The Importance of Storytelling (Weekend Reads)

It's been slow on the reading front the last few months, for two reasons. One, I've been moving full speed ahead and barely have the energy to fall into bed for a few hours of sleep each night, let alone read. And two, the last two books I picked were a little heady. It made reading them a bit of a challenge.

Both books were quite good, but slogs to get through at times.

Fall on Your Knees by Ann-Marie MacDonald was actually painful to read at times. Incredibly well written, wry, and full of great storytelling, it was also full of not a single likeable character. I spent the first half of the book alternating between cringing and wanting to reach into the pages to slap someone. But the details, the rich descriptions, and the subtle but incredible turns in the writing kept me going. Bad writing and mediocre storytelling would have had me toss the book early on, simply because of the characters.

It's a story that follows a family through their rural Cape Breton Island life, with a stint in New York City, that captures young love, abuse, racism, ugly marriages, music, evil, obsession, strength, and light. Not a single character is flawless and it isn't until the end that sympathy actually grows. And that's my experience. I wonder if a reader with a different perspective of many of these issues feels the sympathy differently? As the story unfolds and history is clarified your heart takes leaps and plunges. Without good story telling this is just a book about an family's ugly history.

As I've grown older I've realized that good storytelling is what appeals to me more than anything in a novel. So many novels are character driven. And that's fine, but the storytelling has to be there too. If not, I'm happy to put the book aside and move on to something else more interesting.

I nearly did that with The Elegance of the Hedgehog by Muriel Barbery. Very much character driven and rather pretentious through the first half of the book, I came very close to moving on. But I'd been warned that this might be my response. So I forged ahead, helped by the short chapters. A few pages a night and progression through the book was what I needed before bed, that's all. Then I came to this passage:

"Personally I think that grammar is a way to attain beauty. When you speak, or read, or write, you can tell if you've said or read or written a fine sentence. You can recognize a well-turned phrase or an elegant style. But when you are applying the rules of grammar skillfully, you ascend to another level of the beauty of language... I get completely carried away just knowing there are words of all different natures, and that you have to know them in order to be able to infer their potential usage and compatibility."

And it goes on. I literally sat up in bed and read this passage over and over again. It explained so much for me as a reader and a writer. And it made me pay more attention to rest of the book, caught up in the stories of the characters now.

Words make stories, but in the hand of a good writer - someone who can ascend through language - they make beauty, even when the stories are ugly. That's what good storytelling is and I will always pursue that.

Piles of Books (Not a Weekend Reads)

No such thing as too many books, right?

My husband and I are on opposite sides of that answer. but one of us is a reader, the other is not. You don't hear me complaining about too many Top Gear magazines filling the house.

I am rather impatiently waiting the arrival of the built-in bookshelf for my studio space. So, for now, these books pile around me on the floor. Until the other day they were in my son's room/house dumping ground but I went on a spree and did up his room this past week. So now the books are piling up on the floor in my room. And that's not counting all my non-sewing related books (novels, bios, non-fiction, etc.) piling up on the floor of the bedroom. Also not counting the boxes of books stored away, hoping for a glimpse of the light.

It's no lie, I've dreamt of a home library for years. Just like Lord Grantham with his red couches, impressive writing desk, and a tray of crystal and hard liquor. Or perhaps a slightly more modern version. A girl has to dream right? Because libraries are exactly what the architects of these 50s tract houses had in mind when designing boxes to inhabit.

Any suggestions or pin boards on book displays/storage for a mid-century girl?

Homemade With Love (Weekend Reads)

Both the joy and annoyance of knowing someone writing a book is the anticipation. As an author I know the work, struggle, and excitement of producing a book. The time lag between the emotions of writing and the actual publication. Then the revisiting those emotions. When you know someone else going through these things the empathy is strong. So is the joy when that book is given to the world.

Jennifer Perillo recently published her first book, Homemade with Love. A testament to her from-scratch cooking as much as it is to love. It is filled with both stories and good food, the kind that make you wish you had doughnut pans and a food processor and extra long arms to hug everyone. I've had the book for about a month now and have made at least a half dozen recipes (including the incredible Golden Vanilla Birthday Cake seen above and currently covering half my cake stand). All have worked wonderfully and tasted like they cared about me.

