Ordinary Things

This was a wonderful weekend. We didn't do anything extraordinary, but it was special for doing them together. 

After a long lie in on Saturday morning (a 3 AM bedtime is quite late for these old bones) we went up to Barrie Hill Farm  to pick strawberries. As ever, the berries were lovely, and the day was perfect for it.

 

 

 Since I was young, strawberries went with proper whipped cream. Not canned, not Cool Whip (horrors!!!), but whipping cream, whipped at home just before dolloping it on top of the freshly cut strawberries. Craig had been deprived of this, but now understands the singular and most pleasurable experience. Sorry, we just gobbled them up before I thought to take enticing pictures. 

Today we did some errands and then went to the OCTRA FEI Provincial Championships in New Lowell. Craig's father had sold a horse that was competing, and Jazz (renamed Ginger) is a horse that Craig really loved. 

 

 

Unfortunately, she had a misstep in the trail and was stiff in her hindquarters and was unable to finish despite a first-class rider. 

It was interesting learning about an endurance competition, and the horses were all well mannered and beautiful. 

I didn't get a whole lot of knitting done, but it was a weekend well worth the sacrifice. I'm making up for lost time tonight as its back to work tomorrow. 

Bernat Sweet Spot

This is my first foray outside of my traditional fingering weight and indie designer yarns for a Sweet

Spot afghan. 

It knits up faster, and it's acrylic, but I keep reminding myself that this is for function and ease of care. And I'm not disliking it, the colours are working up wonderfully! 

 Though I was surprised that given that this is a manufactured yarn, that I have two balls set aside because they are hitting the sweet

spot at a stitch count 4 sts greater than what I'm at now. I know. Damned odd, and well outside of my expectations given my not insignificant experience. It'll be interesting to see how the rest of the colours break down. 

It's not an insurmountable problem though; I'll just do a strip at the higher stitch count. 

I discovered a fantastic and delicious alternative to traditional potato crisps at Costco. 

Whisps are made from Parmesan cheese. That's it, that's all.  They are salty and crunchy with no added sugars/carbs. Craig was especially impressed and we are going to buy a significant atock pile!! 

It was nice to have a day to just watch him play his games whilst I alternates between dozing and knitting. 

Tonight, it's the drive in. We're both clearly quite pleased at the prospect. It's been a while since I've been to a drive in!! 

 Independence Day and The Purge:Election Year. 

Great start to a long weekend!! 

Reminder.

For those who need reminding. 

 

WWKIP Day 2016

What a wonderful and perfect day for knitting in public!! 

We started off early and seeing Mr Peanut ready to set sail was an auspicious start to the day!! 

 We breakfasted (though in hindsight the sausages may have been a bit dodgy), stopped by Serano's for their famous honey balls, then on to Leslieville Park. We arrived early and set to knitting in public, like we do! 

I got Helen started on her Bottoms Up bag. To be fair, starting on 8 sts in the round, on 15mm needles, with two colours AND in a knit one below pattern is a fair challenge. 

 

Elise joined up a bit later and we were a fierce threesome, knitting and chatting just having fun!!

Craig also came along. He doesn't knit but he came along to meet some of my friends who knit, he chatted up and amused us, helped carry things and even went on a coffee run!! He was a perfect companion and made the day that much more memorable. 

 

Then we went to meet up with Ramona. I have known Ramona online for time beyond memory. She has been a steadfast and true friend through my challenges and triumphs. Meeting her in person was so good though, and man, can that woman hug!!! I love how the Internet has allowed me so many friends that, though I haven't and may never meet them in person, we know each other. 

 

The weather is doing me head in though ... 4^th day in a row with a migraine. This may be a long summer!

I took a ball that bounced off of home plate to the ankle on Friday night. Yup, it left a shiner. Garlic and ice are doing their best. 

 It's tender, but not affecting me otherwise. 

OITNB marathon underway!! I am working on the Bernat Sweet Spot afghan, and am very pleased with how it's progressing.  

 

Plus ça change

I'm still knitting. I kind of lost my knitting mojo there for a bit, and I've been trying to sort out why. I have come to some conclusions and hopefully the realizations will help me keep my voice. 

Today, I am playing with the Sweet Spot again! I am stepping out of my go to fingering weight and indie dyers and am using <a target="_blank" href="http://www.yarnspirations.com/yarn/super-value.html">Bernat Super Value</a>. <i>I know, but I'm going for dog-friendly. I haven't broken out in hives, and the colours are making up for the yarn composition. </i> 

I started with a strip just wide enough to hit the sweet spot. 

It didn't quite resonate with me, so I went double, and went up a needle size.  I am pleased.

I can't wait to get into the other colours. 

The temperature afghan is coming along nicely. The two yellow stripes represent those hot days at the end of May! 

I don't remember if I mentioned it, but I am going with the daily lows for the colder months (Oct - March) and the daily highs for the warmer months (April - Sept). This provides the best use of the extreme temperature colours; otherwise it would be rather mid-range and less interesting. 

The puppies are wonderful, though Chica 

 is quite the handful - always wanting to have someone throw her ball (she's relentless about it) and is still quite guardy with her favorite things. I'm exploring a few options on training her out of it, but it's as bad as advice on parenting!! 

Petey is still my steadfast champion, making sure I'm never short on love and attention. 

My leg has healed well; I play ball and have no noticeable weakness. I usually wear the brace for ball, but not day-to-day. The ankle still swells to icky proportions, but apparently that's normal, so I try to not judge it. <i>between you & me, it's not my fave appendage and likely won't be the model foot for sock pics</i>