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

English Pub

 As a family one thing we all have in common is that we love an English pub.

We spent yesterday afternoon having a long lunch at just such a pub on Elm Street in Toronto, to celebrate Ole Rascal's birthday.

It was Ole Rascal's choice of venue and I have to say it was inspired, we loved it.

I knew from the minute we walked in that we would love the decor, check out this massive English dresser:

 There was lots of dark wood trim and bits of pottery all around the interior.

 The chairs were mixed in style, but I loved this particular cozy corner with the quilted leather club chairs, round table and brass railing separating it from the entrance.

 There were various portraits of our Queens hanging around, like this one of Good Queen Bess:

 This particular portrait of Queen Victoria really stood out, I like the black and white aspect:

 And of course our current Queen, long may she reign:

 The Rascals loved the food, and while I ordered a rather nice Kedgeree cooked with coconut milk and smoked haddock it was MrBP's order that took the prize for classic pub lunch.

Mushroom Pithivier

That mushroom pithivier looked so good I'm going to try to make it with some vegan pastry and cashew cream in place of the dairy, I found a good recipe for the traditional version right here.

How do you like an English pub?  Don't you think they're just the right combination of traditional and casual?
Hope your Sunday is peaceful,
xoxDani

Rascal Reunion

Miller Time

The week flew by and here we are at the start of the Family Day long weekend.

This hasn't always been the case, but this year for the holiday Monday all of our Rascals will be home: the older two will make their way back to the homestead from Toronto and we'll have our houseful back.

It's difficult to describe how much I miss my older, independent rascals.  Did I mention they are very independent?  I guess this is what made them truly "rascals" when they were younger, they all have strong personalities and "minds of their own".  Our youngest is still a teenager so we're still in the thick of real rascal behaviour... but I have the perspective of seeing the other side of that now.

When we have kids we groom them to exist outside of ourselves, and it's a long road from infant to young adult.  Some exhibit rebellious spirits that need careful coaxing and understanding from the get-go, others are perhaps much calmer and closer during the childhood years but then snap into a "different personality" during adolescence.
What I've noticed is that the centre of the individual, that bright light constantly shining during childhood, comes back in early adulthood.

So, even though my older rascals have forged lives of their own, and they are independent from us in every way, I still feel as connected to them as I did when they were young children.  Yet I have to exist knowing that they are walking around in the world, navigating all kinds of situations good and bad... without me.
I know that all parents go through this, and this is the end-goal of parenthood, but I still find it shocking.

We try to drive in to Toronto every three weeks or so to see our older rascals for lunch or dinner but we've been unable to do so since Christmas.  So I sent them care packages instead, a box of Clarins skin care and make-up ordered from the website for our older daughter (as a graduate student she really appreciated the luxury of this) and this care package for our Ole Rascal son.

 Ole Rascal famously has the stomach that is an "Empty Pit of Misery" so of course I sent filling foods.  Lots of potato gnocchi, some ramen, dark chocolate and a bit of tea.  He is most definitely a coffee fellow but he does drink tea in the afternoons and evenings.

I sent him some pumpkin seeds which are terrific for sprinkling on everything but are very good on potato gnocchi, especially paired with the sun-dried tomato pesto I sent.

I had to add a book to feed the soul!  Ole Rascal studied physics and works as a software developer, but since graduating University and immediately going into a demanding job he seems to really enjoy reading fiction.

I found some stainless steel containers perfect for transporting lunch to his office, and an extra-large water bottle.  Stay hydrated Ole Rascal!

If you have any care package ideas I could use for the older rascals please let me know.

Today I'll be prepping the house for our long weekend, planning the dinner menu for Monday, buying flowers for the bedrooms, tidying and polishing. My favourite kind of day.

I hope yours is a happy day, which might seem an unattainable objective after the devastating news out of Florida this week.  Sometimes when the world seems heavy and perhaps hopeless due to all of the grim news it can be difficult to find a balance.  These are the times our humanity is in question.  This is when we need to look to the core of the best of ourselves, our love and care for each other, to see us through.
Love to you,
xoxDani

ps I'm going to halt my daily posting streak for a couple of days due to the Rascal Reunion.  I'll be back for Mop Philosophy Monday xx

That 70's Sauce

 I was born in 1970 and therefore perfectly situated to consume massive quantities of boxed macaroni and cheese, Kraft singles cheese slices (wrapped individually in plastic and tasting of plastic) and bright orange blocks of cheddar during the course of my childhood.
As a kid I loved it, but of course over the years I stopped eating processed cheese and came to associate bright orange cheese with the 1970's and processed food in general.
Now that I don't consume any dairy on our plant-based diet it's quite funny that once again I am embracing the orange cheese sauce, though of course this one is made from plants.

I found a recipe last month for a vegan broccoli and cheese soup and it has quickly become a lunchtime favourite.  The process is a bit lengthy however, and as the author of the recipes suggests, it's best to make the cheese sauce the day before.  This time I decided to double the recipe so that I could use the cheese sauce for other dishes.

