Balancing painting, parenting, crafting and book loving one day at a time...

Balancing painting, parenting, crafting and book loving one day at a time...

Monday, February 21, 2011

Surviving the February Blahs

Right about now everyone starts to get really impatient with winter.  Snow just isn't that interesting like it was back in December, when the promise of a white Christmas made everyone smile.  The groundhog here said 6 weeks until spring, but it seems it was just a tease.  We got two days of 50+ degree weather, all the snow melted, then wham!  An ice storm slapped us down again.


Thank goodness for snow days, Valentine's Day, and President's Day.  Between the three of them and the short month, February doesn't drag on.  Here are some things we did to cheer up during the dark days.

Valentine's Day.  We always set up a card making station.  This year my 7 year old really got into it.  I think she used every foam heart she had on this one valentine for her dear friend Andrew who she doesn't get to see too often. 


















 

 













Knitting with friends and with movies.  Occasionally, my friends will set up a knitting night, where we all bring projects, drink tea (or wine) and eat goodies.  After a particularly stressful week, I sat around and caught up with friends and the sweater I keep meaning to work on for my daughter, from the fabulously colorful and cheery book, Knitting with Color. 

 

 
 A special dinner.  My husband and I usually go out on Valentine's but this year our babysitter moved, so we didn't have a date.  I decided to include the kids and with the help of The Family Dinner book I mentioned last month, we set a pretty table in green and pink.  A retro tablecloth of Florida (where we went for Christmas), along with some yummy red foods helped alot.  My daughter chose the table settings, I used my seafoam green new bowls from Anthropologie, and we opened the cards and presents we got for one another and went around the table and said what we like about one another (another idea from the book).  My daughter claimed it was the best Valentine's day ever.  The meal was delicious, healthy and somewhat indulgent, while at the same time safe for my son who is allergic to eggs, peanuts and dairy.  We ate salmon, lemony red Swiss chard, roasted potatoes, and salad with dried cherries, feta (for us) and pine nuts.  Dessert was shortbread hearts dipped in dark chocolate, and lemon and raspberry sorbet in sparkling cider.  YUM!

 

 
  
Movies.  Again.  If you get a chance to see "The Illusionist", an animated French film by the directors of the award winning "Triplets of Belleville," on the big screen, go!  The screenplay is originally by Jacques Tati.  It is a tribute to the old Music Hall days of yore in Europe and England.  It stars an aging magician,who travels from Paris, to London, then up to Edinboro, Scotland to pursue his dying art.  It is a bittersweet homage, and takes place in 1959.  When we first see him, he has to follow a Beatles/Buddy Holly type of band whose screaming fans desert the theater when our character comes onto the stage.  Things kind of go downhill from there.  But the other star of the film is the scenery, drawn so achingly beautiful, you wish you could melt into the scene.  Because of this film, I've decided that I must see Edinboro before I die, I had no idea how breathtaking it is, especially in the sensitively drawn images we see on film.
The Illusionist - Sylvain Chomet creates Edinburgh as never seen before

1 comment:

  1. The V-day dinner looked and sounded great. Saw the Illusioinist at the Capitol and it was a "good-un". Blog on!

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