No not a vacation- although I did juuussst get back from a very fun cruise with 50 or so friends and family members!
The Last Resort is the musical that has been taking over every spare and not so spare minute for the last three months.  Canadian playwright Norm Foster pulled out all his funnies for this one!  The music, while great, is going to be the death of me though. (dub in mysterious piano chords here!)  As well as being one of the actors, I seem to have been awarded the title of costume designer/mistress as well.  Not that I mind, seeing that I would have taken over anyways!
Here are a few shots of some of the costumes…Keep in mind that the “venue” for these photos is a “Brazillian party in a resort in Saskatchewan”  The Carmen Miranda hat was so fun to make!  Sewing and gluing fake fruit on to a base is interesting indeed! 

Tech run is tonight, and we perform for the next two weekends.  Break a leg, cast!

This pattern has been haunting me for a while.  Not in the “BOO” ,  jumping out in the middle of the night scaring the bejezzus out of me, kind of haunting, but rather the niggling, “oh that top looks just like S2998″, loving the neckline, popping into my brain, wanna make it, kind of haunting.  The good kind!  I haven’t seen many reviews of it- in my humble opinion  it is an overlooked little gem!

It was quick and easy, and made up in an hour, including the neckline variation that I introduced.  You have to love a pattern that translates well from conception to worn garment!

So, the pattern, my good woman. Tell me a bit about it?   Simplicity 2998 has two variations. View A and B are a sleeveless longer style top or minidress, with or without pockets.  This version has wide neckline and armhole bands and a slight racerback back.  Views C and D are blouson in two lengths with full gathered sleeves.  (my peeve with the pattern here- on the front cover they show pictures of the 4 views, but they put them in a strange order.  From left to right they are D, B, A, C.  Wouldn’t it have been more logical to put them in alphabetical order?)
The two variations are completely different from each other, giving you,  in essence, in reality actually(!) two tops in one pattern!
I made version B with some variations.  I cut a size 12, and made some allowance for my size 14 hips. *sigh*
 

Why did you buy the pattern?  I actually thought it would make a cute top for my daughters.  Selfish old woman that I am, I decided that it would make a great top for my upcoming cruise…..  I was drawn to the gathers in the front, the U shaped neckline and the bands.

And the fabric choice? A very drapy cotton/lycra print from my local Fabricland.  Cheap, and pretty.  It would look great in a popping citrus colour for the summer too!   The bands were cut from some brown silk jersey that I snagged on my very first trip to Mood a couple of years ago.  Sooo pretty and easy to sew!

Were there any construction malfunctions?  Not a one, unless you include the fact that I accidently cut out two front bands. That was totally my fault and not the patterns.  The pattern clearly told me to cut one.  I refused to listen, which was actually a good thing since it let me experiment with the neckline a bit and compare looks.  I didn’t look much at the instructions, but they look complete and clear.

Did you stray from the pattern at all Connie?  Well duh!  Of course I did.  Let’s see…
1.  I omitted the pockets.  No woman who’s doctor once said to her “Connie, you were made for having babies, you could drop them in a field and then keep on working!”  (Translation- you have good strong wide hips, woman!)  would consider pockets on the widest part of the hip area an asset!  On my slender offspring now, that would be a completely different scenerio.  They LOVE pockets! 
2.  I added about an inch to the tunic length.  Probably wasn’t necessary, but I am 5′10 in bare feet, so I always add length.  Usually more than an inch.
3.  I changed the neckline from flat to twisted.  I have been wanting to do a twisted neckline for a while- like before it becomes passe- and figured now was the time.  I was uncertain as to how twisting would affect the lay and stretch of the silk, so I opted to insert the band flat as opposed to “in the round”.  I attached the front to the back at one shoulder only, and cut the neckline piece a bit longer than necessary, chopping  off the excess after sewing.  I have sewn enough knits to know where I need to stretch the neckband in order for it to lay flat against my body, so I wasn’t worried about matching notches.  I compared the bodice paper pattern piece to the paper neckline piece to figure out that the gathers needed to be two inches between the notches when pulled up.  To twist the band, I marked the fabric every one inch on both long edges of the fabric, then pinned them together, offsetting by one hash mark.  I experimented with a few different spacings, and for this weight of fabric, one inch worked best. 

