It’s Done!

Agatha’s first book is finally (after 4 days) complete! All hers from conception to publication, I give you

Ellie the Pig’s First Day of School
by Agatha Milley

Question O’ the Day: What was your favourite self-started project as a kid?

testing my resolve

today i assembled  the cake for edmund’s third birthday party.  it did not go as planned.  in fact, as you are about to see, it had some serious structural and artistic difficulties.  nevertheless, since i am dedicated to bringing you an authentic version of my life (smirk), i have recorded the various foibles and mishaps in a timelapse.  fortunately, there is no voiceover (i hope you like the track i chose instead).  though, if you look carefully, you might notice the air turning slightly blue at certain junctures in the protracted procedure. to jaegen, i have offered several apologies for my foul mood as i wrangled with the fondant behemoth.  however, enough with the inelegant preamble.  i give you:  ChocolateFondantCastleCake2009

(you’ll note that, despite my whinging, edmund and his cousins were quite pleased with the result.  this, i suspect, has much more to do with the liberal helpings of jello, and sprinklings of candy, than with the structure itself.)

Question o’ the day:  what is your favourite kind of birthday cake (or treat)?

We be jammin’

har har. here is a photo journal of yesterday’s jam-making marathon:

Thanks to my grocery guy, (yes, i seem to have a rapport with one of the local grocers) i got a flat of berries, some amazing organic apricots (totally by chance, rather than choice btw), lemons, and rhubarb.

Bought some jars at the local hardware store (they’re great, too; they have everything!)

Then commenced the great 5 hour process of making jam. First, an apricot ginger concoction (sans pectin):
oh, great recipe here
Then, a strawberry rhubarb combo (again, without pectin)

In jars, the apricot ginger looked like this:

and the stove, after all that jammy goodness, looked like this:

uh, note to self. BUY PROPER POTS FOR JAM MAKING! DO NOT RELY ON ONE SMALL POT TO DO ALL THE WORK.
Question o’ the day: what is your favourite topping for toast?

Sand and Thread

There’s a war going on in our household right now, and i’m not sure which substance will win. A fine layer of play sand coats every surface, evidence of the children’s continuing delight in the sandbox (yeah). Likewise, there are blue threads EVERYWHERE, since I furiously assembled my newly-arrived pattern
(Did I mention my patterns arrived?)

to produce this:

Or, for a more steady look at it, see it on Debbie:

Needless to say, it’s been a crazy time at our house.  great, but crazy.  i’ve had some creative stuff on the go:

a skirt for agatha, and my continuing obsession with drawing on my running t-shirts:

also, this weekend, The King of Mountain Bike Cool, aka Marshall Cant, aka my dad, rolled into town for the NorthShore Bike Fest.  Photo op with grandbabies:

it was pretty sweet to be up on the deck overlooking the show.  it was likewise sweet that dad gave me some of the famous Peet’s Coffee.  (Check out the way he wrapped it for the journey home.  classic dad.  love it.

so, there you have it.  a few of the things i’ve been up to, described in a totally chaotic and random fashion.  largely explained by small monkey-like child sitting on lap, alternately trying to attack keyboard, and pestering to watch the cake decorating timelapse, which i have promised he may watch for the hundreth time, once i’ve finished furiously posting.

for my Question o’ the day:  when you were a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

just a gallery

photos of treats the easter bunny brought to keats island:

Question o’ the day:  what is your favourite Easter treat?

Sun=Joy

Am feeling like waxing poetical this lovely April morning, since it has now been sunny for a record-breaking 4 (!!) days, and, like a baby finally sleeping through the night, a new era of peace and harmony has dawned.

already, my lawn looks like this:

I’ve been furiously working on t-shirts using this wacky stuff, a paint that is UV/heat (?) sensitive.  Basically, whatever you cover up goes back to white when the painted area is exposed to sunlight.  Here are some of the cut-out letters still on the painted t-shirts.  I’ll post photos of the finished projects later, once the now-white spaces have been outlined.  Again, the letters you see are only paper,  cut out from these cool, free downloadable fonts website.

Question o’ the day:  What do you love best about sunshine?

all the things we love

here in milleyville!  making bread, making silly timelapse movies,  taking far too many photos of fresh flowers, eating jam!  (thanks, C. for the lovely “live” blog comment!  am very very touched)

thanks again for all the lovely comments…if you’re in the neighbourhood, please feel free to stop by for some bread and jam.

Question o’ the day:  What is your favourite kind of spread for bread?

New for Spring: Adelaide pinny

Some snapshots from this morning.  so excited that it fits!  orders, anyone?  (of course, having an adorable and photogenic model never hurts

debbie gets dressed…and other minor happenings

i don’t know if you remember, but “Debbie” is the somewhat uninspired name i’ve given to my dressform.  currently, rather than her usual dressing gown, she is sporting the beginnings of a shirt that i am making for my sewing class.  it’s magenta silk, as you will see, and has these tricky pin tucks along the bodice.  here’s hoping that the collar, sleeves and buttonhole placket go in without major incident.

I’ll keep you posted of its progress.

only one other thing, really.  we were working on agatha’s “Student of the Week” poster, and decided to make a collage of images, in case we needed them for the poster.  here’s what picasa did for us.  isn’t the effect cool?

How about you? I have a random Question o’ the day:  if you were a beverage, what beverage would you be?

(i’d like to think i’d be something intoxicating, i.e, alcoholic in nature, but alas, i think i’m a bit more like pink grapefruit juice–intense colour, sweet at first, but with a bitter bite to follow.)

just pictures

b/c i’m that lazy today.

since i am really really really wanting a serger right now, my question o’ the day for you is:  what gadget/technological equipment/tool would you most like to acquire right now?