The book is, of course, tinged with both happiness and grief. This is the book Jennie always wanted to write. And then her husband suddenly died, plunging her and her girls into an unimaginable world. She writes of her grief in snippets in the book (more so on her blog, In Jennie's Kitchen). What you see in the book - even in the photography - is the light that comes from food, from making and sharing food cooked with love. And that light can shine through grief.

One day I hope to meet Jennie in person, to cook with her and laugh over wine. I have a feeling she has a lot to teach me - about honest motherhood, food, and dreaming big. We can talk writing and 5 year old girls. And I will toast her and this wonderful cookbook, one of my favourites in a long while.

Take some time today to laugh with your partner and share a piece of homemade cake.

Sharp Knives, Boiling Oil (Weekend Reads)

Cooking with my kids is something I do almost daily. I started when they were toddlers, more or less as soon as they could stand beside me in the kitchen. We've included knives from the beginning, and so much more. I thought I was pretty great, cooking with them. I wrote about it many times, I spouted off advice to anyone who would listen. I thought I was a bit of a rock-star mom. Then I read Sharp Knives, Boiling Oil by Kim Foster.

If I am a rock star mom then Kim is the royal family, the Queen Mum. She makes potato chips from scratch and then volunteered to teach a preschool class in a Harlem public school how to cook. Then she lived to write about it.

And by teaching these kids to cook I don't mean she set about to mix up some chocolate chip cookies or press the button on the food processor to make hummus. She made dumplings and spring rolls, pastry, cheese, stocks for soups, and all this after starting with meatballs. She is equal parts brave and insane.

I love her so much.

Sharp Knives, Boiling Oil is her self-published e-book documenting her year with the kids in the Harlem public school. But it also about documenting her changing relationship with her oldest daughter and her own relationship with cooking and enjoying food.

Kim is honest, funny to the point of downright hysterical, and speaks what the rest of us only think when it comes to personal criticism and relationships. I would kill to drink wine with her if only to hear her voice. And get all the stories that didn't make the book.

This book also includes recipes and some intensely personal admissions. I literally laughed and cried - what a cliche - through the book. But I did and so will you. And then you will want to make Chocolate Kumquat Spring Rolls and sit around the table with your family and a roast chicken. Because that is what Kim does, she makes cooking and people real, so real that you need to become a part of it too. Just like the kids she worked with did.

Charley Harper Board Books (Weekend Reads)

When I picked up the first of these books with a fabric order from Purl Soho I held on to them, keeping them away from the kids. Too precious, I thought. Then I picked up the third in an airport bookstore last month and brought them out. And now - no word of a lie - they are my little man's favourite books. He crawls around with them, eats them, hands them to me or his sisters to read... What can I say? The boy has great taste.

Side by Side (Weekend Reads)

With March Break in full swing here I've been looking for creative ways to spend time with the girls. I've also been looking for a way to prioritize my time with them, while still fulfilling my creative needs. I was hoping that this book would provide a bit of inspiration.

Side by Side from Tsia Carson is not your typical craft book. She pitches it as projects that you can do with your resident crafter. Not so much about setting them up or doing all the dirty work for them. That's the goal.

To be honest, I'm not sure she really succeeded in that. There are definitely projects that work very well when parent and kid work as a team. And some that show great parallel activities so that both get something interesting and appropriate for the skill level. But it didn't really read any different than most craft books to me, other than some language about working with your kidlets.

And the projects? Well, many are things I've seen before - with some notable exceptions. I'm trying to convince my husband to do some guerilla gardening in the park across the street for the Living Willow Tree Teepee. And my kids loved the Giant Newspaper Snowflake. But pom poms, making stuffies from your kids drawings, and hand sewn pillows I've seen many times over.

My other issue with the book is the inconsistency in project instructions. In some cases they are so basic. And that's fine, if you know what you are doing. In others they are nicely detailed. It reads like a reflection of the author's own skills. If she knew how to do it, she assumed others did. If she had to research and figure it out, she spelled it out for readers. There is, however, a detailed technical section at the back of the book for the skills needed for the projects, like crochet stitches. It's pretty handy.

Carson's website is Supernaturale. I love the site for tidbits of inspiration and ideas. The book,  I suppose, is the same. Tidbits that are good for picking.

