Read the instructions

I was excited to get up and continue knitting my cowl. However, as I was knitting, it just seemed wrong. I know that I hadn't planned to make it and was just using up some knitting worsted that my aunt had hanging around, and when I started, it seemed like such a good idea. But that niggling feeling wouldn't go away. And my aunt kept saying she thought the needles were the wrong size. 

So I went back to read the instructions only because we were going to the NEW yarn shop on Salt Spring Island, and I needed to know how much yarn to buy. Yep - I wanted to make a fancy cowl with fancy yarn. 

Oh dear—I totally misread the instructions because it said to use TWO strands of knitted worsted, not one. Sigh....... That was the first mistake. Then I really looked at the instructions, and OH DEAR — the needle size is 11 or 8 mm. Well, I'm using an 8, which is way too small. Thank goodness it was super easy to pull out the stitches. 

The miread instructions

We decided to go to the yarn shop and see what we could find. The shop is called Salt String Yarn, which is a super clever name! The yarn shop was our last stop on the window shopping trip. 

Before we went to the yarn shop, we visited a couple of other places. I spotted these adorable little sweaters in Moat's Clothing store. 

Adorable sweaters

OH MY GOSH _-- that makes you want to adopt small babies into your family. The sweaters were adorable and came in many sizes, with that little one in front being super tiny!! Now, the sweater wasn't cheap - I think it was over $100, and how long would a little one be able to wear that? But it was sure cute, and we're going to talk about prices in a second. 

There were many beautiful clothes and sweaters, which seemed to be a huge thing this year!!! Of course, I had my camera out and took some pictures! 

While in the main store on the island, I spotted some small pie plates. They were cute, and I was tempted to purchase the tin ones, but I did not. I guess I should have looked in my local stores for small pie plates before purchasing the candle one, but I like the lip or the edge of the one I bought, so I must just keep burning the candle to free the dish. Or I could buy a cheap tin pie plate and transfer the candle, but I first need to find out if I have that Pie Bench pillow pattern. 

Small pie plates

Then we were off to the yarn shop, which we saved for last. That's how it should be - save the best for last. I spotted this on the wall, and that's all I'm going to say about that! 

LOL - we could say the same for fabric! 

Oh my gosh -- the yarns are beautiful. Now I do not need more yarn as I have two tubs of fancy yarn at home. And I have the "professional: needles to go with the yarn. All of that was acquired at Ruti's Needlebed (now retired), the store near me back home. But I'm here, and I didn't have any hand work, so I bought a few skeins of yarn and a few small accessories that were so cute - I couldn't leave them in the store. 

Let's just say that it might have been cheaper to buy that child's sweater for $100 than buy the yarn and accessories to make it! But we are makers, and we need to make stuff!! 

When we got back to the house, I dug out the rest of my aunt's needles, and I did some experimenting. It just wouldn't do to make a swatch. I know - I know --- make a sample block in quilting, make a swatch in knitting. But this is a cowl, so it's not super important if the size is a bit off, but it needed to be larger than what I made the day before. 

I didn't take a picture of the label of this yarn, but it's a Merino wool, and it's as soft as a cloud. It's beautiful. And this is how much I got done last night after dinner. OH -- I found the yarn on the website. 

My new cowl!

I'm on the decrease side now, and I should have no problem finishing that part off while I'm here. But I started knitting with the recommended needle size, and I didn't like the feel. Who am I to say I can determine gauge by the feel or density of the knit? It didn't feel right! So I went down from 8 MM to 6.5 because that's all I had available, and 6.5 is perfect. 

I will need a circular needle to pick up stitches around the neck hole, but I have those at home, so I'll have to wait to do any more. Shoot -- what was I thinking about not bringing any hand work? Oh well, I'll be on the move later today, and I may not have time for handwork, as I'll be back visiting Bear, and he's a handful!! Let's just say that it was nice to have a bit of room in the suitcase to bring home a few skeins of yarn. I am off to a quilt retreat next week, but I might just have to take my knitting instead!!! Oh boy --- 

They had some felting kits, and I thought of some of my friends back home who are learning to needle felt by hand. Some small embroidery kits and lots of yarn. They have classes, and it looks like it'll be a great place to hang out. I hope it succeeds. I loved it when there was a quilting store on the island, but it's long gone. 

But something strange happened at the yarn shop. When I got to the counter to pay, I spotted this flyer. Hmmm -- that name seems familiar. 

A knitting show

Of course, we had to ask for more information, and the owner said, This guy had won an Oscar. WAIT A MINUTE -- we know who this guy is because we've been to his house!!! If you remember, back in July of 2015, my aunt and I went to his house to explore his 200+ quilt collection. He won an Oscar for set decoration in the movie Lincoln. You can read all about our visit to his home in this blog post. 

