August

Rosemary, Queen Anne's lace, Japanese maple twigs.

Sue cleans and rearranges the icons.  Another rosemary bouquet adds lovely fragrance.

Raspeberry Pie for Job's birthday, made with fresh, local raspberries.  It was a hit!

I haven't posted much this summer because by the end of the day, my brain is fried and I'm too tired to write.  I'd rather read other blogs.  And sew, while watching Project Runway reruns.

I've also been a little disheartened with the pursuit of blogging; it takes up time, and there's not much return on it, other than some sweet comment from a dear reader or two (maybe three :D).  I am interested in knowing who reads my blog, and the "largeness" of the internet sometimes overwhelms me and makes me self-conscious.  I see from my statistics that my blog is being read.  But who's reading?

With the kids home all day, every day, my time is limited.  And yet, I still have a strong creative drive to do SOMETHING.  Maybe it's time to start chaneling my creative energies into something more focused, with a more purposeful "pay-off" (whether monetary or some other beneficial gain).  I don't know.

I appreciate my readers, and I love it when blogging instigates a conversation of some sort, or at least a small sense of familiarity with my readers.  And I appreciate those who take the time to comment, even if it's not with every blog post.  I suppose I become the most confused- maybe hurt in the mildest possible way?-- when someone has been reading my blog for a long time, and never says a word.

I guess there are some deep philosophical questions I'm wrestling with right now when it comes to blogging :)  Why do we blog?  What are we hoping to accomplish?  What do I share/ not share with the world?

We'll see where the rest of summer takes us, and whether my desire to blog is renewed in the autumn, once the kids are back in school and I'm able to think just a bit more.

For now?  I'm still sewing.  I'm knitting, too.   Reading when I can.  I'm taking the summer to focus more on my kids, and to work on managing my stress levels and finding the balance in it all.  My health is, at this very moment, okay (from what I can tell).  No strange bruises or bleeding issues.  I.T.P. is still a part of my life, but I think things might be at a leveling point for now.  I thank God, and I have made a new friend in St. Veronica (the woman with the issue of blood who received healing from Christ in the Bible).  I'm just thankful for each day that nothing abnormal occurs-- and I try not to worry about tomorrow.

We've been enjoying our summer, swimming lessons, blackberry-picking in the backyard, time with friends and family, and the recent addition of evening Paraklesis services during the Dormition Fast.  So lovely-- such a gift!

Last night we celebrated the Feast of the Transfiguation in anticipation. It was a lovely Divine Liturgy, and it was great to celebrate with a potluck afterwards.  We truly are blessed with a lovely church community!  And today, our little crew of mail-order caterpillars emerged from their chrysalides and morphed into butterflies!!!  It was amazing!  Such a great gift for all of us to witness on this lovely Feast day!  It was certainly unexpected considering we just got our caterpillars in the mail 8 days ago!  We thought it'd take much longer.  Sorry, I didn't think to take photos, I just took video. 

The perfect summer dessert?  Berry Pie.  Such a plain name... it deserves some title much more elaborate.  But it is just that.  Super simple, and super yummy.  All you have to bake is the crust (or not, if you buy one ready-made from the store).  Mine is gluten-free and Lenten (vegan), and technically could pass as Paleo.
  

"Just because" pie, made recently with fresh raspberries and frozen blueberries

  
Almond Crust:
     slightly modified from Nourishing Traditions (p. 558)

1 cup Almond Meal
3/4 c. arrowroot or corn starch
3/8 c. coconut oil
1/4 c. coconut sugar/ rapadura or granular sweetener of choice
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Process all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.  Or, just stir it all really well in a large bowl.  Press into a 9-inch pie dish and back at 325 degress for 30 minutes.

