Life's a Stitch

…and washed Vancouver out. This is our sky earlier this week and the same sky a minute later. And that’s how it’s looked since, day and night:

This weather system is known as the Pineapple express, a storm system out of Hawaii. What’s worse than experiencing the Pineapple Express in Vancouver? Experiencing it in Hawaii on your honeymoon like my daughter and new husband did. They have just returned and even their "rain or shine" activities were cancelled. Now, what’s worse than experiencing the Pineapple Express on your honeymoon? Living through it again in Saskatchewan, if the temperatures are low enough, to turn it to snow. Get your shovels out, Elina and Sean.

Without any natural light, it’s been difficult photographing Lady Eleanor, so instead I give you my travel project from the Wisconsin/Minnesota trip. It’s Branching Out in Maiden Silk by Handmaiden Yarns. The colours were a perfect match of the maples in nearby Edgemont Village a few weeks back, future home to Urban Yarn’s second location. That’s BIG NEWS for those of us on the North Shore. A full sized yarn shop within walking distance! OK it’s a long walk, but it’ll be worth it.

Can you take it? Another teenage boy story. Warning: this is high in the ewwww content (Dorothy, maybe you don’t want to read this, I remember your reaction to other too much information posts in the past). Bear with me, guys, this is my therapy.

Sitting in the car 8:14 in the morning, waiting for Bryant. Our target departure time is 8:00. He gets in the car.

"I can’t find my clear nose ring." He has a nose piercing but attends a school with anti-piercing legislation and inserts this thing as a substitute. As if that negates the fact that he has his nose pierced.

"I have little sympathy for that," says the Mom (that would be me), immediately shutting down all further communication for the duration of the ride. 

Eight minutes later we arrive at the school. He gets out, closing the door with gusto. "You’re welcome," says I.

Driving to work three minutes later my phone rings. Actually it clucks like a chicken. It’s him with an ecstatic voice, "Mom, you want to hear the coolest thing?

"Remember that nose ring I lost?" Give me some credit. How could I possibly forget in the three passing minutes? I admit, I suffer from middle age memory, but this isn’t one of those things that I’d forget like where did I put my keys or why am I standing in the storage closet with no clue what I came in for.

"He continues, "When I got into school I coughed and the nose ring was in my mouth! Isn’t that totally cool?" It had gone through his nose, up his nasal passage, into his throat and back up into his mouth.

See what I have to put up with? I do love him dearly, but he tries my patience. This is my boy:

 

Knitting update: one giant sized Lady Eleanor is off the needles! Photos soon, after I get over this miserable case of bronchitis.

My recent trip allowed me to eat my way across the Midwest. I love to eat and mostly I do so in a healthy manner. It’s usually easy for me as I don’t have much of a sweet tooth.

This trip was an exception. I thought as you grow older, your taste buds die off; one of the reasons kids don’t eat stuff – it tastes too strong. Can you imagine, as a child I hated pizza and hamburgers? You’d never know it now.

Here are the eating highlights of my trip:

1. Michael’s Frozen Custard, Madison, WI. It was the reminiscent of the original Carvel of my New York youth. Velvety vanilla, the Touch Me of ice cream. There’s the knitting content.

2. The Village Square Cafe, Harmony MN. Oh mama, homemade beef stroganoff soup, noodles from scratch, bread sticks like I’ve never had, hot, crispy on the outside, tender, but fully done in the middle,and the best peach pie I’ve ever tasted. There’s an expensive pie shop here on Vancouver’s North Shore and I’ve never been able to comprehend its lure – thick, chewy crust and dry innards. The Village Square had the thinnest of crispy crusts and a fresh tasting juicy fruit filling. Cost of the meal? $5.25, about the same as a slice alone from the Savary Island Pie Company in West Vancouver.

3. Bilotti’s Italian Village, Rochester, MN. Nine people, one bottle of Australian red wine for the three lushes including me, lots of soft drinks, most of us eating the evening special – Minnesota walleye pike fillet, a 7 oz. steak, spaghetti and meat sauce, and a salad. The total cost? $89 for nine people. Ok, they deducted the cost of my SIL’s meal since it was delivered after everyone else had eaten, so technically it was $89 for eight. Decent costumer service to boot! Honey, in Vancouver $89 for two is typical. Add in sporadic service.

