Time is flying away

 I am having a very difficult time keeping things together and done in a timely manner.  Witness, for one, this blog.  I have such good intentions, and then mis-manage my time.  I HAVE been busy, in my defense.  

We generally invite a Canadian family to our place for the Canada Day weekend.  It is a father and friend, three sons and their families.  Over the years, the kids have grown and now include partners.  In any given year, we could have anywhere from 5 to 15 people camping in our front yard.  It is a good time -- music, camp fires, sailing, swimming, sometimes fishing, canoeing, and lots of good food.  

When the holiday falls on a  Wednesday, deciding which weekend is always a challenge.  This year we decided it would be the previous weekend.  (My son and his family from the US were planning to visit the next weekend.)  We laid in some extra food (mostly breakfast foods) and drinking water ... and the front yard sprouted tents.  Additionally, the dock sprouted boats.  For such a small dock, it can hold a multitude of boats!

Here you see Tim's Walker Bay, Mark"s Hobiecat (peeking out at the left side of the dock), my Itty-Bitty, Doug's Sunfish, the family CL-14 and tied off to the CL-14 is a canoe!  Overnight, Itty-Bitty and the Sunfish were loaded onto their respective lifts and the green canoe tied alongside the dock.  That's a LOT of boats!

It was a delightful weekend.  Not so much music and camp fires, but still a great time.  It is always nice to spend time with good friends.  

In the couple days of down time after that family departed, I looked over the side of the steps down to the dock and found this amazing mushroom! 

Our friend John would have been able to identify it immediately.  He would know how to process it to make a medicinal drink.  He was very good with mushrooms.  Sadly he passed away just over a year ago, and we miss him.  A lot.  His wife and daughter came for a visit and we showed them the picture.  Liz knew exactly what it was and how to process it.  Having absolutely no experience, however, we all decided to leave it be.  It is positively amazing though. 

The following weekend my son and his family arrived.  We had pizza, fun at a trampoline park, visited Repitilia, shopped downtown Port, went swimming and sailing, had lovely food at a Chinese restaurant in Whitby, more swimming and sailing, and a movie at their B&B.  

 The kids loved swimming.  The first sail was more of a drift, and they were bored out of their minds.  Doug entertained the younger one with a detailed description of the parts of the boat.  I had the elder in my Itty-Bitty.  We talked about school, his favourite video games, which high school he hopes to attend ... things like that.  We also had the "privilege" of the Durham Police boat cruising by and thanking us for wearing life jackets.  Duh.  Of course we had life jackets. 

The next day there was more wind.  We rigged the CL-14 and away we went.  Now, please understand that Doug's opinion on sailing is that you should go as fast as you possibly can -- not that I disagree.  The youngsters had worried faces when the boat heeled just a little bit in the beginning.  That changed as the sail progressed.  By the time we were done, they had figured out that they could hook their feet under the hiking strap and get their heads wet!  They were also enamoured with the idea of jumping overboard!  And when Doug decided to take a quick sail down the lake to look for the wandering football, they both volunteered to go with him.  Willingly and happily. This visit was everything I hoped it would be.  

I have also been spending time with them on-line playing Minecraft Dungeons.  They have had more time playing and are far more advanced than I.  Their father claims that they enjoy playing with me and look forward to our time together.  I find this time to be extremely rewarding.  They are so encouraging of me and my efforts.  I have progressed from "I'm dead!" to "I hit him!  I'm dead!"  After each mission, they tell me they can see how much I have improved.  These times are priceless and I hate to think they will end. 

In the meantime, I have done SOME knitting.  We had a class at the store where we made the "Mix and Match Tee" from a 2013 issue of Creative Knitting. 

I used 5 skeins of Cascade Anchor Bay Hand Paints.  This is an acrylic/merino blend and it is supremely soft and fabulous with which to work.  We taught this project many years ago, and I still have that tee, made from Cascade Ultra Pima.  I debated using a different 8-stitch lace pattern, but expediency won out.  Maybe next time. 

Another recent finish (as in this past week) are these Vamps from Saltwater Classics. Barb and I had such big plans for 2026 -- a Saltwater project for each month of the year.  This project was from ... March.

I used Patons Classic Wool for the black and Wendy Wool for the grey -- both from stash.  Even making the smallest size, these are too big for me.  I will drop them into the "gift or donate" box.  In the meantime, I have used a wee bit of yarn from stash, so that is good.  I do still have some leftover of both these yarns and some white Croftland Aran.  Rather than tossing them back into storage, I think I will make some mittens with the intention to donate them this fall. 

In other knitting news ... we generally are requested by the Uxbridge Library to teach a class in the fall.  The students from the spring session were saying that they really wanted a more simple project ... we went looking and found this:

I cannot find the pattern right now -- it is at the store and apparently not in my Ravelry library.  Harrumph!  In any event, it is a collection of textured stitches and quite meditative to create.  I used James Brett Croftland Aran for this -- and it required just one skein.  This will be a delightful gift idea come fall. 

Finally, I finished another store sample using Creative Lazy Hazy Summer Cotton DK and the Estelle Simple Top Down Tee pattern. To make my size required six balls of yarn, at $10 each.  I perhaps could have made a size smaller, but I wanted a loose, relaxed fit. 

I thought I was making a blue tee shirt, but when worked up the colour definitely leans green.  Not a problem, as I love the colour and fit.  Both the front and back have a scooped hem with a broken rib edging.  Very nice. 

Another activity I have been devoting time to is Tai Chi.  I had taken a class in Uxbridge way back before Covid.  After the world loosened up, that class never reappeared.  To say I missed it would be an under-statement.  A friend (Hi  Liz!) loaned me several videos with Tai Chi programs.  However, I didn't have a player that would accommodate them.  With all the advertising for "chair" Tai Chi, or "walking" Tai Chi, I went down a rabbit hole to find something I could play on my I-Pad. 

I found Adam Potts .  I listened to a podcast where he was the guest interviewed by the host.  Things clicked.  Since mid-February (and with the exception of two weeks in March), I have been doing a video pretty much every day.  Sometimes I skip a day, and when I do I really miss it.  He ends every instruction with a benediction of peace and good health to the world, kindness to yourself, and the idea of placing a smile onto your heart.  He has a multitude of videos ranging fro 5 minutes to 45 minutes, with various foci on parts of the body.  I am not looking for one of those miraculous body reformations you see on the Tai Chi walking ads (those are AI, for the record).  I just want to tone things up a bit, improve my balance and strengthen my ankles.  When I walked with my son, he commented on how much more confidently I was striding.  My shorts that were uncomfortable last summer are now quite comfortable.  Jeans that were slightly tight are now loose.  I have even been sailing or walking after work!  And I am able to fly the jib sail easily this year!  A win all around! 

In short, if you are looking for an intro to Tai Chi, I recommend Dr. Potts.  He has free videos for many different levels of practitioners as well as a subscription program for more intense training. 

 That's what's been happening in my life since the previous update.  I am still jonesing to get the mountain bikes out ... hopefully that will happen this week.  In the meantime, happy stitching!