Handmade Holiday

There are not too many occasions when it is more frugal to knit something than it is to buy it. (This is probably one of the biggest misconceptions about knitting, at least it is in my experience. People say "You knit? You must save so much money!" False. I knit because I like to.) However, I have had two such occasions recently.

1. A birthday gift for a little boy whose mother appreciates handknit items. We had talked in the fall (prior to M's arrival) about the possibility of making him a sweater, but I had too many projects on the needles and didn't know how much knitting time I'd be afforded once I was a mom of two. Happily, I do still have some time to knit, although not a toddler sweater's worth. Instead, I made him a red, white and grey striped hat with thumbless mittens to match; the patterns were my own adaptations of something I found in a book, and something I found on Ravelry, so I didn't have to pay anything for them, and the yarn was already in my stash. Little Zac's parents were suitably delighted.

2. A gift exchange among my crafty (in the creative, not nefarious, sense) friends prompted me to peruse my yarn stash, and I found some beautiful variegated turquoise yarn that a fellow fibre friend had given me (she sews and quilts, but doesn't knit, so she passes on any yarn she receives). Another Ravelry session yielded a free pattern that I loved, and the yarn self-striped beautifully. Here's the proud recipient:


Here, also are the other handmade gifts:
Beautiful fridge magnets (clear glass with fabric modge-podged underneath and strong magnets affixed to the back). This mom was so happy to have pretty ones, as opposed to her son's bright cartoon ones.

Fabulous fabric baskets (one for each member of the recipient's family). Isn't that a great idea? And the pattern came from a sewing blog!


An amazing apron, which is prettier than most dresses I own, and even reversible. How I wish I could sew that well! The seamstress in question found the pattern in a library book.


Homemade lip balm, hand cream (just in time, too- my skin is horribly dry) and soap, and a classy circular needle case (I shamelessly requested this, as it was no secret who had which name).


The evening of the exchange, Wednesday, was lovely not only because of the gifts we gave and received, but also because of the wonderful food we had (appetizers and desserts were the theme, and one of many reasons I love these ladies is that they enjoy their food!) and the company. Between us, we have seven children, six of whom were being looked after by their respective dads. M was the only baby there, and she was pretty content, leaving us to chat and laugh way into the night. I didn't get home and in bed until 12:30, which is the latest I've stayed up since M was born, I think! A tremendously good time was had by all.


[Clockwise from top right: cream cheese-toffee dip with apples, devilled eggs, chocolate peanut butter squares, cranberry baked brie and crackers, and fig-goat cheese blooms. And I guess some healthy clementines sneaked in there.]

The loveliest of Labour Days

Our little fam has had a wonderful long weekend so far, capped off by a great day today! The only thing that could have made it better would have been for me to go into labour, but then I'd be 6-8 weeks early in delivering Cashew. Here's what we got up to today.

D and I started off the day with a visit to my dear friend Julie (Auntie Ju-wee to D); we had snacks at her apartment, then went down the street to visit her parents, then to an awesome park a block away, then back to her place for a yummy lunch of sandwiches, chips and veggies. On the way home, we had a couple of errands to run, then we stopped in to see if anyone was at my parents' house. As luck would have it, not only were my sister and her fiancé there, but my brother showed up, too! We talked wedding stuff (have I mentioned my sister really has her stuff together with the planning?), while D amused herself pottering around. She did that a lot this morning, too, and listened very well when I'd ask her to do something, or not to do something. Hubby and I have been doing a lot of disciplining lately, so I'm encouraged to see that it's having an effect (never having raised a kid before). D's also been quick to apologize when she does something wrong, too, which is great. Her manners are really coming along; she even said "thanks for having us" to Julie, and "love you guys" to sis & fiancé today!

We got home around 3 o'clock to find Hubby hard at work in the garage. With the winter fast approaching, he was keen to get the space tidied up so that we can park my car in there. He did an absolutely amazing job! All his tools have been put away, either on shelves or in the shed, and it's so much cleaner than it was when I left this morning. He even built some new shelves for the recycling bins! There are still a few things we're going to move elsewhere, like the big cooler and D's painting easel (she's a bit young for it). Hubby was very pleased with himself and had me examine his work a few times. That guy is endearing!

