Trilliums

I love it when the trilliums bloom. I was dropping Detta off at skating and the forest by the rink was covered in newly bloomed trilliums. It was raining but I had to stop and take a picture. Click on the picture and open it up, you will be able to see the rain drops on the petals.

Day with Andrew and Lisa

I met Andrew and Lisa today for breakfast in Bowmanville. We had a great breakfast and then we went to the wool shop. Unfortunately the owner was delayed due to a dentist appointment. So we wandered up to Goulds, looked a quilting material, then we stopped at another fabric shop. We did manage to buy some bright pink buttons. Then finally Soper Creek Yarn opened and I bought some more wool and some more buttons for the little sweator Kath knit.

We then headed to Oshawa to go to another fabric store, out by Oshawa zoo. Lisa and I drove together and talked about weddings and candy. It was fun. The material store was fantastic. They have some beautiful material. The batiks were gorgeous, I may have to attempt a quilt for Hugh and I. Anyways Lisa found a piece of material she liked and bought 10 metres!!! This quilt is made only from one fabric but each square is made up by repeats. It will look beautiful.

We then headed back into Oshawa and went to Teddy's for lunch. Which was delicious. I will have to take Hugh there.

Baby Blanket and Pathfinders

Yes, I am still working on the baby blanket. I had to work today and then there was Pathfinders this evening. I can't believe it is almost 8:30 and it is still light out. We went for a walk with the Pathfinders from Rotary Park to Harwood. It was really nice to walk along the lake. But coming back the bugs!!! There were swarms of those tiny little midges(?!) which were getting in hair, mouths and eyes. I need to do this every night.

I must get the kit list from Detta. We are going camping this weekend with the Pathfinders. She was given it last week (I wasn't feeling well and didn't go) and I still have not received it! We aren't actually camping in tents, much to Detta's relief. I would prefer tents but I do like somewhere dry to sit. The past two years when I went camping (in tents) with the Girl Guides, it rained the entire weekend. Last year we all go soaked, very unpleasant. And an experienced Guide leader like myself had all her clothes soaked!

Baby Blanket 2

I have just been speeding along with these squares. I am on the 3rd one now. Here is a new photo, the purple and green look really good together. This has knitted up more quickly than I thought.

Baby Blanket

The new baby blanket I am knitting is going to look really cute. The colours are so bright, the pink is bright fushia (I don't think fushia photographs very well). I knitting 4 squares which are about 13 inches square. Then once I sew them together I will pick up stitches on the sides to make it slightly bigger. This yarn is totally acrylic which is good for babies so it can be thrown in the wash without fear of shrinking.

Detta had her friend Alex over this weekend. They have been friends since junior kindergarden. They are one day apart in age. Anyways, Hugh was cooking pancakes and girls wanted to give it a go. So they cooked their own pancakes.

Tea Cosy

A very nice visit with my sister, Joan yesterday. Joan popped by about 2pm and we sat and chatted. Joan is crocheting a tea cosy. It is going to have two layers, the top layer is in a variegated pink to white and the bottom layer is lime green. The top layer, Joan is crocheting in a wave pattern, it looks really nice and the bottom layer will be more solid. I think I will use this wave pattern in my next baby blanket. It certainly took us some time to figure it out.

I have started to knit a baby blanket. I am using up a lot of surplus I have in my basement. It is in really bright colours - purple, fushia, orange, green and yellow. This is the first time I have knit a baby blanket. It is going to be quite a solid one. I am knitting all the rows in knit so this blanket will be reversible.

I have received my marks from the Records Management course which I did through the University of Toronto. I passed with Distinction. The actual certificate is called Professional Learning Records Management Fundamentals. There were 5 one-day courses which I did to complete for this certificate. Now I will update my resume to reflect this!

New Hat

Yes, a new hat. This is the one I have knitted to match Kath's baby sweator. It is for the girl at her school. The sweator is not finished yet but Kath showed it to the girl and she loved it. The picture doesn't do this hat justice. The pink is bright fushia with bright green. I think the top looks great.

Well I met Kath at the zoo for a quick coffee. She and some other teachers were bringing a busload of students to the zoo. There certainly were a lot of buses there with students. At least with this age group, they can sort themselves into groups and away they go. I took a quick photo of the two of us. It turned out pretty good.

