Knitter, Rug Hooker, Spinner and now Crochet?

Hi Megs,

I loved your pictures of Zanzibar! Wow. I then went into the link to all the pictures. You and your new husband (an our new son), Nathan, look so happy! What a wonderful adventure. I particularly like the pictures of the beach and boats and where you stayed. It brought back memories of Namibia - our funny little house on the Kanini River. Like all mothers, I love to see my children happy, happy.

We are enjoying our winter. There is something about winter - looking outside with the snow, frost, rain, wind but being cozy inside. I got up about 6:15 yesterday morning and looked out and there were 6 deer eating grass through the sprinkling of snow right outside the front windows. It was beautiful.

I am really enjoying working away on my knitting, rug hooking and spinning - and I have added crochet. I had not taken up a crochet hook for 30 years. I saw this pattern for a ruck sack in an old Rowan Magazine (#16). I had some Noro (I always keep a supply of Noro around - I love knitting with it) Kureyon so I stated messing with it - found the little wrist twist came back really fast - and before long it was done! Really like it. I did cheat with the straps. I got this funny little knitting machine on EBay - from the 1940's. It makes I-cord by turning the little crank. It is a very solid little thing - made of metal. It is called the Hobby-Knit. I didn't think Noro, not being spun tightly, would fit it it but it did. I cranked away and out came the I-cord. It has 6 hooks so it makes a really nice dense cord. It is a hoot! I really like the colours of the Noro that came through on the bag. This is a keeper! My new knitting bag!

And my spinning - having a grand time with this. I am getting better. I plied my first wool - and you can see from the balls of yarn - from left to right - good, better, best.... I now want to play with some colour and maybe some dying. But I do like the natural colours. Don't know what I am going to make with it yet.

I have also been knitting. I made two more little purses - played with the design and with beads. I like the way they look.
As to rug hooking. I am working on a mat I don't like - a Welcome Mat with lobster boats - that is using a big cut - #6 - just want to get it finished. I like a small cut, #3 or #4 at the largest. What I am looking forward to is a mat that Pam MacIsaac-Adams drew for me of your father's grandfather's house in Sedalia (1878). I am colour planning it now and will try to dye the wool myself or have Pam help me. I took a picture of the house when we were home this summer and she drew the mat based on it. Stan's aunt, Betty Bob, who with Uncle Van (Stan's dad's youngest brother) now own the house and farm, is in the picture with the wheelbarrow.

I think it will be really nice when I finish it. I am itching to get started. I am going to White Point Beach again, Feb 3-6, for a 4 day hook-in with the South Shore women. We are also going to have a 4 day hook-in at our house for the local hooking groups, Carpetbaggers and Rugg Bees, Feb 18-21. I have to get the wool dyed so I can work on it so I can take it to these. I think they will like hooking at our house because it is easy to clean the hardwood floors - and the views and lots of light.

So, I am spinning, knitting, rug hooking and now crochet. Busy, busy. And then there is "the shop", Hands on Crafts. Doris and I took part in a Women's Winterlude show yesterday - a showcase for women in business. We had THE most colourful booth and met a lot of people who didn't know about the shop or didn't know all the things we now have rug hooking supplies, wool, roving, and beads. It was fun.
In the middle, front you can see the rug I am working on know (one the frame with the green cover around it (the cover protects my wrists from the gripper strips)). It says "Welcome" and has two lobster boats on it - one yellow, one red.

I went to see the movie, Juno with some of my Kayaking buddies - really recommend it. As a former high school teacher and principal I can tell you that it was so real! These are not "Hollywood" 16 year olds but REAL 16 year olds. So well written and acted - and Ellen Page is from Halifax.

We have been going to Mariner hockey games, to Bruno's special dinners and enjoying winter and just keeping cozy in the house. It has been a nice winter.

Take care.

Love ya,

Mom
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Zanzibar, Part 1

Hi Mom,

Well, after a long delay, here finally are our pictures from our Zanzibar honeymoon last October/November! What's below represents a very small sampling of all the pictures we took - a larger selection can be found on my flickr page. But these are the highlights of our trip!

We left on a Friday morning, flying to New York, then London and finally Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, where we landed very early Sunday morning. That our plane was early was perfect timing, as we managed to catch a cab and get to the ferry terminal just in time to be rushed onto a 7:30 ferry to Zanzibar. The our and a half ferry ride was just enough time to relax and actually absorb the fact that we were in Africa!

Boats in Stonetown harbor.

We called ahead to let our hotel know we were on our way, and were picked up at the ferry terminal (a good thing, as it was total chaos at the arrivals area!) and brought to our home for the night in Stonetown, historic 236 Hurumzi (formerly Emerson & Green). We were given the Tour Suite, which was beautiful - it had it's own little rooftop deck with a view of the Hindu temple next door and the harbor beyond.

Tour Suite, and it's view of Stonetown from the rooftop gazebo.

