search the forests of Nova Scotia for the "best pine tree. He would then rig up our Electrolux vaccuum to spray paint it silver. My mother had these huge Christmas decorations that were so incredibly beautiful and she would put on loads of tinsel. Our tree was nothing short of magical and we had loads of visitors at Christmas, but I'm sure that a lot of them just came to see "the tree".

I remember sledding with the MacDonalds at Christmas on "the hill." The best sled was the old wooden one. We would fly down an ice covered road and sometimes land face first in the crust coated, hard snow banks at the bottom. What was a few facial scratches compared to the fun we were having. Then having hot chocolate in the MacDonald's kitchen.

These were the good old days and ones that I will remember and cherish forever.

I also remember Christmases with new friends in Quebec. Times with Mona and Dawson, the Noyes, and with our neighbour Jennifer whom we usually share New Year's Eve drinks. This year we are having Christmas lunch with Romanian friends and having a traditional Romanian Christmas feast. Bring on new traditions.

In these bizarre times who knows what this year will bring. We can only hold on to what we have, our families, our friends, our memories.

Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night.

Suzanne, Martin and Shelby

Sale in the shop

2008-12-15T22:03:00.002-05:00

I'm having a birthday sale. Everything in the shop is 20% off until Dec. 26th (I believe in long celebrations).

Happy holidays everyone.

New in the shop

2008-12-08T07:25:00.005-05:00

Some new tees we worked on for the show, some now available in the shop.

Preparing for Christmas

2008-12-07T17:35:00.013-05:00

We love Christmas in our house. Last weekend was the Santa Clause parade and after karate class we rushed downtown to take in all the festivities.

Working hard in karate class

What happens when you don't get it right - push ups

Finally, we're off to the Santa Claus Parade

Dreaming of sugar plums?

Bonhomme Carnivale - kind of creepy IMHO

Mexican dancers, the first picture gives me vertigo

What's with Shriners and little cars?

Finally, hot chocolate at Starbucks.

What I've learned about selling from a 7 year old

2008-12-02T19:03:00.004-05:00

Well, we got through out first show and a good experience was had by all.

Our day started out early with an 8:30 setup, and we were ready for them to open the doors at 10:00.

It wasn't a big show, but we had a great experience for our first attempt. The venue was beautiful, but the location wasn't so great.

What I will take away from this is the image of my 7 year old working the room, chatting up the other vendors, encouraging people to drop by our table. What a salesman. The kid is a natural and a good thing for me. I think the majority of my sales came from the wee man. But who can resist that face? Not to mention all that charm in a little package.

We met some fantastic sellers that we were more than impressed with. We bought the most incredible smelling bath products from Dot and Lil, some Christmas ornaments and stuffies from etsy seller titaniumhip and many much more.

Will we do it again?

Definitely! Just not this year.

New in the shop

2008-11-26T11:48:00.003-05:00

I've been working on some new tees that are new in the shop. Lots more to come.

Time to start your holiday shopping

2008-11-26T09:46:00.004-05:00

And where else to go to find one of a kind gifts, but the ShopaholicEvent this Sunday, Nov. 30.

Yes, Hip KId T-shirts will be there along with many other wonderful craftspeople. So come on out for some great shopping, not to mention that there will be FREE massages and manicures going on all day long.

Hope to see you there!

Gracefully surrender the things of youth?

2008-10-23T12:24:00.005-04:00

Everyone has their own "beauty" regime and things that they swear by and even though I barely have time some mornings to look in the mirror (yes, I have actually gone out the door without looking in the mirror - big mistake!) there are some things that I swear by.

Acupuncture. A few years ago I started doing acupuncture on a regular basis. Not for anything in particular, but to "feel better". Now I go for almost everything. When I was doing their "facelift" procedure I had people comment on how much better I looked. Not necessarily younger, but I found that it removed all the stress from my face. I felt better and as a result I looked better.
Moisturizer. My esthetician, Josee, got me hooked on Phytomer moisturizer and products. I love them. I have very dry skin (although prone to breakouts) and Phytomer products are incredibly rich without being heavy and greasy. However, now that I am becoming more and more adverse to putting "chemicals" on my skin how do I resolve this, especially since Josee just gave me a sample of creme riche thermo protectrice. It is without a doubt the best moisturizer I have tried. Loving it!
Sleep. Or maybe I should say the desire to sleep because I really don't sleep well. When I don't get enough sleep I am cranky, I have dark circles under my eyes and my skin looks all pinched. Right now on average I get about 5 hours sleep. Enough said.
Expensive tinted moisturizer. And it has to be expensive or the effect is just not there. This may be all psychomatic, but this is what works for me. Chanel made a beautiful tinted moisturizer called Brillance Lumiere a few years ago in a limited quantity. They no longer make it and I have never found a replacment that I like half as well. If you know of one or where I can get more of this stuff, please let me know. It looks very natural and people always comment on how well my skin looks when I wear it.

I also find as you get older you need to look funkier. I always find that women who get funkier as they get older and leave behind the more classic looks are usually the women I find the most interesting. A couple of years ago I was walking with a woman who is about 10 years older than I am. She has a very classic look, but well, she looks dowdy. We passed a woman on the street who was probably about 5 years older than her. She was wearing a blue fake fur coat that looked like it had dreadlocks, wide legged black pants and gorgeous, sexy boots. Her look was fabulous. She looked like she was au courant, hip, and like she had a great sex life.

