Only on Salt Spring...

Actually, I've visited more than one Gulf Island where sheep roamed at large... but on Salt Spring Island, it may actually be part of the acknowledged culture. 

It's been cold... this is the view of the ferry terminal in front of us just after the ferry pulled out and disappeared into the fog ... doesn't that look cold?

 But then again, having relatively clear skies is the only time you get 'pink sky at night' sunsets like this one!

I haven't exactly been hibernating... but I do spend as much time as possible knitting in front of the fire! Clue #4 in the lace shawl knit-along will be out this morning, and in the meantime I'm working on a commission for some leggings that the gal has asked me to turn into socks, basically. The colors she chose are light blue, navy and chocolate brown, and I'm on the mid-section already (knitting from the top down):

It's been fun and easy so far, but pretty soon I have to switch from my circulars to double-points and that'll slow me down!

Speaking of knitting, we just had Gibson here for the weekend (too busy to take pics!) and he says to me, "Grandma, can you knit me a hat?" "Well of course I can! What do you want it to look like?" "I'll draw you a picture." So he drew me a picture as best any 6-year-old can, and of course, it told me nothing. So I asked a lot of questions... it's worn by a character in one of his favorite TV shows, apparently, and his friend at school showed up with this hat knitted by his mom, so now Gibson wants one, too.

Armed with just enough information, I did a little internet sleuthing ... et voila! Here is the hat he wants me to knit ... it's called the 'Brobee' hat, from the TV show "Yo Gamma Gamma". Apparently.

Of course he wanted it done before he got on the ferry to go home yesterday, but I promised it to him for next weekend. Ack! Anyone in my world know how to crochet and want to do me a big favor? I'm knitting the hat (and the red 'spikes') as we speak, but the facial features are ALL crocheted.

All I know is .... when any of my grandchildren wants me to me knit something for them, I'm all over that!  :-)
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MONDAY DRIVE-BY POST :-)

First of all, I want to wish a very happy birthday to my first-born!

(I stole this picture from one of his Facebook albums....) 

Jason is 39 today -- uh-oh, I guess that means I can't claim to be 39 anymore, now, can I?  :-) We're having lunch on Wednesday, so I'm looking forward to that!

Secondly, welcome back to Canada to Hailey, who spent the last week working in La Jolla, California. Well, she *claims* she was working, but the only picture she sent me was this one:   ;-)

I guess if I lived in Whistler year-round, I'd be pretty happy to show off my toes in flip-flops in the sun and sand in January, too!

And since I'm all about pictures of other people taken by other people this morning, I might as well show you this one (also stolen from FB) ... Joshua in the toque I knit him for Christmas!

Adorable, huh? That's his Mom, Cara, with him ... but I didn't knit her toque. (She, and it, are pretty adorable, too, though!)

Knitting is happening .... I'm participating in a 'mystery' shawl knit-along (meaning a clue gets released every week so you don't actually know what it will look like until it's done) -- but so far so good:

What's not to love? Pale blue cotton, lace, and beads!
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HAPPY MONDAY!

Yesterday, since we can't get away to celebrate our anniversary until February, we decided to just spend the day together and go on a little Salt Spring Island 'road trip.' I've gotten to know lots of little beach access roads and out-of-the-way funky places here, but Michael hasn't seen a lot of them. So we 'circumnavigated' Salt Spring for the day!

Here's a link to a little movie I took of watching the stream at Southey Point...

And here's some of the view ... looking northwest up Trincomali Channel...

 ... and west toward Vancouver Island...

And check out this rock formation... I say it looks like a giant petrified fish!

It was a lovely drive and a lovely day... topped off by seeing this on our way home:

At first glance I thought someone had wrapped colored electrical tape around the sign pole, so I got a little closer...

How cute is that? Sign cozies! :-)

I meant to show you this lap blanket last week ... it still has to be blocked, but it's bigger than it looks -- about 40" in diameter:

This gorgeous wool was some loose dyed fleece that I bought at a fibre event a few years ago, when I was still going to learn to spin. I finally turned it over to my Metchosin fibre buddies, and they did their magic and turned it into yarn for me! It's primarily a light greeny color with hints of fuschia in it, and it's really pretty.

Back to work today...
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Yeah, I know, so much for that 'resolve' I had! But I had to share that today's a pretty special day for us... 35 years ago today I met this gorgeous guy -- at a bar -- and took him home. He's still here! Who'd-a thunk it? Not us! We were just a couple of messed-up drunks back then ... it's amazing what one-day-at-a-time sober living can do. He's still gorgeous to me, and we're still having fun! We're hoping to get away for a weekend in February, when it's also his birthday...

