Geese

Yesterday as I was leaving work, there were some geese at the top of the stairs into the parking lot. Someone had just walked by them, so I went by quickly. There were 3 grown up geese and 2 babies. As I passed them, the little one in the middle came at me hissing!! I couldn't believe it.

Anyways, I made it through safely. I drove over to Oshawa to meet Kath. We went to Montana's for dinner. I did very good, though we did split a sweet potato fries, they are so good. I had chicken with a mushroom sauce and a baked potato with salsa. I was so full. We then popped over to Reitman's. Kath bought a bunch of clothes, she also bought me a skirt (the one like Annes) and a necklace for Detta. Kath bought this black dress, it looks really good on her.

Dining room to Office

Well Hugh and I did a massive clean on Saturday and Sunday in clearing the dining room. We are going to change it into an office for Hugh to work from home. As of June 1, Hugh will be working from home 3 times a week. We are planning on getting two desks, one for Hugh and one for me (and everyone else). We will also have to change the light fixture, I want something art deco looking. Then depending on how big the desks are, we may buy two armchairs or a small sofa, that will certainly make it look like an office.

Anne and Lizzy popped over for a visit. We had a good visit, very relaxed. I still have quite a cough, it is driving me crazy, it is so tiring! Anne forgot the hat for Al's grandniece!!!

Outing with Kath

I went and met Kath for breakfast. I did get weighed at WW, I actually lost some weight!!! YES!!! We stopped by Soper Creek Yarns and I bought some more yarn for the baby layette. I have decided not to do stripes. I am going to do the body part in yellow (with little holes). I am not sure about the green though, in comparison with the yellow it is very bright, where as the yellow is softer.

We visited some garden centres. I bought a spirea(!) for my front garden, now I must get out and do some planting. I saw a lot of other plants I would like but for the moment, I need to sort out what I have. Kath bought a bunch but she will be having a lot of people round this summer with Lisa's wedding in August. We also went by a church yard sale. I think we missed all the good stuff but Kath did get a frame for needle work.

Actually I saw some beautiful Aquilegia (Columbine), this one was called a clematis-flowered Columbine. There are some beautiful colours but at the moment $10 a pot was just a bit too much. I will have to see if I can purchase some seeds. The pictures below I didn't take but are from a website called davesgarden.com. There is also a very dark purple one which is beautiful.

Feeling Better

I am feeling much better, still a bit of a cough. I went to work yesterday, a little tiring. My voice sounded terrible. I left work at 4:30 and took the express which is unusually for me. There I am about to go past Brock Road, and I noticed the car overheating. I phoned Hugh and pulled over on to the shoulder. I waited almost an hour for the car to cool down. I even had a tow truck stop and offer assistance, they were very nice. The traffic cleared up a bit and I made it home! Hugh took it to the car dealership, some fuse had blown!

Our pigeon is still sitting on her egg. I just can't get rid of her, my children would be so upset. Everyone is waiting anxiously for the egg to hatch.

Sick

I have come down with a terrible cold. I spent the whole day in bed yesterday, well practically. My temperature was over a 101. It still is over 100 today so I am not going to work.

I did knit a bit more on the baby layette yesterday. I am not too happy with the size. It seems very big for the smallest size. I did some swatches (I know, can you believe it) and I should have used smaller needles. I can't decide to continue knitting or rip it out! It looks so pretty so far. I am doing the moss stitch in the vertgated wool. The lacy part is in yellow and the next one will be green. I am not sure if I should do the whole body in a solid colour or striped.

Bunny Ears

I finished the hat for Al's Niece's daughter. It is supposed to be called Bunny Tail but I prefer Bunny Ears. I am going to put pink ribbons around the ears which can be removed if neccessary. I have started on a baby layette from an old pattern book of Mum's. Except I think the gauge is wrong so it is a bit larger than it should be. I am undecided as to whether I should rip it out.

Had a lovely visit with Joan. Detta and I saw her garden which is looking great. I need to do some planting but I have come down with a cold and have a wickedly sore throat, runny nose and tiredness.

Hugh and I went to the movies with Anne last night. We went to see Star Trek, it was my second time but well worth it. Got the wrong theatre but we still made it in time to the next theatre.

Job Interview

The informal '30 minute' job interview I had yesterday didn't seem to go so well. It was all very rushed. In fact I was only in there for 20 minutes. It was a teleinterview with some staff from Ottawa. Well you never know but I didn't come away with a good feeling about it. On my way out the interviewer said they would be making their decision last night so hopefully I will hear something today.

On a better note, Detta did her first testing towards her next level of skating. She had to do three dances: Canasta Tango; Baby Blue; and Dutch Waltz. Detta passed all three. I am so pleased for her. She had to dance with a partner. Unfortunately I didn't have my camera with me. It was so nice to see Detta skating with a partner. Though to my untrained eye, all three dances looked the same. Detta did try to explain the differences, edges and all that!! Now Detta needs to practice her skills for next set of testing.

Pigeon

The pigeon has now laid an egg. Hugh says it wasn't there this morning. The last meeting of Pathfinders. We had a potluck dinner and then presentations. No more meetings till next Sept.

Pigeon

We have just found a pigeon nesting in the flower container beside our front door. That's the floor container which is attached to the wall!!! Now we will have cooing sounds reverberating through the house. How long does it take for bird eggs to hatch and fly away?

