Sorry guys, I'm not sure where August went. I feel like I blinked at Ashley's birthday and here we are at September 3rd. Even now I'm staring at a calendar trying to figure out what I did with the month and I have no idea but it was definitely busy.
I visited Ashley and the fam and had the chance to baby sit the nieces for a couple of days. Babysitting the nieces is always fun. As an Aunt, I only have three rules: 1) be nice to each other, 2) play a lot, 3) learn some stuff. My personal rule is to try to follow the parental rules as closely as possible. It's a pretty tough rule and the lines frequently blur but I figure if the general principle is in there somewhere I've succeeded. We also celebrated a birthday: Mila turned 5!
(Don't tell Daddy Auntie Chantal lets us wear lipstick.)
This kid is growing way too fast and constantly blowing my mind with the new stuff she's learning. This month saw her master a two wheeler with NO TRAINING WHEELS. Little known fact: her daddy also taught me how to ride a two wheeler. For those of you who may know my very serious, man of few words, little bro, you probably can't picture his six year old self cheerfully telling his big sister to pretend the grass was water to encourage her to hold her bike straight. He was very adorable.
We also took a couple of big hits this month. John and I said goodbye to our grandmother. While we didn't know her especially well we were both affected. I was sorry that Ashley and the girls didn't have an opportunity to meet her even though the girls are probably too young to appreciate all a G.G. Ma has to offer. My favourite memory of my grandmother was her teaching me how to embroider. I was probably around ten and I remember the joy of having a needle and thread in my hand. I remember the slow fade of her patience as the lesson proceeded and being completely impervious to it, completely happy just to sit with her and try to learn a new craft. I've never been much of an embroiderer but my very first Bella Vista shawl travelled to Florida to be with her a couple of years ago. She called to say thank you and I'm pretty sure that was the last time we spoke.
Grandmothers hold a very unique place in our lives. They connect us to the generations that came before us and teach us about our history. Grandmothers are our story keepers. They also know the truth about our parents, not the slightly glossed over versions our parents prefer us to know. I think I'll always feel like I didn't take full advantage of that while I had the time.
John and Ashley also said goodbye to an old friend. They said goodbye to their dog Maverick last Sunday. I know every dog owner thinks their dog is the best dog in the world but Mavy really was. He was big and slow moving, super quiet, gentle, and calm. I guess because of his name and the Mel Gibson movie, I used to picture him as an old cowboy, world weary and not a lot to say but with a big heart. Nothing made me feel like a Disney princess like Mavy dropping onto the bed beside me as close as he could possibly get, one hundred percent sure of his welcome. I was definitely grateful that Ashley decided not to tell me that he had passed away until after my trunk show with Yarns Untangled that day.
Our trunk show with the girls at Yarns Untangled was an absolute blast. Kensington Market has such great energy and on Pedestrian Sunday that energy is magnified in the most amazing way. The girls of Yarns Untangled are the sweetest and I was lucky to share their patio space with Karen of Fiesty Fibres and Francesca of Robosheep Yarns. The weather was beautiful and we talked knitting and yarn all day long. It was the perfect kick off to show season. We're going to be at the Almonte Fibrefest in one week. I can't wait! I've been waiting all summer for this. If you're in the Ottawa area please come out and visit us!
The last time I wrote I said I was almost positive that I would have my Painting sweater ready to tell you about and I can finally say that I'm completely positive that it's ready. Keep an eye out for that in the next couple of weeks as well as our Almonte highlights and a few other projects we've been working on. Talk soon everyone. In the meantime, PEACE to you and yours and happy knitting!