I do think this is a good addition to my library, despite my criticisms. It serves as a good reminder to be with and work with my kids a bit more. And I'm positive that once the kids devour it I will be pulling out pom pom makers and fabric paint and staplers to craft with them, at their insistence, not mine.

Airplane Reading (Weekend Reads)

With two trips involving planes and airports and no kids lately I've managed to get quite a bit of reading done. Even when I travelled for my corporate life I spent my flight reading, including the trips where my boss was sitting next to me. I eschew carry-on luggage for the sake of a good book and a cup of tea.

The first book I finished was The Midwife of Hope River by Patricia Harman. I really wanted to like this book. A midwife with a history, birthing in the mining communities of West Virginia with the backdrop of the Depression and the KKK looming. Sounded captivating, or at least promising. I love good storytelling in my novels. In the end, though, I only found it kind of meh. 

In all honesty, I thought the book needed a better editor. There were great elements of story here, but they got lost in irrelevant details. Some tightening up and a few clarifications and the book would have been great. Focus. Just like Patience, the main character, would tell her moms in labour, focus please.

Just this morning I finished Mister Roger and Me by Marie Renee Lavoie. I lingered in bed, leaving my husband to the kids and drank in the last few pages of this novel. A girl on the cusp of growing up, a seedy city neighbourhood, and a gaggle of sad characters so funny it was sad. This is the novel I dream of writing if I was to capture my own anxieties of being a kid. Maybe that's why I loved it so much?


I truly wonder what it would have been like to read it in the original French because the English translation was funny, eloquent, and full of little twists of language that made this about the writing as much as the story. And the story, while sad and depressing for the most part, was honest. A girl with a desire to do nothing more than live, and live with interest and independence, is matched with a neighbour, Mister Roger, who is running towards his death. They are match in sarcasm and in attitude. Maybe that's why I loved it so much?

Regardless, it was a fantastic read. Well worth the loss of leg room on a plane.

Under This Unbroken Sky (Weekend Reads)

About the only time I read is right before bed. I snuggle under the quilts, a cup of warm almond milk with honey in hand and the book that generally lives beside the bed. Some nights I manage to make it through more than 2 pages before falling asleep. But if I don't grab those two pages I usually can't sleep. The next night I inevitably need to read one of those pages over to remind myself what happened.

You can see why it takes me a while to get through a book, at least since having my baby boy. Either through some miracle or because of good books, I've managed to get through two novels already this year! Two! The latest finish is Under This Unbroken Sky by Shandi Mitchell.

A friend loaned me this book solely on the premise that the story is about Ukrainian immigrants settling on the Prairies. Why, that's my background! No, I wasn't a settler, but my Dad was, after WWII. The setting, the descriptions of the home, the land, the people hit quite close to home for me. I saw my Baba in the women of the novel, both my Dad and my Dido in the men. I imagined the joy of a heart shaped rock in the children in the one room school house located uphill in both directions. I felt the dirt of the frozen floor.

I wonder if it was Mitchell's writing or my own experiences clouding the read. I mean, I've been on the farm my Dad's family settled and the quiet, tiny, drafty "cabin" they lived in. It was nestled on the edge of some trees, with a view to a massive stack of wood (for the stove), a slough, and the start of the farmland. Oh, how I hated going to that farm as a kid. So backwards, so scary. Now, however, I totally appreciate the labour, the hardship, the opportunity that cabin and farm provided. It only took me 25 years to get there.

This is also a story that goes beyond the hardship of settlement and tackles the struggles of family - abuse, alcoholism, mental illness, and sibling relationships. Or maybe that is still the story of settlement? There are painful, cringeworthy and heartbreaking scenes in the book that literally make you gasp and hold your stomach. There are joyous and beautiful moments of love that make you want to get up and dance.

Mitchell's writing is haunting. She captures turns of phrases familiar to this Ukrainian, she describes the farm in a way that has you digging out the dirt under your fingernails. And she captures the emotions of the characters so well too - one day you love one, the next day you want to smack the petulant child, and the day after that you desperately want to correct his confusion.

I'm a sucker for good storytelling, and this novel is it. Is it any wonder I managed to finish it in less that a month with my bedtime routine?

