Throw back... is it Thursday?

In the spirit of "Throw Back Thursday" (or is it Tuesday? I can't keep up with the kids these days) I'm putting up a baby sweater that I knit probably close to 10 years ago.

When I was in grad school, there was a woman whose job it was to deal with the administrative side of grad students.  Along with reviewing our grant applications she also made sure that we were following the rules when it came to what was technically needed to complete our degrees.

That and she was genuinely a nice person.  So when she decided that she was starting a family of her own, I couldn't resist.  Gender unknown, and doing this all on her own, this woman set out to be a Mom.

There are things I vaguely remember from grad school (sleepless nights, committee meetings, and other things), but what I remember most are the people who made a difference.

Marija - Graduate Student Administrator - and way back with her unborn child, were two people that were important to me.  She was a kind, unbelievably intelligent, and caring person with a baby on the way.  I was a disillusioned grad student with few prospects on the horizon.

But this person that I held in high regard was having a baby.  And she was going to be a great Mom.  And therefore I needed to knit.

When I originally knit this baby sweater, said little one was still in untero.  When I left grad school Mom was just coming back to work (having also gone back to school in the middle for a few years).  And even if it was 5 years ago, I still every so often think about her and the now child whom she is caring for.

Dearest little one, you will probably never meet me, but know that your Mom is a really good person.  I know that your Mom was and probably still is a hardworking, caring, loving person.  If you look back through you baby pictures and come across this sweater, know that it was knit by someone who really believes that you are in the best of hands and that your Mom is pretty cool.  If you are a teenager when you find this, please bookmark it and come back in your twenties.  It might not seem important now, but it sure was at the time.

I made this sweater for you, just because you were the child of someone that I cared for.

Knitters, I can't find the pattern, but I'm pretty sure it was out of a page-a-day calendar.  Originally it was knit all in one colour, but with baby expected in the fall, there was no way that I couldn't change up the leaves.  The yarn was Cascade 220 (I only know because I found the left overs very recently).  Don't ask me what colours, I'm not good with tags!

Dear child (for infant and toddler you are no longer) I really do wish you the best.  And if you find this picture, remind me to your mother.  She is awesome.

The Most Interesting Gift

The middle sister in our family, Alison, is a lot of interesting things.  I could (and frequently do) boast about all of the fascinating things that she's done in her life, but today I would like to focus on just one.

My sister, along with becoming a slightly-crazy cat lady (current count 3), is also well on her way to becoming a crazy chicken lady.  At current count she has over a dozen birds of all number of types.  Not just chickens either.  There were pheasants and quail for a while.  Now, keeping the chickens company are 2 peahens and a peacock. 

When am I going to get to the bit about the Most Interesting Gift?  Wait for it...

A friend (and country neighbour) of Alison's has 3 charming children.  They all love the chickens too.  In fact they adopted one.  The kids named her Smokey Cheeky Fluffy-Pants. 

For Christmas last year Alison gave this friend a pair of fuzzy pajama pants - navy blue with pink spots. 

And then asked me to knit my Most Interesting Gift to date. 

A sweater.

For the chicken.

Navy blue.

With pink spots.

Please. 

See what I mean?  I think I managed to pull it off ok in the end:

Yup, that is Smokey Cheeky Fluffy-Pants in her new sweater getting comfortable on the new PJ pants.  Not a bad match on the colours either (to my relief, as I actually had never seen the pajamas).

Where's the pattern you may ask?  Right here

As it turns out, battery hens (as commercial laying hens are called over the pond) often lose their feathers.  There are organizations that both adopt out these chickens AND others that provide hand knitted sweaters to keep them warm in the mean time, providing a pattern to any who wish to use it.

Sizing a chicken for a sweater is no easy task.  For future reference, Cheeky is "a large-ish teapot".

And no, there would be NO WAY to get that on over a chicken's head.  You can't see it here, but there are side buttons. 

Did you see the "for now" above?  Another friend has just asked me to design and knit a sweaters for his greyhounds....

Second Verse...

Right.  Another year, another decent amount of knitting, another ton of work, and another whole lot of not enough time.

I can't believe that it was a year ago that I put up the last baby sweater project.  Seems like I might as well continue the tradition of repeating myself.

Another one of the service desk girls at work is expecting.  A wee little man will be joining the family in March.  Just like last year, this lovely lady is part of the store family.  She's warm, friendly, and cares very much for her co-workers and our customers.  She's bright, always smiling, and manages to tolerate André when he arrives with buckets of returns and of course no receipts.  AND NOW SHE'S LEAVING FOR A YEAR!!

That's is about where the similarities end between the two ladies though.  Unlike last year (petite, bouncy brunette with a really cute smile), this year's mom-to-be is taller, more reserved, and has the most gorgeous mane of curly red hair.

Just like last year, I knew that I needed to knit something.  This baby is being born to a family that has seen some hard times over the past year.  The last few months at the store have also seen some dramatic and unexpected changes.  It's been hard to look too far forward, there's too much in the way in the right here and now.

So, a magical Saturday morning (not scheduled at the store for an entire weekend, and without asking for it!) I followed André to his Saturday morning curling game.  And as much as I love watching him curl, at 9.50am I promptly bailed on my spectator/cheering section duties and booked it a few blocks south to Yarn Forward.

I had formulated a plan the night before, and it went something like this:

1) Need baby pattern.  Probably sweater, since no time for blanket, but still want something to hug baby with.

2) Mom is mature and a bit on the traditional side.  Even Coffee Beans like last time is too cute.  Perhaps a cardigan...

3) Scott/Nordic heritage in Mom just BEGS for something with cables.  But modern rather than traditional.  Perhaps in a more structural type pattern.

3) Spend hours on Ravelry.



Cute, but almost too traditional


 

Really adorable, but not a fan of lace for this little man.  However, forest green with red hair...



Ooooo cute! But cotton... not quite what I want.  And the pattern is in French.  This isn't really a problem thanks to my Ontario schooling (and the wonderfulness that is Google Translate).



 PERFECT!!!!!! Cables, but interesting not quite traditional.  Available in 1 year size (I always aim for 1 year, small babies take longer to get there, big babies haven't out grown it yet).  In fingering yarn.  Bonus free pattern.

4) Note the yardage requirements on phone (likely 2 sock skiens, but not use near all of them.  Pick colour I like, may get bonus socks from second skien). 

5) Get really smart and toss needles in my bag so that I can cast on while watching curling.  Hit genius level of organized, include tablet AND charger so I can look up the pattern on something larger than my phone. 

Shopping was a huge success - and in short order 2 skiens of Cascade Heritage Sock in a vine green (creatively named #5612) were in my hands.  I even remembered to ask to have one wound before I left!  I was feeling mighty proud of myself as I hiked back to the curling club.  Perfect pattern, perfect yarn, I couldn't wait to get started.

Back at the club I passed the as yet not open bar (really, 11 am?  Who comes up with these laws?) and settle back in to my seat at the end of André's sheet.  Gather yarn, needles, open tablet to ravelry, select "get pattern here"...

Remember how I said I was feeling mighty proud of myself?  Thinking my self clever for remembering tablet AND needles?  Getting the perfect FREE pattern?  And fantastic yarn?

