Back to school

Although I'm not a student anymore, the "back to school" season is in full swing for me!

It started with yet another change at work: my supervisor moved from the chiropractic department to the kinetics one and I followed him. My 4th move (and 5th office) in 2½ years...

Then I started going back to the gym more regularly. Yoga twice a week, pilates and zumba once a week. I don't see any change yet, except that I'm always hungry!
Then I went back to my sewing classes. I'm starting with a pain of pants this year.
Then, with a few friends, we started meeting at a coffee place over the weekend to knit and chat. Fun!
Then I started a wine tasting class with a friend from one of my labs. I like wine, but I don't even know how to express what I like, so hopefully this will change me into a social wine drinker. I really liked my 1st class.

Meanwhile, some stuff also gets done!

Like this vest:

Ok, still missing the buttons, but I'm almost there

It's warm, it's red, and it's lacy. Love. 

And like these blankets, finally off the loom:

I also started this, which may travel across the ocean if everything goes according to plans:

And these soups:

I bought a big bag of carrots, because they were on special, but of course, being 2, there is absolutely no way we can eat them all. So this morning, I took out my big canning pot and made soup. I started with onions, carrots and broth, and then divided the soup and 2 and made a batch of tarragon-cumin-carrot, and another batch of curry-ginger-cumin-carrot. I put them in mason jars, and will freeze them, this way I will have easy lunches to bring with me. I think that making 19 jars cost me less than $10, thanks to the super sales on onions and carrots!

Otherwise, life is busy but good. I keep celebrating my 40th birthday over and over. Thursday, my man and I went to a local spa for dinner and baths. I used a gift certificate I received from one of my labs last June. It was a wonderful evening, and I finally discovered which is my favourite restaurant in 3R!
Then, on Saturday, we went to Magasin general Lebrun , an old fashion general store that doubles as a museum and concert hall. I had received tickets for the traditional male a cappella band Les Charbonniers de l'enfer (Hell' charcoal-makers). It was wonderful, and as you can see, we couldn't have been closer to the band! 

The other thing that keeps reminding me of my big 4-0 is that we are busy organizing our big trip! Montreal-Vancouver-Shanghai-Kuala Lumpur-Borneo-Singapour and back! All our planes tickets are bought, and most of our hotels are booked. We are getting our vaccines this week, and then all we'll have to do is to wait for December to arrive! 

Have a good week! 

End of summer

The last few weeks have been all about enjoying the end of the summer. I know summer only ends in a 2 weeks, but there is a frost warning tonight in 3R, and I have been sleeping with my fleece nightgown and socks for the past few nights (that's the price to pay to sleep with open windows as late as possible!)

So, first, Santa Fe. 

Wow. 

It was awesome, and weird, because so...exotic. I travel quite regularly, but this was not a place I expected to go one day. That's probably why I just said yes enthusiastically when my friend invited me to join her and a few other ladies to spend a week there; my past experience taught me that I always enjoy going to places that were not on my bucket list, since I have no expectation whatsoever. 

And I was not disappointed. I spent week in the desert, staying in a charming adobe, visiting Navajo pueblos, drinking margaritas, enjoying the most wonderful food and shopping for silver and turquoise jewelries. I felt very far from my dear Transylvania and all its trees! The colours, the smells, the landscape, everything was so different, while being so North American. 

Oh the food...

Chilis and jewelry, that's quite representative...

Picture for my man, who would really like to decorate our house with this

Indian museum

Our adobe

Taos pueblo (http://www.taospueblo.com/)

The annual Indian market (http://www.swaia.org/)

Bandelier national monument

http://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm

at the Indian market

Since I came back, we got to go a nice baptism, and then this weekend was the moment I wait for all year long: camping at Lac Clair. 

Lac Clair holds a very special place in my heart. Five years ago, I was invited to spend a weekend there by one of my good friends, the same guy who, a few months later, became my man. We have been going back every year since, and each single time, the magic of that place calms me down as soon as we get there. This is one of the only place on earth where my billion lists don't follow me...as much. 

This year we rented a freshly renovated tiny cabin. We went to bed at around 8:30 pm, and I slept like a baby until my man woke up at 4am to restart the fire. I decided to go out and spent about 15 minutes just staring at the moon and the stars, before I went back to bed. 