Quilting Magazines (Weekend Reads)

There is no denying that I have a bit of a magazine problem. I LOVE reading magazines. At one point in my life I subscribed to at least a half dozen, faithfully reading and mentally indexing issues. Then I was broke, then I had kids. Magazine reading fell away. There was also that storage issue. Lately, however, I've been flipping the pages again.

These two quilting magazines are some recent favourites. I enjoy quilting magazines that are heavier on the articles relative to the patterns. Quilty is a fresh face on the scene, run by the effervescent Mary Fons. And look, that's Amanda's quilt on the cover of one of the latest issues! And starting soon you'll find me in there. I'm writing regularly for the magazine and I'm thrilled to be part of the team.

The other magazine in this week's stack in A Quilt Life, a Ricky Tims and Alex Anderson creation, published by American Quilter's Society. I have to say that I really, really like this magazine. And I'm not just saying that because Amanda and I are in the latest issue. This is a quilt magazine that you actually read. Full of profiles of quilters, with the stories behind the creations, behind the creativity. Even the patterns include quilter's stories.

Speaking of patterns, the one we've got in this issue marked the opportunity for Amanda and I to work together again. It had been a while and it was so much fun! This is another scrappy project, completely inspired by our recent renos (hers and mine). Amanda pieced the quilt just from the concept of a Paint Chip, then she sent the quilt to me and I quilted and bound it. It is an easy and fun pattern, and you could go crazy picking colours to match your own reno.

The Red House (Weekend Reads)

Well, I did manage to get a bit of reading done on our recent vacation. Not as much as I expected, but that's okay. I only got the chance to read during N's naps. But that would also be the time Hubby and I had alone so we often spent those three hours on our balcony chatting and drinking beer. I brought 3 books with me and only finished the one I'd started before we left: The Red House by Mark Haddon.

Haddon is a writer and artist. Take some time explore his works and blog. Fascinating at times, honest, and visually quite inspiring, especially for us quilters.

I was really looking forward to this book. The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night Time is one of my all-time favourite novels, also by Haddon. But the writing style that is so perfect for that novel was not as great when it came to The Red House. It is written from the point of view of every single character, jumping from each one constantly. Rather frenetic and it takes some getting used too. Kind of like reading thought bubbles in a comic book. Effective in telling the character's story, which is what this novel is about.

This is a novel of family history, family drama. There are certainly parts that many readers could identify with, and others that seemed completely incredulous. Then again, I'm not a hormonal teenage boy (one of the characters). It is also a novel of shortcomings, that is, of the characters discovering, accepting, and trying to overcome their own. It is like Modern Family without any of the humour.

It is a compelling read, perhaps not for vacation, but still worth finishing.

I refuse to waste my time finishing books I don't find interesting. I've got little time to enjoy reading so I like to make the most of it. It took me years to come to this conclusion but I am much happier for it.

Thank-you so much for the book recommendations too. I've read a number of the novels you suggested and have noted the others for 2013 reading.

Creative Thursday (Weekend Reads)

A book with with pretty and cute, as well as some gentle kicks in the butt and encouragement for living a creative life. A short and sweet summary of Creative Thursday: Everyday Inspiration to Grow Your Creative Practice by Marisa Anne.

It's no secret that I've been a big fan of Marisa's for years. I've taken her on-line classes, participated in a creative community she led, and even created works inspired by her own. She's also been a big supporter of mine, sending me fabric treats and lovely prints when I order other ones. I'll be honest, I'm surprised I like her work so much. I don't generally go for cute and sweet, it just isn't my thing. But Marisa, and her work, radiate happiness. Positivity isn't something I instinctively grasp, but it is impossible not to smile when you see her work. I imagine it is the same thing when you meet her in person.

This is gushing, I realize that. but I do have to give Marisa credit for reminding me that happiness is sometimes a choice. It really is and choosing happiness makes a world of difference in getting through life.

Marisa's book is also about choosing creativity, about the active decision to live with creativity as a daily part of your day. Personally, this isn't a problem for me these days. I know that I thrive when I get the chance to write, sew, doodle, play with fabric, colour, and daydream. But it took me a long time to realize that I needed it as much as I did, longer yet to make the time for it. For people just beginning that journey Marisa walks them through it. No, she walks beside you, as if she's got a lollipop in hand and having the conversation right with you. All the way from intentions, resistance, to habit formation.

