it's at this point in the summer when I am actually tired of being outside in the sun, but I feel compelled to do it anyway. I feel ungrateful about this - it's been a relatively cool summer, and the lawns are unnaturally green for this time of year. Maybe it's more of a psychological thing - I am so used to hiding in my basement during the last few scorching weeks of August, I'm craving the downtime. Still, the evenings are beautiful, and Sami needed a walk, so we went out to the coulees anyway. Thursday, August 27
Friday, August 28, 2009
Baby brown eyes, 238/365
It's been awhile since I've taken a picture of the boy and his dog. Wednesday, August 26.
summergreen, 237/365
too bad I don't actually like beans, because they're coming on like gangbusters in our garden. Tuesday August 25.
textures from Boccacino and Rita at the Coffeeshop
I admit I got carried away with the processing here. If the day was so busy I didn't have time to *take* a decent shot, then why do I have time to spend processing it as a salvage operation?
Wrapt, 236/365
There's a candy shop in Nanton, on the highway to Calgary, that has things I've never seen anywhere else. These ginger chews are strange and addicting. Monday, August 24.
Embossed in green, 235/365
Embossed leaves socks are apparently in the top 5 of most knitted socks on Ravelry, and now that I've started a pair, I can see why. I know I keep saying that lace and socks just don't make sense (if it's cold enough to wear socks, it's cold enough that you don't want holes in them) but I love knitting lace, and when I finally wound up the skein of Malabrigo Sock I got from my SIL Julie, I really wanted to do something special with it. Sunday, August 23.
aftermath, 234/365
it's always a bummer having to unpack after a trip, and reorganize for the next one. Saturday, August 22
walking past, 233/365
Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village just east of Edmonton, Alberta. This is an incredible collection of rescued and restored buildings from the area, giving a glimpse of what life was like for Ukrainain immigrants coming to Canada to homestead and start a new life.
Friday, August 21
where the buffalo roam, 232/365
Elk Island National Park. We didn't see any elk, but we saw an awful lot of plains bison. Thursday, August 20.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Retro rib, 231/476
Finally, I finished the socks I have seemingly been knitting all summer!
I started them in Lethbridge, dragged them with my to Langley (but hardly worked on them, except to show Julie), and brought them on the plane with me when I went to Winnipeg.
These have showed up previously as socks of resignation but I am now much happier with them. The second skein, and therefore the second sock, is actually quite a bit brighter than the first. This used to drive me crazy about handpainted yarns, but now that I realize you can hardly tell the difference after you've worn and washed them a few times, it doesn't bug me anymore.
They turned out too big for me - I should have known that 64 stitches on 2.75 mm needles probably would. But they fit Stasha perfectly. August 19.
a tent of one's own, 230/365
while looking for camping equipment in storage, I found my old tent from my pre-marital backpacking days. It's very small and light, and really only a one person tent, so I haven't used it in decades. So I was rather discomfited to find that the interior of the stuff sack was sticking to the tent itself because the lining was so old, and it had been rolled up in storage for so long.
I set it up just to see what kind of condition it was in, when the wind and rain started. It seems to be holding up pretty good. August 18.
peapods, 229/365
The pea crop is very, very sad this year. We each got to eat a few of these first pods, but it's doubtful we'll get enough to actually cook a bowlful. On the plus side, the tomatoes, potatoes, and beans are still going strong, and the peas are still rather pretty to look at. August 17.
More peas:
Hyles, 228/365
Stasha found this nice plump hawkmoth caterpillar during our Sunday morning walk in Peenaquim. She has a terrific eye for all kinds of natural things. I was pretty excited to see this, as it is actually one of the biological control agents released to control leafy spurge - we used to rear it in the lab, or rather Peter Harris's technician did. (but I did have to throw them food when it was my turn to work weekends).
We are going to rear this one out to adulthood. The adult moth is pretty impressive. August 16.
Monday, August 17, 2009
Pickles, 227/365
Theo has asked for a long time if we can make pickles, so since it was a rainy August day, we headed out to the farmer's market, to buy cucumbers and dill from the Hutterities (and also, some very nice deerskin work gloves).
Tim figures on a pound of young cukes per quart of pickles. I'm just recording that now, in case we decide to try it again. August 15.
abandoned, 226/365
I have by no means been diligent, as can be seen by the level of dust. August 14.
back into the swing, 225/365
Picking up weights again since getting back from my holiday and the subsequent slacking off. I'm finally moving up from this one, which I'd been using while recovering from my shoulder injury last fall, so I'm passing it onto the boy and teaching him basic swings. Again, getting ready for judo and dance. August 13
empanada madness, 224/365
I just didn't get as many empanadas as I wanted while on holiday with my family in BC, since the Empanada Lady was on holiday (the nerve!). Being denied my fix, I have set out to make my own. I've made them before. They're usually not very good. These were better than *my* usual, but still not as good as Empanada Lady's. August 12
tandoori bun, beta version. 222/365
a not very tasty attempt at using leftover tandoori chicken to stuff a bun.