After we passed her, my friend said simply, "Good for her." I agree.

About a month ago I saw a young women in the metro who was the absolute embodiment of sexy. Her hair was cut in a short black bob, she was in great shape and she was wearing an orange Lacoste (like) dress with cutaway sleeves where you could see her well worked shoulders. But the piece de resistance was the kickass scrolling tattoo across the top of her back that just went outside the cutaway sleeves. Awesome. I wish I was brave enough to do the tattoo thing.

This doesn't mean that to be great looking you have to wear a blue dreadlock coat or have a tattoo, a friend and I were buying makeup at NARS in Holt Renfrew and saw a women in who's amazing hair color and great cut made both of us take notice. I wish I could remember the name of her color, but unless I write things down I never remember.
So one of these days if you see a couple of big garbage bags in front of my house, it's just me throwing out all my classic clothes to make room for my fake fur coat.

Know your friends and family 2008 survey

2008-10-18T08:34:00.003-04:00

My old friend Peg (and I don't mean that Peg is old, but that I've known her for a very, very long time) sent me this Know Your Friends and Family 2008 survey this week. Normally, I would ignore it, but I decided to at least read it. It was actually insightful and I now feel that I know Peg a little better, so I thought, why not send it to some other friends, maybe they will get a kick out of it too.

Surprisingly, lots of friends filled it out and sent it back. That in itself was insightful. Is it because nobody actually takes the time to actually ask people about themselves any more? When was the last time anyone asked you what's your favorite flower (although my lovely friend Cath bought me this gorgeous bouquet 2 weeks ago).

Now I know things like Shannon's favorite flowers are sweetpeas and Karen watches Survivor. Maybe nothing earth shattering, but friends now are so spread out over the world who knows what your favorite food is or what you're currently listening to.

If you get your hands on this little survey, send it out to your friends, you might be surprised at some of the information you receive.

Getting ready for Halloween

2008-10-13T18:10:00.005-04:00

Hip Kid on sweetmama.ca

2008-10-04T15:11:00.008-04:00

It was a nice surprise last Friday morning to open up Sweetmama Montreal and see a little blurb on Hip Kid. To see the entire write up click here.

Actually Friday was a nice day all around. In addition to the write up in sweetmama I received some really nice news that I can't share just yet, but it made me really happy.

The wee man also had a nice afternoon being a tester for products and experiements at Mad Science. What a nice company, run by really enthustiasic young people who obviously love what they do.

Today I'm fighting a cold, the husband has a bum knee and the wee man wanted to go see Beverly Hills Chihuahua. It's going to take all the will power I have to help me sit through this one. PS It's not as bad as I thought.

Friends saying au revoir

2008-10-02T16:36:00.011-04:00

Me: What do you miss the most about Ella?

The Wee Man: Everything.

The end of summer

2008-09-04T06:13:00.006-04:00

About this time last year, I wrote about how sad I was that the wee man was returning to school. I always feel a sense of loss when we don't spend our days together. He returns to school and I return to work. And every year he gets older and before I know it, I won't be the playmate of choice.

But this year it seems that the end of summer just kind of snuck up on me and I don't know where it went. There wasn't this big closure. It just seemed like one day we were hanging out at home and the next day we were back in school and work. The last week was also a week of things happening so maybe it already seemed like we were back into the fall schedule.

The wee man had his first sleep away. Maybe this is old hat for some kids, but this was a big thing for me the wee man. I don't know how I he got along without me through the night. I'm sure I he was up most of the night waiting for morning to come so he could come home. But it turns out that lots of fun was had by all and he didn't miss me a wink.

This sleep away came at the end of a week and a half of fighting a nasty virus, apparently caught in a public swimming pool (so they think). So the sleep away was a good way to end this little illness.

Then Max ran away. I'm a little embarrassed to say that it is probably our fault and it's a bit of a story, but here goes.

Last Sunday night we invited Cath, Tom and Ella over for a bbq. We were having a great time, eating lots of food, telling lots of stories, drinking lots of wine and before we knew it, it was quite late. The cats had been in and out of the house on to our elevated deck all evening and we didn't think anything of it. Around 10 we walked Cath and the kids home, came home, put the wee man in bed, watched a bit of tv and we went to bed around 11.

The next morning we get up and I asked the husband if he had seen the cats. We found 1, which meant that 2 were missing. There was no way we locked out 2 of our cats, they are indoor cats and we wouldn't be so incredibly careless. We found one cat under the deck and Max was no where to be found. All day he was missing. That afternoon I put up signs all over our neighbourhood. We looked, we called, we sent out email notifications, nothing.

Before going to bed the husband went out and put up more signs and took another look. He went to bed around 11 but I decided to stay up and watch the news. I looked out our living room window and there was our friend, Marci, waving and pointing like crazy. I ran out and there was Max sitting on the steps of our neighbors house across the street. I ran for him and he bolted. To make a really long story short(er), I caught him in someone's backyard where he couldn't escape and now he is under house arrest.

The bigger news is this:

The wee man got his orange belt. I am really proud of how hard he worked for it.

Congrats to the husband for getting his green belt (not shown in photo).

Have a great remainder of the week.