Have I wrecked your diet yet? Misery loves company, let me continue.

4. Dessert at my SIL’s, Eyota, MN. Actually my SIL doesn’t cook much can’t take credit. It was all cousin Lena’s fault. Lena is from Denmark and she made us a decadent chocolate "cake" from 70% cocoa chocolate bars; light as souffle, rich as fudge. It was BIL Greg’s fault that we had ice cream on top. Wash that down with "Emma," a Danish fruit brandy made from raspberries, blueberries and strawberries. Lena’s daughter helped develop the recipe for this nectar. In the first month 150,000 bottles were sold.

5. One last temptation, the Berghoff Cafe, Terminal 1, Concourse C, Chicago’s O’Hare Airport. The demise of traditional airline meals (why isn’t anyone wiping away tears?), has sprung a crop of $7.99 day old sandwich stands. Why eat Chili’s pre-made when you can indulge in the descendant of a 100 year old Chicago tradition for $5.50? Hand carved roast turkey, roast beef, or corned beef sandwiches. I mean individually hand carved. There was a woman in front of me ordering a turkey sandwich. I told the carver I was ordering the same so he could carve enough turkey for two. No, replied the conscientious employee, we carve each sandwich individually. He replaced the turkey breast, took it out again and cut the meat for my sandwich. Add fresh rye bread and unprocessed Swiss cheese, it was very difficult to wait two hours into my flight to indulge in sandwich heaven.

No more, I promise. I apologize for the superlatives, but they’re the truth. I’m not getting on a scale for a year.

After the wedding I spent a few days in Southeastern MN with my SIL and BIL, parents of the bride. It felt like coming home as there are only three family members I can think of from my younger years who still live in the same house. And what a house it is, over 150 years old:

Greg, my BIL, took cousin Lena from Denmark, and me on a tour of Bluff Country. We stopped in several little towns along the Amish Byway, every place having it’s motto worthy of mention on Prairie Home Companion: Fountain – The sink hole capital of the USA," Lanesboro – "A short trip you’ll long remember", and Harmony, "the town that’s more than a name."  I had the feeling that every elected official of the Bluffs took the same marketing course that emphasized taglines.

Harmony is home to Austin’s Angora Goats and Mohair Gifts, home to everything purple and as an added bonus – their own yarn shop. They have a motto, too – "Touch a baby goat, feel the fiber on the hoof." I kid you not (groan); I couldn’t have made that one up of I tried. All their yarn was from their goats and sheep, spun and dyed locally. If you were hungry they also sold goat fudge and sausage.

Entering the gift shop we were asked what brought us to Minnesota. "A wedding," we said together "Better’n a funeral," said Lady Austin. My BIL then made the mistake of commenting that I had said mohair can be itchy. We were ordered to sit down and remove our socks and shoes, and given brand new socks to sample. We were commanded to replace our shoes and walk around. Then we were required to describe our first experience with mohair socks. It’s like walking on clouds. Lady Austin told us that we could wear ’em for a week of huntin’ before they’d need washing. Before we left we were the proud owners of three pairs of mohair socks. Below are pictures of Austin’s Bonnie and one of their yarns, a mixture of mohair and rayon thread.

I don’t know why I have this passion for the prairies, the rolling hills and big sky. I think I could live there again if it weren’t for the snow. I’ll settle for visiting and someday doing the Bluff Country bike trail. If you’re ever in the area you should visit because, as they say in their literature, "Wherever you are you’re not far."

Meet Amalie, my niece, and her new husband, Luke. You know what, Luke? You’ve married a pretty sensible woman. I know because she planned a knitting project just for the honeymoon. You might think it strange, but taking along your knitting assures that flights will be on time and you won’t be stuck in traffic jams. I know this is true because any time I leave my knitting at home I’m always delayed in one way or another.

Finally back in Vancouver. It was a great trip including stops at three yarn shops and a trip to an angora goat farm. I practiced great restraint by buying only two skeins of yarn, one being a gift for my knitting SIL – the mother of the sensible bride.

More later, just wanted to post a quick update.