I didn't remember that he was also a knitter, but apparently, I knew he was a knitter, since I mentioned it in that blog post. 

So Jim still lives on Salt Spring Island and is having a show in one of the art galleries next month. CRAP!!!! I would love to see the show, but I'm not coming back, so I will have to send my aunt on a mission to take some pictures. Now, if I were a wee bit closer to getting the next status level on the airline, I might just wangle that trip, but one more trip to Vancouver wouldn't do anything to advance my status level for the year. I should tell you the story about that another day! 

He will also be teaching a class on some advanced knitting techniques sometime next year. Hmmmm -- -it's only a five-hour flight away!!!! Let's see when it is. I'm now following the yarn shop on IG (Salt String Yarn), and let's hope that I can work something out. Anyone want to join me? It could be fun, and if we were enough, we could coerce Jim into teaching just for us! He really is a talented person. 

Wow -- that was enough excitement for one day, but we also went to a local restaurant for dinner, right beside the ferry dock in Fulford Harbour. Living on Salt Spring is such a different life. There are no Tim's around, there are NO chain stores of any kind. It is not allowed. And I can only imagine how hard it would be for someone like me to come here to live. I'm an outsider, and it would take a lot to break into the island life. 

And the place is a zoo in the summer, but so quiet at this time of year. We did not have a single issue finding a parking spot in Ganges! I wonder if people have trouble finding a place to moor their yachts in the summer? Or boat, if you only have a boat? 

Anyway, it's been a great visit, and I need to get myself moving to finish knitting that cowl - at least the part that I can. 

I haven't been walking much at all, and I'm OK with that. I don't remember the last time I checked how many kilometers I walked in a day. It's been MONTHS!!!! I will need to take control of it when I get home, as I need to adjust some goals for my 2025 Conquer Challenges. I really should be substituting the long walks with stretching anyway, so I'm going to try to work that into my goals for 2026. Less walking, more stretching - don't need to find more time, just substitute one activity for another. 

Have a wonderful day, and if you have a stash of yarn, maybe it's time to dig it out and see what you have. I'm fired up about knitting, and I know it will be a struggle to find time when I get home because there are so many quilting projects to work on. But I'll do what I can. Maybe I'll even spend my evenings with DH in our fancy media chairs while he watches TV. Perhaps I'll become a sports junkie! 

WAIT -- I forgot to mention that someone from our old vet office came by yesterday to pick up the eight quilts. I got a couple of very nice thanks via text from some of the staff members. I don't think they have all been delivered. Those couple of texts made my heart sing and made all the time and effort put into them worth it. Onen came from the vet himself, and that's good enough for me!!!! Anyone who likes pets is a keeper anyway, and most likely quilt-worthy!

OK -- I'm out of here!!!

Have a wonderful day.

Ciao!!!!

Makers gotta make!

Three nights into this trip and three different beds! 

After finishing the blog, I left M's house, got my stuff packed back into the car, and headed out to Tim's. OK -- so if you are from Toronto, there is a Tim's on every street corner. OK - perhaps not that bad, but there are three of them that I can walk to from our house. The maximum distance is probably 2 KM. Here? They are few and far between. There are loads of other options, but when you're in a hurry and not familiar with the terrain, you seek out what you know. 

At this location, they sold little buttons. It's Smile Cooke week, and if you want something permanent, you can get this. 

Smile Cookie buttons

It didn't take long to get to the airport because at 5 AM on a Sunday morning, there isn't much traffic. I returned the rental car, which was easy, but it takes time to get yourself organized. I had to get all my little bits out of the car and into my suitcase or my hand. I left the large bag at M's house as I don't need it for the next couple of days. 

A new art installation is happening in the main terminal. Several different totem pole sections - I'm not sure what it will look like, as there are large pieces still wrapped in plastic on the floor. 

A new art installation at the main airport

Once I got myself organized, ate the rest of my breakfast, and had my tea, it was time to get moving to the next destination. I had to take the shuttle bus to the seaplane dock. It's quite a distance from the main terminal, and I wasn't sure how often it ran, especially on Sunday morning. But the shuttle was sitting at the curb, and shortly after I got on, it departed. 

The airport shuttle bus

It is still dark at this time of the morning. I made it to the seaplane dock and checked in. My plane didn't leave for an hour. See how good I'm getting at not rushing things!!!  

As we walked down and along the dock, it was very windy, and this is a tiny little plane! But the skilled pilot had no issues dealing with the wind. It was a smooth take off and all the landings were smooth as well. 