About that pattern.  The link in Ravelry opens to what looks like an online knitting magazine archive pattern page.  Pattern is all there along with links for downloadable charts.

And every last word of it is in DANISH. 

Once the dark spots had cleared from my vision and my breathing and heart rate returned to something resembling normal, the little creature in the back of my brain blew a giant raspberry and wandered away muttering something about the karmic future of "clever" people. 

Thankfully, there are amazing websites in the world that will take not only individual words, but whole collections of text and translate them for you!  I might still be saved!

Turns out that knitting patterns in Danish are remarkably similar to knitting patterns in just about every other language.  That is, they are written in a language completely their own, which consists almost entirely of acronyms.  But still, between an approximate translation, a really nice chart, and some basic common sense (Front + Back M (140) 160 (184) is probably CO that many for each size...) I muddled my way through.

There was a brief moment of panic as I split for the armholes and completely lost my ability to count, but it turned out in the end.  I'm not quite convinced that it's actually a size 1 year (maybe closer to 9 months) but that might be more due to my complete lack of regard for guage swatches in this instance. 

Behold!  A wee Danish now English old man sweater!

Just like for the rest of the project, I wanted buttons that were traditional-ish but still interestingly almost modern.  A quick trip down to Wool-Thyme (they are celebrating 30 years!!!) and I left with these little abstract wooden toggles.  More perfect to finish off the darling little bit of cuteness! And I will have you know that not even one ball of discount sock yarn followed me home.  This time. 

The shower for the little one was a few weeks back.  Mom's last day of work was at the end of January, although she's been in a few times to say hi.  We'll all just waiting for the day to hear about the new little man in this world, and I can't wait to meet him! 

I really hope he gets his Mom's hair.  Redheaded men are just the most handsome.  Right André?

Ground Hog Day

Tradition would have us believe that today is the day that a medium sized rodent will (with some prodding) emerge from his cozy abode and enlighten us on our imminent climate future... aka the poor creature will see his shaddow or not, but this is Canada, and realistically, there are weeks and weeks of winter left to go.

Now if Hollywood is to believed (and why would they lie to us?) it is also a day where life may repeat itself over and over until you get it right.  While this wouldn't be too bad if you didn't know it was occurring,  Bill Murray would probably have some things to say about knowing it was going over and over again. 

It's not really surprising that in the depths of this Canadian winter, we would have all gone a wee bit crazy and be willing to bet the remaining shards of our sanity on a happy prediction from our furry friend, it is still Canada, and if spring is only 6 weeks away, that's still a pretty good deal.

But on the life repeating itself theme, we've got you covered.  Remember a few years ago when we tore apart our master bedroom?  Well it's (mostly) done, and beautiful, and now completely packed with all of our worldly goods from the back two bedrooms of our lovely townhouse.  We've done it again, and since business is slow for Andre and hours are scarce for me, why wouldn't we deplete what few financial reserves we have left and make ourselves feel better by tearing out the back bedrooms for new flooring, paint, baseboards, and most importantly a redistribution of space.

Until this week we had: 1 spare bedroom, with little heat (baseboard only and since it's just the two of us, we close the door and bet it won't get too much below 9C in there), and 1 office/yarn room/junk storage space, with heat, but so poorly organized, its a wonder I got anything done in there. 

Add to the mix a condo "improvement" project in which while the condo replaces the siding in the project, they are also upgrading the wall insulation from non-existent code-compliant at the time, to more efficient spray foam.  And we are scheduled for this coming spring.

So, new plan.  Move everything out of those rooms.  Tear out the cheep laminate floor we installed like 8 years ago.  Replace with nicer, thicker, better laminate.  Take out all baseboards and upgrade, along with new paint and blinds/curtains.  The former spare room will become a dedicated office - all business things will be in there and NO WHERE else. 

The larger back bedroom will become the spare room, AND ALSO A space for just me YARN ROOM. 

Andre has had one half of the basement to call his own since we moved in, but it occurred to us a while ago, that I've never had a place to call mine and only mine.  And while I might have to occasionally share with space with visiting friends and loved ones, it's a small price to pay for a room where I can store all the yarn that will fit and close the door so no-one else will see. 

I was going to take before pictures, but the rooms were such a mess that it hardly seemed worth it.  And so at some point I will post some pictures of my new yarn room, but in the mean time, there are a million little nail holes that want filling, and I'm back to work tomorrow. 

And Andre has a cold. This isn't getting done in the next few weeks is it...

Bouncy Boy

Back in the spring we took part in another Skanes Migration, this time to Manitoulin Island in memory of Nanny.  There was a gift exchange and much family love.  And what I didn't mention at the time was also much knitting.

One of the girls at work was expecting in the fall, and since she had previously expressed an interest fascination with hand-knits and wishing she had family members that knit, I couldn't not knit something!!  She's a very crafty person herself and was creating a nursery full of teals and turquoise and gray and silver for the arrival of the little bundle of baby boy.  She even had me mix the paint.  You better believe I pocketed the chips for future reference.

Off me and these paint chips toddle to Yarn Forward and Sew On on Bank St with my mother-in-law in tow (yes, baby pattern in hand, and yes, disappointing her thoroughly that I wasn't knitting a grand-baby for her). I'd been looking around online for ages trying to find just the right pattern.  Little one's mom and dad both were younger, but hard working, down to earth but creative types.  I wanted something traditional that could be made more hip with a twist.

And the little one himself was apparently a bit of a bouncer.  He wasn't too thrilled that Mom spent part of her days sitting at her desk and would bounce around until he hit something sensitive (bladder, kidney, rib cage...) it didn't matter what as long as it got Mom up and moving again.

Then I found  Coffee Bean by Elizabeth Smith.  Adorable stripped button up cardigan - classic.  Pair with charcoal and turquoise Cascade 220 - much trendier.

Add about 10 hours of driving time (to Manitoulin and part way back) and you get:

Now tuck in ends (thankfully short stripes meant that I could strand rather than have a million little ends to hide), add cute little black and silver buttons, and give it a good bath:

The baby shower was at the end of August, and months later Mom, Dad, and little baby boy are doing well.  She's very missed at the store, but she and he come by and just melt everybody's hearts.

And he's apparently just as bouncy now as he was in utero.

Standing Tall

This one's new enough to not quite count as a Throw Back contribution, but then again it is a project that has been started, finished, blocked, and transported halfway across the province to the intended recipient.  Thank you emails and care instructions have also been exchanged.

Last year was a rough one for us, and interestingly (or predictably) my knitting suffered.  By the summer I really wasn't knitting much of anything at all... A baby sweater and a couple of pairs of socks in the WIP/UFO basket.  The summer was insane and crazy and just seemed unending, but into the fall and I was knitting again (see previous about socks).

At one point over some wine in Manitoulin, André's Aunt Carol and I were talking about knitting and socks, and how her feet and hands are always cold and how she's really into crafty things, but knitting just wasn't something she ever did much of (although you should see the cross-stitch art in her place, unbelievable).

Well then, hint taken and once I was back on the knitting train, it was time to hunt up some patterns!

