At Home Retreat

Somehow, someway, this week is going to be a bit of a retreat. At least I hope it will be.

My SIL is here to sew, but so are two of my nieces and nephews. The four big kids are in camp, so The Garbage Truck is still home. He's getting into everything and being a teething, sucky, creature. I hope he'll let me sew. Fingers crossed.

On my list:
Slab quilts!!! (1630 slabs in my sewing room as of this moment.)
Finish my voile quilt top
Play with these colourful fabrics
Get that last hand stitching done on the binding of the anniversary beast.
Start a baby quilt

I predict only one or two things on that list will get tackled in between thrift store shopping, drinking gin and tonics after picking up the kids from camp, and that cuteness of a baby bothering me.

My SIL is hoping to get two baby quilts at least pieced. This is her fabric pull for the boy quilt. And, as I type, she is nearly done cutting things to make a shwack of half square triangles for the quilt.

Friday Favourite: Le Tour

(image from The Guardian)

Confession: I still watch The Tour De France and I still love it.

Yes, I know about all the doping and the disgrace of many of the sports' stars. Yes, I know that nearly every rider plays that same game. But I can't help myself. I get sucked in by those helicopter images, the frenzy of the crowds on the mountain stages, the banter between Paul Sherwen and Phil Liggeett, Bobke, and sheer strain on the cyclists. Doping or not, those guys are still working their muscular butts off.

I can also remember what quilts I was working on every year during Le Tour. Which ones I basted while we watched, which ones were under debate as the mountain stages loomed. Talk about memory by association!


So, every year, come July, my Hubby and I settle in for 21 nights to watch Le Tour. It's usually hot out so we drink beer and chat throughout the 3 or so hours we watch. It is about the only TV we agree on. And in July we probably talk about life more than at any other point in the year, because we are sitting together. I love it all.

Friday Favourite - Blueberry Park Wash Bag

Sitting in a hotel room this morning. I've worked out already, done a bit a work, and am packing up for two full days of teaching at the Superior Quilt Show. Needless to say, I am feeling quite productive! It's amazing how that is when there are no diapers to change, lunches to pack, or walks to school. But then there are no morning reading sessions, nekkid butts to pinch, and walks to school.

Small consolation on this trip is my new wash bag/toiletries bag from Blueberry Park. I've been following Karen, the artist, on Instagram and drooling over her screen prints. I adore the designs she uses. Then she was selling scrap bags... And well, to make the shipping totally worthwhile I added this bag to the order. It only made sense.

With a lot of travelling this year for teaching and the like it was time to upgrade from my standard black drugstore version of the toiletries bag. This one makes packing so much easier! Fits all my stuff - hair, teeth, skin, and my one tube of mascara - and is pretty to boot!

Karen has had a rough past week or so with the passing of her father. Send hugs, if you can.

Comfort Food at Breakfast (Recipe: Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce)

The past few weeks have been a blur of mediocre motherhood wrapped around work. I've been completely slammed with work - the work that is only supposed to be part-time and done around the kids' schedule. Um, yeah, no. Thank goodness for my husband's flexibility and support.

And frankly, thank goodness for good food. Even at my busiest I manage to get dinner on the table myself 95% of the time. That is what my freezer is for. Instead of saving food for when times are lean, I save food for when time is hard to find. And no matter what, I always start with a good breakfast. It seems cliche, but it really does help me get through. And the one day this week when I tried to edit patterns with nothing but tea in my belly I had a massive brain fart. Math plus an empty tummy equals mistakes.

Times like this also require comfort food. As much as I would love to live on chocolate and cookies washed down with a scotch, that isn't very nourishing. Nor is it good for my attempts to regain some health. Thankfully one of the most comforting things for me is this dish you see above: Eggs Poached in Tomato Sauce.

(Really, anything in tomato sauce for me is comforting. My husband may indeed be correct that I am the descendent of Italian gypsies because tomato sauce is something I could eat every single day. Every day.)

A small pot on the stove with sauce simmering greets both my son and I as the girls do their morning run around. He knows it, I know it; breakfast is coming.

To that sauce - about 1/3 cup per egg - I crack in some eggs. Usually two for me and one for him. A smack of the lid to close the pot, allowing some steam to cook the white around the yolk of the egg. It only takes a few minutes. Enough time to toast some bread or maybe cook some greens to eat on the side. I'll use whatever tomato sauce we have - something full of chopped veggies or the simplest tomato butter sauce. Farm eggs, whole grain bread. Good food.

After the girls leave he and I settle in for a warm breakfast. I like my eggs just a bit runny while he takes his firmly poached. We get tomato sauce on our lips and smile. And then, only then, can we tackle the challenges of the day.