The seaplane

 

There were only two passengers on the plane , and the other scooped the front seat, but I'm OK with that. I've sat up front, and it's no big deal. I'd rather sit in the back so I can take pictures without anyone thinking I'm a geek!!! 

It always amazes me where the main runways for the big planes are located. They are right along the edge of the land! A false landing and you're in the water! I wonder if that has ever happened here? Anyway, we were up and off to drop off the first passenger at Pender Island. I LOVE how they do a steep bank to get down into these waters in the Gulf Islands. After my open-door helicopter ride in Hawaii - that's no big deal! 

The main runways at Vancouver Airport

After dropping that passenger off, we were airborne again, heading to Salt Spring Island. Yep, my aunt still lives here, and I haven't been to the island in a couple of years. We used to be here every summer for many summers. And we had lots of family gatherings here as well. Loads and loads of memories about Salt Spring Island. 

It was easy to use Google Maps to see which island was which! You have to love that! Because we flew in from the back of the island, it required another steep bank to turn around to get into the Ganges Harbour. We were slightly ahead of schedule because with only two people, once we were on, we could go! 

Flying over the Gulf Islands

We taxied around the Vancouver harbor a bit before leaving to warm up the engine! You have to love seaplanes. It's not that expensive, and in thirty minutes, you'll be here! Of course, we've taken the ferry many times, but I only recently started taking the seaplanes. When you are traveling alone, with minimal luggage, it works! 

My aunt was there to pick me up, and it was very quiet in Ganges at 8 AM on a Sunday morning. I wasn't a fan of traveling that early, but the next option was 2:30 in the afternoon, and that would have wasted most of the day. At this time of year, there are only two flights a day, so I picked the early morning flight!!

It's so nice to settle in for long conversations, and while we don't see each other often or talk that much on the phone, it's just like nothing has changed. Well, we both may have a few more gray hairs, but who cares?! 

She has this fabulous collection of Dutch houses that KLM gave away to business-class passengers. They came with booze in them!! She had collected some, and some were given to her. They are adorable. I always admire them when I visit, as they sit in the kitchen. When we traveled business class this past summer, it was on Belgian Airlines, and we got a box of chocolates!!!! Hmmm -- a porcelain house or a box of chocolates? 

Half of the Dutch house collection

I had to chuckle because I got home-made cookies, but one at a time in a small tin. Homemade cookies are the best, and of course, we had to compare them to the store-bought ones, but the homemade ones were much better!!! It sounds like I'm going to miss all the church bazaars and such, where all the good home baking comes out, and artisan works, but that's OK - I don't really need anything and certainly not a lot of cookies. 

My cookie ration!!! 

While I was prepping for this trip, I hadn't really given thought to bringing something to do. I have my ebook, but no hand work. It was only on the plane over that I thought I should have thrown my little bag of hexagons that was sitting on a table back home. I didn't, and there isn't really a place to buy craft supplies on the island. 

After chatting with my aunt, she mentioned there is a new yarn shop in town, with fancy yarn! Hmm, then she showed me these cowls that she had knit, and I saw the vest she was knitting with this beautiful yarn. It was my grandmother (my aunt's mother) who taught me how to knit many, many years ago. I don't even dare say how many! 

So we got out the pattern for the cowl, and there was some red knitted worsted yarn, and I'm knitting a cowl!!! The red yarn will be perfect because it can replace my red scarf!! 

The start of my cowl

It's going to be the perfect thing to keep warm. I could live without wearing a jacket, but I need something to keep my neck warm! This is going to be perfect. I just hope I'm not knitting it too tight! I made pretty good progress last night, but then I was tired and had to leave it. I even had a nap in the afternoon. All this moving around and being in a different bed, I guess it took a toll on me! 

I had a pretty good sleep last night, and well, I'm ready to get back to my knitting today! I should be able to finish it today. Knitting is like riding a bike - you never forget the basics! However, we had a chuckle because every second row on the vest my aunt is making has two increases, and they are done in a way I've never seen before. So we are NOT allowed to chat when she's knitting that row!!! I do not want to be blamed if she has to rip out! 

Thankfully, the cowl is the same row repeated over and over, so it should be easy! 

I'd love to come to the main island because there are people there I'd love to visit. There just isn't time. That is the problem when you take a vacation to visit family because you all live far apart. There isn't time to see other people or places. But I'll just have to take a long trip next time! There are so many people I know around here! 

However, I did manage to visit all my parents' siblings this year! Not that there are many, but I got to visit with them all. I have to do that at least once a year because - well, we are all getting older. All five of the kids on my mom's side and two on my dad's are still alive. That's incredible!!!

