Holidays are Coming!!

Around this time last year is just about when I quit on you all. Part of what began the demise of my blogging was a holiday to visit my parents in Florida. It's ironic, looking at it now, to be blogging about that trip with my heart and soul set on our next visit out there. Last year we went to Universal Studios and hung out a whole lot with the folks and just soaked each other up. With being the baby of the family, my parents' winter sojourn to the south always leaves a gap, but the visits I get to have with just me and them, and my hubby of course, are monumental because I get them all to myself. We see things and go places. Hang out. Share stories. Meet new people. And my parents are the kind who don't sit still so there is always something to be seen. You can see last year we had wonderful weather while we were down there. And to sweeten the deal my parents gifted me Madeline Tosh Pashmina in Baltic to remind me of the ocean, and Madeline Tosh Vintage in Amber Trinket just because I liked it, AND a pair of Addi's from the LYS down there. There's something uniquely strange about a warm climate knit shop. Kind of incongruous I guess, but I enjoyed the trip.



A Florida Pelican by Sea

A Florida Pelican by Air

Mr. Frogged with the Head Honcho at the Dock

In 9 days the Mister and I will head to the big apple for our 10 year anniversary! So exciting! My favourite city on earth and his first time visit so sure to be a blast. From there we fly down to Florida to see my parents just in time for my mamma's birthday. I know we will need some sun to bum around in to recover from the big city and I just can't wait!!! Much travel knitting will be packed.

Until next time, happy crafting.





A Bouquet of Happiness

Hello friends!  I am so sorry for my extended absence, but on this lovely positivi-Tuesday, I know that you will completely understand. 

After I last signed off, I experienced some kind of super human bout of exhaustion that drained me for the balance of the week.  Last Sunday evening I was planning on submitting a post featuring my joyful bouquet of miniature roses, but instead I cut my thumb rather drastically, requiring two half-hour car rides, one two-hour emergency room wait, one confused ortho consult physician, one sarcastic general ER physician, three stitches, and six chicken nuggets (my comfort food of choice at midnight).

The irony of it was that I spent the entire day Sunday making sausages, that is, cutting, grinding, seasoning and stuffing meat into sausage form, and did not get injured.  When I got home, I made a salad for myself and Mr. Frogged and promptly attempted thumb-sassination. 

Since then, my knitting has suffered, let me tell you!  But on the other hand, my end weaving in has almost been completed, however this only means that I am to a point in the ripple blanket where I can CONTINUE crocheting and then weave in more ends...will the madness never cease!?  By the time it's completed the infant will be walking, talking, and going to prom at this rate.  I'm a bit concerned about my sock-knitting rate though as I'm aiming to enter these socks in the Knit One Heart 2 KAL due next Wednesday and I'm not even past  the heel turn yet. 

The Mister and I celebrated our 9 year anniversary on Valentine's day and to honour this he planned us a beautiful day together on the Saturday prior to both February 14th and the thumb-slicing incident.  Of course it went completely pear shaped, but it was the thought that counts.  We were supposed to go skating together, as we are apt to do on Valentines, when we woke up to a beautifully Canadian high of -25 degrees celcius with the windchill.  That kiboshed that plan.  Plan B.  Matinee showing of The Vow, it's just so sappy it might work, but alas, it was sold out.  So, we watched the not at all romantic Chronicle, which was just about the most stressful movie I've ever watched!  I needed to knit on my socks just to avoid getting anxiety-induced tremors.  Fortunately dinner went well and was absolutely delicious. 

I would say that would catch you up to PositiviTuesday this week.  I'm going to change up the positiviTuesday report a bit and instead of giving some positive news I'll try to review something (recipe, book, pattern, yarn, movie... you get the idea) each week, so that you can then go out and make your own positivity with whatever that happens to be. 

In any case, this week what I've been loving is hanging with my parents who have been in town from Florida.  It was my mom's #&th birthday (when you get to be her age, the number needs to be censored) and we threw here a party and spent lots of family time together.  It was awesome. 

Das my mom...Ain't she a cutie!?

I've also been loving hanging out with the Mister on this family day long weekend.  We barely changed out of our pj's on Monday and it was just what I was looking for in a holiday. 

