Mop Philosophy Monday

 I don't know about your house but my laundry room gets into a frightful state of chaotic mess very easily.  It is the dumping ground not just for the filthy, but the unwanted, the broken and all of those irritating things that just need sorting.
I was working away at getting some order in there all last week and it's finally nearly there.  At this point I just need to do a big cleaning and a polish.  Then the descent into chaotic mess can once again resume!
It does feel good to get some linens ironed.

 I have finally found a reasonable solution for my ironing water addiction which can potentially be ruinously expensive.  The Laundress does a lovely ironing water that is highly concentrated, and when combined with distilled water I can get several litres out of one little bottle.
I saved my fancy glass bottles that held ironing water from France.  I just fill them up with a few tablespoons of the Laundress concentrated ironing water before filling them to the top with distilled water.  Voila, loads of ironing water fit for putting directly in the steam iron.

The smell is wonderful!

My neighbour Jen gave me this little plant at our Christmas block party back in December, look I haven't killed it yet:

Laundry room windowsill.

 I have had this blue and white plate since 1993.  I remember exactly the day that I purchased it because Ole Rascal was a wee baby in his stroller and I came across an entire set of dishes in this pattern in a gift shop in St. John's, Newfoundland.  I loved the pattern then and I still love it now.

I used to think I should try to collect this pattern but somehow having this one plate, with that memory attached to it, is just perfect.

How's your day shaping up?  Did you watch the Oscars?  I didn't make it past 9:00, predictable!
Hope your week starts off beautifully,
xoxDani

Babies

 Twenty-five years ago this morning I was in a long labour in a hospital in St. John's, Newfoundland about to give birth to my first baby.
I was twenty-two years old and not a little scared.
There were a few frightening moments to the labour process but finally at about four in the morning my healthy baby boy was born, nine pounds and the most beautiful face I'd ever seen.

One memory that is so clear to me is waking up a couple of hours later, the sun had risen and it was the most gorgeous, brilliant day (kind of a rare thing in St. John's) and I felt a complete sense of absolute joy.  The clarity of that moment, I'll never forget it!

Ole Rascal was a darling, bouncy baby and my memories of those first months are completely vivid, he was my first baby and he was my world.  I struggled a bit with nursing but after many phone conferences with my Aunt Deb in Toronto I had it mastered.  I learned to master all of the care and the vigilance a mother needs.
 

Age two.

Third birthday.

Eight years old.

 Ole Rascal was always contemplative (even as a baby) and he's grown up into a somewhat serious young man.  He works hard and enjoys a challenge.  We love spending time with him and when I look at him I still see the baby who was all mine.

Eleventh birthday ski trip in the mountains.

Happy Birthday Ole Rascal!

If you feel like sharing a baby memory I'd love to read it.
xoxDani

Red and Pink

Happy Valentine's Day

 I love the combination of red and pink and I think Valentine's Day is the perfect time for such a romantic colour story.
We walked past this riot of colourful flowers behind the worn picket fence in the small village of Petty Harbour this past summer, it was just down the lane from our house.

If it was a warm summer day today I would wear this pink dress from Horses and add in the red bag, this is one of my favourite outfits.

I'm going to put together a colour story today for a little romantic getaway I have planned with my hubs.  It's pretty difficult to not wear all-black at this time of year but I'm really craving some colour, especially shades of red.
Must be the Valentine's Day effect!
Have a really wonderful day today.
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday

 Anyone else feel like wearing pastels absolutely all the time?
Me too, must be the grey, gloomy days of Foreveruary.

An antidote to this time of year?  The movies of course.  We went to see The Shape of Water yesterday afternoon, it's a must see.  I give it a thousand stars.


I made a fennel and romaine salad on the weekend and it was so good, crunchy and delicious.  A lemon-shallot vinaigrette is what you want for this salad.  I go heavy-handed on the lemon and make it several hours in advance, that gives the shallots time to slightly pickle.

 Leeks are so good with their subtle flavour, but cleaning them, what a tricky business.

Leeks, after much cleaning.

 This is my trigger mitten tea towel from Newfoundland.  Trigger mittens are very popular on the island and are sold in all of the tourist shops.  They're quite ridiculous looking, really.

Linen tea towel with a trigger mitten printed on it.
From Newfoundland of course.

My best tip for getting your pizza dough to rise efficiently?  Instead of placing in under a tea towel to stay warm, simply invert the bowl you've used to mix the dough over it.  This creates a warm, sealed environment with zero draughts.

How's your day shaping up?  I have a long to-do list which I haven't written down yet so it feels overwhelming.  As soon as I jot it on some paper all be well, the key is to have a plan.

Have a terrific start to your week!

xoxDani

Newfie Ties

 I was thinking about our trip to Newfoundland yesterday afternoon and missing the island in the North Atlantic known as "The Rock" quite terribly.  The only thing for it was to look at the pictures from our time there in August.
It was a special trip firstly because we had all of the Rascals with us, and we had time to hike and just look at the ocean.
It was also a bit of a homecoming: Ole Rascal was born there and our Middle was christened there, and I myself lived there for nearly three years in my early twenties.
Once you spend time in Newfoundland it gets in your blood.  Of course, it was already in my blood with my Nana being a Newfie herself: born in Topsail, she moved to Montreal as a child but never forgot she was a Newfie.

 Newfoundlanders have a distinct appreciation of nature and of... talking.  You never saw people who could just sit and chat for hours over a cup of tea (with Carnation milk from the can) or a simple meal, or in festive times a bit of a drink.
When I lived there in the 1990's I spent many afternoons chatting with Nan Babb over that strong tea, so many afternoons that I picked up a bit of her Newfie accent that has never really left me.  In fact my neighbour of twelve years thought until just last summer that I was born and bred a Newfie.

 I wish we could go back this summer but alas we have no plans, for now.  I often dream of buying a little house there so we could go to Newfoundland every summer.

Watching the boats come in and out of Petty Harbour.

Middle Rascal

Clothesline... by the ocean.

 One afternoon in Newfoundland, after our oldest two had flown back to Toronto to their jobs, Lil Rascal wanted to hike on her own with her Dad.  It was a 14 kilometre hike so I was okay to give it a pass!  Instead, I drove our rental jeep out to Portugal Cove, where I had read about an antique store in a former church.
I walked into the church and instantly knew I had looked at an old web page, the church was indeed full of... stuff, but it was most definitely the home of Buddy and his wife, who were just finishing up their breakfast!  After getting over my embarrassment (somewhat) I was given a tour, in the true style of a hospitable Newfoundlander.  The fellow had in fact sold antiques, so he offered to sell me something from his vast supplies of crockery, rag-rugs and oddities.

I chose a bean pot and some pieces from a tea set, and after paying him in cash I made my way to the door.  Before I left he said to me "I knew your Mudder you know, Topsail you're from?  My but you look just like her, and your voice is the same too."

I was so shocked I didn't have the sense to ask the name of this "Mudder", so I just explained that no, my mother was a mainlander, although my Nana was indeed from Topsail (and in fact I hadn't mentioned my Newfie blood, I'd simply told him I was "From Away").

He was about the age of my mother so I have to wonder who it was he knew that I seemed to be tied to!
I might have to go back one day to find out.

If you ever get a chance to visit beautiful Newfoundland you have to go.  You'll never forget it, and it might even get in your blood.
Wishing you a lovely day on this Friday,
xoxDani