Sad ...

A dear friend from the Fair is dying very quickly of liver cancer. Her daughter phoned me today to let me know.

Very quickly indeed. Mitzi died on Sunday

I've lost my post ...

I posted yesterday, but it's gone into the ether somewhere, blast it.

edit: I found it!

Kin ...

Rafe phoned me yesterday (his birthday) morning to invite me to dinner at his Dad's house. It's way over in the west end, so I left way-early 'cuz the freeway can be so bad sometimes. I found a little park and knit for half an hour to kill time. I got to see his dad again (the last time was thirty-eight years ago), and Amos, meet his step-mom and godkids. One of his three-brothers-with-the-same-name was there, too. I got there at five, did the hellos, had a tour of the photo walls with Rafe, admired the beautiful art all over the place, and helloed other folx as they got there. We had a wonderful meal over the course of several hours, did lots of talking and laughing and unconvering unexpected connections. Everyone left around eleven, 'cuz Rafe's dad had a flight early this morning. I am so very taken with Rafe's family.

And for Dani ...

From Dictionary.com ...

a lot

Very many, a large number; also, very much. For example, A lot of people think the economy is declining, or Sad movies always made her cry a lot. It is sometimes put as a whole lot for greater emphasis, as in I learned a whole lot in his class. It may also emphasize a comparative indication of amount, as in We need a whole lot more pizza to feed everyone, or Mary had a lot less nerve than I expected. [Colloquial; early 1800s]

allot

–verb (used with object)
1. to divide or distribute by share or portion; distribute or parcel out; apportion: to allot the available farmland among the settlers
2. to appropriate for a special purpose: to allot money for a park.
3. to assign as a portion; set apart; dedicate

Bricolage ...

From Dictionary.com ...

then
-adverb
1. at that time: Prices were lower then.
2. immediately or soon afterward: The rain stopped and then started again.
3. next in order of time: We ate, then we started home.
4. at the same time: At first the water seemed blue, then gray.
5. next in order of place: Standing beside Charlie is my uncle, then my cousin, then my brother.
6. in addition; besides; also: I love my job, and then it pays so well.
7. in that case; as a consequence; in those circumstances: If you're sick, then you should stay in bed.
8. since that is so; as it appears; therefore: You have, then, found the mistake? You are leaving tonight then.
–adjective
9. being; being such; existing or being at the time indicated: the then prime minister.
–noun
10. that time: We have not been back since then. Till then, farewell.
—Idioms
11. but then, but on the other hand: I found their conversation very dull, but then I have different tastes.
12. then and there, at that precise time and place; at once; on the spot: I started to pack my things right then and there. Also, there and then.

than
–conjunction
1. (used, as after comparative adjectives and adverbs, to introduce the second member of an unequal comparison): She's taller than I am.
2. (used after some adverbs and adjectives expressing choice or diversity, such as other, otherwise, else, anywhere, or different, to introduce an alternative or denote a difference in kind, place, style, identity, etc.): I had no choice other than that. You won't find such freedom anywhere else than in this country.
3. (used to introduce the rejected choice in expressions of preference): I'd rather walk than drive there.
4. except; other than: We had no choice than to return home.
5. when: We had barely arrived than we had to leave again.
–preposition
6. in relation to; by comparison with (usually fol. by a pronoun in the objective case): He is a person than whom I can imagine no one more courteous.

These words are not interchangeable.




Pat's been on my mind a lot, lately.

My lawn is full of Robins, Northern Flickers and various other birds again today. The Flickers are the yelow-shafted ones (different from the ones shown, having a grey crown, tannish face and throat, a bright red splodge on the back of the head, black moustaches, and they flash butter yellow underwings and undertail when they fly). It's been drizzly and rainy out for a while. I bet they're all fattening up on worms and ground bugs, getting ready to migrate (the birds, not the worms and bugs ... though I suppose some of them may migrate in the birds' bellies).

Stuff and Nonsense ...

Daylight:

Length of day: 12:17
Hours of dark: 10:30ish
Sunrise: 7:18 am
Sunset: 7:36 pm
Start of twilight: 6:43 am
End of twilight: 8:10 pm

Current weather: Light rain. 8°C (46°F), wind NNW 12.8 km/h (8 mph), relative humidity 93%, pressure 29.64 in Hg.

Forecast:

Today.. Periods of rain. High 9°C.
Tonight.. Cloudy, 40% chance of showers. Low 5°C.
Friday.. A mix of sun and cloud, 30% chance of morning showers. High 15°C.
Saturday.. Sunny. Low 1°C. High 17°C.
Sunday.. Sunny. Low 5°C. High 19°C.
Monday.. A mix of sun and cloud. Windy. Low 4°C. High 10°C.
Normals for the period.. Low 2°C. High 16°C.

Bees in Bonnets ...

The weather's gone from unseasonably warm to grey and rainy and downright chilly. We had frost the other night! Time to start thinking about slippers and scarves and hats and other warm things. There are ponchos in the making for Rose and Cassandra, and Linda has a new hat:



She got a new hat because my rag box was full and I got a bee in my bonnet about not throwing out otherwise perfectly good fabric.

Really, one uses only so many rags, so I got to thinking that if I cut a t-shirt the right way, I'd end up with one big, long strip, which might be suitable for knitting. Since I was in a hurry to start the knitting part, I used only the body-from-the-underarms-down parts of two shirts, cut 2.5cm wide. That was enough (with a few meters left over) to knit a roll-brim hat on 10mm needles.

I'm rather pleased myself over this. The trick was finding a way to cut the material into strips that wouldn't cripple me before I even got to the knitting part. I found a rotary cutter in a quilting shop. Omigoodness, it's a great tool!

Conclusions:
Knitting on 10mm needles with non-springy 'yarn' takes getting used to
It is possible to make a cute hat from nothing but a couple of old t-shirts
Quilting shops are dangerous and should be avoided

Still working on wee ponchos. I'm still debating whether or not to hood.
Ernie and Barbara would like some Fuzzy Feet.
There may be a sweater in Cory's future, but we have to talk patterns/yarns some more.
I have a scarf I started a couple of years ago that I really would like to finish.
I have the makings of a crazy quilt cushion cover for Mom 'cuz one of her cushion covers self-destructed.

Labour Day ...

The cats had a holiday at Kitty City this past weekend, so I could go to the lake for the weekend.
We were all there. I like it when that happens.
I knit more than I have for a while.
After dinner (spaghetti, steak, baked beans, lentil loaf, salad, fresh garden carrots, oh my!) on Sunday, we made frozen yogurt with one of these, to go with the rhubarb and saskatoon crisp.
A kinda fuzzy picture of Monday Morning:



A darkish shot of the flowers from Dad, in with the Glads I had already: