Birthday Treats

It was Smilosaurus' birthday yesterday. This daredevil, evil genius child of mine is now 2. I'm not at all prepared for it. I don't have a baby any more and that's kind of tough to accept. The only thing that keeps me going is the fact that she is an itty bitty thing, and the thought of cakes on birthdays.

We'd initially planned a low key day.  I was at a conference for work, running into doppelgangers of ex boyfriends and nervously parking behind Ferraris. Hubby was lost in a pile of wood and hardware, putting together our new swing set. But on the way home from work I felt like we simply needed a cake for dinner. 

This cake needed to be more than a carrier for icing. Yes, icing is really the best part, but I was actually craving cake and I was hoping to make the girls like it for once. Knowing that I'd preemptively bought cream so I could make ice cream this weekend I decided I would make a simple butter cake and serve it with cream.  Nothing fancy, but just the right amount of pomp befitting a two year old.

So I turned to a classic recipe in this house, one I've made a half dozen times in the year or so since I've had the recipe. Lemon Glazed Butter Cake comes from a treasured Gourmet before they folded. And yes, the girls helped me make the cake. Is it wrong that that kid had to make her own cake? Maybe.  But in my defense, she wanted to.

In my world, one of the best flavour combos is lemon and white chocolate. So I served our cake with white chocolate cream.

The Monster loved the cake so much she ate two pieces and left most of the cream of the side. And Smilosaurus merely played with her cake, rubbing it into her dirty, bare legs as if it was lotion.  So, I think she liked it too. Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

White Chocolate Cream

4 ounces white chocolate, finely chopped

1 1/4 cup heavy cream

1. Place chopped chocolate in a sturdy bowl.  Heat 1/2 cup cream on the stove or in the microwave until hot, but not scalding.  Pour over chocolate and stir immediately. Chocolate should melt with stirring.  If it doesn't, heat, in bowl, over a small pot of simmering water until melted. Let cool until room temperature.

2. When the chocolate mixture is cool, whip remaining cream with a sturdy whisk and bowl or an electric mixer. Whip until it starts to fluff up and the beaters/whisk leave marks in the cream. Slowly whisk/beat in the chocolate cream, beat until the cream reaches the desired whipped cream consistency.  Serve immediately. Alternatively, you can refrigerate it for a white chocolate mousse.

Shout Out

Nothing homemade today.  No more digressions on modern quilting.  Just a simple shout out to my baby girl.  Smilosaurus turned two yesterday.

I've been choked with nostalgia, yes, nostalgia, over where we were two years ago.  First, in anticipation of the birth.  On Mother's Day I remembered being in early labour. I laughed over my water breaking in the proverbial gush as I stood up during a conference call (from home, thankfully!) I fondly reminisced about the walks we took to get labour going when it seemed all contractions stopped. I cringed just a little at the memory of the nurses, shocked because we stopped at Starbucks on the way to the hospital.  Hey, it was early!

What I did not feel nostalgic about was the actual final push of labour.  Not fun.  Not fun at all. But then I had my sweet little girl.  She nestled in right away and was nursing within minutes. The second time around you are so much more relaxed and can actually appreciate so many of those little moments. Like her big sister, not even two herself, walking in the room after not seeing me for a few days and only having eyes for her little sister.

I could write a love letter to my daughter right here, but I took care of that already and tucked it into her momento box.  Instead I will share my favourite picture from yesterday and simply say, Happy Birthday Smilosaurus!

Baba and Dido's Garden

It was a whirlwind quilting weekend, a retreat of sorts at my house. My sister and sister-in-law came down to work on a quilt for my Dad. After what seemed like 48 straight hours of quilting, interrupted only by babies needing Mama and not Daddy/Uncle, we finished this quilt top.

Inspired entirely by the garden/yard at my Baba and Dido's house in Hafford, Saskatchewan, this quilt is a tribute to that memorable part of our lives spent there. Even if we hated it as kids it is such a strong part of our identity. It seemed only fitting to make sure our Dad knew that since this was also his place.