Scenes from Dan's farewell party

2008-08-25T19:02:00.010-04:00

Our friend, Dan, leaves for the bright lights of Geneva this week. Here's a few pics from his farewell bash. Notice most of the party revolves around food.

Hip Kid in The Gazette

2008-08-16T06:37:00.005-04:00

Hip Kid and some other fabulous Montreal etsy sellers featured in today's Montreal Gazette (great pic Irene).

I'm always amazed at how many people haven't heard of etsy. I can honestly say that I do a large amount of shopping on etsy and have yet to be disappointed. I hope this article brings local sellers lots of luck and sales.

Is there a pattern here?

2008-08-11T17:21:00.004-04:00

Now that I'm on vacation I can indulge in some reading time.

And just to clarify things up front, hell no, I'm not pregnant.

I just finished reading a book called "Rules of Engagement" by Catherine Bush. I loved it. It has been on my bookcase for the longest time and I finally decided to pick it up. Actually, I picked it up because I was trying to avoid reading "The Time Traveller's Wife."

I've heard that The Time Traveller's Wife is a fantastic book, and I want to read it, but a friend loaned it to me and now I feel pressured to read it. I hate feeling pressured to read anything. It takes the joy out of it. So as it sits on my table waiting for me to pick it up, I'm reading anything else I can get my hands on to avoid reading it.

As a result, I am discovering books in my bookcase that I never realized I had and I'm quite enjoying.

First I read Spook Country by William Gibson. I love William Gibson and one of my favorite books has to be Pattern Recognition. Spook Country doesn't live up to Pattern Recognition, but it was a good summer read.

Then I read Rules of Engagement (see above). So since I finished reading it this morning I've again been doing the avoidance dance and went back to my bookcase. This time I decided to take inventory since I'm planning on a garage sale soon and thought I might find some books that I could stand to part with. I actually made a startling discovery. When I was pregnant with the wee man I bought the old standby "What to Expect When You're Expecting." After a couple of hours or reading this book I was so horrified I threw it in the garbage. I still can't imagine why anyone who is pregnant reads this book. It terrified me. I was certain that I and the wee man had every possible ailment in the book. Anything that was in that book was going to happen to me. So I got rid of it and swore that I would never pick up another baby book.

7 years later I'm looking at my bookcase and realize that even though I haven't read any of them, I have been buying baby/childcare books. With the exception of 2 books (and I really wanted to read these) I haven't read any of the others and can't remember buying them. Is it subconscious? Am I buying them because I think I will read them, because I think that I should read them, or because I think that I will be a better mother just by owning them?

Here is the list of what I found in my bookcase:

The Mommy Wars
The Mother Dance
The Bully, the Bullied, and the Bystander
A Life's Work
Hold on to Your Kids
Because I Said So
Real Boys
Mothers
Perfect Madness
The Wonder of Boys
Your Five Year Old
Protecting the Gift
The Blessing of a Skinned Knee

So you can see, no small list. I think there may have been more, but I may have lent them out. I can't remember. I did read the last 2 on the list and I think that they are invaluable books for parents. The others - will I ever read them? Do I need to? While I'm trying to figure out what I am going to do with these books, I think that I will read "The City of Falling Angels" and maybe "The Time Traveller's Wife."

Shel and Ella's Excellent Adventure

2008-08-07T08:33:00.009-04:00

It was turning into one of those sit in front of the [tv/computer] days, which I hate so after much arm twisting I convinced Shel and Ella that a trip to Maison Saint-Gabriel would be loads more fun and we could take loads of pictures.

We started off the day with Mona's pancake recipe. My friend, Mona, makes the best pancakes and shared her recipe with me a few years ago (can you believe that it was a few years M?). However, I have to confess I've never made them. The husband always makes the pancakes in our house, so I handed over the spatula to him. But yesterday I decided that I have never made pancakes in my life and it was time. According to S & E they were amazing. They had second helpings and asked for more today.

We then set off for Maison Saint-Gabriel, a 300 year old house in Point St. Charles. I wasn't sure it would be their cup of tea, but they seemed to be spellbound and asked fantastic questions. Unfortunately, we weren't allowed to take pictures inside the house, but we got a few good ones outside.

On the way back to the metro we found Paul Patates Frites which has great frites and homemade beer.

Today I think that we are headed out to do some bike riding and then to the Redpath museum where I think we can take photos inside. Although I think I am going to need to delete some of the photos they took on the metro. Ella thinks in one of them I look like Mr. Bean. Nice.

what shall we do today?

2008-08-04T10:26:00.005-04:00

A start to the weekend and vacation - a glass of wine and a new book

Today starts the first week of our summer holidays. We are not in a big rush to fit in a lot of things since we have quite a bit on our plates that we need to finish anyway, but to start with we will just take it easy. Although already I have heard the "b" word a couple of times. No, it's not what you think - BORED!

Are children so over-stimulated that as soon as there a moment of free time in their schedules they become bored? I am so not going to over schedule this week with playdates and activities. Next week when the husband is also on vacation we will have loads of activities, but this is the just hang around week. Sort of.

I haven't done a lot of shopping this summer, but we went downtown on the weekend and I got some cute summer tops on sale at Bennetton. Not that the weather is warm enough to wear any of them. What's up with this temperature? There has been no summer. Where are the long, hot days of summer? They haven't hit Montreal. The wee man and I need to go shopping for school supplies this week. By the time I translate the supply list, go shopping, return half of what I've bought because I didn't buy the right color (everything is color coded) and then labelled everything, fall will be here.

