The 'Winter Doldrums' swap (check out my sidebar) is posting a weekly topic, and the participants get entered in to a contest if they blog about them. So here's this week's topic:
Weekly Topic: Dishrag. Dishcloth. Face cloth. I've seen folks get all fired up in forums when someone refers to their knit or crochet creation as a dishrag, as that's somehow offensive to them! When you're working on yours, what do you call them? Also, is there a difference between a dishrag and a dishcloth? How bout a facecloth? Are they all really the same thing?
Actually, I've taken to calling them 'Spaaaaaaaaaahhh cloths' because then all three of my grown kids like receiving them! lol Besides, it definitely sounds 'classier' than 'dishrag.' And, bottom line, I don't care what other people call them OR use them for once I've gifted them!
Anyway, we got our 'swap partner assignments today, so I may get started tomorrow.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
ALL ABOUT BLANKETS
The last two days have been all about Blankets for Canada, a national organization that is the Canadian equivalent of Warm Up America. As the Victoria coordinator it's my job to collect blanket squares from knitters (or knit them if need be, but that's not a problem here!), arrange to have them sewn or crocheted together, and then distributed to the homeless shelters here. This is what they look like when they're done:
So a few of us sometimes meet on Thursday afternoons here for a 'joining party' and this week we got one blanket almost finished. Yesterday I took it to our Friday Knit'n'Cafe and got it finished, so I was able to deliver that one and two others I'd finished over the holidays to Sandi Merriman House, the local homeless shelter for Women.
PHOTO OF THE DAY:
This is our trusty little (well, it's 13') dinghy pulled up in Midden Bay on Newcastle Island in Nanaimo. If the sun comes out at all in the next three days (our 'days off' from looking after Gibson and River), we'll be IN it going for our first little jaunt around the harbour of 2008. And if it stays rainy and gray like it is right now, I'll be curled up on the couch casting on and knitting either the Sivia Harding Moonshadow stole or the 'Secret of the Stole II'. Can't decide which one to start with!
So a few of us sometimes meet on Thursday afternoons here for a 'joining party' and this week we got one blanket almost finished. Yesterday I took it to our Friday Knit'n'Cafe and got it finished, so I was able to deliver that one and two others I'd finished over the holidays to Sandi Merriman House, the local homeless shelter for Women.
PHOTO OF THE DAY:
This is our trusty little (well, it's 13') dinghy pulled up in Midden Bay on Newcastle Island in Nanaimo. If the sun comes out at all in the next three days (our 'days off' from looking after Gibson and River), we'll be IN it going for our first little jaunt around the harbour of 2008. And if it stays rainy and gray like it is right now, I'll be curled up on the couch casting on and knitting either the Sivia Harding Moonshadow stole or the 'Secret of the Stole II'. Can't decide which one to start with!
Thursday, January 17, 2008
A DAY IN THE (MARINA) LIFE
Lest ye think all I do is sit around and knit all day, I thought I'd share a bit about the marina life!
The night-time temperatures here have been hovering around freezing, so there's more work to do at the marina. First of all, Michael has to put 'ice-melt' out on the docks regularly so folks aren't slippin' and slidin' -- that's a little more dangerous on water than on land! We also have to make sure all the water is drained from hoses, etc., or that folks have left a tap dripping a bit -- frozen pipes are a 'PITA' and can be very expensive to fix!
January is often the month, as live-aboards, where 'the rubber meets the road,' so to speak. The live-aboard lifestyle is often romanticized (and it IS pretty romantic!) but it also has its drawbacks, and January is the month that those drawbacks are the most noticeable.
For one thing, many people (including Michael) suffer from what is now being called 'SAD' Syndrome -- not enough sunlight. And when you're living in a small space, that can result in a unique kind of cabin fever.
And how easy is it for YOU to do laundry? As liveaboards, we have to pack it up and trundle it all off to a laundromat -- and January has some of the lowest tides of the year, so that means lugging it up a 45-degree angle dock (which better have lots of 'ice-melt' on it)!
Here's one of my favorite photos of where we live...
We're also having trouble with a tenant who hasn't paid his moorage in a few months, and so our nice requests have now become written demands, and yesterday I spent two hours on the phone between lawyers, Transport Canada and the bailiff's office to determine what, exactly, are our rights in terms of getting a moorage tenant to pay up or get out.It's not pleasant when it's reached this point, but it's part of our job, unfortunately.
