(not) As Crafty As I Want To Be

I never really considered myself super crafty, but as time goes on, the things I have made on my own increase in number. As a kid, growing up, I had to take home ec. and learn how to sew, but I was never really good at it. The clothes I made in high school were seldom worn, and quite ugly. I was not adept at picking out fabric that would make a nice looking (insert article of clothing). I remember I made a blue (bright blue) and white striped sweatshirt. I wore it only a couple of times. This was before I was aware of World Cup soccer, and cheering for Argentina was cool. Hmmm, maybe I can use that as my excuse if people ever call me on it :).

I tried knitting too, but I used to have so much tension, I couldn't get the needles under the yarn, and I would have lots of holes. Flash forward to my years in Chapleau, and I needed to take up a "hobby". I knit a couple of blankets and a sweater for my best friend, and another for her baby. I made umpteen hats and scarves. Nice enough that they were bid on in the school bazaar. I have let knitting fall to the wayside, again, but now I am into sewing.

Currently, my issue with doing crafts, and sewing is that I rarely have time to myself to start a project, let alone finish one. Last year, I had to make myself a gypsy dance outfit. I was able to get out and work at my friend's place (plus I was pregnant, so only had one little munchkin to "distract" me). Now, if I want to do any sewing, I need to make my husband aware that I am not to be disturbed and I close the door. My two year old daughter likes to play with my sewing machine (and pins, and needles and scissors). It is not conducive to completing a sewing project.

If I do decide to start a craft project, I basically have to finish it as soon as possible, or it will never get finished. Case in point: I have been working on a quilt for my son for six or seven months now. I just never get enough time to do any work on it. I will buy fabric, and it will sit in my craft room for months (or over a year) before I decide to do something with it.

Amazingly, I managed to make a window treatment for my daughter's room in one day! I found a super easy pattern for a tie up curtain, and I managed to start and finish it (almost) in about 6 hours. It would help if I read the instructions thoroughly before I started sewing. The project might have taken even less time. I am quite impressed with how it turned out. I hope it will go with the new paint job we are planning for her room. Here's the link, in case you want to try these curtains. http://sew4home.com/projects/window-treatments/84-ribbon-tie-fold-up-shades

Now, I say I almost finished because the original window treatment was attached with hooks, and I needed to put grommets into my curtains. I bought the grommets, but I didn't put them in for another two weeks. Plus, because the hooks are so narrow, there was a risk they would tear through the fabric. I had to buy a quarter round to have it rest on the hooks, and support the weight of the fabric. The curtains are heavy duty cotton, plus black out material, quite heavy.

Other "crafty" projects I am proud of are my jewelry (which I got into because of Julie and Danielle at Mimi and Lulu's. How I miss their shop! It was so great when it was down the road from me). I was able to make quite a few necklaces and bracelets because I only had my daughter, and she was still napping in the afternoons. I was never into making jewelry, but after a couple of workshops, I was hooked.

I also made some felt stockings. The first one was for my daughter. I made this at Mimi and Lulu's too. Then, a couple of years later, I made stockings for the rest of the family. I was supposed to make them the year before, but morning sickness prevented me from finding my scissors, and the project was put on the back burner. Yes, you read that correctly. I couldn't find my scissors, and I blame my morning sickness from making me not think clearly. They ended up being in my knitting bag. I found them when I started another knitting project, a few months later.

Oh Baby - BlogDetail, leila blog ecomommy

I came across this blog from one of the contributors to Oh Baby magazine. It talks about how the active ingredient in sunscreen is a hormone disruptor. It is interesting because, I have not been putting sunscreen on my children. I try to keep them in the shade, or we don't go outside in the peak hours of the day. Using sunscreen prevents our bodies from making Vitamin D. We are already having issues with Vitamin D deficiency in the winter, could we end up having it in the summer too. I often wonder what goes into the sunscreens to block the UV rays. I know skin cancer is a definite concern, but we need to be cautious of our exposure to chemicals as well as our exposure to the sun. People were living outside and working outside long before we came up with chemicals to "protect" us.
Oh Baby - BlogDetail, leila blog ecomommy

Grow Great Grub

When we left Chapleau and moved back to the Sudbury area there were two things I really wanted when I had my own house. I wanted a barbecue, and I wanted a clothesline. I know this does not sound ambitious, but after years of living in apartments or townhouses with no yards, I was looking forward to having a space to barbecue and somewhere to hang my clothes out to dry in the spring and summer.

