mmmmmm

i love good food. and i love eating out. but being vegetarian almost vegan in corner brook newfoundland (pop. 20,000) there's not much choice of either. so when i travel, eating is a big deal and every meal counts. i had breakfasts in ottawa at the wonderful scone witch (just by the hotel) - freshly baked scones - sweet or savoury with deliscious jam or with grilled veggies or eggs and mushroom ragout. my last night in ottawa i sought out zen kitchen - a vegan restaurant. that's a photo of my caesar salad (including crispy seitan instead of croutons). it was amazing to actually have choices on the menu!
and on my last morning in montreal, my son and i went to the famous 50plus year old montreal establishment st. viateur bagel for brunch and brought back some bagels to newfoundland.

stepping on and off the carrousel

i've spent a fast summer - filled with friends and family and trips and shows and as much work as i could manage. it seemed to culminate this past weekend with a quick trip to ottawa (canada council business) and an even quicker visit with my son in montreal. after every trip i come home with my camera full of inspiring images, my belly full of good food and my heart and mind larger.

and more travel...

i can't remember a busier summer. i'm off on the 6:00 am flight to ottawa today (for business) and montreal saturday (for pleasure). although i will be taking some work with me, i want to spend today walking around ottawa with my camera, taking in the colours. and tonight i want to hole up early in my hotel room and read. alone.

something new

every year i try to have a new product to take to the toronto one of a kind show. this year i'll have my knit kits (yarn, matching needles, and a pattern for a scarflette or a pair of fingerless gloves).
i'm also knitting up some large cowls. some are all handspun and others are a combination handspun/commercial novelty yarn that are lighter and more suitable for fall or spring. they can be worn as a long scarf, wrapped a couple of times for a neckwarmer or worn as a headwrap and scarf combined. i've started listing them in my etsy shop.

moon

now the nights are clear and crisp. last night the moon shone as bright as the sun. almost.

after the show

brenda and i went back up to woody point yesterday, and in the late afternoon helped niki and urve take down the show. the crowds were gone. the music and the words. and the sky clouded over and there was an autumn chill in the air. i drove back feeling that summer is over.

the author and the cellist

this time around, since all of us would be in woody point for the writer's festival this week, our little book club wanted to read a book by one of the authors who would be there reading. we chose stephen galloway's "cellist of sarajevo" - a gripping book that leads you into the siege of sarajevo and into the minds of the inhabitants who survived it. catherine wonderfully arranged for diederick van dijk (who was in the park playing with the gros morne summer music fesival) to come and play albinoni's adagio for us - the music that the novel swirls around. and at the last minute stephen galloway also agreed to come. and so, on a warm summer evening, in a room jutting out into the ocean, with the mountains surrounding us, wonderful food and company, we experienced the ultimate book club meeting. and we shared it with another local little book club. pure magic.

a picture perfect few days in woody point

i've spent the past few days in woody point - selling craft in conjunction with the woody point writer's festival. good sales. warm sunny weather. enjoying old and new friends. readings by lawrence hill and stephen galloway and greg malone. music by sarah harmer, sherman downey and the ambiguous case, the once and gros morne music. sunny morning breakfasts in glenburnie, inspiring walks around the town. a perfect, perfect working holiday.

and ready to go...

yesterday's set-up went smoothly. as a group (west coast craft collective) we work well together. and we've shown as a group many times before. this is our 2nd year at the woody point writer's festival so it was a matter of drawing on what went well last year and tweaking what didn't. we finished up around 3:00 (leaving niki behind to quietly get her labeling done) and stopped off in reidville to get some fabulous raspberries. the show/sale on the upper floor of the woody point heritage theatre is open to the public between 10:00am - 11:00 pm (unless there is a reading or performance happening downstairs) until sunday when it closes at 6:00pm.

woody point writer's festival

this evening is the first performance at the woody point writers festival. if you're in the area, check their website for a complete schedule. brenda and niki and urve and i are heading up this morning to meet molly and set up our display of craft - silk scarves and glass bowls,handspun wool and funky handknit bibbed caps, felted soaps and silver capelin necklaces. hooked rugs and canvas floor mats. and lots lots more. our "shop" will be open on the upper floor of the heritage building until sunday, so drop in.

