Happy birthday, Esther!

Several months ago, Esther mentioned that she would be turning the big 7-0 this year ...  and I realized that I would be 6-0 two months later. :-) We started joking about how we should celebrate our birthdays together (she's single, and Michael is just not a birthday-celebrating kind of guy) and that, if we did, the perfect birthday would have to include a lot of knitting ... and being waited on.

The more we chatted about it, the more real the idea became, and a plan was born. In mid-October Esther and I will board the VIA Rail train in Vancouver, and knit our way to Jasper, Alberta, to celebrate our landmark birthdays together! The trip takes about 24 hours, then we have two nights in a resort cabin in Jasper, and then get on the train and ride back to Vancouver. Doesn't this sound like fun? The fall colors should be glorious through the mountains by then... and Jasper has a yarn store. We're both getting pretty excited about the trip now!

Meanwhile, Esther's *actual* birthday is today but her family had a dinner for her day before yesterday, and took that great picture of her.

We did get up-Island for Sri's wedding ... it was very emotional for me, and I'm sure, for a lot of people there.  Maryann is lovely... but she's not Susan... so it was a 'bittersweet' event.

(Sri and Maryann are the two dressed in ivory...)

After the wedding we went to visit my sister Julie ... who is in a new relationship after being single for almost 15 years! 

Got back to our 'sanctuary' from all things social just in time to play peek-a-boo with an otter:

I'm nearly finished my niece's wedding present sampler afghan ... I should have pics soon!
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HAPPY AUTUMN SOLSTICE

There's truly something weird about how fast the days go by! Here it is Friday again, and I had every intention of posting all week!

First of all, a few more pics of our month of fun... this is Michael swimming in the ocean on September 10th (it *has* been unusually warm!) ...

 ... and this is Michael saying 'I can't believe I just did that.'  :)

 The same day, we saw this creature swimming with the jellyfish in the water...

I think it's probably a nudibranch (Google that word in Google Images, and you'll see some amazing species!) but doesn't it look like some kind of underwater mini-alien to you?

I have another little story about our mini-holiday, too. The night before we left, we got a call from Susan's son, Rennie. He and his sister Rose were planning to move their sailboat from Victoria (in our old marina, where it's been for 5+ years) up closer to where Sri lives in Qualicum, and were calling to say they'd like to stop in to Fulford for a visit. When we said we'd actually be on Pender Island, they decided to come there instead. Here is 'Pippin' arriving in Bedwell Harbour while we were anchored there...

We had Rose and Rennie over for dinner on the Wind Walker that night ... it was SO good to see them! Both amazing young people, Susan would be so proud of them. It's almost 3 years since Susan died, and we've seen the kids a few times (in their late 20s now, but we've known them since pre-adolescence!) -- but this time was just a wonderful visit!

 They spent the night in the harbour ... here's Pippin with the lights of the resort in the background...


After they left the next day, we had a bit of a drizzle ... I took a few dozen pics of this rainbow, but it was too close to our boat. I think the pot of gold was in our dinghy, but I couldn't find it!

(We're actually driving up to Qualicum tomorrow ... Sri is getting married again, on the beach there.)  :)

The other night Michael and I went for a long dinghy ride to cool off after supper, and ended up out at Isabella Rocks on the south side of Salt Spring ... it was so pretty! 

There was a lovely midden beach... 

... and if you look closely at the those 'rocks' on the left... they are actually two seals back-to-back that surfaced right in front of us ...

 ... a gorgeous evening, gorgeous scenery...

 ... and gorgeous skipper! :)

Yesterday morning when I opened the curtains at sun-up, this is what I saw... 

Apparently smoke from the forest fires in Washington is causing that halo effect and bright red sun... and this morning, there's fog in the harbour on the first official day of fall.

More Welcome Wagon work this morning, and then I'm taking a few days off!
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A LITTLE HOLIDAY

Well, we can't get away for a whole month like we used to, but September is still the best time for a mini-holiday! We managed to get away for a whole week and I have lots of pictures and stories to tell, but today I only have time for the 'highlights.'

First of all, a finished object to show off ... the dog hair sweater finally being modeled by its owner...

This fellow, whose name is Garth, saved his Bouvier dog's hair for FOURTEEN YEARS. It was then spun up by a local friend of mine (three years ago, before I moved here), and, after the dog passed away, Garth went looking for someone to create and knit a sweater for him. This is the end result of the design he wanted and I created ... and you can see by the look on his face how happy he is with the final product!

Bedwell Harbour, South Pender Island .... every evening looked like this:

This deer couldn't decide whether to be more wary of the dog or the humans trying to take its picture at the resort!

 And Hailey came over for a two-day visit while we were there, too!

Much more to tell you but I have to go to WORK now after goofing off for the last ten days. All's well in our little corner of the world!

SEPTEMBER (ALREADY?) ODDS'n'SODS

I've been knitting like a fiend on the dog-hair vest that has now become a sweater! That was the original deal ... I would knit a vest first, and then, if I determined that there was enough yarn, I would pick up the stitches around the arm holes and make a sweater! I'm about 7" into the final sleeve now, so it'll be finished this week for sure.

I took this pic of the full moon over the Harbour the other night...

 I finished decorating my fall Welcome Wagon basket over the weekend, too...

There has been an absolute explosion of jellyfish in the harbour in the last few days -- I'm not sure if this picture will do it justice, but there are thousands of them! This picture covers about a 2-sq-ft area (remember you can click it to see it bigger): 

We have been taking care of the marina for the month of August while the owners are away, so that has kept us hopping more than usual! They're back today, so we are planning a little getaway of our own, maybe next week -- I'll keep you posted.

Yesterday some folks on a visiting yacht loaned me their book about Chris Crafts -- I'd never seen this one:

But there we were, on page 101! (Well, okay, maybe it wasn't this boat -- but it could have been, there were only 50 of this model made).

 And here's the description...

Today Michael has to go to Victoria, but I will be sitting on the bridge in the sunshine knitting a sleeve. Tomorrow *I* go to Victoria -- I have a Welcome Wagon staff meeting, grocery shopping to do, people to visit, and beads to buy!
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