Somehow, I haven't had insomnia for the first time since Christmas since. I'm crossing my fingers it will last, and I'm hoping we can go back before the end of the season...

Emergency camping blocking

making jam with the plums from our trees! 

final yummy result

Young ducks resting next to our place

yes, we got that close to them...

In other news, I have 5 inches left on the woven blanket, the greylina you see being blocked on the picture is only missing its button band, and awesome news, a few students from one of my research lab decided they needed something to do during their break at the hospital (they're nurses), so they decided to learn how to knit. We got together last Monday in a coffee shop, with a few other friends, and spent a few very pleasant hours together. We are doing it again this Saturday morning, I can't wait! 

Talk to you soon! 

Another thing to cross off my list(s)!

Short post to say that 26 months after starting it, I finally wore my funky skirt at work today.

It looks like a skirt!

What I really like about this skirt (besides the fact that I was able to save it from a terrible disaster) is that because I cut it all wrong over 2 years ago, I didn't have enough fabric to redo the lining of the belt, so I bought some green fabric, which I had enough of to also line the hem. It adds a cute touch, I find, and even better, in a town that is so windy, I didn't have to hold my skirt down once all day! The Hungarian dancer in me can't wait to wear it to dance and spin!

My man is not at all convinced by that fabric, but I really find it funny. And it matches with everything! A perfect travel skirt for next week!

Talking about travels, I better go and start packing. Talk to you soon!

Lazy, busy summer

Almost a month since I wrote last. I didn't have much to write about anything crafty, now that my blouse is done. I actually wore it for the first time yesterday, because we've had heatwaves that prevented me from wearing anything with sleeves before that. I'm still amazed that it fits so well, although I noticed it is a bit big on me...I don't think I lost any weight, I think the fabric stretches easily. oh well.

I've been busy in the past few weeks enjoying summer and going places.

Early July, I went to a family reunion, where I saw a few of my many, many cousins. My mother was the youngest of 10 kids, and they all had several kids themselves. My mum being over 70, it means that at 40, I'm one of the youngest of my cousins, and it also means that many of them are already grand-parents. There was a lot of people, at least 4 generations, if not more, at that family gathering. AND it was only a small portion of the entire family.

To be honest, I didn't recognize half of the people, but it was nice to meet them all once again! Some I had not seen in many, many years. And thanks to Facebook, I hope we will stay in touch this time.

We've also been enjoying summer by going out a lot.

Day at the farm with a lot of babies

Local concerts and festivals

And I've been enjoying rediscovering Montreal with some friends...

Montreal ice cream. I had lime-mint and Earl Grey ice creams. OMG. 

Montreal, cool city

 

All kinds of dips at Rumi's, Montreal

I've also had a little bit of time for sewing.

You may recall that I had started this skirt a few years ago:(http://genyin3r.blogspot.ca/2011/06/sewing.html) I had bought fabric and the pattern thinking I could figure it out. I cut the pieces (without measuring anything nor thinking that maybe, the sizes on patterns have nothing to do with the clothes sold in stores). Resulted a major panic and an almost depression, and everything went back in a bag and was almost forgotten until it was moved into the new house. I decided to take a look at it, wondering if my sewing courses could help save this catastrophe. Well...I had re-cut the belt, and had to buy extra fabric for the lining, but I think that it will be wearable once the hem is done. I will not show it to my sewing teacher, because I did not do things very well, but again, it will be wearable, which is a lot more than what I expected when I took it out of the bag a few weeks ago.

I also knitted a bit, although it doesn't show much. I actually frogged (rip-it, rip-it) what I had done for the front, and started it again, because there was a very visible mistake right at the beginning. It looks much better now, so I'm happy I did that. I'll be flying across America next week, so I'm hoping I can maybe finish it by the time I come back!

