Weekend entertainment

We had a visitor in these here parts over the weekend. See the speck on the right side of the apartment building roof top? How freaking cool is that?



Pretty birdy hung around for at least 3 hours. To much amusement and picture taking. Tri-pod anyone? Colour me lazy. I didn't think it would stick around long enough for me to go get it - what do I know. As you can see it was a lovely sunny day. The weather was fan-freakin-tastic.



And I guess buddy already had a full belly cuz this bugger sat up there. You know, within an easy flap or two. Pigeon with balls eh? And uh, this would be the speck on the roof top (top pic) directly about the right edge of the balconys. Clear as mud? Click top photo & go to Flickr for notes. You'll see.



Some how all the oohing and awing from the collection of neighbours didn't scare him/her off. The things I see outside my front door I tell ya.

Relief. Well almost

I can't tell you how happy I was at the site of this.


That, is frost. Sort of. I doubt it was a 'hard' enough frost, but marks the beginning of the end of Bogey's yearly allergy torture. It started in the beginning of August this year instead of mid
September. And it's been a rough one.

It's only recently occurred to me that the intensity and the early onset this year are most likely directly related to the ban on herbicides. Shhhh! Don't mention it, but Bogey's put on a touch of weight with all those steroids.

It will be nice to be drug free for a while.

Granville Island yarn

I said I would provide better yarny pics . . and I am delivering.



I give you the tussha silk in all it's splendor. I really think this is going to be a cowl. I'm not sure what the yardage is, but it will be pretty!



100% wool from BC/Alberta



and her little friend. Hand dyed by Yoriko



Yup, they are pretty spectacular too. I'm not sure what this will be either. The colours are lovely and very rich. It's a nice worsted weight which I think I had been thinking hat & scarf at the time. 220 meters each I think that's pretty good. I'm totally up for suggestions for either . . .

Happy Halloween!

This evening I sat outside with a bunch of neighbours. We handed out candies to the 50 or so kiddlets and consumed a variety of wobbly beverages. It's not even 10 yet but I think it's bed time.

Happy Halloween all. Hope you had as much fun as I!

Something more knitting related

Sort of. Well, how about stash acquisition? Ya . . I thought that would perk you up.



One of the days that I spent on my own I wandered down to Granville Island. 37 acre island that was once an industrial park is now home to arts, sumptuous shopping and delectable foods.



There was so much to look at, never mind indulge my shopping urges. When I rounded a corner it was just too much for me to resist.



The drooling began. Who knew that I would have an abundance of yarn sources within a 15 minute walk?



I was rather well restrained here. It's a co-op of 4 fibre artists that weave, spin, dye and knit. Two goody sized skeins of hand spun, hand dyed yarn followed me home. See? I was good!

(please pardon the crap pic. I will update with better ones)

There were a few other places that sold yarn as well. There was the Silk Weaving Studio.


It was lovely and as you can see I did purchase some super soft 100% silk, it wasn't my favourite place.

My favourite place . . . that would be Maiwa Supplies. Maiwa had 2 stores; one inside the Net Loft and the other on the outside. Supplies was the store that had the mother load of yarny goodness. And I didn't buy a damn thing there. My goal was to purchase what I could not acquire at home. It made me sad to leave empty handed . . . but I'll be back. Next time? I'll have a project in mind.



~more yarny goodness to come~

P.S. If you want a sneak peak of some of my other yarn . . . I'm wearing it here. My sister is a very talented artist.

Stuttering blog posts

I've been slacking on the posting because I'm just not sure where to start. Vancouver was so beautiful, it's like I didn't really see it the first time I was there. I'd like to think that it's because I'm a different person than I was 3 and a half years ago.

This was my morning view.



It helps that the temperatures were between 14 and 16 for most of the time that I was there. There were 2 days that it was supposed to rain . . .




. . . but it didn't. Much. Ya, the ground is wet. It rained. Oooooh.

Did I mention that I had to sleep in a drawer?



Well, really it's a Murphy bed. The building that my sister & her boy friend live in used to be a woman's lodging house. It's got lovely wooden floors, built in Murphy beds, a claw footed tub and a chopped up floor plan. Very quirky. Sadly small.

Things I miss most at this point? My sister, her boyfriend (and his awesome cooking), friendly people, friends, farmers markets, fabulous chocolate, yarn stores within walking distance, the smell of the ocean . . .

Home Again

Ya, I'm back. It's rather cold here in Ontario but at least it's not raining. Or snowing. I heard there was snow here last Thursday & I can't tell you how glad I am that I missed it.

I have a few posts to catch up on. I had been trying to post on the day of the activities so I would have a reminder but it just didn't work out. I was a little busy, under the weather and my camera became uncooperative. Not really sure what's going on, but I'm pretty sure it's on it's last legs. Not that I'll cry when it's done, I just wish I'd used the panoramic feature more often. And that it hadn't decide to start it's death rattle while I was on vacation.

Catch up commencing when Bogey's Granma goes home. Posting with the added distraction is pointless. In the mean time I give you another jelly fish picture from the Vancouver Aquarium. You can also go check out the set on Flickr.