Odds & Ends

Last week Skip and I made a quick trip to the Sarnia area to attend a 50th wedding anniversary celebration of Harry and Joanne Boere, parents of three former students of mine. We drove there on Thursday and got settled in the guest suite at my sister's condo and went out for a lovely dinner. The next morning we had breakfast at our favourite diner, South East, where one of the menu items is two eggs, toast and a pile of fresh fruit. Then we headed to Port Huron, MI where I shopped at Mary Maxim (where there was virtually NO hardanger supplies) and JoAnn Fabrics. At Mary Maxim I found beads to match the four colours of lace yarn in my stash.

Then we spent an hour or so at Barnes and Noble where I found Nancy Bush's new "Knitted Lace of Estonia". I've already started the Lily of the Valley scarf. I'm getting better at knitting the 5-stitch nupps (rhymes with 'snoops') but for now have eschewed the patterns with 7-stitch nupps.

Once back in Canada, we changed and dropped in at the lovely new home of Marilyn Orr, a former colleague, where she was entertaining several of the people I used to work with when I taught in Sarnia 19+ years ago. Everyone looks JUST THE SAME. Am I ever glad I'm a bit svelter than I was back in June - sheesh! We then made our way to the golf and curling club for the anniversary reception and dinner where I caught up on the lives of Don, Marianne and Theresa and got to meet their spouses and children. It was a lovely affair with the highlight being the entertainment provided by Evan (the eldest son whom I did not teach) and Don singing an ode to their father to the tune of "The Modern Major General" with Marianne on the piano. Then several of the grandchildren enacted the three little pigs outlining their grandpa's vast skills of working with cement and carpentry. Next were Teresa and Marianne singing a song about a mother's life to the tune of "A Sailor's Life" from "The Pirates of Penzance" with Don accompanying on the accordion. Marianne's spirited, 6 year-old daughter, Julia, echoed the ends of each phrase. She was delightful.

We returned home early the next morning arriving in time for the early NCAA football games on TV.

I finished the third hardanger ornament and cut it out on Tuesday night at Stitchin' Time at Hedgehog Stitchery.
















Last night I attended my first meeting of the Trillium Embroidery Guild. I was very impressed with the 'show and share' segment of the evening where the theme was heirloom stitchery. Stitcher of the month was Alda who displayed her lovely, intricate cross-stitchery. She only started cross-stitching in 1996 and has completed many, many beautiful pieces - many on very small gauge fabric.

Another of the members gave us a little workshop on Kumihimo, a type of Japanese braiding. We then were given the materials to do our own simple braid.
















There will be a pot luck and ornament exchange at December's meeting. On Vickie's suggestion, I plan to contribute one of my hardanger ornaments.

Yesterday morning I began stripping the last wallpaper remaining on the wall of this house - that of the main floor powder room. I have to do some major wall repair as a result of a plumbing mishap almost 10 years ago. At Home Depot I bought new fixtures and look forward to getting the job done.

Sometime in the last week I finished the Silky Waves scarf.

I just knit until I ran out of yarn.