Just a few pictures of our new Grandkitty.......

His name is Montgomery Clift. Monty for short. He's a little older than two months now. My DS found this half pint at the local SPCA, and his life just got a little busier.Monty is an indoor cat, but loves sitting by the front door watching the goings on in the park across the street.

His toys are too many to mention. He has no fear even with this skateboard.

He's a boy's boy. He loves everything that moves and will chase until he plops down exhausted. I didn't know cats love to play tag, but this little fellow loves to run up behind you and tag you in the back of the legs and run past you as if to say, 'Tag, you're it!"A peaceful moment.

It seems the Olympics are still in the news,

......and I was in Vancouver during that time, for a month and a half for personal reasons, and I thought I'd share some pictures of where DD and I ventured.......The crowds of people on Granville.

Looking south on Granville and Robson. More crowds.

The Olympic Flame. This was as close as you could get to it. I took the picture through a chain link fence which went around the perimeter. You could only get in closer if you were a dignitary, athlete, olympic staff, police, or Wayne Gretzky.Downtown Vancouver just before sunset.

Canada Place looking toward North Vancouver. If you look at the upper portion you'll see some lights which is Cypress Mountain where Olympic skiing events were taking place. A Russian Tall Ship at Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.

A visit to Vancouver Aquarium in Stanley Park. Very colourful.

Vancouver Art Gallery all decked out for the Olympics.

A visit to White Cliff Park in West Vancouver with the most important people in my life.

Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory on Robson in downtown Vancouver. Yumm. Made too many trips here for anything chocolate.

How can a person choose!?

Oh Lord....chocolate.This made me happy just looking at it for about 10 days. As well as my knitting and reading blogs gave me needed distraction while in Vancouver. There was a fair amount of knitting going on...one of the finished projects....The Haruni Shawl designed by Emily Ross. A free pattern on Ravelry.comI used Knit Picks Gloss Lace, 70%Merino, 30% Silk. Colourway
Aegean. I used two strands of lace as I wanted a shawl with a little more weight. So I bumped up my needle size to 4.00mm Addi Turbo Lace circular needles.
I saw this shawl on Smoking Hot Needles and fell in love with the border. It was fun to knit up and it went very fast and has already been mailed out as a gift to a friend.Oh and I can't forget we finally met up with a little chap we had heard so much about and finally got to meet. Introducing Jean-Pierre Manning. (aka Muscles for short).

It's taken me awhile........

But I'm slowly coming back to blog. We've suffered a devastating loss of our dear Nathan on February 13, 2010. He was our daughters fiance, son to Wayne and Kathy, and brother to Caleb. A talented Artist, Designer, and Skateboarder n.matthews.com. He fought with such courage for nine months that it's hard to believe that he succumbed to testicular cancer at the age of 29.

Our daughter and Nathan's family, and extended family will forever feel the loss of Nathan who impacted so many in such a short time. He was an inspiration to all who knew him.

Nathan, words cannot express how much you meant to us, and how much we miss you.

With permission I'm posting my daughters blog entry dated March 3, 2010. (n.lathe.com)

19 days ago, I lost the love of my life. He fought a courageous battle, and most often with a smile on his face and determination that surprised most people. Our statistics were good at the beginning…98% cure rate. Who could argue with that? But they’re just numbers, and not a certainty. There is still that lingering, dark cloud of 2% that leaves you wondering. That 2% that you ignore and think “That won’t be us.” But it happens.

If I could find any reasoning or answer in this, it’s that I hope we’ve learned something. Hopefully Nathan’s fight with cancer will teach the medical community a little bit more about testicular cancer, which will lead to more lives saved.

I really wish he didn’t fall in that 2%. I wish he was still laying in bed next to me. I wish he could’ve held my hand in the rain a couple nights ago. I wish I could hear him tell me he loves me, just ONE MORE TIME. But he can’t…and I’ve accepted that loss, but it certainly doesn’t make it easier.

He was my inspiration. He was my best friend. I love him more than words can even describe. The past two weeks have shown me what real heartbreak is, but the past year has taught me what true love is.

I miss you.

A girl's gotta have a new dress for the New Year.....

Too shy....

And just when I'm in the middle of doing laundry, and cleaning the bathroom....everything had to stop. I had a hankering to make Noodles a bracelet, and take some pictures. This looked pretty on her for two seconds, and then it ended up being a toy that rolls along the floor really nice.

What was completed over the Christmas holidays. Drops Design Pattern No.116-7. Free from Garnstudio.Snow Glade Mittens by Patricia Lewis. I'm using my own handspun Alpaca for the white, and the green contrasting yarn is Noro Kureyon Sock yarn. I'm using 6" Harmony 2.25 dpn's from Knit Picks. Love these double points.
A short video of how cooperative Anna can be with just a scratch under the chin.

Wishing you a Happy New Year and All the Best for 2010!!

Just a Few Images.........

We're back from Vancouver visiting DD. Her and her boyfriend Nathan live in the downtown area which explains the following pictures.I loved this window which was huge. It reminded me of some castle window I might find in England.

We took the new Canada Sky-Train from the airport to the Waterfront Station where the hotel was. This train line was finished in September of this year, and I believe was part of the plan for the Olympic crowds which will be arriving sometime in Jan/Feb. 2010. The view from our hotel room at the Fairmont Waterfront.

In the evening.....We took the SeaBus over to Lonsdale Market in North Vancouver. How much more Christmas can it be watching this children's school choir?

The tugboats outside Lonsdale market.Seabus ride from North Vancouver back to downtown Vancouver...Canada Place in the background to the right.More shopping the next day over at Daiso at Aberdeen Mall in Richmond. Of course we had to check out the wedding dress shop.A perfume shop with a pretty display of samples.A goofy lunch at the mall.Dinner that evening was at Foundation (A view from our table) on Main Street, Vancouver.

After dinner we took a drive around Stanley Park to take a look at the Olympic rings.The shopping highlight of the weekend was when I stopped in at Dressew on Hastings Street. Nashua yarn motherload at $1.99/ball!!!! You know you picked the right man when he can be convinced to stuff yarn in his suitcase until it's near bursting. Thank you Dale you don't know how happy that yarn made me. ;) XOXOMiss you Nathan and Nino!!!!! We had a really good time!!

Baby it's cold outside........

-27 Celsius this morning and the frost was on the windows. No going outside for the kitties today!I just love the lace like effect on windows. When working on my stained glass projects my favourite glass has to be glue-chip which is the same as what frost on a window looks like.

On to my next obsession which is getting some mittens knit up. Drops Design pattern No. 116-7 from Garnstudio.com pattern. Everytime I go on this website I feel like I need to shout it out.....all these designs are free for the taking people!! So I'm rockin' with Drops patterns right now. I'm using Noro Kureyon, colour 194. The long colour changes make for a really interesting mitten. The black is from my stash, Gaella Irish worsted knitting wool. Front view of mitten.

Back view or the palm side of mitten. Still have to finish the thumb and then block it. I've started the second mitt while we were watching the Canadian Curling Olympic play offs here in Edmonton.

Finished project which I blogged about earlier....yup I am finishing stuff around here.

I'm lovin the cables right now, and I would be further along on this if it wouldn't be for the mittens right now...yeah I'll blame it on the mittens ;)

A quick video of who keeps my lap warm while I'm on the computer. My sweet Noodles.