Sis and her fiancé were coming over for dinner, so I had to get to work preparing pretty soon after we got home. We had run out of potatoes and a few other things as we tried to stretch our grocery shop to next week, and I needed to get a bit creative. It would have been easy and simple to do a homemade pizza with cut veggies, but that's what D and my sister had on Thursday when Hubby and I had our date night. Instead, I checked the fridge and smittenkitchen, and came up with a roasted cauliflower and caramelized onion tart (quiche, really), and zucchini fritters. It was a particularly winning combination because I had bought cauliflower and zucchini at the farmer's market on Saturday, so everything was fresh and flavourful. Sis tested out red velvet cupcakes for dessert, and we all agreed that these should be served at the wedding. D was extremely pleased to lick one of the icing beaters; originally this was to be Hubby's job, but after a taste she asserted "D hold it", and later declared the icing to be "very yum". She was too cute for him not to oblige. Earlier, she had eaten her way through a decent sized bowl of applesauce (courtesy of our neighbour's apple tree) in the slowest way possible, sniffing every bite before devouring it, and explaining "it smell good applesauce".

Sis gave D her bath, Hubby cleaned up the kitchen, and we all relaxed in the living room for a bit before the engaged couple headed out. Now D's happily tucked into bed, and we'll be turning in as well, after a bit of knitting. I should mention that D has not had an afternoon nap since Thursday, and while this made for some unpleasant afternoons and evenings on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, it wasn't so bad today. No tantrums, and no freak-outs unless she hurt herself. We will likely instate some kind of quiet time in her room so that Mommy can nap or get things done in the afternoon, seeing as D doesn't seem to need her nap anymore.

Mega-play date

This morning after my young charge E arrived, I got the laundry on the line, fixed D some breakfast and then the three of us headed to my friend Sarah's for a mega-playdate. It'll be too convoluted with just initials, so here's who was there:
-Sarah with her girls Eva (2) and Adelaide (almost 4 months)
-Ellen with her girls Kirsten (3 1/2) and Annika (almost 2)
-Victoria with her kids Carsten (2) and Brynn (about 6 months)
-Vanessa with Zoe (2 1/2) and baby #2 (due the day before Cashew!)
-Mary with Lucas (2 1/2)
-Bethany with Owen (2) and baby #2 (due in January)
-me with the two girls and Cashew

Altogether 7 grown-ups and 11 kids, with three others in utero! It was the best kind of chaos. The weather was gorgeous, so we were outside the whole time. Sarah has a bouncy castle which she inflated for the kids to play with, and it was a big hit! Every now and then, a couple of kids would bump heads or get stuck in a corner, and we'd go pull them out and have a cuddle.

Everyone had come with some kind of snack to share, like muffins, fruit, brownies, pita and hummus. Sarah brought out some juice boxes at the end for a special wind-down treat. By the time we got home for lunch, I barely had to get the girls anything; we just had corn on the cob, cheese and crackers, and mini muffins for dessert. I'm so thankful for my mommy friends; it was great to chat with other adults, to see our kids interact, and to hold babies. We'd been talking about getting together on a Wednesday (since we all usually go to the women's Bible study at church on Wednesdays) before the summer, and this is maybe the second time it actually worked out. Now I'm even more excited to get back into the swing of seeing these ladies and their littles every Wednesday!

One awesome weekend

This past weekend was the first time in D's life that all three of us went our separate ways: Hubby was playing worship on Sunday and had some course work to do, so he stayed home; I had my annual cottage weekend with my ladies from university residence, and D went to my grandma's cottage with my parents. Oh, and there was a super-date and a yarn sale in there, too.

First, the super-date: Hubby took me to Baton Rouge to start out. We figured arriving at 6 would get us out in time for our mystery activity in time. Also, what restaurant in the world allows reservations on a Friday? Apparently the Red Stick does, and because we didn't call ahead, it was almost an hour's wait. Hubby was getting antsy, but had his heart set on steak and fries. We got our table on the patio at 7, and as soon as we were seated, he pulled out a pair of tickets to our mystery activity: the Josh Groban concert at Scotia Bank Place! I, of course, started crying. He planned this back in February (Hubby, not JG), first getting the tickets, and then arranging babysitting with my parents. And he never let it slip! Amazing. Our waiter came to the table after that and, when we asked if we could order right away, said "Sure thing- are you going to the concert?" Yes, yes we were!

