Hot, HOT, Darned HOT!

Oh man, what stinky hot, soupy weather we've been having. I have to walk the dog in the morning or it won't get done. Even so, you can see the humidity in the air and I return just slick with sweat. The dog flops on to the cold floor, six inches of tongue dragging out, not even bothering with the cool water I immediately set out for him.

What's a knitter to knit?  Not much, but silk works:

This is a Baktus scarf, knit in Fleece Artist Sea Silk. It was a fun little knit and about the only pattern that the brightly dyed yarn could handle. I will confess though, it's been on the needles a while. It was just its turn to get finished up.

I love the drape of the fabric, and the colors are much richer in a softer light.

Hot colors for hot weather. I hope it rains tonight.

Bitter Smurf and the Bad Luck Animals

It was a bitter-sweet vacation. This was likely our last vacation for our family.  Luke made it abundantly clear that he wasn't enjoying himself and if possible, he was going to make sure no one else enjoyed themselves either. Seriously, there were words exchanged. Eventually we reached a truce and perhaps even moments when he enjoyed himself, but not before he earned himself the nickname "Bitter Smurf".

The cottage was very sweet, clean and comfortable. The area where we were staying was very quite and rugged.

 
I was fascinated by the little wildflowers growing in the crevices of the pervasive rocks. Not only little flowers and grasses, but bushes and even trees grew in the rocks. Cedar shrubs hugged the ground in miniature looking from a distance like lawn.

The water was so clear! Fresh and blue, it was wonderful. There's a place called the grotto that was on the must see list and it was so worth it. A shade of blue I never expected to see in Canada.

We also did a 7km hike on the Bruce Trail. It was of moderate difficulty and I was very proud of our whole family for sticking it out.



Dexter's eye was better by the end of that first day. It must have been a bug bite. For a while there, he looked like a boxer who'd lost the fight.

The story of the trip though came one night around the campfire. We heard a rustle in the bushes behind us and saw a frog hop out onto a rock. It just sat there like it was enjoying the fire with us. Every time we looked back it was still there. After about 20 minutes, it jumped, toward the fire. We laughed and said "No, don't go to the light." But by golly if it didn't jump again, right into the fire! I thought for sure we were going to hear a hiss and a pop. We were all on our feet, yelling, helpless, when it jumped back out of the fire.  I herded it back into the bushes, but you know, it came back. Twice. We nicknamed it suicide frog.

Then, when we returned from vacation, one of our guinea pigs had died. She was six years old and spry and chipper when we left, so we figure it's just old age. The other pig seems to be fine, but we're keeping an eye on her.

Finally, yesterday, I had the day off work. I cleaned did laundry, got groceries and generally tidied up loose ends. I was eating lunch outside with Dexter running in the yard when he caught a squirrel. He had it pinned and didn't seem to know what to do with it. He wasn't biting it or anything. So I grabbed his collar to pull him off it, but he had it pinned between his paws. It was as if after years of taunting he'd finally caught one and wasn't going to let it go. But after a bit, the squirrel fought back and then there's Dexter shaking his paw as if to say "Ow! Get it off!"  Finally the squirrel let go and lay there in the grass, on its back panting for a bit before it scampered up the tree. It seemed fine and Dexter was none the worse for wear.

And that is the story of Bitter Smurf and the Bad Luck Animals. The end.

Pre-Vacation

The family is packed and about ready to head out for a week at a cottage in the wilds of Ontario. 

We'll be staying near the Bruce Peninsula and have plans to hike, swim, canoe and just plain relax.  Except, we're not off to a good start. We've got the typical pre-vacation stresses such as:

• A heavy work week leading up to vacation in order to tidy up loose ends.
• Husband injuring his pinky finger at work (likely in haste to get things done)
• Cleaning, packing and loading up the vehicles.
• A grumpy eldest son, who is "wasting a week of his life" for us.
• A dog with a mysteriously swollen eye. It appeared just after an early morning walk designed to tire him out before the trip. We're pretty sure it's a bug bite and hoping it responds to Benadryl.
• Vacation knitting that didn't pan out warranting a swift change of plans. No time to cast on - my fingers are crossed that this version of yarn will work with the pattern.

I have a finished knit to show you, and some laceweight yarn that I spun (my first!) but as you can tell not a lot of time or energy to show you properly. Wish us luck that the vacation ends better than it began.