Sicky McBarferson + Spring Spruce Up

Since it's been at least five months since anyone puked around here, Liliane took it upon herself to get the flu Saturday. Stéphane and I were actually out at his niece's wedding when it all went down (or came up!) so Pierre and Ariel were treated to the full toddler barf-o-rama. But don't worry! The fun continued every couple of hours through the night so we got our rightful parental share.

So we had a rough night which lead to a laaaazzy Sunday. Despite the gorgeous summery weather, I didn't actually go outside once. I looked outside admiringly, even longingly while my fevery baby lolled on my lap. Stéphane, however ventured out to get Liliane her very first tricycle and this nifty helmet:

She's been wearing it ever since he got home. Note the stylish Dora bandaid on her forehead. Her way of curing her headache, no joke. I know, she's a genius.

I think it's best to share the head-to-toe effect of her chosen ensemble for Sunday:

Underwear + Dora bandaids + bike helmet = sick chic.

Hero Papa brought these home as well:

Yep, Dora thongs. Notice a theme?

So enough about barf, let's talk new stuff.

These curtains came with our place when we bought it last year:

Nice, in a Chinese brothel kind of way. (I won't tell you which house guest came up with that description that I have actually TONED DOWN for my readers, you wouldn't believe me anyway.)

Colorful, but really not right.

After hunting all over the place, we chose these from Ikea. They don't look like much in the package (kind of like Mom-jeans from 1990, right?) But look what happens when you get a new silver curtain rod and hang them up:

Aaaaah. Isn't that nice?


Look! No more bawdy saloon lighting of any kind! Just serenity. Love it.

Since it is physically impossible to go to Ikea without spending the grocery money, a few more items found their way into our cart...

This tray literally screamed my name.

Theeerreessssaa! I am a fat bird tray in primary colours! Buy meeee!

And $7 later, my life was that much better.

Especially when I put it in the middle of our fancy new dining room table.

Hellloo handsome. I have dreaming of this moment forEVER. A real grown up, real wood table. With comfy chairs and everything. So great.

A fancy new table deserves a fancy new napkin holder.

OK, fancy might be an exaggeration, but it's kinda stylish, right? Another $7 well spent at Ikea.

So birds are a bit of a thing for me. My friend Sue painted this for us when Liliane was born. Isn't it purdy? It's not new but I'm including it in this post because I love it.

The lighting in our living room has been an ongoing discussion this year. I picked this little lamp up at Ikea and I love how it brightens up that corner.

Plus bonus butterfly shadow!

Yeah, so it would appear that orange has become our living room accent colour. I picked out these DVD storage boxes to seal the deal:

They go with this, another one of my favourite things:

This lamp was in my grandparents' den and I remember loving it as a kid.


We've been talking about getting L a table and chairs for ages. Surprise! Ikea has this very affordable set. Natch.

Frog cushions for $3.99? Okay!

And with that, (as my great-grandmother would have said) our spending pants are coming off. Not only off but they are getting packed away with the winter clothes.

Had a great holiday Monday at the Eco-Musée and Liliane is pretty much completely back to normal. Stéphane took some great photos there so I'll try and get back here to post those this week.

So how about those Habs? It was a valiant effort, right to the end. I admit that I don't mind that we're out. Certain members of this household are susceptible to MOOD CHANGES based on the success of their team, so I'm glad the emotional roller coaster is done! Although it was pretty cute hearing Liliane say " je veux garder du hockey Papa" and watching Stéphane's head pop off with joy.

Speaking of couch potatoes (who - huh?), I am going to sign up for an outdoor fitness class over the summer. It's called Cardio Plein Air and it's twice weekly workouts in Jarry Park which is about 12 minutes from our house by foot. I am mentioning it here so that I will be embarrassed if I fail to follow through. You hear me internet? Hold me accountable! I've had the feeling lately of wanting to get moving again beyond my daily walk to work and daycare and I love the idea of doing it outside. I'll keep you posted.

Have a good, short week everybody!

Let's Go to the Movies!

Hi there. I chose to start this post off with this picture because even though we took it weeks ago when it wasn't even spring yet, I feel it best represents the general weather patterns around here.


Brrrr.

I tweeted on the day that it SNOWED here a week or two ago that the person responsible for organizing spring in Montréal should be fired. Yeah. We haven't had a lot more snow, (Some on Mother's Day. Not even kidding.) but do we even have to talk about this in the month of MAY? Seriously.

