A Fortnight of News

Isn't fortnight a nice word? Short for fourteen-night, or two weeks. I learned that one when I was still pretty young, because it tends to crop up in the classic kids' books - Anne of Green Gables, Little Women, etc.

And it's been pretty close to a fortnight since I got around to blogging. Work's been busy, plus when you add in a few days where there were errands to do - well, there've been days when I basically got home, made supper, took Julia out, and went to bed. For the first time this past week though, I've had time to deadhead things at work, and I've been taking the bags of clippings home for my compost pile - bonus!

In that time, the garden has started to bloom. My old rosebush especially (I think it may be a Rosa cinnamomea) is covered in blooms.

My neighbors, on the other hand, upgraded their landscaping to include a plastic palm tree. I suppose it goes with the flamingos.

Knitting time on the bus has produced a pair of mittens for Johanne. Now, though, I'm working on my own stuff for a while (Yay, colour!). I'm planning to share a booth with Johanne and Chantal again for the Corn Festival back home, and that's only a month away, so time to stock up.

Less knitting at home, though, because I've got to get busy on the spinning. Looking ahead to the Guild show, end of October, which means handspun for selling and for knitting things to sell. And summer is here, which means dyeing season. Tour de Fleece is coming up, so I'm making that an excuse for getting back in the habit, even if I've only committed to being in Lanterne Rouge this year (participating but not necessarily spinning every day). So far for my 'training camp' I've gotten a skein of fine 2-ply silk/merino plied and off the bobbin, and am one skein into the 2-3 remaining to finish the Navaho-plied Icelandic I started, oh, last year sometime.

On the dyeing front, that's another thing coming at me, if not for a couple of months. It looks like I'll be teaching two full-day workshops on natural dyeing for L'Ourse Qui Danse, which should be fun. We're planning for end of August and late September, tentatively. I've got the basic timetable/lesson plan roughed out and discussed with Jo and Chantal, but at some point I will have to do the figuring to make sure I've got all the materials and supplies ready, and write the class handouts...

June is…

June is the month of roses, as the poets have sung. The rugosas are out all over the city, and my roses are out, pink and yellow, single and double, and all smelling as a rose should smell. I like the look of the hybrid tea roses, but for scent you can’t compare with the old, ruffled, short-lived roses.

June is the month of weddings, and I had my cousin’s to attend last Saturday. She had a lovely day, which was both a good thing, as the reception was in a tent on her parent’s front lawn, and a bad thing, as they (and many of the guests) are farmers, and given all the rain we’ve had, the loss of a whole day of work in nice weather for the wedding must have been an annoyance.

As with many weddings, a few things occurred which will furnish amusement for a while. The one leaving the biggest impression was probably that the poor groom was misnamed twice – once when the priest used the wrong name during the ceremony, almost marrying the bride to the assistant priest, and once during the speeches after supper where someone used the bride’s mother’s name instead.

June is the month of sheep shearing and school trips, which two got combined last Monday at Upper Canada Village. I was helping with demonstrating spinning that day as part of their Fabulous Fibers weekend. It’s always fun demoing, but this was the first time I’d done one where the audience was mostly school groups, and it felt odd, as there were always either 20 kids around or no-one. Harder to do the one-on-one stuff, and they want something to do or they move on, so a lesson for next year. What went over great with them was the Kool-Aid dyeing across the hall from us.

And finally, June is apparently the month to spring-clean, if you’re as lazy as I am. I felt inspired to clean Saturday morning (shock!). It happens so rarely I had to take advantage of the mood, and washed the windows and the dishes, and vacuumed and mopped, and sorted papers and project bags. I feel very pleased with myself!