belle epoque

VOTE TODAY! From the Handmade Toy Alliance:
Today is the last day to vote at Change.org to save small busineses from the CPSIA. Voting ends today at 5pm EST, so please vote now. Your vote today will ensure a prominent place on the national agenda for small children’s product manufacturers.

Go to:

http://www.change.org/ideas/view/save_handmade_toys_from_the_cpsia

The Change.org server is very busy today, so if you get an error, please try again after 5 minutes. This is the second round of voting, so if you voted prior to 12/31/08, we need you to vote again

And to show my support, I made another little toy for HMB– a knitted kitty.


We go to the BEST playgroup/class put on by the local Waldorf School– HMB loves it there, crawls all over making friends with the other babies. The teacher is amazing, and this session has been bringing wool, needles and patterns so the moms can make things while the kids play. HMB is a baby who really isn’t into playing independently– she’s not happy unless I’m down on the floor with her, singing and making funny faces, so crafting while she’s awake is usually problematic. But at class she is so happily occupied with the other kids that I was able to finish much of the above kitty in one session! She also likes to chew on balls of yarn, so I’ve managed to knit a bit at home while she “helps” by hanging on to my yarn. As you can imagine, you’ll likely be seeing more knitting going on around here…

I know I am slow on the draw here, but I still want to make my plea.

HMB is crazy about handmade toys

HMB with some of her favorite handmade toys
And so am I. Yes, even if the poorly-written CPSIA takes them off the shelves, I can make my own. But I am devastated to think of the many small businesses making beautiful, safe toys out of natural materials that will lose their livelihoods because of this law. And it isn’t just that– all of the wonderful places supplying natural materials for toymaking will be affected too, making it harder for all of us who like to make toys for our children. And it is all so absurd because I know many of us have turned to independent toymakers expressly BECAUSE mass produced toys are the ones who have proven to be unsafe– because of huge companies cutting corners. Handmade toys are made by individuals, with care, and they are the ones that will be affected by this law. I have no interest in getting political on this blog, but I get a very sick feeling when the government legislates to “protect” me in a way that effectively takes away any alternative choices. Not to mention making these mostly crappy, plastic toys more expensive because of the producers passing on the costs of testing to the consumer. Basically thanks to this law, come February our ONLY options will overpriced, mass-produced toys and clothes for our children. Awesome.

So, enough ranting. If you haven’t already, please head over to The Handmade Toy Alliance and make your voice heard! Write your local lawmakers with your concerns, vote over on Change.org. I know there are many bigger issues out there, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t important too!

Hello! Just a little post about a few things I am enjoying this week
1. Parsnips. Oh my gosh! My new favorite vegetable– they are so sweet and piquant! I am a lover of the root vegetable in general (perhaps my Irish heritage?), but for some reason hadn’t really gotten into parsnips before. I now add them to anything I’m roasting, and just made this parsnip soup from Everyday Food. It is delicious and very easy– I used my immersion blender and skipped the cream so that HMB could share it with me for lunch. She likes to eat whatever I’m eating so I try to avoid adding the “forbidden foods” (i.e. cow’s milk, nuts etc) to what I make so she can have some. This doesn’t need the cream, though if you’re feeling fancy you might add a dollop of creme fraiche or sour cream to the top.
2. Miss Pettigrew Lives for A Day: Lee Pace! Ciaran Hinds! Thirties clothes and music in a charming, sweet, British romance! What more could you ask for? I know, if you were me you would ask for a subscription to Persephone Books. Yup. But if you were me you’d also have to do something really good to deserve it. Or, you know, wait for the dollar/pound exchange rate to fall really low and order it for yourself? No, no. Foolishness.

Also, if you have an iPhone, did you know that there is an application that contains the collected works of Jane Austen? Yes! There is! For only $1.99! As I spend a lot of time with my iPhone while rocking and nursing HMB to sleep (oh I know, it is a bad habit and she should fall asleep by herself– please tell her that, because she disagrees with all of the sleep experts and claims she actually can’t do that, no ma’am, and would rather stay awake and be cranky than forgo the pleasure of my pre-sleep company), ANYWAY, I’m reading Persuasion (my favorite) in bits throughout the day, when the New York Times gets just too depressing. If you ever find yourself on a long bus ride, or waiting room or something without a book, surely you’d be glad of Miss Austen’s company on your phone too?

Oh my. It is so easy to get out of the habit of blogging! Especially with things like holidays, fun husbands around the house, babysitters on vacation, Hulu and Netflix “watch-it-now”, you know. These things take up time, and don’t always provide a lot to show for it.

But I did make some handmade things this holiday. Including a passel of penguins for a super-fun ornament swap


Some personalized Warms (thanks to Blair) for family

A couple of toys for HMB (I wanted to make more but honestly she isn’t really into softies or dolls at this point– it is all about musical instruments and other things that make noise)

A family of hats for us (I think Moondoggie wore his to work today, so it isn’t in the picture– it is just like the white one but in red– see? HMB’s is a mix of his and mine!)

Christmas cookies and gingerbread cake for a holiday baby jamboree we had here at home

I also cooked a Christmas ham, a New Year’s Eve dinner party (for grown ups! it was so much fun) and lots of other things to get us through the holiday days and nights.

But oh 2009! HMB turns 1 this year! In less than 2 months, wow. And while I am not the best at keeping resolutions, there is always lots of room for improvement in my corner here at chez belleepoque. I really would like to blog more often- you are all so nice for coming to visit and comment even when I’m so inconstant! I feel sort of guilty about a post that doesn’t involve something I actually made with my own hands.

I would write more frequently if I felt better about telling you about what I’m reading or watching or thinking about in addition to what I’m making (still with an emphasis on crafty, of course!)– would you like to read about that or would it bore you? Well, I’ll give it a try in the next few weeks and we’ll see how it goes. In that vein, one thing to share– Netflix “watch it instantly” has a ridiculous number of BBC/A&E literary adaptations available, which took up sheer HOURS that i could have been doing other things over the holidays. One such that you must watch if you are a sucker for period romance a-la-Jane Eyre is North and South. I bet you could request it from the library if you’re not a Netflixer. You won’t be sorry! Richard Armitage–where have I been that I hadn’t heard of him before? The next Colin Firth? What do you think?

That compelling topic for serious discussion out there, I’ll say goodbye for now, but hopefully not for so long again!