Other than that, the pattern went together as dictated.  The band on the bottom was quick.  If you make it, ensure that you don’t forget those notches! 

And the finished product?  I really like it.  You are not going to see it on my pasty Canadian winter white body now, but I am hoping that MyMike will be up for a photo shoot on the boat.  As if!  I thought it needed a chunky necklace, but looking at it on the dressform, I think the neckine speaks for itself.  A chunky bracelet perhaps. 
All in all, I am pleased.  You would be too if you made it for yourself.  It lends itself to a myriad of variations, in my opinion.  You could leave off the band, embellish the neckband.  I think you could even add the sleeves of the other view to it.  I think.

And about this cruise ma’am?  Our niece is getting married in two weeks on a cruise.  How could we NOT go?!  All of my sisters, my mom and dad, and some nieces and nephews will be along as well- over 50 of us in total!  I need the break but am feeling guilty about going as well as my play goes to production the following week.  Lines are pretty well perfect and after last nights vocal practice, I am feeling better about the music as well.  The play is Norm Fosters “The Last Resort”, and I have always wanted to do it!  Spoiler…I commit murder (my husband as well as the songs!) and I die too.  Such is life!  I am also the costume “designer” and sewer.  There will be a few sleepless nights before I set sail!

There is a cute dress review on the boards, and I am also going to BORE YOU TO TEARS with my costuming for this upcoming play.  Can anyone say “Carmen Miranda Headpiece”??!!

The wedding is long past, but the memories of the day will last forever!  Maybe it is because as a young bride myself  twenty-mumble mumble years ago, I dreamed of a tent wedding on the farm.  Maybe because it was one of the only perfect summer days we had this past summer.  Maybe because I love to look at our radiant daughters faces on their wedding day and know that they made such excellent life choices.  Maybe because I love to organize and make perfect snippets of days. 

Or maybe it was the dress!

Mme Micaela changed her wedding dress  design choice a myriad of times before her final decision.  We ran the gamet from a bodice strewn with huge puffy flowers ( a design that we ultimately used in her bridesmaid dress for Erica’s wedding) to a sleek  bead encrusted charmeuse design. 

The ultimate dress was what I am calling my Project Runway entry, as I didn’t use a pattern,  was draping and redesigning until the eleventh hour, and almost had the wardrobe malfunction from hell!

Initially I had a difficult time trying to formulate a review for this gown.  Difficult until, that is, I realized that I don’t have to review it as much as explain it.   Just so that you know, apparently I didn’t take any photo’s of the progress.  Smack me on the head!  I am pretty sure that whenever I worked on the gown, I had mulled it over SO much in my head that I didn’t want to lose the inspiration, and so just cut, pinned, repinned, basted, and sewed!

The Gown.  An Explanation

What did you use for your concept?  The challenge was to design a wedding dress, with tiers.  The tiers had to be of varying widths and angles, and they had to lay close to her body, not poof out.   She didn’t want strapless, and the back had to be low.  Sounds easy peasy, no?

How did you make the pattern?  I drafted a six gore skirt – I wanted to do the skirt portion first and then decide what to to for the bodice later.  I drew it to have a slight train- so that you were aware there was a train, but not so long that she would need to bustle it up.  The bodice back I stole from Vogue 2964 - but altered it sooo much for her frame that it bears too  little resemblance to the original to own it.  The basic shape was the look we wanted however.  By the way, we were also originally going to use the entire bodice from this pattern, but it ended up looking very “I’m getting married in a bra top“. This was especially noticable in ivory!  It likely would have been fine had we used  red or yellow!  For obvious reasons, we opted not to use it!  The tiers- not ruffled ruffles- whatever you want to call them- were the fun part.  I traced the finished skirt on to paper, and drew on the tiers, then made individual pattern pieces for EACH tier, adding seam allowances.  Fitting it on the dress form was important as some of the tiers went completely around the skirt, and I needed to ensure that they fell correctly.   I didn’t count them – there were a lot.  A million I bet.  Well it felt like a million anyways! 

What fabric did you use?   It seems like our go-to fabric store for wedding dress fabric is L.A. Fabrics on Queen Street in Toronto.  Micaela chose a silk taffeta that was ivory in colour. The lining was silk organza.  I bought a bolt at Thaisilks.  I adore it!