We got the barbecue (almost a year after we moved), and my clothesline is a rope tied between two fence posts. Oh well. Not ideal, but it works.

With the house, came the yard. Our "lawn" is awful. The nicest grass is right beside the house or the driveway. The rest of the yard is full of dandelions (early spring), then hawkweed and clover. The hawkweed looks okay when the pretty, little yellow flowers are out, but once they go to seed, it looks horrible. We need to remove all the vegetation and put sod down if we want to have a nice, grassy lawn (like my neighbour...last year, everyone kept asking it was real, it was so uniform and weed free...hmmm, lawn envy).

My least favourite thing about my yard was the lack of plants. There were no flowerbeds, at all. I dug one up in the front and planted a bunch of bulbs. It actually looks really nice in the spring because all the crocuses come out, then the daffodils and then the tulips. I acquired some irises from my mom a couple of years ago, but they don't look great (despite being my favourite flower). After they are done, my front bed is just full of green: old tulips, irises and daffodils, green sedum, green hostas ( a couple variegated). Somewhere under all the green, I have two little lavender plants, but they hardly have a chance.

In the back, I had originally dug up two plots by the fence. (I have no idea why I though two separate bed would look better than one long one.) My mom dug up the sod in between the two to make one long bed. It looks much better. I actually tried to buy perennial plants that would flower throughout the summer, and I think I sort of succeeded. Then, I randomly would plant some tomatoes in the open spaces, or a few pea plants by the fence, so I can have a "vegetable garden" too.

I am a wishful gardener. I wish I could garden. My mom is a great gardener, but I never did much with her when I was younger. When they moved from Manitoba to Ontario, they didn't buy a new house, they bought a new garden. Her yard is gorgeous. I got married in my parents' backyard because it is so beautiful. I do not have a yard like this.

I often wish I could grow vegetables, but I thought this meant setting aside some land in the back where I would have an in ground place to plant fruits and veggies. Then, I came across this wonderful book called, Grow Great Grub, by Gayla Trail. http://www.growgreatgrub.com/ I am still a wishful gardener, but after reading her book, I feel I can have part of my garden in containers, and it won't be that bad.

Like I said, I will often plant a few peas or tomatoes in my flower bed. This year, I have also got some herbs in pots. I sowed some lettuce (mesclun mix) and basil in some big pots. Last year, the weather was just too cold, and my multiple tomato plants yielded so few fruit. I only have two plants this year, but I am hoping the weather will be more favourable, and I might end up with more fruit.

I bought a bunch of herbs at the end of last summer, but they all died in my house over the winter. I read through the book, and will try to use some of the tips to see if I can actually over winter these plants in my home until next spring. We shall see how that goes!

If you have been reluctant about trying your hand at growing your own food, check out this book. I borrowed it from the library. Even if you don't end up growing anything, it is still a nice read. It has beautiful photos, and some recipes for using the food you might end up growing. I really like that it is written by a Canadian, although the information is not specific to any geographic region.

Another great book (but more specific to pregnant women, or parents with new babies) is called Sprout Right, by Lianne Phillipson-Webb http://www.sproutright.com/. If you are interested in organic, natural recipes for you, your baby or your toddler, this is the book for you. Lots of great information about nutrition and quite empowering if you have been struggling with breastfeeding or your child has weight "issues".

Food Revolutions

I love Jamie Oliver. Seriously. I have been a fan of his since the Naked Chef. He was pretty much my last celebrity crush because I met my husband the following year. My husband actually does the "fake" jealousy when I am watching or reading Jamie. "Why don't you marry him instead?" Ah, I would if I could. Just kidding. I really, truly love my husband. But Jamie ... sigh :).

