A Quick One

It's snowing as I write this. V. is watching the hockey game and reflecting on my day, I'm happy with the way things are going.

D. moved out September 1st and so we are empty-nesters once again. He and O. make sure they drop by or text every week just to connect. They are a lovely couple, full of promise, full of respect for each other, full of love.  It's a beautiful thing to witness...

D.'s room is in the process of becoming our office and the basement, where our office used to be, is becoming our fitness area.  It is adjacent my sewing/crafting and ironing space and next to our TV room.

In a week, V. and I will be supervising student teachers, a six week stint that we do twice yearly. I will also be doing language testing for a few days in November.  Happy to still be active in my profession. It's good for the morale and good for the brain. 

True to the intentions I set upon our return from France, I started making Kombucha in July and love it.  It's delicious and it's good for you.  There's a whole movement centred on the benefits of fermented foods going on and I am very motivated to join in.  I aim to make sauerkraut and want to start making sourdough bread in the near future.

I've been watching Joshua Weissman on Youtube and reading Elisabeth's_Humble_House  and Farmhouse on Boone on Instagram for sourdough inspiration amongst other things... See them if you've not yet done so.  

I'm reading Mary Pipher's Women Rowing North: 

The subtitle kind of says it all.  It was a while before I got into the book but it starts getting really interesting when she dedicates individual chapters to strategies for flourishing.  One of my favorites is 'Building a Good Day'.  We know most of this stuff but the reminder and the case studies she uses to illustrate each strategy are very useful at this time of my life.

I spoke to my friend Lucille yesterday about pursuing 'Artist dates' as coined by Julia Cameron in 'The Artist's Way'. The idea is that going out to see/hear/taste/feel beautiful things, experiences, inspiration regularly primes our creative pump.  With winter coming, I want to make sure that I remain active and interested in life outside the house. For those of you who experience winter like we do in Canada, you know what I mean.

Turning the Page to a New Chapter

I haven't posted since February this year so I thought I'd give you a little update.

1. I taught my last semester at the U of A. this past winter. I finished all my teaching responsibilities at the end of April and will not be teaching again.  Why? Because it's better to quit when you are still loving what you do and while students still appreciate your teaching.

2. We went to France May and June this year instead of August-September-October.  It was a little weird for us but we rejoiced at having our sons and their loved ones come to visit.

3. We celebrated our son's marriage in Èze, which is between Nice and Monaco.  The venue is out of this world and A.'s choices for decoration were impeccable.  A most memorable event.  Here are a few pics of the venue before the event.

3. We've been home for almost two weeks now to really lousy weather. Temps have been between 17-22 degrees and rain on most days except for yesterday and today.  More rain on the forecast.  On the positive side, the garden and lawns are looking exceptionally lush...

4. Getting back to my people: Had a family dinner last Sunday and are going to see Dad up north on this coming Thursday. He has just celebrated his 98th birthday.  Having a sleepover with our godson A. on Monday.  Toy Story IV is on the agenda.  I love all Toy Story movies!  Saw my knitting friends Suzanne and Danielle last week for knitting and will continue a weekly or bi-weekly meetup. Tuesday yoga starts up again for me week after next. We've been getting invites from friends we hosted before we left for France.

5. On the creative side: I am making my first attempt at Kombucha. Started July 3rd but my new scobie is not floating at the top of the brew. Is this bad? I'm determined to make this work!  I've also lined up my Christmas knitting projects and will start later on this summer.  In the meantime, I have three or four projects to finish...

6. To do List: I'm finally getting my floating shelves for the downstairs bathroom and my intention is to power through our 'to do' list in the coming year. Our home needs a little TLC - ie new baseboards, ripping out old wallpaper in the downstairs hall and finishing our laundry room reno with a lick of paint.

All in all, I'm feeling really grateful for this most precious time when I'm old enough to ease out of work slowly and young enough to still enjoy life fully. Counting blessings and focusing on learning and staying healthy. What more could you ask for, really.

Pre-Oscar Prep

Well it's that time of year again.  Time to watch Oscar-nominated films that is.  So far, I've seen A Star is Born, Bohemian Rhapsody and Green Book.  A Star is Born is entertaining but not the calibre of the other two.  Although Gaga is very good in A Star, I feel that the movie itself is not destined for greatness.

Malek's Freddie Mercury is the stuff of Oscar-level performances. He's brilliant, naughty, moves like a drag Queen and keeps us looking at him throughout this 200+ minute movie. Because I wasn't a Queen fan, I learned a lot about this legend and regret that I did not pay attention to Mercury while he was alive.

Mortensen is transformed in Green Book.  I find him convincing as a 1960s Italian bouncer living and loving in Brooklyn. He reveals his racism early on in the movie and his education begins when he takes on a two-month contract driving Don Shirley on a tour which includes of the deep South of the States.

Mahershala Ali is Don Shirley and I know very little of the legend himself but his portrayal of a gifted, homosexual musician is sensitive and skilled. I enjoyed this feel-good movie it makes me believe that the friendship that grew between these two individuals was genuine.  Shirley's character is educated, refined and deeply lonely, Vallelonga is a milder version of Archie Bunker, and is surrounded with an extended family where displays of affection and bickering are equally present. Both men are better people at the end of this movie and  the viewer is allowed to bathe in the glow of a happy ending.

One good, one very good and one excellent movie checked off the list. The Oscar lineup is promising this year.

New Year, New Sweater

Photo copyright Espace Tricot on Ravelry website

"Turtle Dove is a loose, dolman-style sweater with a turtleneck and a modern silhouette. It’s knit from the top-down with optional short-rows to raise the back of the neck slightly. The entire sweater is knit in the round so there is no seaming at all! There are two options for finishing the body - a simple rolled hem or a twisted rib split-hem. Knit with Woolfolk Luft - this lovely pullover is light and warm and incredibly soft." 

To begin this New Year, I started knitting the Turtle Dove Sweater by Melissa Clulow of Espace Tricot, a Canadian Yarn shop in Montréal, Québec. It is a beautiful, simple, elegant, warm yet light sweater made of Woolfolk Luft in color L9 (aubergine shade).

So excited about this.  I haven't knit a whole sweater for myself since about 2010. It was a cotton sweater that stretched and ended up too big and I couldn't wear it. It took forever to knit because when I was working full-time,  I didn't have the time and brain space for figuring out long complicated projects. Since my semi retirement in 2013, I've been knitting more and more, particularly for my family at Christmas.

In the last five or six years, I have focussed on accessories and feel that I am ready to move on to projects that are more involved hence, the sweater.

Because I get distracted when doing knitting row upon knitting row, I've created a chart that I will tick off at the end of each row and count my stitches as well to make sure I haven't forgotten an increase.  Here it is for your downloading pleasure should you decide to knit the beautiful Turtle Dove yourself.

Just click on the image, copy it and paste it into Word.  You'll just have to resize it to fill the page.

I think (hope) this one will be a success! I am always looking for stylish and warm sweaters for our Canadian winters and this one looks just right.