What did you do that was interesting on this dress.  The tiers.  They were the dress.  They ranged in width from one inch to about three inches, and started and stopped in various places, as well as having various angles.  Hem finishes for the tiers caused us some discussion, and after consulting with the bride (sounds professional doesn’t it, calling my daughter “the bride”?!) anyways, after consulting with her,  and showing her various “tier hem” finishes, we opted  for a deconstructed look by simply sewing a row of stitching about 1/4 inch from the lower edge.  Before she donned it on on the wedding day, I trimmed  some ravely ends, but not many.  Each top tier edge was bound in Seams Great to make a flat, clean edge. Of course they didn’t show!  I hand placed each tier, handbasted, pinned it on the dress form, adjusted if necessary, then machine stitched the strip in place.  Yes, each tier.  It took forever, but it was fun!  Honest.

And the bodice?   A simple wrap over with some pleating.  I tried experimenting with some current and vintage bodice patterns that were almost the shape we wanted.  Everything looked too overwhelming for Micaela’s tiny frame.  I ended up going to the dress form and outlining the shape I wanted, then draping and experimenting until I got it right.  It took patience and time- two things I lack in life!

 What caused you to tear your hair out?  I was, at first, quite concerned about matching the tiers at the back seam line.  That took fiddling and hair loss.  Then I decided that not matching added to the look.  It did! 

What was the most fun?  Designing.  Figuring out.  Making Mic and myself both happy!  Realizing that I could actually make this dress happen from  conceptualization to the aisle!

What was the most annoying?  You really want to know?  Imagine this.  It is 7:30 on wedding day morning, and I haven’t yet finished sewing the lining to the bodice.  Micaela had been rushing in and out all week and didn’t have a second to try on the dress to make sure everything was perfect.  And I was finalizing tent and reception details and also had not a moment.  Just before the bridesmaids and hairdresser show up we decide to do that final try on.  Then the unimaginable occured.  The invisible zipper split- and couldn’t be convinced to go back together again. You would have been proud  that I didn’t start screaming out loud! I simply asked that my hair and make up be done first, so that I could be standing at Fabricland’s doors at 9:30 am to get a new zipper.  Of COURSE I didn’t have any at home.  *sigh* I prepped the dress before I left, so inserting the zipper would only take minutes.  Miraculously it went in perfectly the first time!  And behaved for the entire day.

Conclusions.  If you love to sew and create, have some time – okay a LOT of time, or don’t need to sleep, love your daughter and are loved in return, then sewing a wedding dress is a blessing, not a chore!  Micaela looked calm, cool and collected the entire day, the weather was perfect, and the company was outstanding. 

They even had time to pose for a Garage Sale photo shoot.  The laughing here is because Mic found a veil at one stop and asked her dad to buy it for her- it cost a whole dollar!  Yes, she wore it!  You have to know Micaela in order to realize how perfect this scenerio was.  She originally didn’t want a veil, but as we all say “everything always works out perfectly in Micaelaland”!

I had an hour or two To Myself  last Saturday  .  A very important thing that is- time to spend on what one wants to do!  As opposed to today when I promised MyMike that I would fumigate organize  our bedroom and master bath. Why is it seeming to take all day?

We celebrated a dear friends birthday last week and I thought a little gift would be in order.  She and her husband love to travel and are heading off to Africa next month.  Meanies!  In honour of that, I decided that she needs a few toiletry cases. 

I pulled out a little pattern from Thisandthatpatterns that I stole from my mom!   She picked it up at a sewing expo ’cause Mme Micaela loved it.  I find the size a bit too small to be useful for cosmetics, as it is too short for mascara.  Seeing that  mascara is the number one make up item stolen from my bathroom whenever the girls are home, I think that it is ultra important that a makeup case needs to be big enough to hold one!  And hide one!  It is also too short for holding pens/pencils, but it would be good for hanging on to various electronic cords, or jewellery.  I am having a heck of  a time finding the pattern online!   When I did find it, I realized that it does not have finished dimensions for it or any of the other patterns that the company makes. I guess that isn’t much of a problem as the patterns are not available on her website, but I still think it would be a good idea to add a bit of a description to a product line. You need to scroll down the page that the above link sends you to, and the pattern is Abby’s Treasure Box. 

