Signs I Need to Go to Ikea

1. I am almost out of meatballs. I can't just eat 4, that's a weird number.

2. I am out of Lingonberry sauce/jam.

3. My awesome print from Natasha arrived and I need a frame. I can't wait to put it up.

Little Guys Need to Keep Warm Too

I stumbled upon this pattern on Whipup at the end of February, and knew it would be perfect for my good friend Jodi's expected son, Caleb. Now that he's been born, I can show the finished product! Hopefully he doesn't grow out of it too too quickly.

I used some washable yarns I had on hand... and the pattern used so little yarn that I could have probably made another whole sweater with what I had left. I finished it while I was in Alberta visiting my family a couple of weeks ago. My Mom gave me some buttons out of my Gramma's stash, so this sweater is now festooned with some special old wooden buttons.

The pattern was originally written in Norwegian, and is available free on Pickles. There were a few ups and downs, but thanks to some posted errata and some helpful Ravelers, I think it turned out quite nice. I hope to knit another one or two of these with other yarns.

Check out my Ravelry project page here.

Autumn Virtue

This fall I've found myself once again with a busy and often hectic schedule, working three jobs and 55 hours a week. But so far I've been able to retain my Friday afternoons off as time to spend doing things I'd like to do or need to get done. I also bought a new... well, maybe not new, but new-to-me car, that is a lot more reliable than my 2000 Hyundai Accent that was on it's way out for the past year and a half, so am now able to do a bit more traveling and not have to worry about if I'll get there or not, and whether or not I'll get home again.

For the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, Friday I spent finding a visiting a few local yarn shops in towns close to where I live, and then spent the rest of the weekend on a lovely trip north to Sudbury (4 hours) for a few days to visit family, and enjoyed the first real break I can remember in a long time.

Have also spent some Fridays with random friends for lunch, and Knitting Club.

This Friday I went on a short trip to visit friends in London, Ontario. Had never been there before so was nice to see something new.

It's been nice to catch up with people and have time to visit and time to socialize. I missed that.

Autumn will probably quickly slip or pass into winter, the leaves will finish falling and the wet rain will turn to slush and ice and snow. Christmas will soon once again be upon us.

I've been trying to savour the season we're in, savour somehow this season of life I'm in. With various friends I've had various conversations about different stages of life. How sometimes we're surprised with where we are or where we aren't, or how we look upon others as the greener side of the hill. We want to tick off boxes on life's to-do list, and impatiently wait or try to hurry on. We forget that God's timing is not our timing, that our plans are not always God's plans. There's that cliche saying that "yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery, but today is a gift, that's why it's called the present." The theme song of the television show Dawson's Creek had the line "I don't want to wait for our lives to be over, I want to know right now what will it be?" However, there is something to be said for patience.

"There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under heaven:
a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace...
He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end. "

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8, 11

natty

When I was going to college at Briercrest, my last year in dorm there were a few crazy girls on the first floor, one of them being Natasha . Now she is all grown up and has her first art show currently up and happening at the Sugarbowl in Edmonton. I wish wish wish I was closer so I could go and see everything in person, but for those others who aren't able to stop by, check out her website and her blog to see more.

Surprise!

This is my friend Joanne. We went to college together, and then she moved back to British Columbia. I haven't seen her in four years. Then she threw me a surprise 30th birthday party on Saturday. Unfortunately she couldn't make it to the party, but still, she threw me a party from the other side of the country.