It was great to get in to Stonetown several hours earlier than planned, giving us time to relax over a lunch of hummus and falafels at a restaurant named for famous Zanzibari singer Bi Kidude, and then get out and explore the town.

An outside view of a Muslim temple, and one of Stonetown's many carved doors.
(More pictures of Stonetown and it's sights are on flickr!)

That night we had reservations at the hotel's TowerTop restaurant, where we were served a feast and treated to dancers and singers between courses. At the end of the meal, they invited selected diners to come up and dance with them - guess who was chosen to hit the floor!

My husband, dancing!

The next day we headed about 20 mintues outside the city to Mbweni Ruins hotel, where we were to stay for most of our trip. Right on the beach, this hotel is set next to the ruins of a former girl's school after which it's named.

Some of the Mbweni Ruins.

The beach and dock at Mbweni.

With friendly staff, a wonderful restaurant and just a generally relaxing atmosphere, this was a great base for the next few days exploring the island. We went to Jozani forest to see the red colobus monkeys:


We went back to Stonetown for more exploration and a little bit of shopping, including the quilted pillowcase for you from the Sasik women's collective:


And we went on a Spice Tour, were we learnt about all of the island's spice crops (pepper, cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, curry and on and on...) and were hosted by a great guide.

My husband, decked out in style for the spice tour, while I enjoy some coconut milk at the end of the walk.

We also took every opportunity to capture the spirit of Zanzibar:

Two coconuts waiting for a ride?

Schoolchildren on a break between classes.

A special kind of palm tree, and how to get your satellite service in style!

After three days at Mbweni, we packed our bags to head out on our next series of adventures - more on that to follow!

Zanzibar, Part 2

After spending our first part of the trip on the island of Zanzibar itself, we had the opportunity to spend one day and night further removed, on Chumbe Island Coral Park, an eco-resort off the west coast. (Really, we planned to go just for the day, but when I realized that I had goofed and not booked us anywhere to stay the night of the first - and that they had a room available that very evening - how could we resist the opportunity to stay over?)

Although it was just 24 hours, Chumbe was definitely the highlight of our stay. Photographs can't really convey how wonderful this place was - snorkeling excursions in the morning, forest walks in the afternoon, fabulous meals throughout the day and lots of time to just relax in one of the 7 eco-bungalows where guests stay. Again, there are many more photos on flickr!

On the way to Chumbe (how great that the pick-up point for the boat was at Mbweni Ruins resort?)

A hermit crab on the beach at Chumbe - these were everywhere on the island.
(We also stumbled across - literally - a huge coconut crab on our way home from dinner. I don't know who was more surprised, him or us!)

Our home for the night, bungalow #7 (left) and the Chumbe lighthouse (right).

After our night in paradise, we sadly had to pack back up and make our way to our last big stop, Matemwe resort on Zanzibar's east coast. This was a small but luxe all-inclusive place that again had wonderful food, a relaxing atmosphere and wonderful service - we were treated like stars!

Nathan enjoying the sunrise coffee & tea service on the oceanfront veranda of our bungalow.

Not only were we treated every morning as we watched the sun come up and the fishermen set out, but on our last night the manager surprised us with a private meal to celebrate our honeymoon. Champagne, rock lobster, prawns and more - so much more than we could possibly eat! It was a wonderful end to a relaxing few days.

Women on the beach at Matmwe, while fishermen sail by.

On the beach at Matemwe at low tide.

For Matemwe village, everything happens on or near the beach!

Too soon, though, our last day was upon us and it was time to start the slow return back to civilization. Our original plan had been to take the ferry back to Dar es Salaam the day before our 9am flight. Once again, though, luck was with us and we managed to find a small charter flight from Zanzibar that was scheduled specifically to leave at dawn to connect with our BA flight home - and there were two tickets left for the day we were leaving! - allowing us one more day on the island.

Since Mbewni Ruins hotel is right next to the airport, we decided to stay there as a base for our final day as we headed back to Stonetown for one last visit. There we had a wonderful lunch at a coffee house (cardamom coffee, delicious), did some final shopping (wait until you come visit us and see the lintel post we shipped home as luggage!) and came across a sign that Nathan will hopefully keep in mind from here on out:



We stayed in Stonetown until evening, going to the Fordhani evening market for what was probably the best food of our whole trip, cooked fresh on the seafront from the catch of the day served to us by an entertaining group of vendors all certain that theirs was the freshest and tastiest option, and eaten by the light of gas lamps and flashlights:

(Too bad that by the time we got to this feast, we were still too full from all the food we'd eaten over the course of our holiday that we could hardly take in anything at all!)

Then, sadly, it was back to the hotel to pack and get ready for our 6am flight to Dar and home. We brought back lots of mementos and memories, though - and we're already looking for our next trip that will give us a chance to relax like this!

Love,

Megan

Spinning!

Hi Megs,

The pictures of the storm - wow. You have so many trees with so many branches to fall on so many things. We have so much wind around here that any tree branch or tree to come down has already come down! Hope all is quiet now. I haven't heard much more in the news.

