le sportif

I am not much of a sports fan. I am vaguely aware of what teams are winning and losing when it comes to playoff season. However, there was a time in my past, when I was younger that my favourite hockey team was the Edmonton Oilers. Gretzky, Messier, Coffey, these were names that I knew and cheered for. Today, I am not certain that I could name any player on the Oilers or on any team for that matter. With that said, when the Olympics are on, I pull out my pompoms and big foam finger. Daryl cannot quite understand my Olympic fever, nor can I really shed any light on the matter, but Go Canada is not far from my lips.

In March, we celebrate another birthday in the family. My nephew is an athlete and an outdoorsman, all balanced with a sensitive spirit. A couple of years ago for school, my nephew had to do a 3 min speech on a subject that he was passionate about, for him, it was and still is fishing. He told us about ice fishing and fishing at Deschambault lake. He spoke about all the different types of fish in Northern Saskatchewan. He knows fishing and loves to be outdoors.

When it came time to make a quilt for him I knew a sports theme would be perfect. I had lots of fun with this one, making the appliques and thinking about the different sports that he enjoys. Hockey season is over this year for him, but once the snow clears, the baseball glove and bat will emerge.

Let's Play

This ice sculpture outside of marche jean talon reminded me of my nephew

Femineered

My in laws had this great fridge in their basement. At some point in the past the handle was broken off so you had to open it with this long bolt. The best part of the fridge was the label inside..."It's femineered!". The first time I saw the label, I was slightly offended, but loved the terminology. Femineered. What Mad Man came up with that catch phrase. Is the fridge more appealing and more reliable knowing that it is femineered? Anyways, it makes me laugh.

Well, I am not certain if sewing machines ever got the same label, "It's femineered", but today I ventured out with eager anticipation of purchasing a new to me sewing machine. The machine looks the same vintage as the refrigerator, so what woman wouldn't want it femineered? The sewing store near our condo is quaint and since I don't have a car, I thought this solution would be the easiest. Some of those old machines weighed a ton, but one cannot judge a book by its cover. If this machine can sew a straight stitch, that is all I need for quilting. Happily I purchased a Singer and carried it home. No time like the present. Time to start quilting. My walking quilt foot even works with it. With it set up and ready to go, I start sewing, sort of. It is not working seamlessly, it is causing me much grief, but I press on. I make little adjustments, however I am not certain I have the patience to deal with this. The afternoon has passed and I am finding myself more frustrated by the moment. I am afraid that this machine and I need to part ways.

Le chat noir 2

Tonight I was looking at some books on a bookshelf in our apartment and discovered a letter that was left behind. Perhaps it would be a love letter or a note from a friend or a grocery list. It was none of these. It reads as follows:

Stéphanie
Tu dois payer l'appartement!! S'il n'est pas payer d'ici Mercredi 20/juin tu devras quitter!

Translation: you must pay your rent!! If you don't pay by Wednesday June 20 you must leave!

Who was this Stephanie? Is she the one who had a cat living here? Why was she late with her rent? Did she leave behind some of the weird stuff in the cupboards & closets? Why did she leave the letter folded up stick between some books? I pretty certain I would have crumpled up the letter and tossed it out. Ask me sometime what I do with some of the Turnanich notices slipped under the door at the condo.

When we moved in here, we found some cat shampoo on the first day. Both of us were not impressed because the place was advertised as pet free and if you don't know Daryl, he is allergic to cats. We had a mini freak out, perhaps mostly due to the fact that we had just committed to a 7 month lease in a place far from home. Well the freak out has passed, mostly, and the discovery of this new place we call home continues.

le chat noir

I have been in Montreal for two weeks now and I am starting to normalize. We have discovered that many of the museums here are free Wednesday nights, so Wednesday will be museum day for us. Walked to the top of Mont Royal where the vista of the city is remarkable. Had poutine @ Bonquise. It was good, but wouldn't want to eat there more than once every six months. Last night we were invited out for a raclette meal. We were told that it is a must do, French experience. Wine, cheese, cured meats, what more could you ask for?

As for quilting, I have found one great tissus (fabric) store so far on St Hubert. I am looking forward to visiting it again. One block from where we live, I stumbled upon a vintage and repurposed fabric store where they sell sewing machines from the 1960s, fabric, salvaged buttons, zippers, & shoulder pads, among other sewing necessities. I think I will buy un machine à coudre because they said that they would buy it back from me when I am done with it. Seems like a fair deal.

out of season

Bonjour mes amis
We are in Montreal and searching for a place to live. I do believe we have narrowed it down and will be putting cash on the table this afternoon.

Last night Daryl and I were craving gelato. With 2 stores near by we thought we were in luck. We walked into the first resto and were greeted by a jolly fellow. Table for 2? No just gelato tonight, pointing at the freezer of brightly colored gelato. He shakes his head and remarks that it is out of season. With obvious looks of disappointment on our faces he tried to steer us towards a piece of cake. Although they looked delicious we declined and walked toward the next cafe. With eager anticipation we approached the freezer and saw that the cooler was covered with cardboard boxes. We inquired about the gelato and she also said that it was out of season.

Daryl and I were befuddled by this discovery that gelato can be out of season. I guess Jerrys in Saskatoon has not received the memo that gelato has an in season.

Checked baggage

A year of change, uncertainty and adventure awaits. Je suis excite et nerveux. My mom chuckled at me this past week as I practiced expressing my feelings en francais.

What does one pack for a year long adventure? What luxury items does one bring and what do you need to let go of and leave behind? This is not an easy task. Ask any of my friends and they will tell you that I love purging and organizing. I thought I kept up this fairly well in my own home, until I started packing. I have accumulated a lot of stuff in the last four years. I was a bit disgusted with myself. Upon our return, there will be a great purging going on.

My luxury items and necessities: Nespresso milk frother. Check. French-English dictionary. Check. Pink puffy. Check. Sewing machine...I had my sewing machine packed in one of the 6 suitcases that we are bringing but my mom talked me out of it. She figured I would be able to rent one when the mood struck. Daryl did a google search and confirmed that a sewing machine would not be difficult to come by. Out came the machine. Not sure how much quilting I will get done this year, but I will enjoy making chai lattes.

Whether I am quilting or out adventuring, I will keep you all up to date.

Off to Montreal we go.

Scientific Method

Recently I came across a blog "It's Okay to be Smart". It has quirky articles, interesting illustrations, amazing pictures, and fascinating facts. This basically describes one of my nephews who will be celebrating his birthday this month. He is quirky, interesting, amazing, and fascinating. Common discussions with him include how would gravity work on a square planet?, where would be the best place to build your house on a square planet?, what kind of rock would be the best type of rock to create rock people?, what's your favorite element?

When thinking about his quilt, I knew that I had to stick to a science theme. What boy is not fascinated with explosions and danger? With that in mind, I decided to applique hazard symbols on it. I love how they turned out.

I watched a clip on the above mentioned blog based on the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment about delaying gratification. As I watched the kids struggle with the decision to eat the one marshmallow immediately or wait for the researcher to come back in order to receive a second marshmallow, I chuckled as I watched them agonize. This reminds me of a conversations that my nephew and I had with several other family members about empathy. Watch the clip and see what your reaction is.

Throw caution to the wind quilt 2007

One of my favourite pics of my nephew (left) and my husband 2012