Home again, from sun, sand and surf

Beach stuff in action! Floaty things, digging stuff, a water bottle and a sock.

We went to a little town called Turkey Point, on the shores of Lake Erie. Little did we know, we walked right into the wildest weekend of the year, the Pottahawk Piss-up! People congregated in Turkey Point, parked their motorbikes and switched to boats, and then went away to get drunk at Pottahawk, so we really didn't notice them much! Certainly the beach was much more crowded on the weekend, but I'm not sure how much that had to do with that party!

Anyways, we enjoyed the beach:

Elaine swimming, or at least, about to swim. It was pretty darn cold, but "one gets used to it." The beaches all along that stretch of shore are very gently sloping, so that it was practically impossible to get in over your head, even if you are 11. I even went in, although with my glasses on, I didn't dunk my head... Best to be able to see, I figured.

See, Mary in a bathing suit...

Arthur did some swimming, too, but his forte is digging. This culvert had been sorely neglected, as you can see by some remaining green scummy stuff. But our heroes went and opened the passage for the water to get to the lake.

Besides the beach, we tried out the local mini-golf course. What a perfectly silly thing to do! We had to put the ball through a cannon, up into a funnel, round a loop-de-loo and so on!

Stephen also led the team in puzzle-doing. We worked on this dang 1000-piece view from the Empire State Building the whole week, finishing it on, I think, our penultimate day. That single row of sky was the killer. Well, and the big shadow. And the fact that really, one brownish building with windows looks much like any other!

Now we are back safe and sound, with the kids hanging around for a week before stints at various camps start next week. I was down in the basement with a week's worth of laundry for a day or two, but think that's more or less under control now. I'll show you my sock soon -- it's almost done, really!

What I've been doing on my Christmas holiday

Phew... We are slowly working our way around the clock. Usually, I'm up after the 7 am news on the radio, and everyone is out the door to school or work before 9. Today, I woke up after 9! That first week of school will be kinda tough, I'm thinking!

We had a friend over on the 25th for dinner, and that was very nice, and we ended up with a seemingly endless supply of leftovers. I knew we were having a pile of relatives on the 27th and 28th, but was rather taken by surprise by teenagers who can go through a box of cereal a day. Next time, I'll stock up, though I think no one actually went hungry this time. (Is eating broken gingerbread train bits in your cereal a sign of desperation or not?)

I gave my brother and uncle dishcloths, and my sister-in-law a scarf as soft as a kitten (though it turns out she was keen for a dishcloth -- I told her the boys should be the ones using it most!). This is Arthur and his... um... she's my cousin's daughter, so that makes her my first cousin once removed, I believe, and then she's Arthur's second cousin? In any case, she is a fine cousin, who will push swings for a while before swinging herself. She seemed a dainty eater, unlike her other second cousins... I have pictures of the lot of them stuffing popcorn into their mouths, but perhaps they're not for general viewing.

I put aside the knitting I'd been doing because there should have been measuring and thinking involved, so here we have the temporarily abandoned green sock. I now realise Arthur's feet are several centimeters longer than they were a year or more ago when I knit his other socks, and so really do want to get going on these...

Elaine's red dress is almost done, I'd say. I have to finish the back of the bodice and then do the front, and there is hardly any finishing -- though shouldn't one do a wee crochet edging or something around the neckline? We shall see. Sorry for the flashy indoor picture!

Those are the two things I want to finish first, then I start on the nine months of knitting from stash... I didn't make it to the Boxing Day sales at all, though I suppose I still have a day to stock up. Last time I took stuff in to Streetknit, they gave me four balls of this nice multicoloured wool, and I've been doing a boring mistake rib scarf to pass the time. This is a ball and a bit, so it'll be about 5 feet long in the end.

And if I don't manage to post tomorrow, here's wishes for a Happy New Year to one and all! Mwa.