Our Christmas, like yours was really nice. We got lots of loot. Here is a picture of Clay relaxing in the Sun after a very big Christmas dinner and Stan reading a gift - Clay got his a subscription to the London Review of Books. In fact, like you, we got a lot of books!



But my best, best present was all the yarn from you and Clay and a spinning wheel from Stan! It is an Ashford Traditional. I had to put it together and then I oiled it with Teak oil - all by myself.

Then I had to learn to spin....GRRRRR. I almost gave up and thought I was just too old to "walk and chew gum" at the same time. But in the case of spinning you have to get the wheel going slowly with the treadle, hold the wool so it will twist and go onto the bobbin with the right hand and draw out the roving with the left hand in time with the right! I got some Corriedale roving - really nice - but Yikes! I worked with Doris (who spins so beautifully) for over 3 hours and all I got was lumps, twings, crazy knots and aggravation! I also wasted a lot of the beautiful roving. Finally Doris very kindly said, maybe you should take a break and knit for a little while...so I did.

This is what my first wool looked like (not plied the is one long lumpy strand - I just gave up on it - too big, too lumpy, too nuts!)
I got a book "The Ashford Book of Spinning" by Ann Field. It said "....co-ordination is the key to spinning, you will suddenly find that you have "got" it." I was not so sure about this but I worked at it in the mornings (we put the wheel at the bottom of the stairs) and wow....all the sudden I DID have it. The wheel speed, pinch and pull all worked and am I proud of myself - this old gal!

I now have one spools spun and another one in progress.




Then I will be ready to ply it - that is my next challenge. You have to spin the wheel in the opposite direction (counter clockwise). I think I will check with Doris before I take this next step.

So wish me luck. Someday I may actually make something out of what I am spinning.

I do like it. It is so nice to sit and spin - oddly relaxing and satisfying.

Take care - looking forward to seeing your honeymoon pictures and your knitting.

Love ya,

Mom
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Winter Storms

Hi Mom,

Well, I'm finally back in the blogosphere after a long absence! First there was getting caught up with myself after getting back from Zanzibar, then I had to deal with getting a new computer (my old one just couldn't keep up with me anymore!) and finally I got a new camera for Christmas that I had to spend some time playing with and getting used to. I've been busy too though during all this time so hopefully I'll have plenty to blog about from here on in!

There are many photos of Zanzibar to come, and I've been doing a lot of knitting too. But I thought I'd get back into things with the big news here right now, the winter storms that ripped through Northern California last weekend. (We even had to close the showroom at work when we lost power on Friday, after mopping up from all the water that poured in through the windows and through the ceiling - thanks to the former tenant in the empty unit above ours, who left the windows open when they cleared out of the space!)

When the rain took a break and everything settled down, it was amazing to see how much damage and debris there was everywhere. So of course I had to take my new camera out to try and capture what I could.

Nathan and Rushka walking up Park Hill, and along Buena Vista Park

Trees and branches knocked down in Buena Vista Park

What was a streetsign - and the tree next to our parking space at home
(luckily I was still at work when this one blew down!)

The streets of San Francisco after the storm

(Okay, so there are other images out there that are much more dramatic, but I forgot my camera on the day of the high winds - so I missed the exciting scenes, like the tree that went through the roof of a subaru parked outside of my work... but I still thought these shots were pretty cool!)

Since we were flooded in the first big storm last winter, I was worried about how our apartment would fare this year. Happily we were fortunate to stay dry this time around (those sandbags on the deck might not be pretty, but at least they're useful). Which meant we had the chance to relax and be cozy in from the rain during the spates of bad weather outside. Overall, Nathan and I have been doing well this holiday season, first with a great Christmas with all of his family in Texas, and then with our indulgent second Christmas at home in San Francisco.

Our haul from Christmas in Paris - and goodies from Canada too!

(The lady was happy she wasn't forgotten!)

Nathan's family enjoyed being together for Christmas so much that they decided to spend New Year's together as well, so Rachael, Matt, Jessica & Patrick all came up to San Francisco for the holiday weekend. The first time they had all spent New Year's together since they were small! It was so great to have them here and to have a chance to spend the time together. We had a delicious meal at a wonderful Italian restaurant, then rung in the New Year at on of the city's best dive bars with a sampling of the unique characters that San Francisco has to offer. It was a great way to ring in 2008! (Next year, I'd like to see if Nathan and I can go out with Clay in New York, if his plans to move play out as planned....)

While everyone was here, we went to SFMoMA and saw one work by a photographer who took pictures every year of his wife and her sisters in order by age. So of course we had to take a picture of the Smith siblings for posterity too, in order by age:

Now the trick is to get a photo of them all together every year from here on out!

More posts with photos of Zanzibar and of course my knitting projects are upcoming. But I thought you would want to know that I am still out here, and that we made it through the holidays in style and the storms in one piece!

Love to you both,

Megan