This week I'm looking forward to having my in-laws and friends over this weekend and cooking.  It's been some time since I've cooked a new recipe and I think I'm trying something a bit different this weekend.  I'm also looking forward to visiting my parents in Florida in a week.  We were going to go to Legoland, but they are closed on Wednesdays (who knew?) and instead we'll be going to Universal.  The greatest part is that Mister Frogged has never been to either place so I get to see it through his eyes either way. 

As for a review, this week I will review my latest and greatest book, The Help.  I've not finished the book yet, but I'm about half way through and I'm really enjoying the writing style.  I like that it is written in such a way that I can hear the characters in their southern drawl in my mind and feel like I'm that much closer to them.  Sometimes it tends to drag a bit but all in all, I highly recommend the book.  I will be continuing through it and then watching the movie for comparison purposes, although I never like the movie version as much. 

Well, I think that about sums it up for me today.  I wish you a wonderful week and Happy Crafting one and all. 
xxoxoxoxoxx

Santa was Gooooooood.

It's all over.  Christmas is done, and all our visits are made.  All that's left is to enjoy our time off and prepare for our New Years Eve shindig. 

This time last year I was horizontal with a sinus infection and some H1N3-type virus that, I swear, nearly killed me and literally banned all fun from my Christmas holiday.  This, therefore, is the Mister and my first "vertical" Christmas married and living together, (although I do have a cold coming on...).  And I have to say...Santa was good. 

Christmas morning we settled in for present opening with our tea and biscuits as is our custom. 

Next we all opened our stockings.  Tonka's presents all go in his stocking as it becomes increasingly difficult to explain to a small dog why it is alright to rip apart paper on Christmas but it is expressly forbidden the other 364 days of the year.  Clearly he enjoyed his gift from his grandparents.  He alternated between playing excitedly with it and falling fast asleep - the poor little guy's not used to this much excitement!

Next I have to start by saying that the thing about a good marriage, if I can be so bold as to claim ownership of one of these elusive things, is that your partner will learn as much as necessary about your dorky hobbies to completely surprise you with all the swag you never thought you'd get.  The thing about a GREAT marriage is that both partners do the same!  I managed to score major brownie points by plying my hubby with various pieces of gaming hardware for his PC as well as the new Zelda game for the Wii.  He scored possibly bigger brownie points when he bought me my very own 1.6 oz. Golding drop spindle as well as two bags of beautifully coloured roving to spin with!  He said, and I quote, "I got you purple because purple is your new pink."  Bless his cotton socks, eh? 

This is my new baby.  This photo is from the Golding website.

 

He also bought me Clean'n'Go M-O from the movie Wall-E.  M-O is essentially a clean freak who is perhaps a little neurotic about it.  Supposedly I may or may not share some of these characteristics and I happen to also love this little character, despite his small-ish role in the film.  My new toy M-O runs over crumbs and collects them up for you.  He is just little, so can only manage a post-dinner clean-up I should think, however I've not decided yet whether he is a "collector" toy or a "play with" toy and as such he is still bundled up in his box. 

I must have been a good girl this year, as I had a number of gifts which I LOVED!  I'm not going to list them all here, because that frankly seems tedious.  Rest assured though that they were all loved and received with much gratitude.  However, there is one more thing that I thought was pretty rad and just have to share with you.  My cousin in England (the one who had the baby) sent me this blog mug!  I felt like I should have my own talk-show!  How cool is that?  I love it.  Stay tuned, as there will soon be an interview from her to show you that good looks aren't all that run in this family!  (clearly, there's modesty too...hehe...)

I am lucky in many ways this holiday because I was able to spend the last three days hopping about from one branch of our family to another and being swept up in love, laughter and the spirit of the season.  Somehow, Mr. Frogged managed to get me to Serenity Knits in Newmarket yesterday for their boxing day sale (their sale is on all week if you need anything, I recommend it) and I bought... Baby Me Boo!  If I didn't already think it had the cutest name ever, it is also soft as soft can be.  It's a blend of baby alpaca, merino and bamboo and it's going to be a quick knit cowl for me.  Watching The Little Cowl Company knit up stock for the holidays has left me coveting a nice thick fluffy cowl.  What better way to indulge than at a Boxing Day Sale?  I also picked up a couple of skeins of Estelle yarns for gift knitting and some sock yarn for the Mister.  I'm feverishly working on his Mittens in order to allow me to cast on something new.  I will still finish that crocheted ripple blanket I swear...