That, 3 zippers,  a dollar store shower curtain for the leakproof lining , a bit of batting and some homedec remnants was all I needed to make 3 various sized bags.

The pattern calls for using various quilting fabrics, and the finished sample was what caught Mic’s eye. It is really cute that way, but you could also  omit the quilted look by using strips of fabric instead of piecing.  The pattern is actually only for the small bag, but I graded up, and omitted the piecing for the 2 larger ones.  All it took was a bit of grade school  high school math to figure out dimensions.  You know they say that using your brain keeps you young! 

Here they are prior to being wrapped.  My friend loved them!  At least the bags will get to Africa! 

And, of course the most important photo of the day…Our first grandchild Hailey Rhea Thom, was born yesterday (Jan 23, 2010) at 7:10 pm weighing in at 7 pounds 15 ounces.  It was so thrilling not knowing if we would be welcoming a girl or boy, and I am so excited to be sewing pink again!  I do not promise not to bore you with her exceptional beauty and intelligence in the next while!  So be prepared!

Keep this under your hat, but…

I am making a swim suit.  We are going on a cruise next month, to see our lovely niece get married.  I want, not need, a new bathing suit so decided to make one!

Problem is…

This what I am knocking off

Using this Kwiksew Pattern 3609

I however, do not look like that VS model.  I look more like this…

I hear you  saying “Oh Connie.  That will work ..

When…

Yeah.

I know.

I’ll keep you posted!

 Have I mentioned lately that I love Jalie patterns?  If not, then here it is for you- I lurv Jalie patterns!  A great Canadian company that puts out well drafted, multi sized patterns that are suitable for a myriad of  activities from casual wear to excercise to snow sports to skating to – well pretty well anything. I am pretty certain that I own mostly every sports wear/casual pattern that they offer!  My next up for Jalie is their diaper pattern- but that is for another day!  I am trying to change up the way I do reviews as well.  The cookie cutter PR version seems to be a copout for someone who wants to offer a reason to read a blog. 

And jeezzz Couturesmith, the new baby is due in three weeks   NEXT WEEK !! and the maternity posts have been pretty non-existant.  Get with the program already!

On to the reason for this post. 

A Review… 

Pattern Review Jalie 2682

This week I turned out this top in two very different looks – oh PatternReview “One Pattern, Different  Looks Contest”, where are you when I actually have something to enter?!

Sewing maternity clothes for Mme Kate has been made easier with Jalie patterns.  The styles are on par with what is being offered in maternity stores lately, and they are easy to convert to accomodate an expanding belly.  The plus side has been that I could use the same pattern to make something for myself at the same time.  Mine, by the way, was a NON- maternity version, lest  you wonder!

This is what the Jalie website says about this pattern – Stylish V-neck top, raised neckline at back, with or without sleeves.  View A has a zipper at front neckline for more coverage.

Version 1: 

Tell us Connie, what did you make?  I made View B  for Mme Kate with sleeves.  For her I made size S which is the same as a 6, or a 36.  That is pretty well her size pre-pregnancy in Ready to Wear, and as all of her baby weight is – well- baby belly, I felt confident in using the same sizing.

Tell us about your fabric choice..  I used a red medium weight knit from my stash that originally came from Fabricland.  It is most definitely an  Ontario winter fabric- with a real heft to it.  I really need to rethink knit fabric choices as often I think  a knit is too thin or sheer for a project, then when I use a beefier one, it is too heavy!  This fabric was good for a winter warming the baby bump top though. 

 Can you also tell us about the construction process?    For this view the pattern has 5 pieces.  Front upper bodice ,back  lower bodice , front lower bodice,  back lower bodice and  sleeves.   I used the 2 upper pieces, the sleeves  and the lower back piece, and for the baby bump area, I used my “go-to” pattern piece from Burda 08-2007.  (more about that later) 
The patten has you cut 2 front pieces, which are then laid right sides together and a seam is sewn from bottom edge to marked spot.  Once you know where this spot is on your body, you can make your neckline as high or low as you feel comfortable.  The standard marked spot for each size is modest.  This is about the trickiest this pattern gets.  Looking at the layered fabric, you may not understand how this translates into a great neckline!   Actually doing it will make it make sense!   You sew the neck back neck edges togther, then  fold each layer back onto itself and “voila” , a very becoming neckline, all finished.  No worrying about gaposis, topstitching, ease or any of those wierdo sewing terms!  From there, sewing the rest of the body is a snap. 

