New Blog....AGAIN!

Please see my new blog:

http://iyearnforyarn.typepad.com

Guess what I got in the mail...

Check out the cool package I got from my yarn pal! The package she sent it to me in is truly gorgeous. It's a case with pictures of tea from around the world on it. Does she know me, or what? I wonder what's inside!



Treasures galore! Some DPNs in the size I need to make the cabled footies from the One Skein book, a recipe card for her favourite tea cookies, a box of delectable tea, and a skein of Lorna's Laces in Rain....just what I had been coveting!



Here is a closer look. The colours are SO BEAUTIFUL! Thank you so much, Secret Yarn Faerie! I can't wait to learn who you really are next month!

So my lack of posting has mainly been due to the fact that it's summer and with summer comes the activities and fun that sometimes limit your time in front of the computer. We've been busy with another wedding, visiting Canada, hosting visitors from Canada, and other summer stuff. Being in class two nights a week doesn't help either. I am really enjoying my class but I will be glad when class is over in the beginning of August.

So good news...I have been promoted! I have never been promoted before, not because I wasn't a good worker, but because I was in junior positions where there was no where to move up or because I was in a contract position. So this is a first for me! And I'm really excited. I got the word on Friday and I start my new job on Monday.

In knitting news, I am making progress on my Florida bag. I have finished the Watermelon and Sunflower bands. I must start to make more time for knitting, aside from when we're driving to Canada! ;)

Our weekend roadtrip part 2, and other oddities

So that was Saturday and Sunday.

Monday we got up and went with Anna to her pottery studio, where the magic happens. Anna is such a talented potter. She had to finish up some bells that she was working on, so we went to see where she works.

Oh, and I almost forgot. Anna and Bart went to Bangkok, Thailand earlier this year and Anna brought back this beautiful Thai silk scarf for me.

So we hit the road after lunch at a great little Italian restaurant. John was asking me if there was anything I wanted to do on the way home. We stopped at the PA Visitor's Information site, and we found some neat brochures for some shops in Amish country. We headed for a short detour to Intercourse, PA which is right in the heart of Lancaster County which has one of the largest Amish populations in the area of the country. There were handmade quilts, furniture, pottery, preserves, clothing...and it was so much fun to see. We went to one place and got some jams and jellies to try and bought a Shoo Fly Pie too. It tastes a lot like pecan pie, but without the pecans...delicious!

But the best part of our little side road adventure was the little yarn shop we found. John knew we would have to go in, and it was great. They had the standard fare, but they also had fleece ready to be spun, hand spindles, and some great handspun, hand-dyed yarn. And I bought this:

The top skein is alpaca, 600 yards of it, and the bottom skein is regular wool. Both as they came off of their respective animals. Here is a closer peek of the alpaca, it has a dark brown fiber, a grey fiber, and a lighter brown fiber all wound together....it is so beautiful, I wish I had bought more.

Then we continued the drive home. We stayed in NY state on Monday night, and then drove to John's parents' cottage in Wolcott for Tuesday. It rained heavily on and off all day, but we had a nice day with the family.

Unfortunately it was back to reality for Wednesday. Now that the holiday weekend is over, I have class two nights a week now until the beginning of August. EEEKKKKK! That makes for a lot of busy time, not so much knit time. We did decide to slow down and take a breather this weekend, though. My brother came down to visit Friday night, and we went to the Kendall Carnival. Yesterday I went to dinner, the mall and the movies to see Cars with Karen and Eric and the kids. It was a really cute movie. Today is chores and knitting day. I've finally started on my Florida bag, but I've really only cast on so there will be no pictures of that now. And I have to get started on my project for my One Skein Secret Pal exchange...what to knit...?

Our weekend road trip

One of my favourite things to do is to spend time with good friends. Over the long weekend, John and I went to visit our friends Anna and Bart in Baltimore. I haven't seen Anna since she came up to join me for a Knit Knite back in January, so it's been a while. And we had a great visit and a great weeekend.

We left Saturday for the drive down. We drove through the hills of Pennsylvania, and it was beautiful. It reminded me so much of the drive to New Brunswick, which I have done almost every summer of my life. Such great memories...We arrived just before dinner and just in time for the Canada Day Party! Both Anna and Bart are Canadian, and many of the friends they have made in Baltimore are Canadian as well, so we celebrated in true Canadian style with Canadian beer, back bacon on a bun (among other tasty dinner items), and maple leaf cookies and Nanaimo bars. There was even a Canadian trivia game with a prize pack. I was not able to participate due to my "advantage" of being Canadian, but it was a great prize pack, complete with Tim Horton's coffee from the Albion store (not quite a Canadian store, but we did the best we could).

Sunday we ventured out around town. It was brutally hot, so that did hinder us a little. I don't deal well with heat. We went to Fort McHenry, where a battle happened that inspired the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. That was neat to see.

Then we went to the Inner Harbor, which had a lot of neat shops, the Aquarium, and a huge entertainment complex. It was very nice. Here Anna and I are at the Inner Harbor.

For dinner, we went to a local chain restaurant and had crab dip and Old Bay seasoning on our french fries (my Dad brought that back to our home years ago so I already knew how much I loved it!). Bart and John each got a 20 ounce hamburger! And they each ate the whole thing!