Aunt Carol is one of those rock-like people in our lives.  She and her husband Terry are level headed, down-home, smart, grounded, forces of nature.  They are such a great partnership, and André and I hope that once we've been together as long as they have, that we'll have a relationship something like theirs.  Oh, and now they have 2 little grandbabies too!

Cold feet want warm real wool love, and I wanted to give Aunt Carol something that reflected how we see her and her family.  I wanted to give her socks that would last forever, in a pattern that was subtle and interesting but solid (aka no lace) and preferably in local(ish) yarn.

Elm by Cookie A fit the bill perfectly.  Long traveling ribs have structural interest without being finicky and help keep the socks snug again the foot.  Now partner that pattern with Briggs & Little DuraSport in Oatmeal.   The result:

Beautiful warm, solid socks that will hopefully last a good long while.

Sorry the picture's not the best... some of the other Aunts were in town over the holidays and volunteered to be sock delivery facilitators, so it was a bit of a rush block/dry/pictures/package for sending.  They have requested their own socks as payment.  I'd best get on those.

Stand tall (with warmer toes) Aunt Carol and know that you are an inspiration to us.  Love, Jen

Backup A Minute Here

So yet again I find myself writing another "I can't believe it's been so long since I posted anything" post.  And thinking that I don't really have that much to say.  But it isn't really true, it's getting to the point where I have so many projects in various stages (and a slightly staggering number actually finished, blocked, and already given away) that I'm hitting the point where I don't know where to really start.

There's been some more baby stuff (no, not for me, sorry mother-in-law), some interesting very different side projects, and a whole whack of socks.  Lots of socks.  If it wasn't for the baby stuff I'd start wondering if all I knew how to knit were socks.  Even most of the recent UFO sightings in the stash are socks!

Andre and I have talked, and while we don't normally do this, we've decided on a not-quite New Years resolution.  This year will be better.  It will be a fresh start.  We will get things done, we will move on, and we will do better than just survive.

So I've just dumped the yarn related contents of my phone camera, and our good camera into a huge folder. I'm going to start sorting through them and writing blog posts.  Some of this stuff is from a while (years!) ago, but I never got around to sharing.  Another surprising bunch is from the past fall when (sock) knitting reentered my life with a vengeance.  But mostly, I just want to get this stuff off the "I should do that" list.  I have a few hours before work, so here it goes.

For my birthday, as is becoming custom, I got a yarn store gift card.  And so off I trundled to Wool Thyme with the vague notion of wanting more self-striping sock yarn.  I'm often looking for a pocket project to take to family gatherings, the movies, etc, and socks are so super easy.  A couple of balls of Patons later (and probably some stuff out of the discount bin, but with the wool fumes, my memory is a bit hazy) I had my fix.

Fast forward to October and the Annual Carleton University Butterfly Show.  This show has been going on for as long as I can remember, and through my volunteering at the university, I became intimately involved in the coordinating of 1200 school kids and teachers for guided tours.  Three years in a row.

Even though I've long graduated, and there isn't really much pulling me back to the building for visits (just about everybody I knew then has graduated and is gone), this show is essential.  While I can't work the week days like I used to, I'm there open to close both weekends.  We have 12,000 visitors, and while Ed the Amazing does what he can, there are a number of volunteers (Jim & Catherine, Rick, Ed's family, and some core Let's Talk Science volunteers) that just appear every year to help out.

For many years I was a smoker, and so was more than willing to spend most of my volunteering time outside "working the lines".  Basically I am entertainment for the crowds as they wait upwards of 2 hours just to get in.  It means that I do a lot of talking and answering the same half dozen questions over and over and over again ("what happens when the show is over?" "how many species" "what's happening to the monarch butterflies" etc).

This year, without smoking to keep me entertained until the crowds get really going I brought my knitting.  I figured I would get a couple of rounds on one pair of socks, but low and behold over 2 weekends I had knit 3 whole socks!

Pair #1 in a lovely set of greens and purples had originally been intended to land in either a gift box or for me.  But Ed's wife mentioned how much she loves green, and so the "maybe for later" gift was carefully wrapped up and left in a little bag on Ed's doorknob with care instructions.  Plain, fraternal, self-striping warmness.  And their daughter wants me to teach her to knit next year!

Pair #2 which saw 1 sock knit and the second just started the second weekend of the show became a Christmas gift for my darling friend Christine (of Irate Avian fame).  We're curling again this season, and she's picked up a second night and may have hinted at a second pair to keep her warm.

You'll note that these are identical socks.  I don't normally knit identical socks from self-striping yarns, I normally can't be bothered since it needs to be perfect.  Christine is one of those friends that will not only appreciate the identical-ness, but that it's not normally something I do and will so treasure them a wee bit more.

Oh, and in case you missed it, I did use smoking in the past tense.  Today makes one whole year - 365 days - without a single cigarette.  It was rough for a while, and I didn't want to mention earlier in case we fell off the wagon, but if it's good enough for the insurance companies, it's good enough for us.

André and I are ONE YEAR SMOKE FREE.

I'm proud of us.

And little Hunter of Arr Baby fame and his first birthday party last weekend.  It was pirate themed! Apparently he loves the outfit, so much that his parents provided a coordinating hat.  Too much cuteness!

Memorial Day, the Skanes edition

While I find myself here writing another in memory post, this one is more of a reminder of lives well lived.  And of keeping memories alive.  And creation.  This spring has been dedicated at least partly to Poppy and Nanny Skanes. 

Because it is also Father's day, I'll start with Poppy.  I've mentioned him a couple of times in the past, and to tell all of the stories about him that I've heard over the years would take years more.  There could be no-one more fitting for the position of patriarch of this clan than Poppy.  And in March of 2011 he left us. This was the reason for the great Skanes migration of the summer of 2012 back to Newfoundland.  His children and their families wanted to take him home.

Something that I hadn't mentioned then was that Poppy was cremated.  And the family asked André to build the urn. This is what is holding Poppy now, back in Newfoundland, sharing a plot with his own father.

http://www.thewoodwhisperer.com/viewer-projects/andres-poppys-urn/

To this day there really aren't words to describe the family's reaction to seeing the urn for the first time.  Even talking about it still brings tears to André's eyes.  I can not believe how fortunate I've been to have been able to be part of something like that.

Unknown, or at least un-understood, by me, the Skanes' have honoured me hugely, and all with simple phrases in passing.

While I knew that Poppy loved and accepted me, I never had the privileged or pleasure of meeting Nanny Skanes.   Every so often though, a member of the clan would say something like "Jen's always knitting, just like Mom [Nanny].  They'd have gotten on like a house on fire."

Or, "She's just like Mom [Nanny]".

While Nanny's been gone for 20 years, the victim of a vehicle accident, the past weekend the Skanes', Vokey's had a reunion in her honour.  For people like me, it was like meeting her for the first time.  It wasn't just her kids and their kids either.  Some of her siblings and aunts came along too.  And bless Eileen's heart, that family probably loves her more after that weekend that they could have when she was alive, if only because there's a fair sight more of us now.

Nanny was a fierce, loving, inspiring, hardworking, creative beautiful woman.  There were hours and hours of stories.  Even better than sharing the stores was finding out how each person that knew her saw her differently, but everyone held her in the highest regard.

