Momo & Dado

A few days delayed in adding this post… After my amazing trip to France I returned to Chicago for a few days and then promptly got on a flight to Salt Lake City to attend the Sewing Summit. I went with Jen (of Piggy Baby) a long time friend from college. I was just as excited to spend the weekend with Jen as I was to attend the Sewing Summit. I have to admit…it was a little intimidating. There were quite a few “celebrity” sewing bloggers there…including my all time favorite Allison Harris from www.cluckclucksew.com. I love her quilts and her other creations! It was a loud, friendly, group of sewing enthusiasts….all buzzing with the potential of learning from one another and meeting some of their favorite bloggers. Being that I am not a regular blogger (due to full time job, 2 kids and world travel) I did feel a bit out of the loop when the most frequently asked question was “Do you have a blog” and I had to admit….”yes, yes I do but I hardly ever update it”…sigh…

BUT the good news is that the weekend inspired me to get to it! I took some wonderful classes and learned some things that I haven’t had time to sit down and think about (like how to construct a bag/purse) and how to free motion quilt (from Allison…none the less!) How lucky was that?? She made it look so easy and effortless…I know I will get there.

A finished panel

Lined and everything!

I have realized that I really like home decor sewing….I returned to face the dining room curtain project that I started a month ago…  3 down and only 4 more to go…7 in total. Each night as I go to sit on the couch my husband looks at me as if to say “isn’t there something you should be sewing?” and he’s right…I need to finish these curtains before his entire family descends on us from Europe for Thanksgiving.

Roman Shades

I am also quite pleased with how the Roman Shades for my kitchen turned out. I followed the tutorial in Martha Stewart’s ‘Encyclopedia of Sewing and Fabric Crafts’ and they turned out really well. They even go up and down as they should!

Finished Beebolt square

All that said, the Sewing Summit provided me the kick in the pants that I needed to get back to my sewing projects. I just finished the Beebolt project that was in the Sewing Summit swag bag, as I was excited to try my hand at improv piecing. I need to get that in the mail before it ends up in a project pile somewhere.

I think it turned out pretty well and I used most of the fabric that was provided and some of the kona solids from the charm pack in the swag bag (what an amazing swag bag by the way!)  I can’t wait to see the finished project. I am also really excited about refashioning the swag bag…so many ideas…so little time.

What a fantastic event over all. I applaud Amy & Erin for all of their hard work. I know it’s not easy to coordinate events like that, having done it in the corporate world many times. This was a much friendlier crowd than the corporate events I tend to attend.

So now I am home, dreaming of opening a sewing lounge once again. Interestingly enough, as I was looking through all the blogs on Monday night I received an e-mail in my inbox from www.inkspotworkshop.com  She was celebrating her one year anniversary of being in business, after having lost her job last year, and she posted a giveaway…a downloadable pdf that said “Sometimes you need a little shove to do what you love” How very fitting. Maybe you want a copy too: http://blog.inkspotworkshop.com/2011/10/need-a-little-shove-free-inspirational-print/inkspot-workshop-inspirational-print/

Last Wednesday, I traveled from Chicago to the South of France to celebrate the wedding of a dear dear friend. This is the kind of friendship that even time and distance cannot separate. When she first told me that she was getting married she stated that “my attendance was not optional” at the wedding. Fair enough, she traveled to my wedding eight years ago, and even donned the giant purple bridesmaid dresses that was also “not optional” and all with grace and style. The requirement for her wedding was that a.) I be there and b.) I don a large hat or some other head accoutrement in true English wedding fashion.

