Breakfast at the Bistro



This weekend, Delicate Transitions went to the local Seniors Centre to serve breakfast. It's interesting how work and life can be so interconnected at times. In order to serve, we needed to have 4 representatives from our company. Since we are a small company, we had to use our resources - family!! So, on Saturday, we all showed up - my family of four, and my parents. Kyla was a little apprehensive about being around lots of people since she's so shy by nature. So, armed with a label that said "Kyla" and a smile, I told her that was all she needed. She didn't need to talk if she didn't want to - just smile. The whole concept of Breakfast at the Bistro is to target seniors who can't get out in the community much. The centre offers transportation to any senior who needs it. So, I told Kyla every senior would be delighted just with a smile. It worked! Many times I watched as people were surprised to find a little girl bringing them their breakfast. Over and over, they would read her name tag, look up at her kindly and say "thank you Kyla." She'd smile, nod and duck away. By the end of the morning, everyone in the room knew her, and were smiling at her whenever she passed by. I think she might have said a couple words to the odd person, but that's it. To say I was bursting with pride as a mom is an understatement. To realize my daughter had demonstrated how simple it is to give was awesome.

Educating your kids about Alzheimer's

This blog was named after a dear friend of mine, Vera. We spent many years together, as I worked as her companion while she struggled with Alzheimer's. She was a wonderful woman, with a very kind soul. Often, I would bring my little kids to see her. One of my favorite memories of Vera was having breakfast with her and my kids. The seniors home she lived in would make sure the private dinning room was dress up specially for us when they knew we were having one of our family breakfasts. My daughters never knew life without Vera, so for them, she really was like an adopted grandmother. They would chat away with her and hold her hand while we walked down the hall together. What was incredible about the relationship that grew between them was that they grew up respecting Vera and loving her for who she was, no matter how the illness affected her. As a mom, I have to say, I was inspired by how loving and kind my kids were - they could teach many an adult a lesson in compassion.

As I was working away today I stumbled upon an excellent idea that the Halton Alzheimer's society has come up with - a half day program for kids on how to deal with family members suffering from the disease. What a great idea! The program is being offered on the next pd day - Nov.13th. I would highly recommend sending your kids if they are around someone with Alzheimer's. I know from experience there are many questions kids will have, and at times, answers can be a challenge. Check out their brochure:
http://www.alzhn.ca/documents/Education%20Events%20and%20Series/Hamilton%20Halton/kids%20learning%20about%20memory%20loss.pdf

Well, its finally done!! What do you think? Kyla loves it, so really that's all that counts. We also were able to snag a twin bed on kijiji for $20 that I painted purple to match alot of the purple throughout the quilt. I know - a bit crazy to have a purple bed, but can you actually see it in the picture? Nope! The quilt is so long, and the bed frame is so low, that committing to purple was an insanely easy decision since it would be hardly noticeable anyways. Kyla loves saying she has a purple bed, I love watching the expression on peoples faces when they try to hide the fact that they think I'm crazy!

I'm thrilled every day when I walk into her room and some of my favorite textile designers are represented in the quilt. If you haven't heard of Amy Butler, Kaffe Fassett or Anna Maria Horner, google them and get addicted to their work like I am!! I tend to be much more traditional in my colour palette then they are, so it was an amazing departure to sew this quilt! This quilt is reminding me how much i love to sew and play with patterns, and that I really do need to find time for kids, work and sewing. Hmmm, found any extra hours in the day hanging around lately??  I have another quilt brewing in my mind already - although really no place for it to go in my house. I picked up some fat quarters at a craft show I took Kyla to a couple weeks ago. All the patterns are very retro. I'm thinking of doing a log cabin pattern using these new swatches - although I don't have nearly enough in my stash yet. Ahh, guess that means I have to do a bit more fabric shopping!!

Balance

I'm sitting in a coffee shop, for hours on end, working away on my business. Why? I cannot work at home - well, not uninterrupted. For some reason, laundry, baking, cleaning, crafting, all these things seem to come to mind and my focus is interrupted. Not to mention, my daughter has called home a few times this year with something wrong. My husband's job keeps him at the office late enough these days that the lawn would be a wild forest of overgrown grass and weeds if I didn't give in and do something about it. So, how do you accomplish everything you want to as a stay-at-home entrepreneurial mom?? I haven't figured that out. I don't think I ever will - and I believe I have given up trying to find the balance. Life throws so many unexpected challenges, I think the only thing you can do is have a goal and aim for it. I found out yesterday my friend's dad was killed in a car crash. How do you move beyond that? Suddenly you come down to earth again and look around and realize that laundry is actually important, because its good to send your kids to school in clean clothes. Being there for your kid when math is their Waterloo, well, you have to find the time to sit and do it. If you sign your kid up for piano lessons, you do have to help them. Your mom wants a cup of coffee with you, be insanely happy your mom is there. I guess the point is that it takes a lifetime to find a balance, because its just that, balancing. It's a constant challenge.
(to my dear friend, my prayers are with you - lots and lots of them.)

