A country girl at heart

I was born and raised on the westcoast of Canada, Victoria is a small city but it is a city none the less. It was never very big or exciting but it was not the country. When I was about 11 I had my first real farm experience when we drove to a family reunion in Saskatchewan. My great uncle still lived on the farm that he and my Nana had been raised on. It was a "real farm" with huge wheat fields, chickens and remnants of the old buildings that my great grandfather had built in the early 1900's. I was in love, I thought that maybe I could used to country life. There was something about the quiet, the peacefulness and the remoteness of the country life that was attractive to a little city girl.

So why the heck am I reminiscing about my childhood dreams of farm life... well fast forward 17 years or so and let me tell you about my my great weekend on the "farm". A friend of mine has a farm outside of the city and last weekend I got hear wolves calling in to each other in the wee hours of morning, saw deer grazing in the field outside the window and mowed the biggest lawn I have ever seen. I know that mowing the lawn is a chore that most people despise but when you get mow a lawn big enough that you do it on a ride-on-lawn-mower it completely changes the experience. Here is little old me, barely tall enough to reach the gas pedal on the mower, burning around on the yard having the time of my life. I was marveling at nature, the great weather and the joy of being in a space so large that if I hollered no one would hear me. I remembered as I was mowing that when I was little I thought country life would be great. It is great and after being in cities with millions of people the space of a farm is even more exciting

In retrospect I wish I had a taken a photo of me on that little red lawn mower so I could share it with you... maybe next time.

Not much to share on the knitting front, just pluggin along but Rhineback is in 15 days ( not that I am counting or anything)

secret pal 6

I have been meaning to get to this, things have been busy.

1. Are you a yarn snob (do you prefer high- a nd/natural fibers)? Do you avoid Red Heart and Lion Brand? Or is it all the same to you? I like just about anything but do tend to buy cotton based fibers unless I am planning on felting it. I have found some amzing stuff in my travels and am really fond of fibers I can't usually afford!
2. Do you spin? Crochet? Nope
3. Do you have any allergies? (smoke, pets, fibers, perfume, etc.) I am not a huge fan of perfume and am allergic to smoke
4. How long have you been knitting?I I relearned about 3 years ago
5. Do you have an Amazon or other online wish list? No, sorry
6. What's your favorite scent? (for candles, bath products etc.) Vanilla
7. Do you have a sweet tooth? Yes, I love chocolate especially mint chocolate
8. What other crafts or Do-It-Yourself things do you like to do? I scrapbook, cross stich a little and like beading
9. What kind of music do you like? Can your computer/stereo play MP3s? (if your buddy wants to make you a CD) I like lots of different things, Indigo Girls, Spirit of the West, Jann Arden, most canadian groups in general.
10. What's your favorite color? Or--do you have a color family/season/palette you prefer? I am big fan of red and puple but not usually together, I also enjoy blues, especially indigo
11. What is your family situation? Do you have any pets? I have a dog named Tai who I brought back with me from Taipei
12. What are your life dreams? (really stretching it here, I know) To see the world, I am on my way but there is still a long way to go.
13. What is/are your favorite yarn/s to knit with? Anything soft, the softer the better
14. What fibers do you absolutely *not* like? I don't know, anything that feels like plastic
15. What is/are your current knitting obsession/s? Quick projects that are portable so I can knit while I communte into the city.
16. What is/are your favorite item/s to knit? Anything I can felt.
17. What are you knitting right now? A baby blanket and soon to be started a scarf and little socks
18. What do you think about ponchos? I wore them when I was a kid, I am not sure if I want to wear one again
19. Do you prefer straight or circular needles? Circular
20. Bamboo, aluminum, plastic? plastic or bamboo - the dog enjoys the bamboo ones though.
21. Are you a sock knitter? I would like to be
22. How did you learn to knit? My grandmother as a chid and then my sister and mom for a refresher course.
23. How old is your oldest UFO? 2 years, a blanket that I started for niece and never finished all the squares for.
24. What is your favorite animated character or a favorite animal/bird? monkey's and pandas
25. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas
26. Is there anything that you collect? No not really, but I do like magnets
27. What knitting magazine subscriptions do you have? None
28. Any books out there you are dying to get your hands on? hmmm sadly I have not had to much time to look lately, I am sure there are but I could not tell you what they are off the top pf my head.
29. Any patterns you have been coveting, but haven't bought for one reason or another? Anything and everything Harry Potter
30. What are your foot measurements, and what kind of socks do you like? I like all socks, I have those average size feet, 8

Busy

Busy week here in my world... but it's all good stuff. I am going to SnB here in Ottawa tonight and I must say that I am looking forward to it. Having people to knit with is always good and it means that I will get some rows done on something that I am working on. I will let you know how it goes. Filling you in on the rest of week would probably bore you to tears so I won't bother. The only exciting thing I did was book rooms so that when we make it to Rhineback we will have somewhere to rest our heads. I am off to deal with some piles of stuff that I still have not unpacked from Taipei, I am the queen of procrastination.