I am so not ready to buy school supplies and clothes. At least we only have to buy a few fall clothes and shoes. All our winter coats will fit again this year and the wee man wears a school uniform which has been ordered since last May. It only seems like yesterday that I was placing the order for school uniforms and here it is August. The big purchase will be all the school supplies. I can't believe how much a grade 2 student has to get. I didn't have to get this much when I was in university.

I particularly love how on the list it indicates that we have to buy 10 HB pencils that are made in Canada. Why made in Canada? Are they not good enough if they are made in the US? Will the wee man be sent home if he shows up on the first day of school with a made in China pencil (ok, maybe that wasn't the best example). I'm all for supporting the local economy, but please, that's MY choice. Don't tell me where I have to buy my school supplies.

I am hoping to take lots of photos this week. I suffer from more than a little bit of jealousy when I see all my flickr contacts posting photos daily. Where do they get the time? At first I said, well they don't have children, obviously. Well, some do. Then again they can't possibly work full time. Well again, some do. They don't have an etsy store to run. Yup. I just don't know how they all do it. I personally feel that my days look something like this.

makelunchespackbagforcampgetreadyforcampcatchmetrotoworkpickupweemanatcampgotoswimminggotokaratesilkscreenifthereistimegetwholesalelistreadypackagesoldproductsfrometsystorereademailreplytoemailcleancatlitterpackbagforcampworkonfreelancejobpaybillstrytogotobedbefore1getupat6.

This, of course, is the simplified version. Hopefully there will at least be some new flickr photos this week.

2008-07-27T11:01:00.002-04:00

One more week and I am officially on holiday. This year I am taking 3 whole weeks off. The husband and I were talking about it and we can't remember the last time I took 3 consecutive weeks off. Actually, I think that it was my honeymoon, which was in 1994. So it is definitely time to have a proper vacation. Especially since it is shaping up to be a very busy autumn.

This is also the wee man's last week in summer camp and he is off for the rest of the summer. So one night last week I was enjoying a glass of wine and before I knew it I was making a "to do" list for our vacation. I started thinking about when I was young. My mother didn't go to work, she stayed home with us, so in the summer my sister and I didn't go to summer camp, but I don't remember my mother making "to do" lists for us in the summer. Actually, I am quite certain that my mother would have scoffed at the insanity of a summer to do list.

She didn't worry about incorporating my sister and I into her daily routine. We went to bed in the evening and got up in the morning without a plan or need to accomplish anything. Our days were made up of laying in the grass looking at the shapes of the clouds and wondering where planes were possibly going. We rode our bicycles, caught frogs in the pond, climbed trees, played with our friends (who also did without to do lists), rode our ponies and played with the various other animals that we shared our house with. And I might add, all unsupervised.

There was no worry that we wouldn't get ahead in life or wouldn't get accepted to the International school because we didn't have a summer plan. We just got up in the morning and did whatever the day threw at us. As I remember it, I had a pretty damn good childhood and the summer days that I spent idly are amongst some of my best memories.

So back to the issue at hand. Do I throw out the summer vacation do to list? Then again, I will be returning to work at the end of my vacation, so if I don't accomplish what I need to do it won't get done. If I forget to do something, then it just gets pushed again. I guess we live in different times, times that require to do lists. Although, I'm sure that I could halve it and we wouldn't be any worse off. Then again there is that application to the International school.

2008-07-14T14:15:00.002-04:00

image from La Senza.

I would just like to say that this is not my underwear. Not that I wouldn't like it to be my underwear, but I don't have any underwear.

One of my all time favorite movies is Heartburn. I love everything about this movie (even though it is about an ~~asshole~~ guy who continually cheats on his wife.) Anyway, in this movie the guy played by Jack Nickelson can never find his socks. He puts them in the laundry and never gets any back. Actually I think that he is leaving them at his lover's but that's a whole other can of worms. The fact is that he never can find his socks.

I have the same problem, except I can never find my underwear (and I don't have a lover). We all change our underwear the same number of times per day, I put everything in the laundry, I take them out of the laundry, but when I'm folding the laundry the husband has 7 pairs, the wee man has 7 pairs, I have 1 pair. Where do they all go? I am constantly shopping for underwear.

And I hate cheap underwear, but hate the fact that I am spending money on them because I know that I will never see them again.

What's up with that?

Before and after

2008-07-08T14:38:00.000-04:00

Before (obviously)

After (while enjoying the husband's famous ribs)

Another treasury

2008-07-02T11:37:00.003-04:00

Another treasury with amazing Canadian talent. So flattered that I'm included. Unfortunately, my image turned out way too small, but click on this link to view.

Embracing my inner slummy mommy

2008-06-28T16:14:00.003-04:00

Slummy mommy's choice of rainwear.

I've noticed (as someone who used to dress well would) that there is a definite dress code amongst the yummy mommy set. I'm sure that it exists everywhere and there are probably regional differences. What the yummy mommys (hereinafter referred to as ym's) wear in Vancouver is probably quite different from what the ym's wear in Toronto or Montreal.

And of course it is seasonal, there are the winter and summer trends that must be worn by ym's in the know.