Well, back to my knitting -- I'm working on a shawl for Threads of Compassion.
The night-time temperatures here have been hovering around freezing, so there's more work to do at the marina. First of all, Michael has to put 'ice-melt' out on the docks regularly so folks aren't slippin' and slidin' -- that's a little more dangerous on water than on land! We also have to make sure all the water is drained from hoses, etc., or that folks have left a tap dripping a bit -- frozen pipes are a 'PITA' and can be very expensive to fix!
January is often the month, as live-aboards, where 'the rubber meets the road,' so to speak. The live-aboard lifestyle is often romanticized (and it IS pretty romantic!) but it also has its drawbacks, and January is the month that those drawbacks are the most noticeable.
For one thing, many people (including Michael) suffer from what is now being called 'SAD' Syndrome -- not enough sunlight. And when you're living in a small space, that can result in a unique kind of cabin fever.
And how easy is it for YOU to do laundry? As liveaboards, we have to pack it up and trundle it all off to a laundromat -- and January has some of the lowest tides of the year, so that means lugging it up a 45-degree angle dock (which better have lots of 'ice-melt' on it)!
Here's one of my favorite photos of where we live...
We're also having trouble with a tenant who hasn't paid his moorage in a few months, and so our nice requests have now become written demands, and yesterday I spent two hours on the phone between lawyers, Transport Canada and the bailiff's office to determine what, exactly, are our rights in terms of getting a moorage tenant to pay up or get out.It's not pleasant when it's reached this point, but it's part of our job, unfortunately.
Well, back to my knitting -- I'm working on a shawl for Threads of Compassion.
Tuesday, January 15, 2008
ARBUTUS COVE WEEKEND
Wow, wow, wow! (Be forewarned.... picture-heavy post...)
The Arbutus Cove B & B was all we imagined, and more! Check it out...
That's the main house, the cabin we were in is just to the right. Here's our deck, and the view over Sooke basin from it...
And don't I look relaxed?
Our own personal hot tub ... and their private dock. . . (we didn't go by boat, but we technically could have!)
And then there was the Galloping Goose Trail -- there was an access about 100' from our cabin, so we walked a long way on Sunday... here's some highlights along the trail... (Sooke Basin on the left, tropical rain forest cliff on our right).
Two of the highlights on our walk were this waterfall...
And, if you look closely in the centre of this photo (or you can click on it to see the larger image) you'll see 4 or 5 of the most adorable little 'moss'-colored birds having a little natural bird-bath!
It was a blast, and we'll definitely go back... here's the sunset on our final evening...
ON THE NEEDLES: I have my first Finished Object of 2008 ... the interminable purple shawl! Pics later today!
The Arbutus Cove B & B was all we imagined, and more! Check it out...
That's the main house, the cabin we were in is just to the right. Here's our deck, and the view over Sooke basin from it...
And don't I look relaxed?
Our own personal hot tub ... and their private dock. . . (we didn't go by boat, but we technically could have!)
And then there was the Galloping Goose Trail -- there was an access about 100' from our cabin, so we walked a long way on Sunday... here's some highlights along the trail... (Sooke Basin on the left, tropical rain forest cliff on our right).
Two of the highlights on our walk were this waterfall...
And, if you look closely in the centre of this photo (or you can click on it to see the larger image) you'll see 4 or 5 of the most adorable little 'moss'-colored birds having a little natural bird-bath!
It was a blast, and we'll definitely go back... here's the sunset on our final evening...
ON THE NEEDLES: I have my first Finished Object of 2008 ... the interminable purple shawl! Pics later today!
Saturday, January 12, 2008
AND WE'RE OFF!
30 years ago today I went to the bar with a girlfriend -- which I wasn't going to do -- and went home with some guy I'd just met -- which I wasn't going to do.
That guy is out picking up a few groceries right now, and then -- after many moons of sobriety and other assorted good living -- we are away for our 30th anniversary celebration!
When you're an 'old married couple' like us, here's what you take for a weekend away:
Your multi-vitamins
His two favorite movies
My basket of knitting
His Saturday newspaper
My novel I've been trying to start reading since Christmas
The cribbage cards and board
Sounds like a great time to me! I won't post again until Monday evening or Tuesday morning ... oh, I also intend to do a lot of counting sheep, so I thought I'd leave you with some while I'm away...