I knew from reading in the local paper that there was an opening act (crazy jazz pianist Elew), so we had a good amount of time to eat, drive over, park, and find our seats. We were in the 100-level, and I think it's the closest I've ever been in an arena show! Hubby and I had seen JG once before, in London on my 21st birthday, and while it was a great show (and his last before going home for Christmas, so he was super excited), this one was leaps and bounds ahead! Here are some of the reasons why:
-He had a 13-piece mini-orchestra with him, including 2 incredible percussionists. There was a three-person drum-off at one point between the two percussionists and JG himself, who was really good!
-There was a feature where people could text in questions for him to answer during the show, and one girl asked if he would ever have someone from the audience come up and sing with him, and he actually let her! AND she was great!
-He invited a couple celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary up on stage, along with a 9-year-old fan named Emma, and a 20-year-old single girl, brought out inflatable couches from backstage, poured them all drinks, and announced he was going to sing them a beautiful song about cheating. I thought he was joking, but he actually sang Broken Vow! (He followed it up with Per Te, a love song.)
-He sang my favourite song from his new album, Bells of New York City, which I did not expect at all, given the Christmassy feel of the ballad.

All in all, it was probably the very best date that Hubby and I have been on! We got home just before midnight, so I didn't wake up especially early the next morning to get ready and drive to the cottage. I stopped by Tim Horton's on the way out, and dropped off some library books that were due back that day. I also had made plans to go to a big yarn sale in Perth, and it was amazing. I bought purposefully: maroon and gold for a sweater for Cashew, and heathered turquoise for a friend's upcoming baby. I took a wrong turn coming out of Perth, though, which delayed my arrival at the cottage until lunchtime.

I was so happy to finally get there! This is the fourth year we've had the cottage weekend, and we always have a good time, regardless of the weather. It happened to be very hot, and this year the cottage got a dock, so we spent a lot of time there. As usual, we also ventured into town for ice cream, talked and laughed well into the night, created memories, took pictures (including the now-traditional porch steps shot), and ate a lot of really good food. I think my favourite thing is at dinner on Saturday night, we go around the table and talk about the best thing that happened to us that week and that year, respectively. We used to do that at dinner when we lived in rez together, not all the time, but now and then. (And it would be the best thing about our day.) It's a variation on the classic what-I'm-thankful-for, which incidentally we also do when we celebrate American Thanksgiving together. I love these girls and am so glad to still be in contact with them!

Our Saturday: Farmer's market, new dress and dinner with friends

We finally got our act together and made it to the farmer's market this weekend! (This meant no checking out garage sales, though, as Hubby was out of town, and D's patience in the car was limited.) I didn't bring much cash, only about 10$, and I didn't want to spend it all in one place. A friend had told me that there's a great bakery stand, and we actually ran into her and her two daughters in line there when we arrived! The market opens at 8, and we got there just before 9. The line-up for the bakery wasn't too bad, and after checking out the other stalls, there was enough of a lull that we jumped in. As we drew closer, I recognized the name (Art-is-in) as a supplier for a local caterer I worked at a few summers ago. I also remembered how good their breads were. We decided on a reasonably-priced baguette (3$), and also bought some fresh apricots (3$) from another vendor. Regarding the latter, I learned that the smaller, redder ones tend to be sweeter, and that it's best to keep them in the fridge. Along with jam and Nutella, it made for a lovely late breakfast on the porch. D wasn't too sure about the apricots at first, but she warmed to them today.


A couple of evenings and one morning of sewing yielded a new pillowcase dress for D, which is unfortunately a bit big (I took it in a little today, just in time for church), but adorable all the same. She happened to have her toenails painted a lovely aquamarine- a reward for being a good girl at our midwife appointment on Wednesday- and was wearing pink sandals that matched the ribbon beautifully! She got a little frustrated in the car on the way home and started unravelling the ribbon, though, so I had to trim it as best I could. I'll need to get some clear nail polish on it before the next wash or wear. I love the fabric; we bought it in Australia over Christmas, and there was actually enough for two dresses, the second of which is in the works.


Finally, D got to meet a lovely dog named Abby that our friends Mark and Val rescued. She reminds me of my family's first dog, Lucy, who was really good around little kids, and didn't bark or lick or jump up on them. D was thoroughly enchanted, and affected a high voice when speaking to the dog. We had a delicious all-BBQ meal (chicken, asparagus, peppers, sweet potato) and these amazing chocolate-cream cheese cupcakes for dessert. Hubby arrived in time for those.

Today was a relaxing day, for the most part. It was too hot to take D outdoors (41 with the humidex), and she was pretty tired anyway, so she and Hubby watched Cars and napped on the couch. For my part, I got some knitting and cleaning done, and thanks to a prudent heads-up from Hubby, got the laundry down from the line just before the crazy rain started. It was so windy that all kinds of tree and leaf bits got blown into the basket. Apparently one of the stages at Bluesfest collapsed, too! I was glad to get inside, I must say. At least it kept the mosquitoes away from me!

