A belated update on our Easter holidays which took us to Glentress (near Peebles) for a week of mountain biking. Aside from unusual amounts of snow, which meant only the bottom trails were rideable, it was the perfect week. Pub lunches, lots of coffee, and plenty of time on the bikes. Both boys are noticeably better on the bikes after the week and I think Cory was in holiday heaven – he’ll never want to go anywhere else. Not that I’d mind that much…

Does anyone else feel pressure to be exciting on the weekend or night that the class stuffed mascot comes home? As much as it’d be fine for Puff the Magic Dragon to have done nothing more than played lego and eaten his tea, we found ourselves taking Puff golfing (where he made an excellent head cover) as well as letting him (and Duncan) sit on a friend’s horse. It made for good pictures in Puff’s journal. Peer pressure starts with the parents I’m afraid…

This was obviously a few weeks ago back when the weather was nice, since then we’ve had nothing but snow – including four more inches this morning which has fortunately melted already. If it was November or December, I’d have been out taking photos of how lovely the village and hills looked but since it’s March, I’m too busy grumping…

We went a-Viking for half term, or at least went to Edinburgh to learn about them in the National Museum of Scotland. Six hours in the museum one day and then four more hours a day later – it’s a magical place for kids and parents (and has decent coffee). Fraser especially did really well, participating on the tours that were advertised for 6 and ups. They’ve remembered what they’ve learned as well – Fraser points put that they don’t actually have horns on their helmets and Duncan reminds me they don’t have double-sided axes. Nothing like a bit of learning about pillaging to keep everyone entertained….

On weekends my worry about snow makes me feel like a scrooge – there’s tobogganing and snowmen and hot chocolate and lazy days at home. We could go swimming or clean the house but when it’s a blue sky snow day it feels like a shame to do anything but enjoy it.

Duncan’s memorised his Scots poem for Tartan Week at school and I’ve finished his bit of tartan to wear. Aside from a kilt, it’s a bit harder to put tartan on a boy – sashes and ribbons work really well with minimal effort for girls but I was struggling to come up with a plan this year for Duncan. We’ve decided to go with a homemade waistcoat this year using a pattern completely invented by Duncan and I and constructed initially out of brown paper for fit. Aside from a couple oopsies – don’t look too closely at one shoulder, I think this worked out pretty well. I didn’t bother with buttons because he wouldn’t do them up anyways and we went with a wee lapel to make it a bit different and give some texture to the front. It’s fully lined (in the same fabric) as it needed the weight and meant there was no need to bother with facings or bindings. I could trace the pattern if anyone wants – it’s rather forgiving since there’s no fastenings at all.

Snow hanging off the trees as I ride by bike to work, the quiet cold, the pawprints of the rabbits in the snow, and the uncertainty about how I’ll get to work tomorrow with the snow forecast overnight. It’s not quite how it used to be, snowshoeing in the mountains, but it’s beautiful here at the moment and we’ve a snowman in the backgarden and got out for a wee bit of tobogganing before lunch.

I alternate between really missing the snow, and dreading it’s impact on my commute. Old and grumpy – I wish it would either snow us in, to make working from home the only sensible option, or not snow at all. I don’t have a parking spot at work so I either ride in the 18 km or drive most of the way, leave my car, and cycle the rest. Unfortunately in this weather riding all the way is rather epic sometimes while leaving my car could mean getting blocked in by the plow. Both options mean riding my bike on the road surrounded by drivers with low profile summer tires – sliding their way across the street. So I’m kind of hoping it doesn’t snow overnight and my 10 year old self is disgusted with me….

Two new projects that have me really loving my new sewing machine aren’t actually quilts, but shirts. The first, in a lovely Liberty lawn, is from Christine Haynes’ Chic and Simple Sewing. This was actually the first time in my life that I made a muslin (or in regular-speak, a practice shirt to check the fit) simply because I love the liberty lawn fabric far too much to cut into it without a lot of thought. The first draft was in left-over quilting cotton and is therefore far too smock-like. With the lawn it’s a lovely floaty shirt that I’m wearing regularly to work. (Pattern for the Back to School Shift dress shortened to low-hip).

The next shirt is a Scout Woven Tee from Grainline Studios. This is actually the muslin, made from left-over fabric from Fraser’s quilt (men’s shirting). It’s a 6, but I graded down to the size 4 under the armholes (I had to take in my French seams for a more flattering fit). I also added two inches in length to make sure there’s never a gap between it and my jeans – the pattern is on the short side for anyone with a long torso. But aside from the length which is easily adjusted, it’s a brilliant pattern and I love the bias used to finish the neckline. This version is a bit too boxy, although improved by the cardi I think, but I suspect that a version in the Liberty Lawn will have a more flattering drape.

I’ve also made a few more pairs of the Liberty knickers, similar to these (photo not supplied for obvious reasons). One pair was shipped off to Jen – I can take requests but only if your hip measurements are the same as mine. I love these, although now that I’ve put the word knickers on the site I’m waiting for the avalanche of soft-porn spam…

And my iron is broken – not able to produce steam. The lawn irons like a dream even without steam but the shirting is really struggling. I’ve a £50 gift certificate for John Lewis that was earmarked for more exciting things but a new iron it is… Any recommendations?

