Otto for Emily

The end of the school year is a very exciting time for kids and never seems to come quite soon enough. These last few days at school have been mostly fun for our kids, celebrating completing another grade, making summer plans with friends, having class parties. (While their teachers attempt to instill those last morsels of education).

It is time for a welcome break, to throw out the routines, sleep-in, play, and enjoy the all-too-short summer because, before the kids have a chance to say "Mom, I'm bored. What can I do?" - it will be September!

Owen has some mixed emotions about finishing grade three today and going on to grade four, as one of his good friends will not be returning in the fall. She and her family (her mother was also their teacher this year) will be starting a new chapter in their lives as they move to a new city and province. Her mother read to the class Owls in the Family by Farley Mowatt and this became one of Owen's favourite studies. I just couldn't resist and knit up Otto the Owl from Lucinda Guy's book "And So to Bed".

...from Owen to Emily...enjoy...

I think there will be a lot of "MSN-ing" happening this summer. : )

2 Wheels, 2 Days, 2 x 100 K (continued)...

Wow. I can't believe it has been over a month since my last entry. May and June can be crazy, busy months though, what with the class trips, recitals, soccer season, exams, and graduations, and finally the return of the sun and warm weather (in between the thunder storms). It's a great time of year to get out and do something...like this...

This past weekend my husband joined over 2,800 other cyclists in the two-day Ride to Conquer Cancer, covering over 200 kilometres from Toronto to the Niagara Falls. The participants raised over $14,000,000 to benefit research at the Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto, one of the world's top 5 cancer research facilities.

...he's in there somewhere...

...a sea of tents (some opted for a hotel instead-wonder why?)...

...celebrating the finish along the shores of the Niagara River just before the Falls...this is definitely what Rod calls a "good weekend" - spending two days doing something he loves, for a very good cause...

Can you fail a KAL?

Back in March I joined my first KAL (knit along), Fashionably-late in '08 Clapotis KAL. I missed the first deadline, and then a first, second, and possibly even a third extended deadline. My shawl went everywhere with me - to a few night shifts, along to piano lessons, violin lessons, voice lessons. I knit if I watched TV, I knit just before falling asleep, I knit to de-stress and finally....I finished!

I love my Clapotis.

Pattern: Clapotis Shawl by Kate Gilbert

Berroco Ultra Alpaca in Marsh Mix (6296); just over 3 skeins

5 mm needles

A very musical week!

This past week was a very hectic, but also very successful week for Lydia. At her first Kiwanis Music Festival vocal competition she won first, two seconds, and received a junior medal!

I was so captivated by all the young vocalists I heard that I didn't even bring any knitting along! Besides, a dropped needle would sound just as disruptive as the one-year-old (although very cute) babbling baby sister of one of the other performers.

...still clapping....

Wow - I can't believe I have been this negligent in updating this blog! Here we are, halfway through April already. The weather is finally getting nice and spring-like so that means...time for new running shoes. Running is another thing I have been negligent with and now it hurts!

Knitting, on the other hand, doesn't hurt a bit. I am making slow but steady progress on my Clapotis. Here she is so far, at least two-thirds of the way completed.

For a good cause...

My husband is doing a very good thing.

On just two wheels,

over two days,

covering 200 km,

he is joining other cyclists in the Ride to Conquer Cancer.

This fundraising event will benefit the world-renowned cancer centre, the Princess Margaret Hospital.


For more information, feel free to visit Rod's event website and of course, any donation would be gratefully appreciated!


I wonder if there are any patterns on Ravelry for bicycle seat covers? (Just kidding!)

A Trip to the Farm

On Friday I went to the open house at the Spinning Wheel Alpaca farm in Enniskillen and had the pleasure of meeting Nancy and Garth Hutchinson. On the guided tour, I met some of their amazing alpacas up close, as well as the rest of the farm menagerie. Besides the 30-40 alpacas, there were several dogs, cats, geese and ducks, and even a pot-bellied pig! But the alpacas in all their wooley finery stole the show.

I believe this one is called "Peek-a-boo"

Nancy knows, respects, and loves her alpacas. She is a great source of knowledge about these animals. I was also curious about the great white dogs who were in the field near the alpacas and Nancy informed me that they are a large livestock guard breed called Maremmas. Apparently these beauties are nocturnal and make excellent guard dogs for animals like sheep, goats, and alpacas.

After the farm tour, I visited Nancy and Garth's shop which had beautiful and soft mitts, capes, scarves, coats, etc. all made from alpaca. As well, you can purchase wool directly from Nancy and the skeins are labelled with the name of the alpaca who so graciously provided it!

I went home with a couple of souveniers....two skeins of lace weight alpaca/silk blend from "Opal and Trish."