For people like me who feel very comfortable in their creative existence the book is still full of ideas for enhancing your practice as well as good notes on the doubts and conflicts we come across. The discussions about resistance we create and face, as well as the ever present comparison and competition issues are great. For me they are great starts to a discussion I know I could dig into with many a colleague and friend.

My biggest complaint about the book is her publisher's insistence on putting their website on nearly page. It's rather distracting.

This is Marisa's book, so the artwork is all hers and it truly is a reflection of her creativity practice. Don't expect a more general outlook on creativity. If you aren't already a fan of her work, you will be. It's hard not to get captured by her energy.

Note: I purchased this book myself.

Vacation Books (Weekend Reads)

Time for a bit of a vacation. In my perfect world I would stay at home - a clean home - and sew for weeks on end with only myself to feed. This would indeed be a break. But my Hubby wants us, and rightly so, to take a real vacation from our lives. That means no sewing and writing for me and no Blackberry for him.

(Yeah, we'll see how long either of us last.)

So I've collected a few books for some uninterrupted afternoons. Maybe I'll actually finish a novel or two, instead of it taking me 6 months of reading five minutes a day before I fall asleep, book in hand and drool on the corner of my mouth.

If you've got any favourite vacation read suggestions, I'll take them.

In other news, today we tackled the first project in my new basement studio. It isn't quite done yet, but it is clean and is now home to a cutting table and sofa bed. The girls and I made a Christmas present and everything about it was perfect, right down to their erratic hand stitches. Just perfect.

And ready for a vacation.

Happy Holidays to all of you, we'll see you in January!

The Creative Family (Weekend Reads)

The detritus of a Sunday morning. Paper snowflakes, tea, books for Mama and The Monster, plus a few random toys.

We no longer have a TV upstairs (saving the giant creature for the new basement). This means are mornings are quieter and more creative. I LOVE it. Friends thought I'd miss it but it is one of the best things ever. We've all simplified and slowed down a little. Mornings aren't so frantic and noisy. The kids don't think of TV all the time, and we're creating together just a little bit more.

This morning I pulled out The Creative Family to read with my tea. I come back to this book all the time. Written by the popular Amanda Blake Soule of Soule Mama, it a book all about slowing down, creating, and celebrating family. Since I was feeling grinchy and frustrated by this year's holiday season I sought out her gentle advice.

Now, I'm never going to move my family to a farm and despite my domesticity I will likely never be considered even an urban homesteader, but I love visiting with Amanda through her books and blog to remind me that my way is not the only way to be. I don't have to get caught up in crap, in the pursuit of perfection, in material thoughts. She radiates beauty and creativity and nurturing. I'm all city! Colour! Shouting! Maniac! Going to her spaces that she shares encourages and reminds me that I don't have to get caught up in the energy.

The Creative Family is a resource for me for activities and attitude to slow down and celebrate the simple for at least a moment. I get tonnes of ideas for presents (homemade cards!), for family activities like drawing nights, and an attitude adjustment. It isn't the prettiest of books inside, despite Amanda's photography skills, but it still works. The pursuit of the creative and the calm simplicity comes through.

And so, today, this weekend, when I think of children lost and families broken I am encouraged by the simple, by the rituals of my own family, by tokens for Christmas and holding my littles near.

Clippings from the 60s (Weekend Reads)

Well, it's been a bit of a rough week. That's why you haven't seen me here.

Our basement is all but done. Doors need to be hung and a last coat of paint to touch up. Our ensuite still needs its vanity and closets, but that's it. That WAS it, until we had a sewage back-up this week. Now we are back to no bathrooms at all, chipped up tiles, and a few more months before the repairs covered by insurance get done. Le sigh.

Needless to say that tackling the mess and hassle - all while Hubby was off driving fast cars on a boys trip to Alabama - was enough to keep me from much in the way of creativity. And because of the added mess downstairs I decided I needed to tackle some of the disorder upstairs and completely reorganize the living room. That necessitated emptying our entertainment unit, thus finding these papers tucked away.

It was months, if not more than a year ago, that I grabbed this bundle of newspaper clippings from my Mom's place. Recipes, short stories, and little ideas that she'd clipped from a Saskatchewan newspaper in the first years of her marriage in the early 60s. Taking a break from cleaning yesterday I sipped my tea, admired her very careful trimming of the articles, and flipped through the paper.

