december

Milk glass and apothecary jars, vintage ornament from my grandmother and letters from my dad's old anagrams set.  These are a few of my favourite things.

And just like that December is upon us.  We've had more drizzle than snow so far but that hasn't dampened my holiday spirit.

I've hauled out my advent calendar and started to trim the house a bit for the season. 

In recent years I've decorated in a style best described as "vintage tinsel explosion."  I've loved it but this season I'm finding I'm craving simplicity from the music I play to the gifts I'm choosing.  So I've enjoyed creating a cozy oasis of found items from around the house and the backyard.  When I bought this house five years ago, I loved the stand of cedars at the very back of the yard and was excited to use them in Christmas decorating.  I finally got around to it.

I'd rather wander in my backyard than a big box store.  (The mercury glass inspired ornaments are from last year's #bringitdowntown trip to Savour Decor)

No need to pack away this cozy corner after the 25th!

Our local markets are in full swing for the holidays.  I wish there was some way to capture the fragrance of the Christmas tree and wreath stalls.  I splurged on a wreath of boxwood, juniper, cedar, pine and fir.  It was a touch pricier than a standard fir or spruce but the mixed greenery means it doesn't require any extra decoration. 

On Saturday afternoon, I picked up my Uncle John to help him out with come Christmas shopping downtown.  We live in the same city but don't get to see one another very often so  in the past few years this has become a nice bit of uncle-niece bonding.  Of course, I had to stop at Urban Almanac - Ben whipped up a Choclatea for me.  It might be my new favourite drink.  

Sunday brought more markets and more wreaths as Denis and I hit the Boyce Sunday market and then the Northside Market.  (I finally tried the Ethopian food - it didn't disappoint.  Can't wait to introduce it to my dad!)

D. at the Boyce.  (and modelling his birthday hat - one of my favourite recent knitting projects)

How was your first weekend of December?  Have you started decorating?

in threes

My friend Hannah met her husband Aaron at the Miramichi Scottish Festival.  Their wedding was awash in tartan and kilts, bagpipes and heather and they honey-mooned in Scottish castles.  So when it came time to make a gift for their new daughter Sydney, I opted for something that would suit a wee lass on the Highlands.  Kelly Herdrich's "In Threes"  baby and children's cardigan is both classic and contemporary and would look adorable over a long sleeved white tee and a kilt.  Or jeans.  I love baby clothes in non-baby colours and this gold-flecked green is reminiscent of the colours of the Highlands.  It's a shade called Fennel by Berroco Vintage  - a super-soft machine-washable yarn that I can't recommend highly enough for any knit pieces that will get a lot of wear.  I especially love it for gifts for children because busy moms don't have time to be all precious about hand-laundering.

The real finishing touch were the three buttons I found in my button jar (do you have a button jar?  Mine's largely inherited from my late grandmother and I highly recommend them.)  I love the detailing of the little silver buttons.  

This will definitely be a go-to pattern.  It's a relatively quick knit, she sizes up to a child's size five and it's a shape that will be quite forgiving and allow a child lots of wear before it gets packed away.  It's too big for little Sydney yet but it will be a perfect sweater for spring.

so... where were we?

The last post I wrote was the day before our season opened at Theatre New Brunswick.  The next 45 days or so were a bit of a blur.

We had a great season opener with Oleanna including a very nice review in the Globe and Mail.  Wearing a different blogging hat I had the chance to interview one of the show’s stars Natalie Roy, a Glad Girl if ever there was one.  My friend Ingrid hosted a lovely opening night bash at her gallery  - so much fun!

Opening night of Oleanna at Ingrid Mueller Art + Concepts

 The day after Oleanna opened we started rehearsals for Norm Foster’s new comedy Hilda’s Yard. Watching a world premiere come together is a really special experience particularly when you have a cast like we did – so many wonderful new friends.  Since we opened the week after Thanksgiving we all got together to celebrate and eat turkey together.   

Thanksgiving orphans take over Fred's kitchen

A week later the show was over (we have very short runs here) and I was hosting the closing night party.  And then it was time to get ready for the TNB Gala Hooray for Hollywood.  Which brings us to last weekend and an event fit for Hollywood royalty – an amazing night and a wonderful fundraiser that allows us to keep creating theatre magic.