The family didn't have the easiest time in their early years, something Nanny always wanted to do was have a hand-made Christmas.  Every person drew names, and the gift they presented must have been made with their own hands.  Well, Christmas is a lot of months away, but hand-made gift exchange there was.

The rules: $20 supply maximum.  Must be made by you for the name you drew.

The twist: Don't put your name on the gift - the recipient must guess who made it for them. 

Imagine everybody's surprise when not one, but two uncles opened hand-knit scarves and guessed, incorrectly, that the were from me.

The recipient of these beauties though, totally had my number.

They're traditional Newfoundland thrummed mittens.  The wool is from Upper Canada Village, a local heritage site where they live like it's 1866.  With a working wool mill.  The wool has almost no processing so the resulting yarn is lanoline rich.  The result - beautiful soft mitts which will just become more and more waterproof with wearing.

And interesting twist - the other half of the aunt who received these had my name.  And carved it delicately into a key chain for my knitting bag!

The staff of the resort we rented (yes the family took over the ENTIRE resort - no, it's not small, there are just a lot of us) were telling us afterwards that they were laughing and crying right along with us.  And if anybody ever finds themselves out on Manitoulin Island, you will stay at the Red Lodge Resort.  They are all honourary Skanes/Vokey's after surviving us that weekend.  Oh, and it's one of the most beautiful places ever.

Better than any gift though was a comment from one of Nanny's sisters that shared our breakfast table.  She pointed her fork at me, then looked over at André's parents and said "she really is just like Eileen you know".

I can only dream of being half the person the Nanny was in her life.  But to hear that the family that knew her best sees even a little something like her in me, I will cherish that forever.

Although it might have also had something to do with the fact that I was knitting at the table...

In memory and with deepest love and respect, to Eileen Vokey.

Springing Back

It's been a bit of a rough winter, and the last few months have just dragged on.  But finally, there is a small start towards the beginnings of spring.

Spring means growth and new life, and around here there's been a bit of both. 

First, and cutest by far, the completed Arr Baby set.  Little Hunter was born in January, and finally got his welcome to the world gift.  Not that there was a huge rush, the smallest size in the pattern was 1 year.

Adorable, no? No modifications to this one, just knit straight from the pattern.  I used Cascade Cherub, which was ok to work with.  Super amazingly silky soft, but splitty and fuzzed if there were tangles to unknot or tinking required.  Overall, a fun project, going to a sweet little guy with some awesome parents. 

Along with a new birthday to celebrate, March saw another year completed by our middle sister Alison.  Back over christmas she bemoaned the fact that a pair of socks I had given her a long while ago had finally been walked through, and might there be another pair in the future?

Well, I can't let a request like that go unheeded, so into the stash I dove. 

Success #1 - remember those boot socks from 2 New Years' ago?  Perfect!  And no rushed knitting!

But as nice as those are, they are good sturdy, slightly borning socks.  Not amazing OMG I love these, socks.

Success #2 - A quick trip up to Yarn Forward for a rusty red (to compliment her beautiful blonde colouring) and a few weeks later, Paper Moon.  Knit in medium, with an extra foot and leg repeat for length.  Sadly, lost the tag for this one, but it was a treat to work with.  A little coarse in the hand, but after a quick wash, it softened right up.  No pronounced alpaca halo yet either, which is nice to be able to show off the cables. 

And hey, presto, happy sister!  Although her birthday gift to herself of a couple of acres of land adjoining her property now is probably a bit cooler than hand knit alpaca blend socks.  Maybe in a couple of years after there are alpacas on that land I'll be able to give her hand knit socks made from sheared from her flock and spun by me alpaca.   That would be cool. In the mean time, she can walk all over her new land with warm toes. 

Along with people growth, there's been a bit of greenery appearing around our place too.  Something I've always wanted to try - indoor herb gardening.

And lo! Plants!

That's our thyme, oregano, and basil.  Also growing salad greens, chives, lupin (for the garden), and sage.  Still waiting on my rosemary, mint, and hot peppers to appear though. 

While spring gets itself organized, I'm going to find a sweater and start cleaning out the back yard.  We've barbequed once already this year.  Time for another!  And a beer. 

Left for the Living

Dear January,

Tomorrow is going to be a hard day.  Tomorrow I am going to a funeral.  For the father of my friends.  My friends who are the same age as my youngest sister.  I confess that I didn't really know him that well, but if my friends, his son and daughter, are anything to go by, he must have been an amazing man.  And, dear January, what makes it worse, is they've known this day was coming for almost a year.  Cancer. 

But you couldn't leave well enough alone, could you, January.  Because the day after tomorrow, is going to be even harder.

The day after tomorrow I go to another funeral.  For the father of one of my best friends, and father-in-law to my other best friend.  A man that I've known for almost 17 years.  While I can't really say that I know any of the parents of my friends, hearing the stories about and from him for over half my life, he was pretty amazing.  And, dear January, what makes it worse, nobody had any idea this was coming.  Stroke.

Within the last week I have watched the lives of two families taken apart.  And those left behind will spend the coming days, weeks, months, and years putting themselves and the families back together.  And those that are left will keep living.  Different lives maybe, but alive all the same.


Years and years ago, when André's grandfather Poppy (Patrick) was still with us, he visited a local army base at Trenton Ontario.  And came home with a cross stitch pattern kit for the cap badge for the Royal Canadian Corps of Signals, with whom he served in his youth. 

I finished it a few months later, and gave it right back to him, complete with custom frame by Andre.  And back it came to us when he passed away almost 2 years ago.  Looking at it every so often won't bring Poppy back, or even help to fill the gaping hole in the family left when he died, but it does remind me of him.  And if that's all I physically have from him, it is enough. 

The families of my friends have each other, like our family did when Poppy passed away.  All the pictures, stories, and memories are never ever enough.  But they are all that's left now. 

So, dear January, I would really appreciate it if you could pass through your last few days leaving the rest of my friends and loved ones' families intact.  You've taken more than your share this winter. 

In deference to you, I will go tomorrow, shake hands and say

Good curling

And the day after tomorrow, salute and say

Ready Aye Ready

And the day after that will be a new month. 

Don't let the door hit you on the way out. 

Walk On - Goldilocks Socks for my Father

I promised more on the Christmas socks for my father, so here we go.

My father and I haven't always had the smoothest of relationships.  As a small kid I have fond memories of crazy things we did together.  Like our 6 o'clock walks.  We lived near a fairly large green space, and dad would somehow manage to not only get himself up and going that early on a Saturday morning, but then drag an 8 year old out of bed too.  We kept a field notebook and everything (I still have it too).  For a lot of those years we were buddies and it was awesome.

But then my parents split up and dad moved out.  And for a 12 year old with her life all planned out in front of her, that was the apex of uncool.  After living the "Canadian dream" (3 kids, dog, and yes, even a minivan) the change in the family dynamic was unsettling to say the least. There was no way that I could really understand what was going on at the time, or even really say how I was feeling myself, other than I resented the complications to my perfectly planned out life.  And nobody can wield the stinging sword of resentment with more accuracy and deadly force than a teenager.  There were a few years there where we didn't talk much at all. 