**Maternity addition**-  The lower front that I substituted, is  from Burda World of Fashion( will we ever think of it any other way?) Um I think 08-2006?  It accomodates for the belly by ruching on the side seams.  I also added a 2 inch band to gather it all back at the bottom.  Kate mentioned once that she doesn’t like it when a shirt just hangs over Raspbaby(which is how we refer to him/her!)  She doesn’t ask for much so I try to make her happy!

 Do you have any suggestions to make sewing this easier?  Mark, mark, mark!  Some of the pieces look alike, so making certain you don’t forget the notches, and labeling top and bottoms of pieces will make things easier. If you don’t mind taking out the subtle shaping, you can alleviate the upper bodice center seam by placing the pattern piece on the fold. 

And what is your final summation? An extremely easy make-in-an-evening kind of top that is great for casual wear as well as activewear, winter or summer!  A must have for your wardrobe in this Couturesmith’s opinion.  If you only plan on owning one Jalie pattern,  this would be a condender!  And look- Kate wore her version for her maternity photoshoot! 

photo - VDK Photography

photo- VDKphotography

 Photocredits for the above two photos  -  http://www.vdkphotography.blogspot.com/

Version 2:

So Connie, Why did you make this?  When I first purchased this pattern, I was envisioning  an activewear top, to wear to work out.  Sleeveless, but a bit more cover for the winter.  Sometimes the barbells dig into my neck, so the raised back neckline was an attractive feature.  Wow barbells- don’t I sound hardcore!  Yeah, my abs are..okay so I lie about the abs!

Kate is a lot smaller than you – what size did you make?  How rude!  If you really want to know, and I guess I should document it so that I remember in the future, I made size U , made some accomodations for my  slightly wider hips and lengthened it about 4 centimeters.

Oooooh the fabric.  Where DID you get it?  It is pretty, isn’t it?  I picked it up at the Creativ Festival in Toronto this past fall.  Over 2 metres for like 10 bucks!  It is a greeny teal with gold foiling.  It is showing more bluey in the first photo, but it really is a teal.  A nice and tight knit that is actually destined to be a bathing suit, but there was sooo much that I figured I could stretch it for 2 garments.  It’s not a technical knit, and I do have my eye on some (big name yoga wear manufactorer who’s name ryhmes with MuMuRemon) fabric from Peak Fabrics, but for a first off, this works.  And it jumped right onto my cutting table- pinky swear!

And the construction process? Any change ups?  I wanted the back to be all one piece, instead of having a seam in the upper bodice and one separating the upper and lower bodice.  I was worried that seams, would bother me when I am jumping around, stretching, making my fingers close the gap between my nose and my toes- all that good, healthy stuff!  I just taped the upper and lower back bodices together (keeping in mind seam allowance) and placed it on the fold. There is shaping at the waist, so I wasn’t concerned about losing shape. I also added about 2 inches to the overall length.  I really dislike having to tug my hem over my abdomen whilst doing crunches!

Any other suggestions for this one?  Next time I sew this pattern for activewear, I am going to make the lower bodice- back and front- from a contrast fabric. Overall, what did you learn from this project, Connie?  A pattern that spans generations, lifestyles and body types, this Pattern Review “Best Pattern” of 2007  AND 2008, definitely deserves a place in the Hall of Fame! 

The plan for my “free time” today was to clear the house of Christmas decorations. And I was getting somewhere on the job- honest. Then, I took this ornament off of the tree.

A mitten, made by my talented – she puts me to shame!- sister-in-law, adorned with paper pieced tulips. That brought to mind my friend Rhonda and her husband Tony- they would love those tulips.  THEN, I thought (I know, I know.  My mind works in mysterious ways.  Even I am astounded at the circular route it takes!) Anyways, I thought of a Twitter message  whoops can’t say that- I swore off Twitter didn’t I!   I was reminded of an  email that I recieved ( I get them both ways!)  from Sew,what’s new.com about sewing a wristlet pincushion.    I am on a pincushion craze right now. I also can’t understand why I can never ever, ever find any straight pins in this house.  Do the cats eat them?  Hope not!  That, however,  is another story altogether.

