Oh, right, vacation...

We've been back from vacation for a full week now. While we were away, the time passed slowly. Each day, I would think to myself, "Wow, we still have x number of days left." This past week has just gone by in a blur.

What did we do while those nine days passed languorously?

Well, Vova the Wonderful bought us a travel French press, so we enjoyed good coffee every day.

We loafed around the campsite. We were too busy loafing to take pictures of each other loafing.

We went swimming at a little beach on the island.

I knitted on my new socks. Certainly not the most flattering picture of me, but the only picture of me knitting on vacation.

We played miniature golf.

We drove to the nearby town of Clayton and went swimming in the St. Lawrence river.

It did wonders for my shoulder that aches from time to time. The wind blew hard enough to create some little waves, so it was almost like swimming in the ocean. It was Anna's first time for swimming in waves. 

We drove over the International Bridge to Kingston, Ontario

where we went to Fort Henry for the retreat ceremony.

I'll continue tomorrow. Time is once again passing too quickly; bedtime is upon me.

Should've Seen That Coming

We got back from camping on Wellsley Island late last Sunday night. Errands and all the minutiae necessary for our normal schedule consumed this last week. I ended up getting home at 10 or 11 almost every night, which meant no time or inclination for blogging.

I still have not finished Vova's Totem Pole Jacket because I ran out of white yarn. I thought I had just enough to finish the second sleeve and do the sewing up. Wrong. This cold, hard reality faced me as I was packing the car to go on vacation for nine days. The thought of no knitting for that length of time, which was intended specifically for things like knitting, started a small flurry of panic in me.

So, I grabbed 2-at-a-time-socks, my No. 2 circular needle, and two skeins of Sockotta in Navajo Sky. While we were on the road, I cast on the Belle Epoque socks with myself as the recipient.

I would write more, but I have to go wipe down the tents while we have a day of dry, sunny weather. In addition to picking up the dog and the other car, catching up on laundry and groceries, it's been rainy all week.

A Friend in Need

True friends are always there for you in good times and bad. They make it clear to everyone that they are on your side.

They may be surprised when you do something foolish.

For example, if you were to knit this much on the bus on the way to work on Monday,

then this much by the time you got on the bus Thursday morning,

and still this much more by the time bus arrived at work

before you realized you had been stupidly increasing by four stitches instead of two so that you had to rip back all of the intarsia pattern work, your true friends would still find some way to make you feel clever.

So, when a friend asks for help, you have to respond. The beagles in these pictures belong to my friend Ewa, to whom I affectionately refer as "Ma Beagle" because of her dedication to the animal rescue group, Beagle Rescue of Southern Maryland. 

Ewa is looking for items for the silent auction at their annual Beagle Bash on September 26. She came up with the idea of putting together a "knitter's basket" to offer at the auction. So far, the basket has a book on knitting coats for dogs. If you would like to contribute a skein or two or any other knitting items such as needles, stitch markers, measuring tape, etc. please contact Ewa via the above link or me. All donations are tax deductible. Other items for the auction are also welcome. Vova and I will be putting together another basket while we are camping in the 1000 islands next week. If you can't bear to part with some of your stash, but still want to help, visit BRSM's website to make a monetary donation, foster a beagle, or volunteer in other ways.
Ewa and her husband, Etienne, always take care of our elderly, one-eyed, blind cocker spaniel when we have to go out of town. They are great friends and part of my local community.
So, to all of you, my global community, I'm throwing up the Knit Signal for Ma Beagle and her boys and girls.