We made it to Wisconsin despite our flight being cancelled due to snow in Denver. The closest they could get us was Chicago! We rented a car and drove the rest of the way through sheets of rain. Better rain than snow.

More on the wedding in another post – it was a wonderful mixture of family and tradition, so missed because we made the choice long ago to move far away. Today is the yarn crawl and tomorrow on to Rochester MN for a few days.

I bought a new black dress for the occasion since it was an evening event. Showing it to Bryant:

"Mom it looks like a witch’s dress."

I’m thinking, how appropriate for a Halloween season wedding, but don’t want to give his comment credence by verbalizing it.

"Should I wear my gold dress shoes or get some black boots (meaning little ankle boots with sensible heels)?"

"Depends if you want the dominatrix look." Did I spell that correctly?

Dad says "When I was 16 I didn’t even know that word existed."

"Maybe it didn’t back then," replies quick Bry.

Knitting with some lethal looking size 17 needles, I suggest I wear them as a necklace for my dominatrix look.

Bryant, who regularly makes fun of me photographing my knitting in a variety of "poses," quips in his mommy imitation voice, which sounds like nails on a chalkboard "Here is my yarn being punished."

Then he realizes, "Hey Mom, you’re going to be there for Halloween."

"Yes," I reply, I’m taking along an orange scarf, a pointy hat and a broom to go with my dress."

So there.

What made this workday so different? It started out with a commute on the seaplane. I admit I was nervous about it, but the pilot said not to worry, we were travelling above one long strip of runway. I found that quite reassuring. Vancouver to Victoria, harbour to harbour in 35 minutes, can’t beat it.

Add in a lunchtime trip to the Beehive Wool Shop and it’s a day like no other. Believe it or not, I didn’t buy a thing, but my co-worker, Barb, succumbed to the Fleece Artist Sea Silk (70% silk and 30% seaweed)  and Inca Gold (80% alpaca and 20% cashmere). Can you imagine, she blamed her purchases on me.

The sun came out on the way home and the scenery was spectacular. Mount Baker is peeking out above the gulf islands in the second photo. As we were landing (is that the correct term for the end of a float plane trip?) there was a good view of North Vancouver.

Too bad no knitting came along on the trip. Lady E, like Marina, is getting too darn big to lug around. Both projects need luggage of their own. Tomorrow I’m off to Madison, WI for my niece’s wedding. Yes, an excuse to start a portable project! I’ll try to post this weekend.

Do I miss my houseful of girls! I’ve been used to two daughters and one or two girl language students to keep me company. Now it’s Chuck, Bryant and me. They do boy things and make boy sounds. Last night they captured a gigundous moth, put it in the freezer for three minutes, just enough time to make it dozy. The took it out and tied dental floss around it so they could have a leashed moth. I mean, really, sometimes I just need to be in the company of women.

Last Sunday, thinking of an afternoon activity that might appeal to the male energy in my house, I suggested we go to the Home Show. I figured there’d be things like power tools, flooring installation instructions and hints on how to build a new driveway. We arrived in the pouring rain to find outside parking at $15. I would rather walk five miles in the rain than pay $15 for parking. We found meter parking for $6.

The last time we went to the home show it cost $8 to get in. That was a long time ago, now it’s $13. So, $31 bought us entry into a coliseum type venue filled with people trying to sell us things.Everything from Cutco knives and Pampered Chef (I’ve bought enough of that through you, Jane, so I wasn’t even tempted) to high end massage chairs (no thank you, I have my little IJoy). The only flooring was the highest of high end wood stuff and there were no power tools in sight unless you want to count the slicer and dicer kitchen machine. It was a living infomercial. We agreed we were glad we went so we’ll know not to go next year. I guess we’ll stick to our dates at Home Depot. At least we don’t have to pay admission to spend money.

On a positive note, here is another finished Herringbone Rib scarf, by Nina, of Nina’s Blog. She says:"This pattern was just so much fun. I worked it in Colinette’s Prism yarn (2 skeins worth.) This is going to make a fun surprise present for my dear friend!"

I’ve sent out over 50 of these patterns. There was someone interested in publishing this in her book, but it required relinquishing the copyright. I’m having so much fun "meeting" people who want it I just couldn’t give it up. So if you know of anyone who wants a copy, it’s here for the asking. Remember to send a picture or let me know when you’re posting about it and I’ll add you to the sidebar.