Berry Pie:
       slightly modified from Nourishing Traditions (p. 560)

4 c. of berries, fresh or frozen
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. maple syrup
2 Tbs. lemon juice
1 Tbs. gelatin ( dissolved in about 5 TBS water over low heat)
1 Tbs. chia seeds

Place half of berries in food processor with water and maple syrup.  Process until berries are liquefied.  Add lemon juice, chia seeds and gelatin mixture while motor is running (or between pulses, if, like me, you have don't have a fancy processor).  Place remaining berries in cooled pie crust and pour gelatin mixture over them.  Refrigerate several hours before serving.  

A whole lot of celebrating (and sewing!)

Birthday Girl #1!

Birthday girl #2!

Upcoming birthday boy, and little sis (my only autumn baby)! 

Man oh man, a lot of work goes into celebrating!  Two posts ago we were entering Great Lent, and now it's two weeks past Pascha (Easter).  I hope your celebration was truly blessed and full Light and Life!  Christ is Risen!  Christos Anesti!

Getting ready for the Pascha picnic

 Against better judgment (and some heavy sighs from DH), I did manage to crank out some Pascha dresses for the little girls in my life... or at least, some of them :)  I made three baby dresses for my 2 goddaughters and Masha, and then a dress for Vasi (she's wearing it in the photo above, but you can't see it well).  Susy's godmother is a a very talented seamstress, and she offered to make an adorable dress for Susy (worn here, over the... polo shirt?  Ok ;D).   Joe looked spiffy in a 2nd-hand striped button-up. 

Two Pascha dress for my goddaughters, and a purple spring dress for Masha.

 

The day AFTER Pascha, I kid you not, was Vasi's birthday.  Since her school observes Bright Monday, she had the day off!  So she was able to invite friends over for a birthday party.  It was lovely, except I'm slowly realizing that "go with the flow" is no longer an effective approach to parties for young ladies.  I'm realizing all of those organized and seemingly petty party games are REALLY a method for keeping a gaggle of 8-9 years olds from killing eachother in a battle of emotions and drama.  HOLY COW.  What happened to cute toddlers running around in the grass, eating cupcakes?  Okay... No, it wasn't that terrible.  And I must clarify, most of the drama stemmed from the birthday girl herself.  Thank goodness for DVDs (Frozen!) and rubber band looms-- they saved the day in terms of providing good distractions.

The Travel Bag!

Bright Tuesday?  I dove into a collaborative art project for Vasi's class (above).  I had the students design and draw a travel-themed patch, which I then appliqued to a handmade messenger bag (the Colette Cooper).  I filled it with travel-themed items, and it was all donated to the school's silent auction.  It was a really fun project, and I was so pleased with the end-result.  It took me all week to make-- phew!  The kids really did a great job with their badge designs-- I was very impressed!

Filled with goodies!

As soon as the bag was completed and turned in, I started to make my dress for the aforementioned silent auction/ Gala fundraiser for the school.  Well, no, I didn't "start" the dress.  I started researching dresses, which almost took more time than sewing the dress itself.  Since the gala theme was the "1920s", I googled and stared at pictures of dresses from that era until my eyes were crossed and my brain was complete mush.

I would then look through all of my patterns and evaluate which ones had potential to alter or augment, because I was DETERMINED to use patterns and fabric from my own stash, and to not spend a penny on new materials/ patterns/ notions.  I sketched out lots of ideas, but kept coming back to this color-blocked, art nouveau-ish "gown."
  
Although a simple flapper-esque shift could have been so much easier, I didn't really want anything too short.  And those dropped-waisted dresses are very "in" right now, but I didn't want anything that looked too costume-ey or boxy.  So I merged two patterns together, and came out with this:

Gatsby-inspired Gabriola merge... "Gabs-by"?

The bodice is from See & Sew B5794 (View B), and the skirt is Sewaholic Gabriola Skirt.

I converted the skirt's waistband into a 6-inch midriff section, which joined the bodice and skirt together.  Using contrasting black fabric helped me economize older fancy-ish scraps from my stash, and the skirt was... well... a thrifted gray cotton sheet.

