beauty day

yesterday turned into a beauty day. we haven't had much sun lately and the temperatures have really been dropping. so with the glorious warm sunshine yesterday i broke from work early and in the late afternoon i started my fall clean-up in the garden. my reasoning was "i'm always going to be busy. why not get out into the garden on the nice days and do a bit at a time rather than waiting until late oct when the whole experience will be miserable." so my little raised veggie garden is cleaned out - the last of the beans and cucumbers and zucchinis. the compost added. the soil turned. feels good.

remembering to take a breath

it's mid-sept. and this time of year, crafts people (myself included) are working flat out. i'm finishing up a big craft council shop order this week and next week will be devoted to spinning up an order for a good yarn shop in st. john's. then on all my attention will be on product for the toronto one of a kind. long hours. restless nights.
so it's very important to occassionally look up and breathe. yesterday morning barb had myself and tess and brenda over for brunch. her new home is bright and uncluttered. a place for clear thought. good food and good conversation. i came back home to my clutter. refreshed and inspired and stronger.

borscht

every week at our tiny market there is some new vegetable that has been harvested. we have only two producers right now, but both local and both organic so i love getting my produce from them. yesterday it was beets from colette and in the rainy afternoon, knitting, with the fire going, i had a wonderful pot of borscht cooking.

gentle

keith is a gentle man. his love for and treatment of animals was one of the many things that attracted me to him 14 years ago. he was more than willing to become vegetarian when we moved in together (and for the same reasons i was). he doesn't hunt moose.
keith especially loves birds and working in the shipping deptartment down at the paper mill - with the big loading sheds - is often rescuing birds who have flown in and can't find their way out. last week he told me about finding a kingfisher dead in the shed. he normally would bury it, but knowing how much it loved the water, he wrapped it in paper towel and tipped it into the water - a burial at sea.
last evening a little bird flew at our window and knocked itself out. keith found it and held it and stroked it until one eye opened, then the other. it's rapid heartbeat calmed. and then eventually it flew off - joined by another bird that had been waiting for it. that little bird chose the right window to fly into!

harvesting

with lots of rain in the forecast for the next few days, i decided yesterday morning to dig up my garlic. this is the first time i've grown garlic successfully (last year i planted the cloves in the spring and discovered later that they should be planted the previous fall). i'm delighted with the results and will get more into the ground in a few weeks. the peas and beans are almost finished. still lots of cucumbers and zucchinis and this week we are eating tomatoes. i love growing and eating my own food...

a night for moses

7 weeks ago ann marie shirran went missing in st. john's. last week her body was found and this week her boyfriend (and father of her child) was charged with her murder. ann marie was from the west coast of the province. i didn't know her but i was good friends with her brother mike who tragically died in a car accident 5 years ago. the whole province is feeling sad and enraged and impotent.
next week ( thurs. sept.16th) a benefit concert will be held to raise money for a trust fund for 1 year old moses. it takes place at the upper level bar room on broadway (beside the subway) from 7pm on. or donations can be made through paypal (check out the facebook page "a night for moses"). it's one little thing we can do...

sometimes i say yes

i usually say no to commissions. i find them difficult. a person usually has something so specific in mind (colour, style) that it's almost impossible to please. but a request i received last week was too enticing to pass up.
a woman who saw my work at the toronto one of a kind show in toronto last november had fallen in love with a skein of yarn that had just been purchased by someone else. she is about to re-decorate her bedroom and wanted to use the colours from that skein - yellows and greys and white. she already had a dark grey dresser and a light grey duvet cover, white walls and drapes. she asked if i would make her a throw (for over a chair or at the end of the bed) and she would use the yellows in the throw for accent. i finished it yesterday and sent her photos and she's pleased. i love that a small skein of my yarn has inspired a whole room...