Dear "spring": BITE ME.

Anyway, I took these photos on the very last day of shooting our movie (The Year Dolly Parton Was My Mom) last Saturday.

Wanna see how it all works?

This is the location, about a half hour outside of Montréal. A little family-run diner.


The windows are actually too big for the 1970s but no prob, we fixed them. Looks great from the inside.



Dear clients, sorry but we have been taken over by aliens with big lights. Watch for us on the big screen!

That's my boss Barbara chatting with Ann-Louise, master hair stylist. I also took this picture so I could get myself in it. Yep, I take my cues from Hitchcock.


So here is the inside.

This image represents 85% of what happens on a film set. Standing around, discussing.

Sometimes standing on a ladder and discussing.

That lovely lady is Claudine Sauvé, director of photography. She's in charge of the image. The lights, the camera, the film stock, everything. A female DP is pretty rare. But this show is all about girl power.


Speaking of which...

It's the holy movie trinity (from left): Tara (writer/director), Francine (1st Assistant Director) and Barbara (Producer). This film would not exist if not for Tara and the script she wrote, but Barbara is a close second. I literally don't have enough words to describe what producers do. In a word: EVERYTHING.

Look! It's me again! With Barbara and a delicious looking lemon meringue pie, no?

Now that the script is written (although changes are often made as we shoot so she's not completely off the hook), Tara is in director mode.

I would say that directing is almost as hard to describe as producing but think of her as the (sorry for the cliché) conductor of the symphony. The one who makes every single creative decision. I'm tired just typing that.

The 1st AD takes the script and then decides how the heck we're going to get it on film in as many days as the budget will allow. She makes things happen. It's amazing to watch.


Speaking of amazing, what about that HAIR? That's Pierre, sound mixer.


This is Virginie, the production manager. I love this picture because a lot of her job causes her to make faces like this. She is in charge of the crew, of making sure no one spends too much money, of 1001 tiny details. Now that the Montréal part of the shoot is done, she's not making those faces anymore.


Oh yeah, and there is the small matter of the people in FRONT of the camera.


This is Julia Stone and her Mom, Sue.

Julia is the star of this movie so keep your eye on her. This is her first feature film and she is already a total pro. Plus look how cute she is! AND they are from Vancouver!


Sue is responsible for the wicked updates on the film's Facebook page. She is not only the coolest stage parent I have ever met, but she's a big-time internet smarty pants.


These are Julia's boots. I think they speak for themselves.

Macha Grenon plays the mother, Marion. She is a big time star, she is gorgeous, she is the bomb. It doesn't get better than this my friends:



I think that just about concludes our tour of an indie Canadian movie set. Let me tell you that I haven't shown you a FRACTION of the people that work on a set, not to mention everyone who works in the production office. But you get the idea.

Any questions?

65

I have a passel of photos in my camera that just will not download so I'm taking that as a sign to keep this post short and sweet. Why does short go with sweet? Why not LONG and sweet? That's even better! See? I've already rambled off. Clever segue in 3..2..1...

So, speaking of long (and sweet)... I am dedicating my last few Sunday night brain cells to writing about these two:


Ruth and Rolf. R & R. Grandma and Grandpa. Mör and Fär. Great Grandma and Great Grandpa. My grandparents celebrated their 65th wedding anniversary last week. SIXTY-FIVE. Years. Of marriage. Pause for a moment and imagine it. (If you shudder involuntarily, don't be too hard on yourself. Or your spouse.)

Sixty five years and they still LIKE EACH OTHER.

Swinging is their secret! (Ha ha, not LIKE THAT.)


They have four children, seven grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren (mainly thanks to my sister the Baby Guru.) I make sure to tell them that I love them every time I phone.

They have set the bar very, very high in every way. I love you guys.

Snookums xo


PS - they had an open house celebration on Saturday that went very well from what I hear - can't wait to see those photos!

PPS - TOTAL CHANGE OF SUBJECT: I badly want these for my birthday this year. Badly:



PPPS - work insanity calming down, I think I am breathing again. Hello world, what have y'all been up to while I was in Dolly land? May or may not have a cold sore on my lip. Ugh.

OK, last note - potty training still good. I think we're clear. Well, let's not tempt fate, shall we? I'll say clear-ish. It's working out.