On that note, I'm out of here. My aunt lives in the country, and it's dark here! And not many cars on the road. Well, except when the ferry comes in or is about to leave - then you see the ferry traffic!!! But at least there was no rain yesterday, and while we only saw glimpses of the sun, it was not raining! 

Have a wonderful day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Memories of Salt Spring Island

I arrived on the West Coast just in time for the first fall storm. Thankfully, it was just some wind and rain, but nothing too serious. I debated bringing a jacket but settled on a vest, and while the temperature is a bit on the cool side, I'm good! Is anyone ever ready for winter? No power outages here, but I guess it's a common occurrence - at least on the island. 

We had a great day visiting - just so many memories to relive and so many topics to discuss -- well, we could go on visiting forever. But we had a few errands to do in Ganges, so after lunch, we headed out. 

If you remember my wind sculpture in the backyard, it was in Ganges that I was first introduced to them, as this gallery (Steffich Fine Art) is the sole distributor in Canada. 

Steffich Fine Art

Unfortunately, they were closed on Monday, but I might get a chance to pop in to say HI later today. They have some of the sculptures in the garden areas in front of the gallery, and every time I saw them years ago, I coveted one, and now there's one in my yard. Those flowers have grown up quite a bit and are blocking a good view of them, but they are fascinating. 

The sculptures at the gallery

Then, we popped into the gallery next door to check out the artwork. OH MY --- there were some very cool pieces of art. Beautiful eagles made with cutlery -- the artist's name is Carl Sean McMahon. His work is not cheap, and I can only imagine how heavy they are, but stunning!!!!

We also spotted another artist that I love - Richelle Osborne. I didn't take pictures of the art. I feel bad taking pictures of other people's art, but I guess I could have asked permission! So I'll direct you to their website. 

And then I found something that I adore! This artist is Manuel Castro, and I did take a picture of his art (after asking permission), but I didn't load the image. But I would buy that for my backyard. The only problem is finding a place where Miss Murphy (the bull in the china shop) wouldn't run through it and break it!!!! The pieces I want are not on the website but in his Etsy shop. Here's the link to his Etsy Shop. 

We popped into the library to check out the Libby app for my aunt. So, when we got home, I downloaded it for her so she could check it out. Libby is a great way to access e-books and audiobooks without buying them. Yes -- that is the cheap way to go, but let's face it --- the number of trees that were felled to support our book fetishes is probably huge!!!! 

I've left her with some "lessons," and now she's on her own to figure it out. We chatted about Hoopla, but let's do one thing at a time! She's lucky because she has access to 68 libraries in the BC Library Consortium. Before we left, we checked the actual shelves for craft/quilting books, and I spotted one I wanted to check out before buying. 

We borrowed the book, and I'm almost done with it. Yes -- it's a great book, but NO -- I don't need to buy it. So, my curiosity was satisfied without incurring a cost. I know you are curious, so the artist's name is Emily Taylor -- and the book is Collage Quilter. I could see that as a class?????

We checked out a few other things in town, but driving around brings back many memories. DH, M, and I used to spend our annual family vacations on this island when M was small. We would wander around for hours, checking out the outdoor market, signing M up for classes at the small craft shop/toy shop, Geocaching, and lunching at the restaurant under the tree! 

Every time we come here, we always say we would love to live here, and well, that was over 20 years ago, and we still don't live here! I think this is my first time coming this late in the year. 

Look at how low the clouds were yesterday!!!!

Low clouds on SSI

On the way back from Ganges, the rain had stopped, and the clouds were starting to lift. 

Clouds are starting to lift

So we popped down to Bourgoyne Bay, where there is a little park. Oh, we should not have done that as there was an Adventure Lab (part of Geocaching), and I had to do some! 

The trail along the bay

I was only going to do the first three of the five caches since they were relatively close to the car, but how could I leave this Adventure Lab unfinished? I walked very fast to get the last two. They were related to these wood sculptures along the path. 

A stop along the Adventure Lab

The views of the bay along the way were stunning, and the trail through the woods was amazing. It is a beautiful area, and I wish I had more time to explore it! I checked this morning, and there are TONS of geocaches on this island. While we did get some over the years, my little smiley faces (a logged geocache) are sparse!!!!

Bourgoyne Bay

Back to the house and more visiting for the remainder of the afternoon! I must say that I'm sleeping like a log here. Not only is it pitch black, but there is ZERO noise. Nothing! And with all the running around, I'm catching up on sleep! 

All is good. Let's hope the weather is taking a slight turn for the better.

Have a super day!

Ciao!!!!

