Tid Bits on Labour Day

On my way home from garage saling on Saturday morning (I spent $2 and got two great gourds, a picture frame and a display shelf for painting) I saw three deer. The two young ones were very curious ... too curious ... and their mother had to return mid-flight to remind them to get off the road. After telling them, she leapt over the fence into the safety of the field. The little ones did what little ones often do ... started after her (under the fence) but then came back out onto the road for one last look. I wonder if they will survive the next year.

Still on the subject of very relaxed wildlife: a black bear and her cub came to my neighbour's yard to eat apples. The sow reared up and pulled the branches down to mouth level and ate till satisfied. Then ... she lay down on the ground under the tree and fell asleep while her cub played nearby. That is very odd behaviour for a black bear when people are nearby.

Corey, the very sad Golden, was picked up on Saturday afternoon, and changed from depressive, near suicidal state into bouncy happy dog as soon as he laid eyes on his daddy. He shed five years in an instant. That is the first time I have seen that but I seldom look after Golden Retrievers who are said to be the most loyal dogs anywhere.

Zeke left the following day at noon. I will miss his warm little body snuggled into bed with me at night, but I won't miss the alarm barking that kept me awake most of the three nights he was here.

The corn roast: The horseshoe tournament was almost interminable, and as a result, I drank too much before the food finally arrived, but I arranged to have the siding installed by the carpenter who installed our pine floors (and a good friend of Erin's), I met a couple of people I didn't know before, and our old next door neighbours arrived to chat for a few minutes ... so I had a good time.

I finished the pair of adult socks in Congo colours I have been working on. I measured the last sock in movies: it took 71/2 movies to knit it. Quick reviews: The White Countess VG;Captain Corelli's Mandolin VVG; Pretty Woman S(sucky but satisfying for someone who wants happy endings);Sylvia VG but depressing; The Hours Excellent but also depressing;Paper Moon Affair VG; The Squid and the Whale VG; Shall We Dance (the Japanese version) VVG. That is 810 minutes per sock ... or 1620 minutes for a pair. So ... 27 hours to knit a pair of adult's fine wool socks. The wool cost me about $10. I will receive $28 if they sell, so I will receive $18 for 27 hours of knitting. Hmmmn! 66 cents per hour ... maybe I should start wearing the socks I am making!

After Zeke left, I resumed work on the cradle. It is always scary for me to take the first step drawing something, especially something new. My first thought is that I don't know how to draw so I will screw up. Then I have to keep on reassuring myself that no screw-up is irrevocable; that there is always sandpaper and more paint for repair jobs. Only then (and it often takes days) will I pick up the chalk and begin. Anyway I have now done the drawing of the main image: a horse with three children on his back flying through the sky to dreamland. The other images will be of counting sheep and of animals snuggled into bed reading their bedtime stories.

This morning I received word that an old friend and colleague had died. She was my age. I seem to be hearing about far too many deaths or impending deaths lately. I guess it is inevitable at my age, but I am reminded of a poem about a single leaf hanging on at the end of fall. "He" was feeling bereft but was still unable to let go and join "his" fellows.

A Quiet Blog

Most blogs seem quieter in the summer. My excuse is that my computer is in the only part of my house that is hot during the day. I could switch over to the laptop but it requires a good bit of organization and I don't feel up to it these lazy hazy days. And, of course, I'd rather be painting or playing in the water with my dog and my kayak.

This morning I got up bright and early and headed off while it was still cool to catch the last days of the business card sale. I would pick up fresh veggies at my favourite fresh produce store and then come home to relax at the lake. I got about two kilometres when I realized I really didn't want to waste a single day of this late summer, and I could always get produce a little more expensively in Wakefield, and the business card saving, while substantial, was not worth driving to town in sweltering heat. So ... I turned around and came home. Kenya was confused. I felt relieved and much freer than I had an hour earlier.

Later I will drive into Wakefield for the produce and stop at the library to use their computer to attempt to create the order on-line ... an impossibility on my dial-up system.

And ... the other reason for my failure to blog regularly is that I have been preoccupied with living life rather than blogging about it. One of these days I will likely blog about that too, but not just yet.

So, what will I do with the time and energy I have saved by staying home today?

I will complete the picky painting on the second cat chair. I am getting strong hints from the shop to get it finished.

I will start the decorative painting on the little periwinkle doll's crib. I have decided to use an image from Swaziland ... whimsical and sweet for a child's toy. It is a whole bunch of Africam animals snuggled into bed with a night sky behind them. I will likely complete the project with other African-inspired designs ... but in colours that will complement the periwinkle. Then I will put a little cotton mattress and pillow in to complete the effect. And maybe include a sleeping baby animal. I am having fun with this one.

Tomorrow I will continue that work and perhaps even get the polyurethaning started on the cat chair.

Tamarak and Carlos are coming to visit today and I am looking forward to that. The lake is now Carlos temperature so maybe he will join the women and dogs this time instead of staying on the deck shivering in sympathy.

I hope you all enjoy your first real summer weekend.

Whoosh! Updated

Another flying visit is over. Mud Mama, Maurice, Sprout and Micah all left this morning to return to Nova Scotia, leaving behind them lots of dog hair, several items placed out of reach of 1 1/2 year old hands, and an empty space in my heart. I always breathe a sigh of relief when they leave and then feel as though I'm much more alone than I was before they arrived. This time, however, they will be back in a month so it's easier.

Daughter #2 has come through her surgery with flying colours and no invasion of the lymph nodes ... I am breathing again.

I started cleaning a couple of hours ago and am now melting ... and my place is cool compared to the city. Kenya and I are going to take a swim as soon as I finish this post. Tonight I will try out the yoga class again and tomorrow I will get two more DVD holders from Ikea. Then I will paint a table to put into that niche in the living area and create a painted shelf to secure the four tall skinny cabinets together and anchor them to the wall. As soon as I name the photos taken with my new camera I will retrieve and post them so you can see what I mean.

Then it will be back to the chairs and the knitted socks. I am attending a meeting of interested artisans who live near Wakefield on Friday evening. We are trying to set up some kind of artisans' co-op so that we can work together to sell our products without having to always be with our things.

The camera is proving its ability by taking excellent photos of Kenya. It is very hard to take a good photo of a black dog with an inferior camera. Soon you will be able to see just how beautiful she is without having to smell her now that she is swimming every day and trapping smelly things in her, still-shedding, undercoat.

The first photo I have tried to upload is the Sprout in motion ... WHOOSH! ... it is taking a very long time ... hope that doesn't mean that the camera is incompatible with dial-up! Can anyone tell me how to save these photos in a smaller format? I am an absolute novice with an SLR and know far too little about the technology we all use daily. I have been trying for half an hour and am now giving up.

I must get ready for my day!