The Week that Was ...

It's been a week, I tell you! First the flood on Sunday night and then the aftermath of cleaning and creaking joints. By Friday I was ready for a TGIF so I went into town at noon and spent the afternoon with Tamarak and the evening with Tamarak and her Carino.

Tam and I hung her paintings for her next show ... at the Unitarian Church's Art Space ... and I decided to try to attend the service on Sunday when her show officially opens. i haven't been there for a very long time. They lost their ministers and I lost interest. Apparently they now have an interim minister who is inspiring. We had just pulled into Tamarak's driveway when I realized I had left my knitting bag sitting on the floor at Art Space! Damn! Back we went.

We ate soup, drank a cup of reviving tea and headed out to the Ottawa Potters' Guild show with Carino. There we saw some wonderful pottery and spent a bit of time talking to Carrie Leavoy who is one of the potters, a neighbour, our teacher, and the woman who is going to transform part of my bathroom into a space ringed by the Gatineau Hills this week. I bought two wine cups ... one of Carrie's with a crackle glaze outside and lined with a deep blue glaze, and a green one with Japanese influence.

Afterward I dropped my buddies off at their place, collected Kenya, and drove home through the teeming rain worrying all the way. When I wasn't worrying about seeing the road, I worried whether the rain was causing another flood. It would have been nice to stay for dinner but I was exhausted and would not have chanced a glass of wine in that weather.

At home all was well. Kenya and I ate and then curled up to watch a movie, drink wine and knit. I have three projects on the go right now: a baby blanket, a pair of socks in hand dyed sky blues, and a toque for Eric who came to help on Sunday night. I am knitting it in a Japanese hand dyed wool that is glorious. Mud Mama brought several from Gaspereau Valley Fibres. This one reminds me of glowering skies lit by lightning ... purples, golds, greens and deep sunset oranges which blend slowly into one another like watercolours. I will post photos later.

This morning I discovered lots of new goodies on the sites I haunt:

... a poem called "Not Here" by Rumi which captures why good enough is not

... an article by Heather Mallick for The Guardian on the seal fishery and our conflicted feelings about it

... and an introduction to a book I must read to Wild Thing called A High Wind in Jamaica. The comment that convinced me I had to read it was this:

"... children have no background for what should scare them, so that, when truly scary things do happen, like being kidnapped by pirates or getting caught in a hurricane, they simply make the best of it. The book is so dead on: I'd forgotten that kids feign ignorance to avoid awkwardness or that an armpit can be a fairy cave."

I am looking forward to a weekend of knitting, stream walking, and visiting another old haunt, the Unitarian church. Maybe I will also get to spend a bit of time with family and friends afterwards.