In the intervening 15 years since, dad and I have danced the awkward dance around each other of not really knowing what's going on inside the others head, but still wanting to try to figure things out.  As I got older things got progressively easier.  Maybe dad was mellowing, maybe I was.  Maybe we both finally figured out that the other person was trying, but in their own way.  Whatever it was, 10 years ago dad was there for us in a huge way and now we own a house directly because he was willing to take a risk on a couple of 20-year-olds who were dreaming big. 

Life at university helped too.  Lunch dates with dad were every few weeks or so, depending on midterms and assignments (writing for me, marking for him).  And when my university life came crashing down around me, it was nice to have somebody on my side who not only knew me, but the system I was struggling through.  That and Zac Brown and Dixie Chicks summer cottage sing-alongs. 

It hasn't all been smooth sailing, but the older I get the more I come to understand that it's just that we are different people with different outlooks and different ways of doing/feeling/being.  I am a bit carefree, passionate, liberal, and outspoken.  Dad (and the whole side of that family really) are conservative, reserved, and staunch.  Added layer of complexity, both sides of this are highly educated and extremely opinionated. Family dinners are sometimes intellectually fascinating.  And others a matter of how long can I grin and bear it (and sometimes it's not long enough). 

My family tends to chuckle when I say things like this, but I've grown up a lot over the years.  And while many of the decisions I've made I would make the same again, I feel that now I might be better and handling them, especially when those decisions involve other people.  I would still choose to walk myself down the aisle on my own at our wedding, even 5 years later.  But now I realize that I was probably the only chance my father would have to walk with his daughter on her wedding day.  And it makes me sad that he won't have that opportunity.  I would have still chosen the same, but think that I could have talked it over better with him.

All of this to say, that while dad and I aren't buddies like we used to be, we aren't complete strangers anymore either.  Our relationship is probably always going to be a work in progress - just like the Goldilocks socks he got for Christmas.

I hadn't knit anything for dad in a long time.  There was a sweater a pile of years ago, but it was an early effort, and not one of my best.  With Christmas rapidly approaching, there was no chance for another sweater, but socks should have worked. 

Over the years I've developed a basic toe-up sock pattern that is pretty adjustable.  Cast on XX (usually just less than half of the foot circumference).  Inc 4 every other round until number for foot circumference reached, knit along for 30-60 rnds depending on length of foot desired, inc for gusset XX to double the number of stitches on the sole needles.  Turn short row heel, s1, *K1,s1p to last, ssk last with gusset / s1, p across p2tog last with gusset.  Race upwards towards cuff for 40 - 70 rnds, 10-20 rnds for cuff.  Cast off. 

Basically I can write a post-it note with a few numbers and I've got a sock pattern.  For me, on 2.5 mm needles it would look like this:  

CO 20 to 48 40rnd, 50 rnd, 10rnd, CO

So cast on 20, increase to 48 for the toe.  Knit 40 rounds, increase for the gusset, turn the heel, knit 50 more rounds, then 10 rounds of cuff.  Simple no?

So when I'm knitting socks of difference guages or with different needles, sometimes there are some adjustments to these numbers.  And when I'm knitting with a different guage, with different needles, for someone I've never knit socks before ever, there tends to be a few more adjustments to numbers. 

Dad's socks were too small, WAY too big, just a little bit too big, too short in the foot and too short in the leg.  All at different times.  By the time I had one sock that I liked I had already knit enough stitches to more than finish a pair if I had got it right the first time.  My pattern notes look like this:

In the end I got it (on the far right of that mess).  According to dad the sock (yes, singular) he received at Christmas was a perfect fit.  The second was finished in time for the annual family gathering to celebrate my Grandfather's birthday on the 27th. 

Just so I never forget, knitting for dad with 2.75 mm needles the final pattern for K2P1 ribbed socks: CO24 to 60, 45 rnd, 85 rnd, CO.

Like our relationship, these socks had some great moments (I absolutely LOVE the colours and the stripes are a fantastic size, just when you get bored with one colour, it changes!) and others where it was all I could do to not just throw up my hands and walk away.  In the end though, it worked out.  It gives me hope that our too close/too far relationship will level itself out too. 

Love you Dad!  Merry Christmas.

Another New Years Tradition

New Years day at our place has been the same for years.  Wake up whenever we feel like it, have Irish cream in our coffees, start a fire, and kick back to watch whatever marathon is on that we are interested in.  It is a day for just us to do absolutely nothing, and do it together.

This year was no exception.  Toasty fire, tasty champagne, and 9 hours of Pawn Stars and 3 hours of Museum Secrets.  Amazing.

It seems though, that another tradition is springing up around this time.  Since I'm going to have hours and hours of knitting time, I've taken to going yarn shopping a day or so before New Years, lest I run out of things to knit.  Stop laughing André.  Just because there is wool in the house does not mean that it is the right wool for the job at hand.  Unless you want your new hat to be knit out of recycled silk.  Didn't think so.

This year, the tasks at hand are 2 baby outfits and a new hat for André.  One baby outfit I've got the yarn for, so we're good there (see André, stash is useful, otherwise I would have had to spend more money).  And so, chaperoned by the darling hubby, I came home on Monday afternoon with this:

That's a whole pile of Cascade Yarns Cherub and more Cascade sport.  It's not all in the picture, seeing as the second I walked in the door I promptly cast on one of the projects.  The sport is going to be a new hat for André... apparently the one I knit for him last year isn't quite right.  The Cherub on the other hand is going to be the ARRR! Baby Set from Knit.1 Winter 06/07.

Multiples of hours of knitting later:

Front and back done.  Now on to sleeves and pants!  Although I bought WAY too much yarn... maybe a hat to go with?  We'll see. 

Stealth Stockings

After the adventure of knitting a lace shawl in two months, I realized that Christmas was only a month away.  And I had plans for knit Christmas gifts! 

The original plan looked something like this:
- Socks for Amy
- Socks for dear friend
- Baby jacket for Goddaughter
- Baby outfit for friend of André's (baby due in January)
- Maybe socks for second sister
- Baby outfit for Aunt of Goddaughter who is expecting in March

Right. 

What actually happened by Christmas:
- Socks for Amy - Check!
- Socks for dear friend for my father.  Yes, singular
- Baby jacket for Goddaughter - pattern and yarn picked. 
- Baby outfit for friend of André's (baby due in January) - pattern picked, yarn I think will need buying.
- Maybe socks for second sister - her birthday is in March... store bought gift for Christmas
- Baby outfit for Aunt of Goddaughter who is expecting in March - um... right. 

So I give you what I got done, and hopefully I can work on the rest of the list over new years. 

First, socks for Amy.  Way back in February I went down to visit my darling sister, and picked up two beautiful yarns which were to be converted into knitwear for her.  The first became wrist warmers.  Just.

The second was a gorgeous sock pair from Turtle Purl in Gothic Plum, destined to be a second pair of wrist warmers.  Which apparently I was going to design from scratch, and because I didn't know how long the yarn would go, I wanted to knit from the fingers down. 

Or Amy could ask for socks while we were visiting her in Toronto a few weeks ago.  So socks it was!