Did you know that they used canned pineapple A LOT back then? Or that you could make frankfurter tetrazzini as a great fast supper when you've got curling to get to? And that there is something in the world called sweet pickled bacon?!?!

I kept a few of the clippings, like the Christmas baking one or some that just seemed too weird that they begged for recipe testing. Then there was the one advertising a house just like mine, for a mortgage of $50 a month! Bet they didn't have sewage problems in 1963.

Ripe (Weekend Reads)

It's not just because we both have the same name. It's not because she is wickedly funny. It's not because I tested recipes for her book. You should get Ripe because it is just a damn good book.

This is my favourite cookbook from this year. Cheryl Sternman Rule is a great writer. The kind of writer I want to grow up and be someday. It makes the recipes in here a joy to simply read. She is a great cook, inspiring with a simplicity in her recipes that makes them very approachable. And did I mention that she is terribly funny?

One of the best things about this cookbook is that is arranged by colour. I know! How awesome is that? Unlike the typical and trendy seasonal arrangement, you can literally read and cook through the rainbow. This appeals to the quilter in me, obviously, but it also appeals to the Mama in me. My kids flip through it looking for something in a specific colour, just because they want to eat that colour. This is a far more appealing way to get kids interested in vegetables than by making goofy faces on their plates.

I was able to test a few recipes for Cheryl and they've easily become part of my regular repertoire, like the Smashed Cherries with Amaretti and Ricotta. I leave out the cookies and toss in more almonds and I have breakfast. Or dinner in the summer when it is too hot to cook. I've also made a dozen more recipes since getting the book. You need to try the Grapefruit Honey Sorbet. Seriously, this book is worth it just for that recipe.

I'd love to share a recipe from the book with you, but there is no way an adaptation can capture the humour and spirit that come with each entry. You just need to fill a bowl with something yummy, settle in for a good laugh and a growing appetite.

Machine Quilting Options (Weekend Reads)

Phew.

I made that massive list of WIPs and UFOs a few weeks ago. Then I set to cleaning and purging. My mom was in town and she is so good for the push to get stuff organized and done. At least when it comes to my cupboards and the corners of my house. The day she left my MIL arrived, with intentions to help us get set up in the finished basement. Not surprisingly, we weren't ready for that. And with all the cleaning done we needed a change of plans for her visit.  So she took care of the kids, including preschool volunteering, while I sewed and caught up with a bit of work.

Let the record state that both my Mom and my Mother-in-Law are awesome.

Let the record also state that I uncovered 2 more WIPs.

Needless to say that it felt good to get a quilt top finished and 3 tops basted the other day. So, so good. I'm hoping to get at least two of those quilted this coming week, even though there is no extra help in the house. Late nights ahead!

This morning I pulled out my machine quilting books to browse for ideas.

Free Motion Quilting by Angela Walters is a most excellent resource. Prep work, design considerations for the modern quilt, and line drawings with very clear instructions. I've turned to this book, and Angela, more than once for guidance, inspiration, and quilting.

Modern Quilting Designs by Bethany Pease, Mindful Meandering byLaura Lee Fritz, and One Line At a Time by Charlotte Warr Anderson are all in regular flip through rotation for me as well. Sometimes it can feel like there is only one way to stipple an all over free motion quilt design. Pulling out these books gives me a chance to explore some other options, ones I may not have thought of before. It can be repetitive, at times, between all these books, but they do offer unique options as well. All of them are for the quilter who has done at least a little free motion quilting before, and therefore knows the basic technique. Generally, they consist of line drawings. Literally, hundreds of options.

I'm not entirely sure where I've landed when it comes to quilting these quilts yet, but I sure and enjoying the hunt for a good idea!

The Apple Lover's Cookbook (Weekend Reads)

When my oldest daughter decides she likes something she develops obsessions. Not fads, but all-out her world revolves around them fixations on the topic. Like stripes, learning about the human anatomy (the insides, folks), tigers (see stripes obsession), and now, Bigfoot and apples.

