Quiet Time Activities...

With the summer sun blazing (FINALLY), it seems that the indoor quiet time activities have given way to bike-riding, sprinkler-diving and general outdoor mayhem! But here and there we find ourselves seeking a bit of inside-time...

Shelling peas.



Cleaning veggies. Love love love the Chiogga beets coming out of the garden right now!



Making basil, although pine nuts and parmesan in the Cuisinart can hardly be considered 'quiet'!



We recently foraged up at UBC for delicious salmonberries that easily found their way into muffins. A trip to the U-Pick was also quite fruitful... sorry, couldn't help myself.




A few days ago, I was given a used pair of True Religion jeans with a very pretty applique of Lady Godiva splashed across the bum. I tried on the short-rise, flare-cut jeans and decided that they were best suited for a tall, leggy girl with protruding hipbones - the rise was too low for this mama-of-two and the flare cut made me look stumpier than ever. I can't STAND having to readjust waistbands just so my bum fits, or having to constantly pull my shirt down to cover what my jeans don't! But I just couldn't say NO to Lady G, so I had to get creative...

I decided to try one of the numerous 'Jeans into Skirt' tutorials on the web. I didn't find one of them particularly awesome and I think I probably followed about 25% of the instructions. Since the jeans had such cool stitching details and colours, I opted to recycle some of the original thread from the legs and preserve as much of the hem as I could - I know, a little anal. Carmen helped me roll the thread onto spools, and I fed the embroidery thread into my sewing machine quite painstakingly! After all, they WERE True Religion jeans... the fact that I even cut into them is almost sacrilege! I kept the unfinished hem to complement the rough-edged details (and also because I got tired of salvaging thread!) and I think the best part is that the unicorn part of the applique, Carmen's favourite part, no longer looks like it's trying to crawl up my butt crack!

Here's what I got...






Fun for summer, and great with a sweater, tights and boots in winter!

Our trip out to Valdes was nothing short of spectacular - in fact, upon our arrival, we reconfigured our summer plans a bit to include an extra visit during the sunny months and then a few trips later on this year. Aside from a ridiculously comfortable and spacious cabin-mansion, the visit felt so effortless with the girls. A safe sandy beach to play on. A cool loft for the girls to spread out their toys and colouring books, or build blanket forts around their sleeping spaces. And we ate well! Fresh veggies picked just before we left, oysters that we picked up off the beach and ate on the half-shell, wine and cheese after the girls went to bed... ah, luxury!

Sweet Sweet Summertime

It's here... the last week of school! That means a husband at home for the summer, a shorter work week for me, and long lazy summer afternoons free of preschool and full of beachcombing, sprinkler-diving and popsicle eating!

At the end of May, I was lucky enough to qualify for a scholarship at the beautiful Hollyhock Wellness Retreat, where I spent 3 amazing nights with a group of 8 beautiful, amazing and talented women for the Mama Renew Retreat. The environment was rustic, magical and invigorating...








During last year's retreat, I created the prayer flags that still adorn my doorway - a shout out for energy, commitment and (lots of) patience.



This year, I came home rested, inspired and, well, RENEWED. My intent for the year is to BLOOM, and so I've been working hard to put the things in place to make it happen.



The first thing on my list was to share the experience with my husband, so after a teeny bit of persuading (clothing-optional beachfront hot tub! fresh raw oysters on the beach!), Jason and I decided to take the financial plunge for our 5th year wedding anniversary to attend the 5-night Couples Retreat at Hollyhock. So after cashing in a few RRSPs (sorry, retirement) and talking Grandma Wolff into taking our kids AND dog (thanks Grandma!), we are on our way! We were told to bring massage oil for one of the workshops - I can't wait!

The second thing on my list was to hire a housekeeper to come in for a few hours every few weeks. It's in the works for September. Luxury? Maybe. But I can't wait!

As you can see, the things on my list are all pretty great.

The last thing, but certainly not least, was to get into my craft room a bit more. With the huge pile of fabric from Grammelina and her underutilized overlock machine, I've managed to craft a few of these great reversible pinafores for the girls from the Sew Baby pattern (thanks SouleMama).



A few more for Fall are in the works, and I got crafty with some old Ikea fabric and double-sided interfacing on the French corduroy, so soft!