Raising Kyla

This is a picture I am very proud of - my daughter at this year's annual Me To We event in Toronto. If you haven't heard of Me To We, take a minute and google it. If you have kids, this is an excellent way to encourage them to grow into an awesome individuals.
I have to say, I was a little nervous about taking Kyla to this event. My sister's company was a sponsor for the event, which is how we were able to get to the event. The problem is, Kyla is a shy, quiet kid, and this is way over the top! There were tons of speakers, musicians, you name it, Me to We had it. It was one thing after the other, lots of time to jump out of your seat and dance and get excited about forming a global community with other like minded kids. In total - this was way over kyla's head and I knew it. The messages were directed at teens, and for the most part, Kyla sat there not understanding the language. But this is nothing new to Kyla. After being immersed in french immersion for a couple years now, she has learned to sit and watch and wait till she understands. She was swept away with the music in parts, was excited to get the t-shirt, and thrilled she could spend a day in Toronto with her aunt. That is what she understood at first. But, little by little, thanks to a very well developed program that Free the Children and Me to We lays out, we have been able to talk about all she heard that day at the ACC. We are taking small steps in our own home to challenge Kyla to make a difference globally. To be honest, I love the role I get as mom for Kyla. I love cuddling with her and talking about making a difference. I love pushing her to do things she never thought possible and the the smiles and hugs i get afterwards when she accomplishes the goal. I have no doubt this kid will accomplish great things when she is bigger, and I will be the one in the front row cheering her on.
(along with her aunt too! thanks for the tickets Laural!)

Kyla's quilt - sneak peak!

So, I may have taken the summer off from blogging - even though i really just started it I guess - but that was because I was sewing into the middle of the night many evenings. Kyla's quilt got started and stopped continually throughout the summer. I was working away on another crazy quilting project, plus I decided to repaint my floors and remake a slipcover. I also discovered Joanne's fabric in the States and bought enough fabric there to line up about 5 more projects. Why did I not know about this place before?!! Well, I kinda did. I've read many a blog that talked about a trip to Joanne's, but I had no idea!! We stopped in on the way home from vacation in the summer - when I had ten measly American dollars left in my pocket. Do you understand how tortured I was trying to just spend $10?? I did end up going back near the end of the summer - this time with just a bit more money in my pocket, so I have a little bit of a nice stash in my basement ready for evenings of coffee and sewing.

Well, after bits and spurts, I finally tackled sewing up Kyla's quilt in time for the winter. If you can tell from the picture, the front is assembled and sewn onto the back. I did a really simple "stitch in the ditch" technique to frame out all the amazing fabrics Kyla chose, but to me, it seems a little flat - not soft and quilty enough. I went to the quilt store and bought a free motion quilting sewing attachment for my machine, and tonight I am going to practice with it. Basically, you drop the feed dogs on your machine that would normally guide your fabric through, and instead you do the work. So, that means you can draw with the sewing machine. Mind you, this is all theory right now. I've seen it on a million blogs, but tonight i give it a go! I've seen quilts finished with flower designs quilted all over and I think this is a perfect solution to the squares. Once I get the hang of it and actually try it on my machine, I'll take a close up for you to inspect!

Now, just to be clear - quilting is a lot of work and very time consuming. But in a good way! I get lost in it some evenings, and watching all the fabrics get sewn up is very satisfying from an artistic standpoint. But, the true test is not so much how pretty or accurate the quilt is, but how much the person receiving it loves it and cuddles under it. Mine has already had a good test run! Kyla came down with an earache on Sunday afternoon and was generally miserable for the rest of the evening. We pulled out Little House on the Prairie DVDs and stayed up really late watching them together while I sewed the quilt and she nursed a very sore ear. While I was sewing, Kyla started moving closer and closer and eventually was all cuddled up under the somewhat done quilt, and fell fast asleep. I knew the project was a success at that moment.

summer is done - we made it!

I always seem to forget how challenging summer will be. I set out with great intentions - and although I did meet my expectations for the kids, I think I got lost in the mix. There was no end to running them here, there, and everywhere in the hopes that I am raising happy, well-adjusted kids. Friendships that aren't easily maintained throughout the school year are nurtured during the summer. Living in suburbia also seems to indicate you should put your kids in summer camps and such. I do see the benefit, but somehow, it still takes so much energy by the end of the summer. I forget to sit. I forget to eat. I realize at 11pm that I'm grumpy and tired and hungry. But, all the frustration aside, today I miss my kids! My eldest got on the bus, overjoyed to be going to school and seeing all her friends, and my other daughter got her much anticipated birthday present from my sister - a date at a restuarant with her alone! (since my sis is off work to get her son settled in school as well today).

Suddenly, all the tasks I've put on hold for my kids are staring me down, and it is all feeling very daunting I must say!!The reality of starting my own business seems to weight down on me as I sit staring at the computer screen. There's alot of self-doubt that creeps in when you're all by yourself!

But, having said all that - Guess what?!! It's time to pic up my daughter from the bus!! My first day back has ended! I made it through! I'm very happy at my success - as small as it is really. Tomorrow I'll make goals, schedules and send a thousand more emails, right now, I'm mom again.