A LOOOOOONG WEEK

First of all, thanks so much to those of you who have called and emailed to see if we are okay ... your thoughts and prayers are still much appreciated!

We are still on an emotional roller coaster here like never before .... from anger to sadness to relief to excitement to.... well, you get the picture. It's been difficult to focus on much, including knitting ... although I have managed to finish two more shawls!
The first one is from ArtYarns; their pattern is called the Beaded Mohair Shawl but I just used a mohair/wool blend from my stash. What it lacks in stitch definition it makes up for in 'cozy!'

The second one was inspired by a scarf worn by Charlize Theoron (?) in the movie 'Sweet November.' It's called the Sweet November shawl but mine is more the size of a scarf -- I like it a lot, though, and I'll probably keep it for myself!

In other news .... we have no other news. We will move from here over to the Inner Harbour day after tomorrow and take 'one day at a time.' We've already had one job interview and we have a couple of leads for other possibilities. Although I make some money writing and editing, and we make some money working for Jason, it's not enough, and the main issue is securing moorage that allows live-aboards and doesn't cost a small fortune. Secondarily it would be a bonus if we could somehow stay here in Victoria but that doesn't seem likely. And ... we continue to struggle to keep our spirits up while we sort it all out.

A few times in the last two weeks, I've been able to get my mind off our current troubles.

When Michael and I drove up-Island for the job interview (a marina caretaking job we decided we didn't want after all -- the owner was a multi-millionnaire but we couldn't pin him down to a specific salary!) we stopped at a nearby boat yard and wandered around. This little pond was at the entrance... (and I have no idea why these photos went grainy)!
Even though Hailey couldn't come over from Whistler after all, we also had a nice Easter dinner at Mischa's, with my sister Julie, Joe, Jason and Kristen, and the boys, of course. Did I remember to take pictures, though? No...

Julie and I also did a little day trip up to Lake Cowichan ... it was a wonderful distraction on a beautifully clear, calm and warm day. We ended up in a little community called Youbou, on the north shore of the lake, that I'd never been to before. We had a picnic lunch in a lovely park near here:
Julie painted this scenery while I knit:
And then we found this waterfront lot for sale (I looked it up when I got home, the price was 'only' $359,000!) and wandered around it:
On our way home to Victoria, we stopped at the Sahtlam River and Stutz Falls:
Then we carried on to Cowichan Bay .... we visited the old abandoned stone church on the First Nation land:

It was a wonderful day away!

Back here at home, my friend Esther had me over for breakfast one morning..... in the midst of the chaos in our lives, I can't tell you what a breath of fresh air this lovely table was:
... and the smiling face of a friend and the fresh scones were pretty great, too!
I still have at least one distracting invitation to 'use up' -- I'll be going to Penny's to play with beads one day soon.

And today, of course, I have Knit'n'Cafe!

HERE!

I've had a few emails and phone calls from folks who are worried about us ... thanks so much for thinking of us! We're *okay* (in the sense that we're warm and dry, sober, together, and have food in the cupboard -- and we're not going to 'go postal', have nervous breakdowns or get a divorce)!

On the other hand, it's been a trying time here in our world, and we are struggling to stay positive and focused on what we need to do for ourselves.

And I'm knitting of course ... shawl #9 for 2011 is on the needles, and I'm nearly done a pair of socks. I'll try to get some pics later today...

Family dinner this weekend -- Julie will be here and I hope Hailey will be home from Whistler -- any time after that, we'll move over to the Inner Harbour (I've already figured out internet access), take a bit of a breather if we can, and then figure out what's next. It'll probably involve dusting off the ol' resumes -- not looking forward to that!

"ALL GOOD THINGS MUST END"

A new path...
It's been probably one of the most difficult weeks of my life since I posted last.

The short story is that Michael and I will be moving over to the *other* side of the bridge (into the 'inner harbour') as of April 30th, and no longer managing this marina. Change is always scary, so all positive thoughts gratefully accepted -- Michael and I will be okay (bet you knew that :) ) but we'll take a month or so to figure out what our next adventure might be! We'll keep you posted, of course...

Meanwhile, it's spring, and I've been busy with the camera!
I've also been busy knitting .... these are the Roatan socks, a test knit for my blog buddy Terry (Sailing Knitter in the sidebar) ...

... and water-watching...


Some of those photos were taken day before yesterday. Julie (and her friend Erin from Alberta) were here overnight and we went scenic touring, of course -- these two are artists, so they are always looking for 'paintable' images...
Busy day ahead .... like I said, all positive thoughts greatly appreciated!

A LITTLE ROAD TRIP TODAY

I've been invited to a senior's semi-independent living program in Nanaimo today to talk about charity knitting -- they have an active knitting circle there, and apparently need some new projects, and yarn, which I'm taking along with me!

I'm hoping to get the test knit socks done after the talk -- I know a few nice beaches up that way, and I'm dying to show you these! :-)

DISCOMBOBULATED

On Friday, I was supposed to do this for Knit and Crochet Blog week...

