For Mother’s Day, my mom and sister surprised me with a special delivery of chocolate-covered strawberries!

And yes, the girls are in their flannel pajamas and I’m in my fleece vest today because it’s cold. We even had a brief mid-May hailstorm.

Walk in the door and there’s a fine layer of playground sand until the nightly vacuuming. It’s spring, so there’s rainboots on a paint tray. Sandals, flip-flops, and sneakers. And the snow boots have been moved to the bedroom for storage.

Then come into the main hallway. It’s the central thoroughfare of the house. On the left wall, there’s the girls’ artwork. On the right side is an organic mass of sweaters, bags, and jackets taking up all the hook space (sorry guests!)

Should really do something about this. There’s the “going to the playground bag” that holds two water bottles. The pink ballet bag. A mesh tote with swimwear ready to go to the pool. My blue teeny tiny purse so that I don’t get tempted to carry too many things. My black work bag. Hmmm… could be better organized. Some day.

The living room. Ever a work in progress. Evolving into a cozy, colorful, eclectic gathering place.

My birthday plant and seed packets. The XBox controller and assorted remotes. Forever on display on the mantelpiece.

Limited edition silkscreen print of Montreal made by local artist Todd Stewart. See our mountain with the cross on it? [And please check out Todd's shop on etsy].

The bookcase. Also a showcase for Sonya’s favorite plastic toys.

My writing corner. Having now written two novels and realized that both of them are basically crap, I’m starting over. Back to the basics. The structure. What is this book going to be about? One day. I’m going to get it. I know it. I just know it.

Meanwhile, here’s the toy room. Fairy wings hung on the right. Ruthswood. Random but artistically placed nautiloid on the green kids’ table [o.m.g. is that actually Leena?!].

The bathroom. A few people have jokingly asked if I’m advertising my medical degree. In fact, those giant initials stand for Mitali + Derek. MD just looks better than DM. I think. Behind the letters is a beautiful photographic print sent by a college friend. And there’s a blue-faced ladybug and the wooden nose where I put my glasses when I’m not wearing them.

The kitchen. The place where I spend a lot of my time preparing meals and snacks. And cleaning dishes. Because we have no dishwasher. The waffle iron is still to the right of the sink because I do not like cleaning waffle irons. But I do love waffles.

The fridge. More artwork. Magnetic spice jars. Knives. Utensils. Nothing too glamorous.

BAM! And then you see it. Hanging bananas next to my red KitchenAid mixer. I came home one afternoon to find that Drex had been busy in the kitchen. I had to laugh. Then I had to recognize the pure stroke of genius.

“HUM!” Leena calls out, pointing to the second floor of our gray brick triplex. Our home, the starting and ending place of all our adventures. With our living room window facing the park. And our fleet of strollers under the staircase.

These are all iPhone pictures from our morning walk to Miss Katya’s daycare. Maybe someday I’ll need these pictures to remember it. Even though right now, it seems like I’d never forget. How our neighbors have a gorgeous garden.

Bursting with tulips. This is one of my favorite photography spots. I’ve taken many family portraits in this garden, including these.

Then comes the red house with the silver roof. And the stump in the yard. It’s a cool stump. There’s something artistic about it. When Sonya was younger, she liked to climb up on it and jump into the grass.

Then we walk to the corner. The wall at the end of the street is another favorite photo spot [for example].

Then we round the corner— and I feel POOF! I’m right in the middle of the city. Where stuff happens.

We pass the vintage stores on St. Laurent and the magazine store below.

Some of our really good friends live in this green building. And there’s Laika, a place we sometimes go for a fancy breakfast. They have amazing poached eggs with avocado in a warm tomato sauce that I order pretty much every time we go.

We cross our first busy street. And there’s really a unique charm. We see cars that are more European than American (like little Fiats). And we pass a bric-a-brac shop that I’m amazed continues to remain in business (who buys this stuff?)