I rushed home from the zoo. I promised Detta I would bring her hot enchildas for lunch. I made them for dinner last night. Detta doesn't have a microwave at school so I warmed them up and brought them to her. I hope she enjoys them.

Then I spent the afternoon sorting pink and green candy from the rest. This is for my niece, Lisa's wedding. I can't say what candy, you will have to wait to the wedding.

Job Interview & Lunches

My job interview with the ILC went very well. Hopefully I will hear back for a 2nd interview. He said it would be early May which is next week already. I have applied for a few other jobs so I am still waiting to hear from them.

Had a late breakfast with Anne & Lizzy at Mars restaurant. I had a very nice western omelette. We even had a very friendly police office sit with us. I think the presence of my beautiful niece attracted him.

It has been nice having two days off a week. I have been meeting all of my sisters, Anne, Joan and Kath for lunch. Last week Detta who was off sick for the day and I went and met Joan for lunch. We went to Wendy's, Joan and I had salads. Detta even had ice cream! The week before that I met Joan and we went for an all day breakfast. It was really good. The restaurant is by the 401 and Brock St. in Whitby. I will have to take Hugh there. The week before that I went and met Kath at her school and we had lunch. Now I will have to go and meet Hugh for lunch. He knows of a good sushi place.

I have started the reducing part of the baby hat. The green and pink look really good together. I am finding it hard to put down. I can't wait to see it finished.

School Projects

Why do children only tell you about the school project the day before it is due!?!?!?! Detta was given her assignment on Friday and this evening is the first I have heard about. She has to write an editorial on whale hunting - one side of the argument. Of course, we have completed it but it would have been nice to do it on the weekend. We would have had a little more time to research the topic.

The baby hat is nearly finished, just doing the top now. I have decided to knit it in both fushia and green, that will look much nicer.

17 Again

Detta and I just came from seeing '17 Again'. Very cute movie.

Dinner

Hugh and I had a great dinner last night with my sisters, Anne and Joan and their respective partners, Al and Tom. It was a clam bake but as we learned a clam bake is not baked clams! It had clams, mussels, shrimp, cherizo and frankfurters. It was delicious. There was also dessert of crème caramel. I am not a big fan of it myself but everyone else thought it was delicious.

Hugh bought a new barbeque. It only cost $99.00 from HomeDepot. Last year it sold for $350 so there are some good deals out there. Hugh is testing it out right now with some bbq chicken and ribs. Unfortunately I had a great lunch at Scrambles with Kath and am too full to have anything. But then again, Detta and I are off the to movies to see '17 again'. I don't even think I will have popcorn (unbelievable I know) but I may take a piece of fruit.

Kath has started knitting the cutest baby cardigan for a girl at her school. You can't quite see the colours, in this photo. The trim is fushia and bright green and the stripes are orange and yellow. I have the same wool so I am going to knit a matching hat. I did finish one of the other baby hats and another has all the ends sewn in. While Kath and I were out we stopped by the cute wool shop on Queen St E called The Purple Purl. Kath bought me a pattern for baby sneakers. I am also going to knit this girl a pair of matching sneakers for her baby. It was a lovely shop and nice seats for just coming in, knitting and chatting. There is also a cappuccino bar and good stuff to eat.

I tried a rib and they are delicious. The freezer has finished defrosting so I just need to give a good wipe down and Bob's your uncle.

Spring Cleaning

We have started some spring cleaning though other people would just call it regularly cleaning. Detta dusted and hoovered the front room and Miles dusted and hoovered the family room. They also hoovered the stairs and the landing. This is a new regular weekly chore for them. But once it is started regularly, the work won't take long. I cleaned the fridge. We had a bag of milk break last week though it was cleaned up some was missed. Tomorrow I will clean the shelves in the door. The fridge had been open long enough. I need to do the windows next. Unemployed nieces and nephew are more than welcome to come and help.

I have suspended any new knitting projects. I have several hats that need finished. They are all baby hats. The two on the right need petals knitted and sewn on. The two on the left need ends all sewn in and pom poms. I need my sisters to make the pom poms, I am not a pom pom maker, tassels yes but not pom poms. I also have to sew the ends in on my Jester Hat, Stone Circle and Celtic Knot hat.
My next project is this really cute baby blanket. I have tried to start it unsuccessfully. You start knitting from the centre and work out. It is really neat. I have some advice from Soper Creek and my sister's mother in law so hopefully after the hats are finished, I can start it (well maybe I will just do one or two hats first!).