Getting ready to do the Charlston

Although I knew I was taking on a lot when I settled on this design, not to mentioned squeezing it out in 4 days time, my excitement fueled my focus and really drove me to get'er done.  You know what they say on Project Runway; just go with your gut.   

This skirt pattern is so lovely and swishy.  No one has ever accused me of being a "girly-girl," but I will say this skirt has a very princessy-feel to it.  I think it stands alone beautifully as a skirt, but I could also see myself attaching it to a variety of different bodices to create a variety of dresses.  

My handsome guy and I.  Behind us?  The Portland Timbers soccer field!  How random!

The evening itself was a whole lot of fun, and most importantly, some money was raised for our beloved school!   Job looked very handsome in his black dress-shirt that I found at Value Village the day before (I also found my gold necklace and black t-strap shoes there!  It was a pretty awesome trip to Village of Value). 

You thought the fun ended there, didn't you?  No!  There's more!  Today (the day after the Gala) was Susy's birthday!  Right after church, we came home and had a small party for her.  She had three guests, and although there was a bit of drama initially, they all ended up having a great time together.  Even if I did have to pull out the nail polish and eye shadow to keep the girls busy :)  Happy Birthday to my sweet Susy!  It's so hard to believe that my little girls are really growing up!    

Wow.  What a start to spring!  Pascha, two birthdays down, another one later this month (go Joseph!), and a lot of manic sewing in between (not to mention a spring virus or two, making life extra fun).  I'm already beat!  I hope you are well, and enjoying the Paschal season, spring weather, your family and loved ones!  I'm off to bed!

A new year!

Happy New Year!

I'll go ahead and start with a succinct description of our holiday celebrations: mildly put, the theme was "SIMPLIFICATION."  Or, "survive", more like it.  A week before Christmas, Vasi was the first to be hit with a virulent stomach bug.  Susy got it next, and they each recovered at varying paces.  We thought we were out of the woods by the time the weekend came, but Sunday morning I was greeted by the unmistakable stench of vomit upon entering Joe's room.  How that kid slept in his own vomit, I'm not sure.  He's a great sleeper, I guess? Surprisingly that was his lone episode, and he awoke with energy and vigor to tackle the day.

Winter Walk

Later that afternoon I started to feel unwell.  The day did not end well for me, and I succumbed to the virus after having to leave early from our goddaughter's namesday celebration (lame nouna!).  Unfortunately after I got home, I started to vomit up blood, because of the ol' I.T.P., and gave the doctor a call to ask about it.  She suggested I go to the E.R. "just in case", to rule out internal bleeding.  Thank God, I got into a room very quickly (I was in pretty bad shape), but after two hours, I was released with a fresh I.V. of fluids, and prescriptions for more steroids and anti-nausea medication.  Thankfully the blood was likely from an esophagus laceration instead of anything more serious.  And thankfully, I had not recieved Holy Communion earlier during Divine Liturgy.  That would not have been good....

Needless to say, it was a little bit scary.  This is one of those instances where my health condition can quickly become complicated, without much moment's notice. 

The rest of the week, we were all still a little wobbly as we recovered from the stomach bug.  When Job and I awoke at 11 pm on Christmas Eve to rouse ourselves for the midnight Liturgy, we just couldn't muster the strength to move, let alone get ourselves and four small children dressed and ready.  I was very sad to miss the much-anticipated Christmas service, but what can you do?  Lord have mercy. Next year!!!

White cheddar puffs are her new best friend. 

Our extended family also battled with sicknesses over the holidays.  We saw relatives just long enough to exchange apologies for avoiding hugs and cross-contaminating our various viruses.  Gifts were exchanged, but time together was to-the-point and limited.  As an Italian, like it or not, I'm used to large doses of time with family, lingering over long dinners and bantering into the later hours. 
My body appreciated the toned-down approach, but it was certainly an adjustment to what my expectations usually are.

