au revoir

An official sign-off, though my spotty posts of the last year were probably enough of a giveaway that my blogging time has come to an end. It's been swell, but time to move on to other things. Like fixing my house. And getting some exercise.

Be well friends,

Nicole

Where I'm At

Crazy Christmas Village, photo courtesy of melisdramatic.

Ah Christmas. Equal parts sublime and ridiculous. December ping-pongs back and forth between delight and drudgery. On one hand, I love the adrenaline rush. I love finding gifts. And wrapping them. I enjoy a good boozy Christmas party. A ready stash of cookies in the pantry. Good times. But then something happens, it always does, and I'm right down in Whoville. This morning my inner Grinch was released when Stella had a four-alarm meltdown as we were trying to get out the door. Half an hour late as usual - damn that Bo On The Go - Stella refused to put her boots on because she didn't have a Santa hat to wear to "Wacky Christmas Accessories Day" at school. Let the record show that I made her a wacky Christmas accessory: an oversize Mr. T-style pendant complete with bell, silver garland and plastic mistletoe. It was gaudy, hideous, noisy perfection. But apparently not good enough. She needed a Santa hat. A one-sided deal was struck: get to school now and I will go find a Santa hat and bring it to school. The deal meant that I stuffed my bare feet into winter boots and left the house with no make-up and no breakfast. Fast-forward to Loblaws and lo, there is a bin of ugly fake fur stockings and santa hats. That they're marked down to .99 is entirely missing the point: I'd have paid $10 for a santa hat if it meant making my daughter happy. Relief gave way to panic when I discovered the bin was full of stockings but only one hat. One hat with a smear of something unpleasant and brown and crusty on the white fur. As if Santa were practicing Proctology in the off season. I bought it. I tried to clean the fur with snow collected from the roof of the car. It occurred to me later that I could have used the school's washroom, but such was my mindset by this time. I delivered the hat not with love in my heart but something more closely resembling victory. I'd like to say that Stella's face lit up at the sight of me waving a Santa hat in the doorway of the classroom, but the truth is she didn't give a fig. I need to give my mom a hug.

To Do #1

Beautiful fireplace photos from here.

Project Fireplace

Task: Get the currently non-working wood-burning fireplace to work.
Reward: Chestnuts roasting by an open fire. Ceremonial burning of ugly-but-necessary slippers.

Our otherwise OK basement (high ceilings, decent floors, no musty basement-y smell) is plagued by an enormous fireplace that is out of scale, off-centre and, wait for it, semi-circular. Yes, a big brick monstrosity that looks more like a cartoon of a pizza oven than a fireplace. You can understand why I want to deal with it. And every year, right at the beginning of December, the cusp of holiday entertaining, I cast a dissatisfied eye around my worn-out house and find myself overwhelmed by the long list of things that need doing. I do believe I spend more time making lists of things to do than actually doing things on the list. This year I am taking a strategic approach: no other cosmetic issue in the house will be dealt with until that fireplace is roaring. Our slow-burn renovation is still on simmer - I intend to fix this house, I really really do - but the fireplace just won't wait a minute longer.

Today I consulted this blog about fireplaces which, aside from affirming the fact that my own blog is wildly unfocused, was a good place to get the fireplace lingo down and whittle down the list of requirements:

Here's what I know so far:

If we do a gas conversion, we want:
* An insert with an auto-starter Vs a pilot light that runs 24/7 is less wasteful - and saves $10 a month in gas.
* Ceramic glass is better than tempered glass. Something about heat transfer.
* A "squirrel cage" type fan is quieter and more efficient than the non-squirrel variety.
* Don't quote me, but a direct vent offers better indoor air quality than the other type of venting option.

Still to be determined:

*Is there such a thing as realistic-looking ceramic logs?
*Is it too much to hope for that ceramic logs might make nice little cracking sounds too?
*What becomes of the ugly brick? I think the ceiling is too low for a traditional mantel, so I need to find a simple, modern but classic cladding solution.
*What's it all going to cost?

Next stop: Marsh's Fireplace Shop to kick some tires and get some answers. And not a moment too soon - it's snowing!

"Welcome Home Baby"

So said Steve after we landed in Buffalo late Saturday night, shuttled to the economy parking lot and found our car battery had died. And just like that, the holiday was over. Although we did return a happier, more connected, tanned and just a little bit fatter family and, dead battery or no, the glow of a well-earned vacation hasn't entirely faded away. Turns out that, for us anyway, managing two kids is lot easier than managing one. I was proud and not a little relieved at what good friends Stella and Henry have become, and at how nicely they play together. Happy too that for the first time I could observe their play from beneath a beach umbrella 15 feet away. Good times.

