Soundtrack to Summer

Gift for a drummer friend, pattern from Sublime Stiching

As our great city embarks on day three of a poorly timed heat wave (the garbage collectors, public, pool operators etc. are on strike) I thought it to be the perfect opportunity to present to you my Soundtrack to Summer!

All it takes is the opening bar from one of my past summer favorites to transport me right there again:
- "i don't want to miss a thing" - Aerosmith summer of 1998 - just broke up with my first serious highschool boyfriend, thought life would never be the same
- "I love you always forever" - Donna Lewis summer 1996 - first trip to Europe without my parents, first taste and buzz off white wine
- "Jump" - Pointer Sisters summer of 1984 - Jumping (obviously) with Sibling J from one couch to another in our basement - the challenge being to climb back up on the couch before they said "jump" again - good times.

Without further ado, here are my Soundtrack to Summer picks for 2009!


Pick #1: Pheonix - Wolfgang Amadeus Pheonix

If the song "1901" doesn't get you totally psyched for a great game of ultimate frisbee, to cruise the streets on your bike or walk with an awesome strut, then nothing will!
This album should be your soundtrack to kicking butt this summer and feeling awesome doing it.

Pick #2: Neko Case - Middle Cyclone

Nothing beats summer love - new for those who are looking or deeper for those who have someone already holding their heart - and this latest album from Neko is the soundtrack to do it to. These are songs for warm breezy days under a tree in the park, for slow strolling and holding hands.

Pick #3 - Grizzly Bear - Veckatimest

If you have not already spent some time listening to the gentleman of Grizzly Bear, this summer is the time to do it. Challenging, catchy and perfectly harmonized - this album is great for a hot day in the sun or a cozy rainy day tucked inside.

Pick #4 - Ohbijou - Beacons

This is a pick of mine for a few reasons:
a) Sibling J is in the band!
b) It was recorded at our family cottage
c) It is really, really great.
* The cd release part is tonight at the Opera House - come join us!

With the rate I am listening to these (about 4 times a day, on repeat) I may be ready for a new list by the time August rolls around! So please let me know - What is your soundtrack to summer?

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Father's Day

On this beautiful and sunny Sunday, Mr. S and I hosted the family to celebrate Papa J!

Growing up my Pa was granted a good family, at nice home and great life, but not a lot of frills - so he is the first to enjoy and marvel over good food, nice drink and a festive party - especially if it is in his honor!

My dad is a generous man who since his retirement has been making breakfast each morning and some outstanding dinners for my Ma each day - homemade salsas, baked fish, creme brule - you name it. Despite his wide palette for different foods, my dad is really a french fries and beer kinda man, so for father's day Mr. S and I embarked on a sort of "diner" themed luncheon!

Lunch was an array of roasted corn, homemade french fries, coleslaw, dill pickles, fresh rolls and a bbq'd beer chicken (Mr. S and I opted for some veggie sausages).

Following an idea from a tutorial on Bakerella I printed up wax paper to line the little baskets holding the food that read Happy Father's Day (Note: I printed the words in reverse so that the paper could be turned over in the baskets and the food would not touch the ink).

And to fulfill my dad's love and appreciation of a good brew, Mr.S put together a blind beer tasting for him to enjoy called "Hey Pops, Guess the Hops!" We left him 5 chances to match each sample to the write name, but his great palette prevailed and he got it right on the second try!

And to end what was a perfect afternoon of family laughter, story telling and fun, we laughed some more over vanilla cupcakes with butter cream icing (cupcake liners from Bake it Pretty!) and root beer floats.

At the end of the day everyone including Mr. S departed to their various activities and lives and I was left with my thoughts, a pile of dishes and a huge smile on my face - how great to celebrate a dad who is the very best with a family that is the very best.

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Somewhere over the Rainbows

A few weeks ago while attending a family birthday we pressed cake filled faces up to the window to watch a a wild thunderstorm - after which we were gifted with not one, but two rainbows.

The youngest speaking member of the family (there are two even younger but one no one can understand through his glee and slurred words and the other is pretty new) hypothesized it was a gift to her (it was her birthday after all) or a hello from our recently passed papa. The rest of us marveled at something no one had laid eyes on before and captured I would say close to 500 photos between the 12 of us. The family on this side can be totally under-described as shutter happy.

There are some things that from childhood on to forever never stop being amazing, and I would have to say that Rainbows are one of them.

