summer begins

I found this photo on a blog that I was visiting last night. I don't remember which one, but needless to say, I did not take this photo, I just find it beautiful and wish I was there. This is what summer looks like to me.
Yeah, I know, it's half over, but not a lot changed for us in July. Martin and I continued to go to work and Shel was in day camp, so not a lot was different. But day camp ended on Friday and Shel is off for the rest of the summer. Not that I am, but I am going to take a little time off in a few weeks.

This is a picture that Shelby's grandfather drew (he's a painter) and Shelby painted in. I love this picture.

I can't say enough good things about the summer camp we chose this year. It started out as a camp for gifted children and it offers an incredible array of activities. Some don't agree with putting your child in an academic camp during the summer, but we thought we would try it out and it has been an amazing experience for all of us. I went to the 2 open houses where the children demonstrated what they learned from their home room, science class, and music. Most of the parents were blown away. Not only because the children learned so much, but because they really seemed to be having "fun" doing it. In science they all demonstrated their favorite experiment. This was the first time that these little 5 and 6 year olds had a captive audience listenting to them, and they were teaching us something. We are definitely signing up for next year.

Here's a picture with one of Shel's activities (he was in the castle and dragons group and made this working helmet himself. Today is our first distance biking trip using the bike attachment. We are going to Oka. This is about 45 minutes outside Montreal and it used to be a monastery. The monks made this incredible Oka cheese (they still do) and chocolate covered blueberries. If you ever get a chance to try Oka cheese I highly recommend it. There is also a beach nearby. Although being from Nova Scotia I use the term beach loosely. I have to try to find my bathing suit, it hasn't been used since last summer.

Lately, I've been visiting some amazing blogs. I am blown away by the talented craftswomen out there. Not to mention their beautiful blogs that keep me going back for more. I am going to start featuring a weekly blog. From the look of my favorites list we will be doing this for a while. If you know of a blog that you think I should feature, send me an email and I will take a look at it.

Weekend trip to Halifax

I've lived away from Nova Scotia for 20 years. My husband is from Quebec. We met in Nova Scotia many years ago (25 years ago - we were mere children). He wantd to move back to Quebec, I moved with him. I love Montreal. It is a great place to live, but since I've had my son I miss the ocean like crazy. I guess because when we go my son turns from this little aggressive city boy to this ocean, nature loving person.
Last summer just before my son started his first year at school, I decided that we would take a trip back, just the 2 of us. We would stay at a hotel (except for the first night, we stated with my friend Mary and her family- we were best friends at university). We stayed at the Westin. Swam in their pool. Ate at nice restaurants (O'Carroll's). Bought candy at Freak LunchBox, wandered around Historic Properties. It was heaven. We had been in Nova Scotia about 3 weeks before our trip staying at Barrens at Bay. When we left, Shelby cried and said that it was not his best day.

snaps and snails and puppy dog tails

Yes, boys are different from girls. I'm sure that your girl is rough and tumble and can keep up with the boys, but the difference is boys never stop moving. Even when they are still they are moving. Boys can't walk by a wall without running their hands across it, they can't watch cartoons without wiggling some body part, they don't talk when they can yell, they don't walk when they can run....you get the idea. These are my son's knees. Definitely not the worse knees he's had this summer, but up there.

I scrubbed these knees, they looked the same, I scrubbed them again, and they still looked the same, so I was desperate. I experimented and the only thing that got the dirt out of his knees was MAC eye makeup remover. Now I have two uses for one of my favorite products.

Lucky Number 13

Today is our 13th wedding anniversary. I think that tradition has gone awry in our house. Shelby insisted that it means that we must buy him a present. So we added to his growing collection of transformers. We didn't celebrate this weekend, we rescheduled until next weekend where we will go to a family run Italian restaurant in the East end and possibly a movie.

Last night I went out with my friends Jane, Cathie and Shauna. Cathie is due to give birth any time now, so we figured we needed a night out before the big day. We went to La Louisiane. We got there early enough so the no reservation rule wasn't a big deal and we didn't have to wait to be seated. The food was very good, although I ordered chicken etouffee, which I usually have a rule that I don't order etouffee when not in New Orleans, as it always disappoints. Really if you want southern food, ya gotta be in...... But the food was good and the desserts were REALLY good. We ordered 3 desserts for the table and shared: pecan pie drizzled with chocolate, lemon and white chocolate mousse torte, and Louisiana bread pudding. They were all incredible.