So I made it there by planes, trains and automobiles (literally), hair accoutrement appropriately selected and packed, and what a trip it was! I was fortunate enough to travel with two other dear friends and then met two more upon arrival. There was a small contingent of Brits, Irish, French and a sprinkling of Americans present for the big event, more on that later…

Now, this friend is the kind of friend that didn’t need to tell me that my attendance wasn’t optional, I would have been there anyway. She and I are unlikely friends, her being from a good stiff upper lip English upbringing, she went to all the right schools and did all the right things and I, on the other hand, lived a bit of a gypsy upbringing. Working my way out of the council estates of Northern Ireland to the glamorous countryside that is Hamilton, Ontario and eventually on in to Colorado, Oregon, back to Northern Ireland, on to Chicago, with a stint in Champaign-Urbana for University which lead me to my friend….junior year study abroad at Nottingham University…

Like I said, we were an unlikely pair but we were friends from the first moment we met in the dinner queue, her in her lovely pair of denim dungarees and me fleeing from the overbearing mothering of another student.  She was an oasis. She had the “go to room” where we ate sweeties from the residence hall shop until our jaws were aching (even declaring ‘achy sweetie jaw’ as a real condition). She made the best cup of tea, she bought me more drinks than I could ever repay her for, she took me home to meet her wonderful family and generally endeared herself to me from the moment I met her. When I left England she and the guy I was dating were so sad that they thought it appropriate to snog one another in their grief and when she told me, as a good friend would, I wasn’t even upset about it. She’s that kind of friend!!

But back to the wedding in Ville Franche. It couldn’t have been a more picturesque setting, the sweeping cliffs peering down on the deep blue Mediterranean sea, yachts in the harbor, cafes with bottles of rose glistening in the sun, people smoking freely and with out regard to the fellow diners, an appropriate smattering of cars I could never afford, medieval architecture, that certain “je ne sais quo” that the French generally have about them and the company of 6 of my most favorite people in the world. It was a weekend of pinching my self and thinking “could life actually get any better?”. Naturally, events like this lead to lots of introspective thought and chat, the general list of “what if’s”…what if I had never gone to U of I? what if I had never studied abroad? what if I hadn’t made the effort to keep in touch?…etc etc…but I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason…that life is what you make of it….and that in the end, everything is going to be all right. It’s a bit of a survivors attitude, I know..and a bit corny, but it generally works for me . As a result I have fabulous friends all over the world and I try not to let time or distance come between us.

Time and Distance can not come between us

Needless to say, the wedding was a story book affair from beginning to end…a gorgeous sunny day, guest dressed to the nines, the air heavy with that fantastic Irish and English wit and a general sense of merriment. There was a character of an official marrying my friends, even inviting all guests in hats and  other head accouterments to the front of the room for a better viewing, vows in French, canapés and champagne on the lawn and a small parade through town to the reception venue which was right smack in the middle of the village square! The wine was flowing, the speeches were fabulous, the food mouthwatering and the rides on the speed boats like something out of a James Bond film. Wait…speedboats?? Did I say speed boats….yes, yes I did… the genius husband of our friend appropriately suggested sunset speed boat rental, with champagne…and no glasses…dressed to the nines.  It was surreal, absolutely surreal and I am so glad that we did it.  And, of course, was all accomplished while not missing any of the wedding action but returning to the kick off of the obligatory and fantastic wedding DJ who played ALL the right songs.  Twelve straight hours of drinking and merriment, one speed boat ride, too much wine consumed to count, one fight averted and cheesy wedding songs stuck in my head for days to come. Absolute perfection!

Speed Boats!Worth the price of the boat rental

There are so many things I could document about this trip…the time spent with friends I don’t see enough of, the new friends who are all coming from Ireland to Chicago next year and staying with me and my friends, the pinch yourself moments, the aching cheeks from smiling and laughing, the tearful good bye to the bride when I knew I wouldn’t see her again and the time I took to stop and take it all in. The 24 hours in Paris with warm baguettes from ‘Le Boulangerie’ (why can’t we make bread like this in the US??) It was sobering to be there, to be so present in a moment that I don’t want to ever forget.