This is an experimental blogging day to try and push your creativity in blogging to the same level that you perhaps push your creativity in the items you create.

There are no rules of a topic to blog about (though some suggestions are given below) but this post should look at a different way to present content on your blog. This can take one of many forms, but here a few suggestions:

• Wordless, photographic post
• Video blog post
• Podcast
• Cartoon/sketch of an idea
• Write about a subject from a different perspective (for example, you could write about a day in the life of a knitted sock from the point of view of the sock).
• Interpretive modern dance (why does someone always suggest this?
• A poem or piece of rhyming verse
• Stop motion animation

Tips: The actual subject matter of the post might be quite dependent on the media method(s) you choose to use and as such there is no specific ‘topic’ to blog on. You could blog about a recently completed project, a knitting experience, a trip to the LYS or anything else that takes your fancy. The point behind this post is to get people thinking about using their blogs in different ways and pushing he boundaries of what they use their blogging platform for.

With that in mind, I took my 2011 shawls out to play, and I intended to tell a story photographically ...
But the day got away on me!

Then on Saturday, I was supposed to do this...

Day six: 2nd April. Something to aspire to.Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make but can admire the result of those that have.

Yes, I'd love to knit a sweater that FITS me, and then do the finishing in a professional way! There's a reason I love to knit socks and shawls... no seams!

... but instead of blogging, I was at Clover Point knitting -- and watching the traffic in a 25-knot wind!
And then yesterday, the final day of Knit and Crochet Blog Week, I was supposed to cover this...

Day seven: 3rd April. Your knitting and crochet time.

Write about your typical crafting time. When it is that you are likely to craft – alone or in more social environments, when watching TV or whilst taking bus journeys. What items do you like to surround yourself with whilst you twirl your hook like a majorette’s baton or work those needles like a skilled set of samurai swords. Do you always have snacks to hand, or are you a strictly ‘no crumbs near my yarn!’ kind of knitter.

Tips: Last year we had a topic asking about the actual location of where you knit or craft, this is similar but not the same. Try and concentrate on all of the little aspects that make up your knitting time. Maybe you always head for for your Flaming Lips CD when taking on simple knitting but prefer a bit of Brahms when tackling more intricate work, or maybe you enjoy knitting with audiobooks or complete silence. Perhaps your crochet time is never complete without a cuddle from Tiddles the cat.

I do my best knitting at 5 a.m. in the absolute silence in my saloon (that's boat-talk for living room), sometimes with a little fire going in the Newport. I usually don't even put coffee on until about 7:30, so even though I can't function 'in the world' or in relationships before downing a few cups, I *have * been known to conquer intricate lace patterns with narry a drop of caffeine anywhere near this body!

My second favorite place to knit is Clover Point, of course, although that's a different thing altogether -- I combine it with a mindful knitting meditation, so it's a slower-paced, less productive time. And that's a good thing.

My third favorite place to knit is our Friday Knit'n'Cafe -- I don't often get a lot of knitting DONE, but I love knitting with a group of other knitters, sharing projects, helping each other learn new stuff .... and talking and laughing.

*****

I have a full day of appointments and work today, so I'm off to get that precious coffee in the system before I face the world!

TGIF

It's been a loooooooooong week here! Some weeks I seem to have to change hats more often than others -- from 'marina manager' to 'freelance writer' to 'fibrefest producer' to 'grandma', etc. -- and sometimes, if that happens several times in a day, it's exhausting. This week, that's happened nearly every single day -- so I'm sure glad that I could just be a knitter today!

Today was even more fun because .... about 6 months ago a new (to me) knitter/reader commented on my blog. I followed her links and discovered that she lived in Nova Scotia, my birthplace, so I emailed her privately, and we've been in sporadic contact ever since. A few weeks ago she let me know she was coming here to visit her sister in Sooke (about half an hour away from me), so we arranged to meet today. She came into town this morning -- her name is India -- and we've just spent the day together, including Knit'n'Cafe!
You can see the kind of day we had, but it didn't dampen our spirits at *all.* We had a lot in common; I had fun, and I think she did, too!

Now, Knit and Crochet Blog week... I'm switching today's and tomorrow's posts, because I didn't get something done today that I needed to do. So tomorrow's blurb is ...

Day six: 2nd April. Something to aspire to.Is there a pattern or skill that you don’t yet feel ready to tackle but which you hope to (or think you can only dream of) tackling in the future, near or distant? Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft? Maybe the skill or pattern is one that you don’t even personally want to make but can stand back and admire those that do. Maybe it is something you think you will never be bothered to actually make but can admire the result of those that have.

Is there a skill or project that makes your mind boggle at the sheer time, dedication and mastery of the craft?

Yup -- Fair Isle knitting. The few times I've tried it, it went badly. Lousy tension, bad color choices, fiddly knitting -- not my idea of fun at all! I have no desire to ever try it again. However ... I LOVE seeing other people's Fair Isle knitting. The talent is amazing, and I'm always blown away by how wonderful it looks. But I'd so happily knit an intricate lace shawl rather than a Fair Isle sweater, any day!