If you know me you know that I don’t make purchases without first knowing from where the money will come. Ms Practicality here never carries a credit card balance. So what I’ve done, in my books, is really bad. A total act of greed and comfort. OK, so here’s the story. I was at Costco last weekend, and you know how Costco is, if you see something you want you have to scoop it up or it may not be there next time. Even if you take it home, their return policy is pretty good.The other thing you need to know is that I have some problems with back pain from a previous injury. Long story, no details necessary.

So, while I’m at Costco I see people with wonderful facial expressions and accompanying vocalizations, trying out a massage chair, appropriately dubbed the I-Joy. It’s a very basic model, ugly velour, not leather, manual recline, not electric. Even without these accoutrements, it’s seeming to do the trick. And it’s 25% less than the same one at Linen’s and Things. I was on my best behaviour and left without it.

Well, wouldn’t you know it, my back pain kicked into full gear this week. I HAD to have that I-Joy. Just couldn’t live without it. Went to Costco and there was ONE left. Was that a sign or what? So there you have it. I’m the proud owner of one and boy is it wonderful. Bryant’s first question – "Will you be able to knit in it, mom?" The best of both worlds. I’ll figure out how to pay for it later. Meanwhile, Lady E is not giving me a hard time about it:

Yarn Yenta is having a blog contest. You have to answer these questions:

1. Where is your favorite knitting spot? I thought it was the wing chair in my living room. May have to change it to the IJoy.
2. If you suddenly could never knit again (shudder) – what would you do instead? Read more.
3. If you could travel anywhere in the world – where would you go and why? Australia and New Zealand because I’ve never been and to visit old friends.
4. When you were little – What did you want to do "when you grew up?"  Art teacher. Are you doing it? Nope.
5. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream? Peach.

The used to be called our walk, as in Bryant’s and mine. That is until he turned 16. No explanation necessary if you know 16 year old boys.

Gracee’s not thrilled with it either. She’s never been much of a walker. When she arrived to us, at an older than usual puppy age, her toenails had never been clipped, causing her pain and difficulty in walking. With encouragement she walked with me last weekend. I love holiday walks, going out after putting the turkey in the oven, then coming home to a house filled with roasting turkey smells.

So, this is our walk. It’s under a mile and takes around 20 minutes, longer if sniffing is involved or if she plants those four Scottie feet firmly into the ground and requires coaxing to continue. This is at the end of our driveway heading up the hill:

Up another hill, the worst part of the walk is the first part. The Grouse Mountain skyride is on the mountain directly in front of us. On sunny days you can usually see paragliders sailing off the mountain. Notice the tropical looking grasses? Lots of people here have introduced grasses, banana trees and palms to their gardens. There are purists who think we should leave well enough alone and stick to native varieties of trees. If we thought like that then the city of Regina, in Saskatchewan, would be treeless. Nearly every tree there had its roots, so to speak, from elsewhere.

Round the corner, here’s the view before we take the steps down to the trail. This is the kind of day that sells Vancouver real estate to out of towners. We were They are seduced by the glorious scenery and blue sky. Little do they know how few days are really like this without fog and mizzle. I am truly appreciative:

Here’s the trail where I think Gracee is her happiest. The ground is soft and she can be leash free. Next is the creek. I took a stone from this creek and matched the terracotta colour of one of its speckles for the paint in our entryway. Finally, there’s Grace having a drink of cold mountain water:

Back on the street here’s a view of UBC, its residence towers peeking out in front of the clouds in the distance.The second photo is the homestretch. I like this street, lined on both sides with plum trees. Grace needs encouragement to make this last bit. A right turn and we’ll be home:

Here we are. This is our yard. Remember the Great Wall project Chuck took on two Octobers ago? It’s done. A fait accompli! In the background, however, you can see the next project in progress – a garden shed.

Notice the solar garden lamps in the first picture? Now there’s a concept -solar, meaning sun powered – lights in British Columbia. It still cracks me up that I spent money on lights that only work a third of the time. They were selling them at Costco and I figured they had done their research. At least they weren’t too expensive.

Here is the before picture, shortly after the original retaining wall fell down. Enough said.