Even more sobering to return to Chicago and receive a text from another dear dear friend to tell me her grandmother had died the night before.  Her grandmother was infectious, everyone loved her, everyone knew her, she lit up a room. She never judged anyone, she was a devout Catholic, she lived through and put up with a lot of crazy and she had more energy at age 85 than most people I know at 38. The best way to describe her was that she was a fire cracker! She was also very kind to me over the years, she danced her socks off at my wedding and she treated me like one of her own. Every time I saw her she greeted me like a long lost child.  I knew that I had to get to the wake and for a few hours and it was looking like time, traffic, sick children, another airplane ride the next day and the fact that I had just been out of the country for six days were going to prevent me for making it. However, in my heart, attendance at this event was also “not optional” and these two every different events, the beginning of two lives together, and the end of another one are actually just the same.  It’s all about what we do for one another to ensure that we know that we are loved, that we are supported, that we are not alone and that ultimately life is very very short. I hope for many more “pinch yourself” moments. Many more.

We went to St. Maarten for 5 days…just the two of us and 49 of Richard’s closet colleagues and their partners..but it was wonderful to get away. It’s the first time we traveled together (sans kids) in over 5 years…like I said…it was wonderful. Sun, sea, sand, drinks, no curfew, no getting up in the middle of the night…pure bliss…until yesterday when I really started missing the kids. I kept picturing their sweet faces and thinking about how much I wanted to hug and kiss them.

My greatest fear about leaving for this trip was that I (we) wouldn’t make it back. Perhaps all parents think about this, the main reason for a will right? What if something happens to us crossed my mind about 150 times, every time I took a dip in the ocean, the day we went out on the America’s cup sailing boats, the bus rides in to town and especially the plane journey (all 4 of them). Just to add to the worry Osama Bin Laden was killed on Sunday while we were away and naturally I began to worry about the threat of terror.

We returned this evening, safe and sound..the kids in one piece..happy.. well fed and listened to some sound advice from the in-laws on how to best manage them. However, I glanced through some tweets from some friends and my friend Dan Pontefract posted a link to the obituary of a friend of his. I opened this link thinking it was something that someone wrote just as a “Hey, what would I write if I wrote my own obituary” but it wasn’t that, it was his friend’s actual last blog, last post, last tweet…he passed away from cancer a couple of days ago and had pre-prepared his last post. Something like that will get you thinking late on a Thursday night….as it is tonight…

In this digital age I often think about what happens to our digital footprint if we suddenly go, no one knows my facebook password to be able to log in and tell the world that I will post no more…I haven’t prepared a speech or a statement partly because I assume that life will continue until I can no longer type. I don’t mean to take my days for granted and I certainly stop and smell the roses when I can but there is always a “what if”. I think bringing children in to this world only deepens that fear. I hate the thought of not being around to watch them grow in to the people they are going to be, to see them reach their potential, to meet their children, to see them become fine young men. The thing is, that this happens to people all the time, people die in childbirth and never meet the children they were growing, people die prematurely from all sort of horrible diseases or car accidents or wrong place at the wrong time incidents. We just don’t know do we?

I don’t mean to be morose but traveling with out my children for the first time (just the two of us) made me think about how much I want to be there. I get busy with work, I sometimes half pay attention to what my 4.5 year old is telling me because I am too busy reading a work e-mail on my iphone, I do the same thing with my spouse, I ploughed through 2 books on my kindle app while nursing my new baby. I am distracted. I love technology and all that it does but I resent the way it has divided my attention. As a child I feel like I had my parents full attention, they too were busy, but they didn’t talk on the phone in the car, there was no e-mail to distract them on a smart phone at dinner, they never even considered texting while driving and they certainly couldn’t choose my favorite t.v. program on demand. I know we all like to romanticize about our childhood, and I certainly could go on about how mine was no bed of roses, but at least my parents were present. What if I found out I only had 10 more years on this planet? I wouldn’t spend it reading e-mail or texting over dinner. I would teach my children the things I really want them to know like how to laugh with out technology, how to check out a library book, how to dance in the rain, how to be compassionate and kind, how to treat a girl right, how to do the waltz, and open the car door for a date…. Maybe I will live until I am 80 but maybe I should be living like I won’t. Everyone would get more out of me, but most importantly, I would get more out of life.