Oh, the apples. I've endured tears when I wouldn't buy them over the summer in favour of peaches and sweet melons. She nearly lost her mind when her first teeth started losing their grip in her mouth and she thought she would never bite into an apple again. When she sees the apple stand at the market she pretty much acts like a lunatic, or ravenous dog, literally drooling over the apples.

Weird kid.

So when I saw The Apple Lover's Cookbook by Amy Traverso a while back I knew I had to get it for her. We've pored over the text, learning about the amazing variety of apples out there. We dream about apples our Canadian Prairies will never see. And she picks out recipes for me to try. So far we've tried Apple Brownies, this Pork and Apple Pie with Cheddar Sage Crust, and the Classic Applesauce for the baby. And there are dozens more on the list for getting us through an apple obsessed winter.

I do like this book for a few reasons. One, for all the descriptions of the apples. So many varieties I've never even heard of, and not a Red Delicious in the bunch! Two, the recipes run the gamut from apple pie to apple gingersnap ice cream, from Welsh Rarebit to cocktails. I feel like I could cook a recipe from this book at least once a week and live in an apple scented heaven all winter.

Finally, the writing in this book is engaging, entertaining, and informative.  Yes, I read cookbooks. And bad writing, or none at all, does not grab me. The tone of the writer's voice is crisp, sweet, and refreshing, not unlike an apple.

Now, to find me a tree, a quilt, and a cup of hot apple cider to warm the rest of my weekend.

Avenue Magazine (Weekend Reads)

When we're home on a Sunday morning with nowhere to go the family always has a pretty lazy routine. Hubby sleeps in (made so much easier with a quiet room in the basement). Baby Boy plays on the floor and whines every time he spies his Mama. The girls colour. I flip through magazines. We all watch Bake with Anna Olson. Then I get pressured to spend the rest of my day baking. Um... okay.

This morning brought us hot cocoa made with almond milk and scones. I use many recipes for scones, but this morning I tried my friend Julie's recipe, with a swap for whole wheat flour from our grain CSA and using grated apples and cardamom instead of the chocolate and coconut. Oh so tender...

I also flipped through the latest issue of Avenue magazine, a local lifestyle magazine.

Speaking of both Julie and Avenue, I never told you about this great article she wrote about me for the last issue. That's me, in my Baba's apron, making pyrohy. And wow, you should go and congratulate Julie. Her latest cookbook, Spilling the Beans, just won the Taste Canada Food Writing Awards for best single subject cookbook! And that is a cookbook worthy of a Sunday morning.

Cabinet of Natural Curiosities (Weekend Reads)

For years now I've been treated to pictures of butterflies by The Monster. She's happy, she draws a butterfly. She's sad, she draws a butterfly. She's apologizing, she draws a butterfly. We often find pictures hidden under pillows, stuffed in bags, and not so furtively placed on the table while working.

Lately, the butterflies are getting more detailed and they are evolving into fantastical bugs and birds that she invents, then names. It is quite awesome to see.

I pulled out this book this week, in hopes of feeding her imagination. It was purchased just before the baby was born, but it didn't take. Now it is a different story. We had a discussion about inspiration and catalogues, then I let her loose. I see a lot of apology snakes in my future.

Weekend Reads - Launch

In an effort to appease my husband and focus on the family a little more I've decided to not quilt on the weekend. No work (even if a lot of my quilting is for fun) on Saturday and Sunday. That means I'm getting some relaxed mornings sitting in a comfy chair, tea in hand, reading. The girls read with me while the baby naps or we all watch cooking shows while I flip through cookbooks and magazines. Needless to say, I have a million things I could share with you.

This week I'm launching Weekend Reads, a new series here on Dining Room Empire. Each weekend I'll share with you what I'm reading, whether it be fiction, cookbooks, magazines, or quilting books. Perhaps it will involve a little book review, perhaps not. It might just be a capture of my weekend reads.

Take this weekend, for example. We went away to Banff for the weekend. A whole weekend of wonderful eats, total maniac time for the girls, some easy winter hiking/tourist activities, wood burning fireplaces, and lazy mornings. I actually got to read part of my novel yesterday. Now that was a treat!

Right now I'm reading Sweet Tooth, the latest from my favourite author, Ian McEwan. Curled up in a quilt (yes, I bring my own quilt to a hotel) I luxuriated in the time to get lost in a thrilling novel.