I've noticed that here in Montreal the winter ym's wear the ubiquitious North Face down filled coat. It can be slightly different in that it can be the knee length version or the ankle skimmer. Colors must be either brown or black. I have noticed the occasional renegade sporting the white or green version, but they soon bow to the black/brown pressure.

Last fall it was capris pants worn with Tory Burch flat ballet shoes. And they had to be Tory Burch to be "in". I even noticed one ym with a little flip to her hair. Very retro and hip.

In our neighborhood of Westmount/NDG/Hampstead the bag of choice is of course Louis Vuitton. And if you choose not to carry the LV bag but instead carry a sporty little Longchamp bag you definitely have the LV wallet.

Now that summer has finally arrived (and it took its damn good time in getting here) the objet du jour is the Birkenstock thongy sandal (no idea what the name of this puppy is). I have to say that I do like the comfort of Birkenstocks, and really like this sandal, but because it is worn by almost every ym in my neighborhood I just couldn't buy it.

Ok, I'll come clean. I do have the North Face knee length black puffy winter coat. And I love it, but next year I will sell it on craigslist and buy the Canada Goose long coat before it too becomes trendy. I have the short puffy version of the Canada Goose coat and when I was writing puffy I wrote puggy instead - that really says it all. That being said, I can go out in -20C weather and not feel a bit of cold. To hell with trendy.

I did carry the LV Speedy bag but couldn't stand it anymore and sold it on craiglist. I did keep my LV wallet, but I bought it in Italy and well.... you know.

Even though I love the Birkenstock thongy sandals instead I bought a pair of Hogans which I LOVE!!! No one else in my neighborhood has them and so far they haven't made it to the ym uniform.

Since school is out and most of the ym's have already headed to Maine for the summer I have no idea what I'm supposed to be wearing, so I guess I'm ok wearing my knee length Lulu Lemon yoga pants and Hip Kid t-shirt (a little self promotion, I have to support my ym uniform somehow), my Hogans and my sporty little Longchamps bag (although these days it is usually replaced with a camera bag). Unless of course I run into a ym that I know and bow to peer pressure.

I love etsy!!

2008-06-27T22:23:00.000-04:00

Latest etsy purchase from gemmafactrix.

I was interviewed by a journalist with our local newspaper this week for an article she is writing on etsy. I realized halfway through our interview that I was absolutely gushing about etsy, but I can't help myself. In a lot of ways etsy has changed my life and I know that it has changed the lives of a lot of people. It has provided us with opportunities that we NEVER would have had otherwise.

As a silkscreener, or photographer, or a woodworker, or a knitter, or [name of craft you do goes here] there has never been a place where you could sell other than local craft shows. Etsy has opened up the world to amazing crafters and artists.

Not only do I sell on etsy, but I have bought a ton of stuff on etsy as well. I love the fact that I can talk to the person who has made the article I am buying. I can ask her (I say her because 96% of sellers on etsy are women) if she can change it a little bit, or if I have hearted an item that has sold I can ask her if she can please make another one for me. I find the sellers on etsy personable, friendly, professional, and above all know the meaning of the words "customer service."

I have hearted so many items on etsy that I may never buy them all, but it doesn't mean that I'm not going to try. Even the wee man is addicted to etsy. I have even heard him telling women in Starbucks that his mom sells on etsy. I hope that seeing me selling encourages him to become to sell on etsy one day.

If you haven't checked out etsy, don't waste any more time. I know you won't be disappointed.

When life gives you organic lemons.....make lemonade

2008-06-24T22:29:00.000-04:00

The husband is in Wisconsin on business so the wee man and I have been busy taking care of each other. We bought some organic lemons and decided that we were in the mood for lemonade.

We also decided to bbq pizza. It was delicious!

The wee man said to me after dinner that he would like to make dessert. So I relaxed around the table and gave him about 15 minutes. He showed up with yoghurt, drinks, and ice cream with cake and cookies. I was so impressed. We shared dessert. The end to a perfect day with my little man.

Growing wings

2008-06-23T11:08:00.003-04:00

wings

end of the day

Suck it so you won't get brain freeze

2008-06-10T15:11:00.005-04:00

Words of wisdom from a 7 year old.

current temp. 32C

summer...

the smell of fried clams and chips from the beach fish shack
mr. freezes
breakfast on the deck
summer rain storms
the smell of a freshly mowed lawn
the sounds of children playing outside way past their bed time
iced rooibos tea
green (just green)
vacation plans
bbq

Elusive

2008-06-08T08:15:00.002-04:00

Every summer we have a family of cardinals living in our backyard. This summer is no different. A couple have built a nest in our cedars, although I think that they are only part time residents. They come and go and sometimes we don't see them for days. Although they are never very far because we can hear them. Sometimes I see him in a tree the next street over, and I know it's him.

He's a beauty. I've started referring to him as my beautiful boy much to the chagrin of my 3 cats who can envision him in a sandwich. But I do my best to look out for him and his partner.

I often go out on my back deck and there they are with their distinctive chirp. But as soon as I grab my camera, they're gone. One afternoon not long ago, it was all lined up. The light was right, my beautiful boy was in the tree, I had my camera. But damn SLRs. As soon as I had it set up he was gone.

This morning I can hear him out in this big tree, but can I see him. Not a chance. We are trying to devise a way to make our backyard more cardinal friendly in hopes that he will stick around and I can get that elusive picture.

