"Stupid Is As Stupid Does".....Bryan outside Bubba Gumps Shrimp Store.

And more pictures....a little Conch cottage in Key West, the Miami skyline, the view from our porch on Grassy Key and finally....tah dah....Rosie O'Donell's Miami home...love it.

Some pictures from our recent Florida vacation.

It's green outside!

Well, here I am, another year older.

The weekend project....ta-da....my "Florida" Bag. It is reversible - stripes-to-floral and convertible - over-the-shoulder or carry-by-hand. I'm very pleased with this effort.

.................in two weeks we will be here.....who said we were tripping south too late in the season....we won't be missing any warmth here that is for sure......I think we must be the only Canadians that have not visited Florida......April 25 Jann Arden concert......April 26 to Miami.....then straight to Florida City and the Everglades......down to Marathon to Bonewish "Resort" for 5 days....visit all the keys....back to Miami for 2 days and then home to spring......yes it will be spring....the flowers will be up.....the grass will be green......and the snow will be gone!

My attempt at bringing some Spring to the front...these poor little daffs are fozen solid...this picture was taken just before the snow!
A slippery landing spot for the birds...a frosty drink for them too!












Hardy little crocuses

The snow has gone the snow has gone!

The snow drops are up.

And I've been shopping at the Unwind Yarn House spring sale.

The rust coloured Aran "tweed" is Kathmandu and I can't wait to make something with this silk blend...perhaps a lace pattern shawl. The ivory yarn, Rown Summer Tweed, is also a silk blend. Not sure what that will become yet. The lovely coloured wool is for the wrap sweater pictured in the book. This Freedom Spirit colour is called "soul". I made a slouchy tam from the same yarn in a rich red colourway. Very nice to work with.

A picture of our frozen window, from last week. The snow has melted...in two days. I have eaten all my points today and I'm hungry and it is only 8:20 p.m. oh sigh. But, I am feeling good about this W.W. thing.

Karen and I are going to Canada Blooms tomorrow afternoon/evening. I just can't wait....a breath of spring is so needed right now.

I'm hungry, saving some "points" for later tonight. Weight Watchers has been going very well...down 7 lbs. as of today after one month and one week. I am happy and will try to make these dietary changes last for a lifetime. Still a way to go...um like 23 more pounds...my goal is to have the weight off my TIFF!

I've been watching "A Year in Provence"....half-way through the "Spring" episode. It is great knitting viewing. Working on "Claude"....the back is done. I'm happy with the progress so far. Anna writes the most simple directions and the most beautiful designs http://autoscopia.com/amelia/ I'm just about ready to start the front cables. I think I trip to "Courage My Love" http://ca.geocities.com/ceceandstewart/buttons.html is in order to find the perfect buttons.

Look what the postlady brought me today...my March Break get-away books. On the weekend I knit a pair of cotton fingerless mitts for spring...how nice they go with my tapestry "jean" jacket. And lastly, a self-portrait to watch the W.W. progress.

What a difference the sun makes

I'm knitting like a house on fire...this is the "Claude" cardigan, cotton/angora...yum.

I GO Girl

Check out the progress from today.

Soon is now! I started "Claude" last night....here is a quicky & fuzzy picture....I love working with Debbie Bliss Cotton and Angora blend...and I think this pattern will be a good one for me....easy with a few challenging bits. I am loving the colour I picked.

Gas? Gas? Gas? Prices are rising and supply is decreasing. This is the talk buzzing around Ontario today. Umm, now it is getting just a wee bit scary - we run a service business and need to get around York and Simcoe region to do our work. The noon news is talking about the affect on the trucking industry - the industry that brings food and supplies to our stores. Uh Oh. And now the news has switched to the doctor's shortage.

I think I'll turn the news off, put my head in the sand, and go back to my knitting.

Monday morning and my mind is wandering...can't focus on the accounts just now....another java needed I think. While I gear myself up for work, I thought I'd post a couple of new pictures.

One is another picture of the Oxford knee(s) I will be getting. Nifty eh? I certainly hope so. This surgery is called "minimally invasive".

The next group of photos.........my constant search for the perfect hair "do". I think I'll try short now/again/for a change/because it is easier to manage!!! If I don't like it - it will grow - and it seems to grow fast these days.

Ok back to work and exercise for the brain.

Knitting is going well, especially when I choose a pattern that is simple to remember, I can watch movies and knit. That is "zen" for multi-tasking :>). This summer top is made from 100% hemp. Hemp feels rough and scratchy until it is washed...then it transforms itself to a lovely soft fabric.

Backyard winter snap.....just to show you we do have snow...not that much, but enough to remind us that it is still winter and it is still cold.

Finished Object

Started: February 14th Finished: February 17th.

February; knitting weather; February has been good for providing knitting time. Who wants to go back outside in the evening after battling the snow to and fro work? I wouldn't. I don't have to. But I wouldn't want to, and I am grateful. After a day in my warm home office, a little walk, or sometimes I sit on the back patio facing the sun, anything to get some air, I'm ready to put my feet up and knit. February is the cruelist month but it is a good knitting month.

Snow now and more snow but not as much snow as places around us. It is also a deep freeze out there...cold enough to freeze your nose hairs, take your breath away, and give you brain freeze if you are not careful.

Here is a warming photo that I lifted from my friend's daughter's site. What an adventure she is having.

New Knees....still awhile off...March 11, 2008 to be exact but at least it will be done. The inside of both knees are now rubbing bone on bone...crikey no wonder I am in pain. I am a perfect candidate for the Oxford knee - partial knee replacement - and I will have this done on both knees at the same time. I will be "in training" for a year ...... get down to my target weight, work the muscles around my knee all to hopefully provide me with a better recovery.

Yahooooooo.....got my Jann Arden tickets....yes again! You cannot be surprised...I will see Jann in concert every time she comes to Toronto. This time Bryan will be coming (some what reluctantly) and my cousin Doug and his wife Shirley - Shirley will also be coming somewhat reluctantly. Those two (our spouses) seem to have the notion that Jann Arden concerts are "depressing" phffff. No so...they are so much fun. Doug and I will have a blast and the other two - well they can leave with fond memories of dinner at "Frans" before. Some new photos are at www.jannarden.com

Man alive it is getting harder and harder to get tickets, let alone good seats. We will be in row R at Massey Hall so I will need to bring myself a little booster seat. Massey Hall is as old as dirt and there is very little elevation from the front to the back. The next best tickets I could get were in the gallery! I think not.

Sometime last year my niece asked me if I would like to see Syrena Ryder. I didn't know who she was, wasn't able to make it the concert/festival and then suddenly, somehow, somewhere last week, I heard Syrena sing. I'm hooked. She is fabulous. She is soulful....so full of soul for such a young thing. Check her out at http://www.serenaryder.com/ and please listen to her version of Leonard Cohen's "Sisters of Mercy".

A finished object!! Yay. Started January 24/07 - Completed February 7/07. A FIRST for moi - completing something and doing it so quickly.

The twisted 't' top completed - blocked pressed and ready to go. I just need some summer weather.

A close-up of the bottom edge where I had to pick up stitches and knit down to add more length. I think you can see the decorative straight edge where I picked up stitches and then I played around with some yarn-over stitches to add a little something.