Surprise Pinterest Sweater Find

Last winter I read a number of knitting books by Elizabeth Zimmermann, a well-known knitter and designer of my mother's generation. Two things that stand out for me about her knitting are that (1) she loved to knit in garter stitch (knitting every row); and (2) she knit sweaters in the round, cutting them down the front to make a cardigan.

I wanted to try cutting a sweater down the front as well - but not one that I had toiled over. So I scoured thrift shops in search of an old hand-knit sweater to practice on, to see how the technique worked.

One of the sweaters I purchased was this white lacy one, which I decided was too lovely to touch. It has been sitting, folded up on a shelf, ever since I bought it.

Imagine my surprise when I recently saw it pictured on Pinterest!

(The free pattern was originally printed in the British magazine, Prima, so there must be quite a few around.)

Nourishing Words

I've started reading another book by Barbara Brown Taylor. This one is entitled "When God is Silent.

The first chapter is about "words" - and how inundated with them we are in our culture, both spoken or written. As I read this, I think of how the early Christian monastics valued silence.

I pause when I read her remark: "The problem is that nourishing words are so hard to find - words with no razor blades in them, words with no chemical additives."

What are nourishing words? I wonder... Words that inform and encourage? (Do we even know when we're speaking them?!)

And what does she mean by "chemical additives"? I wonder... Words chosen to be appealing - to make us want to buy advertised products?

For some of us, words come all too quickly!

Trying to make all of them "nourishing" would be a wonderful goal.

Construction Changes

Every time I pass the church at the end of our street, I stop to notice the changes.

Arched windows have been framed in.

A week or so later, I notice the entrance steps are being built on the other side...

I wonder how tall the building will be in the end... and when it will finally be finished!

Wolfe Island Ferry Ride

One of the free pleasures available Kingston, Ontario is the ferry ride to Wolfe Island, a rural suburb of the city.

There is no bridge across to the island, so ferries run all year long...

On our last visit to Kingston, Terry and I had a few hours to spare, so we boarded the ferry without our car and sailed across the strait to Wolfe Island - then back again - without getting off.

I always find water travel peaceful...

A lovely way to spend a sunny summer afternoon!

Electric Cars

Terry and I occasionally talk about getting a hybrid car - one that runs on gas and electricity. So far we've stuck to gas. Recently, however, we've seen more electric cars around, larger ones - compared to the ones I saw in Britain a few years ago...

In Kingston, recently, in a busy shopping center parking lot, I noticed these fuel pumps... for Tesla electric cars. I wandered over to see how they worked. Could all electric cars be recharged there? I don't know.

The pumps were unattended, but the instructions on the pump provided a telephone number to call to get service.

Is this the way of the future? I wondered... Unattended pumps all over the city...

Will we all soon be driving electric cars?!

It seems unthinkable - but then, not that many years ago, cell phones and Ipods were something I couldn't imagine either!

Kingston Blues Festival

Several weeks ago, Terry and I drove to Kingston, Ontario for their Limestone City Blues Festival.

Singers from around the continent entertain in various outdoor spaces downtown.

We sat on portable grandstand seats - which was better than standing!

But next time we should bring comfortable folding chairs!

It's a very popular annual event, marking twenty years this year.

Favorite (Simple) Garlic and Tomato Salad

One of my favorite summer salads is one I watched my roommate make when we were students in Israel.

It is made of only four ingredients - fresh tomatoes, several cloves of garlic, olive oil and salt.

First make fresh "garlic salt" by grinding salt into a clove or two of garlic until the garlic is all broken up in the bottom of the salad bowl. I used the flat bottom of a sturdy glass to crush the garlic. (I should really buy a mortar and pestle.)

I had three tomatoes. Two cloves of garlic with half a teaspoon of salt would have given a stronger garlic flavor.

Slice tomatoes into wedges and add to the crushed garlic.

Drizzle olive oil over the tomatoes and stir, to coat the tomatoes. Refrigerate for at least half an hour. The salad will be juicier at this time, as tomato juice will mix with the olive oil. I like to eat this salad with slices of fresh bread which can be dunked in the salad marinate. Delicious!