Spring Yarn Crawl

On Saturday, my sister, Joan and I headed out on our first Spring Yarn Crawl.  We headed to Soper Creek Yarn in Bowmanville first.  We had a good look around, I picked up my Rat Race Scarf from the Yarn Challenge.  I didn't win but my other sister, Kath, tied with 2nd with her horse hat.

Then Joan and I picked up some coffees and headed for Port Perry.  The next yarn shop was Never Enough Wool.  We found it quite easily.  This shop was bright and cheerful.  They had some beautiful alpaca wool that I may still have to buy to knit a hat for Hugh.  I did buy some yarn called Smiley Stripes by Sirdar.  It is a bamboo and wool mix.  I bought the pattern book by Hearts & Stripes also by Sirdar. I have already knit the Baby Bolero Jacket for cousin's new granddaughter in Ireland.

Our next stop was On the Lamb in Uxbridge.  This one was a bit more difficult to find.  We had the old address!!  But we just weren't that impressed with this shop.  It was a bit dark.  They are attached to a kitchen shop which we also had a look around.  It was just too expensive for me.

We then stopped for lunch at Subway.  Both Joan and I had tuna subs.  I haven't had a good tuna sandwich in ages.  It was delicious.  From there we headed towards Fergusons at Myrtle Station.  This was a small shop in a house so part of the upstairs was used also.  Joan bought some lovely green cotton to knit a little summer top.  I saw a beautiful shawl on display so I was going to buy the pattern.  It is Regia Knits Journal 611 - Classic Styles and the shawl I am going to knit is 7261.  Joan very kindly bought me the pattern and the yarn to knit it.  The yarn is 100% merino and is Punta Lace Space Dyed.  It is different colours of blue.

From there we headed back to Joan's house.  Had a well deserved cup of tea and then I headed home.

New Books

I am back at work today.  I left early yesterday, I had a swollen gland in my neck which was extremely painful.  I have been on antibotics since Friday evening and they have kicked in.  I feel so much better today.  At least the swelling has gone done and my neck is not so painful.

Anyways.....  I had a very nice surprise when I came to work this morning.  A co-worker of mine gave me two knitting books.  And the books were published in the last year.  What a great surprise!!  I have already noticed a very nice cardigan in one of them, that I may just knit for myself.  I don't usually knit cardigans; they just take so long to knit.

The other book, Knitting Bazaar has some lovely designs in it also.  I tend to use parts of one pattern and fit it into something else I am knitting.  I like to knit hats and mittens. 

The Birthday Party

Donovan's party was a great success.  He was so excited all morning, the time just didn't pass quick enough.  We spent the morning tidying up and blowing up balloons.  Setting the table which we discovered we really couldn't fit 12 people around as our chairs take up too much space.  And then it started to pour with rain so we wouldn't be able to have the pinata outside!

Then finally at 1pm, everyone showed up.  They all had a great time dancing for the first 15 minutes, then the pizza arrived.  Of course everyone seemed to want cheese pizza and we had pepperoni mostly but it all worked out.  There were even leftovers for Miles.  Finally the people from Sciensational Sssnakes!!.  Once they were set up, the children all trooped downstairs for the informational part of the show.  We had been told that they would do a talk first, but as they did their talk, they continually brought out different snakes (there was one turtle).  The last snake was a huge boa constrictor.  At this point, they passed the boa constrictor to some of the children and brought out at

least 3 or 4 other snakes.  The children were all ohh-ing, ahh-ing and lots of giggling.  There were lots of different snakes: milk snakes, corn snakes, an Ontario Water snake, a ball python, an Eastern hog nosed snake.  I took so many pictures.  Donovan was just so excited.  This was really worth it, if you are interested in snakes.  The children had lots of fun getting the boa constrictor twisted around them.  I think Detta liked the boa constrictor.

Once the Sciensational Sssnakes packed up, the children had the pinata.  Hugh held it on a stick so it could be hit.  Donovan was the first one to give it a good whack and the pinata broke on the second hit.  I am sure the children didn't mind as it was stuffed with lots of toy reptiles and candy.  Then everyone came back upstairs for cake.  Donovan loved the cake.  Some of the children even had a second piece.  And now it was time for everyone to go home.  YEAH.

Once everyone left, Donovan opened his presents.  He received some really nice presents and money.  Lucky boy.

Sugar Scrub

Yesterday Detta and I went shoe shopping for her Grad shoes. Detta ended up with some nice shoes, low heels and two pairs of sandals/flip flops. I also managed to find a pair of very nice black slip ons, so nice in fact I may go buy a second pair. We then went over and picked up Detta's friend to spend the night with us.