The Feast of St. Basil.  All of the "Basils/Vasilis/Vasilikis/Vasilias await the cutting of the vasilopita

 

 

Job had some time off, but took advantage of working during the quieter holiday hours at his office.  Thankfully, the kids seemed content to stay home and play with their new toys, so I can't complain about that.  I think they're starting to get a little restless now, though.  Actually, I think we were ALL a little stir-crazy today, myself very much included. 

Christmas breakfast.  Gluten free gingerbread waffles... on recovering tummies, nonetheless

Usually I really relish these 12 days of Christmas.  The time between the Nativity and Theophany always seem to languid, reflective, peaceful-- filled with twinkling lights and thankful hearts.  This year there are still elements of that, but we really had to readjust our expectations this year, scale back on activities for our own sakes, and focus on maintaining a calm, healthy, low-stimulation household.  I missed the baking and the mad-panic sewing-- my health would not benefit from any of the added stress, or so I thought.  Maybe next year I'll just do it anyway :)  More platelets in 2014 mean more parties, please!  Haha.   

I just pray that 2014 will be a year of physical and spiritual restoration.  As a mom of four, I know that I cannot avoid STRESS entirely.  But where can I cut out unnecessary stress?  I'm not great at discerning between what can wait and what can't. I pray that God will show me throughout the year.

Decorating the tree earlier in December

I do look forward to seeing what my sewing machine produces this year. 

                                    My sewing goals are:

-Baby quilts (3... maybe 4 that I know of so far!)

-Focus on simple patterns.  Crank out some instant-gratification goodies.  I'm excited to explore some of my Japanese pattern books (especially Simple Modern Sewing), and get some mileage out of this adorable skirt pattern I bought today.  And, oh yes!  I also ordered the Anna Dress pattern from By Hand London.  It's so lovely, simple and elegant, though I'll probably skip the thigh-high slit :D  haha.  I think it has lots of potential for variations, and could be dressed up for special events or worn with a cardigan and tights for church. 

-"Fabric Fasting 'Til February"!!! 
 I SO NEED to "shop my stash!"  Yards and yards of fabric sit folded, teetering, on nearly every shelf surface in my sewing room and even in the kids' playroom.
I'd love to make it through the whole year without buying fabric, but if I can even abstain from purchases until February, I would consider it a small victory.  Here's to "Fabric Fasting 'Til February"!!! 

-Avoid silly, self-inflicted deadlines.  They just stress me out.  Sew because it's fun, not because life is a race.  

-Finish my Works In Progress.  I have an embarrassing amount of WIPs that need to get sewn up.  I have several dresses that also need altering, as well as some family quilts that are half-finished.  This really needs to happen before I buy anymore fabric.  :\  Seriously friends, feel free to keep me accountable on this!  I need to get whipped into shape with my WIPS.

-Knitting?  It's going.  I've only successfully completely one item, and that was a hat for Masha.  I spent a few weeks working on a bright yellow shawl... a super-simple garter stitch shawl that I've still managed to mess up!!!  I'm at a standstill because I have two long rows to UNKNIT, and I'm not looking forward to it.  I plan on taking classes at the local yarn shop this year and hope to improve this skill in 2014 with a little more guidance.  But for now, I'm happy to sew :) 

A few of the crew on the night we went to ZooLights!  Thank God, we had enough energy that night to get out and have some fun together :) 

Summer's End

Colette patterns Ceylon dress

Piping along the back yoke.  Fit issues here... meh.  :)

Just after  we got home from the wedding

My soon-to-be kindegartner!!! 

Susy's shot of the sky

Little J-Boy!

Surf girls :) 

Busy beach babies

Summer is coming to a quiet close.  I can't believe that the girls will begin school THIS Tuesday!  I'll really miss them.  I know I'm weird. 

