Gandalf returns

Gandalf returns. It sounds like a fourth book for The Lord of the Rings, but it's not. Gandalf returns is simply the happy truth I find myself in today. After nearly two years gone and more than a year and a half since we last laid eyes on each other, tonight we were reunited. This picture may seem rather ordinary, but that's Gandalf sitting in my lap. And for me, after all this time, that makes it extraordinary.


Technically, Gandalf arrived yesterday but she was so traumatized by the long flight and two car rides that I didn't stay long. She was very apprehensive and flighty. I gave her some space to settle in. Tonight I went over to visit. (Gandalf is staying with my good friends Doris & Dave until Mom and Dad arrive to move into their new place.) When I arrived, I headed down into the basement and called out to her. Gandalf instantly appeared.

I wondered if she would remember me but as soon as I picked her up she started rubbing our faces together and I soon realized I had not been forgotten.



We stood there for a while, reacquainting ourselves. I tried to get some pics but have you ever tried to work a camera with an enthusiastic cat in the other hand? I quickly gave up on that and focused on the feline love frenzy instead. I think it's safe to say she was pleased to see me.

I sat down with a book and within moments she was back in my lap as if no time had passed at all. Her fur is still warm silk beneath my fingers and before long I could hear the gentle thunder of her purring. I may have purred a little myself. We sat and I read. Gandalf was never out of my sight, never strayed more than a few inches away. Even when she moved to the arm of the chair, she left a paw resting on my leg. Just in case I got any ideas about leaving.
Eventually I did need to go home and under much protest made my escape. Don't worry little one, I'll be back. In the meantime you're being well taken care of and before you know it the moving truck will have come and gone and we can get you settled back in with Mom and Dad. Welcome home my little Fleeg. I missed you too.

best cities to be single

The US Census has created a list that reveals the best cities in the US for singles of either sex. I'm thinking road trip?I like the comment one other blogger made, "San Francisco: 65,000 more single men that women. It’s possible there’s a little more going on than the census reveals in that stat."

I wonder if there's a Canadian version of this somwhere?

custodial

After almost two years, I get Gandalf back on Thursday. I went into Petsmart today to kit her out and realized all of the things I have carefully closeted away in her absence. I have not, not once, stepped foot in a pet store and the scent of it as soon as I walked in the door was both wonderfully and horribly familiar. As I walked the aisles, it hit me: I get to go back. I get to be one of them again. Smiling, I rolled words around my mouth that I have not uttered, even in a whisper, since she left. Her name, and her pet names. Silly things that used to make me smile. I lifted them carefully from the places where I had stored them. I peeled back the tissue paper of dusty memories and held them in my hands. I said, "hello".

Gandalf won't be living with me -- I still have a landlord who is violently, deathly, allergic to cats. She will continue to live with my parents, but they are moving to Chilliwack next week. And in their benevolence, they have decided to bring her with them. As I was driving home tonight with a trunk full of cat paraphernalia and my first ever guilt purchase -- a fur-lined cat bed -- sitting on the seat beside me I had a moment of insight. What on earth must it be like to be a non-custodial parent?

I remember the day I realized that Gandalf could not come with me. In a fit of melodrama I lay face down on my bed and cried my eyes out. And she is only a cat. True she's my cat, and I do love her, but she is only a cat. She's not a person. Dear God in heaven, what must it be like to put your child on a plane and send them to the other parent? Do they have places they cannot go because it hurts too much? Do they have a whole vocabulary that gets stored away until the blessed day when they are custodial once again? Sending a cat away is only the barest shadow of what it must feel like to live without a child. I said a prayer tonight for all the parents, thousands of them, who have to live in half a world, with half a heart while the beating half of it lives away from them. I wish that no one ever had to know what that feels like.

Custodial is such a wonderful word. And come Thursday I can say two more delicious words, "welcome home".

congratulations Amanda!

This weekend Amanda became a high school graduate. I was so honored to get to be in the room at watch it happen. I was one proud Auntie (and not one of the Moms as the man beside me asked...). There were some great speeches (unusual for a grad) and then a lot of walking across the stage and collecting of diplomas. All in all it was a great celebration. Congratulations Amanda and rest of the class of '09.