There was a couple seated next to us with the best baby. 18 months old and not a peep the entire meal. He sat in his little chair and ate away. His mom was wearing the most gorgeous bracelet. Her sister-in-law made it and is starting a business. I gave her my card and asked her to call me so I can have one made. I love serendipity. I have to tell her about etsy.

Well we're just back from a great day. Yesterday we bought a bike attachment for Shel so we can all go biking together. He wasn't sure at first if he was going to like it, but by the time we got home late this afternoon he was in love with it. Now we can spend our weekends exploring the multitude of fabulous biking trails around Montreal. Today we just biked around our neighborhood to get used to it, went for ice cream, went to 3 different parks. July 22 and it is the first day that has really seemed like summer.

Now we just have to get rid of the wasps that are trying to make a nest on our back deck.

Etsy Showcase

I'm pleased with the way my tattoo t-shirt looks in the Etsy Showcase today. I was not in the best of moods last night, as the screens that I burned did NOT turn out. I'm not sure if it is an emulsion problem or if I put it on my screen too thick. But it didn't turn out and I was in a tizzy because I wanted to have my bibs ready along with my new "J'Adore Eyore" t-shirt. So this means an emergency call to G&S Dye in Toronto for new emulsion. Anyway, here's two of the t-shirts that will be showcased on Etsy today. Enjoy!

Working on new designs

Some days the best plans just go awry. I was hoping by last weekend to have several new designs up and in my etsy store, but I was having trouble managing my time and the weather was too nice. I did find some ink that I usually have to send away to Toronto for at the local Omer des Serres. Unfortunately, they only come in small bottles. I bought some shimmer blue, red and bronze, and another chartreuse color that is non-shimmer. Chartreuse is a great color, just doesn't really fit my designs just yet. I used the blue shimmer on this Bubble onesie. The picture doesn't do the color justice, it really is more of an indigo blue. Tonight I plan on doing some more in pink and black, and possibly 2 colors if I'm really feeling crazy. I am working on some really cute bibs, and hope to have at least the screen done this evening. I'm in a bit of a panic because my etsy store is going to be in the Etsy Showcase tomorrow (and July 27th) and I want to have some new designs up. It's a good thing that I love doing this because it is certainly cutting into my sleep!!

dreaming of a vacation

It's that time of year when thoughts of actually getting away for a real vacation become more and more prevalent. Due to my work schedule this year our idyllic Nova Scotia vacation won't be happening (well maybe a quick weekend visit to grammie's), so I thought I would share our vacation photos from last year. We stayed at the most wonderful place in the world called Barrens at Bay in a little village called Halfway Cove. It is owned by Gary Neufeld and Stephen Townsend and you can't find better hosts anywhere. We felt right at home and immediately made them part of our extended family. They have 3 cottages (well small houses) that are all furnished with antiques and it is hard to choose between one of them. We stayed in the Old House. Barrens at Bay is right on the ocean and we had an incredible view from the Old House. This is a picture from the screened in porch off the kitchen. I love this picture of Shelby and my mother taken from the waterfront deck on one of their two beaches. Of course Shelby wouldn't forgive me if I didn't give Harry and Lukie their dues. I love this picture of Stephen taking Shelby for a ride on Helen (I think it is Helen). They have two donkeys, Helen and Jean. Every day at 5 pm, they fed the trout in the fish pond. Of course, Shelby looked forward to this daily. I also love these photos of Shelby just wandering around their property. Thanks Gary and Stephen. We'll miss you this year!

Italian Feast

Martin is in Chicago so Shel and I are on our own for dinner. I thought we might go out, but a thunderstorm is not far off. So we settled for picking up some of our favorite foods from the neighborhood Italian store.

The Menu:

Cheese tortellini

Sauce rosa creme tomate

Sauce napolenana

Pasta fagioli soup

Chocolate Caffarel conetto

Pastiglie Leone mints

Banana gelato

Fresh Quebec strawberries

Work in progress

I was hoping to get lots and lots of silkscreening done today, but it just didn't happen. I will blame it on the humidity. There are two temperatures in Montreal: freeze your ass off and humid. I love the heat, but my hair just doesn't cooperate when it is humid. Enough whining about the weather.

Right after I gave birth to Shelby, 6 years ago, I went through this weird weather obsession. Shel was born in May and early in June we had this 3 week long, massive heatwave. It was terrible. Once it was over it was followed by another, and then another. We went to the movies one night and we were sure that the weather was going to break. I should also add that we were living in our condo then. It had floor to ceiling windows on all sides and we got the afternoon sun, so it was really hot! And of course when it was being built we were not smart enough to have central put in when we didn't have to pull down walls.