Effective January 1 I am on a yarn diet.  No purchases until more of my stash diminishes.  I have begun a list of resolutions and I'll let you know the final cut once I decide.  I realize I'll break most of them, but if I only keep them for a month that's one month longer than I would have otherwise.  In the meantime, no new projects without a WIP off the needles first.  That ought to keep me in line...I think....

Until next time friends, Happy Crafting!

Gathering

Autumn has quickly and completely taken hold of the countryside surrounding my home here in Southern Ontario.  The sun shines prettily in the clear blue skies, while the crisp breeze liberates the leaves from the trees and instills the tightening of scarves and collars alike. 

I always begin gathering at this time of year as though in preparation for the long winter ahead, however it's not firewood or food necessarily that I amass around me.  Perhaps it's the thought of the snow drifts and traffic jams I associate with the winter that's to come, or perhaps it's the stimulation required for my soul to get through the ever darkening days (and November - a month I hate), but either way I gather.  I surround myself with friends and family, warmth, fireplaces alight, bubbling pots of homemade goodness, baking, children, my fluffy little doggie, Mr. Frogged, and yarn. 

This weekend has been no exception, beginning immediately Friday evening.  As a preface, we don't have any children of our own.  And to both of our moms, no we don't know if or when that will change. We haven't decided yet.  For now we are very lucky to have our furry, four-legged child who you can see was pooped from his first full week back at work with me. 

T-Dawg on our Friday night commute.

We are also blessed to have six amazing and unique nieces and nephews.  On Friday night two of our nephews were at our house for a sleepover of cuteness.  We kicked it off with homemade pizza, each child happily applying their favourite toppings with Auntie hovering behind adding extra mushrooms and green peppers when they weren't looking for the veggie factor.  As I said, we don't have kids, I don't want to give these ones back with scurvy or something.  They had a blast as was evident by the flour that laced every spare surface of my kitchen that night.  We topped it off with the Wii and chocolate sundaes before bed. 


Saturday we had pancakes and waffles for breakfast because obviously in my mind carbohydrates make children love you more.  We then bundled against the September wind and traipsed to our nearby and immense park for swinging competitions and jungle gym climbing all round.  How is it that at 26 years old my stomach still flips when I reach that climactic point of swinging when gravity kicks in and you begin the descent to earth?  Giggles ensue.  Have I mentioned I love to swing?


Contrary to the post date, today is Sunday and we went to Unionville for the day.  At the farmer's market there I bought, among other things, this darling tea cosy!  It's just like the ones my nana used to knit when I was a girl and she still knit.  And just like the ones that I continuously promise myself I will knit, but never get around to it.  This one I particularly love because the size of the pom-pom on top is something bordering between the ridiculous and the sublime.  In honour of the tea cosy, my Nana came over for a dinner of pasta with homemade sauce and stuffed peppers and a nice pot of tea, further testament to the cooler season and my mixed heritage alike. 

It's so Fluffy!

In fits and starts I have been working throughout the weekend on the bobbly blanket.  Now that my Knit Picks order is here I'm happily running through it and have completely finished my first row of bobbles already, which may actually be the "funnest" thing I've crocheted to date. 

It's not a scarf...

 

Bobble

 

I'm looking forward to much knitting, crocheting, and spinning this fall and winter.  Both to keep me nice and warm, and nice and sane.  Much as I love the autumn, the no-man's land between fruitful harvest and festive holidays causes me much anxiety.  Whether it's the diminishing daylight hours or the cooler weather, it is enough to make me stop in my tracks, click my ruby heels together, and wish for home.  And so I will continue to gather.  Gather people.  Gather food.  Gather yarn.  Gather love. 

Until next time, happy crafting.

Choose Love

Love, it turns out, is a choice.
My father tried to tell me this when I was a teenager. At the time the vast absence of romance of this notion lead me to discard it entirely and follow instead the more Beatles inspired philosophy that all you need is love. What I didn't consider was the co-existence of these two concepts, which would have lead me promptly to the conclusion that my dad was right all along. Love is a choice that we all need.

For ten days at the end of this July my husband and I traipsed around the midlands of England making it our sole mission to see as many family members as possible. The family members in question were my relatives, who I don't know all that intimately since we live in Canada.