Oh yes, we are defrosting the freezer today! And I have added the link to the Radio Times.

State of Play

I just went and saw the new movie, 'State of Play'. It was very good, very fast paced. I wasn't sure about Russell but he was very good and so was Ben and Helen. But I think I need to see the origingal it was based on which is a six-part series produced by the BBC, who else. It is not as if the Americans can be very original. Hugh is going to find a copy for me so I will keep you updated.

On that note, we checked if there were any more episodes of Primeval. It is a sci-fi show from the UK, produced by ITV. The first two series were very good and upon checking a third series has just started to broadcast as of March 28. So we will have to be on the look out for that also.

Oh I wish I had the Radio Times. That is the tv guide produced by the BBC for British television - at the time when I started reading it there were only 4 channels and the radio channels. Then a fifth channel started and cable. But I will have to see if I can read it online. That would be the best way to keep on top of new UK television shows. I especially love all the period dramas.

Pasta Night

Ah, pasta night. I am really enjoying it these days. I make a tomato meat sauce (sometimes with soya). It is really meaty with mushrooms and black olives today. I have premixed the pasta with the sauce - for Detta, Hugh and myself only. Donovan and Miles eat it plain with meatballs. I don't know if I can wait for dinner, it is so good!

Stonehenge

Stonehenge, at last I will be able to do something I always wanted to. Walk amongst the stones of Stonehenge. When Detta and I go to England in the summer, I have booked us on a tour where we can have access to Stonehenge. It has been something I always wanted to do, access was closed by the time I moved to England in 1988. I am so excited.

On another note, I finished a tiny hat for Donovan's teacher. She is due in July. But the hat is so tiny I may just knit another larger one, just in case her baby isn't that small.

Easter Egg Hunt & New Hat

Well it lasted all of 5 minutes. Detta, Miles and Donovan had their buckets ready and away they went. Eggs were hidden in the family room and the front room. Everyone was really fast in finding them. As everyone was munching away on their eggs, we had a fright. Miles was running to the garbage spitting one of the eggs out. It seems one of the kinder eggs was hazelnut!!! But he is okay. The one with the toy Miles will have but there are lots of other chocolate eggs he can eat.

I finished my newest hat last night, the Celtic Knot. It is a tight fit but Kath and I can both get it on. The fairisle part is a bit tight even though I knitted very loosely and carried loosely. It is very pretty but I am not particular happy with the ribbing part which is actually knit/purl rows.

Freezer

I just found our freezer open. It has been like that since Thursday night. The children put the frozen pizzas in the freezer and one of them didn't quite get the pizzas in. Almost everything is defrosted. Looks like we are going to be eating a lot of meat over the next few days. Some of the meat can be cooked tomorrow and then eaten over the next few days. But all the pizzas were lost and all my WW frozen dinners which I only recently bought on sale. There were a lot of them. Two garabage bags full!!

Dino Eggs

The eggs are hatching! The first two photos are from last night. Donovan's egg hatched this morning. We are still waiting for Miles'.

I met Kath for breakfast in Bowmanville. It was very good, I had a Monte Cristo, the ham was quite lovely in it. Then we went to our now favourite wool shop, Soper Creek Yarn. I bought some patterns and yarn for my next hat. Kath got two lovely books, one was paid for by her first prize gift certificate in the knitting contest - the tea cozy. I can't wait to look at the books, they are really interesting.

I have a new phone, YES!! It still has the same number, still pink and it is a slide phone. Detta loves it.

Easter Dinner

We had a great dinner over at my sister, Annes. There were 15 of us which is smaller than usual. I actually didn't over eat for a change, even though I nibbled at stuffing all day. Miles and Detta ate some dinner but I think Donovan just filled up on Kinder eggs! Miles then ate piles of chocolate eggs, it was hard to resist with all the eggs on the table. Kath made some great deserts which were gluten free. I like the chocolate and raspberry cake but I think I would have to add some chocolate syrup. There was lots of turkey left over so I am going to have a turkey sandwich with stuffing which Anne made.

Miles and Donovan were given these dino eggs which we are going to hatch. We have put them in water and now I believe it will take two days to hatch. I will keep you updated.