And we come to Fuchsia, our special place for violet hot chocolate in the winter. The inspiration for our fancy teacups.

And to think that we only know a small fraction of Montreal! There must be so many other hidden treasures we’ve yet to discover! A hundred Fuchsias yet to be stumbled upon!

We pass the community garden where Miss Katya’s daycare used to come and plant. Seems like nobody has tended it this season.

The grocery store where I pop in to or from dropping off the girls in case I need something last-minute for dinner. Limited selection, but great price on meats.

Of course, it wouldn’t seem like Montreal unless we passed a shop like Utopia, which sells bongs, incense, and hemp clothing.

Then we come to the snorkeling chicken and Sonya (the anime girl with purple hair and blue eyes).

And a graffiti portrait of Leena When She Has Hair (the girls pointed themselves out to us last month).

When I see the urban rock garden, I know we’re getting close!

We pass La Grande Ourse, a magical shop filled with natural toys, most of them handmade from wood, leather, wool, and silk.

We pass a Chinese tea shop with little plastic figurines, including a small monkey on a potty that bobs his head, which Sonya finds hilarious. We have to stop and watch the monkey on the potty. Every morning, monkey is reading the same book about a tiger. Just bobbing his head. Going to the potty.

This sign sometimes fakes me out, because Miss Katya’s daycare used to be down this street two summers ago. But now I can’t turn until after I pass the pretty graffiti alley.

And come to the Vietnamese restaurant on the next corner. Lotus Bleu with the blue trim.

And so we turn right and come to the playground at Parc Jean-Jacques Olier.

The girls usually hop out of the stroller at this point and walk/run the rest of the way to Miss Katya’s daycare.

Here we are! Miss Katya’s daycare! Thursdays and Fridays are my happiest days because I collect the girls after lunch and we spend all afternoon together. Exploring our little slice of Montreal.

Derek said, “No wonder ancient people used to pray to plant gods!” In just a few days, the seeds in our little windowsill garden sprouted under Sonya and Leena’s loving, tender care.

Our gold rush bush beans (above) and dark orange calendula (below) have just grown overnight! No sign of the tyee spinach. Those seeds might have drowned.

We’ve been singing “The Garden Song” a lot these days. [Listen to John Denver's fabulous version from The Muppet Show].

Inch by inch, row by row,
Gonna make this garden grow.
All you need is a rake and a hoe
And a fertile piece of ground.

Inch by inch, row by row,
Someone bless these seeds I sow,
Someone warm them from below
Till the rain comes tumblin’ down…

At Candle Time, everyone gets asked two questions.

What’s one fun thing you did today?

What’s one fun thing you’re going to do tomorrow?

Over the past five days, there’s been a lot of answers to choose from. Here are some of the fun things we did while Grandmama and Uncle Weston were visiting us in Montreal:

• celebrated Grandmama’s birthday with blueberry-orange bundt cake, candles, and singing
• watched musical puppet shows in our living room
• went for a walk around the mountain to the playground by Lac aux Castors (which is currently a dry pit)
• had lunch and dinner outside on our picnic table (multiple times)
• ate dessert at Juliette et Chocolat
• went to the ballet studio for Sonya’s Saturday morning class
• drank locally made kombucha (sparkling living tea— a neighborhood trend) in the park
• rode the metro
• bought new summer sandals for the girls
• had dinner on the terrasse at Khyber Pass, a local Afghan restaurant with the best lentil soup ever
• watched Sonya’s Sunday morning jiu jitsu class
• celebrated Cinco de Mayo at Taqueria Mex
• went to Jean Talon market (the market-fresh scrambled eggs the next morning were delicious!)
• had ice cream! twice in one day!
• had blended berry breakfast smoothies practically every morning (with the usual scrambled eggs, tomato, and bacon)
• went swimming at YMCA du Parc
• watched Iron Man 3 and Wreck-It Ralph
• walked around McGill campus— discovered The Octagon Room in the Islamic Studies Library
• played games like Pitch Car, Last Word, and Turm Bauer
• capped off the visit with a final culinary experience— doughnuts from Tim Horton’s

Our second warm, sunny weekend of spring in Montreal— and we have visitors! Grandmama…

… and Uncle Weston.