I am not able to weave right now, because I ran out of blue yarn, and that's where I'm at in the baby blanket. I ordered some more, but the place I buy it from is closed for a few weeks for vacations. Hopefully it means that I will have received it when I come back from my own vacations. That will leave me 5 days to finish it if I want to give it to Emöke, the baby it is intended for, on her baptism. I don't think that would be too difficult, except that I have to learn to cut it off from my warp, and learn to crochet to make a border. I really want to be positive, but I'm having doubts...the only thing that can save me is that the baptism is about 4 hours away from 3R, so if I get to learn on time, I'll have an extra few hours in the car for the borders. The smart thing to do would be to learn to crochet while I wait for the yarn to be delivered...hum, that could work...Since I'm not 100% sure of the final size of the blanket once it is going to be washed, I can't actually crochet the lase and hope to sew it later. But I still can learn. Pinterest, save me!!!

And despite the heavy rains, and crazy heatwave, we have a little bit of a garden:

Next week, I'm leaving for Santa Fe. I'll be there for a week. There is a big Indian market, and I'm going to meet my friend from Lillooet who I haven't seen in over a year. That's going to be fun! I don't have any plans, except for resting and shopping, so I should not be disappointed!

We also started to plan our big trip to Malaysia. It looks like we will stop for 3 days in Shanghai on our way there, and we will also probably spend much of our time in Borneo. It's starting to be really, really exciting!

Have a good week, I'll take a lot of pictures in Santa Fe! And hopefully, there will be lot of weaving happening!

The blouse is off my (way too many) lists

After a few weeks of running around - well, I never really stop running around, but we had a guest researcher at work whom I entertained a lot in the past few weeks, so it meant a lot of going out, restaurants, diners, concerts, festivals, eating too much, going to bed late, drinking alcohol every night and not sleeping enough - so, after all that running around, and with the researcher gone back home on Tuesday morning, I had a little time to myself to do things. 

Things like weaving for Emöke:

and sewing for me: 

Pre-ironded, pre-washed FINISHED blouse!

(Don't worry, nothing weird grew on my chin over night, it't just that our mirror, being from the 60s, is stained.)

I can't, can't believe I finished my blouse! It's so wonderful to put it on, and that it fits! I'm so not used to it! 

So this morning, I was very happy to cross that off my several lists. 

Yeah, I have several lists. Almost like a list of lists. 

1. First, I have  my little notebook. It seems to be a very mysterious thing for people around me, who keep asking me what I write in it. I started to carry a notebook on me over 10 years ago, when I spent my summer in Europe a few years in a row. It was so convenient to have it to note the train schedule, coordinates of people we met, things we saw or heard about as people kept suggesting what to visit, recipes and even things to remember do when I get home. I still always has one on me, and over the years, I developed strict criteria of what a perfect notebook should be like: plastic cover, so it lasts for a long time in the bottom of my bags, spiral binding, so it's easy to tear out pages when needed, and the right size so it doesn't take too much room, but you still can write enough on it. In that note book, I have, on the first page, the schedule of buses between 3R and Montreal; at the end of it, I have a list of random things I would like to do eventually (having it at the end of the notebook means I can add items indefinitely). And in the notebook, I have several lists: what I have to do this week, things I would like to do to the house (room by room), knitting patterns, grocery lists, etc. 

Over the years, several people have questioned me about this notebook. They like to open it, and look at my lists as if it was a secret code, or as if they expected to find out I'm a famous poet writing under a pseudonym or something, and they are usually disappointed by my weekly menus, shopping lists, website addresses and ideas for next year's garden. The blouse was in both "to be done eventually" and "to be tackled this week" (for a few weeks in a row) lists. 

2. Second, I have a craft notebook. Once in a while, I receive notebooks as presents from people who want to make sure they really understood my somewhat obsessive standards, and be part of that mysterious thing I do.This is actually one of those, and, as it didn't fit any of the above-mentioned criteria, I just could not use it as my next lists notebook. But it was cute, with a matriochka on the cover, and I still wanted to use it...so I transformed it into a "craft database", with lists of what I would like to knit, sew, weave and crochet (whenever I learn) in priority (because, with Pinterest, it's easy to get carried away, n'est-ce pas?). I also added a list of fabric I have, so I know what I can do with what I have. I was hoping it would stop me from buying more fabric. 

Except that it doesn't work so far, because I just spend my last weekend buying a ton of material. 

Hello, partial result of my last shopping spree! 

Anyway, fabric shopping is another issue I'll discuss later in another therapy session post. 