By the time we went to bed that night, the humidity still had not broken. I was still feeding Shel hourly so I got up hourly and checked the Weather Channel. At 1:00 it reported that the humidity would break in about an hour. At 2, same thing, it would break at 3. At 3 it would break at 4. At 4 it would break at 5. When I got up at 5, they reported that the cold front had just missed us and we would not get a break in the weather. I lost it. I went into the bedroom and told my husband to get up and go get an air-conditioner. Well we didn't get one at 5, but we had one by 11. The next summer we ripped out walls and put in central air. And then that spring we sold the condo and moved to an old house that has no air-conditioning. That's ok, but the outcome of this is that my husband has banned me from watching the Weather Channel for life.

All this to say I didn't do any silkscreening today. However, I think that I am going to knit a bag with some lovely Jo Sharp yarn, and line it with this beautiful material I found on the weekend.

Can't think of a title so July 10

I've been trying to populate my etsy store, but between going to the office, taking care of Shelby, trying to spend some time with Martin, and just the fact that the weather is finally warm it has been difficult. I am working at night, but sometimes it's a toss between actually doing some work and sharing a glass of vino with Martin. I am not a fan of rose, but I quite like the Monkey Bay rose. Very light. I've been finding that I'm not dealing with red wine well these days. I know, impossible to live in Montreal and not be able to drink red wine. C'est la vie!

Last weekend Shelby and I went downtown and bought out Lush. This is the first time I've been in Lush in Canada. The only other Lush stores I've been in have been in Italy. Same old, same old. I do love the smell of the place though. So we were downtown doing some shopping (I bought a new DKNY top and Shel bought a Transformer) and we walked by and couldn't resist the smell. We bought some lovely bath stuff. Last night Shel asked me to put him in the bubble cave when he was in the bath. This morning on the way to work/day camp, Shel and I found a bird nest on the sidewalk in front of our house. It had fallen out of the tree in our front yard. Fortunately it was empty.

where the creativity occurs

I am in the process of reorganizing my workspace. Not the area in the garage where I do my silkscreening, but my office where I do my designing and thinking. I like to surround myself with lots of ideas, and pictures, and colors, and things that inspire me. I am finding that all of the things that inspire me are creating a bit of clutter. I would love to see pictures of your workspace and hear about what inspires you.

my workspace

I have this big cabinet where I store all of my inks and screens. It was in our house when we bought it and it turns out that it is great for keeping all my supplies in. It is an industrial grey color that I have never been very fond of and in the 3 years that we have lived in our house I have thought about painting it many times, but painting the walls of our house has been more of a priority (not that we've finished that either). Anyway, today I was cleaning up my workspace and found an old paint scraper. I thought that I would just see how easily a little bit of paint came off. Well here's the results. Now it seems that I really do need to paint it. Any creative suggestions are welcome.

Today I decided that I wanted to bake an angel food cake with wild blueberry sauce. So I got out my trusted Martha Stewart cookbook (say what you will, but her recipes are divine. I have never gone wrong with her pie crust recipes). When I make pie I always use a butter crust. I have tried using shortening, but it never turns out well. My mother's pie crust is always incredible and she always uses shortening, I guess I am not so talented. So the only angel food cake recipe that she has was one with a lemon curd. I just skipped putting lemon zest in the cake and didn't make the lemon curd (although I saved the yokes in case I change my mind). I started out by separating 14 extra large eggs.

Angel food cake:

1 1/2 c sifted pastry and cake flour

14 large eggs, separated

1 1/2 tsp cream of tartar

1 1/2 c extra fine sugar

Turn on the oven to 350C.

Sift the flour and half the sugar together twice and put aside.

Put the egg whites in a mixer and mix until frothy. Add the cream of tartar.

Once the egg whites have a solid consistency add half of the left over sugar.

Once blended well add the remainder of the sugar and mix until the egg whites are are glossy and have a solid consistency.

Blend in the flour/sugar mixture in 3 separate additions. Blend well, but don't over mix.

Put in the over for about 45 minutes.

Happy Canada Day! Actually it was yesterday, but I was far too tired last night to post. Instead of joining the crowds we decided to get back to nature. Or as much of nature that you can get in Montreal. We went to the Ecomuseum on the West Island of Montreal in Baie d'Urfe. We were all pleasantly surprised and a good day was had by all. But not only is July 1 Canada Day, it is also the official moving day in Montreal where thousands of people pull up their roots and move. It is a day to stay off the streets as they are packed with moving trucks. Not to mention the crowds from the Montreal Jazz Fest.