I thought I would have all the time in the world to post to this blog…but I guess not…might have something to do with being heavily pregnant and trying to get my day job wrapped up before the arrival of our 2nd son. He is due on Christmas Eve. We are really looking forward to his arrival and would welcome him coming sooner…come on baby, we’re ready for you. It’s been a long and complicated pregnancy, it’s had it’s ups and downs and was a lot more stressful than when I was pregnant with Liam, that said, it’s still been wonderful. I have really enjoyed it. A couple of weeks ago I bit the bullet and had maternity shots done….really looking forward to seeing those when they are ready but won’t be making them public of course!

I have been sewing a lot, I made Roman shades for the kitchen, baby items for friends, a couple of aprons for the cutest little girls on the planet (and one for a mom too)….I love sewing, love it. I could kick myself for not learning while I was in high school. I watched my mom sew all of my prom and homecoming dresses, and bridesmaid dresses for her sister Deirdre’s wedding and not once did I sit down and say “hey mom, how do you do that?” I guess I thought it was too hard, or perhaps something I could never do. Now, here I am, a kick in the pants off 40 and only have 4 years sewing experience. What is it they say about hindsight??

Also been dealing with drama at Liam’s school, lots of fun on that front. He seems to be a rather “spirited” kid (that’s my kind words for a stubborn bugger!) He just turned 4! I never cease to be amazed at what kids can do in 4 short years of life. The chatting, the thought patterns, the way his little head works. He’s full of questions, he’s curious now about what letters word start with, he wants to spell everything and sound out the words, he wants to know “WHY” for everything… “Hey mom, why is there a baby in your belly? what is the baby doing in your belly? is it warm in your belly? Is he sleeping ?” etc etc… it’s pretty amazing but requires a great deal of patience as well.

Anyway, the countdown continues. We’re hoping to meet our new arrival soon. I hope I get a chance to post more while on maternity leave but that could be some serious wishful thinking!

Making this quilt based on this tutorial from Cluck! Cluck! Sew! http://www.cluckclucksew.com/2009/12/raw-edge-circle-quilt-tutorial.html.
Going to give it to my friend Kristin who lives in Seattle and is having her first baby in July!

In my quest to learn new things I have taken up sewing….I did the patch work quilt top about a year ago and have been stuck with it for some time now, I need to learn to finish it, make the quilt top, get it quilted and then do the binding. There is a woman who has a blog http://whatarajaneloves.blogspot.com/ that is fabulous, she never runs out of amazing ideas. I want to go to her house for brunch, but of course that would be stalker-ish… anyway…..she has been making some amazing quilts and I am determined to learn the skills to follow suit. In the meantime I am learning to sew in general and I have a ton of friends who are expecting babies so why not learn to do baby related things for the up coming baby showers…hence the diapers and wipes/changing mat project. The bad thing about this new hobby, as mentioned previously, is that it’s pricey…the fabric is pricey and it’s addictive….AND you can’t take it on the road with you. I have crazy travel month coming up and it would be great to be able to bring the projects with me but it’s not very portable.  I am longing for a space in my home that is dedicated to doing these things though. Something other than the kitchen table, which makes and mess and annoys the crap out of my husband when I have stuff everywhere.  Bottom line is I am feeling pretty pleased with myself and glad that I am learning a new skill…the pictures don’t do a lot of justice so perhaps I can get my photography inclined husband involved by getting him to photograph my projects!

I really have nothing to complain about, this time last year I was sitting in Paris with some of my favorite people in the world. I was lunching at a brassiere, drinking rose in the sunshine and taking it all in. Next month I am headed to London with these same fabulous women. I know the conversation will be stimulating, I know that we will be able to dish and laugh and spill our guts about life and the universe and everything in between. These are  the moments I live for. I spent last weekend in Breckenridge with some new friends and a dear old friend. It was fantastic to get to know these new friends and to reconnect with my old friend. If you are familiar with the “Wear Sunscreen” graduation speech by Mary Schmich (circa 1997) that Baz Lhurmann turned in to a song…then you will appreciate the following words of wisdom extracted from that speech;

“Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young”

