Spring has arrived in Yarmouth

Hi Megs,

Spring has finally arrived here! We have little flowers and today we cleaned up the yard. One sure sign of spring is that we can put the clothes on the line (couldn't last week - that awful Nor'easter just about blew us away - wild winds!) and Dad has his tractor out!

We have little daffodils and crocuses up and others almost to burst. Love your flowers - they are so nice.

Can't wait to see you guys - but it almost didn't happen! Had an awful few days last week - Canada Post lost an Express Post (24 hrs) registered (get a signature) letter I sent on the 11th to Clay with all our original "important papers" so he could get his US citizenship - including my US passport! After a lot of crazies including calling the RCMP (really worried about identity theft - so were the RCMP) and with NO help from Canada Post "investigators" (their tracking said, "delivered to recipient" (no signature) on Friday the 13th - YIKES) it arrived 7 days later all beat up. I wouldn't have been able to cross the boarder by plane without it because of new US RULES. Clay then Fedex'ed it back to me (it did come in less than 24 hrs) so all is well and we will be on our way May 1. Canada Post is going to give me my $18.81 back! Nice of them. Nothing like having your identities floating around Toronto for 7 days.

In the middle of all this came the news of the shootings at Virginia Tech. Awful, awful. The French teacher who was killed was from Yarmouth - graduated from Yarmouth High School. She is Muriel Mooney's sister - you may remember Muriel from your work At the Sign of the Whale. She is Joan's friend. Very sad - the whole thing is nuts. I found it really shook me up. And knowing the campus of Indiana University in a small town like VT, there is no way to get word to people. It happened, everyone did their best. Can't predict what people will do. This came just after the deaths of 10 Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan and one badly injured young man who was from Yarmouth - his mother goes to Figures with me. Too close to home!

Got some wonderful pictures of your grandmother (my dear old mother) taken at Easter with Meredith . She doesn't look 90 - almost 91! They had a little Easter gathering for her at John Knox. Meredith really looks like a young woman. You will have a grand time when she - and the "aunts" visit you this summer.

I have also been working with the Rotary GSE team getting all our documents, clothes, gifts, airline tickets, yada, yada, yada,.... ready to leave on May 16th for Brazil. Have to get it as organized as possible before we leave to come to see you. We have started our own GSE 7820/4700 Blog. We hope to post as we go along so everyone will know what we are up too. Don't know if this is going to be possible - don't know how busy we will be - but we hope so. We, Gabrielle, Heather-Anne, Amy, Nola and me, are really getting excited. We will have our tickets and visas soon!

When I come back from Brazil I am flying directly to Kansas City to Anne's wedding. Don't know if you will be coming - hope you are. Clay isn't because his friend Austin, from Ottawa, is getting married that same weekend. Your Dad is going to drive down via baseball parks. Then we are going to drive home via Fredericton, New Brunswick, so Stan can go to a retirement party for the Executive Director of the Canadian Literacy Data Base - Stan was on their board for many years. We probably won't be home until the end of June. Kind of a crazy May & June.

I am almost finished the last - 5th - shawl. Doris said she is NEVER going to spin dark brown wool again! Will be so happy when I get these done. Then I thought I really should do something for the Rotarians who are going to host me. First I tried a felted purse - NOT GOOD! Looks muddy. I used two different yarns and I got a flower pot! Live and learn. Sometimes the variegated yarns look nice but when you felt them they go AWFUL. The yarns matched before I felted it. Somehow the green disappeared in the variegated yarn. I think I WILL make it into a flower pot cover.

So I am making the little purse - about 4"X6" from a pattern in "One Skein Wonders", the Lotus Purse, page 49. I am using Noro Kureyon and the colours are turning out really nicely. It is an interesting pattern - I used it before with blue denim yarn - you slip every other one stitch with yarn in front when you knit and yarn in back when your purl. Makes a fabric look. I braided the fringe. I might have to enlist your help with this project - I need to make at least 12 of them. It takes about two hours to make one. I will bring this project with me to San Francisco. I am using pewter buttons from Nova Scotia that I got at At The Sign of the Whale. Don't remember who makes them.

Then on top of that I am hooking a pattern on an apron we are going to give away at the Spring Fling. This is a one-day event where the Yarmouth rug hookers, the Rugg Bees and Carpetbaggers, invite hookers in the area (Digby, Shelburn, Lunenburg, Annapolis Valley) to a hook-in. It is always grand fun. I will probably miss it this year but will make the prize. It won't take very long but I am going to dye a 6 value swatch of a brownish colour for the hive. I am all set up downstairs and this will be my first real project in the "basement lab". I have the wool soaking now.

Just got back from the Mayflower Awards. The town and municipality of Yarmouth award certificates to people in the community who have nice gardens. It is a nice event at the Town Hall. We have won it for several years. I think once you win you just keep getting the certificate unless you die or your property goes to rack and ruin - which it may this year because we are both going to be gone during prime weeding season!

So - kind of crazy here. At least I have my passport back. This and VT did not help with my stress level. But - I do it to myself.

Good for you for the running thing. I am also running - on a treadmill. As you know, running down a country road is sort of boring and also dangerous! Would be much nicer in SF. The pictures are beautiful but not sure what the flower is. It may be a passion flower fully opened. It is a vine but the flowers are usually more purple. I do my running at Figures. I haven't lost much weight either - about 9 lbs so far - but my body has changed for the better - in the butt and middle areas (uppers and lowers). I am up to 1.5 miles/day and then I do the circuit of machines. It takes about an hour. I go at least 3 times a week - sometimes more. I do enjoy it but do I ever sweat! Just like my father.

Your shawl is coming along nicely as is your Eveleen. It is nice to take things slowly. I have just set myself too many deadlines these days. And I do like your mystery project - but don't like to crochet but do like what it makes. It hurts my hands - although I do like the rhythm of it. I am going to bring my Lady Eleanor with me. I haven't done a stitch on it - won't till I finish the shawls but will work it in between little bags! I think I'm nuts.

So - we will be there on May 1. You will have to talk to your father about when because he keeps talking to Air Canada and they keep changing stuff. You know how he loves to fiddle with that kind of thing. He also has plans about what we are doing so I am just along for the ride, to be with him and you both and Rushka. Going to be great.

Here is a cartoon from the New Yorker that hits in on the head with your Father and me! ("All I ever wanted was one of those gizmos that allow time travel without violating the grandfather paradox, but, oh no, you had to have your damn model-train layout with automatic freight-shunting capability")

I can now say - will be seeing you! The peepers on the pond just started peeping last Saturday night when we came home from the Hospital Gala we heard them for the first time. Now they are in full voice - I love the sound.

Love ya,
Mom