Our first stop brought us to to Worcester (yes, of Worcestershire Sauce fame) where one of my paternal uncles lives with his clan. We stayed with my cousin who dropped everything to entertain us, making us a full English breakfast each morning and taking us galavanting about a medieval castle and a quaint English village (where I subjected her to a hidden LYS and bought some purple DK merino). The ENTIRE family got together for 3 nights running (including cousins and second cousins) for elaborate feasts that my aunt and uncle prepared with love. From there we continued to meet my maternal grandfather's extended family both in London and Derby who I didn't know at all. Again each new person embraced me with warm tight hugs, and heart felt smiles. We visited my maternal grandmother's sisters who know me slightly better since my nana is my biggest fan and keeps them well informed. Again we spent a wonderful day with them filled with stories and laughter. Next we visited my aunt, uncle and cousin on my mom's side. She is my only cousin my age and so we are very close. At 42 weeks pregnant (yes that isn't a typo) she took us to see Bath and each night we shared a great dinner with my aunt and uncle. While we were there my cousin (finally) gave birth to a gorgeous little boy, her first. Less than two hours after he was born and just before we had to leave altogether we managed to visit mum and baby. When he settled into my arms for a cuddle that day, he settled into my heart too.

This is my family, whom I've known in clips and snapshots throughout my whole life. Most of them don't get enough time with me to really know me, yet they love me. They choose to. The same way I chose to love each of my six nieces and nephews when they were born. The way I chose to love my new little cousin. The way my husband and I chose to love each other despite some pretty difficult times in our past. And all those years ago, the way my parents chose to love me.

As Knitters, we all choose love constantly. Every time we cast-on for a gift for a loved one or a charity blanket for someone in need we are choosing love and putting a little of it in every stitch. If more people did this for various activities can you imagine the result? If there was a little love in dinner every night, maybe it would be more interesting than frozen food. More love in work? Maybe we'd be nicer to our coworkers. More love in transit? Less road rage and violence. So at the end of the day, it's our choice how we approach everybody and every situation and if we do so with love in our hearts and smiles on our faces it will go a long way to making everyone's heart grow.

Happy crafting and much love....

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Knit Together

In this era of consumption, owning an object that offers any significant emotional attachment can seem difficult.  Objects today seem to be either entirely utilitarian or completely frivolous.  Often there is only one object that offers any emotional connection to the owner or their past.  Growing up I knew that there were a few items that I cherished in this way. 

Of course, there was the usual stuffed animal, in my case a beret-wearing pink gorilla, named Pierre that my father bought for me which lead me to believe that my father was fluent in French (but that's a story for another day).  Just as important as Pierre was a christening shawl that was hand-crocheted by my great-grandmother, which I have photos of below. 

Through this shawl I always felt united with a great-grandmother that I never knew.  Growing up I heard stories from my maternal grandmother, my Nana, who lives with my parents.  I learned about the sort of woman that her mother was and the sort of young woman my Nana had been.  I learned that I wasn't so different from them.  Both of them were strong women who worked both in and out of the home, and both of them had knit, crocheted, and my great-grandmother had even made lace.  When I was about seven years old my Nana taught me to knit and I felt even more connected to the history of crafting I seem to have been born into. 

The craft didn't actually take until I was in my late teens, and I didn't learn to crochet at all until this year (I will be 26 on Sunday), but now my husband would confirm that I have something bordering between an obsession and an addiction for crafting. 

I wasn't lucky enough to have known my paternal grandmother and I live many miles from my father's extended family but I do know that crafting extends to all the ladies on that side too, so it seems my "addiction" was inevitable.  Last year when I got married my mother presented me with an elaborately crocheted lace weight cotton table cloth that my father's sister had made for me when visiting from Europe when I was just an infant.  A couple of years prior to that, when I was visiting another of my father's sisters, I was given a hand crocheted shawl that had been made just for me. 

It really isn't any wonder that yarn hides in my every spare space, and patterns I want to try float through my head long after I've seen them - it seems to be in my genes.  I have to be honest - I haven't exactly entirely figured out what I'm doing with this blog, but for now it is one extra outlet for my obsession and perhaps the next generation's way of perserving family history.  Either way, I intend to have fun with it, and I hope everyone who reads it does too.