That being said, it makes me sad Jamie Oliver has to teach us how to cook, and eat. What has happened to our society? I assumed most people knew how to make a meal for themselves, from fresh ingredients. I thought most people bought veggies and fruit. When did dinner end up being in front of the TV with a plastic tray?

In my home, growing up, we never had a TV near the kitchen. The only time we ate supper in front of the TV was when dad was away. We would usually have the stereo on. My parents were huge CBC fans. Generally, we would have "mood" music playing in the background while we ate. We always ate supper together, at the kitchen table, even on days when I had gymnastics or piano, or my brother had some activity.

My mom was born in Trinidad, raised in England, and moved to Canada in her 20s. She loves to cook and bake. She would seek out people of different nationalities and learn their specialities. She learned dishes from my Oma (her mother in law). My mom makes an awesome spanokopita (Greek spinach, feta and phyllo pie) and her koenigsberger klopse (German meatballs in white sauce with capers) are a hit with my niece and nephew. She actually doesn't make much food from Trinidad, but she has always makes good, wholesome food with fresh ingredients.

She taught me how to cook. I honestly don't remember her teaching me, but I was always cooking with her. We had a "Cookies for Kids" cookbook we used often. I remember flipping through her old Joy of Cooking, and her Betty Crocker cookbook from the 60s. In high school, she bought my brother and I cookbooks for Christmas one year. We had to pick a night when we would be in charge of dinner. It is a lot of work to come up with interesting meals every night of the week, so my mom recruited us.

Our family meals were simple, but they always included some vegetable (something green or orange: usually broccoli or carrots, but sometimes asparagus or beans), meat and often rice (potatoes were not as common on our plates). We would make our own pizzas from scratch. Very rarely would be have something premade for dinner. If my parents were away for the evening, my brother and I might have Swanson's meat pies.

We almost always had brown bread in the house. The sweetest cereal we ate was Honey Nut Cheerios. We rarely had pop in the house. I actually didn't like it much because I would get those pop burps. You know, the ones that go up your nose! Chips were only available when we had company.

My mom instilled in me some wonderful values and habits. I kept these habits when I moved out. Although I often would make a one pot wonder for supper, (when you are cooking for one, it is easier to put everything together in one pot), I used fresh ingredients. I had one roommate who thought I was a vegetarian because I bought veggies. I bought meat too, but he never bought veggies, so thought I must be a vegetarian.

I love cooking. I love cooking for others. I feel a sense of pride when I can make a meal for my friends and see the pleasure on their faces when they try something new, and tasty. I have made eggplant haters love my eggplant Parmesan. Almost everyone I met while I was in university got to try my spicy chickpea recipe. I haven't made that in ages...hmmm, maybe I should make some tomorrow.

I made a soufflé for my mom's birthday this year. First time ever, and it turned out! Baked cheesecake! I spent a summer making cheesecakes with my best friend. I am amazed we didn't pack on the pounds. Good thing we'd taken up rowing that year!

Food is so great! Making your own food is incredible. I used to read cookbooks while I was eating (this was when I lived alone, or with roommates, and we never ate together). I love watching the food network. If I spend enough time watching it, I will eventually find a recipe I want to try. Usually they turn out. My favourite magazine, by far, is the LCBO's Food and Drink magazine. Many of my go to recipes are from those magazines.

I have never dieted, but I have always tried to cook with quality ingredients. Use the good stuff, but everything in moderation. We always have a little dessert. Diets don't work, but watching what you eat does. Eat colourful food. Eat fresh food. Eat real food. Eat good food.

I know my children will grow up with a healthy attitude towards eating and cooking. My mom taught me how to cook wholesome food, and I will teach my children. Somewhere along the way, there was a breakdown in this system for a lot of families. I hope they can find their way back, and we can start to take the focus off unhealthy eating habits, and get back to enjoying being in the kitchen.