It is impossible to speak of graduation without including a quote or two, so here you go:

“The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.” J. Pierpont Morgan

and these lines, from one of my all time favorite poems, Autumn Journal:

Sleep to the sound of running water tomorrow will be cross, however deep.
Tonight we sleep on the banks of the Rubicon.
There will be time to audit the accounts later.
There will be sunshine later
And the equation will come out at last. ~ Louis MacNiece

belated birthday blog

This post is a few days late, but I arrived on the scene almost three weeks late way back when (sorry Mom!) so maybe my lack of timeliness is appropriate. (Maybe it's just habit now?) I had a great birthday. It always catches me a little off guard to learn that I'm a year older. You'd think I would have gotten used to that by now. But I don't mind getting older. I wouldn't trade what I know now to go back to being younger. Ignorance is too high a price to pay for youth.

Because the 27th was a Wednesday I got to work from home on my birthday. It's not quite as good as having the foresight to take the day off, but I make great coffee when I'm at home, and a truly great cup of the good stuff sands off a lot of edges. Right around lunch time I got a very unexpected gift. There is a book I've been looking for, for almost half my life and on May 27th, 2009 I found it. Back in high school, grade 10 or 11, my friend Freya gave me a copy of The Shell Seekers, which is still my all time favorite story. Laced throughout the novel are extended quotes from Louis MacNiece's epic poem, Autumn Journal. I absolutely fell in love with it. There have been times in my life when lines from that poem held me together. (And I know that will make no sense at all for the non-poetry-lovers among you, but trust me. Sometimes when your heart is breaking or the world threatens to tip off its axis the perfect line of poetry becomes the only air you can breathe.)

I have looked for Autumn Journal in every bookstore I have ever stepped foot in. I have hunted it at every garage sale, in every used book store. I have scoured eBay for it, I have run rampant all over the web and I've never been able to find it. Until May 27th. While searching online for another book altogether I came across an online book seller I had not seen before. As always, I did a search for Autumn Journal with no expectations whatsoever. Imagine my surprise when my search turned up one result. There, in a little bookstore in Illinois, was a single copy of Autumn Journal. Needless to say I proceeded directly to PayPal and one day in the next two weeks I will finally hold in my hands the book that has had a hold on me for so many years. When it arrives, I will be taking it to the beach to read. It just seems fitting to take it to the place I go to commune. I'll make the coffee.

After work I headed over to Gord & Shannon's where a feast awaited. There was steak on the grill and twice baked potatoes in the oven, grilled veggies and fresh, cheesy garlic bread. Shannon is an amazing cook and I was very happy birthday girl!

After the feast, there was cake. Cause, really, what's a birthday without cake? Also, I like cake. So that worked out well. Kendra is gifted in the making of cakes and this year's did not disappoint. Vanilla cake, layered with pudding and strawberries and topped with whipped cream and chocolate dipped strawberries? Happy birthday to me.
Fortunately, there were several of us to eat all that yumminess. Coli was happy to get in on the cake action.

Tucked in my birthday present from Amanda was a ribbon that read "Kiss me it's my birthday!"


As you can see, it worked.


I got a chance to talk to my parents (who will be here in person for next year's celebration, I can hardly believe it. Mom -- you and me are going to the Empress for tea!) Later in the day I talked to Dave & Janie. Dave made my day by telling me that all day Corrina had been asking, "When are we going to Auntie Claire's house for her birthday?" (That drip drip driping sound you hear is my heart melting.) Dave told me that Corrina had made me a card and the next day it showed up in the mail. You know it's going to be a spectacular card when it comes with a warning label:


Corrina got some help form her Dad cutting out the pieces but pasted it all together herself. I think it's fantastic and can't wait to Skype her and say so in person. Or close to it.
Inside she drew me a picture which I'm told is a Mommy lion and a baby lion. Her Dad did the interpretation and he would know about these things. He's quite the artist himself. The glitter, as promised, was plentiful. I think I sparkled all night.



And Corrina, this is photo is to show you that the bracelet you made me fit perfectly, thank you! It is ridiculously hard to photograph something on your own wrist, but hopefully this does it justice. I just might have to wear it to work one day this week :)
I think going to Disneyland for my 30th birthday three years back was a truly stellar idea. So far this whole thirties thing has been going well. I wonder what will happen this year?

Oh, and Mom, you asked me to take a birthday picture, so here you go. See you in THREE WEEKS!!!!!!!!

twilight and long stories

UPDATED: For the perfect musical accompaniment for this post, load up "Where the Road Meets the Sun" [link will open in a new window] on YouTube, also available for purchase on iTunes. And yes, this is the song featured in the Grey's Anatomy season finale. Such perfect lyrics "I don't know whether we'll end up together, but I always know that our love is true." As you were...