We spent the New Year with the Mosedales down in Yorkshire (I’ve heard them talk about moving “North” when they moved from Bedford to Shipley but it’s still almost 6 hours south of here). It was a brilliant special visit to give the kids a chance to play together – the boys love Marisca and she’s grown up so much since our last visit in July 2011. Tim’s lovely camera has once again snapped a fabulous picture of the kids and has posted links to the walk, ice cream playbarn and diner, and our fab New Year’s supper.

Tim was exceedingly brave and made mince pies with all three kids as soon as we walked in the door. They were lovely and well appreciated by the adults! (Bottom picture).

But the really special thing was meeting Thomas, who at six weeks old was absolutely gorgeous. I probably stole him a bit too often to get a cuddle – especially from Tim who’s back at work now and probably missing having a good snuggle with his wee boy.

Thomas is lying on his new quilt here – whipped up from a lovely batch of organic cotton fabric that I found at M is for Make. Unlike some of the quilts I’ve made lately, the fabrics are from multiple designers – meaning the colours aren’t a perfect fit. I wish I did this more often as patchwork that’s too matchy-matchy defeats a bit of the magic. It’s hard to do this though without seeing the fabric in person and our local quilt store isn’t exactly carrying the ranges I’d prefer (but then I’m not the typical client so that’s reasonable). What I’d love to have is a local shop carrying liberty fabrics and organic goodness… but fortunately there’s the internet…

Christmas morning this year was a lovely and quiet family affair. As much as we miss family on Christmas, sitting with the boys and slowly (it took all morning) opening presents and enjoying them was wonderful. Fraser made us coffees, we tried out the boys new scooters, bike (Fraser), and skateboard (Duncan), and then wandered up to the kirk for the 11am service.

If anything, this was the year of the Christmas nativities. Duncan was in three (school, Beavers, church) although his class did another at the school assembly. Along with Duncan at church, Fraser was in the nursery nativity and also dressed up to go and sing carols at a local seniors home with the library. I think by the time the last one rolled around the boys were nativitied-out, but they definitely are ace on the Christmas story. It’s a vast difference from the multicultural area of Toronto that I grew up in where Christmas activities at schools had to be inclusive of all the kids who weren’t Christian.

I feel like I should be showing pictures of Cory and I as well, but somehow they’re never as good (even if they do show me wearing my lovely Brora wool shawl that some wonderful husband bought me). Actually I was mid-haircut Christmas day. I took the scissors to my hair on the 23rd and added some layers and a side fringe. It wasn’t short enough though so a few days ago I cut it a bit further. When the boys protested (aren’t all women supposed to have long hair) I explained that it would look much better after being under a bike helmet and they agreed it was a good choice. Duncan’s comment “riding a bike is the most important thing in our family isn’t it” was corrected by Cory to be “not THE most important thing” but the meaning is the same. I will probably visit the hairdressers in the next month and get it properly cut – but for now I still think it’s an improvement on a daily basis from how it looked before.

Photos:

Top: trying on the new headlamps from Bompa. Duncan’s wearing his new bodywarmer while Fraser’s doing his best Dr. Who impression.

Middle: Duncan dressed as Joseph for the Beavers’ Nativity, Fraser at Christmas dinner.

Bottom: A photo used for this year’s Christmas cards, December 1st 2012.

Our night away to celebrate ten fab years of marriage was only possible because we were in Canada and had grandparent babysitters. Previously our trips have been more work than holiday – as much as we’ve loved seeing family, it’s absolutely exhausting to travel with little kids. But this year, our kids didn’t seem so little anymore and while last year was fun and the year before no one was actually sick, this year we actually felt like we were on holiday.

The CN Tower was something we’d always put off doing until the boys were older; because of the cost and the hassle of having to make the trek into the centre of Toronto. But this year we gave it a go and the boys loved it – jumping on the glass floor and delighting in the fear of all the adults around them.

The old turntable at the base of the tower (with a brewery!) was great for the Thomas-obsessed (Duncan) in our household too, although we’d have loved a proper pub with a patio right there. The weather was great, and after a really old Aberdeenshire summer, 20 degrees C felt balmy – T-shirts rather than jumpers are a bit of a treat for us.

We went back to the zoo (with the cousins), the science centre, and a harvest pumpkin festival. Every day was about doing something rather than just walking to the park and visiting Timmy’s for coffee. Not that coffee at Timmy’s is a bad thing …

The highlight was meeting Reese of course, the first girl cousin on either side of the family. Duncan was especially taken and asked if we could take her home with us. I don’t think any of the adults were particularly keen on that though! Four boys and then a lovely wee girl makes for lots of excitement. It’s great to see Duncan get to be the big kid and Fraser was far more able to keep up with Carson this year (who’s only 6 months older). I never had cousins that close to my own age growing up and it’s a lovely thing – especially seeing how close Cory is as an adult to some of his.

And what else did we do while we were there? Well what else can you do? Although even splitting this beer, Cory and I didn’t manage to finish it. The complementary glass looks great as a vase in the kitchen though.

(Also – reading through previous years posts has reminded me that websites are very good for keeping track of my hairstyles through the years – I’m tempted to go short again).