Detta had this sugar scrub she wanted to make so I had to go out this morning and buy sugar and grape seed oil, not the cheapest oil. The girls had lots of fun measuring and mixing. Donovan also had his hand in with the measuring, though he is not very keen on trying it. I think Donovan thought we were making something you could eat especially with all that sugar. I love all the colours in the containers.

I finished another book this afternoon, 'Diva's Don't Knit' by Gil McNeil. It was very good, takes place in England. I must find the next one to read.

Books

I just finished a book (actually I just sent Detta to grab them from my bedroom). I spent all morning in bed reading and now it is noon. The book is called 'The School of Essential Ingredients' by Erica Baurmeister. It is such a lovely book, I really enjoyed reading it. It was about a cooking class and the lives of the teacher and the students, very sweet.

Yesteday I finished another book called 'The Lost Garden' by Helen Humphreys. It was also a lovely book but had a very sad ending. I cried and I cried.

Anne had a big clear out of books and I have two huge bags to read. I also took about 10 boxes (wine bottle size) to get rid of. I am going to take them to Gnu books who buys back used books. I was going set up an account for Anne.

My New Hat

I forgot to put pictures of my new hat. Well not actually my hat but the hat I knit for Jan's daughter who is having her first baby. The hat matches the jacket my sister Kath knit. I love the colours Kath chose. They look really good. I would have never thought of putting those colours together.

I am still finishing the socks but they are knitting up quickly. I love the socks, I will be knitting more of them.

What a couple of Days

On Tuesday night, Kath called me and asked if I wanted to come over to her friends on Wednesday as she was dying!!! I thought that seemed a bit strange. Why would I want to watch someone dying!! What Kath meant to come and see some fabric being dyed!

So on Wednesday morning after my dentist appointment which went very well except at my next appointment I am having my gums measured. My husband informed me that it is excruciatingly painful, thanks for that darling. Anyways I went to meet Kath. I know Kath's friend also but we will just call her Mrs. P.
Mrs. P was demonstrating how to dye wool for hooking. She was finishing dying the background for a friendship rug. We had a very good demonstration on dying fabric though I can't remember what this method is called.

While the material was cooking/steaming, we went through a bunch of Mrs. P's quilt and rug books. I just might hook a rug myself. I found one of a cow I really liked. I also finished the heel on my sock. We then left there and had lunch in Orono. I had a beef sandwich with fries, delicious. By the time we got to Kath's house there wasn't much time to help pin her rugs but I did get the wool to start a hat to match the baby sweator Kath knit for her friend Jan's daughter.

I was home by 5:30 and started casting on the hat. After a couple of trys I got it right and started knitting. But then it was dinner, Hugh cooked a lovely dinner of baked chicken, vegies and rice. It was delicious. Everyone loves this chicken.

Then Detta and I were off to Pathfinders. We were all meeting at Greenwood Conservation area and going for a hike. Detta and I forgot our whistles, water and flashlights. We were not very well prepared. Anyways the hike was great, what a workout. This is the trail I was trying to find when we went on the snake hunt at Easter. The boys would love this, right by the river and lots of mud. I was so sore, up and down hills. I want to do it again this weekend. My legs and butt were killing me.

I knit more on the hat while watching CSI. I did say I was going to stop watching CSI. The episodes seem to be in for the thrill factor and their lack of wearing protective gear for the crime scene is beginning to irritate me. I just love all the high heels and loose hair!!!!

Today I headed to Kath's early. I was so stiff I could hardly get out of bed but I was there by 9am! We had some coffee and Kath started to put the finishing edge on her carpet. I think it is called 'Queen Anne's Lace'. It is so pretty. I kept knitting at the hat and finished it. The curly q's on the top look so cute. It was a good morning and afternoon.

I had a really had a surprise when I came into work. I had a message from one of the staff in the fashion dept. Earlier in the week I had bought some raffle tickets and then you put them in the envelope of the item that interests you. Well I had put all of mine in this Dior make up set (there were quite a few of them). So guess what, I won one!!! YES. I better go and buy a lottery ticket now.

Christmas Day

The children didn't wake us up too early. They are supposed to open their stockings (we use pillowcases) in their rooms, that was the way we did it in my family but they all came in our room and piled on our bed. I am so glad we have a king size bed with all these people on it. After the stockings we headed downstairs.

Hugh and I even managed to get dressed before the presents were opened. Everyone was in a mad rush to open gifts. Donovan loved his new guitar for the WII guitar hero. Miles received a load of Lego and Detta had a new painting set with travel case. Plus there were some other stuff for them also.
I turned the tv on to Citytv for the fireplace but they didn't do it this year. I was so disappointed. Hugh and I got the potatoes roasting. Hugh very kindly peeled them last night after I went to bed.