Also, less fun, but certainly much-needed were a new set of chair covers for my kitchen using some recycled upholstery material. Thank GOD my old Bernina put up with me through these...



And of course, there's always gardening. For now... Garlic scape pesto. Brand new Yukon Golds run amok. Vivid green broccoli and sweet sweet peas.



And a sign of things to come! Homemade tomato sauce.



Blueberry muffins.



Roasted red peppers.



Basil pesto.



And cheese, thanks to Sarah S. for her goat cheese inspiration on the ferry to Hollyhock! This is the most action my husband's climbing equipment has seen in years, and it certainly did the trick to hang the cheese perfectly, right over the sink drain! So yummy!



Did I tell you that we've become cabinkeepers for a family that's relocated for a few years? It's on Valdes, the island where Jason and I started our relationship, honeymooned, hunted successfully... so dear to our relationship and so exciting to bring our family there!






Happy Summer to you all!

Busy House

There's been so much going on that I haven't had time to write about it. Birthdays, weddings, gardens... so much to craft!

Last bit of sprouting broccoli (what a treat!) and first bunch of radishes to add to the abundant salad greens... kale, chard, spinach, and many many lettuces are happily greening up the garden plots!





Easter - eggs, cookies, chocolates and tons of fun!




The girls' birthday party was a ton of fun, and I managed to finish the birthday sweaters and the flag banner just in time!





My sister-in-law, Andrea's, wedding to her beau Rod called for a wedding quilt! I tried my hand at mitre-ing the borders - works well with a stripey fabric, and wasn't as hard as I thought it would be...




The girls have been busy too with summery activities - sidewalk-chalking the front of the house and painting their toes (sandal season!) with Crayola washables... pretty!




What's up next? With loads of fabric gifted from Grammelina's immense stash, I hope to be making a few things for myself and the girls. First up are reversible cotton pinafore dresses for the gruesome twosome, and a shift for myself out of bright orange silk! And I STILL have to finish the green sweater I started in Feb...

Mary, Mary Quite Contrary - How Does YOUR Garlic Grow?

Spring is upon us... the cherry blossoms are out in full force and my seed order that arrived in January is beckoning!

The overwintering crops are looking good - the Purple Sprouting Broccoli is sprouting tasty loonie-size heads of deliciousness, the garlic is going strong and the kale is a veritable forest!




This afternoon on an outing at the Robson park community garden (I'm a looky-loo!) I saw that amidst the largest stalks of kale, someone had planted their garlic and it was growing like gangbusters! Our very first crop of garlic had to be uprooted during the Great Ruptured Waterline Fiasco of 2010, so I was brainstorming where they would find home, sweet home. Kale grows rather abundantly in our garden, and so I decided to thin out the kale forest into a more manageable kale orchard, interspersing the garlic. I have no idea if this will work, but am willing to try!



Last year's potato crops were also very successful (who can't grow a potato?) and I decided to up the ante this year. I may have gone a little overboard though - instead of 14 plants like last year, I'm doing about 50, including Yukon Golds, Red Chieftains and Seiglindes! Right now they are happily chitting on the art room windowsill...



And last but certainly not least - under the grow lights we have 3 types of tomatoes (20 plants in all), two types of peppers (16 plants in all), 2 types of broccoli (16 plants in all), peas and leeks! Here you can see the tomatoes reaching for some rays. I am SO SO happy to not have these on my kitchen counter this year!



Next weekend I hope to get out into the greenhouse to start my lettuces, herbs, marigolds and nasturtiums. We're getting some more dirt and taking over more of our front yard, since the grass was kinda ruined from the Waterline debacle. Who needs a front lawn anyways? Radishes, parsnips and beets - oh my!

After a few hours of gardening in the rain this afternoon, I came back inside to this little scene. Silly family!



In other news, Keira has recently entered a new phase of crazy. Now she's carrying around multiple blankies, even during the daytime, and sucking her thumb like mad. Most nights we find her curled up on the floor, sound alseep beside the strip of light coming underneath the door to their room. Naps during the daytime are getting fewer and fewer... they aren't kidding when they say that every kid is unique! But her particular brand of unique is slowly driving me crazy. I'm hoping it's just her second set of molars coming in but who knows??




It's a good thing they're cute!