A few of the details from the TNB Foundation gala - snapped during set-up.

Somewhere in there I had the chance to see Great Lake Swimmers thanks to Denis, wrote a couple of blog posts on local eating and the harvest markets for the Fredericton Tourism Town Square Social Hub and got a good start on my Christmas knitting  - which unfortunately I can’t show you since the recipients tend to read this blog…

And now it’s November!  The days are shorter, the tree branches are bare and the temperature is dipping.   All the makings for a few long winter’s nights and hopefully a little more regular blogging!

So what have you been up to?  I can't wait to hear!

a day in the country

With our first show of the season opening this week and a world premiere heading into rehearsals on Friday, leisurely Saturdays are a luxury.  Last weekend Caleb and I decided to hit the road in search of "old things and wine" in Cambridge-Narrows.  The hour long journe down the 105 to Cambridge Narrows is one of my favourite drives and I try to make it at least once a summer or autumn.   And a stop at  9J Antiques is always a must:  two floors and a large back building packed to the rafter with treasures!  With bigger budget (and a bigger car!) I think we would have happily trucked back some great furniture pieces but in the end we each found a few little items and even a hard-to-source prop for next spring's big musical. 

fall into fredericton

Such as busy and fun weekend!  Kicked things off with a Theatre New Brunswick company barbeque at Caleb's to celebrate the start of our 46th season (!) and the arrival of the Oleanna cast.  Productions are crazy times but I love when new casts arrive and new friendships and memories are made as you create something very special together.

Saturday brought a trip to the Boyce Farmer's Market, of course. It's the most wonderful time of the year at the farmer's markets - colourful, delicious fruits and vegetables and the folks who grow them.  A winning combination.

It's not all food at the market. 

run fredericton run!

This is my 16th spring living in Fredericton so its hard to believe that until yesterday I had never made it out to the Fredericton Marathon. I suppose it's not that hard to believe when you consider that a) I typically consider running something to be done only in the event of a zombie attack and b) marathon Sunday seemed unthinkable after a marathon Saturday night. 

However having fully transitioned from night owl to early bird in recent years, I was up bright and early yesterday to take a stroll down to Queen Square to cheer on a few of my good friends who were running the 10k.  

The weather was drizzly and the temperatures chilly but it was impossible not to feel energized by the nearly 1300 runners participating in the various events.

Ignore the time behind him - the chips don't lie!  He came in at 59:45

I had so much fun cheering on people I knew and even people I didn't!  And I was especially proud of two of my best friends.  This was Denis' second year running the 10k and he came in just under his goal of an hour. 

Jilanna and Denis celebrate a job well done.

Jilanna, whose journey over the past two years has been inspiring, finished her first 10k.  After dropping 70 pounds from 2010 to 2011, Jilanna took up running in the fall of 2011.  She ran her first 5k on New Year's Day in honour of her late uncle Brian and yesterday she completed her first 10k.  I was so happy to be able to be there to cheer her on!

Leaving Jilanna to celebrate with her very proud husband Dave and her family, Denis and I headed to Cedar Tree to warm up and toast his successful run with the good coffee and plates of eggs and hummus.

Maybe it was all the endorphins in the air or the earliness of the hour but after the first batch of runners took off from the start line I texted my friend Lori to suggest that next year we do the 5k.  No zombies required.

miss you

Oh my goodness!  It's been so long - too long! - since I've checked in. Work has been a little bit mad lately.  Today we wrap up a sold-out run of The Dollar Woman; an NB story written by Alden Nowlan and Walter Learning and starring an all-NB cast.  I've been pretty seriously geeking out over this entire experience. 

We're also in rehearsals for a hilarious musical comedy, The Musical of Musicals (The Musical!).  The premise of this show is one plot line told in the style of five different musical theatre composers.  So imagine Rodgers and Hammerstein's Corn or Andrew Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Junita.  The satires are brilliant and bang on.   My office is next to the studio theatre where they rehearse so I'm basically treated to Broadway shows all day, every day for three weeks - nice work if you can get it!