The weather has been very cold (for here, that means just below the freezing point!) so I've been spending as much time as possible in front of our little fireplace with my knitting. I've finished a 'Pi' lap blanket for our loveseat and I'm working on an afghan as a favor for a friend of my sister's. And, of course, there's another shawl on the needles. Life is good!
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I am watching now as each day grows a tiny bit longer ... I've always quietly celebrated 'the return of the light' because I really don't like darkness!

I do enjoy the sort of quasi-hibernating that happens for that week or so after the Christmas craziness ... getting lots of knitting done, keeping the fire stoked so it's toasty on the boat, making soups, watching the winter diving birds that show up this time of year -- it's just actual darkness I'm not crazy about. Navigating the dock is a bit more of a challenge, the ramp is somewhat spooky with various tree branches hanging down over it, and Salt Spring's roads can be downright hazardous even on a sunny day, much less in the dark (and accompanying drizzle, this time of year)!

So, yes, knitting has happened, of course. I've been in 'home' mode -- I cranked out a lampshade I've been wanting to make for quite awhile, to cover an old ugly one ...

.. and then a new bathmat for the aft cabin ensuite:

It's bigger than it looks! And now I'm working on a new throw for the back of the loveseat. I also couldn't resist signing up for a Jan. 1st shawl knit-along, and took my knitting along to Salt Spring's excuse for a Polar Bear swim. These two guys, apparently brothers, turned up!

 

Then I took the shawl with me for some 'quiet time' overlooking the Salt Spring Sailing Club, where there was a New Year's Day regatta in progress...

 See? Those are boats, trying to sail!

And -- I finished this shawl in three days:

It's bigger than it looks, too, but I couldn't resist having Gibson model it. We had the boys over for the last two days of their Christmas break, so that was nice!

I made the time for a walk the other day, too .... everything is damp and 'rain-forest-y' right now...

Today I am back to work with Welcome Wagon for the first time in three weeks, and looking forward to it... a few appointments this morning, and then knitting circle in Ganges this afternoon!  :-)

SALT SPRING TRIVIA

I thought I'd start the new year off by telling you some things about this island I live on! Here's some great Salt Spring 'trivia', gleaned from several local websites:

Salt Spring Island is the largest and most populated of the Canadian Gulf Islands; it lies in the sheltered waters off the east coast of Vancouver Island, midway between Victoria and the 'mainland' of BC (and the city of Vancouver). Salt Spring The Island is 15 miles long and 8 miles wide wide. The perimeter is 78 km (48 miles), and the shoreline is 134 km (83 miles).

Population 10,000
Roads 650 km/410 miles
Annual sunshine 2,000 + hours
Annual rainfall 84 cm / 34 inches
Mean Temp. July 17 C / 64 F
Frost free season 9 months
Highest point Mount Bruce 709m 2326ft
Schools 1 high, 1 middle, 4 elem.
Library 1
Farms 225
Public Docks 7
Commercial Marinas 4
Post Offices 3
Movie Theatre 1
Golf Courses 2 Nine-hole courses
Fairgrounds 1
Community Halls 7
Beaches 22

Accommodation
2 Hotels
2 Motels
8 Resorts
40+ Bed & Breakfasts
60+ Self Contained Cottages/Suites

Transportation
3 Taxis
5 Water Taxi Boats
3 Airlines – all with several float planes
Public transit services with buses

The Coast Guard
Two boats, six permanent and five temporary staff, plus sixteen or more auxiliary volunteers.

Medical care
Ambulance services — one station, two Vehicles, one manager and 32 volunteer paramedics
Lady Minto Hospital — 19 acute- and 31 extended-care beds
Ten general practitioners, and five Specialists
The Greenwoods Intermediate Care Facility
49 regular, one respite, and one overnight respite-beds.

The local RCMP detachment
One Sergeant-in-charge, two corporals, five constables.

Fire Department
Three stations, eight trucks, one emergency response vehicle, four on-staff firefighters, and 31 volunteers.

Farms include: sheep and lamb products, orchards, poultry, certified organic growers, llamas, and cheese. We also have a working abattoir.

Ferry Terminals - three
Long Harbour to the Mainland, Fulford and Vesuvius to Vancouver Island.

Churches
Anglican, Baha’i, Buddhist, Mormon, Community Gospel, Eckankar, Jehovah’s Witness, Quaker, Roman Catholic, Baptist, Pentecostal, Unitarian Fellowship, United Church.

GANGES is the 'village' or main settlement on Salt Spring Island, located near the centre of the Island, geographically.The largest concentration of population and ammenities on the island is Ganges. There are two shopping areas, one by the ocean, a second just a few blocks away. There are small townhome clusters, a Lions and a Kiwanis Village for the elderly, and a retirement modular home development. 

There are three other communities with stores and restaurants: Fulford in Fulford Harbour to the south, Vesuvius near Vesuvius Bay to the west and Fernwood on the east coast.

All I know is that I just keep loving it here!