I think a lot about those words today as I recall my time in Paris last year and my weekend in Breckenridge. As I grow older I find myself reaching back in to my past and linking with those who knew me when I was young. Perhaps that’s the power of facebook and other social media applications. Perhaps it’s me trying to hang on to a piece of my youth as my birthday approaches. Although, I am sincere when I say that approaching 40 (in three years…ahem….) does not scare me…I find it quite exciting. I don’t want to go back but I want to be with the people who journeyed through those formative years with me and I want to grow with them, love them, laugh with them, make new memories with them…

I took some time to wander around Breckenridge on my own,  sitting in a coffee shop and reading the paper, I got a facial at the spa…man that was good! If you haven’t had a spa facial I highly recommend it, half way through the appointment I felt like I was  floating above the table, all I could see was blue and green with my eyes closed. It was exactly what I needed.

People sometimes ask me “how do you do it, how do you travel and leave your son behind?” or “how do you work and volunteer and get involved in so many things” and the truth is I am a better mother for it. I have to be busy, I know this about myself. I can’t just sit and watch t.v. and as much as I love love love to read I have to do it in small doses because it puts me to sleep (no matter how interesting the book is)

Perhaps we all do it….daydream that is….about what we want to know, where we want to go, who we want to be. It may be the curse of intelligence. Sometimes when I watch local news stories and they provide color commentary about a local situation or a person ranting about the lack of snow removal (in a timely manner) I think to myself (and sometime say out loud to the t.v.) “hey, person…get out…see the world…take it all in, don’t worry about the snow, don’t worry about the politicians they are going to lie to you no matter what you want to believe…but just get on with it”

I guess that is what I am trying to do by learning to sew (got some fabulous new fabric this evening to sew some baby gifts for friends), or learning to dance, or travel or whatever it might be.  The best part of coming home from my weekend away was seeing the face of my little Liam light up! He greeted with me loving hugs and kisses and shouted “Hey Momo! Did you come home on a big aero-plane with huge jet engines” and of course I said “yes, just to see you” and then promptly shared every detail about that aero-plane, much to his delight. These are also the moments I live for.

Every now and then my mind wanders in to the realm of the impossible…the dream that I didn’t have to have a day job…that I could pursue all of the interests and passions I have. Sometimes people ask me “what would you be doing if you didn’t have to work” and  I respond by saying ” I would run a little B&B by the sea” or “I would sell blueberry pies by the side of the road” but recently I think I would reply by saying I would do the following:

Learn interior design (because I am obsessed by interior design….just come and see how many magazines I have on the subject)

Master sewing….I am a beginner and have begun a love affair with fabric. People told me this could happen, I was warned…but all I want is time to sit and put all these wonderful fabrics together!

Bake (or at least experiment with all kinds of baking)

Host copious amounts of dinner parties (serving all the amazing food that I made with the fresh vegetables I plucked from my non-existent herbal, organic garden)

Write the great American Novel (I know it’s trapped in here somewhere)

Master pole dancing

But….back to reality….I have to work for a living

You know all those freaking design magazines that make life look idealistic? I hate those magazines, “Oh look at this dresser I found at the Saturday flea market that I just brought home, rubbed a bit of sand paper across it and made it look like my great Grandmother Charlotte willed it to me” UGH! Who are these lucky people?? I want to go to the flea market, recycled hand-made bag in tote, fresh lemon ginger muffin and steaming latte to power me through….come ooooonnnnnn….

These people are impossible to compete with. I feel inadequate. I hate my green dining room and I can’t even think of a color to replace it with, I’ve been wanting crown molding in my house for the past three years but I can’t be arsed to learn how to do it or even better-hire someone to do it. I live in my own head and it’s much prettier there…

I tried to do a profession related blog but I realized that after working all day, the last thing I wanted to do was blog about my profession…so I was poking around the internet and came across a listing of the top 25 Mommy Blogs….I didn’t even know there was a category for this….but there is…”award winning” if you will. So I started thinking about what I am interested in interior design, sewing, wine, going out with friends, my husband and …my son…Liam (who is 3) and recently started calling me “Momo” and my husband “Dado”…hence the name and hence the blog. Here goes nothing!