{gorgeous moments}

a friday weekly ritual (modified from its original inception), where i share a photograph or two (or more) featuring my favourite moment(s) from the week.

we have been walloped quite a bit lately with loads of uncontrollables. fortunately, each circumstance came with solutions, expensive though they may have been.

so our first date night this month was just the thing we needed. 

there's nothing like a walk and a chat along the beach to help our worn little souls reconnect.

english bay was the perfect backdrop. we are resolved to take the kids to the beach next weekend. not the riverside beach we frequent. but a beach next to ocean water, somewhere we can park for the afternoon so that the kids can rediscover the sand and tide.

the quiet company of wildlife would be welcome again, too.

---

on the kitty front, spike is coming home today. her most prominent condition seems to have stabilized and we are committed to keeping the old girl as comfortable and as pain free as possible. 

looks like we're skipping our one day a week this week in favour of some spring deep cleaning, the beginnings of it anyway. and maybe some gardening for the wife and the boy. 

we'll be making a conscious effort to enjoy the sun in any case. it's been just gorgeous.

i hope it's been just as beautiful in your world.

state of mind

: feeling like i'm cleaning all the time and the more effort i put into cleaning and tidying and organizing, the dirtier my home is. especially since we broke our vacuum.

: worried about my elderly cat and her quality of life. the vet's not done with the all the tests that rule out everything that may be wrong with her. and already the words hip arthritis and kidney failure have been thrown around. the fact that hip arthritis is a surety is unsettling. my cat only has 3 fully functioning legs. 


: not surprised that the first two points i've just made are related to the fact that we bought a carpet cleaner and a vacuum cleaner: our mother's day gifts to ourselves.


: embracing the warmth of spring but a bit sad that i have to put my boots away. 


: looking at the first adult-sized sweater i ever made at the blocking table. i haven't looked at it since i finished it. i can't wait to put it on.  


: amazed at how articulate the boy already is, having just turned 3.


: proud of how much the girl fends for herself and stands up for what she wants already, at 14 months old.


: looking forward to celebrating mother's day with parents we met at my prenatal class when i was pregnant with the boy. our kids are the same ages and we so enjoy the time we spend with their family.


: grateful that my wife summons the energy that she does every day.


: impatient for the date we have planned this friday.


: thankful that i have a very sweet cousin who is generous of his time and is so kind and gentle with my babes.


: excited that my brother and his long-time lady friend are coming for a visit in just two weeks.


: hoping my work efforts will pay off. or that i'm not over-thinking the scope of my current project.


: giddy that the poppies are arriving.

: wondering why in the world i'm still up at this time of night. (oh right. the living room still needs a tidy.)


: annoyed that there really isn't enough time in a day. 


: vowing to rethink i how spend my days (again).


: counting each and every one of my blessings. 

knit parade: belated anniversary socks

i know i gave myself a march deadline for these because i can get fairly delusional. it's nearly mid-may now, which makes this pair of anniversary socks nearly two months late.

sock pattern: how i make my socks by susan b. anderson
yarn: madelinetosh sock

i loved making these socks. i chose a very simple and straightforward pattern, for two reasons, really. first, so that the yarn could sing. and delicious it was. i loved watching the colourway reveal itself as i knit. and second, because these are only the second pair of socks i've ever worked on. so i knew i was in for a learning curve.

and a learning curve it was. 

you see the heels there? there are two different heel constructions. i misread the pattern instructions for making the heel on the first sock (if you care or know what i'm talking about, i slipped every other heel on both sides) and i didn't even realize it until i was at the same point in making the second sock.

i was honestly ready to rip out the first sock so i can reknit the section properly - but the wife was happy. she said the socks felt relatively the same - though if i was being honest, i would tell you that the first sock is less elastic than the second, at the heel. 

but when you lay each sock on top of each other, they are the same size. and the wife wore them to bed two nights in a row. so i think she likes them well enough. 

here are my feet, modelling the socks for you. (the wife wasn't on hand when i was ready to write this entry, unfortunately).

i can honestly attest to the fact that wearing hand knit socks really does feel like the warmest hug for your feet. i loved making socks so much that i've already cast on for my third pair of socks ever. the lady who wrote the sock pattern i am using, she has a drawer dedicated to hand knit socks. something to aspire to, no? 

i've had this yarn for two years. i've been trying to make a baby elf hat out of it - first for the boy, and then for the girl. i failed every time. i just kept getting confused. so the poor ball of yarn has been knit and ripped several times over now.

i did make the girl a pair of newborn booties with some of the yarn. (oh that baby girl! be still my beating heart!).

but as many knitting bloggers have come to realize before me (because i only have them as a reference), the yarn almost always knows what it wants to be. and this yarn wanted to be the first pair of socks i've ever made for me.

pattern: how i make my socks by susan b. anderson (again)
sock: misti alpaca hand painted sock yarn

fish and cat news

meet swimmy the red beluga, the newest member of our little family. 

swimmy was presented to the boy at a favourite chinese restaurant last week by a dear uncle, on account of the boy's obsession with fish.

he fluctuates between wanting "it died" (because he wants to give him the whole package of food and hold it out of the water) and taking care of it. such is the logic of a three year old. 

and while i am dreading the water changes with every fibre of my being, i am smitten anyway.

in other pet-related matters news, our dearest spike has been throwing up a lot in the last 24 hours. 

spike is 12. elderly, for a cat. and constantly subjected to toddler energy, which, unfortunately, she really does hate -  despite both toddlers' best efforts to endear themselves. 

her resistance to their charms probably has a little bit to do with the fact that it was she in our arms and in our bed before the babes arrived. i imagine she is quite bitter, actually. 

we found her on the internet when she was just a kitten and we adore her. 

so we are observing her closely and making sure she's eating and drinking and going to the bathroom. but it is worrisome. poor girl. i'm hoping that she'll get over it and be her old self again, especially because she is alert as ever. but i have a feeling we'll have to take her to the vet very soon, if not tomorrow.

feel better soon, pikers.

favourite things

: watching the pigeons alternate between flitting about and hanging out when i wait for the bus.

: sitting at the very back of the bus, stroller-free, and knitting nearly the whole way, to and from the office.

: my first lace project: a baptism shrug in the making for the girl.

: sharing a very favourite place with very favourite people.

: found objects, worn and weathered by time and elements.

: returning grass, new and spindly. and that boy there, digging his way through damp sand.

: a hug from my favourite little girl.

happy monday!