They are in fact Chimaera from Knitty.  Toe up, which was essential - Amy is quite tall, and I wanted to get every inch I could without having to pull back and rip out the leg to have enough for the toes.  Although, having the balls pre-divided was probably the smartest thing I have ever heard of!


Added benefit (and the reason that Turtle Purl is my current knitting HERO) - the balls are dyed to match each other exactly.  Start in the same spot and you get identical socks.  No kidding.  These are my first pair of identical socks from self striping yarn!

I wasn't sure how the slipped stitch pattern would look over the leg and foot in the self striping yarn, but the longer I knit, the more I LOVED it.  Also, the gusset detail?  Amazing!

Super amazingly happy with these, and Amy loves them too. 


These socks went so fast, I thought for sure I would have time to knit another pair.  Especially after talking to my other sister Alison and finding out that apparently socks would be a good gift for my father.  Although I think his wife meant store bought ones, but oh well.

A quick peak in the stash revealed a denim coloured self striping ball perfect for simple ribbed socks for Dad.  

Suffice to say, Christmas Eve came around and here's what I had completed...

Update: by the end of Christmas Eve I had the gusset finished. Christmas morning saw the heal turned.  But by the time it came to go to my Father's for Christmas lunch, there was only one sock wrapped up. 

More on that story later. 

In the mean time, I'm tossing the stash for baby outfit yarns.  One picked, another might warrant a trip out in the cold.  We'll see. 

Merry Christmas dear blog, and we'll see you in the New Year!

Crazy Pi? Yes Please!

I've been working at a retail job for just over two years.  When university ends, life must go on and that means that bills must be paid.  I got really really lucky with this job, and landed in a place where the work is fun and interesting, and the gang of people around me are some of the best.  Both at their jobs, and as people to hang out with for 8 hours a day.

Every year the store has, what I'm told, are epic Christmas parties.  And up to this year I hadn't gone to any of them.

I'm not much of one for office parties to start with - it's that fine balancing act of hanging out with people from work in a social setting all the while trying desperately to come up with something to talk about that isn't work.  Add to the mix that these Christmas parties are semi-formal-ish - guys in suits and ladies in dresses (or suits), and I'm way out of my comfort level.  Heck, I only own two dresses (and one of them I'm not ever likely to wear again, being my wedding dress and all), and it's only by a miracle that I haven't broken an ankle in the few times I've worn high heals.

So my first year I didn't go.  I'd only been there two months, didn't really know the gang, and wasn't sure how much longer I'd be around (because I still foolishly thought I could get somewhere with my grad degree). The next year, I thought about going, but we had a curling Christmas party the same night, and I really like those guys.

This year though, apparently I had no choice.  One of the guys even bought me a ticket to make sure I went.

Now, the dress that I would be wearing is sleeveless.  And the party is in December.  And since I'm not much of a dancer, I was expecting to get cold.  I do have a pashmina wrap in the perfect colour to match the dress, but I figured that if I was going get kidnapped asked to go to this party, I might as well take this as a chance to do something that I've been meaning to do for a long time.

I was going to knit myself a black lace shawl.

I've wanted one since my high school prom.  So much classier than the typical matching-fabric-wraps that come with most dresses.  And the vintage look is something that I love.

The party was set for December 1st.  I was informed that I was attending October 2nd.  Two months to knit a lace shawl?  No problem!

Do I sound crazy yet?

October 3rd I came home with Dropps lace silk/alpaca blend from Wool Thyme in a beautiful shiny black.  Even Andre got into the game.  I turn around for two minutes and look what happens:

He's too good to me!

After poking around for a while I settled on a tribute to Elizabeth Zimmermann with the EZ 100th Anniversary PI Shawl: Camping.

This pattern was super easy to follow, and fun to knit (once I got a few rounds in and stopped dropping my needles).  And for the first few weeks I thought I was going to make it with piles of time to spare.

Note to self, when a shawl pattern starts with CO9 and and ends with BO867, it's going to slow down each time you double the stitches.  As pretty as it is, I was about ready to strangle myself with the yarn while working through the vines. 

Thankfully, Andre and I had planned a week in Toronto in early November, and while I didn't get much knitting time while we were there, there was still the train ride out and home to put serious length on this thing.

And on November 27th, there it lay on the bed with a couple hundred pins in it, blocking away happily to itself. With two whole days to spare!

I made a few small changes to the pattern.  Firstly I used true lace weight yarn rather than the fingering weight called for.  The biggest difference (other than the damage to my eyesight from trying to see lace knitting in black yarn on a train at night) is that it came out about 4' across rather than the 5' + indicated by the pattern.  Which worked out really nicely because it hangs perfectly to my elbows and stays out of the way when I'm sitting down.

Change #2 - the spiral wheel was written to be entirely done with ssk.  Not my favourite thing to do, especially since it takes longer per stitch than K2tog.  So I reversed the pattern, K2tog-ing happily around and now the spirals twist the opposite direction.

And while I do love the rounded edges in the original pattern, I was a little bit pressed for time, so I left the edging with points rather than scrounging another several hundred pins.  You know what?  I love it.

So two days latter, off I toddled in my high heals, dress, and shawl to the Christmas party, and had fantastic time.  Turns out most of my worries of work place Christmas parties were unfounded.  My department and my store are both packed with awesome fun loving people, and we had a blast.

Now to figure out what to knit to wear next year...

A Little Fruity, A Little Loopy

Fall has always been like New Years for me.  It's back to school time, and while I haven't been heading back for 2 years now, it still seems like the time of year for fresh starts.  Especially for knitting! 

Summer's had a few last kicks at the can, and the last few days have been warm and sunny, but there have also been a few where the temperature has dipped, and the chill in the air makes me want to reach for wooly warm-ness.

About this time last year I was stash diving and pulled out some brightly coloured clearance sock yarn that I'd picked up I don't remember where (Micheal's I think) or when (Boxing Day sale a few years ago maybe?).  The colour way was Crayon, and it sure lived up to its name.  I wanted a small project that I could carry around that would be easy to just pick up whenever I found a few spare minutes - so onto the needles it went to become just plain old socks. 

Cute eh? And yes, the are fraternal sock-mates.  I don't have the patience to try and get self striping sock yarn to make identical twins. 

Knitting away in the lunch room at work, one of the other ladies was just enthralled with the colours.  Obsessed even.  Like the yarn, she's beautiful with a bright sunny outlook on everything.  I didn't really have a plan for the socks once they were done, other than to toss them in the last-minute-gift box.  And they suited her so perfectly.  And coincidentally they were even in her size. 

So as soon as they were finished they landed quietly on her desk carefully wrapped with a care instructions sticker (horray for machine washable yarns!).  Imagine the hug that I got when she came back in from her break!  And she even offered to pay for them.  Silly sunshine :)

Fast forward to August and she stops by my desk one morning.  She loves her socks and was super grateful for them that particular morning with the threats of early fall frost.  Turns out, that her daughter loves her socks too, and keeps stealing them... And would I mind knitting another pair if she dropped off some yarn?  Said daughter's birthday was in a month, and she'd just love her own pair.  Only if it wouldn't been any trouble, and only if I had time. 

