This is the Catholic soup kitchen where I lived for nearly 2 years in downtown Montreal. I look forward to visiting it again when we drive through. The French name is La Maison du Benoit Labre. 300 Young St. I remember getting garbage bags full of old doughnuts from a local shop. We would line a table with trays, then dump out the donuts so the table was a mountain. All the volunteers and resident students would have first pick from the squishy, writhing mass. Then we'd let in the clientele and they would rush to get their favorite, then get a hot cup of tea, and relax at a table. On the weekend I was waitress as we served 3 shifts of 45 a full course meal. I lived on the top floor - one of the gables you see on the top of the building was my room. The 2nd floor had a clothing room where anyone could get a change of clothes for free. It looked like a drycleaner's - you'd walk up to the counter, tell your size, and be handed a suit. I have many fond memories of this little soup kitchen, it was my favorite place to live in Montreal.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Cisco at night
Cookies For Breakfast
Saturday Literati with my sis
Friday, June 26, 2009
Ro Working Hard
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Embroidery Sampler
This is my latest carpool project, a friendship sampler done in french-knot embroidery (kinda a punch-needle look, or hooked rug) and cross-stitch. It will read "Love is Kind". Doing the research on this revealed that many young girls did samplers as alphabet lessons when they were only 6. I am going to assemble two small kits for J&E to finish while on our road trip.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Finished! Knitted Beaded Purse.
My first project using the knitting loom. This bag has already been gifted. I'm definitely bringing the knitting loom on our long trip!
I used wooden beads to weight it down, a dragonfly button, and the inside is lined with crushed velvet.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Worst Smoothie Ever!
I had a "Orange-Mango-Banana" Vivanno Smoothie from the Barnes and Noble bookstore cafe, and it was awful! I don't know what, exactly was wrong, except it was bland, not too cold, a bit chalky, and I just couldn't choke it down. After bringing it home it lurked on the living room table for a while, staring at me from across the room. Most expensive compost additive ever.
E's Pokemon
Monday, June 15, 2009
First Photo of Summer Vacation
J&E are enjoying the little sandbox at Auntie Linh & Uncle Giovanni's house in ABQ.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Jean repair - adding belt loops
To add the loops I cut a seam from another pair of worn-out jeans into short segments. I then sewed 6 loops on around the waist using a size 14 sewing machine needle and whatever color thread was in the machine (pink, it turned out). Voila! E can now wear her new jeans.
My next Beading project
Friday, June 12, 2009
The funniest diary you'll ever read
Two thumb's up from both J&E is the "Diary of a Wimpy Kid" series. As a testament to how compellimg this trilogy is (red, blue, and green), when we saw the hardcover for sale at Costco, we bought it. I can't remember the last hardcover I couldn't wait for mass market paperback. The cute vector drawings and gut-busting humor combine for a rollicking good time of juvenile fiction.
Thursday, June 11, 2009
At the front gate
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
We love Poog and Pokemon!
J&E here are showing off two of their favorite series at our local library. We finished all of the Akiko books sometime last year, and all 3 of us agree that Poog (the little, quiet, floating alien) is our favorite character. Or is it the little robot Gax? In any case, the space adventures of Akiko and her friends will keep tour 6-9 year olds laughing and wanting "just one more chapter!" before bed. E is showing a Pokemon video, which everyone knows is a favorite of 1st-3rd graders around the globe. No. I don't know which Pokemon is shown on the cover. E does though! Treeturtlesauromon? ;)
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Thank you Daddy!
Recent Read-Aloud: The Time Travelers
After reading this novel outloud to J&E a couple months ago (a tale of two children who are swept acidentally back to 1763 by an anti-gravity machine), it was funy to see their brains spin over the implications of time travel. "If we travel back in time and change history...we might be orphans!" was E's revelation. Hmmm...
Tractor Fun
Monday, June 8, 2009
Camping Popup Card at Borders
Sun Tea
Always a treat for the helpers and volunteers at Love Apple Farm is a nice big jar of sun tea.
Knitting Hoop
E has taken an interest in knitting, so she got a knitting loom for her birthday. "Can I bring my knitting on our road trip?" Of course!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Shade Garden at Love Apple Farm
Saturday, June 6, 2009
My Kid's Favorite Graphic Novel: "Amulet"
Bumming around at Borders
Friday, June 5, 2009
E's first stuffed toy
E and I made some stuffed bunnies a while back. I let her embroider the details and you can see she did an awesome job. What bunny girl isn't complete without earrings? Two safety pins did the job. E is very resourceful! We used a pattern from a book called Plush You!: Lovable Misfit Toys to Sew and Stuff, this is adapted from the Woolly Hoodwink pattern.
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Thank you Jason!
Thursday, June 4, 2009
11 Years!
This week T and I celebrated our 11 year anniversary. I have this little sampler on my desk I made on our honeymoon - a 10k mile drive from New York to BC to ABQ. It's cross-stitch, petit-point, embroidery and tatting. I still feel slightly nauseous when I think of the hours of car-sickness I endured...
The two dates are our NYC wedding on June 1, and the BC wedding (with family) on July 19.
I missed a spot. Can you find the missing stitch?
Marble Wall at Maker Faire
Last weekend we had a blast at the Maker Faire - an expo of all kinds of tinkering types from science exhibits to metal workers, craftspeople, creative mechanical recyclers, organic farming, and "DIY" of every sort. Here E is playing with the marble drop wall set up by San Francisco's Exploratorium.
Ready for a Game of Gin
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
A Little Dulcimer Before School
Double Mocha Frapp Straight Up!
Beading on the go
One of my main considerations for my 6-week roadtrip is, "which crafts to take?" Rug hooking will have to wait. Portability-wise, I find beading can't be beat. Here you see a small beaded lace choker I'm working on while carpooling with my hubby to work. In addition to my fishing tackle box full of beads, I'll be bringing some general sewing supplies (mending etc) and some embroidery & quilt fabric. I also haven't tatted in a while, so I might toss my tatting shutles into the bead box too!