Karate camp - June 2008

2008-06-07T18:32:00.000-04:00

Some photos from karate camp. Both the husband and the wee man attended. I was impressed with both of them.

I'm in a treasury

2008-06-03T10:12:00.002-04:00

Woke up this morning to find my red cowboy t-shirt in an all organic treasury! Check it out before it's gone!

The skort that is included in this treasury just goes to show that organic can be sexy!

White space Wednesday

2008-05-28T18:31:00.001-04:00

A while ago Alyson from Unruly things invited me to join White Space Wednesday. Even though I've always meant to take pictures using the negative space it just never happened. So an opportunity presented itself while I was making an apple crumble for dessert tonight. Now I'm into it, hopefully I will be able to make more time for taking more photos.

Un tres bon weekend!

2008-05-26T13:16:00.000-04:00

Fabulous weekend. Went biking, to the park, spent a lot of time outside with friends. The wee man lost his second upper tooth this weekend. If you look at the last photograph you can see he's got the vampire thing going on.

This morning's breakfast, fresh out of the oven cinnamon and raisin brioche.

Our breakfast tea

2008-05-25T14:03:00.003-04:00

happy.....

sausages for breakfast
an incredible sunny day
new shoes
reading the 6th Harry Potter book with the wee man
buying flowers for the front balcony
weekends
new water guns
watching a gaggle of children having a water fight
wet, dirty, happy child in the shower after a fun afternoon with friends
salad for dinner
glass of wine with the husband

Organic cotton - experimenting with bolder colors

2008-05-22T18:18:00.000-04:00

New in the shop!

Happy 7th birthday my sweet boy

2008-05-14T21:52:00.002-04:00

I took this picture last night as my beautiful 6 year old son slept. His last night as a 6 year old, only hours away from turning 7.

How did this aging thing happen? When did I tell you that you could turn 7?

When did you turn into this beautiful, funny, intelligent, little man that can tell me actual jokes that I can laugh at and dance with me to funny songs on the radio?

Thank you for still letting me run my fingers through your hair and hold and kiss you in public. I love it when we sit on the metro and you automatically grab for my hand to be closer to you.

I'm so proud of you and the person you are becoming.

I love you more.

Steps taken

2008-05-12T17:42:00.000-04:00

This is how many steps I walked on Mother's Day. I know this because I received this handy dandy little pedometer as a gift.

I have to say that I LOVE it! I love seeing how many steps I take in a day. Granted it still has to be calibrated to my stride length, but I'm loving the statistics of it all. My goal is to walk about 10,000 steps per day.

I was amazed at how easy it was to get to this amount. Today because I was at work I didn't do nearly as many, but I will go for a walk this evening and it should easily pass my projected goal.

The guys really know the way to my heart. Through gizmos.

Happy, happy birthday Shel and Ella

2008-05-10T07:00:00.001-04:00

Today Ella turns 7. Shelby turns 7 on Wednesday. So close. Almost twins.

We're off to their favorite jungle gym this afternoon and then celebrating with cake and friends.

So much to do before then. Pick up the cake and balloons, run to the post office to pick up birthday packages, go to the market for food, cleaning, buy wine (for the big children, of course). I love birthdays (well not my birthday).

Hopefully all will go well and not too many birthday tantrums. There was a little almost tantrum last night. The husband and I took the wee man on a surprise birthday present mission. We thought we would surprise him by going to Sports Experts and picking out some Heelys.

BIG MISTAKE.

He was having nothing to do with it. He didn't want a pair of shoes for his birthday present. Didn't matter that they have cool wheels. They are still shoes and not a proper birthday present. Needless to say we left the shop without the Heelys. I also think that they made him a little nervous. He likes his scooter where he can hold on. He is a safety conscious child. So we ran upstairs to the toy shop and bought $100 worth of bionicles.

Today we are going to upgrade his scooter with a shiny new blue one. I get more excited about presents than the wee man.

New goodies in the shop!

2008-05-06T07:03:00.001-04:00

2008-04-30T19:17:00.001-04:00

Wow, I can't believe how lax I've been about posting this month.

Granted it has been one of those months. I think that if anything could have happened this month, it did.

I've been ignoring my etsy shop, my blog, silkscreening, you name it. Except my family. They've been the number one focus this month what with getting well and taking care of (personal) business.

Now it's time to set some goals for the month of May. I've decided that by next week I will have done the following:

Silkscreened all t-shirts in my inventory.
Completed my adult t-shirt designs.
Start listing key fobs in my etsy store (my newest obsession).
Order new key fob material.
Actually do some marketing for my shop.
Send flowers to Nicole my accountant for doing a bang up job for me this year.

And I think that should about take care of it. So, I'll leave you with the latest offerings in my shop. Oh yeah, I forgot, regularly update my blog.

Summer breeze makes me feel fine

2008-04-20T09:04:00.000-04:00

On the road to recovery

2008-04-13T14:45:00.001-04:00

This is one of the husband's favorite bonsai. He loves bonsai, but he's a little afraid of them. Maybe it's more that he's respectful. He always wants to make sure that he gets opinions from bonsai ~~know it alls~~ masters before he makes any cut. He's cautious this way.

Maybe I should be more like this. And not rush head first into things without looking. But that's the way I am. Although this week I've been the one who is being more cautious. But he's listening to me Or maybe it's humoring me while he recovers from his heart virus.