Now, free yarn to knit socks with and a whole month to do it? Yeah man!  Never mind that I could never say no to sunshine. 

A few days later a ball of bright pink yarn appeared on my desk.  While I had originally been thinking that these socks were going to be plain socks from self striping yarn like the previous, this yarn was more painted looking.  Mostly pink with shots of purple and green.  The second I saw it, I knew.  This yarn wasn't going to be plain old boring socks.  It was the absolute PERFECT colour way for Fruit Loop from knitty. 

And look how awesome they turned out!

While shopping for goodie bag stuff for a baby shower a while back, I discovered that the local dollar store had the most perfect sock gift bags.  Brightly coloured and three for a buck.  And available in pink.  So off these little treasures were packed, and dropped off with sunshine almost a week before my deadline. 

I love seeing finished projects, and I admit to oogling these fellas for about 5 minutes.  Then the empty needles beckoned me back. 

Here's how I spent my weekend evenings.  That's sock number one of SlipStream, also from Knitty knit with Lorna's Laces in a colour way I'll have to find the tag to identify.  Size medium. 

I love fall!

Wheels, but not the spinning kind

I'm up a little early this Sunday morning.  Something exciting is about to happen. 

Today, I am driving myself to work.

No, it's not the actual driving itself that's got me awake without excessive caffination, it's the what I'll be driving.

Friday morning, after weeks of searching, I picked up this:

My very own car.

Think I look a wee bit excited?  Naw... flipping ecstatic might be a better way to put it.

For a long time, we didn't have a car at all.  Then 5 years ago we got a truck.  It was a short lease, and the price was right.  But the freedom! 

Then we bought the next truck.  And then André opened his business.  So much for me getting to drive much.  And once I started working retail again, it was either walk, take the bus (more expensive, and since I'd have to transfer or walk half the distance anyway, I just walked), or hope that André could give me a ride.  And errands like groceries took forever or got delayed because he'd be late at work. 

Let me tell you, André is not a morning person.  Days like today wouldn't be too bad, but 5.30 AM is not a time that he's terribly pleased to be awake, let alone be in the process of heading home having already dropped me off.

Today however, I'm going to go and get my work stuff on, grab my lunch and my keys and drive myself in.  And still leave André the truck for his work this afternoon.

Who knows, I might even go yarn shopping this afternoon.  Just because I can.

Top 30 - Take 2

They say 30 is the new 20, a time when one must figure out what is going on in life - who they are, where they're going, and how on earth they are going to get there.  Forget the mid-life crisis, the younger generations are partaking in the growing trend of the quarter-life crisis.  We are young, energetic, educated, and full of the promises of our childhood - work hard and you can be anything you want to be.

Well, I'm still not an astronaut, but that's probably more to do with my lack of interest in being spun in a centrifuge at 6G, or being locked up in a space station not much larger than a few school buses for months on end, or moving to Huston to join NASA/CSA (ugh summer all year long), than a lack of ability to try.

But that was my 10 year old self watching Star Trek with my parents and reading books on the solar system day dreaming about how cool it would be to visit other planets like Pluto.  Childhood dream crusher #2, Pluto's not even a planet any more!

Fast forward another 10 years, and me at 20 had everything all figured out.  By 30 I would have the following things: husband, house, car, PhD, career in teaching, and our very own addition to the family on the way (if not already arrived).

Well, I've got some of those things off the list - husband and house, check.  The house could use some work, and we could really really use more space (at least a garage), but they are there.  Car?  Sort of... we've got a truck, but it's André's really, he needs it for work.  The train wreck that was my career?  Yeah, still not ready to talk about that one, but suffice to say, it's unlikely that I'll ever wind up teaching.  And the family?  Again, now that I'm at the age where I had originally thought that I would like to have kids, in truth I'm enjoying my life on my own too much to want to settle down and raise a family.  I've still got a couple of years to figure that out right?

In the mean time, I've been thinking.  I've done some pretty cool things in 30 years of life, but there are a pile more things that I would still like to do.  So, in honour of my quarter-life crisis, and still trying to figure everything out, I give you Top 30 - Take 2 - 30 things that I will do in the next 30 years (or so).

1. Go north again - this time in the winter, and see the Northern Lights above the Arctic Circle.  Nunavut again would be nice, but there are 2 other territories I haven't been to yet!  Speaking of which, I'm going to cross the rest of those provinces and territories off my traveling list.  And revisit some of the others, this time with André in tow.
2. Go back to Newfoundland.  Yes, it sounds like a repeat of #1, but this time we go for like a month and tour the place properly.  And take our time doing it.  Maybe with an RV.  
3. I'm going to venture out into the world at large.  There's not many places outside of Canada that I'd like to visit but there are a few.  Alaska, New Orleans, Australia and New Zealand (more sheep than people!).  First though, I'm going to need a passport...
4. We are going to design and build a new home.  Maybe not the next one, but there will be one.  From brain to paper to blueprint to land to house.  All of it by ourselves.  Although by "by ourselves" I don't mean that I am going to dig the foundation myself.  More that after designing the foundation I am going to point at the ground and a guy with some seriously heavy equipment will make the hole happen the way I said it should. 
5. In the mean time, I am going to flip a house.  Buy it, reno it, and sell it for profit.  Sounds easy eh?  Wish me luck. 
6. Thinking about buying a rental/investment property too.  The more likely scenario would be buying us a bigger place and just renting out the place we're in now.  I'm cool with that. 
7. One day I'm going to quit working retail and work with André full time.  There is a plan. 
8. And with all the spare time that's going to give me I'm going to learn how to use a lathe properly.  
9. And then I'm going to turn my own knitting needles.  
10. With the rest of the spare time, I'm going to buy some alpacas and board them with my sister's herd (which she doesn't have yet, but again, there is a plan!). 
11. I am going to learn how to sheer a sheep.  Then maybe I'll tackle an alpaca. 
12. Which of course means that I need to learn to spin.  I've got a working wheel and everything... I just can't piece together the time (see #7).
13. I am going to design a knitting pattern for my own hand-spun yarn.  And then publish it. 
14. I am going to combine points 8-13 and go back-to-back.  Off the fuzzy back of my alpaca (or sheep) in the spring, and on to my own for the fall.
15. On the topic of one to another, I'd like to go from tree to furniture.  Chain saws and I get along well, and it would be really cool to have furniture that I build from a tree that I felled. 
16. While I'm making things, I'm going to make a quilt.  I haven't sewn in years, but it's something I've wanted to do since I was a kid and watched my mom made quilts. 
17. I am going to quit smoking. 
18. Which is hopefully going to help me be the best curler I can be.  I am going to get better, and I really want to be some sort of good.  I would love to play on an A team, even for one season, and not feel like a liability to them. 
19. I am going to the Brier Men's Championship.  Seen the Scotties, but I'm more of a men's curling fan.  (Although this list did once include taking an "I [heart] Hart" sign.  But since Richard Hart formerly of Team Howard has retired from competitive curling, I'll just have to come up with something else suitably witty).
20. On the same lines as quitting smoking and curling, I'd like to take up the bagpipes.  Might have to have a house with no direct neighbours before I actually start that one though.  
21. I'm going to get a dog.  Big dog like a retriever or lab or Sheppard. 
22. I am going to write the Mensa test.  But I'm not going to tell anybody that I'm doing it until it's done.  Too much pressure.  Hell, I might have even done it already ;)
23. Speaking of writing things, I am going to write a book.  Getting it published would be amazing, but I think I'll be happy that I did the writing. 
24. I'm going to put even more effort into this blog.  One day I am going to get comments (hint hint).  Then another even more distant day I'm going to get a comment from someone famous in the knitting world.  Actually, I'll start with even just one comment from someone that I don't already know.  Writing a blog is a lot more work that I thought it would be, any my admiration for those that have hugely amazingly successful blogs grows every day. 
25. More blogging means that I'm going to need to knit more to keep the blog fed.  See also points 8 - 14.
26. I am going to get my yarn stash under control.  I would like to have a stash where I know where everything is so there are no more cases of me turning entire rooms upside down looking for that ball of sock yarn that I swear was there just last week.  And I need to loose some of the dead weight yarn - the stuff that was bought at garage sales for $2 for the whole box.  I was young and desperate.  Stop laughing André or I will post pictures of your shop.  
27. I'm going to get a motorcycle.  A nice touring bike.  Maybe a Harley.  Maybe not.  We'll see.  
28. One day I am going to retire.  Not to say that I'm going to stop working, because André and I are both the type of people that will work until the day we die.  Rather, in the next 30 years I am going to get to a point where I don't have to work if I don't want to or where it doesn't matter what the job pays, rather how much I enjoy doing it. 
29. Before I can retire I have to keep working hard.  Our business is growing, and I have to work harder every week.  But it will be worth it.  One day our business will be large enough that I can have minions employees to do things like payroll and accounting, so that I can get on with the stuff that I really like to do - project managing and problem solving. 
30. Every now and then I'm going to do something completely and solely for me.  Last year I bought a Christmas tree.  We hadn't had one in forever, and André's rather indifferent to them, but dammit I wanted a Christmas tree.  Little things like that.  