Shel Silverstein wrote many poems, one of which, aptly named "Invitation" has long been favorite of mine. He writes:

If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer ...
If you're a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

Doesn't it sound like something magical is just about to happen? Whenever I think of this poem and of stories and campfires in general, I can't help but hope that the tales he is spinning will be long ones.

I love long stories.

I love to read long stories and I have a habit of telling long stories (I'm working on that). There is something truly delicious about stumbling upon a new world that's wrapped up a tale that lets you hang out there for a while. Reading a good book is like dreaming with your eyes open and like a truly great dream, it's wonderful when you don't have to wake up right away. I love an author who lets me linger.

On the recommendation of a fellow book lover, I recently dove into the Twilight saga. Yes, I know it's a vampire love story written for teenagers, I never claimed it was high art. But it is a well written and delicious diversion. And it is a looong story. Like eating a warm brownie when you know should eat broccoli, this isn't stuff you can live on, but it makes for a great weekend. Today I finished book four, and after 2379 pages it's time to say goodbye to Bella and Edward, Carlisle and Esme, Emmet, Rosalie, Jasper and Alice. I feel a little bereft.

There are rumors of a possible book five. Stephanie Meyer was working on a concept piece when it was leaked online and in protest she lay down her pen. The partial manuscript is on her site and I'm still debating if I'll read it or not. It seems unlikely to get picked up again, so if the rough draft is all there is I probably wont be able to resist. I can help wishing that there was more.

I'm not sure what it is about these books that has so captured people's imagination. (They were insanely popular long before Robert Pattinson embodied Edward in the movie version and set a generation of teen girls on fire.) At its core it is Romeo and Juliet -- the classic lovers who cannot be together. But while I get annoyed with Romeo (every time I see that play live I want to scream at him "she's not dead!!" even as I am also secretly hoping that this time it will all work out) Edward and Bella do a pretty decent job of figuring out just what this love will cost them and whether or not that is a price either can afford to allow the other to pay. They are surprising adult in their rationality (I supposed it helps to be over a 100 years old) and at the same time, surprising chaste in their love. Meyer puts some lovely devices in place and does and admirable job of sticking to her own rules even when they inconvenience the plot.

So here I am at the end of another satisfyingly long story. I loved what Meyer did with the story. I suppose if I get really lonely for the raining world of Forks, Washington I can always go back to the beginning and read it again. Committing to a long story is a bit like falling in love, you know going in that there's a decent chance you'll get your heart broken. The trick is in discerning when it's going to be worth it.

G.K. Chesterton wrote, "Fairy tales don't tell kids that dragons exist, they already know that. Fairy tales tell kids that dragons can be killed." Sometimes grown-ups need to be reminded of that too.

magic hanging baskets

It's May long week-end, which on this coast of the country means that gardening season has officially begun. If you headed out to your favorite greenhouse to pick up a hanging basket too, try this easy trick to instantly make your basket appear bigger, fuller and yes, even more beautiful. This process involves no harsh chemicals or dubious horticultural practices. It cost just 98¢ at my local greenhouse.

All you need to do is adjust the height of your basket. Most of us use the same hook year after year and pay little attention to where the plant ends up. But unless you either a) use a very long hook or b) have a very low deck the result is a basket that's hung too high. Instead of gazing at your beautiful fuchsias, your eyes are stuck staring at the plastic bucket they were planted in.

It's exactly the same principle as hanging art in your house. All too often art is hung too high for the eyes to easily see. Remember the rule galleries use the world over: gallery height puts the center of the painting 57" up from the floor which is the average human eye level. This makes it easy for your eyes to go right to the most important part first, in this case, the flowers.

Take a look at the pictures below. It's exactly the same basket in both shots, taken from the same perspective on my patio. In the photo on the left, the basket hangs from just the hook in the deck and appears small, almost swallowed up by the cedar basket. In the photo on the right I've added a 1 foot s-hook, my 98¢ purchase from the greenhouse. Now you can see much more of the plants. The fuchsias appear larger and fuller and once the blossoms open, they're going to be spectacular.

