A Home-Cooked Celebration

Instead of going out to dinner, buy good food. Cooking at home shows such affection.

Ina Garten, the "Barefoot Contessa"

My brother and sister-in-law cooked up a lovely meal this evening to celebrate my birthday. I enjoy going out to restaurants but it is a wonderful feeling to sit back and appreciate family gathered comfortably around the table relishing a home-cooked meal and conversation.

Dolled Up

A girl should be two things: classy and fabulous.

Coco Chanel, French fashion designer (1883 – 1971)

I received this touching photo today taken during a fabulous 90th birthday event last weekend that had guests dressed in 1920s flare. It's so much fun having an opportunity to get dolled up and blow bubbles!

I'm Back

The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat.

Jules Reynard, French author (1864–1910)

And it was a wonderful vacation!

Ford, Farm and Friends

Friends and quilts are great
No matter how they are put together.

Unknown

I had a wonderful vacation with friends at their farm set among the rolling hills of central Alberta. I brought along a quilt that I had made. The small 'windows', framed by barn-board fencing fabric, contain chickens, cows, horses, pigs, and a house that is strikingly similar to their home.

I spotted the Ford and barn panel at a stitchery show two years ago and knew immediately who would enjoy it. (His truck is a GMC not a Ford, but he'll forgive me.) I hadn't worked on it since things like a job and home renovations filled my spare time so when the opportunity arose to visit the farm, I  worked a little frantically to complete the project with help from Mom, who stepped in to sew the binding. May it bring warmth and comfort for years to come.

Exhaling

Smile, breathe and go slowly.

Thích Nhất Hạnh, Vietnamese Zen Buddhist monk, poet and peace activist

As I sat waiting for the departure of my night train, I was astounded to look outside the window and read the message, "Remember to breathe", emblazoned across an iconic image of an Alberta landscape. Here was a moment of synchronicity when unrelated events are meaningfully related: I have not seen these wrapping advertisements on wheels until this ride home at the end of a workday that marked the beginning of my vacation . . . in Alberta. I have been longing for Alberta's wide open spaces and big skies that stretch one's spirit from one horizon to the other. Looking out the window, I let out a deep sigh. As Carla Melucci Ardito writes, "Learn how to exhale, the inhale will take care of itself."

Gifting Roses

The fragrance always remains in the hand that gives the rose.

Chinese proverb

A dear neighbour shared with me her tea set and memories of her late husband nurturing fragrant roses in their garden. I look forward to hosting afternoon teas with, perhaps, a small posy on the table to accompany the lovely china set.

Creativity in a Barrel

The chief enemy of creativity is good sense.

Pablo Picasso, Spanish artist (1881-1973)

On today's road trip in search of the perfect sofa (a successful one, I should add), Mom and I admired people's creativity with their flower potting. First we spotted a bright yellow bicycle in the midst of green shrubbery with a sunny bouquet standing tall in its basket. A few miles along, scarlet begonias overflowed from an old wheelbarrow. Later, stopping at a roadside diner for lunch, we found a very creative way to recycle old wringer-washing machines as planters. Who would have thought!

It was a cheery sight made all the more joyful because I can remember "helping" my mom with the laundry beside a similar machine when I could only just peek over the top of the barrel at the swishing, sudsy water. My job was to "catch" the clothes as they descended from the wringer and to make sure that they landed in the laundry basket rather than on the floor. I probably only "helped" once or twice, but those times are inscribed among the leaves of my memory.