My sister came to the table not having sewn in decades, but my sister-in-law is also a quilter (my evil influence). When we started talking about what design direction we wanted to go in it was a very short discussion. Independently of each other we came up with the exact same concept. So we quickly started pulling fabric, books, and sketching.

Before long we were sewing and my house was taken over by strips and scraps, rulers, machines, coffee, cheese, and loads of cookies. There was only one moment where we had to stop sewing, my sister and I sharing tears of laughter over a silly childhood story. We were three tired Mamas getting a break to sew - when all we really wanted to do was sleep. It is the natural instinct when someone else is watching the kids.
The entire project took every corner of my small house. My stash was spread around the living room for easy access. We used both The Monster's and our bed for layout, in addition to the living room floor when all babies where sleeping. My dining room became a literal sweatshop. In the midst of all these we had three kids - mine and my nephew.  Hubby was AWESOME, taking them all to the park and zoo to keep them out of our hair. It didn't stop the girls from sitting on our laps to help us sew and snip threads. Nor did it stop my nephew from being so damn cute.

Probably the most important part of this quilt is the garden. My Baba had an enormous garden. Seriously, a home garden to make anyone jealous. It was meticulously tended by hand. Every day in the summer you would see her stooped over weeding, watering, and picking. When we came to visit we had the watering duties, and when she wasn't looking we snuck strawberries. Then, every fall, the family loaded up to help with harvest. This entailed two vehicles so we could bring home the bounty.  And every year my mom would exclaim, "What am I going to do with a dozen heads of cabbage?!

We briefly debated paper piecing the garden, a la Ruth McDowell. But of the three of us I am the only one who knows how to paper piece. So Tash recommended we improvise things - she did learn from me after all! So we grabbed fabric and scissors and started sewing our garden.

The only thing we had to go on was our memories and the start of the house. You see, I've had this idea in my head for at least 5 years now, if not longer. I started one day then never got anywhere. I guess it just took the right motivation, many hands, and loads of work. The quilt is gone to Edmonton for backing and basting. I will get it back for quilting in a week or two. Can't wait!
(PS Mom, if you read this, DON'T TELL DAD!)

Self-Portaits

Yes, I know this is a quilting blog and pictures of the quilter aren't always part of the package. But today's post is about me, so a picture of me in my natural habitat seems appropriate.

This weeks marks the culmination of a lot of effort on my part to realize the life I want. I don't have that life yet and, to be honest, I wonder if I ever will. This week definitely marks my intentional movements in the right direction. Yet it isn't about milestones or defined marks of success, although many of those are there. Rather, it is about my perspective and attitude towards my life.

Long, long ago it became very clear to me that we get out of life exactly what we put into it. I was surrounded by some very irresponsible people. They whined and bitched about how their lives sucked. Any outsider could see that aside from the odd bit of bad luck their lives sucked because they let them suck. They made choices or a series of choices that put them in crappy living situations, bad relationships, or uninspiring jobs. I wanted to scream at them that they'd brought most of it on themselves, but I, more than anyone, knew that was pointless. So instead of trying to change their lives, I decided to change mine.

I'm not going to say that it's always been sunshine and roses and every single thing I decided to do worked out for me. I've made bad choices, Hubby and I have questionable timing with some decisions, and more than once I've been plain wrong. Regardless, I own those choices. They were mine to make. And in the end I've always made it work for me.  Why?

Because we are the sum of the choices we make.

And lately I believe I've had every right to whine a little about a lot of things. And I have done so. You get to the point though where even you get tired of your own whining. Instead you pull yourself up, maybe slap yourself in the face, and decide to change the way you are reacting to the things you have no control over. Because that is where your character comes in, in how you choose to respond to the world around you.

In the midst of all these platitudes I do have a point. My choices of late are leading me to live a truly creative life. From the activities I do with my kids like this and this, to the professional decisions I am making. From the projects I tackle, to the goals I set for myself. And this week I took another step in that direction. I really can't tell you how I feel about this other than to say I am beyond excited and damn proud of myself and my partner in the adventure.

And so what if my house behind me is chaotic and messy? I am happier, my kids are still full of joy, and my family is stronger.