Obviously, if your baskets are in a high traffic area then safety concerns will limit how low your basket can go, however it's rare to find a basket people actually walk under. Take a look at your own hanging baskets. You might find that a simple s-hook can make a world of difference.

blankets & books

Earlier this week I was thrilled to see photos of Kai on the quilt that I made for him. It certainly takes a looong time for packages to get to Australia.

I picked out the fabrics for this quilt shortly after I heard that Kai was on the way. I figured the greens, blues & browns would work for a boy or a girl. Seeing Kai on the blanket now, it seems appropriately boy-ish. I absolutely love this pattern because it is SOO easy to sew. It's called Yellow Brick Road and if you've ever wanted a beginner's pattern to try, I definitely recommend this one. I made it once before, in pink:

As long as you can cut straight and sew a straight line, you can't go too far wrong with Yellow Brick Road. The last time I made the pattern I did it square, this time around I made it as a rectangle which made it a little harder to cram into my little sewing machine.

Being an old pro at this now, I decided to make this quilt one of the thinner style and quilt down each individual square. There is a name for this type or style of quilt. I have no idea what it is. The result is a blanket that can stand up to all kinds of wear and tear and with the slightly larger size, I have visions of a four or five year old Kai cuddling under it while watching Saturday morning cartoons.

One extra piece of equipment that I bought this time around which turned out to be indispensable was a 1/4" quilt foot. Most quilt patterns call for 1/4" seem allowances, smaller than the 5/8" that is used for dressmaking and so clearly marked on most machines. This little $15 foot made it so much easier to sew a straight 1/4" that I will never attempt quilting without it again. As Thomas would say, it is "a very useful engine".


And now, on to the book. If any of you follow MckMama's blog then you're familiar with the story of her youngest son, Stellan. Stellan has a heart condition and his parents were told during pregnancy that he would not survive. God had other plans.

As thousands of people around the world started praying that Stellan would live his Mom asked people to take a photograph with his name in it. At the time she wondered if these images of his name would be the only photos they had of his life. The pictures poured in. Recently Stellan was hospitalized for five weeks while doctors got his heart back under control -- he is doing fantastically well at home now. During that time, one of the blog readers made a book out of many of the photos from Stellan's name gallery. [ a warning to those with slow Internet, this link contains a LOT of photos and may cause your browser to crash ]


As I was looking through the few pages of the book that have been posted online, I saw that the photo I sent it made it into the book. That's my cake on the left. The verse below it reads, "How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Psalm 119:103" How cool is that? Stellan's birthday happened to fall on the day after my cake decorating class so I added his name in sugar to the final project we were working on. Who knew it would find its way into a book? Sweet deal :) It has been a good week for all things hand made.

it's beginning to look

I've been thinking that I need a new Christmas stocking. I still have the one I've had since I was six, but it's in a sorry state. The red fur is beyond "well loved" and deeply into Velveteen Rabbit territory. The little gold letters have curled up and dispersed, reducing my already short name to merely a-i-r. It was time.

I did some research (obviously) and, of course, the design I liked best is discontinued. Fortunately, through the magic of the internet, this small detail did not stand in my way. Here's the kit for the stocking I'm making and given that there are well over 100 pieces, it's a good job I'm starting in May.


Here's what I have so far -- just the snowflakes and my name. It took a little work to get my name straight and centered but it turned out well. The name was done in a stitch I've never seen before.If you look at it close up you can see that it's all loops chained together with each link securing the one before. It was a little tricky to get into the rhythm of it. But once I found my grove it came together in an hour or two.

I'm excited to see how it will all turn out. For now it's only beginning to look like much of anything.

muse-ing

During my last year of university a good friend of mine wrote a song for me. It was, and remains, a very cool experience. Today I found out that the daughter of another friend of mine has achieved this same feat at the tender age of 5.

In some ways, it's not that surprising. Julia is a child who sparks wonder and delight in those around her. You could make a calendar out of the things she says. (My personal favorite is still the time she wished she could "gather up all the gravity so she could fly".) It was Julia's birthday just the other day and David Cavan Fraser, friend of the family penned a song for her. It reminds me of early John Mayer, especially towards the end. Take a listen:

Julia


I love the lyrics:

Say your prayers and I will say mine too
that only my good
will get passed on to you.

If ever there was a perfect prayer for parents.