The last few months have been fairly uneventful, which is kind of okay with me.  My body needed a summer break-- some permission, if you will-- to take it easy.  Now I'm feeling pretty good-- Glory to God!-- at least, good enough to tackle the beach with four kids and go on a family day trip to the local amusement park (last week).  Day trips.  I can do day trips!  I even joined my kids on some of the kiddie rides, which is the extent of my risk-taking  :)


The ocean was so relaxing.  I know I get teased by my family for not "doing much" at the beach (I'm okay with napping/ people watching/ and poking a toe or two in the water).   But I love the fact that my ever-nagging sense of self-consciousness seems to disappear when I'm close to the water.  I feel like a kid again, even if it's a lazy kid who'd rather poke around the tidepools than roll around in the sand and get drenched in freezing cold water).  One of my psychology college professors liked to assure us that, once you turn 30, you just stop caring what people think... in a good way.  Well, I'm 30.  Perhaps I was expecting an overnight sort of metamorphisis-- an immediate flushing of my inner self-critic, straight down the drain.  Needless to say, I'm not there yet.  :)

So until that happens, I'll have to remind myself to make more trips to the beach.

 The dress?  The dress!  It's my most recent selfish sewing project.  I wore it to a wedding two weeks ago.  It's yet another Colette pattern, the Ceylon dress.  I made another version of this dress about 3 years ago, right after Joseph was born.  That first dress has since been dyed, taken in, and worn many many times since then.  Clearly, it's a favorite!  I'm not sure why it took me so long to make another, but I finally did!  The pattern has such great instructions, and sewed up nicely.  I'm sure I could fuss over certain "fit issues", but I'm lazy.  The fabric?  A thrifted bedsheet!  No joke.  I did add some piping to kick up the classiness a notch. 

Now I'll spend the last shreds of summer finishing up sewing Vasi's school uniforms, spending time with family and god-family over the weekend, and of course liturgy on Sunday morning.   

Happy be-lated Feast of the be-heading of St. John the Baptist.  This feast day happens to be our parish feast day, and St. John's bold example is never more needed and applicable than it is today.  I never tire of hearing about his fascinating life and earthly ministry.  May God have mercy on us, through his mighty intercessions! 

 

Christ is Risen! Truly He is Risen!

This Lent, I was reminded of how prideful I am, and how much I hate ASKING for things. I hate burdening others and asking for help. It is this way in my relationships with others, and also in my relationship with God. All too often I forget that God is a loving Father who wants me to depend on Him, to SEEK and to ASK. Christ came into this world to take on our human nature and to offer healing for our sicknesses, but only if we ask, entreat, reach out, confess, and return to Him. All fleshly weariness is renewed with God's unconditional love. It is Joy indescribable.

Wishing you a wonderful and grace-filled Bright Week, from our family to yours! The girls have school off today, and we are able to recuperate a little from the busy-- but wonderful--weekend.

Now, to keep the joy of the Christ's Resurrection and the Paschal Light burning brightly!

Thou didst descend into the tomb, O Immortal,

Thou didst destroy the power of death!

In victory didst Thou arise, O Christ God,

proclaiming "Rejoice" to the myrrhbearing women,

granting peace to Thy apostles,

and bestowing resurrection to the fallen.

-- Paschal Kontakion

November Goodness

St. Nektarios with V. and her friend, Little P. (she drew this during church last night)

So I haven't posted for the past five days. Eek! So much for a seamless, successful month full of blog posts. Man, I was on a roll there, too!

You see, I was at my parish's annual women's retreat this past weekend. I'm so glad I went! The discussion topic was "Planting Seeds of Stillness". I think as women, it's easy to get really, really busy. I, for one, have spent-- no-- WASTED a lot of time daydreaming about a carefree life, with minimal responsibilites and few obligations outside of my own family. And to tell the truth, I was sort of hoping/ expecting the retreat discussion to head in that direction. You know the classic topics (we've all heard them): "Make time for YOU." "Pamper Yourself" "Indulge-- Go for it!" "Put yourself FIRST."