Plan B

My apologies for not alerting you that I was going to be in a new timezone and therefore the blog was going to be late. Yep -- a new day - a new city! I'll warn you up front that my spell checker isn't working this morning, so there might be a few issues! 

This time, I'm on the west coast of Canada on Salt Spring Island. Let's just say that Septemeber was a crazy month and it's not over yet! BUT - because I didn't have any Zoom classes or clubs booked, I have the luxury of doing the travel and not worrying about the class scheduling etc. I need to look at 2024 and see how I want to arrange my time or decrease the number of classes/clubs, because I'm loving this flexibility. 

There are two clubs next Sunday, so I'll be prepping for those when I get back! And the Virtual Retreat is this coming weekend as well. 

Claire and I needed to get to the airport early as we both had early (before 9 AM) flights. That meant a short night as the Uber came to pick uus up at 6:30. 

I am traveling EXTREMELY light with only my office backpack, so I could walk right through to security. The line-up for security was LONG, however, I have my NEXUS card, but Claire did not. I THOUGHT I was allowed one person to come with me, so she got in the big line and I went to check. I swear the guy said YES, so I ran back to get her. We arrived only to have him tell me that the person had to be OLDER than 75 or YOUNGER than 17. Oh crap. She was turning to go back, when he said, just slip through the barrier and butt in line, which she did. 

It's so easy now to get through the security check as you do not need to remove anything from your luggage, at least in the priority line. 

However, when I walked through the X-ray, it beeped. Oh -- did I forget something in my pockets? Nope -- I was flagged for a random swab test. I love how they want to swab the waistband of your pants. Yep -- because if I'm carrying a weapon, that's where I'm going to put it! Of course, one does NOT joke about that during the swab test!

All was good and I waited a few minutes for Claire. We felt a wee bit bad for her to butt in the line, but it saved her at least half an hour! 

Off to Tim's for breakfast and another line, but surprisingly they were pretty fast, which is so unlike them at that location! 

As I was waiting for Claire to clear security, I got a notification on my phone that my flight was delayed. Sigh. But when I saw that it was delayed until 1 PM -- I thought "oh crap!" What's Plan B going to be? Not enough time to go home, no lounge access, so I'll wait and read my book. 

However as we were walking to Claire's gate, she spotted a flight to Vancouver that was going to board shortly. OH -- I should say that I was going to be flying to Victoria. Well, Vancouver and Victoria are not far apart and it's easy to get to Victoria from Vancouver, so on her advice, I thought I'd check if they had room for me. 

I went up to the desk and asked. This is the beauty of flying light -- that plane was about to board and if I had any luggage, they (and rightfully so), would have said NO. But since I had everything with me, they put me on standby. They started to board the plane and she had called a couple of standby passengers, but not me. So I went and asked what the scoop was. OH yes -- she had forgotten me, so I got a seat. And ZONE 2 boarding, so I butted in the line of passengers who were boarding and got on. 

Where did I end up? As I had visions of being crammed in the middle seat. Nope -- I got 31C which is an aisle seat at an emergency exit. 

Loads of leg room

Those are the seats that one must pay for if you preselect, so it was empty. Let's just say that I had a very pleasnt flight as there was NO one in the middle seat. The seat was probably better than the one on the flight that I had actually booked. 

Then I arrived in Vancouver and I didn't really need to get to Victoria, I needed to get to Salt Spring Island. Two options -- the ferry or a seaplane. The ferry would take longer, so after checking the schedules, I booked the seaplane (I had checked the schedules of both on my phone, while waiting for the remainder of the plane to board in Toronto). 

Off to catch the shuttle bus to the seaplane terminal. Again -- so easy when you don't have luggage and there is a tier pricing structure for the seaplanes. The less you have, the cheaper the flight! I arrived in plenty of time and had lunch at the Flying Beaver which is at the Harbour Air terminal. There are two different sea plane companies. 

I don't know where all the people came from to eat lunch, but that place was PACKED and it remained packed as I was boarding my flight at 1:30. It must be a destination restaurant, but the food was great. 

And then we were off in the seaplane. It's not my first time, but it's still new to me. It was the first time for one other passenger, so she got to sit up front, while I sat in the back seat with another lady and the three people in the middle were squished in! It's only an 18 minute flight, so no worries. 

Let's just say that it's a bit "up and down" on the take off and getting to cruising height. I'm not the best with that, but I just suck it up and know that I'll be fine. Hey -- I have my floatation device attached!

The seaplane

The view from the air

After I had paid for my ticket online, I realized that the pricing structure is based on weight, with the maximum allowed for my fare was 8 lbs. Yikes -- I have my computer in the back and a few clothes, I might be over. She said at 10 lbs, that I was good! Phew!!!