So, basically, I crossed off that blouse from 3 lists. 

I have a problem. I know.

(don't talk to me about apps, I tried a few, I need to be able to physically cross off items, otherwise, I get nervous).

If at least, being over-organised on paper meant I was organised in real life. But not. Or at least, it takes me a looong time to find the perfect settings that will lead me to actually do something concrete. 

Like, for example, my "studio" (part of the basement that I took over). 

Every time I go downstairs, I see this, take a deep breath, roll my eyes, and go watch tv. Sometimes, I try to move a few things around, but that never last for long, and never give much result. I just din't know where to put all my stuff. Until last week, when I did this: 

Weaving was so much easier after I got organised! 

And then, 2 days ago, I did this: 

I think that explains how I was able to finally finish my blouse. I really need to spend less time on paper, and more time getting things organised. 

Anyway, further house organisation will have to wait a bit, this weekend I'm going away to a family reunion, and I'm helping organize the last km of a race between Toronto and 3R (I'm very good at organizing things for others...) 

Have a great weekend! 

Last post, part 2

I just realized last night that over half of my last post did not appear when I pressed published...I never intended to write only about how I felt about my new age...there is way more to say about everything else I'm trying to make these days!

The last words of the last post were: I started...so although I lost my text, let's try to get back to what I was saying...

I started sewing a new dress with my friend from the farmers and the bus. This is the pattern, and this is the fabric, bought in Paris:

It's a bit thick and stiff, so I'm a bit worried about the final result, but I think it's cuuuute!
Of course, we had to modify the pattern quite a bit to fit me. Thank god for my friend who does have a strong spatial intelligence, because I would never have been able to do it by myself, although we used a technique found in this book, which I find much easier than what I did in my sewing class with my blouse.

I'm also been knitting a little bit on my Graylina:

In other news:
- I'm very proud and happy to say that my man has finished his Master's classes. There is an essay left, but no more weekends in Québec City, nor group papers to write for him! Hurrah!
- The baby I knitted booties for a few weeks ago is here! We visited her and her parents last weekend, and she is sooo cute and tiny and perfect...
- This weekend, my man and I are going to the festival where we met 9 years ago. I am not volunteering this year, but he is, although not full time. I  was not going to go, in case he was called and I had to spend the weekend by myself, until I heard that one of my good friends from Toronto, who I never get to see, is also going as a musician. Add that to the fact that I know a lot of the other volunteers, and ha, just like that, I booked a nice hotel room (how classy! we always slept in very small bunk beds with a lot of people in a gym as volunteers!), and we are going there as tourists to party with our friends! Moreover, some other friends wanted to go to the same city on Saturday morning to go shopping for fabric. How perfect is this going to be? ah, being 40 and being able to do that is nice, after all! :-)
There were maybe other news in the post that didn't get posted, but I can't remember what they were.
Have a great weekend!

40

A lot and yet not much has happened since the last time I wrote.

The most memorable event is that I turned 40 last weekend. I was very lucky, and my birthday was celebrated several times. First with my colleagues, who managed to integrate a special celebration into a party I organised for our research group. What was the funniest is that I actually got paid to organize my own surprise party during my work hours...

I also got to party a bit with my Hungarian friends in Montreal at a concert with live musicians from Budapest, and with my family.

Birthday brunch with the family

I have to say that I'm not really enjoying being that age. A part of me is very happy to finally being comfortable and have a great quality of life. But another big part of me doesn't like being so comfortable, and misses the very fun life I had in my 20s, when I travelled with my big backpack all the time, and was always busy organizing things right and left. I don't think I have the energy to get back to that kind of life (especially the part where I had to check my bank account every day to make sure I had enough money to pay for my rent and all those plane tickets!) but I don't think I do quiet well. I was asked to make a wish before I blew my candles, and I could not think of anything that I really wish. That might be my problem.

Anyway, that's it about this age. Back to more fun things, such as:

Sewing :

My blouse is almost ready. I have a few buttons to add, and one last hem, and I can wear it. I discovered that although I love hand sewing, I hate sewing buttons. They never end where they are supposed to. Anyway, after all that work, it is not a few buttons that will get in my way...

I started