I am going to spend the next 30 years crossing things off this list, and I'm going to do it all with André and the rest of my friends and family at my side. Who wants to come along for the ride?

Top 30

Today I have the glorious distinction of leaving my 20's behind.  No longer do I get to consider myself a carefree young adult.  I'm loosing the title of young, leaving me just an adult, with all the rights, responsibilities, and duties that entails.  There's just no more societal safety net of, "she's young! She'll learn". 

While today is my actual birthday, it can be hard to get family and friends together on a Tuesday afternoon following a long weekend.  So instead we partied Sunday night.  And what a party it was!  Friends and family from town, and even some from further out!  Amy came up for a 24 hour Ottawa stop over!!  And a huge crew of my in-laws came down, bringing with them one of the newest additions to our little crew - baby Jaxson.  One of the only babies I know that doesn't freak right out when I'm around.  In fact he laughed when I picked him up.  Of course now my in-laws are reminding me that I'm about to be not young any more and they would kind of like a little grandbaby of their own.  We shall see.


Birthdays, especially milestone birthdays like a new decade, seem to cause an interesting reaction in people.  If they are past that age they'll usually tell you it's not going to be as bad as you think it will, rather that it was really fun, and then regale you with some anecdote of their time at that age.  Or some accomplishment at or around that milestone.  Sometimes it can be intimidating to hear what others had managed by this age. 

It got me thinking.  Could I come up with a list of my most important 30 events and memories from the last 30 years?  True, I haven't sky-dived yet (and probably never will) but I have dog-sledded on Frobisher bay, and that, my friends, was pretty damn cool. 


So, I give you, the Top 30 of Jen's 30.

1.  I have been on or in all three oceans that border our country.  Swimming in both the Atlantic and Pacific, and dog sledded on the Arctic.  It's still frozen in May, so swimming, kind of not possible.
    
2. I have visited 6 provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Manitoba, British Colombia, PEI, and Newfoundland) and 1 territory (Nunavut). 
   
   
3. I have seen the Midnight Sun (and been burned by it).
   
   
4. I have hiked the West Coast Trail and looked out and known that there was nothing further west until Asia.  I have stood at Signal Hill and looked out and known that there was nothing further east until Europe. 
   
   
5. I finished high school, got an undergraduate and then a Master's degree.
   
   
6. I have published in peer reviewed scientific journals. 
   
   
7. I have loved and lost, and learned to love again.
   
   
8. I have watched 2 beautiful younger sisters and a sister-in-law go from girls to young women, to adults and make remarkable accomplishments of their own.  And I couldn't be prouder.
   
   
9. I bought a house.  And a truck.  I don't actually own either free and clear yet, but it will happen.  Eventually. 
   
   
10. I have been told that I have inspired someone.
    
    
11. I co-founded a business which is growing almost faster than we can keep up.
    
    
12. I ran an organization with hundreds of volunteers, that reached thousands of kids a year, all to make science fun.
    
    
13. I have been walked on by butterflies.  And one very, very large moth. 
    
    
14. I have laughed so hard that I cried.  And just kept laughing. 
    
    
15. I have been shocked speechless.  And every time it's been because of an act of love. 
    
    
16. I have survived 30 years without breaking a bone in my body.  A dislocated jaw, but no breaks.  Sorry mom, apparently that wasn't enough to wire my 16 year old mouth shut for a month.  I know you were hoping they would.
    
    
17. I learned to curl, and met some of the best friends of my life doing it.
    
    
18. In 30 years, I have never been arrested. 
    
    
19. Although I still get asked for ID when I go out. 
    
    
20. I have learned that I can't sing, dance, or swim.  Not that I don't still do the first two, I just do it where nobody else has to suffer for it.
    
    
21. I learned how to play the flute, oboe, piccolo, and piano. 
    
    
22. I survived Ice Storm 1998.  And Y2K.  And remember them. 
    
    
23. I have skated the entire length of the Ottawa Canal.  And back again.
    
    
24. I fell in love.  I got married.  And every day I wake up next to my best friend and partner in business, life, and love.  And every day I love him more. 
    
    
25. I gained more family that I can shake a stick at when I got married.  And while I thought there were a lot of them 12 years ago, every so often they go and add another one.  And I have seen that family celebrate and love every member. 
    
    
26. I taught myself to knit.
    
    
27. I have been told by an 80 year old man that holding my yarn while I wind a ball makes him feel like a kid again.  How he remembered being 5 years old and doing exactly the same for his mother all those years ago. 
    
    
28. I've heard regret from the family that I didn't have the chance to meet Andre's Nanny.  Apparently we are remarkably alike.  Something to do with knitting all the time.   
    
    
29. I have survived times when I was so tired and broke and hopeless that it was all I could do to just put one foot in front of another.  Times when "one more day" just seemed almost too long.  But I did take one more step, and one more day went by, and then another and another. 
    
    
30. And I now live in a time where I am happy.  Things are not perfect.  Things are still hard.  I still worry.  But it doesn't matter.  I can always take one more step, and I will always get through one more day.

So to all those people out there that I have met over the last 30 years, thanks.  There are a lot of these things on this list that couldn't have happened with out you.