Home again, home again

jiggety jig...



in spite of rain every day, and an average high temperature of only 65 frigging degrees, we had a lovely week away...
we lucked into a fabulous cottage, secluded, big, comfortable, with a wonderful picture window looking onto Oxtongue Lake.

We managed to swim, canoe and kayak whenever there were sunny patches, and worked in a couple of hikes as well
The boys are actually standing beside a beaver dam, near which we saw a baby beaver scampering across the top of one of their huts - just so cool!

There was wildlife:
Yes, some of them are stuffed, but the question is... which ones??

Lots of reading, and board games, and knitting, and no fights or squabbles to speak of - I was chatting with another gal staying at the same place who had been there for 2 weeks - same icky weather, but her three kids don't get along, and none of them read, so she was really looking forward to getting out of there. Makes me even more thankful for my young men, I must say...

Funny, I don't see how much they look alike normally, but when they paused in front of the window like this, I had to make them stop for the photo - I am shocked at the similarity!

My almost-done Monkey socks enjoyed breakfast on the deck, and I made progress on my toe-ups in the 'Regiment' colourway of Twisted yarn - is this not one of the neatest colourways ever? I am seriously in love with these socks - yarn itself is springy and so soft it feels like I'm knitting with roving...


Before we left, I got myself a gig knitting for my new LYS, Spun Fibre Arts, which is making me very happy indeed - I completed a felted tote bag from Louet Riverstone in Chunky and then while we were away completed a tank top in Nashua's 'Cilantro', which is just wonderful to knit with - soft and stretchy, lovely on the hands

I am also doing some work for Cindy at Apple Laine, whose yarn is a dream to knit with - I have made socks with it, and they wear like iron while being incredibly soft and springy - wool/mohair/silk - lovely, lovely stuff - I am taking my time with this one to make sure I get it right, and also because I am genuinely enjoying the process... fortunately, this is not a deadline project, so I can indulge myself


Charlie has had a bit of trouble of late - he gained 5 pounds in only a month, and we finally figured out he has hypothyroidism, so he started on supplements and lost 10 pounds in two weeks. Needless to say, I am eyeing his supplements with a renewed interest...

then he got a bug bite, which he proceeded to nibble and gnaw at - he chewed his tail raw, ripped the hair off until it looked like a hunk of raw meat in between black tufts of fur - stomach-turning... so he spent some time decked out in a collar and wrap, which didn't help that much. I did find out that he follows me constantly and closely, much more closely than I realized. I have circle-shaped bruises on the backs of my thighs to prove it, too - every time I stopped walking, he would plow into my back with his cone - so we lost the cone pretty quickly...

and now we are home, and it's summer vacation, my favourite, favourite time of the year - I am an aberration among my friends, but I love having the boys home, and wish the summer was longer...

wait... what's that I hear in the distance? Is it the call of the wild? Ohhhh, no, call of the pile... laundry, that is...