Cat Hunter

On our street, we have a cat who's a hunter... 

Levi is a mouser... and he goes after birds...

What else?!

I went around the house to see what Levi had his eyes on.

Young squirrels?!! 

Watch out, little ones - it's a jungle out there!

All for $5!!

 

One of the churches in our community has a "Nearly New" shop that's only open 2 or 3 days a month.

My daughter loves to shop there.

I enjoy browsing - to see what they have... not that I need much.

Last Saturday, there was a half-price sale.

I stopped in - to see what I could find... and I left with: 

• Two books
• One cheerful mug
• A fleecy winter shirt
• Soccer shin pads that my grandkids may be able to use

All that for $5!!

(It was a good day!)

Lengthening Days

Daylight hours are increasing...

About 3 minutes a day - now in mid-April.

That adds up to 21 MORE minutes of daylight EVERY DAY than we had a week ago. Forty-two minutes more than two weeks ago.

By the end of the month, we'll have gained more than an hour of daylight EVERY DAY in one month!

Day by day, it makes a difference!

Finally, Spring!

For the past few months, our weather has been cool - hardly spring-like.

First, we had lots of snow.

Then, as temperatures slowly climbed, lots of rain - so much, that there has been flooding.

Some farmers are pumping lots of water out of their fields.

Then - yay! The past few days have been warm and sunny!

And... I noticed flowers in several parts of our yard.

 

Just like that - a day or two of sun and warmth! And there they are! A welcome surprise!

Dance Competition!

Last weekend had lots of dance competitions in a theatre at the Museum of Canadian History.

So exciting!

My granddaughter takes several dance classes. 

She especially loves  "acro-dance"... acrobatics done to music.

It's breathtaking to watch!

I was never agile or athletic...!

But my father still entertained us with head stands when he was in his 80's! (I never mastered that either...)

It takes constant practice... and strength...

We all have different skills...

Terry usually adds: And I'm glad it's like that. Wouldn't it be awful if we were all the same!

New (Modified) Taco Recipe

One of my sons found a new recipe he wanted to try... It wasn't in a cookbook... 

But on You Tube!

Interesting... Why don't you make it for us?

So he did!

It was delicious!

Knitting Patterns Now

One of my knitting regrets is that I never learned how to knit without a pattern. 

My grandmother never used a pattern when knitting socks. She must have had some formula in her mind. She'd start - then hold a partially knit sock up against my foot to check the size... and adjust accordingly.

Likewise, when I was in university, my Polish landlady would knit a pullover for her son every winter as he grew - also without using a pattern.

I've knit garments for years - never without  using a pattern. My mother did the same.

When and why did that switch from intuition to written patterns occur? I wonder. 

Formerly, when the knitting "bug" "bit" - often in winter - I'd head to a yarn shop in search of a new knitting project, the pattern and the yarn.

How different things are now!

Now I find patterns online and purchase them - often directly from the designer. They arrive immediately on my Iphone - as a digital download. Then I print them up using my printer.

The process seems truly magical. I don't understand it.

Since I started downloading patterns, I've become a fan of certain knitwear designers in different parts of the world - checking out their latest collections on Instagram or Ravelry - just as I formerly used to check out patterns in magazines and pattern books in yarn shops. Then I had no idea who the designers were.

How different from what my mother and grandmother ever experienced!

I sometimes think how shocked they would be if they could see how things are done now!