Feeding ourselves and yarn

This year I made pesto with my garlic scapes and ''it is delicious''. We ate some and I froze a few containers for next winter when I start dreaming of spring and my gardens. I can't believe I did'nt do pesto with my scapes before this year...

Drying garlic
Some yummy yarn I bought on my recent trip to Moncton when Dave and I visited our daughter and SIL

Knitting the winter blues away

I sure have been knitting away this winter. When I get going I can knit for two hours straight and it doesn't even feel like that long. Most of the projects I've knitted since Christmas are for next year's gifts so I can't post them here.

Dave took the picture above yesterday while practicing taking pictures with his phone.

That nice plum colored yarn is an alpaca blend and I'm knitting a winter hat with it. The grey is 100% wool for a pair of man's winter socks.

The carpenter is done with the few minor renovations in the kitchen. Now we are painting the kitchen - a nice fresh white by Benjamin Moore ''Chantilly Lace'' and the walls are going to be, also by Ben Moore, ''Avoine'' (Oat). Our first big furniture purchase as a married couple was our kitchen table and chairs, 32 years ago. The table top needs to be sanded and re-stained... that's on our list too.

Wishing everyone a good start of the week tomorrow. I think my next post will be entirely on food preps and recipes.

Moving slowly on a Sunday

It's hard to believe but January is almost over and done with... see, it wasn't that bad now was it. Let's see what February will bring us. One things for sure, we can expect more snow and cold winds.

We've had a gorgeous weekend so far. This morning Dave and I had breakfast than I did a few rounds of knitting than headed outside to let the chicks out in their run and take a few pictures from around the yard...

Last summer Dave found some old fence wire tangled in the grass out in the field. I made this authentic wreath.

The girls enjoy a few rays of sun. We keep an eye on them though because it's quite cold out there.

Whipped up a batch of hummus. Mmmmmmm.....

Brrrrrr.....

Dave and I might be hitting a few Frenchy's this afternoon. I haven't posted any fabulous finds in a long time.

Dave working on his latest piece - folk art dogs. I love folk art, it's probably the rustic look of it.

Since the weekend

Here is what we've been up to since the weekend ::

Still working on the second sock of my second pair of wool socks. I love this self-pattern yarn. I love it so much I went and bought another ball in shades of blue to start my third pair as soon as I finish these.

Trees on a property are so beautiful and peaceful but each Spring we have to pick a zillion little twigs; I call it ''pick-up sticks''.

Over-wintered leeks.

I'm happier than usual this week - my seed order arrived.

Enjoying putting clothes on the line to dry.

And yes, the socks are finished !!!!! Time to cast-on for the next pair.

My knitted socks

I've been knitting for about two years now and I have to admit that I am hooked. Every spare minute I have I go for my needles. I've made scarfs, hats, shawls, dish towels, etc. but I've always been scared to take up knitting socks. Don't know, the thought of knitting with 4 needles just did'nt cut it for me. However, I kept the idea of my first pair of socks in back of my mind. I knew I wanted to take up the challenge but did'nt know when. Until, two weeks ago, one quiet night at 10 p.m. I cast on 44 stitches and tonight I present to you my very first pair of wool socks. The following picture was taken a few weeks back when I had the first sock finished. That heel you see there was frogged four times before I got it right. I am a self-thought learner. I like to learn things on my own terms. So with the help of many inspirational fellow bloggers and a few you tube videos here are my wood socks.

I used a nice Paton classic marino in a grey mix. I had one ball but it was a fairly big ball of yarn so I knew I would have enough for two socks. Half-way through my second sock I came to the realization that I wasn't going to have enough yarn to finish the second sock.

So I had to cut it short by an inch. But I am not bothered by this fact at all. I am so proud of these woolen lovelies. And they are for me (I want to wear them as slippers) so I don't mind at all that one is an inch shorter than the other. Plus, when I have them on my feet you can't tell.

Yes, I have already cast on for the next pair. You can see the yarn in the second picture.

Knitted love, mail and frenchy finds

I always have a project on my needles. I just finished this shawl last week. It's not for me, I might give it to someone special. (It looks like someone is modeling the shawl but it's actually drapped over my sewing machine).

Look at what arrived in my mailbox a few weeks ago. It's from here. It was immediately framed and hung in my craft room. If you don't already visit Heather's blog, well you should. She's amazing. She's the second blog I discovered almost three years ago. The way I found out about blogging (I was clueless about blogs) was with this blog. Her soaps are so delicious smelling you want to have a bit. And let me tell you, she has the cutest little boy.

And last but not least - some Frenchy treasures I found in one 10 minute visit last week. Look at all this bright colored fabrics.

And in the same stash, there were these 8 black and white samples. I'm thinking a simple quilt for a teenager maybe...


And a wooden spool holder. My 10 minute shopping spree at Frenchy's cost me $2.25.

I am teaching myself to knit socks, with the help of You Tube videos and very clear and simple instructions from so many inspirational blogs. I'm almost done with the first sock, I'll post pictures. Things are going well so far, fingers crossed please.

Second best time of the year

For me this is the second best time of the year... the first being Fall. And the reason I love this time of the year is the joy I get from working the soil, planting tiny little seeds and watch them grow into ''something'' that we can enjoy at the table. Weeding is kind of a meditation for me. I'm always weeding - veggies or flowers. Dave bought me this cart last weekend. I can easily wheel it around and fill it up.


I think these are some kind of Columbine... not your usual species.