We’ve been having a good time— eating, walking, eating, walking, going to the playground, eating, walking, eating. After lunch, Drex, Weston, and I got to see Iron Man 3 (in 3D Ultra AVX).

It’s so special to have this time together! Packing in so many fun things! Like for their Wednesday night arrival, we had blueberry-orange bundt cake waiting for Grandmama’s birthday…

… and the girls got an amazing puppet theater.

“Puppet show is going to start!” a voice called out from behind the red curtain. Then two little hands appeared in the middle up by the wooden rod. “The show is beginning to start!”

The curtains parted and Sonya— oh wait, I mean, Cat, was there to entertain us with her friends Horse and Pig. There were lots of back-to-back performances of “Old MacDonald” and “Alice the Camel Has ___ Humps!” (Leena joined in for the curtain calls).

And in between shows, the puppet theater doubled as an ice cream stand.

Earlier this year, I geeked out over a phenomenal book: Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. (Highly recommend!) The main character, Wade Watts, signs one of his messages: MTFBWY. Puzzled over it for a bit. Then it clicked. May The Force Be With You. (Trying to resist the urge to add it to my e-mail signature!)

Sonya was upgraded from cardboard Star Wars figurines (which were awesome) to LEGO C3P0 and R2D2 (which are AWEsome). Now I think I’ll have to watch the rest of the movies so I can be an expert like Drex. I only recently saw Episode IV.

My girls are truly silly. They have a great sense of humor, both individually, and together. This picture reminds me of the quote:

Aimer, ce n’est pas se regarder l’un l’autre, c’est regarder ensemble dans la même direction. (To love is not to look at one another: it is to look, together, in the same direction.)

— Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

What is really cute is how Leena looks up to Sonya and how Sonya looks out for Leena. Sonya picked out her outfit, then she helped Leena rummage around her clothing bin for brown pants and a skirt so they could match.

I began a sleeve for my cardigan this week— and I’m especially proud of the little chevron detail on the cuff.

I also finished a waistline cable detail on Sonya’s new cardigan. It was slow going for sixteen rows, but it looks beautiful. Sonya ran her fingers up and down the ripples and said, “Mom, you know, you should do the whole sweater like that. I really like it.”

In knitting, as in life, I like to have multiple projects going at the same time, so that if I get stuck on one, I can switch over and work on another one for awhile.

Our past few days have been filled with distractions, playing indoors and outdoors, going on walks, enjoying play dates. I knit during ballet class, at a friend’s house, at the park― I’ve been making sure Sonya and Leena’s days are filled with extra special Mommy Love while Drex is in Barbados.  Dinnertime and Candle Time are the hardest because the table feels lopsided.

I truly believe that the single most important career decision that a woman makes is whether she will have a life partner and who that partner is.

— Sheryl Sandberg

Drex is a real partner. In his absence, I am keenly aware of all that he does to make my life so much easier. Like the entire bedtime routine.

It rained yesterday.
The spring has been
tricky
first sunny
then wet
and it doesn’t
feel like the end
of winter yet.

The crocuses
in the garden
are just
coming up right
outside our windowsill
and we
still need our coats
but soon
the sun will burn with
summer light.

Gladly shall we
put away our coats
and dance
in the splendid
summer light.
We will not think
twice about snow
or the autumn before it.
This is our chance
to live
fully.

Summer is
summer
but would we
notice it
and cherish it
without the difficult
winter?

— M.B. Ruths

This poem is dedicated to the girls’ great-grandmother Juanita Ruths, who “entered the unlimited presence of God” today. (That beautiful quote is taken from the beginning of her obituary).

What a long, happy, and productive life of 88 years! And the tremendous legacy she created― I feel blessed to have become a part of it… and we miss her.