And the cast is just jaw-dropping - the adorable Jenny Toulmin has played Anne of Green Gables in Charlottetown (and across North America) for five seasons,  the role of 'Mrs. Tottendale' in the original Toronto production of The Drowsy Chaperone  was specifically created for Judy Marshak and her ukelele and Jake Simons was Johnny in the North American premiere Dirty Dancing so, yeah, he's just as cool as you'd imagine.  And then there's Freddy Mac.  If you're in Fredericton and only know him as a radio morning host, you ain't heard nothing yet.  He absolutely blew me away in the first sing-through! 

AND in the middle of all of this Caleb has put together next season's line-up which I am so excited about it's going to take every ounce of self-control I have not to tell you about it before the announcement later this spring.

So what's new with you? xo

hockey dreams in my hometown

If you think that you are a Canadian, then my boy I will show you I am a Canadian too- if they check me from behind I will get up, if they kick and slash I will get up.  

If we play three against five for fifteen minutes I will get up.  

I too am a Canadian.  

They will not take this away from me.

David Adams Richards, Hockey Dreams

Growing up on Grand Manan, we used to skate on whatever patch of ice we could find. Winters are mild on the island so when it was cold enough that a small accumulation of water in my neighbour's field froze it was cause for celebration.  Looking back I think my "skating pond" was maybe 10 feet by 10 feet.   If we were lucky and the stars aligned and the ponds froze,  you had to navigate bumpy surfaces, branches frozen in the surface of the ice and the occasional muskrat. (As an aside: I developed a skating style that compensated for these imperfections so that when I finally hit slick, Zambonied ice for the first time at Acadia, I couldn’t actually stay on my feet for longer than 20 seconds.)  For as long as I or anyone else can remember, we talked about it all the time but having a hockey rink on the island seemed like the impossible dream.

The ritual that seemed to be playing out in every other small town in Canada parents and kids flocking to the rink in the wee hours of the mornings eluded us. Once again our island life had seemingly cut us off from the shared experiences of ‘the mainland.’ So last weekend as I watched the Grand Manan Islanders skate out to centre ice, as I watched my cousins' daughters take to the ice proudly sporting their Islanders jerseys, I'll admit it was emotional watching my hometown finally live out their hockey dreams.

In November Mars Canada made a significant investment in the island rink and they made this documentary.  It's a great look not only at our hockey story but a great introduction to my very special hometown.

 

australia day

Happy Australia Day!  Ok, well technically the day is nearly over for my friends Down Under but I had to give a little shout out to an amazing country.   I was never someone who put visiting Australia on her "bucket list" but when the chance came to visit Lori and Leon  in 2010, it was too good an opportunity to pass up.  Even in the middle of a Melbourne winter, Australia delighted.   From the outdoorsy: lush hill country and and temperate rainforests, koala-spotting and paddling with platypus... to the decadent: the food! the wine! the shops! the wine!  And the coffee.  Oh my, the coffee.  Even the most out of the way rest stop seemed to possess an espresso maker and a knowledgeable barista.  Australia?  Who knew?

And most of all the people.  Maybe it's because traveling is so much part of their own culture and they know what it's like to be a visitor but I found everyone I met  - from shopkeepers to Lori and Leon's besties - to be welcoming, gregarious and warm; interested in hearing about Canada and so proud to show off their country. 

So cheers Australia!  Thanks for giving me a great adventure!

sunday night at mam & bap's

Every Sunday night for as long as I can remember our family has been spending Sunday night supper at ' Mam & Bap's' (our family nickname for my grandparents  Betty & Ray).  My weekends on the island usual involve catching a ferry back to the mainland late Sunday morning.  But since I took Monday off from work today, I got to take part in this ritual that's been going on for nearly forty years.  And now there's a new generation making their own memories! 

What little rituals does your family have?

 Mam & Bap cheer on their kids, grandkids & great-grandkids at the skating rink.

it's the weekend. kick back and relax.

The weekend is finally here.  The weather here is not great for much other than staying warm and cozy in the house.   Whatever you're doing this weekend, I hope it's a great one.  Here are some of things that made me glad this week:

I love Downton Abbey.  I love lamps.  Ergo I love The Lamps of Downton Abbey.