sun and fog

yesterday was a wonderfully warm and sunny late summer day - perfect for drying yarn. i've been working flat out trying to spin up as much yarn as possible to take up to woody point with me this coming week. today we woke to fog - a rare occurance here on the west coast of the island. because it's rare, i just love it. the moodiness. memories of walking to school in toronto on early autumn mornings. plaid wool skirts. not being able to see the school until you almost stumbled upon it.

assemblage

any time i'm getting ready for a show (this time it's next week's woody point's writer's festival), my thoughts and concerns turn to presentation. how to display the work most effectively. i finally have a stand to hang my yarn from. it's an assemblage of a heavy valve wheel for a base, a pick pole, and some dowels. i wanted the pole to resemble my knitting needles so topped it off with a dog ball that i painted.

shooting stars

my young husband and i moved to newfoundland in 1975. we lived in a small community outside of corner brook. coming from toronto, i had never seen such dark nights, so many stars. we took in our first "meteor shower" that first august. wrapped up in sleeping bags. drinking hot saki from a thermos. 20 years later i was divorced. in august my friend and i pulled the matress out of my cabin in dark cove and slept that night on the beach under a dome of shooting stars. last night keith and i stood in our backyard. a clear crisp night. an awe-inspiring display. kind of puts you in your place...

was that it?

unlike the rest of north america, the west coast of newfoundland hasn't had a particularly hot summer. lots of rain. a few warm days. this morning i woke to a chill in the house (lots of windows open during the night). cool enough to warrant turning on the propane fire while i sit at the computer. which is fine because i have alot of dyed fleece and spun yarn that i'm trying to dry.
i still haven't worn all my summer clothes and wonder if it's already time to put them away. will it be hot enough again this year to wear a sundress? was that it?

singing

keith's mother is from conche, a tiny community on newfoundland's northern penninsula. growing up, in a large family, with no electricity, entertainment meant singing. her brothers and sisters are scattered all over north america now. but when they get together - as they did this past weekend in conche. they sing. and they sang in the car driving up. and last night, with a slew of them over for dinner. they sang.

mussels in the corner

this past weekend saw the biggest ever folk music festival in st. john's. newfoundland is famous for its rich history of traditional music. this was my inspiration for a couple of skeins i made recently - "lukey's boat" and "mussels in the corner".

relaxed yet?

i spent all weekend finishing up 2 orders for st. john's. and today i start making yarn to take up to woody point with me next week. so yesterday afternoon was my "window" to get out into the garden. this summer has been so busy. my garden has been neglected. i scan the flowers as i rush out to the greenhouse for herbs. to pick a cucumber. in some spots all i can see is weeds. so facing this task yesterday was a bit overwhelming. when i garden i try to focus on just the area i'm with. get to know the plants after a long absence. but yesterday all i could think of was how much there was to be done. keith was mowing the lawn and re-organizing the shed (children's toys now into the back until next year). he sensed the state i was in and convinced me to take a break. sit back. feel the strong south westerly wind on my body. listen to the leaves in our tall poplar trees. relax. and i did. and then i gardened into the evening. and loved it.
ps.that's abigail sneaking peas.

saturday morning on sunday morning

i love our saturday morning routine. getting up a little later. breakfast then a walk down to west street with abby - picking up the saturday globe, coffees at brewed awakening and then the market on the majestic lawn. produce is coming in. yesterday i got some wonderful pesto and a garlic spread from colette at full-tilt and our weekly greens. and some little tomatoes from the greenhouse. our salad last night was the first of the season made only with locally grown produce. love this time of year.

just peachy

living on an island in the north atlantic, most of the food that i eat is not locally grown. this time of year i'm happy to be getting fruit that is grown in ontario (like these peaches) and not in california or malaysia. my favourite breakfast these days is sliced peaches with granola and yoghurt. here is my "sliced peaches with cream" yarn.

lavender

the garden is at its peak right now. one of my favourite plants is the lavender. the sharp clarity of its colour. the intense fragrance. i'm picking it now to dry. i include a sachet of lavender with every purchase of island sweet yarn from my etsy shop. and speaking of my shop - it's pretty bare right now. a few shawls and scarflettes. but all my yarn is going into orders and next week i'll be spinning yarn to take up to woody point for the writers festival. but late august i'll start loading it up with yarn again. just in time for autumn knitting.

a moment in the garden

with all the company so far this summer. with all the travel. and now once more being in full-swing making product for orders and craft shows. it's a delight to take time to wander around the garden early morning and take notice...