When I arrived, my aunt was there to greet me and we spent the entire evening catching up! It's amazing how you may not see someone on a regular basis, but you just ease back into the conversation like no time has passed. I wish I could get out more often as we used to get here at least once a year when all the cousins were small. Now all the cousins live in different cities and have their own lives, so that will never happen again. 

BUT we have memories and I have one to share with you, but I need a picture first so that is for tomorrow. 

My advice to anyone who wants to travel is this -- keep everything simple. Bring ONLY what you absolutely need. I will use everything in my backpack while I'm here - oh -- I may not use the Sudoko book that is in there, so I really need to remove that. If you want to bring a book to read, the e-books on your phone are a godsend. No need to lose a book, no extra weight, no fear of finishing and then not having something to read. I'm totally sold on that! 

Clothes can be hand washed or worn multiple times. Anyway -- there are lots of ways to make travel easy and quick. I realize that one of them is experience, and I've had plenty of that this past year. 

Did I mention that I'm now at 25K status on Air Canada, so that gives me Zone 2 boarding on all flights. That makes me happy! 

I had to laugh as I was getting ready to leave in the morning as I spotted this on the kitchen counter. It's a bag that was filled with oranges and DH left it on the counter. Why? Becuase he thought I might like it? Well, we threw MANY of these bags away at Moms, because she had big plans to do something with them. We decided that NO ONE needs them, so out they went! 

My aunt lives in the country on Salt Spring Island and it's DARK! Pitch black with no lights visible at all except when a car passed by on the road. It's after 6 AM and it's still dark! 

So I'm out west for a couple of days and will be home before the end of the week! Lots more fun and games to happen before I return!

Have a super day!!!!!

Ciao!!!!

Planes, trains, and automobiles

Have you ever been so exhausted that everything hurt? That was last evening. And then you finally get to check into your hotel room at 10:30 PM, and typically the first thing I do is turn off the AC; well, I didn't even do that. I crawled into bed and fell asleep. But not before I put my Mom's quilt on the bed to keep me warm. 

I have tried to turn off that stupid thing this morning, as it's like an ice box in here! And noisy to boot. I MUST figure it out - at least, I've got it on low but cannot turn it off. I HATE AC. 

And I couldn't get myself out of bed when the alarm went off, and I don't have a ton of time before I have to get out the door, so I'll do what I can. While working, it doesn't help that the Wi-Fi isn't fast, or should I say -- my pictures are somewhere in limbo-land. 

Oh -- just found them -- they had been downloaded earlier, and I didn't see them. 

I know my aunt will kill me for posting this picture of her, but it was tradition when we visited their house to get our photos taken on the front step. I have many pictures over the years, so as we exited the house, I got this selfie. First off -- I hate taking selfies, but we had no choice as it was just the two of us! 

And we have to remember that my aunt is -- well, I don't want to reveal anyone's ages, but let's just say that she's a few years older than I am, and I have to say that she is doing amazingly well. Thank you, Aunt Yvonne, for all your hospitality!!! Can't wait to come back!!!

Aunt Yvonne and me

I'm so grateful that we got to spend some time together, and I MUST make a point of getting out here more often. 

As she drove me to the harbor for the trip to Vancouver, we spotted two deer on the side of the road. Shoot -- I thought I took a better picture, but obviously, I did not!! You can just see his butt in there! 

A deer

Then we were at the harbor so I could catch a ride to Vancouver. Was this my ride? Of course not! But we got to see the other side of it. According to our research, it's called the Summertime, which we thought was the name of the yacht, but it turns out that is the model, and it's not a yacht, but a SUPERyacht that you could buy for $74K US. It sleeps 12, so we could have a retreat on it. Any takers????

A super yacht

Oh, as we waited, we spotted this guy -- was he the newspaper delivery person? I'm not sure, but he was buzzing around the harbor, and what was in his boat? His two dogs were happy to lie there and enjoy the ride. Can you see Murphy and Lexi doing that? Lexi would be cowering, and Murphy would be trying to jump in! 

A man, his boat, and his dogs

AH   -- now my ride is arriving. Yep -- I was taking the seaplane back to Vancouver. How cool is that? It was my first time in a seaplane, so big luggage or lots of it is frowned upon! There just wasn't room, and there was room for five passengers. 

The seaplane arriving

Passengers disembarking

Why do I think? Well, because I got to sit up front with the pilot! Yes -- that was very cool. And it's not that expensive when you think about it. 

Me in the cockpit of the seaplane

I could take the seaplane and be in Vancouver in 20 minutes, or I could take the ferry and be in Vancouver in three hours. That was a no-brainer since I needed to get to work. 

