We've come to the realization that sports make up only half of the Olympic experience. Good thing, due to the dearth of affordable tickets. What's the other half of the Olympic experience? The people – playing host, the visitors, the athletes – most of them on their best behaviour. The answer to our family's standard…

I've been listening carefully to peoples' opinions and realize the source of my Olympic feelings. A CBC listener summed it up: "lt's like they've invited the world but forgot to invite Vancouver. Someone else said: I'd feel a helluva lot better about it if I had hockey tickets." It was the inaccessibility of tickets for…

That soft, muted out-of-focus look? Didn't pay much for this filter, just shot it through my bathroom window. An example of you get what you pay for. There were about a dozen of them, Robins feasting on holly berries: Somewhere between the colour of holly berries and the breast of a Robin, the Lacy Kerchief…

OK readers, I rant about once a year. Generally not one to get involved in political commentary I suppose now is as good time as any. Is writing about our 2010 Olympics political? If so, permit me this moment of weakness. Yes, I'm one of those, the ones who get annoyed by the event, expensive…

It's not that I'm over the moon happy, it's that my replacement phone came with some free downloads. I decided that I would pick only happy music. Nothing touching or inspirational, no ballads nor slow sappy love songs, just plain old happy little ditties. Here's the list, so far: 1. As per my post of…

Who'd have thought that recent weaving projects would involve the quirky combination of these unrelated items: They were instrumental in finishing a variety of ends: The jar of grape leaves provided the weight necessary to ply fringe with the battery operated Conair hair "braider."  Although called a braider, it actually plies whatever you feed it…

And don't it feel good! An earworm brought to you by Lifesastitch. C arranged a last minute vacation exchange in Palm Springs, CA. I wasn't thrilled with the idea, due to his recent surgery, but he was going with or without me. Couldn't let him go alone, so here I am in the warm, dry…

Nothing like a 24 hour project. This is what I did with the yarn from the last post:   Pattern: Garter Stitch Loop-Through Scarf from 101 Designer One Skein Wonders Yarn: Lorna's Laces Lion and Lamb silk/merino blend, in the Vera colourway What do I think? Meh. Way too busy looking, like camo with hot…

Not resolutions, revelations. I confess, most of my knitting projects experience a minimum of four false starts. Cast on. Frog back. Cast on. Tear it out. Cast on. Tink (non-knitters- tinking is knitting spelled somewhat backwards and means knitting in reverse).   Knitting revelation #2: I have quite a collection of  beautiful yarns languishing in…

Just wound up year 11 of running our charity gift wrap fund raiser for work. When I was 15 my first job was as a gift wrapper at a Lord and Taylor in NY and here I am, 40 years later, still gift wrapping as part of my job. Wrapping about a thousand gifts each…