The West Coast is often called the Wet Coast, due to the often grey skies and wet weather that can sometimes plague us! This year April and May as a unit are the coldest, greyest and wetest on record! And that is saying a lot! But this weekend, beginning Friday afternoon and continuing onward into the next week (they say!) has been blessed with classically beautiful West Coast Weather! Clear blue skies, lazy clouds, just a few for effect, and the steady breeze (some call it a wind) that usually comes with our clear weather have combined to create three (so far) near perfect days!
Yesterday we started the day with an early morning walk at Neck Point Park. This has long been one of my favorite places in Nanaimo. It had been left mostly wild for a very long time and only recently – the last 10 years or so has it had park status! My children and I used to wander around it before it was a park.
Everthing in the park is greening up and growing quickly, trying to make up for the long awaited heat and light. All growing things are late this year – the cooler weather and lack of sun has really affected the growth of the Wild Roses!.
The Wild Roses are very few this year. The plants are there but few flowers. Usually when they bloom there are banks of colour and scent – and you can look forward to a good harvest of rosehips for jelly, but not this year.
Yesterday afternoon I painted the last of the Leaf and Point Trio – the stole. The link will take you to a flick slideshow of the process of painting the three pieces.
The stole is my personal piece, the two scarves are for samples and will live at the store, but this one was knit for me – except I sort of overestimated my height! Finished and blocked the stole is 25in wide and 80in long. It only weights 150grs and was knit with
undyed Mericash, a Merino cashmere blend! It feels and looks wonderful – only a little personal bias here! I knit with Monet in mind, soft edges and Victorian Flower Gardens.
The afternoon ended with the first glass of white wine – Pinot Grigio – on our back deck. It was finally warm enough!
Today family is coming for supper. Most of the cooking is done – will be a cold meal. Cold Herb de Provence Roasted chicken, Tzatziki and Pita chips, Tomato and Salami Salad, Potato Salad, Green Salad and Shrimp Coleslaw. Followed by Strawberry Rhubard Pie – if anyone has any room left. I love a family meal, especially one where everything is done ahead of time! A family meal always seems so relaxed, lots of conversation and laughter, an easy way to catch up with the events in everyone’s lives!
It is great when you are ahead of your plans! And I have more than accomplished my aims in the painting department. But I want more! The stole wast the last piece left to paint and NOW I have nothing left to paint. Baltic Meadows was a bonus. But I will have to knit some more lace in undyed yarns before I can paint again. I need a plan! I have couple of ideas, but I also need some yarn. I’ll see what I come up with in the next few days – I don’t want to go into complete withdrawal!
Happy Knitting
Lynette