Remember last year when I experimented with an unsual way of planting potatoes. And in the end, the scepticals were pleasantly surprised with the results. We had potatotes. I saved a few to use as seedlings this year. So far it's looking good. However, I changed things around a little. I only planted in single layer wooden boxes instead of the double layer. Last year I had 12 plants; this year we have 24.

We've been enjoying green onions for a while now.

I had to save the very best for last (as a surprise). I WON; I WON. Last week I got an email from Austen over at Make + Do that I had won giveaway no. 6 (And today she used my question on rubber stamps in her Crafty Q & A segment). Yesterday I found this yummyness in my mailbox. I'm thinking a multicolored scarf for next Winter. That bamboo yarn is so, so, soft.

I still can't believe I won. It was such a surprise to get that email from Austen. You should head on over to Make + Do. She has amazing giveaways. And, the information she shares is very useful.

Baby project, frenchy's and flip flops

My niece is expecting their first child in August. Perfect excuse to knit, knit and knit some more. Above is a work in progress which, if planned correctly, will be a baby blanket. The ivory squares are 6 different patterns hence the name of the blanket ''the baby sampler blanket''. I have to follow charts to get the proper pattern. Let's just say that I have to be some place in the house where I will be by myself while knitting. However, the colored blocks are simple stockinette stitches... don't have to follow any chart; bliss. The block in the picture is the diamond sampler.

On to Frenchy's. We stopped for a few short minutes tonight and look what I found. Tons of buttons. Old ones (very old; even smelly), plastic ones, metal ones, tiny ones and giant ones... the two red ones in the red box are wooden; oh baby I'm in heaven.

And this book ''ReadyMade - How to make almost everything''.

It is chuck-full of DIY projects - reuse and recyle objects. Such as the project below - hooks made from empty laundry detergent plastic bottles. (Side note - I would'nt be able to build this because I make my own laundry detergent and reuse the same 10 litre bucket).

Speaking of repurposing, check this out. Eco Yogini had it in her comments yesterday. I am so trying this out with my ugly dirty purple yoga mat. I guess that means I will have ugly purple flip flops this summer :-) And by the way, I encourage you to read her blog... I love it and so will you.

Craft room

Here are a few random pictures from my craft room. I put together this room late last Fall. I finally have a space where I can have everything crafty together in one room.






I often find myself late into the night working away at some simple knitting or sewing project in the quiet-ness of this space.

Starbuck Cookies

My niece can make me do just about anything. Last week she mentioned that she found the recipe for the Starbuck Big Ginger Cookies. And tonight I just had to bake them. (Sorry for the poor lighting in these pictures). BIG they are... actually they're giants.

My taste testers have already reported that they are delicious and chewy.

And look at the gorgeous yarn I got yesterday in Halifax. It will ''eventually'' become something special for a new arrival late Summer. But first, I have to find the courage to start my very first sock.

Is everyone making the most of February ? it's almost behind us.

She's been busy

These little hand-knitted dolls are headed to Africa. My mom's been happy busy knitting these. She gets so bored in the Winter. We try and find things for her to do and she sure enjoyed this project. There are about 50 dolls in this box. I will deliver these to the lady that's in charge.

Comfort Week : Habit

Today we talk about - habit : a behaviour or routine that brings you comfort, according to Sherrie's request. I don't know if I'm on the right track with this one... behaviour is the way someone acts and a routine is doing something continously. Hmmmm, maybe the last one. What do you think !
My love affair and continous obsession with knitting. Well, maybe that's behaviour AND routine so I'm on the right track on both accounts.

And here publicly I have to confess to my "lack of love" for knitting up until January 2008. Yup, that's when I fell in love with all things knitty. In the process, I've discovered that I'm a self-taught knitter and that my past experiences with the art of knitting were not all that great. When I learn something new I want for it to be explained to me "exactly" the way it's suppose to be done - no shortcuts, no "this way but it's still OK that way", no "I do it this way but my cousin does it that way", no nothing. And this is how I got to "not love" (I rarely say the word hate, I don't like that word) knitting. Everyone was showing me a different technique everytime.

So many, many years went by and in January 2008 I bought a pair of wooden needles and three skeins of yarn and went to town - I knitted a stole for my daughter. That Christmas my niece gifted me with a beautiful stole she had knitted herself and this is how it all started for me. I am new at this but the more I knit the more I feel comfort. It kinda makes my heart smile.

Let us mosey on over here to see what others have to say about today's theme. So far I love what everyone is posting about. I've even met knew bloggers that have amazing blogs. I already have them in my favorites. Hope they don't mind.

Visitor... of the best kind

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately but I've been busy - the good kind of busy that is. My niece visited from Ontario last week. We did as much as we could possibly do in just a few days but we still wanted to keep it calm and stress free (only stress involved was when I drove Colleen back to the train station in Halifax and my usual route to enter the city was under construction and I was faced with an unfamiliar detour, but everything turned out perfect and we got to the train station in plenty of time - honest, that was the only stress of the week).

We ate lobster.

Went for a walk in the trails where I take my daily walks on the university campus where I work.

Birchdale Lake

Entering at the gate...

Having our lunch in one of the cabins...

Relaxing in the chapel. My SIL in the middle with the hunter's vest. Birchdale is way in the middle of the forest and it's hunting season around here.

Other stuff we did but forgot about the camera :
- ate rappie pie.
- went to Frenchy's.
- visited with family members.
- almost wet our pants laughing because Puss ate Colleen's Peace Tea teabags (we think they contained catnip).
- drank herbal tea.
- knitted (I think this might have been one of my favorite things we did together).

Thank you so much Colleen for a wonderful week.