I know that I still have to post the SP6 questionnaire, I promise today or tomorrow.

guess what

Here are the photos I have been promising. My last box of stuff arrived from Taipei yesterday, inside was Tai's favorite hippo. She carried it around all evening and then settled on her bed with it. It was very cute

Current knitting, a baby blanket, yes another one event hough I said was never doing it again. This one is in Lopi and I am going to felt it. It has moss stitch edges and I think when I finally get it down it will felt well. The pattern that I am using said to use Noro... I decided against using my precious Noro for a baby blanket

The next 2 projects that I was hoping to have on the needles by now... an eyelet scarf in purple bamboo from Alchemy for my secret pal and for me footlet slippers in Stampato Merino, it's so soft. I am looking forward to getting these going

Finally the treats from Kristin, yipee. A great bag that she made and some wool from one of her trips this summer. Thanks again Kristin.

SP6 - I will get my answers posted soon, I promise.
after some planning and juggling I'm planning on coming to Rhineback, yipee!

Happiness is...

I stole this post idea from Kristin - who sent me an amazing package of treats that I have still not posted a photo of, sorry - I think it is a great way to post a little reflection on being home.

- Waking up to birds, crickets and morning dew on the grass in the backyard instead of the screeching of horns and the sound of people yelling at each other.
- Long leisurely walks in grassy fields with Tai off her leash ( until the hawks started hunting that is, then she was attached to the leash) and not having to worry about anything running her over.
- Gluten free bread from the grocery store, saves time and tastes better than mine does.
- Becoming settled in my life back in Canada and seeing friends I have not seen 18 months or longer.
- Unpacking and finding clothes in boxes that I forgot I had, it's like Christmas.
- Putting out the word that I am looking for local knitters and finding out that there are some out there, even ones with blogs!
- Public bathrooms that are clean, have soap, hot water and paper towels - in Asia it is always hit and miss, you might get one or two of the 4 elements but never all of them in the same place.
- Being able to stop and ask the first person I see for directions - instead of trying to find someone who might speak English and know what it is that I am talking about.
- Busses that have seats available when you get on.
- Chips and dip, when I want them in normal flavors like plain, instead of seafood, cucumber, lobster or American (which were sweet and salty)
- Freshly picked fall apples, and the thought of Thanksgiving and Halloween just around the corner.
- Cool mornings, warm days and cool evenings, knowing that snow is just around the corner.
- Food that I can eat in restaurants.
- Not having to calculate the time difference every time I want to phone someone.
- Only having to think in one currency.

As you can see I have renamed my blog as well, because the adventure is over but so is the withdrawal. It's "After Asia" in so many ways, my time abroad changed the way that I look at the world and the way that I see things. Sometimes I feel as though I lived a whole life in the time that I was gone. I do miss Asia, sometimes a lot, I miss the excitement and the adventure of all the new things I saw. Yet I'm happy I decided to come home. Great things happen when you least expect them and my Asian adventure was not something I ever expected to occur and then it was fantastic ... there is something to be said for living in the moment and making the most of it.

Shhhh don't tell on me but I have been knitting - details later this week with the photo of my treats from Kristin.

The real world

I am heading back into the real world today.... the day after Labor day is the 1st day of school here in Ontario. Mothers are jumping for joy and teachers are drinking lots of coffee to make it through day one. I am sitting at home. I have mixed feelings about my lack of work but hopefully something will come and if not I will get lots of sub work.

I had a great weekend at the cottage and even managed to get in a swim on Sunday. The lake was not as cold as I thought it would be and after throwing someone else off the dock and running for my life I decided to get my suit and head in myself. It was great to be swimming in September in a lake in the Quebec mountains, going to the cottage is something I could get used to.

I hope the mothers out there are enjoying the first day of school and if any teachers need a coffee delivery let me know.

BTW - if anyone reads any Ottawa knitting blogs let me know, I have looked a little and haven't really found any but I know that there are some out there somewhere. I'm looking for some local knitters...

Thanks

Just a quick note, I am off to the cottage for the long weekend. I just wanted to say thanks to Kristin, she sent me some wool from Maine and bag. I will post a photo when I am back next week. Happy Labor Day - if your a Canadian that is.