He's coming along well, getting lots of rest. He's finally starting to sleep through the night and he's not in constant pain. He still looks pale and a little drawn, but overall much better. Before long he'll be back at at it. .

Keeping my head above water

2008-04-10T21:09:00.000-04:00

This is how I feel right about now. Trying to keep my head above water. It's been a strange few days. None of which I want to go through again.

It started with the wee man coming down with the flu and a high fever last week. Then yesterday the husband awoke with what he thought was a horrible case of heartburn. This time is seemed a little different though, the pain was closer to his heart, and the pain was different, so I stayed at home with him "just in case."

By late afternoon nothing had changed. I had been trying to get him to go to emergency all afternoon, but he told me I was totally over-reacting. Then about 5:00 he's getting ready to go and take his karate exam (even though he can barely move) and I thought I'd try again, "I think we should go to emergency, I can get Marci to stay with the wee man." This time instead of brushing me off, the husband looked at me, and I knew that this was more serious.

We went to emergency at the Montreal General. When I told the triage nurse that my husband was suffering from chest pains we were whisked right into ICU. I can't say enough good things about the emergency staff at The General. They were efficient, professional, kind, informative, and didn't speak to us like we were a pain in the ass.

After 3 sets of blood tests, being on the heart monitor, 2 ultrasounds, and a chest x-ray. It was determined that the husband did not have heartburn, nor did he have a heart attack, but has a virus in the envelope surrounding his heart. Liquid is being created and this liquid is putting pressure on the heart, hence the pain in the chest.

The husband is now at home, resting, loving that he's getting waited on hand and foot (for the next 10 days none the less), still weak, but on the road to recovery. We still have to visit the cardiologist next week with loads of questions. Many, many thanks to my friend Marci for coming in and taking over and keeping the wee man occupied and well cared for. And for staying with me while I was waiting for news from the ICU. Friends and neighbours like you are worth their weight in gold.

Now I need to go and collapse.

Spring is that you?

2008-04-06T22:38:00.000-04:00

Look at these bright faces (well maybe one of them is a little less bright than the other - the wee man has just had a nasty bout of the flu). But this is the first day in a LONG time that I can say I've actually felt that spring is not too far off.

It's been downright depressing around here with all the snow and cloudy skies. Today was gorgeous. We were supposed to go to a birthday party (lunch and movie) but the birthday boy and his mother were struck down by the flu and it was postponed, so we headed outside to enjoy the sun.

I've been neglecting my blog lately due to some deadlines that are coming due, but we are almost there and I can get back to blogging with more than dead brain cells.

I did have a chance to update the shop with a few new items and I have some new ideas that I'm chomping a the bit to get done and in the shop. Hopefully, within the next week or so. Here's a few new items that have been listed.

This is what earth hour looked like at our house

2008-03-30T13:08:00.001-04:00

We did observe earth hour, with the exception of the tv (blame it on the husband). We figured that as long as we turned all the lights out and shut the computers down (trust me this was difficult) we we contributing.

End of an era

2008-03-29T16:49:00.000-04:00

This weekend the pool closes at the YWCA. This follows the fitness center closing a while ago. They just weren't making enough money to stay open unfortunately. This is sad for us. I used to work out at the fitness centre eons ago before I had the wee man. I loved it there. Made lots of friends there that I will remember fondly.

They kept the pool open, renovated it for family swims, swimming lessons and as the hotel pool (the hotel at the Y remains open).

When the wee man was about 2 he was taking swimming lessons at another pool. There was a little mishap (nothing serious) but it frightened him and he didn't return to swimming lessons for a while. I knew that I had to get him back in the water, but he was now nervous and needed more individual attention. I phoned my friend who was the director of the swimming program at the Women's Y and explained to her the situation. She said she had just the instructor.

Sure enough, Sylvia helped the wee man overcome his fear of the water and made him into the little fish that he is. He's an excellent swimmer and has no fear of the water. He's even starting to do a mean front crawl.

So the closing of the pool makes me sad. Now we have to look for a new pool and a new instructor. I am confident we can find something to suit us, we will just miss the calmness of the Women's Y. I enjoyed his weekly lessons.

Time to move on.

That's me

2008-03-25T21:50:00.003-04:00

Yup that's me. We had a rough morning this morning.

Six year olds are very slow. They eat slow, they dress slow, they move slow. Why can't they move a little faster in the morning, especially when mommy is running late and has to get to a meeting on time? When I make my job sound more important than it is. When I make it sound like my job is more important that he is.

Anyway, I did not deal well with slow this morning. And when he got upset about not having time to do something, I said something I shouldn't have (ok in the grand scheme of things is wasn't so bad, but we have rules in our house that we don't say certain things to the people we love, even if they are acceptable elsewhere).

Wow. I can't believe I broke a promise. I can't believe how angry and hurt he was. And how justified he was at his feelings.

Wow.

We both took a step back. Lots of tears. I'm so sorry wee man.

I'm reading it too

2008-03-24T21:50:00.000-04:00

In all fairness to myself I did buy this book a long time ago before I heard all the hype, but just never got around to reading it. I picked it up at Costco one day because the price was right, and I was curious. I guess I felt that we were around the same age and, if the truth be told, I've not been feeling myself for the last little while. I guess I wanted to see what someone actually did about the crap in her life.