Back to this story.  I decided to meld the two ideas together and came up with this uber cute little thing…

After reading the directions from the website,  and making my own wristcushion as a prototype, I decided that a few alterations to the pattern would make this a “make in 15 minutes” little project.  Assuming of course that you don’t have to draft a paperpieced tulip while you are making supper.  And assuming that you don’t have to gather up all the cute little vintage pillowcase scraps left over from making starting a baby quilt.  And assuming you don’t look at the quilt blocks and decide to sew up just  a few more sashing pieces.  Then screwing up because the last row didn’t need sashing.  Then…

To make a long story short(er), this project actually got done! 

A quick rundown on what I did. 

1.  Cut a  rectangle of fabric- or do what I did and embellish with other fabrics. Mine was 4 inches by 14 inches.  The tutorial that is on the website above suggests 5 by 15.  Do whatever you want!  I won’t be looking over your shoulder!

2.  Fold in half lengthwise and stitch across one end and down the long side. 

3.  Turn and press.  

4.  Find  the center.  Measure out 1.5 inches each way from the centre and mark.  Stitch across ONE of these lines.

5.  Stuff.  I used clipping from Kate’s diapers- not HERS, but you get the idea.  ( and also not done!) Bamboo fleece and absorbant liner stuff.  It was handy and actually in the garbage can, but it looked like it would work!   If you are picky about what you use, feel free to use emery, steel wool, pencil shavings  or whatever is right for you.  Me, I am not that picky!
Stuff it pretty tightly, and pack it in so that you can stitch across the other marked line.

6.Make sure it fits your wrist, and add the velcro.  Best to use your noggin when figuring out where the loop and hook parts go.  Elsewise you will be “frogging it “ for sure!

A close of  the tulip.  Please ignore the unmatched spots.  I was trying to hurry!  There are some colour issues with this photo for sure!

And on my wrist.

No more pins lying in wait for unsuspecting male feet to step on.  Well, in theory anyways!  It will be in the mail to my good friend, as soon as I find her address! 

It’s a good thing that I am taking the tree down.  I found a present that I forgot to give,  hanging on a  branch in a Nash Jeweller’s bag.  Young Miss Leah didn’t make it home from Alberta for Christmas, so I gave her presents when I was out there for her birthday, and sent some in the mail AND gave some to her boyfriend to take back.  But I forgot this one.  A sweet little bracelet made out of a fork.  As an added bonus, I was supporting a local artist.  Apparently these were hot, hot, hot in the London area this season.  So Leah, if I can’t get it to your boy before he returns, get ready to visit your favourite post office!

Time to get back to the Christmas Tree the dismantling of anything remotely Christmas themed!

First of all, Happy New Year to you all!  My hopes for you this year include time for you to do what you want to do, and for you all to, as My Leah said so well in a recent blog post “be kind and gentle to your soul”!   Be YOU!

I generally do not like to make hard and fast New Years resolutions.  Too much room for failure there in my opinion.   This year though whoops- In 2009, however, I felt for the most part as if I was stuck in a huge rut.  I was not being gentle to my own soul, nor cherishing myself in the least. Things were not getting accomplished that needed to be, and I was not feeling good about ME.   Leah’s post got me really thinking about that, and after a lot of thought, I decided to make a few Couturesmith resolutions, in order to start a revolution in my own soul!  

1. Facebook and Twitter- less of it.  My husband says that the internet is like a big black hole.  It sucks you in and the next thing you know, it’s tomorrow and nothing got done today.  So, Bubble Spinner and Bejeweled Blitz- goodbye!  Farmville- your farmer is retiring and putting all the animals out to pasture.  I can’t get rid of it alltogether- THAT would be insane!- but I can curtail certain aspects of the time sucker.

2.  Sewing – To get my head organized.  I have so many half done projects, and yet, everytime I turn around, I have an idea in my head for “the cutest (insert garment type here)!    Ergo many unfinished items.  My darlings continually roll their eyes at me.  I haven’t figured out how to achieve this goal!  Perhaps I need to realize that I don’t have to make everything!  I also need to perfect a pants pattern.  ASAP!   That much I do know!