Handwritten cards and letters would be even better with these Roald Dahl stamps from the Royal Mail.

Personalized paper dolls with movable joints? Adorable.

The ladies of Advanced Style prove great style is timeless.  Can't wait for the documentary!

Only Anthropologie could make dental hygiene look this good.

File under: 'Want' - Martha Stewart office supplies.  Hopefully they'll be available soon in Canada!

Must give a little plug to my cousin Hunter, age 12, who has started his own photography blog.  He's such a cool kid.

And finally: Ryan Gosling, Arts Administrator.This is why we have the interwebs, people.

Happy weekend!

holiday album

Wow. That went fast.  Hard to believe Christmas vacation has come and gone for another year and I head back to the routine tomorrow.  As quickly as it sped by, I had a wonderful time with family and friends and lots of delicious eating.  Hope you had a great holiday and made lots of memories!
 

Clockwise from top left:
Christmas lights at St. Mary's; Christmas dinner on new dishes from my grandparents; gorgeous white Christmas; Christmas Eve visiting with Luke; Mom's lobster stew - butter, cream, lobster - yum!; spontaneous shopping trip with Jennifer at Made You Blush; Christmas Eve panna cotta with raspberry coulis; gifts with Denis; Finn's first Christmas with mama Lori and papa Leon; champagne and sparkles on New Year's Eve; Boxing Day breakfast in Rothesay with my brother, sister-in-law and our families; ringing in the New Year with Pretty in Pink at the Boyce Farmer's Market.

girl put your records on.

Some of my earliest memories involve my dad and vinyl LPs.  Every Sunday dinner afternoon brought the CBC radio program Gilmour's Albums after which my dad and I would spend most of the afternoon playing record after record and talking about them until one or both of them fell asleep.  This was not a proto-hipster collection.  It was dominated by classical music - composers were to me what hockey or baseball players were to other kids -  with a little Paul Robeson, Stan Rogers, Nat King Cole and Simon and Garfunkel thrown in for good measure.

While I think it's fantastic that I can carry my entire music collection in my pocket today and discover new music at the click of a button there's just something about vinyl.  I bought an old record player a few years ago but truth be told I hardly used it for fear of electrocution or fire  from the worn old cord...  Today I finally satisfied my craving for vinyl with the vintage-inspired Crosley Traveler.   What's a better soundtrack for a long autumn evening than the warm imperfect crackle of vinyl?

how i spent my summer vacation: 11 shots from summer '11

Grand Manan Adventure

beaches

Grand Manan Art Gallery

cousins

movies under the stars

berries!

rosehips

picking blackcurrants

chasing chickens

summer's end folk festival

new kid on the block

Gathering lots of great pics from my island visit but had to share these pics of baby Noah who I met for the first time on this visit.  Smiley snugly baby goodness for a Sunday morning!

Noah and his great-grandmother (my grandmother) Betty.

Sitting on my mom's lap.

Check out those two little teeth.  Nom!

Bliss.

comings and goings

A reunion 18 months in the making.

 Two days before Christmas 2009 Lori and Leon left for Australia.   Yesterday they returned to Canada.  And while I was so unbelievably lucky to visit with them last year, it's been a long 18 months!  Since just after Christmas 2010 we've had June 16th circled on the calendar and I was so lucky to be able to be at the airport with her family for their homecoming.  And as you can see below, this is not the only big arrival for them this year!  Eleven has always been Lori's magic number and 2011 is set to live up to that promise!

welcome back to Canada, Mr. Quick!

LOTS of new changes on the way - Mama Joan and the mama-to-be

A welcome home card from Hunter James

 From the airport and welcoming back dear friends, it was a mad dash to the Delta to send another friend off in style.  My pal and former colleague Marie is leaving us for Toronto.  And while we will miss our petite ami avec le grand rire - oh that laugh! - she's off on an amazing new chapter in her life!  (Maybe she'll even finally take up the cello... )

our little curly-haired spitfire

the delta patio offers one of the great views in the city for a great celebration

you just knew there would be speeches!