Enjoying my Yarn Projects

It is a cold, damp, blustery Monday here so I thought I would share my current knitting project. This is a blanket I am making for myself with hand spun, hand dyed yarn I purchased at 'Unwind', a 'Yummy Yarn Shoppe', on the main street of Newmarket. The yarn in a natural fibre and has a hardy yet cosy texture to it, and of course I fell in love with the colours of the kit. Each colour seems to come from the kitchen, with shades from pumpkin, coffee, kale, and tea. There is a special smell to this yarn as well, which makes me think it might be from the animals the yarn was shorn from, for perhaps from the processes of preparing it. It is not a nasty smell at all, but rather a musky smell, very pleasant.

With the month of March beginning tomorrow, I am anxious to complete the blanket so I can wrap myself into it for warmth and comfort.

Further Introductions

I would like to introduce our Hershey. Hershey became part of our family almost eight years ago. We decided that our other Springer (Rocky) was getting older and slower and needed a friend to give him a little mental and physical challenge and Hershey was the man for the job. We have no idea how old Hersh really is as he was found as a stray and spent about six weeks at the Brockville animal shelter before we found him and sprung him. It was a four hour drive each way to bring him home and he was beyond happy to be free. Leigha kept telling her Dad to drive carefully on the way home because we had "Precious Cargo" in the back with her.

He is an outdoorsy kind of guy, and loves to visit new friends who are cooking on the BBQ, or are making bacon for breakfast. It has been very obvious that he has also missed Bonny this past week but he is coming around. I am so glad that he is happy and healthy and that we will have him for some time still to come.

I have decided that since Hershey and I will be sharing quality time with just the two of us we are going to be doing things that we couldn't do with Bonny. We are going to do day hikes on the trails, day trips to the lake, maybe a few play dates (am I expressing my maternal instincts with a dog instead of a child??? - I have grandchildren, but it is the whole thing about being needed - daily). Anyway, I also think that he will make a great subject for some of my art. I had a prof at YorkU who used his Cairn Terrier (whom he loved) in the creation of much of his work. Michael created large sculptures with found materials, and often these materials were items that the two of them found in their wonderings. Great work and great meaning because it was an archive of the time they spent together.

Who knows what Hershey and I will create.

Finding My Groove

It's a holiday Monday here and for the time being the sun IS shining. Doesn't sound very positive, but I will take what I can get. It has been a week since Bonny left us and we are slowly but surely finding our new normal. Carpets have been vacuumed so small tuffs of white fur and little paws prints are gone. Hershey is perking up and is becoming his old self again, and becoming spoiled in the process which is fine by me.

So the plans for this family day are as follows:

Dress code : Pajamas or lounge wear only

Menu: Pancakes for breakfast

Dark chocolate and raspberry cupcakes (watch for photos)

PC mini sliders on the BBQ for dinner

Activities: Drinking coffee and reading newspaper

Drawing and reading blogs

Knitting

Cupcake baking

Full body contact Scrabble (official Scrabble dictionary ready in the event of any disputes)

belly rubs for Hershey

Sounds like a full day to me. I might need to include a nap should the need arise.

Better late then never

We had our valentines dinner a little late this year. We really weren't interested in food or even chocolate on Monday. I made this yummy roasted veggie quiche for my main squeeze in a heart shaped pie pan that I had and almost forgot about. It has a red glaze and when you get to the bottom is says "love" (YES, I know it is silly but just indulge me here). The little red bits you see on top are red peppers the I cut out with a small heart shaped cookie cutter. I have to say it was fun, and to my surprise it was really delicious. I watched an episode of "Throwdown with Bobby Flay" on the weekend and became inspired. Thanks to Chef Flay, we have also enjoyed pineapple upside down cake recently (I think the Brass Sisters are cute and cool). A shout out to Bobby "I am looking for a key line pie recipe here".

I was given a copy of Jamie Oliver's American Road Trip for my B-day and need to look at it again. I have been trying to eat a little more healthy (post holiday gorge - you know how it is) and put it aside for awhile. I am also looking for a few really tasty vegetarian recipes that are not all tofu and turnip (not that I don't like tofu and turnip .. but really now). I will have to mooch the cookbook I gave to my son for Christmas. May I should just head out and get my own copy. Now, THAT is a better plan.

Getting Ready for Spring

A couple of weeks ago I was in Walmart (not a regular occurrence in itself) and there, on a self, were these rubber boots. I haven't had rubber boots in decades (literally) when they were green or black and very ugly. I saw these and my heart sang. You can't see but they have sparkelly silver stars, are covered in pink glitter, and have a hot pink stripe around the sole. They may not be luscious but they certainly are sexy (can rubber boots be sexy???). We are having a mid winter thaw the next couple of days providing me the perfect opportunity to a don my new girly footwear and head to the streets as an little practice for when spring finally arrives. With the snow melting in the back yard, these little babies will also be perfect for doing a little back yard tidying up (all you doggie parents know what I mean). I might even go in search of a puddle or two and do a little puddling hopping. I hope Hershey doesn't mind waiting for me as a splash about.

The Bon Bon

That's what her nick name because well she was just so sweet. We had to let her go last night. It was a very hard thing to do but I knew it was the right time and I couldn't let her suffer anymore. She was able to drift off at home, surrounded by her family, on her doggie bed in her favourite spot. She and I shared toast and peanut butter in the afternoon. She got all the love she could handle but she gave me a look that told me she knew it was time to go.

Once I am in an easier place, I will share stories of her quirkiness and joy.

This letting go business is much harder than I thought it would be, even though I know it had to be done.

Bringing Visual Warmth into my Home

While is France and Italy I noticed the flower markets. They were everywhere. They even had flower stalls on the sidewalks in the same manner that we have street food vendors, selling hot dogs and fresh cut fries (did you notice the difference in caloric intake between the various types of stalls??). Europeans purchase flowers as a staple for their homes, in the same manner that they purchase fine cheese, fresh bread, good wine and the best seasonal produce. Here, we dash into a grocery store to buy bread, milk, and a BBQ chicken to taken home with a bag of salad. Well, I have decided to start with small changes and I will be bring flowers into my home. Each week I will have different blooms of different colours and fragrances and tropical greenery to enjoy. I need to be careful with the bread and cheese, or I will need a new wardrobe to go with this new lifestyle.