3.  Excercise and health.  Don’t we all make this type of revolution?  A few years ago I dropped 30 lbs, and loved the way I felt.  They have been creeping back on, to the point where I am so mad at myself!  2010 will be my year of losing 20 +10!  I could say that I am going to wake up at 5 am each day, excercise for an hour, eat only egg whites, and with the snap of a finger or two be svelte and gorgeous.  We all know THAT isn’t goig to happen!  I happen to like the South Beach diet, and will give it another go.  I’m not one for spending lots of money on what is really a matter of willpower, common sense and habit anyways. Wayyy too practical for that one!  Stepping up the excercise regime- taking the dog for longgg needed walks,  taking the great ideas I get from my Monday night “boot camp” and extending it throughout the week,  and- assuming we get more snow- good xcountry ski outings will help.  As will adhering to Revolution #1!

4. Blogging.  More of it.  Are you thinking that it jars with the other revolutions?  Not really.  Writing has always been something I love to do.  Part of cherishing who I am HAS to involve doing something that makes me happy.  And happy- oh look what I made- oh so cute posts? Maybe a few, but I want to expand my blogging horizons into some more serious topics.  I am still fleshing that one out.  (Miss Erica, now that I wrote “fleshing” , will I get all kinds of interesting search engine results? kidding!)

Four revolution resolutions.  Is that enough?  Is it too many?  Will it be enough to get me to live in my happy place, or will I spend the year mentally yelling at myself?  Time will tell! 

Oh, and this one has been bugging me for a while.  Meg, you must know the answer.  After a full stop-period-.-  is it one space or two?  MY grade school grammar knowlege has me saying 2.  Other people say 1.  Others of course say, “what in heaven’s name are you talking about, and why do you even care?!”  But I want to know, once and for all!

The Olympic Flame has been making it’s way through Canada for the past few months.    It began its journey on October 30, starting out in Victoria, BC.  Since then it has passed within 100 kilometers of 90% of the population of Canada- a pretty cool statistic, I think. 
Living in Southwestern Ontario, we have had ample opportunity this week to see the Relay.  It did, in fact, travel down the road just 8 kilometers from our farm.  I was all prepared to stand there and cheer it by, just as we did during the 1988 Torch Relay, but I was informed that the torch is being driven in a van to the outskirts of towns and cities, and only then is it hand carried.  What the what?!! In 1988, wasn’t it actually “hand run” everywhere?  I guess in order to access the most people, certain corners have to be cut, but I prefer the “sea to shining sea” aspect of  it being passed from upraised arm to upraised arm across the country. 

Still, we gathered in Straford this morning to witness the event.  My sister in law lives in Stratford- (which, by the way, is a great theatre town and awesome for shopping and dining too.  It boasts the best Shakespearean Festival this side of  anywhere!)  and she invited us down to see it there.

As a picture is worth a thousand words, here is a photo synopsis of our day….

Cycling downtown- Seriously- Cycling in Ontario on December 28- CRAZY.  And not in a good way.  Bring on the snow anytime now Mother Nature…

 The Olympic Zamboni!

Times Square has got nothin’ on Straford – Look- a video screen!

Can you tell that I enjoyed people watching??!!

 Beach Balls were bouncing off everyone’s heads!

Here we are, being patriotic.  Mike, Baby Lauren and myself. 

 The Relay is sponsored, in part, by CocaCola.

 The Torch, entering the city

We got our photo taken holding the torch.  Here is Lauren.

 Leaving the city…

I like this shot with Tim Horton’s in the background.  Quisisential Canadian shot~

This CTV cameraman seems to be saying ” yup, and now it’s gone!”

And that, sadly, is the closest that this woman will get to the Olympics.  I was hoping to Ski Patrol for the Olympics, and I was invited to Patrol  the downhill races at the Paralympics immediately following the Olympics, but decided not to.  I will likely kick myself in years to come.  Oh well. That, as they say, is life!

To all my friends- real and “imaginary”,  ones  I have met and ones I have yet to meet, sewing friends, farming friends and acting friends, friends who are just so wonderful that I couldn’t picture life without them, sister friends, daughter friends and mother friends, friends who are close by and friends who live far away.

 I hope  your Christmas is  filled with peace and love, friends and family, laughter and fun.

Merry Christmas!