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At the end of my street...

At the end of my street...

...there is a church whose foundation was laid in 1908


...whose steeple was not built until after World War One,


And who each celebrates their St. Helen with a parade on the second Sunday of June at 4pm - sharp!

Mr. S and I went to have a look prior to the start of the parade and what we thought was a carpet that had been laid - but were shocked to find that it is in fact a series of patterns perfectly laid out in different bright colours of saw dust.

The parade was a more somber event, which did not seem appropriate to take photos of. There were rows of the congregation handing out bakes goods, people dressed as angels and tall monuments of St. Helen adorned with flowers.

At the end of it all we strolled by the carpet of saw dust to see that the marchers had mixed all the patterns together, leaving just a few hints of the perfection it was just moments before.
There was a nice gentleman from the church leaning on a poll watching us inspect the remains. He was waiting for the street cleaner to come and sweep it all away - "if you like this" he said "the church down the street does one twice as wide"

I fall more and more in love with our neighborhood every day.

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Sewing for Babes

Saturday was spent making little things for a babe who is due to arrive in just a couple of weeks.

The dress was made from the same pattern by Made by Rae that I tried out a few weeks ago. The pattern was even easier this time around and came together quite quickly. There is one side seam where the piping fits in that I cannot figure out how to hide, but since our friends are making babies like crazy these days, I will have plenty of opportunities to get it just right!

Picking out the fabric for this with the help of the always wonderful Workroom ladies was a lot of fun. After much debate I decided on Ribbon Stripes by Moda for the skirt and the top is from Heather Ross's Far Far Away collection for Kokka - I would like to make a million more things out of this - it is lovely!
To add a personal touch, I was inspired (as always) by Karyn's idea and tutorial to type on fabric. Using this inspiration and my new typewriter I made a little tag for the dress with the quote "oh the places you'll go" from Dr. Seuss.

I also recently picked up the most recent Lotta Simple Sewing Book, this time for babies, from which I made matching bloomers for the dress and a snuggly wrap!

"Snuggler" Photo from Karyn at the Workroom

For the Snuggler I used one of my favorite fabrics with an Eiffel tower print for the outside, lined with a cozy fleece and detailed with my amateur embroidery mocking the stars in the fabric and a little tag quoting Shakespeare " O Sleep, O Sleep - Nature's Soft Nurse"

I cannot wait to meet this new little lady. If she is anything like her parents, she is going to be amazing
- oh the places she'll go.

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Fruits of our Labour

This weekend Mr. S and I plucked two tiny and perfectly succulent strawberries from our garden. If this is all our little bears this summer it would be deemed a success - delicious!

Fortunately for us it seems there are a few more of these sweet beauties starting to ripen, so as long as our active and always hungry squirrels do not take a taste, it looks like Mr. S and I have a few more delicious moments in our future.

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Moments

My eyes see things in moments - calm, chaos, joy, clutter
This picture is a moment I captured on my way out the door this morning - total bliss.

Happy Friday.

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À bientôt

3 and a half years ago I enrolled in a Masters Program at Ryerson ultimately as a way to stall the process of growing up and getting a "real" job.

While I have yet to really apply the learning I did during my time there and would by no means chat your ear off about about my educational experience...I was gifted with the opportunity to meet one of the nicest, most genuine and interesting people around and her equally charming husband.

These two are the kind of friends who are truly open to any experience and will always find the good and exciting in anything they do. They are thoughtful, thought provoking and make me giggle until it hurts.

Sadly for us, the job market here in Toronto did not gift these lovelies with the jobs they deserve, so last Saturday they flew home to Regina, where I am sure they were welcomed with big wide open arms from family who missed them the last few years as we will miss them now.
To celebrate their return home, new adventures and the good times we shared, Mr. S and I hosted a "See you Soon" dinner for them last week.

Every time we see these friends they always have a new place they have found or new experience they have enjoyed that Mr. S and I were totally unaware of. So as a way to absorb as much of these two as possible before they took off, Mr. S and I wrote up some questions for them to answer during dinner - "What is your... favourite intersection? ideal day? etc."
It was so good to hear their take on the past few years in Toronto and of course, their stories made me giggle until it hurt.

By the end of the evening my eyelids weighed heavy and my heart a little heavier as we said good bye. So lucky are we to have great friends to miss and now a reason to visit Regina, where we are already working on plans for a house boating adventure!

À bientôt EB and Jeff.

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