There's a line in the song that says "try not to grow up if you can". I hope that as Julia gets older and ever wiser that she holds on to the joy she greets the world with now. I hope that at 15 she is still as willing to run and greet an old friend, or cross a room to make a new one. And if she figures out a way to fly, I hope she'll take me with her.

fly the road

I've never been into concept cars but I saw something today that just might change my mind. I found this link through Nathan Fillion's tweet (is everyone on Twitter now?) and had to smile when I realized the video was from Top Gear. I first saw Top Gear when we were in England for Mark's graduation. If you haven't had the pleasure, head directly to YouTube now. I'll wait.

The episode that was featured on flytheroad.com deals with the Carver by Persu, a three wheeled electric car that looks like the mechanical lovechild of a motorcycle and an x-wing.

You've got to admit, it's one sexy ride. Whether you're into cars or not, this looks like fun.

UPDATED - Mom & Dad bought a house!

UPDATE: Now there are more pictures of the new place. Mom said I can be her official decorator (twist my rubber arm). I *knew* all those hours watching home decorating shows were going to come in handy!

After years of planning Mom and Dad really are moving out west. This past week-end they bought a beautiful house in their dream neighborhood just minutes from the Vedder River. The house has a great flowering tree out front. Doesn't it look inviting?
The house is 3 bed/ 3 bath was lots of places for hanging out. There are fantastic windows throughout giving the house great light and mountain views. When you come in the front door, this living room is on the left.

You can't quite see it in this picture, but there are two skylights in this room too. The staircase is straight ahead with a powder room and laundry room off to the right. If you follow through to the back of the house you get to the family room.

Looking from the family room over to the left, the breakfast room and kitchen run all along the back of the house.


The kitchen has new counters and there are new hardwood floors and carpet throughout. There's also a formal dining room on the left side of the house between the living room and the kitchen. Upstairs there's a big landing, three bedrooms and a games room. There's also a great view down into the living room. And literally, a 3 minute walk from their new front door, there's the Vedder River:
I think there are a lot of really great memories just waiting to happen in this house. Upstairs there are three bedrooms plus a games room. Dad is going to take over one of the bedrooms for a permanent train installation. The great thing about retiring is that you finally get to play professionally :)

Mom & Dad have been saying that they wanted to get a couple of La-Z-Boys to go in the new house. We took a trip into Langley to the La-Z-Boy gallery and they found a sectional instead.
Theirs is the same style as this one, same color but instead of the long lounging part it has three -- yes THREE -- recliners in it. Dad loves that two of the recliners are on the same side so he & Mom can recline side by side. Clearly Mom & Dad will be hosting movie night. I am thrilled to bits that they are going to be about a half hour drive away. We've waited a long time for this and now it's just a few weeks away.

Welcome to BC Mom & Dad. To quote the great Broadway musicals "I think you're gonna like it here!"

how sweet it is

A while back we tried to order a cake at work to celebrate the completion of two major projects, thelife.com and The Mentor Center. The original idea was to have the logos from each project on the cake. Easy, right? As Sarah blogged previously, it didn't turn out quite as expected. I decided to take a shot at it and see if I could get the logos to come out in sugar. (I had a day off on Tuesday and wanted to play. This was fun :)

Here's what the logos look like, officially (props to Kim, Creative Director extraordinaire):
And here they are as cupcakes:


The tops are free-handed, made from Color Flow icing -- one of the coolest techniques I learned in the Wilton cake decorating classes I took last year. Color Flow powder is a slightly modified version of meringue powder. Here's the recipe for Color Flow icing from the Wilton site. You only use 2 Tbsp of powder per recipe so a tub will last a good while. Using the icing is really easy. All you do is:

1. Find a pattern and tape it to a hard, smooth surface. A cutting board works well.
2. Cover the pattern with a piece of wax paper a little bigger than the design. Tape to secure, but not too much. You want to be able to remove it later.
3. Make Color Flow icing and pipe all the edges of the design and any place where two colours will meet. Let Dry.
4. Thin Color Flow icing to the right consistency (see recipe above for instructions) and fill in each color separately. If you're making batches like I did, do all of one colour at a time then do all of the second color etc. Fill the larger areas first as they help support the smaller details.
5. Let dry at least overnight before handling, longer for larger &/ or thicker pieces.
   

Patterns that are fairly solid hold up best. If your design has spindly bits, they're going to be much more likely to break in transfer. Make extras. Trust me.

Once the Color Flow pieces have dried, just place on top of freshly iced cupcakes. (And take to work if you want to be really popular!) This technique also works fantastically on cookies.
Enjoy!