We flew over the ferry

I arrived at the Vancouver terminal, only to see the airport shuttle arrive and leave before I could get to it. So I had a thirty-minute wait for the next one/ I had a cup of tea and didn't stress. My boxes arrived at the hotel, and my colleagues got them from the desk and took them to the convention center. 

So I caught the shuttle and got on the SkyTrain to downtown Vancouver. We drove Pam's car back to the hotel after the long day. So it was a plane, train, and automobiles (and bus) kind of day! I like to travel light because there are many options, and I'm still carrying that quilt for my Mom as it won't fit in my suitcase!

On the Skytrain

I was supposed to meet up with M and her new boyfriend for dinner, but the setup day went much longer than anyone had planned, so they were able to stop by, and we got to chat for about 15 minutes. I know -- it wasn't ideal, but I could NOT abandon my group when there was still so much to do. Bear was thrilled to see me and settled into my arms in no time, but not until he gave me a thorough lick with his little tongue. What a cutie!!!

Dillon, M, and Bear

I'm getting spoiled as before we left the convention center, we went to eat as we were all exhausted and unsure the hotel restaurant would be open. So we were off to some pub on the harbor, and I had this, which was delicious. 

Dinner

And then I had this -- yep -- another decadent dessert. How crazy is that? Well, this will be the last one. 

Key lime pie

What can I say about setup day -- it was long. There were five of us, and we had many sewing machines, embroidery machines, quilting machines, and a quilting frame to get set up. And you know how it is -- everything takes longer than you plan, especially when some of the stuff is new or relatively new. 

Other than a bruised thumb, which hurt like crazy at the time, and almost falling off the ladder once, but we won't go there, it was the usual chaotic setup day. The best news is that it is done! And I can't wait to take it all down in a couple of days! NOT!!!

Samples got hung, and we have loads to share with those that stop by our booth. We were going to go to the awards ceremony last night, but there was no time for that either. 

I've not been getting in my quota of steps each of the last three days, so today, I'm going to walk to the convention center. It's about 2 KM away for a 20-minute walk, and I can handle that, and I've got an umbrella in the event it rains. 

Well, I'm off to get ready for the day. We'll get there early, and I'll get the quilting machine threaded and see how it goes. 

And if you are at Quilt Canada, be sure to stop by and say HI. I had a few people stop by yesterday to say HI. You know that hairband of mine? The one with the orange flowers? People recognize me by that! I really need to get a new one with updated flowers. Margaret has made me some new flowers, so I need to make that happen when I get home!

On the homefront, this is what happened yesterday. I have to say that DH has been doing a great job at keeping me up to date. The girls were unhappy because they didn't get outside once yesterday- well, not with the freedom they usually enjoy- and I think DH took them for a short walk. They were probably beside themselves with joy!!!

It was a concrete pouring day at the house. 

The cement truck

And now the sidewalk beside the house is poured. 

The walkway

And here's the front step. There's more work to be done for sure, but this will make it much easier to get up and down than that giant step. 

Progress on the front step

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!

Memories

 As you probably figured out, I'm in a different time zone -- 3 hours difference, and it's going to be hard for me to get the blog to those who read first thing in the morning unless I write at night and, well, sometimes that won't be possible! But that's OK. 

We had a great day here. And who are WE? That would be my Aunt Yvonne and me. This is the first time there has just been the two of us. In the past, our entire family used to come -- that was MANY years ago. Uncle Joe is gone, the grandparents are gone, and my parents won't travel any longer, so it will be sparse for visits. But we had a wonderful visit. 

There was lots of reminiscing and PLANS to make some kind of memory book. And if we don't start now, it'll be too late. I know two drawers in the office are filled with paper precisely for this project. I'm adding it to my grand list of TO-DO things, and as I keep saying, it shouldn't take long to do, so why am I not doing it. 

It's not for lack of information -- I think we have tons of birth certificates, death notices, pictures, and other information that it's more of an assembly job than anything else. And I need the knowledge of Aunt Yvonne and my Mom to make this happen as I do NOT know enough on my own. 

My great grandfather

We were looking at a book that my Great Aunt Molly had put together, and it was simple with a few pictures, some written information, and anecdotes of her memories of the various people. That makes a whole lot of sense -- you don't need a blow-by-blow of their life. And to make it even nicer, I'd make it into a digital book. The biggest problem will be finding decent copies (if we don't have the original) of some of these photos. 

So yes, even though I have loads of quilting to do, I think the family book should take precedence -- at least to get it started and get everyone on board with adding a few anecdotes. What's your favorite memory of your grandparents? Or you aunts? That, to me, is more important than every detail of their life. 