You might think today's little snowfall is hard to take, but truthfully I'm enchanted. Who doesn't love the first snow? It makes me want to break out the Sufjan Stevens and a wooly throw. I'm hankering for a new craft project. Something easy. One night. Perhaps two. Any ideas? My mantra (partly lifted from the editor's letter of an old Domino magazine) is tradition, family & peace. My usual messy to-do list is simple this year: a horse-drawn sleigh ride with friends, perhaps here, a working fireplace, a neighbourly open house (to celebrate the working fireplace), a singularly delicious cookie that I will bake and give to everyone I know (Anna, I'm coming for your recipe!), a pretty front porch. All will be calm.

yellow

I'd need a U-Haul to bring it all back.

florida orange

Today life was, literally and figuratively, a day at the beach. A wide open, white powder, empty beach that is the dream of travel writers and misanthropes alike. What a day. Finished this book. Re-reading this one while also dreaming of this. Time to think and read and just be is my idea of luxury these days.

Happy Sunday.

home

We're at the beach for a couple of weeks. I find packing and vacation preparation quite stressful - especially on Halloween evening after three hours of trick-or-treating - but we're here and any tension I felt about leaving the house in chaos and leaving the store for two weeks evaporated as soon as feet hit the sand. Though he's been here three times, Henry discovered the ocean this year. And like a true son of mine, he's a fan of the big sunset. Peace.

Hoping to hit my favourite vintage store, Jane E's, and the Red Barn junk market, where you can buy mangoes, oranges and tomatoes, old books, handmade lace and a round or two of ammo.

Tomorrow, of course, is election day. We're excited to be here.

a simple confession

After a month-long absence it feels strange just popping up as if barely any time had passed. I don't have a good excuse, other than life being busy. And the frustration of not quite having the hang of my new camera. I'm back to the trusty old slim silver automatic until I find the time to take a proper lesson at Henry's, so maybe the posting will be more consistent.

Anyway. It's Halloween. I'm bathed in the glow of grinning lanterns. There is a basket of carefully crafted bat favours ready to go to pre-school tomorrow. And a motherlode of chocolate sitting very temptingly, but fortunately not at arm's reach, by the door. We're ready.

The kids' costumes, which I would normally be frantically sewing tonight, were actually ready ahead of time, thanks to the Halloween birthday party we attended last week. My neighbour did some crazy good decorating - I love the creepy piano vignette - but my favourite has to be the wheelbarrow filled bones half buried in sand on her front lawn. So fun. I had fun making the costumes, but if I ever attempt to work with that crazy furry crap again, someone please poke me in the eye. I don't think Henry's too happy with his tiger hood either. I could have used a pattern for it, because it turned into quite a cowl. I tell myself it's warmer that way, but truly I'm not sure the poor kid can see left or right in the thing and we'll probably end up abandoning it at the end of the driveway. But Stella's vampire costume I could not love more. Maybe it's because she totally works it. Technically speaking it's the simplest of costumes, of course, but we added a couple of flourishes: an old silk tie turned into an ascot and a scrap of red fabric made the perfect cummerbund. Tomorrow is dress-up day at school and the instructions were clear that violent costumes and/or weaponry were not welcome. In my heart of hearts I know the vampire violates one, if not both, those rules, but I'll be damned if I'm making something else now. I'm ahead of schedule for the first time in my life. Happy Halloween friends.

hello october

Puddles are for jumping.

Meow!

Meow!, originally uploaded by Sweet Freak.

We're invited to an all-ages Halloween party. And by all-ages I mean that technically it is a party for a soon-to-be one year old, who had the good fortune to be born last October 31st, but parents are invited and costumes are not optional.

Steve is in a tizzy. He's a bit of a spoilsport when it comes to dressing-up. He's been sporting the MadMen uniform (dark suit, pocket square, cufflinks) since I met him 10 years ago and I think he finds costume wearing deeply undignified. I can't imagine why.

But I think I've found a perfect solution.

spoiled for choice

As much as I love summer, fall is real good too.