Then we headed off to Anne's. Next year I think we will have to start just a little later. Twelve noon is pushing it to get all of us ready to go. There were lots of people, Anne, Al, Alex, Liz, Joan, Tom, Kath, Alan, Andrew, Sue, Aimee, Lizzie's friend (can't remember her name), Margot, Sandy (Alex and Liz's uncle) plus Hugh, me, Detta, Miles and Donovan. Nineteen people in total. As soon as I heated the bacon wrapped sausages up, people were stealing them. I had to swip a few hands.

Dinner was fabulous. There was so much food. We then opened some more presents which was mayhem. I think next year we should wait till the tables are put away.

Min's Visit

Our friend Min (Munindra) was in Toronto for work from the UK. We used to go to the pub every Friday night with a large group of friends and Min was one of them. The guys used to all drink ESB which Hugh still misses. I usually had half a bitter. Everyone called the pub, the Slaughtered Lamb (after a Werewolf in London) but it was actually called the Goat House. But Min was telling us it is not there anymore, it has been torn down!!

Anyways he was over here to work on some project with Rogers. He emailed me out of the blue and said he had a few extra days. So Hugh and I made arrangements to meet him at College Park for lunch. Min is a vegetarian so we went to a Thai restaurant. I am not too particular about Thai food but in actual fact it was quite good. We had a great time chatting about old times, friends and life in general.

Afterwards Min wasn't up to much so we invited him back to our house to meet the family. As usual it was quite hectic, Miles to Tai Kwan Do, Detta to skating. But he got to see the house and meet the children. The last time he saw Detta, she was about 3 years old and Miles was 1, (Donovan wasn't even a twinkle).

It was great to see him. I didn't meet up with this group of friends when I was England. I should have made more of an effort, oh well.

Cookie Exchange

Well I made 6 dozen German Biscuits for a cookie exchange. This was a first time for everyone taking part. Of course, I left making my cookies to the day before. I popped out to the grocery store to buy plum jam but there wasn't any!!! I ended up going to three different grocery stores and none of them had plum jam. I did know of a European deli/shop near where I used to live in Toronto so away I went. They had lots of plum jam!! So I headed home and started making cookies.

Hugh and I made two batches at the same time. There is so much butter in these cookies. We ended up with a assembly line of cookies. Hugh was rolling and cutting out, I was putting the plum jam between the cookies and Detta & her friend were doing the icing and cherries. Detta & her friend ended up helping with rolling and cutting out also. They had lots of fun. Did anyone notice the yellow bowl? I bought a set of those old pyrex bowls in the different colours. My Mum had a set.


We all needed a much earned break after all this so we went off to Lynde Shores Conservation Area with some bird seed. We did a short walk on the bird trail. We put seeds in our hands and the little birds would come and take some seeds. Detta's friend had never done this before and she really enjoyed it. But it was freezing!!! If you click on the picture, you can see the birds in Detta & her friends hands. Everyone had a bird in their hand at one time or another. If anyone can help identify the birds, please let me know.

Knitting

I must get started on some of my knitting. I am knitting mittens as presents for Christmas this year. I have only managed to make one pair so far. I can usually knit a pair of mittens in a couple of days, depending on time but I have been very lazy so fair this year. I have decided I can only make them for my sisters plus a couple for Joan's visitors from Australia. I will also need to knit a couple of hats also.

Detta had her hair cut today. About 6 inches was taken off the back. We are now going to attempt to keep it straight. I don't know how this is going to work out but I will do it. Detta's hair looks fantastic though, she is also very pleased with it.

Halloween

The big event is finally over. OMG, the trauma of it all. I told my children, next year we will NOT buy anything. All the costumes must be homemade. Miles spent over $20.00 on bits and pieces and then decided he must have horns!! Well do you think we could find horns, NO. But then this was yesterday. Detta wanted vampire teeth. I did buy some earlier in the week but they had diamonds in them. So yesterday we went to Party Packagers, these things cost over $25.00 but the queue was to the back of the store, so we said forget it!!

Anyways everyone wore what they had. Anne and Joan came over and decorated Miles' face. He looked very good. Detta went over to her friend's house. She had these boots on that made her at least 5' 10". Detta towered over me. I did find out later that after half a block, her feet were killing her. Hugh took the boys out with their friends so he had to herd 6 little rambunctious boys through the neighbourhood.
Anne and Joan popped out and bought 2 buckets of KFC. Then Al and Tom also came over. We made short work of the chicken but I managed to save some for Hugh. But by the children got home, they were starving so Miles and Detta finished off the rest.

We didn't have a lot of visitors this year. There were probably only about 25 children, if that. I don't know if it was because it was so windy or with all this H1N1 stuff going on.