Okay, there is a reason behind this: while in Winnipeg, my supervisor and I both bought curry chicken buns from the Sri Lankan stall at the Forks, to eat on the plane (Air Canada doesn't give you so much as a peanut for a 2 hour flight). They were so good, I really wanted to try making one myself. But I have a long way to go.
August 10
slurp! 221/365
We went to the Peenaquim Park dog run on the north side on Sunday. It's not as big as the other dog run, and you don't run into as many other dogs, but we did meet this American bulldog and his boxer pal It was especially cool to see the bulldog, since Sami's mother was allegedly part Old English Sheepdog, part American bulldog. Strangely, after meeting this guy, we could see the resemblance. August 9.
dragonfly, 220/365
on a monument at the St. Boniface cemetary, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Jennifer and I had a few hours to kill before our flight back to Calgary, so we started off at the Forks, then attracted by the strangeness that is the Esplanade Riel, we found ourselves wandering over to St. Boniface, the French quarter of the city. Equally unintentionally, we ended up exploring the St. Boniface cemetery, which includes the tomb of Louis Riel. We soon realized that we hadn't left ourselves nearly enough time to explore Winnipeg! I would love to come back here with the family some time.
August 8
goldeyes, 219/365
I had always been rather skeptical of the license plates proclaiming "Friendly Manitoba" since I seemed to know an awful lot of sour, surly ones, but being in Winnipeg made me think that they boot out the grumpy Manitobans.
Our really great hosts arranged a dinner on the patio of Hu's on First, overlooking the Winnipeg Goldeyes baseball game. I don't think I've ever been to a baseball game in my entire life before this. The food and the beer were both excellent. August 7.
university of manitoba, 218/365
I had a little time before the conference started on Friday evening, so I wandered around the campus a little bit. Right near the Engineering building was the administration building, which is really quite impressive. It was fun being on a larger campus again, with older buildings than there are at U of L. August 6.
fifty, 217/365
Because I had to leave for Winnipeg the next day, we had to celebrate Tim's birthday one day early. Since we're cheap, we reuse candles - but who knew that the wicks for those number candles were so short? Stasha had the cunning plan of boring a small hole in the top of the O candle, and poking a regular candle in. It worked till Tim blew them out, as it was, like the celebrant, a little crumbly, too. August 5
trampoline, 216/365
despite the rain (early August, southern Alberta?) the neighborhood girls are undeterred from hopping around on the trampoline. August 4
when good cossacks go bad, 215/365
Heritage Days - everyone turned up in their costumes looking very serious and sophisticated. Yeah, that's it. Much of the performance was like the multicultural festival at the end of June. All of the pictures from both days, are at the Flickr photoset. August 3.
214/365
On Sunday, we mostly stuck around town. Tim had to help set up tables at the Exhibition grounds to get ready for Heritage Day, and we stopped for lunch at Ricky's. The picture I REALLY wanted from this day was the fancy lights in the re-decorated bathroom! But I'll have to save that for another time. August 2.
Stasha, home. 213/365
Both kids are home after what felt like one of the longest weeks this year. Tim and I picked them up in Calgary, escorted by Mom. It was the first time we were both away from them, but they had a great time in Langley with Mom and Dad and all the cousins. I missed them badly, and things just did not feel right without them here. So glad to have them back. August 1.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
offering, 212/365
It's self-portrait time again. There's a limit to how many ways you can take a picture of yourself in a bathroom. there's a limit to how many ways you can take a picture of yourself in a bathroom. And I'm not looking my best - I'm short on sleep, my kids are away from me on holiday, I'm frantically worried about school, and generally full of angst. Oh wait - I'm pretty much always full of angst.. I guess this is pretty much just how I look all the time, then. July 31.
keys, 211/365
a most confusing jumble. Even if I try to keep them in the little pockets of my purse, they get tangled up with my work keys, and all fall down into the depths of the purse. No wonder I can never find them. July 30.
first peppers, 210/365
I'm astonished that this is the first thing we're eating from the garden, beating everything else, even peas and lettuce (though the lettuce has been eaten by slugs). We used them sauteed with onions and mushrooms, and they were pretty decent. July 29.
loosestrife and lilies, 209/365
I feel guilty about letting the loosestrife grow in my garden, but darn it, it looks so pretty next to the daylilies. July 28
sharps, 208/365
Tim thinks I have a minor obsession with small knives and tools. Possibly he is right. When I was packing to fly back to Lethbridge, I was slightly surprised at how many tiny sharp tools I have stashed in various packs, handbags, and keychains. I had to make sure they were all in my check-in baggage. The one in the little case is also a leatherman micra; I thought I'd lost it when in fact it had been left in my suitcase all year since my last trip home. This morning I was diligent in extracting every sharp thing from the baggage. July 27.
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