Celebrating a dozen!

Years, that is. DH and I are leaving tomorrow for our (sort of) annual anniversary trip to NYC.

It's supposed to rain again.

No problem, I packed my wellies.

(taken during last year's rain-soaked trip)

Talk to you when I get back, in 10 days.
Keep well, lovies.

Sounds of silence

I know extending radio silence around here is far from unusual. But in case you were wondering, I've been away from it all, on a much needed vacation.

A large part of it was spent, sweetly, in silence. Well, not silence exactly.

 
There was the lull of the ocean waves...


and the wind in the pines...




and the hushed turning of pages...


and the soft clicking of needles...

No tv, no internet, no email, no music, no telephones, no clock tic-toc.


Nowhere to go and nothing to do but just be.

That and of course my sweet husband, some great food and wine, my knitting (another Alice Starmore fair-isle), a pile of books (I read 8!), rowdy games of domino, and a shoreline that went on for kilometres on an practically deserted beach in Prince Edward Island.

And I (re)discovered something very, very important. There is not enough silence in my life. Though most would describe me as an outgoing, extroverted person, I actually crave solitude and calm. It's what makes me well-balanced, peaceful and productive.

And now the goal is to respect that. I want to find as much quiet in my "real" life as I can.

But I will be back. I do have knitting to show you.

La droguerie

What's the next best thing to sauntering over to La droguerie to pick up a few treats?

 
Having your peeps do it for you.

My parents were recently visiting Paris, and picked up a few goodies for me:

 
Petites Pièces et Accessoires


(I want to knit every single thing in this book!)


Metres and metres of Liberty tana lawn bias tape.


Merci maman et papa
xoxo

Plain stockinette extravaganza

I'm still recovering from "the work project that ate my life".

So, I'm afraid it's more stockinette for you.



Vanilla sock, in Noro Silk Garden, S269.



I figured that blogging about plain socks is better than not blogging at all, right?

Anyone paying attention to my queue and favourites in Ravelry knows that my fingers are just itching for some intricate lace shawls in rich, jewel tones. To be continued....

Spring cleaning

It's high time to clear out the cobwebs from this poor neglected blog (thank you Joan and Kathy for the gentle kick in the pants, it's what I needed).

I've been a little bit overwhelmed lately. In these last few months, I've been running the final miles of a 6-year marathon at work. I was immersed in a huge, difficult, long-term project that is finally, FINALLY wrapping up this week. I cannot tell you how happy and relieved I am that it is successfully completed, and over. I can reclaim my life.



Of course, knitting has brought me solace. I've kept things pretty simple to ease my stressed-out mind. Lots and lots of stockinette, plain vanilla socks and garter stitch.


(a very plain pullover, perfect for evening walks on the beach this summer)

It's nice to be back. I've missed this place.

Eeeep!

My computer might have a terminal illness. It may take a week or two for work to fix or replace it. Which means I will temporarily lose all contact with the bloggy world. So you may not hear from me for a while.

But before my Mac goes to that Apple orchard in the sky, I want to say THANK YOU for all your lovely birthday wishes. So sweet of you.

Toodleloo....

40

Pardon this slightly indulgent post.
I'm 40 today, and I feel calm and happy.
And so curious to see what the next 40 years will bring.