We started the day by geocaching. I know! There was one not far from the house, but I couldn't find it, so we went a little further along, and I found one in this box, and I had something to drop off in it, so mission accomplished. 

A geocache was hidden in this box

Oh -- speaking of memories, remember that buffet I showed the other day -- the one with the dusty shelves? Well, I thought it belonged to my grandparents, and nope -- it belonged to my great grandparents! And Yvonne mentioned that she remembered that on one of the little shelves, Grandma Leech used to store a cookie jar. 

This is the cookie jar that used to sit on that shelf. Do I want the cookie jar? Nope -- but I have a picture of it. It's just a neat little jar, and it would be awesome sitting on the shelf with cookies, but then I'd eat them.

Cookie jar from Grandma Leech

Then we popped into town to drop off some recycling. Yep -- I earned my keep by switching out a printer and got the iPad to print to the darn thing. Who knew I could do that? If you think recycling back home is a hassle, then come here. There is no recycling pickup, so everyone comes to the depot with MANY bins, and each one is clearly labeled with what goes where. It's excellent and makes it easy to drop stuff off. 

The recycling depot

I'm sure some people do not recycle, but all the garbage must be trucked off the island, so dealing with lots of waste becomes a big deal. 

Then we were off to the hardware store. Well, even though it's a Home Hardware, it's much more. It carries EVERYTHING -- it's like a department store, and if you want art supplies, they have that. If you want sewing stuff, they have that. If you want lawn furniture, dishes, whatever -- they sell it. 

There used to be a quilt store on the island, but it's been gone for many years, and people couldn't buy sewing supplies. They have a well-stocked corner filled with notions, yarn, and tools. 

Notions

There isn't fabric, but they have By Annie's mesh for bag making. I thought that was hilarious, but maybe people are using it for mesh bags or something. No idea. 

Mesh for bag making

We used to hit the bookstores and the little galleries every time we came, but I didn't stop. I don't need anything and don't have room to carry it as my bags are jammed. Well, as jammed as I'm going to make them. 

On the way home, I got dropped off a couple of KMs from the house so I could somewhat of a walk into the day. If anyone wants to compete with me for steps -- this is the week! Here's a picture of Mount Maxwell. I haven't been up there in years, but it's a great view from the top  -- no, I did not hike up it -- there's a road. 

Mount Maxwell

I spotted many mirrors along the way to help people get out of their driveways. This is the main road from the small ferry to Ganges (the main town), and it can get crazy with traffic when the ferry docks. And I've seen lots of cyclists on the road. 

There are all kinds of stands along the way selling everything from fruits, veggies, and flowers. They were all on the honor system, and I wasn't in for buying anything but noticed them on my walk. OH -- there was even one selling specialty coffees and goodies, and we stopped by that one in the morning! 

Then we did a bad thing. We decided to go back to Ganges for dinner to have fish and chips. I mean -- that fish had better be pretty fresh! We went to the Oystercatcher, the "fancy" restaurant in town. 

The Oystercatcher

It was a tad chilly, so we sat upstairs inside and had the entire section to ourselves. 

But what a view of the inner section of the harbor. We watched the school boats come in, and there were loads of sailboats moored in the harbor. 

The Ganges harbor

And how about this big one! I would like a tour just to see what it looks like. But we minded our own business and didn't stop by. 

A yacht in the harbor

So there it is - our fish and chips and I have to say that it was delicious. The chips were crispy, and the fish was fresh. I notice that the traditional cole slaw has been updated to kale slaw! 

Fish and chips

And then we were naughty and splurged and had dessert, which was to die for! The unbaked cheesecake was worth every bite, and I hope to work off some of those calories in the next couple of days. 

Dessert

Sadly, I must move on this morning to the next stop on my trip. But I MUST get my butt back here more regularly as - well, not to be morbid, but we're all getting up in age, and one day, visiting won't be possible - at least in person. 

On the home front, they continue to get the forms ready to pour concrete. I hope this is just how this picture has been taken, but those steps look uneven to me. I think the concrete supports the pavers that will make the steps. I guess I'll see when I get home. I trust them, but should I????

Actually, when I look at it now, I think I know what they are doing, so we'll see, and it still looks like a giant step on the bottom -- I suspect the height of the new driveway will fix that. It seems solid, and let the crew pour concrete today! 

Notice that the damaged bricks have been removed, and it looks like the drain pipe is back together without the silly little funnel thing that was originally there and caused it to block. 

On that note, I'm off to have some breakfast and then finish packing, and I'm off to the next exciting stage of the trip. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!