Cheese sauce, doubled.
And a new batch of cashew cream.

 The sauce really does have the taste and texture of that 70's sauce, so it's amazing that the base of it is actually simply carrots and potatoes.

Boiling carrots and potatoes for the sauce.
Recipe here.

 I've used the sauce to blend with cashew cream so that I could cover a pan of roasted cauliflower with it: voila, cauliflower gratin.  Today I'm going to an event just before dinner so this afternoon I'll bake an easy pasta dish with the sauce and serve it alongside vegetables, and maybe a salad with some almonds for protein.

Wondering what Scout is up to these days in the afternoons?  Well, you can see she has her schedule sorted:

Scout having her usual daily 5 hour nap.

 She just loves to sleep in Ole Rascals room and I can hardly blame her, it is a very pretty room with wonderful afternoon light.  When we renovated our entire house the painter said to me one day "this was the worst room in the house and now it's the most beautiful".  We hired a plasterer to fix and smooth the scarred walls, pulled out the wall-to-wall carpeting, fixed the subfloor and added the oak floors, and added in wooden baseboards.  It was a transformation!

This is the room I use as my home office, there is a large table in the corner where I do my work.  As you can see I have lots of pictures of Ole Rascal (and all The Rascals) to keep me company.

I'll be working in here today in advance of a meeting this afternoon with our finance guy.

 This is a fun thing, his office is doing a toy drive so instead of bringing gifts for James and his assistant I'll be bringing toys: a wooden firetruck, a tea set, a set of textured toddler books and a rattle.
Then it's off to an event with my friend Laura, we're going to the opening of a medical cosmetic place (we know the doctor, but ruh-roh I wonder if they'll try to botox us!)
Have a wonderful day,
xoxDani

Mop Philosophy Monday

 We spent some time up north at a chalet in the woods this month, it was so quiet that I felt the world had been completely altered.  Then I realized, oh yeah it's just quiet.

This is Georgian Bay

 The chalet is close to the water and the ski slopes, fingers crossed I'll have some snow-filled photos to share in December.
The necessary roaring fire:

Toe Warming

 Back on the home front I've been getting ready for the holidays.  Mailed out the gift boxes the end of October... ordered Christmas cards... bought the Diptyque holiday candles... once again FORGOT to start a brandy fruitcake...

Diptyque Holiday Candles 2015

They smell like magical trees.

 I've done a bit of wrapping, like these gifts of new flannel sheets for our son that Ole rascal.  He asked for them, I guess this means he's becoming very adult-like?

 Do you find the act of wrapping Christmas presents practically demands a wee tipple?  Me too and look what I discovered: ginger liqueur.

The King's Ginger
Deadly good ginger liqueur.

 I bought a new cookbook with a cheerful cover:

 I've made a few things from it so far so I can give it the official thumbs-up.

 The chick pea pancakes were delicious:

With fresh coriander.

 I finally chose a fabric for the foyer draperies.  These last details are taking me forever, especially for a typically quick decision-maker like myself .  Patterns, colours and texture we'll be seeing every day for a long time...and I have to say the "hard" materials of renovating are easier choices, buy the best flooring etc that one can afford and make sure the installation is expert.  I find the soft, fun finishes the toughest to wrap my head around.

This is only the sample.
Waiting to see the actual fabric which can sometimes differ.

 I've been working on a special volunteer project this month and while it's been interesting it's also a challenge.  Applying a methodology to the everyday workings and concerns of an organization in order to propel it forward, and using an appreciative process to do so... it is always difficult to marry theory to practice though, isn't it?

Appreciative Process: focus on the values and life-affirming attributes. 

 Speaking of volunteering, I'm getting ready to help a bit with one of my favourite "Living On Less" series in the new year.  I'm thinking about budgeting tips and systems, and while we have a good introduction to tracking money on a weekly basis I'm trying to set up something easy and long-term, something that doesn't involve a computer spreadsheet (not all of our participants have access to a computer, or while they might they are not comfortable using software etc.)

 So far I have an idea of index cards used to track categories for a month, an excellent tool to see the budget numbers at year's end too.

Monthly outflows for the different categories would be very simply recorded on the cards.  The categories are the trick but I'm thinking that beyond the obvious "groceries" and "drug store/medical" they could be personalized according to the participant's lifestyle.  My goal would be to have the system ready in kits for our group.
Any tips for simple long-term budgeting I could use?

In other Mop Philosophy work are you doing any prep work for the holidays?

Are you in the US and looking forward to Thanksgiving?  Wish I was there!

I hope you've been well Darling Tooties.  I'm working on a winter wardrobe colour story which should be ready this week, I'll update with a link to ole Frock Philosophy when I get it together.  I've been thinking about it all while wearing nearly the same thing for weeks, more on that because it's a good foundation outfit concept for busy times.

Be as good as can be expected,
xoxDani