Seven Weeks of Summer

Growing up my parents always had some good sayings from my Great Oma (my father's maternal grandmother), the main one was "we are too poor to buy cheap things" and another was "you don't want to be a musician because then you are working while everyone else is having fun".  I firmly believe in the former statement, I only want to buy things once and as a result I have nice equipment but I don't feel the need to replace it frequently. As to the latter, this summer has been a great example of this. Living and working in a place where people go on vacation is both fun and frustrating.

The fun comes from the fact that I live in one of the most beautiful places in the world (at least according to National Geographic).

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The frustration is more around trying to accomplish things when everyone else just wants to be at the cottage and far away from computers and cell phones.

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So on Saturday I ended up on a magical mystery tour, which is what my mom would call it when we would go off to an adventure to find some specific spot that was outside our usual stomping ground, or when we would get lost.  Magical mystery tours would often start with a goal and then have a moment of "hey, I wonder where this goes".  When I was in university I would do this on the bus and on foot in Kingston (Ontario) and always had a good time.  This time I needed to go to the Village of Rosseau and instead of heading straight back I decided to take the twisty road that runs between Lake Rosseau and Lake Joseph.  Then I saw the sign for Abbey's Bake House, which is a bit of a local landmark, and I'm so glad I stopped.  Not only was it beautiful (as you have seen above) they have AMAZING butter tarts. No raisins or nuts and all butter tart goodness.

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While sitting there, watching the lake, eating a butter tart and knitting I overheard a grandfather mention to his grandson that there had already been "seven weeks of summer" and asked if he had enjoyed them.

At that moment I realized that there had been seven weeks of summer and I haven't gone swimming yet, or really done any summery things.  So I'm not sure what I'm going to do about this, but all I know is that according to calculations there are only about two weeks left of summer left and I want to get out and enjoy them.

And for those keeping track, I finished Carla's shawl a week or so ago and I still haven't picked a final pattern for mine as the one I wanted to make has a stupid cast on and I'm not burdened with an over-abundance of patience these days.

On Socks and Summer

So my socks have grown since Wednesday ...

So I am loving sock making and it will be no time before I am tackling the Marching On Socks from Glenna C. that inspired me to start making socks.

As of this afternoon I am just starting to knit the leg section, which I will be doing as a 2x2 rib.  It will make these socks fit my skinny ankles tightly.  Also, as these sock are called Kid Stuff (and are designed to be kid socks) so the ribbing, and the stripes, make them feel more fun.  I can see myself wearing these in the not-summer to help cheer me up.

Speaking of summer, it seems to be here on the shores of Georgian Bay.  While the tourists aren't really here yet, the skies are clear, the Bay is warm and the blackflies are decreasing in number. However, the dour part of me has to pipe up and mention that since we have past the Summer Solstice the days only get shorter from here, however we have a few months before things get too dark and even then the tourists and cottagers will have gone back to the city, the fall air will be clear and winter will be here again, and since discovering cross-country skiing, winter is not nearly as hellish as it used to be.

So in addition to knitting socks and a cowl, and crocheting a blanket I am training for the Tour de Fleece.  Don't know about the TdF?  You can find out more in the Ravelry group and I am right now putting together my goals and stash and will let you know my plans before the end of the week.