Coming up this week: an attempt at getting through some paperwork, hopefully more sewing, definitely some knitting (I'm almost done a friend's baby blanket, and I've picked up my dad's Aran sweater again), and many a splash pad visit to combat the heat. There are four days where the forecast is in the 30s. And to end the week, a special secret date that Hubby's been planning for months now, even arranging babysitting! I can't wait to find out where we're going.

Garage sale treasures and water park fun!

After an overly late night (I blame Inception; my brain took a few hours to wind down), I woke up early to return our movie rental and check out some garage sales. First, I wrote down my mental list of what I was after. Then, I checked on Used Ottawa and Kijiji to get an idea of where a few sales were happening, and mapped out a route. The sales I had looked up ahead of time didn't turn out to be very good, but they were really just the starting point. I stopped at a bunch of others that I saw, and here's what I got:

-a box of canning stuff for 5$ (I mostly wanted the Mason jars to store sugars and flours- we're trying out spelt and barley from Bulk Barn- but who knows, I may get ambitious)
-4 DVDs (Sleeping Beauty, Beauty and the Beast, The Emperor's New Groove, and Atlantis) and a French farm book for 1$
-a Melissa & Doug wooden farm-themed puzzle for 2$
-Elmo slippers for 1$
-a bag of baby-proofing cupboard locks (the kind we need for the kitchen) for 1$
-an iron for 3$ (ours is ruined because I didn't use distilled water in it)
-a toy grocery cart for 50 cents
-a Cinderella camp chair, including carrying bag, for 3$

A total of 16.50$ for some awesome stuff, and all the stuff for D except the DVDs and camp chair will be birthday and Christmas gifts!

After hitting the sales, Hubby, D and I got ready to go to Mont Cascades water park with our friends the Macs. We were meeting them at 10 to convoy together. It took over an hour to drive there, but admission was very reasonable (12.99$ apiece for me and Hubby, free for D) and we brought all our own food and drinks. We stayed for almost 5 hours, and had a wonderful time! There was one scary moment when D went in too deep in the wading pool and fell over just out of my arms' reach, but a nice gentleman picked her up before she dunked, and passed her to me. The park was so kid-friendly; I think there were only a couple of rides D couldn't go on, and the lines for those ones were pretty long anyway. The price was right, too. There's another water park on the Quebec side called Calypso, and they charge 33.63$ for the day!

A brief potty-training update: since getting up from her very late afternoon nap (4-6ish), D's been on and off the potty a few times, and I put her in cotton underwear so that she could pull them down by herself, as needed. It's 8:30 now, and she had one accident on the carpet, then one successful pee (she was sitting in her high chair when she announced she had to pee, so Hubby took her to the bathroom; she sang herself a song, and did her business) and an accident and a near-miss in the bath (Hubby got her onto the toilet in time for one, and then she surprised him with another one), so she got two treats! She loves getting the treats, and we haven't made a big deal about the accidents.

Toonie Tuesday au cinéma

Loss: driving 20 minutes each way to the library, with 2 toddlers, only to realize I missed toddler storytime by half an hour. Rats. And gas is 1.32$.

Win: driving somewhat further to pick up my best friend, who just finished teacher's college, and celebrate with Toonie Tuesday at Rainbow Cinemas. An added bonus: it's a movie I've wanted to see since it came out! And the movie is literally 2.00$ admission. (Of course we're getting popcorn and drinks, what kind of a question is that?)

I recommend that you:
a) double-check when storytime is before leaving for the library

b) get your butt to the theatre tonight (but not before me, please!)

Wedding wear challenge, take 3

This latest wedding has to have been one of the most beautiful weddings I have had the pleasure of attending. And we almost didn't make it! The wedding was in TO, and our plans for D's care fell partially through. Luckily, after some last-minute scrambling, we managed to secure two caregivers for baby D- sister for the ceremony, friends for the reception. We left at 11:20 am, arrived at sister's downtown hotel at 3:50, and made it to the venue at 4:45, just in time to change into our finery.

The site of both the wedding and reception was this fabulous older mansion, and it was incredible! It had been raining during the afternoon when we drove in, but the skies cleared in time for the ceremony, so it was held outdoors in the lush green garden decorated with white chairs and hydrangeas. (As an added bonus, the programs were made of bamboo fans, so guests could cool themselves!)

Hubby was very disappointed with himself for neglecting to bring dress shoes, and had to wear running shoes. He eventually got over it after gentle reminders that no one would notice what he had on. Regardless, he looked quite sharp in the same vest and pant combo from WWC1, worn with a white and blue pinstriped shirt.