Then while I was at karate with the wee man, lots of the moms were talking about their favorite sections in the book. My curiosity was peaked, then I finished the last 2 books I was reading (The Bridge of Sighs (amazing), and The Garneau Block (which I surprised myself by liking) and needed something to read. I picked it and, and even though I have just started it, I like it. I'm trying to block out that the karate moms said that they really only like the Italy section (which is the first section), so I hope I like the rest of the book. I am one of these people who has to finish the book no matter how bad it is. There have been 2 exceptions in my life that I just couldn't get through.

So here I am looking for some enlightment, or failing that, just a good read. If anyone has read this book and would like to share what they thought of it, I would love to hear.

Happy Easter

2008-03-23T09:36:00.002-04:00

Picture of Peter Rabbit from Little Elfs Toy Shop that the wee man found in his Easter bucket this morning.

I hope everyone is enjoying the long weekend. I know I am. It's been great being off for the last 3 days. I wish I had tomorrow off as well, but there is a looming deadline at work and well, somebody has to do it, right?

It has been busy and there are a few things that I promised friends that I would do that I haven't gotten around to yet. I will I promise, I just have been a little overwhelmed lately organizing my life.

The wee man started the day off on a good foot with a lollipop in one hand and what's left of a chocolate carrot in the other. All before breakfast. This only happens twice per year: Christmas and Easter. Now I'm trying to get his spinach/rolled oats breakfast bars into him. Wish me luck with that. They are good, but can't compare to Lindt chocolate bunnies and carrots.

The wee man and I are going to take a walk into the Village this morning (this is a strip of cafes and boutiques that is the central focus of our neighborhood and we all refer to as the Village) to return the movies, get bagels at St. Viateur, and coffee at Starbucks. Then it's home to bake pies and put a ham in the slow cooker for dinner tonight. The husband has invited some of his co-workers who are visiting from Italy for Easter dinner this evening. These are people who are used to 10 course meals served on VERY fine china and using real silver (not to mention driving very expensive Italian cars). I think dinner at our house will be a very humbling experience (although I'm not sure for who).

Here's a sneak peek of a couple of new items that I added to the store yesterday. More to come shortly.

Japanese Themed Weekend

2008-03-16T21:11:00.002-04:00

I think that if our weekend had a theme it would be "all things Japanese". And not intentionally, it just happened that way.

I think it started off with the wee man having a craving this week for sushi. He's addicted to it and we had sushi twice more this weekend.

Then Saturday morning Martin came home, after being out buying catfood, with these Japanese treats from a store on Victoria Ave. The candies are sooo good, but the fruit wrapped biscuits are addictive. We had strawberry this week which put us over the moon, but this weekend we found them in mango and I think I like mango better. Not that I got to eat more than one. Next up is the green tea flavor.

There was also a big karate competition this weekend and Friday night Martin went to a special class offered by a sensei from Japan. This was followed by attending the karate competition most of Saturday.

This weekend I also received these gorgeous ribbons from etsy seller, Matatabi, from Japan. They are so beautiful and delicate. I am planning on sewing them into some bags that I will be putting in my etsy store before too long. Although, something weird. It took 2 days for the package to arrive from Japan. Two days. Two days. When I order a package from the US it usually takes 3 weeks. What gives?

Then it was followed by more sushi today. I love these little chopsticks that belong to the wee man. They are not terribly easy to use, but they are really cute. But he prefers to use regular chopsicks.

I've kind of enjoyed our theme weekend.

After the storm

2008-03-09T15:24:00.000-04:00

I promise this is the last blog about the storm. It was massive. I couldn't stop watching. Last night I was still in the window watching the wind blowing the snow around at 1:00 am. At one point I even contemplated going outside just to see if I could stand up to the wind.

Around 1:30 a tractor came to plow out our neighbors.

This morning we all got up a little later and decided to skip the wee man's karate class so we could have a nice breakfast and go out to shovel. The husband whipped up omlettes and sausages. While we were enjoying our breakfast, our fabulous neighbor, Joe, came over with his snowblower and shovelled us out.

Thank you Joe, it's neighbors like you that make it a neighborhood. We went out after breakfast to shovel the walkway and to shovel out our neighbor, Jennifer, who is supposed to return from a cruise today or tomorrow.

The sun is out now and the weather is beautiful, but I think the city is going to be a standstill for a good week.

I'm sure the sun is shining somewhere

2008-03-08T18:47:00.000-05:00

It sure isn't here.

Snow started late this afternoon and it is a blizzard like I haven't seen in a long time. We are expecting anywhere from 30-50 cm of snow.

This is on top of the over 300 cm we've already received this winter.

Right after I had the wee man I became obsessed with the weather (but for different reasons). The husband banned me from watching the weather channel for a while. Unfortunately, my obsession seems to be rearing its ugly head again. Only this time it's snow instead of heat.

Time to batten down the hatches and make sure that we have candles and the flashlights are in working order in case the power goes out. The wind is so strong I'm not even sure we can light a fire.

I swear I just saw a snow tornado in the street in front of our house. Maybe it will lift the house and we'll land somewhere in Kansas. Might not be a bad idea.

Dreaming of summer

2008-03-06T20:13:00.001-05:00

Wishful dreaming.

Yesterday we had 18 cm of snow.

Saturday we are expecting another 20 30 cm.

Enough already!