spring forward

last night we moved the clocks ahead. the days will be longer. although there is still plenty of snow on the ground this is spring. i've learned over my 30 years living in newfoundland, that this is spring. that the light is spring.

on the other side of the world

i always feel a thrill when i make a sale in california and think of just how far away my yarn and scarves are travelling. well, i woke this morning to a sale of 2 skeins going to queensland australia. although sales of yarn will slow down here in north america as spring and summer come, fall and winter are coming on there. "pansy" is a skein i just listed yesterday.

exposed

in the winter i teach wednesday and friday afternoon. so thursday is my "domestic" day - cleaning, groceries etc. for weeks now, every thursday has been sunny. the light streaming into the house is strong. it guides me in my cleaning but also shows me just how dirty the house has got. so - in may when my orders are complete. when i've had a chance to do a good cull. i'm hiring someone to come in and help me clean. the floors. the walls and baseboard. the woodwork and windows the furniture moving. the in-behind and underneath. a good old-fashioned spring clean. a gift to myself.

the scope

this past weekend i was invited to write an article for the scope's diy column on how to set up an etsy shop. the scope is a st. john's weekly entertainment magazine. i was happy to do it. you know i love etsy. a wonderful support and opportunity for anyone making or wanting to buy handmade. it's made it possible for me to live in a small community on the west coast of newfoundland and show my product to the world... the article should be appearing this week.

takin' a bite out of winter

yesterday was balmy. in corner brook it got up to 10 degrees celcius. in the morning it rained so by afternoon inches of snow had melted. grass appeared along the side of the house and the base of the trees. we'll get more snow but this is the beginning of the end of winter.

what counts

i spent yesterday afternoon with my friend. we both live busy lives. weeks and even months can go by without seeing each other. although we live in the same small community, we usually rely on email and quick phone calls to keep in touch. so yesterday afternoon i picked up a movie (viky christina barcelona - a wonderfully cinematic movie - great to "revisit" barcelona - hadn't been there since 1971!), took my knitting and settled down in her house on the hill, ice pellets beating against the windows. curled up on the couch with tea, the dogs (abigail visited too) and wonderful warm conversation. this afternoon will stick in my mind. this is what counts...

we had a party!

corner brook often hosts large sports events - international triathlons, newfoundland summer games etc. but never before such a big arts event. the east coast music awards were held here over the past 4 days and what a party it was! to help celebrate, and to reach a new market, about a dozen of us set up a little craft fair on saturday and sunday. i had wonderful sales - a little yarn but mostly shawls and scarves. i felt that this crowd "got" what i was doing and wanted to have it. a wonderful feeling. maybe i should just follow musicians around...