Thank you, Lisa, for that super-fab comment last week. As the owner of a comment-challenged blog, I really do enjoy hearing from you. As for the house renovation, it's chugging along rather more slowly than I'd expected. We are still in the planning stages with an architect and a contractor who, no surprise, do not see eye-to-eye. We opted to not build a second story on our bungalow (money, time, hassle) so we are taking our inspiration from petite but efficiently-designed spaces - like Scandinavian apartments, NY hotels, even ship cabins - and making our every square inch useful and functional. If I get my act together I will scan and post some magazine images that I find inspiring.

What I have learned so far is that there is no telling an Ikea Abstrakt kitchen cabinet from an Italian high gloss that costs four times more. Also, there really is no such thing as "just taking out a wall." And granite counters are the sisal carpets of the kitchen; I'm going with Carrara marble - provided our house does not have asbestos. Yes. Asbestos. We learned years ago that the attic is probably insulated with something called Zonolite - a common DIY insulation back in the 1970s. In fact, our neighbour told us that one of the owners of our house worked for a company that sold Zonolite - a situation that would seem to render the $375 environmental analysis we have to do pointless. But we need to be sure before construction begins. Removal costs $1,000 a square foot. An obscene amount of money, money that I would much rather spend on a Carrara marble kitchen counter and a sink like this one. Fingers crossed good people.

Steve is away for a few days which means a) we had pancakes for dinner tonight, b) the kids were in bed at 8:00, and c) I am counting down to 10:00, a plate of cheese and grapes at my side (because carbs just go right through me). Flipping Out, my favourite show, is on and I can finally see just went down with Jenny and Chris without Steve rolling his eyes and muttering disapprovingly. Life is good.

My kids are used to me photographing their food, their feet and occasionally their faces, but taking pictures - with flash - while they're sleeping is new. When you live in a bungalow privacy and the separation of living and sleeping areas is something of an illusion. A game, really, but a game that we all play. At night we, the grown-ups, tuck the kids into bed and say good-night, and then we walk seven feet down the hallway to the living room/kitchen where we talk, make popcorn and watch television as if the kids couldn't hear a thing. This, even though I could hear them breathing if the TV weren't so damn loud. To their credit the kids stay in bed. And our part of the deal is that we ignore the scurrying, the giggling and the occasional thud that emanates from down the hall. Until they're asleep and then we investigate. Tonight I found Stella had created nice little sleeping dens for her favourite animals. I like that they're sleeping cozily in pairs. Along with her bed sheet and some clothes, that's her turquoise swimsuit bottom in the foreground. Kids are funny.

sunday-ing

The beginnings of squash and whiskey soup. For a picture of the final (delicious) product, see my guest post over at Broccoli & Prosecco.

A beautiful fall day calls for a drive through Forks of the Credit, a picnic lunch in Belfountain, and a stop at a farmer's stand for Honeycrisp apples, carrots and a home-baked pie. Fall is good.

Swap Meet

If you haven't yet picked up the October Martha Stewart, what are you waiting for? It's a terrific Halloween issue with a bounty of crafty ideas. Which got me thinking (and making broomstick party favours last night) about a Halloween swap.

Here's how it'll work:
1. Make one sample of your favourite Halloween craft. It could be a party favour, a decoration, an invitation, an edible. It should lend itself to being made in 15 to 30 minutes.
2. It does not have to be an original creation, though those are always extra-welcome.
3. On swap night, October 17th, bring enough supplies to make 5 to 8 more.

The idea is that everyone in the group will have a chance to make, and leave with, a handful of finished projects and a bunch of new crafts in their repertoire. All levels of crafters are welcome!

The swap meet will be Friday, October 17th 6:30 pm at Honeybunch, 3885 Bloor St. West in Etobicoke. You'll also need to email me by the 11th simple step-by-step instructions and finished photos of your craft, along with a materials list. I will collect and circulate among the group after the swap.

Contact me nicole(at)honey-bunch.com if you're interested in joining.

all in the family

The trees - I think they're lindens - that line our street shed branches like other trees drop leaves. Our walk and road is perpetually littered with twiglets. But where I see yard work Stella sees opportunity: she's been selling *chopsticks* made from their fallen branches. This morning they were "going for low" because of an over-inventory problem. A nickel bought me two (more) sets. God help me if she actually expects me to use them, because they are not really very chopstick-like at all. They are rough branches taped together with a bit of blue tape pilfered from my painting supplies. But the kid sells the sizzle not the steak. So I buy. Everyone does. She's made three bucks this week.

So a big YAY to Stephen Harper for his election announcement yesterday that he intends to extend maternity benefits to the self-employed. He's got my vote. Stella's too.