That guy is out picking up a few groceries right now, and then -- after many moons of sobriety and other assorted good living -- we are away for our 30th anniversary celebration!
When you're an 'old married couple' like us, here's what you take for a weekend away:
Your multi-vitamins
His two favorite movies
My basket of knitting
His Saturday newspaper
My novel I've been trying to start reading since Christmas
The cribbage cards and board
Sounds like a great time to me! I won't post again until Monday evening or Tuesday morning ... oh, I also intend to do a lot of counting sheep, so I thought I'd leave you with some while I'm away...
Friday, January 11, 2008
SAXE POINT PARK
I was invited to a meeting last night made up of 'stakeholders' in a fledgling Esquimalt tourism association, becauae of the fact that I hold the final day of the Victoria Fibre Festival at Saxe Point Park there.
The meeting was the perfect kick-off to starting the serious planning for this year's event (well, that's not entirely true ... I booked my special guest three days after last year's event, and I booked the park the minute the office opened in January ...) and you'll be hearing a lot more about it over the next few months.
Mark the dates in your calendar now ... Victoria's 6th Annual Knit-Out/FibreFest will take place June 20th to 22nd, 2008. The weekend will unfold much the same as last year ... a dinner and fashion show on Friday night, classes and a 'yarn crawl' on Saturday during the day, my guest 'talk' on Saturday evening, and then, of course, the grand finale -- the Market (and demos and prizes and much other knitterly fun!) at Saxe Point Park on Sunday. Quadra Island's FUN KNITS Yarn Shop (I call it "The little shop that could...") will be our major sponsor again this year!
Here's the park ... isn't it beautiful? Wanna come knit (and spin and weave and shop for yarny goodies, and meet other knitters and spinners and weavers and shoppers) with us?
Stay tuned for more ... including my announcement about this year's special guest, no later than February 1st!
The meeting was the perfect kick-off to starting the serious planning for this year's event (well, that's not entirely true ... I booked my special guest three days after last year's event, and I booked the park the minute the office opened in January ...) and you'll be hearing a lot more about it over the next few months.
Mark the dates in your calendar now ... Victoria's 6th Annual Knit-Out/FibreFest will take place June 20th to 22nd, 2008. The weekend will unfold much the same as last year ... a dinner and fashion show on Friday night, classes and a 'yarn crawl' on Saturday during the day, my guest 'talk' on Saturday evening, and then, of course, the grand finale -- the Market (and demos and prizes and much other knitterly fun!) at Saxe Point Park on Sunday. Quadra Island's FUN KNITS Yarn Shop (I call it "The little shop that could...") will be our major sponsor again this year!
Here's the park ... isn't it beautiful? Wanna come knit (and spin and weave and shop for yarny goodies, and meet other knitters and spinners and weavers and shoppers) with us?
Stay tuned for more ... including my announcement about this year's special guest, no later than February 1st!
Thursday, January 10, 2008
THE SHIP FOR SHIPS
Yesterday morning I took my favorite 'scenic' route home from the regular meeting of the Victoria Knitter's Guild and was surprised by a sight at Ogden Point that I didn't expect to see until at least April...
If this looks just like an ordinary freighter to you, click on the photo to see the larger version. It's actually one of about half a dozen of these ships that travel the world carrying folks' private boats. It would have come from at least Florida (via the Panama Canal) and it takes two days, with those giant cranes to 'plop' every one of those fancy-dancy yachts into the water! It's quite something to see... and you can only dream of the lifestyle that allows people to pay .... hmmm... I seem to recall a figure of about $25,000 ... just to ship their ship to a new playground.
If this looks just like an ordinary freighter to you, click on the photo to see the larger version. It's actually one of about half a dozen of these ships that travel the world carrying folks' private boats. It would have come from at least Florida (via the Panama Canal) and it takes two days, with those giant cranes to 'plop' every one of those fancy-dancy yachts into the water! It's quite something to see... and you can only dream of the lifestyle that allows people to pay .... hmmm... I seem to recall a figure of about $25,000 ... just to ship their ship to a new playground.
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