I chose a short dress in a deep plum shade with a satin sash; I had worn it to a cousin's wedding a couple of years ago, and to my birthday dinner this year, though not since. The bridesmaids' dresses were also purple, but in a very different colour and style, so luckily I didn't look like I was trying to match. Accessories included dangly purple earrings (since baby D wasn't with us) and my open heart necklace. Although it's not in the picture, I paired the dress with my multi-coloured patterned pashmina from NYC.

Also shown are the beautiful bride, one of her lovely bridesmaids, and the witty, wonderful Ms. Koux; we met in university and really bonded during our 3rd year abroad in France. We also carpooled to teacher's college every day since we lived almost across the street from each other. I miss these girls and was so happy to reconnect with them!

The only regret I have about this wedding is that we couldn't stay longer- and we were there until 11pm, which is a record for this summer! We were driving up to a cottage in the Muskokas that night, though, so we needed to head out. It was a lovely, lovely wedding and we had a fantastic time!

Road trips and knitting

Our little family just returned (well, on Saturday night) from a last-minute whirlwind trip to Southern Ontario. Hubby had a job interview and I got the chance to reconnect with some old friends and introduce baby D. We also stayed with dear friends who are downsizing and moving to a new place (in the same city), and I was so happy to spend time with them! Their old house is very special to us, as we lived there for a month (between apartment rentals), attended weekly Bible studies there for two years, and have stayed as guests every time we visit in the years since. Of course, the family is much more special, and they'll make the new house equally so.

One of my favourite places to shop in Southern Ontario is a small chain of stores called Len's Mill. It is beyond shanty, and nearly everything there looks like it fell off the back of a truck. They sell almost every kind of household item, but their specialty (as far as I'm concerned) is their crafts department. They have all kinds of yarn, needles, and other notions (as well as fabric, but I'm going on a day trip to the States soon for that), and their prices are the cheapest around, even more so than Walmart. And really, I'd much rather support local industry over Walmart. So, even though this is the year of no yarn, I made an exception. I could not have foreseen, back in December, that my brother would be engaged and married to the love of his life within a year, and their upcoming wedding needs to be celebrated with an heirloom gift, which is now on the needles. I'm very excited to see it coming together, but it'll need the next four months' worth of my knitting attention... which is going to be a bit problematic. Here's why.

The Yarn Harlot often finds herself afflicted with "startitis", in which she wants to cast on huge numbers of projects, usually when she gets bored with her current one. I find this tends to happen to me when I've just finished a long project. Hubby says I should refer to myself as The Yarn Serial Monogamist when I comment on Yarn Harlot's blog. As I have just finished the Bergere de France top, I have all kinds of ideas for tiny, quick projects: a matching BDF top for baby D, a gift for a precious preemie born recently to friends of ours, a bolero for baby D to wear to her uncle's wedding. In order to get the heirloom gift done on time, I'll really have to limit myself to just one or two of those little projects, and I'm pretty sure the first two will win out. Particularly since I'm already halfway done the back of the BDF baby top, and I've found a pattern for a preemie kimono.

Cuteness overload: Baby D went swimming in a pool for the first time. She had previously been in a hot tub (with the temperature turned down) and to the beach. She was cautiously amused...

Wedding wear challenge, take 2

This time around, I opted for something I had worn to a wedding once before, but it was two years ago. Fashionista friend J here was a bridesmaid and looked lovely, as always!

The wedding was on the most perfect day of the year, weather-wise; it was warm and sunny with a bit of a breeze, which was ideal since the ceremony was outdoors at a beautiful pavilion tucked in behind Rideau Hall. Fortunately, the Queen's visit did not interfere, although navigating downtown traffic the day after Canada Day was rather beastly.

Between the ceremony and reception, we found a pub on Elgin Street offering half price appetizers, so we sat down and watched Ghana's disappointing loss to Uruguay. Best nachos I've had in awhile, though.

The reception was at a restaurant in the Dow's Lake pavilion, just minutes from where the bride's mom has lived for the past few years. Such an elegant place, right on the water where we caught a beautiful sunset! The food was amazing, the kissing games entirely suited to the couple (spelling bee/golf putting), the speeches touching and the slide show masterful- no technical glitches at all! The entire day was a gorgeous testament to the love that our dear friends Mark and Val have for each other.

My own hubby was a trooper: when we called to check in on baby D who was being looked after by my sister, she was crying and wouldn't stop, so he headed home to take care of her. He let me stay to have dessert, hear the speeches, and do a little dancing. Some wonderful friends who live near us gave me a lift home. And one more thing that made this day special (albeit really just for me): I finished knitting the back of the orange tank top! It's blocking as we speak, waiting to be sewn up.