Surprisingly, though, the retreat was all based on the Jesus prayer, and drawing closer to God via prayer. The result? Inner stillness, and True Peace. Father T. (who was our speaker) pointed out just a few of the many saints who lead active lives. Think St. Basil, and even the saint for today, St. Nektarios. These are just two examples of the many saints who lived extremely busy lives, and yet-- they weren't consumed by it. All because they guarded their thoughts and maintained a prayerful heart and mind. It did not grant them external peace, necessarily. But it did grant them internal peace, and the strength to dedicate their lives in a way that bore much fruit. This example really caused me to evaluate my own spiritual life. Do I live in the present? Or do I dwell on the past and alternately daydream/ agonize over the future?

The Kingdom of God is within! Oh, how I forget that EVERY SINGLE DAY. It is absolutely mind-blowing though. If only I gladly and freely occupied my mind and heart with focused prayer-- what an incredible gift I (we!) have, to be able to communicate with God, and yet I keep attempting to "figure things out myself" and lean on my own understanding, to worry, to distract and entertain myself instead.

I don't have any pictures of the retreat center we were at, but it was so beautiful and so peaceful there! I really enjoyed having opportunities to talk to friends, and also to meet and chat at length with people who traveled from out of town who I hadn't met before. (Mimi! I missed you!!)

In less than a month, V. will start preschool! I'm nervous and excited at the same time. When I think of the upcoming morning rush-routine, I get a little nauseous (oops, I put the words "morning" and "nauseous" in the same sentence-- no, I'm not pregnant! hehe). Mornings and I have never, ever gotten along. I want to wake up when I want to wake up, and anyone or anything that tries to stir me from my slumber is gonna get the stink eye. It's horrible really, and I think it's more of a spiritual battle than anything else. Lord have mercy!

When I think of the upcoming "school mornings", waking up, getting V. ready and prepped, packing a lunch, feeding all of the kids, and getting her to school on time, I'm trying to plan a streamlined routine. Shower? Completely optional. Clothes? Presentable jammies in the guise of "work out" clothes. Shoes? Slip ons. Coffee? This is on my Christmas list. Hair? I'm being tonsured an official "mom" and chopping it off into an easy breezy bowlcut. No, I kid... for now, at least.

For now I am practicing going to bed earlier, which is curtailing my sewing. Which means i might actually have to shop for Christmas presents this year. Oh well, not nearly as fun, but at least it's efficient.

Speaking of slip-ons, here's a funny realization I had. I've been wanting some of those cool lace-up boots, the kind that sort of look feminine, yet rugged, folksy yet 90s grunge-ish (I can't believe the 90s are already starting to come back a little bit...). While I was drooling over some pricey Doc Martens, it occurred to me that such a choice would be entirely impractical at this stage in my life. I mean, I don't even wear tennis shoes because I can't bother to stop and tie them. Why do I think I can handle shimmying my feet into lace-up boots each morning. The 17-year old in me still drools over fashionable, stylish clothes... and while I'd like to think I have maintained some tiny shred of discernment in my wardrobe today, I have to realize that there are some things I just can't or won't ever be able to pull off. Lace-up boots, along with jeggings and oversized tunics and hoop earrings, are just one of them.

We have our tree up, and half-decorated :) I didn't realize that our "ornament making" extravaganza last week yielded about 20 ornaments. So, our 5 foot tree is actually pretty well decorated at this point, even without the other ornaments added to it yet.

This morning I took the kids to Liturgy for St. Nicholas. We arrived just in time to get some antidoron. You see? I'm no good at this morning business, especially if Job isn't here to prod me along. However, I'll take whatever I can get. "Those who come at the last hour" will also be accepted... right? Even if they miss the banquet and just receive some crumbs.

We got to spend the rest of the morning/ early afternoon with our little buddy named Nicholas, to celebrate his feast day. After that we ran an errand, and when we got home the girls found that St. Nicholas had INDEED fill their stockings! Of course, mommy had to run into the house first while the kids were in the car to VERIFY that St. Nicholas had indeed arrived (if you know what I mean). And wouldn't you know? Oranges and quarters and candy were waiting for them in their stockings :)

It was a lovely day, though, and I hope yours was blessed as well. Anyone reading anything good for the Nativity fast this year?