'Butterflies are Free'

The last two butterflies, Eta and Theta, hatched from their chrysalises on the weekend. We had a very successful monarch butterfly season with only one casualty, Beta, who did not attach to the top of the container and died in a puddle of green goo. The surviving seven were harvested as eggs and set free after passing through the larva and pupa stages.

Since the completion of the swallowtail shawl, I am now entranced with lace knitting. Yesterday I began the Evelyn A. Clark 'Angel Lace Shawl' using Soy Soft from Dye-Version, a 100% soybean fibre yarn. It feels wonderfully silky and smells like soap.





































It is coming along very nicely. I'm using two needles right now and see that shortly I will need to switch to my long 4.5mm circular needle as increases continue to 307 stitches before the edging.

Yesterday evening, we attended an annual gastronomic event at our friend, Joan's, farm. She is a former teaching colleague who retired a few years ago. She has been getting teaching jobs at a university in Taiwan ever since teaching a variety of subjects - art history, music appreciation, environmental science. She returns to Canada each summer and spends about a week preparing for the eggplant-themed dinner which we eat al fresco. Hors d'oeuvres are served all afternoon which include: hummus, liver paté, tapanade, phyllo triangles, olives, cheeses, etc. For dinner we enjoyed gazpacho, leg of lamb, risotto, grilled portobello mushrooms, peppers, zucchini and eggplant and salad. For dessert we had several choices: carrot cake, brownies, meringue with lemon curd, shortbread and cherry pie. I tried to eat wisely but really lost it at dessert and just had to sample a little of everything (except the pie). Several of our friends who usually attend weren't there but we got to know some new people. There were probably 30 - 35 of us in attendance.

This morning at the gym I paid for my overindulgence. Tomorrow, I'm going to fit in a Yoga class and some cardio to atone for my sins.

I had friends, Marilyn and Anne Marie, over for chats and snacks on the deck today. It was a lovely afternoon.