Sychronized Tryouts

Last day of sychnronized skating for this year. I am not going to miss the 7:30am start on Sunday mornings. Detta had her tryouts for next year, I am sure she will make it on to the same team, no problem. There were 14 out there for the tryouts but I am sure there will be a couple more who are going to tomorrows tryouts.

I can't believe all the snow today. At least my drive to work and home wasn't bad. Still not sure what I want to knit next but I will have to have a closer look at my colours.

Biennial Genesee Invitational Competition

We are back from New York. It has been a long weekend, lots of shopping and eating out. All three of the teams did really well. The Prenovice Senior and Junior placed first and the Juveniles placed 2nd. I thought I would quickly get that out of the way, if you want to know all the details, read below.

We drove down mid-day Friday. It was windy and very wet, pouring most of the trip. After we arrived, Detta and I went to WalMart and Target (my first trip). Detta found lots of 'Twilight' stuff and we bought some clothes and groceries. Then at Target I found two fleecy 'Star Wars' blankets for the boys, Detta found a THREE disc dvd of ‘Twilight’. After we got back to the hotel, lots of other people had arrived and a load of the kids went swimming. The swimming area was really nice and pool was a great size. We had Mexican at the hotel but it left a lot to be desired!!! We had an early night as we had to be up by 7am.

The next day we got up early to find the skating rink for an eight thirty practice. It was freezing outside, gale force winds and snow! We eventually found our way to the Rochester Institute of Technology where the skating competition was being held. The rink was huge. The girls practiced for half an hour and then we headed back to the hotel. We had a continental breakfast at the hotel which left a lot to be desired and then Detta and I went to Walmart, I had to return the TWO disc dvd of ‘Twilight’. We got back to the hotel and started to get ready for the competition. Putting Detta’s hair in a bun is a real struggle. The gel didn’t go clear and stayed white!! Even with a hairnet little pieces of hair would pop out. Then we headed for the group room and she had her makeup put on.

We arrived at the rink but along with the skating competition there was a lacrosse tournament on so the parking was in short supply. We had to park what seemed like miles from the rink and my face ended up getting wind burnt – a right sight! Finally the older teams went on for their turn, in this competition there is only one skate where as in the Canadian competitions there are two. The time was also shorter so the juvenile practically had a new routine which they learned in a week! Finally Detta’s team came on, they did very well though they hit the boards for the first time ever. They looked very good compared to the other teams.

Finally it was over and all the teams came back on the ice for the presentations. It was very exciting as they announced from the last to first. So after the announcement of second place for the two older teams we were all cheering as our teams got first. When the announcement finally came for second place for Detta’s team we were all holding our breaths, were we getting first or second. The parents were all so happy they got second and all the teams were very happy.

Some people went straight home to Canada while some of us stayed. After a great dinner at the Olive Garden, all the kids went swimming after dinner. Detta had a friend up to our room to watch Twilight.

We headed home on Sunday. It was a long drive home and we stopped at one of those discount outlets. It was nice to see Hugh and the boys. The boys loved their Star Wars blankets and Hugh is enjoying his wasabi almonds.

No knitting this weekend, I ended up not liking the pattern I took so I stopped.

Stone Circle Hat 2

I have finally finished the Stone Circle Hat. I ripped back the top and redid it. I still managed to drop a stitch which I recovered 4 rows later. At least it wasn't part of the decreasing. I actually not quite done. I still have a lot of ends to sew in. I still have to do them on the carousel hat also.

My daughter and I are all packed and ready to head out tomorrow morning. We are leaving after breakfast. I want to bring some knitting but I haven't had time to figure out what I want to knit next. Well I do know what I want to knit next, it's just I don't have all the colours I need and it is complicated. I am taking the PC with me so the hotel may have WiFi. If it does I will keep you posted on shopping and the competition.

Stone Circle Hat

I started a new hat. It is using a pattern called Stone Circle from Kaffe Fassett but I altered it slightly as this is a child's hat. It is in very bright colours. Hopefully I will finish it tonight, I just have the top to finish but I have just discovered a mistake so I am going to rip the top out for the second time. I will add a picture tonight.

Tomorrow, my daughter and I are heading off to Rochester, New York. She has a sychronized skating competition. The actual competition is not until Saturday but I want to leave during the day. We want to go shopping and the hotel also has a nice pool so I am sure my daughter will spend some time in there.