Plus a raccoon slipped in to the garage. We don't know if it is still there. Hopefully it has left!! Wishful thinking!!

Apron

I was at Joyce Hancock's Sewing Studio today. I bought some material I saw on their website, it was also 35% off. I want to sew an apron which will be all little squares. I will need to ask to my sister, Katherine to help me cut the material. It will look really cute. I am hoping there will also be enough material to make a knitting bag for my leftover needles.

School Projects

I can't believe the school projects. Hugh and I are helping Miles finish his Medieval project. Detta is finishing her lunch box project with Jaclyn but with all the laughter I am not so sure how much is actually getting done. Detta also has some project which she needs to put on bristol board.

I wanted to log on to Ravelry but their site seems to be done. I don't think I will be able to do any knitting tonight.

Mother's Day

Mother's Day went off well. I received lots of new plants from the children. Hugh bought me this beautiful cookie bouquet. It looks so pretty.

We had lots of people through. Kath, Andrew, Joan and Tom came for breakfast. We had blueberry pancakes and bacon made by Hugh which were delicious. Anne, Al and Lizzie then dropped by so Hugh started a second round of breakfast which was also delicious. In fact Lizzie assisted with the pancake cooking. Al's arm is doing better after his fail on Wednesday, he need surgery to put two pins in.

I am still knitting the baby blanket but it is not quite done yet. I needed a change though so I started knitting a cute hat for Al's great niece. It is in brown with two tones of pink. It looks so nice, in fact I am nearly done but because it is in stripes I have lots of ends to sew in. I might also knit this one for Donovan's teacher but in light brown so it looks like a teddy bear.

I had my hair cut yesterday. It looks terrible. I will see how it looks tomorrow but I think it will need rescued.

Hugh has been working very hard all afternoon. He has been helping Miles make the knight costume for his medieval project which is due on Tuesday. Now we just have to do the diorama. I love the plumage!

In Two Days

Wow so much has happened in two days. I had my interview at the Canadian Information for Health Information (CIHI) on Thursday afternoon. It went really well. In fact when I got back from London last night, there was a phone message and email waiting for me. I have been asked back for a second interview next Thursday!!

I had a great visit with Margot. Her garden is beautiful. So green and lots of spring flowers. In my picture you can even see the fiddleheads. I also visited her garden centre. It's called Trillium Gardens Perennials. It is lovely. In fact I had to buy a bunch of plants for my garden.I went to the memorial service for Heather's Dad, Brian Moore. There were lots of people there including Kim and Pete, Karen and Ross, Lynda and Tim. It was a very nice service. Heather, her brother, Andrew and sister, Sarah all spoke. Also Brian's cousin spoke. It was nice to hear about Brian as a child. We all ended up going back to Lynda's house for dinner. Lynda is such a good cook. It was so nice getting together. Hugh and I will have to see them again. They all missed Hugh.

What a Week!

What a week this has been. On Monday, I found out that the memorial service for my friend Heather's father is on Friday. Then we hear about Auntie Maud being ill and passing away. Anne's boyfriend, Al is hurt and broke his arm. Then Olga is moved to a retirement home and put into quarantine, though this is a common practice. And I have a job interview this afternoon.

But I have had lots of visitors this week. Joan and Tom popped by on the weekend though I missed her. She was riding her motorcycle. Then Anne came by on Monday night for a visit. Katherine and Andrew came on Tuesday night, they stayed for dinner. I made curried chicken, curried rice and Saag Aloo (spinach with potatoes). We knitted also. I have made huge progress on the baby blanket. It is certainly very colourful. Katherine also brought over the baby sweator for the student. It is so cute. Then last night we had a surprise visit from Lizzie. The children were so happy to see her. Lizzie also went and saw Donovan at gymnastics.

I have finally completed four baby hats. I already gave one to a lady at Scrambles, her son and wife had their first baby, also the first grandchild for both sides. Katherine has some teachers at school who are having babies so the other hats can find homes. I love the little pompoms, they are so cute.

Me and my hats!

Auntie Maud

Our Auntie Maud passed away this morning. Auntie Maud had been in the hospital for the past few months but the past days, she really had not been well. We are all very sad and will miss her.

Home

Finally home after a weekend with Pathfinders. All in all it went well. I did the adventure tasks with the girls. The best one was saving the vase from the toxic waste. It took the girls the longest. The boxes with keys, well they didn't need the compass and co-ordinates because they saw the boxes and grabbed them. But I mixed the boxes with the wrong keys so it took a bit longer. Everyone was excited about the keys and it was a very big free for all. I am exhausted!!!

We also did tie-dying. It was fun and the girls did some very interesting items of clothes. Detta only did her t-shirt and a pair of socks.

Camp Weekend

Detta and I are off camping this weekend with Pathfinders. I am all packed and ready to go though I am sure there is something I have forgotten. I have the adventure tasks all ready - my nephew, Andrew gave them to me. He has done them with Navy cadets in the past. It will be nice to sleep indoors, as I said before, with my Guide unit we have been rained our for the past two years. Hopefully I won't have to do too much, the older girls can do the first 3 adventure tasks with girls. I only have to go and set up the orientation.

I am going to bring my knitting with me. I want to try and finish the baby blanket.