My Neighbourhood was YARN BOMBED!!!

Yarn bombing, according to wikipedia, is a type of graffiti or street art that employs colourful displays of knitted of crocheted yarn rather than paint or chalk.

I finished reading "Call the Midwife" so I'm all ready to watch the premier tonight on PBS - yay!

Now I'm reading this paperback I picked  up at Goodwill a few weeks ago:

...which - according to Amazon - features twenty-eight entertaining short stories about quilts and quilters collected from the pages of classic magazines such as "Harper's Bazaar", and "Good Housekeeping", introducing you to the captivating worlds of quilters in other times and places. From courtings that nearly go astray to husbands and wives brought together by quilts to quilters obsessed with securing scraps, "Love of Quilts" has something for every quilter. Fascinating fiction, these stories also provide important social history. This book also includes a bibliography of quilt fiction and a time line that lists American quilt fiction, plays, poems, and patterns published from 1845 to 1940.

What I'm reading, and What I'm swooning over

Picked this book up at a yard sale last week, and I'm thoroughly enjoying it!  Can't wait to find out if the Major gets his gun and if the Major and Mrs. Ali get together...

Here's an excerpt...

The local quilt store is offering a "Swoon" workshop in November.  How did I never hear of SWOON?!?!?  Here is a page of Swoon inspiration.

I believe this block was made by one of the staff at Greenwood Quiltery

It was this photo in my facebook newsfeed that got me excited!

Went to a Wedding...and a Quilt Shop

Our neighbours were married this weekend near Goderich.  It was a little on the cool side, but the sun held out until exactly 2 minutes after the outdoor ceremony ended!  It was very sweet!  We really enjoyed the personal touches that were incorporated into the day. We've been at ringside for months, watching the whole thing develop, assisting where we could.  The groom is one of eight siblings, the bride, one of four - - it was more of a weekend long family reunion, and we are so glad to be included!

Friday night was held at Port Albert where the groom's family held the rehearsal party at the Port Albert Inn in the Mill House Cottage - - take a look at the photos on the website!  Wouldn't that be a great setting for a family reunion?  The Wedding itself was held at the Ben Miller Inn.

Since we stayed two nights in the Goderich area, Hubby and I had the opportunity to check out the sites and took a wander around the Square, which was devastated about a year ago by tornado. There's been a ton of work done, and businesses are beginning to reopen, including Quilters By the Square.

There's a quilt hanging in the store commemorating last summer's tornado and the community's resilience.

Schusterjungs - ever have one?

I came home at lunch today, and quickly tossed a beef stew together in a roasting pan, and put it in the oven on a very low temperature, and let it simmer the afternoon away.  I imagined how terrific some dumplings would be with it, but remembered that a new bakery opened right next door to us yesterday!

It's called GBS - German Baked Specialties Ltd. and we got to taste some samples before deciding on taking home Schusterjungs (which the German baker told us meant 'shoemaker boys').  But before we were able to leave, she mentioned that she had an onion baguette that just came out of the oven, and offered us a taste - - ohhhh...it smelled and tasted so good! - - and we were able to purchase just a half of a baguette.  I'm glad we took a chance on the bakery over dumplings (although dumplings are good too) - schusterjungs are a great compliment to homemade stew.

I happened to mention "Downton Abbey" yesterday - and my sister shared a link to a blog which is hosting an "Unofficial Downton Abbey Cookbook" giveaway.  To enter, you have to leave a comment, answering the question "who is your favourite Downton Abbey character?"  Need a reminder of the characters? List of Downton Abbey characters

Can't wait! Call the Midwife

I can't wait to see the new (on this side of the pond) series "Call the Midwife" which starts in 2 weeks.  Love me a period drama!  And since the 3rd season of "Downton Abbey" doesn't start until January...this will suit me just fine!

It's based on the memoirs of a real midwife Jennifer Worth.  The plot follows newly-qualified midwife Jenny Lee and the work of midwives and the nuns of Nonnatus House, a nursing convent, coping with the medical problems in a deprived area of East London in the 1950s.  Of course I want to read the book first (actually, it's a trilogy). I checked with the public library first, but in the end I had to order the book from a local independent book store.  I should have it by the end of the week!

Happy Birthday Itty Bitty!

Has it really been three months since I last blogged?  Yeeesh!

First, this little guy.  I happened to stop at a yard sale today -- I KNOW!  On a SUNDAY!  In SEPTEMBER!!!  He is actually an old planter, that probably held a lovely tropical plant once upon a time - but I think he's going to go to work with me and hold pencils or something.  I was happy to pay 50¢ for him.  Seems we are seeing owls EVERYWHERE these days.  I clearly remember when owls were a hot 'motif' back in the 70's - so I guess this is some proof that styles become fashionable again.  Wouldn't he be cute on a teacher's desk full of #2 HB's?

So Itty Bitty has turned 19 today.  He is back at university, already hard at work on his second year.  He's sharing a cute little house with three other boys (2 he roomed with last year, and one more who was on the same floor).  I asked him this morning if he would like us to come down to visit today for "cake & steak" - - he declined, saying he needed to "study & sleep".  Have I taught this boy nothing???  Read the glossary, and you're good!

Sailor Boy remains in Halifax.  I haven't seen him in 14 months!!!!  We Skype, and Facebook, but  it would be nice to see him for a few days.  I mention this because there is a chance that he is reading this....

Work is incredible.  And incredibly busy!  I have a couple of huge projects on the go, plus a student social worker who has recently joined us for the next 8 months, plus all of the regular stuff that keeps me hopping.

I will be taking a bit of a break next month.  My sister has organized a girly-getaway - 3 days in a cottage with 11 other women.  They will be scrapbooking - - I'll probably be doing NOTHING!  Reading novels, maybe a little cross-border shopping, and if the weather remains mild - sitting outside relaxing.  Looking forward to it!  I've taken the whole week off, so I'll have a couple of days at home too.

Ah ... I seem to remember that I used to quilt.  Haven't done that in AGES!  Of course, with Itty Bitty here for the summer, taking up my sewing room, and his computer set up on my sewing table - it wasn't exactly going to be easy to do anything too crafty.  Now that he's gone, I need to clean up the mess that's in there - it looks like a fabric bomb went off!  

I've become addicted to Pinterest recently - I really want to make one of these!

It was 'pinned' from here: http://www.texasfreckles.com/2010/04/random-friday.html  but I've now seen a couple of different ones on Pinterest.

That's about it - nothing much changes around here!