Weekend at Heathers

This past weekend, I went for a girls weekend at my friend, Heathers. There were five of us all together, Kim, Heather, Lynda, Karen and me. Heather just had her kitchen and bathrooms refinished and they are beautiful. Kim and I drove down on Saturday morning which took 1.5-2 hours.

Once everyone had arrived, Heather fed us this delicious broccoli soup. I don't usually like soup but it was so good, I may try to make this at home. We then went for a tour around town and stopped at Daves for a martini. Of course, we stopped by the Liquor store and bought a few supplies.
We drank a few liquors and drinks before dinner. I suddenly didn't feel so well so ended up having a lie down but recovered enough by dinner time when I also switched to water.
Heather made this delicious, Late berry-crusted Ontario lamb rack with cheddar gnocchi and asparagus. It was delicious. And for dessert we had chocolate souffles with caramel sauce.
It was great seeing everyone. It has been a few years since we have all got together.

Trip to Kincardine

Last week we popped up to Kincardine for a couple of days. We had one day at the Boiler Beach and then it rained for two days. Alex, Detta's friend from Toronto came with us. And we stayed at my friend Karen's house. They have a flat in the basement where Hugh, the boys and I stayed and the girls slept in Katie's old room.

It was a great day at the beach. The weather was cool, but that didn't stop us. There was no way I was going in the water but everyone else did, though not for too long. We ended up playing on the beach for ages. We started to divert the water run off but it took a long time. Everyone took long walks up and down the beach. It was very nice.

It is always amazing how the beach changes from year to year. This year the water level is really high. The old boiler, hence Boiler Beach, is actually in the water. I haven't seen that for a couple of years. It is so full of sand that there are plants growing out of it now. When I was little it was much further out in the water. I also saw sand pipers this year. They haven't been around the past few years but then there may have been too many people on the beach before. The beach was practically empty when we arrived but by later afternoon there must have at least 20 people.

We ran into Kim. I can't believe how grown up Deanie has become. All the kids got on great together. We came home Sunday and then Donovan wasn't feeling well so I stayed at home with him on Monday.

Lisa's Wedding Shower

Well the wedding shower at Joan's house is over. It went very well. Eleven people attended which was just right and there were enough seats for everyone. Lisa really enjoyed herself even if she had to wear the special Bridal Bra. I think everyone else enjoyed themselves also. Detta had fun also.

We had a high tea so there were scones with jam and cream, little sandwiches made of egg salad, cucumber and grated cheese and 2 Victoria Sponge cakes. Plus Hugh had bought some small tarts of lemon, raspberry, butter tart with nuts and without. And of course, lots of tea. There were no sandwiches left. Katherine took the leftover Victoria sponge cake and the tarts. She is having a bridal shower tonight for a friend's daughter.

We had a bunch of games to play which goes with bridal showers. The ones we did were Guess the Ingredient, The Price is Right, Herbs and Spices, Bridal Shower Bingo, Thank You Card, Bride Leaves the Room and Purse Raid. There were more than enough prizes which Anne supplied. It meant everyone went home with something.

This is the first Wedding shower I have attended so it was quite fun. Lisa has another one next week at her Bridesmaids house. Detta will probably go but I'll see if Alex and Lizzy go, if they do, I may give it a miss.

The countdown is on now, less than 2 weeks to the wedding.

Richmond Park

Today is the day I planned on repacking. We are off to N.Ireland tomorrow. Alan is giving us a ride to the airport but we are leaving at 7:30 as it is in the direction of his work. Our flight is at 11:00am.

It just chucked it down with rain this morning but then brightened up. But we went for a lovely walk in Richmond Park. We walked through Ham Gate and up to Pembroke Lodge (a lovely Georgian building) where we stopped for tea. Detta decided to have lunch so she had chili con carne with rice and vegetables and then ice cream for dessert. I just had a coffee. We would have sat outside but it was very windy. So we made due with window seat overlooking a very nice flower bed.
We then walked up to King Henry's Mound and had a great view of Richmond looking west. If you look in the opposite direction, you can see the dome of St. Paul's Cathedral. There is some sort of law which protects this view. Nothing can be built taller than King Henry's Mound so the view will be unobstructed. We walked further over and out Petersham Gate. A little further on from the gate, there is a better viewing area which includes a good view of the Thames and Eel Island.

Now we are back I must start packing. At least I have the other suitcase now. Detta and I have decided that we are going to take 3 suitcases. I checked with both airlines and there is no limit to the number of bags, just the 20kg limit. I am sure by the time we leave Ireland, we will be over that. I still have to grocery shopping, I haven't any gravy granules or piri piri yet. Oh and chocolate!!!