Sunday: Queen West Art Crawl

The Queen West Art Crawl was this weekend and I've been looking forward to it all summer. It's my favourite festival because it's a mix of art + craft, it's totally low-key and we've always found something interesting and affordable and what could be better than that? Our five-year old couch may be from Sears but damn if we don't have some fine art on our walls. This year two things conspired against me and QWAC: torrential rain yesterday and today a busted washing machine. I'm used to things breaking down around here and normally I make a mental note to add it to the list for the handyman I'm planning to hire some day. But a washing machine just won't wait. Not with a sodden load of training pants inside. No sir.

We headed to Sears where we bought a replacement washer (a big old top-loading model with dials - a rebuke of the new-fangled electronic model that has let us down three times in the six years we've owned it). I really hate being a responsible adult sometimes. Penniless but back in the laundry game, we headed to the show. Between the no-money thing and the roaring coming from the stroller once Henry spotted a playground it was a quick visit, but a fruitful one. We bought a cool cowpoke painted on reclaimed wood for Henry's new room. Cute art for boys is hard to come by. I was really taken with this booth - love the monkeys in cow-hide chaps - and ended up buying several pieces for the shop. Henry's room is taking shape and I'll have pictures to share soon.

Post-script: While clearing a path in the laundry room in advance of the new machine's arrival tomorrow, the dead washer unexpectedly sprung to life. It's worked like a charm all night. No kidding.

double spinach + pepper jack wrap

A spinach tortilla + baby spinach leaves with pepper Jack and sliced apples. Quite possibly the perfect lunch: tasty, hearty and mostly healthful (looking at the picture I see there is probably more cheese than apple.) I'd like to try this with a more adventurous cheese, but the mass-produced processed variety is hard to resist when it's $5 off for a two-pack at Loblaws.

Over dinner tonight at Margherita's Mexican the subject of taking pictures of food some how came up - I'm not talking Donna Hay-ish styled photography, just ordinary meals. Turns out my friend and her friend have started a blog, Broccoli & Prosecco, (she's Prosecco) which documents their lunches and everyday meals. Fun. I've asked if I can guest post. The wider world needs to see my tomatoes.

an apology is in order

So there I am, just minding my own business and not thinking mean thoughts, honest, as I use my fingernail to scrape a squished grape off the carpet (though who could blame me if I were to feel a tad hostile, this being hour three of house cleaning and I've barely made a dent) when I see, as if for the first time, this black shoebox that has been allowed to sit on top of the TV cabinet for a week. Probably two. I'm not being critical, but seriously, Stella is a pack rat. I don't know where she gets it.

To her an empty shoebox is an invitation to start a new collection or, as in this case, bring together miscellaneous objects from other collections into a new grouping, whose significance and connection is known only to the curator. I love her collections, as baffling as they are. I don't ask her to explain them or defend them or justify them. I don't even ask her to keep them all nice and tidy in her room (though that one is obviously just bad parenting). And as I said I really was not in a bad mood when I threw out the box. Not the contents, mind, just the box.

Steve has warned me for years about my midnight runs to GoodWill. There may be folks who ask their kids for input on which toys should go - I am not one. If I think it won't be missed, it goes. If there are so many pieces missing that I would have to call the manufacturer for replacement parts before anyone could play with it again, it goes. So the shoebox went. I never, never, would have done it had I thought Stella would miss it, but miss it she did. A painful morning for us both. And a lesson learned by me.

The unremarkable and the supremely important co-existing in a shoebox. That's what life is like, don't you think? Not to get all philosophical on you or anything.

happi

No sign of autumn. Squeezing every drop of summer. Barbeque for dinner. Again. A big boy bedroom. Moving furniture. A sore back. Taking stock of closets, clothes and school uniforms. A house in pre-renovation mode. Clutter! Take a breath. A fresh day. Coffee in the sunshine. Much better. A trip to the flea market. A happi find. Earlier to bed. First day of Senior Kindergarten. A new year...

summer love

Finishing off summer the right way: water balloons and a run through the sprinkler. Though Henry preferred a quiet read in the shade. Elmo. Compelling.



Despite the best stretch of weather we've had all year, Labour Day signals that it's time to put away summer, if not literally then at least symbolically. And so hair was thoroughly shampooed for the first time since June. Bedtime was brought forward an hour. Back-to-school clothes laid out. Senior Kindergarten awaits.