Sunday 28 August 2011

The Joys of Summer (part 2)

Walk + Nature = Bliss!


Just got back from a summer trip around the Cascade Mountains in what my American neighbours call the Pacific Northwest.  I think of it as the Pacific Southwest, but since it's in their country I will let them have their way.

Living in Victoria, on clear days we are often treated to this view of Mt. Baker:



So for a summer trip J. & I decided on a nature pilgrimage to Mt. Baker and see the area from up close.

Our trip started with a ferry ride to Seattle aboard the Anacortes ferry to watch a few Mariners baseball games.  We then quickly proceeded to the mountains, heading East to Leavenworth, Lake Chelan, Stehekin, Mazama, Concrete, and finally Mt. Baker.

Just outside of Mazama we found a trail called the Maple Pass Loop.  It was the most amazing hike of my life, taking J. & I up to the top of a mountain bowl, walking through alpine meadows filled with flowers, sometimes walking through snow and gazing down at glacier lakes.


 




We had planned on hiking a number of trails on Mt. Baker, but because of the 90+ feet of snow which fell this year, many trails were covered with rapidly melting snow, which could be dangerous.  We wandered around a bit and saw these views:
 

We have sworn to return soon to explore some more!

Saturday 13 August 2011

July = Yellow

I bought a skein of yellow Tanis Fiber Arts wool  last summer when visiting relatives in Montreal.  It was July, the Tour de France was on, the weather was beautiful, so I easily succumbed to the appeal of yellow wool.  Sadly, upon return to Victoria the newly rolled-up wool spent an uneventful year stashed awaiting the perfect project.

Last July I found Star Athena’s «Tour de France » sock pattern and first made a pair for socks for myself, then altered the pattern to make a pair of fingerless gloves for Mom last Christmas.   I love this pattern because of the cables and moss stitch representing mountains and cobbles.  Very fun to make!



So July 2011 rolled around and it was finally time to put the beautiful yellow wool to good use.  I don't know why it took me so long to put this pattern & wool together.  I should have seen  before that Tour de France = Yellow, so therefore sock pattern = yellow skein.  July was the perfect month to start this project because that's when the Tour is on.

I have finished the right glove and took a few pics this week while visiting the beach in Deep Bay.  Still working on the left glove but it should be finished soon.  





Tuesday 2 August 2011

The Joys of Summer (part 1)

There are many obvious Joys of Summer such as:  vacations, heat, and sunlight.  I have a few of my own Joys, a variety of events I look forward to every year.

Joy #1 -  The Clothesline



When I was a kid in Montreal, my Mom used to hang clothes outside in the summer.  I think she probably did it to save money.  I didn’t particularly like the end result, especially not the sandpaper-like towels. 

Something happened since then, and now I can’t wait until it’s warm & sunny enough to dry clothes outside.  I could do it all year long, as one of my neighbors does, but that would likely mean bringing wet laundry back inside most days. 

My clothesline ritual usually begins sometime in June.  There’s something serene about hanging laundry outside and letting the sun dry it out.  Maybe it’s the slow mechanical act of hanging and folding clothes.  Maybe it’s because everything smells good once it’s dry.  Or it could be that letting the elements drying my laundry oddly fills me with glee.  I’ve even mysteriously grown to enjoy the rough towels.

My Mom still dries clothes out on a line, but places them in the dryer for 10 minutes when she brings them in “to kill all the bugs”.  I don’t have her bug problems unless the clothes spend the night outside.  Then I can expect small spiders or ants creeping out of the laundry basket.  I sometimes forget about this as in last week, when I went to my yoga class accompanied by a giant black ant who had hitched a ride on my towel.  Not cool.

Noteworthy:  My friend M.’s parents are in their 80s and have never owned a dryer.  They have a giant clothesline which runs through their basement.  They use it year-long.  Epic.

There was a time when neighborhoods would outlaw clotheslines because they were unsightly.  How 1st World!  Not sure whether this is still the case.  I just know that when the air gets warm and sweet smelling, I can’t wait to start using the line again.

When I was a kid in Montreal, my Mom used to hang clothes outside in the summer.  I think she probably did it to save money.  I didn’t particularly like the end result, especially not the sandpaper-like towels. 

Something happened since then, and now I can’t wait until it’s warm & sunny enough to dry clothes outside.  I could do it all year long, as one of my neighbors does, but that would likely mean bringing wet laundry back inside most days. 

My clothesline ritual usually begins sometime in June.  There’s something serene about hanging laundry outside and letting the sun dry it out.  Maybe it’s the slow mechanical act of hanging and folding clothes.  Maybe it’s because everything smells good once it’s dry.  Or it could be that letting the elements drying my laundry oddly fills me with glee.  I’ve even mysteriously grown to enjoy the rough towels.

My Mom still dries clothes out on a line, but places them in the dryer for 10 minutes when she brings them in “to kill all the bugs”.  I don’t have her bug problems unless the clothes spend the night outside.  Then I can expect small spiders or ants creeping out of the laundry basket.  I sometimes forget about this as in last week, when I went to my yoga class accompanied by a giant black ant who had hitched a ride on my towel.  Not cool.

Noteworthy:  My friend M.’s parents are in their 80s and have never owned a dryer.  They have a giant clothesline which runs through their basement.  They use it year-long.  Epic.

There was a time when neighborhoods would outlaw clotheslines because they were unsightly.  How 1st World!  Not sure whether this is still the case.  I just know that when the air gets warm and sweet smelling, I can’t wait to start using the line again.