St Andrews, July 20 2002 

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth

Then took the other, just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, and I—
I took the one less travelled by,
And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost

Circumstances being what they are in my life, these days are ones of reflection and of seeking the truth inside of myself. The road thus far has been long, and pitted, and full of dangerous curves. By times there have been exciting hills, and wide open fields either side, full of sunshine and summer breezes. Though they may be brief and far apart, they have given me the strength to survive the steep and narrow paths through dark forests and around craggy cliffs. My current craggy cliff is not as scary as the one five years ago, but I learned a lot on that last precipice, and lost a beautiful treasure over the edge half way through the steepest curve.

I have learned not to be so careless with my valuables.

Going through my photos tonight, I stumbled across two images that brought immediate feelings of peacefulness and utter joy. These photos were taken on the happiest day of my life so far. At the first glimpse of these photos my heart skipped, and the day flooded back to me in rushing images. The winding country roads, the airstream trailor with the two-story addition and chicken coop in the yard, the wooden castle and dinner from a paper bag, enjoyed by the ocean side. There is nothing I would change about this day at all, except maybe the disappointing chowder that my fellow traveller had for lunch. The weather was beautiful, the company treasured, and the moment forever imbedded in my heart. I will treasure it always. If there was time travel, this is the day I would visit.

Tomorrow the photos get blown up and framed. Inspiration for the days to come.

Loom update

Well, we have lumber, we have yarn, and we have a bottle of Australian wine. I have the power tools necessary for cutting, drilling and screwing the beast together. So why is the warp weighted loom not done?  Well folks, it will be worked on this fine evening for sure. I have been inspired by my recent trip to Jackie’s where she was busily dyeing wool, and snapping photos of her progress. Her warp is pretty, beautiful even. Stunning might come to mind. I am so very inspired by it that I have hauled out my yarns and am going to embark on a marathon Dye session of my own. My warp is going to be much smaller, and will definitely be less painterly. But it sure will beat the crappy colours that it is at the moment. The yarn is a lovely fine merino pilfered from Jackie’s stash, and bound for a reproduction Roman fabric. It has an unfortunate, 1980’s country blue colour that does nothing for me. It shall become a lovely rich indigo colour before the evening is done. I may even find a cool colour for the crap green that accompanies it.
I have tablets threaded already for the tablet weaving samples to accompany the loom, and am planning a bit o’ weaving on them while my warp simmers in its bath of rich blue dye. I am thoroughly enjoying this wee project, and don’t even resent the paperwork involved. Will post yarn pictures soon.
Night y’all, gotta get at it…
Lizzie

Cause I have SOOO Much Spare Time, I am taking the challenge

Well I am up for the challenge. I am preparing myself for Jay’s contest. Though time is at a premium right now, what with papers to write, projects to finish, and money to earn, I think I need something fun to fill in my off hours. I am likely not going to knit, because that requires too much time, I shall sew, embellish and weave my way through this, I have beads being ignored, and silk calling my name. Or maybe it is time I finally made the damned boiled wool jacket… decisions, decisions.
I give myself till tomorrow to decide what I am making, commit to a fabric, and do some sketches. Jay will have my entry verified by tomorrow evening. I swear it. I may even have swatched some stuff by then!

My Fabulous Day

Went to the library today all by myself. There was no one saying “I’m bored” , no one needed to pee. No one even had the urge to fight and expect me to mediate. I left when they rang the little almost closed bell, stress free, not ready to kill and maim. I have made progress on my homework, and feel able to breathe. For all of these blessings, I thank Jackie.
Merci beaucoup, ma belle amie!

Why I Love My House, Warts and All

Every now and again I have to remind myself what it is I love about my house. I have had a particularly event filled week regarding my humble pile of sticks. It is an old beast, and needs constant fine-tuning. This odd winter we are experiencing has played havoc with my pipes.  And I sadly need to save for new windows, and sewage drain pipes,. Within the next few years I have to rid myself of my oil-burning furnace, and replace with Gas or electric. I have had the old girl for 10 ½ years, and we have had a love / hate relationship for most of it. So bear with me while I share what I do love about her.
I love my Kitchen. It is a work in progress, but I love it. I love the counter top of beautiful tiles that Jackie and I designed over a pint of beer. I love the sandy tile floors, and the warm, rich, pumpkin walls. I love that when we tore off the hideous vinyl wall board and cheap pine wainscoting that was poorly installed, we found original beaded board on walls and ceiling. When I finally put up the crown moulding and cup shelves it will be EXACLTY the kitchen I want. I love that when I look out my French door in summer, I see a crazy vine laden with grapes, and know we will have jelly, or wine in the fall. I love the art that hangs above my table. It is vibrant and warm and meaningful.
I love that all the baseboards are lovely wide pieces of wood, I love the random pine floor in my Bedroom, The tiles I am laying in the hall, and the sloppy ceilings on the second floor. I love my walk in closet. When I finally organize it I may move in to it.
I love my location, I don’t need a car to function day to day. I can walk to the grocery store, my sister’s office, liquor store, pub, and all the good restaurants. I have a hardware store and art supply store and a yarn store close enough to practically spit on. There are two used bookstores and a great independent bookseller within a block of each other sandwiched between my favourite pub, the art supply store and my favourite restaurant
Jackie, her DH and kids are two blocks away, and the kids are old enough to make the journey on their own. Finally. We have two indoor and one outdoor rink within walking distance, should we get the urge to skate. The police station is three blocks away, so when Kate makes soup, I can generally get some before Fredericton’s finest descends upon it like a herd of locusts.
My kids and I can walk to school and everywhere else. We like that.  All in all, it ain’t such a bad place to be. Except when the pipes burst, and you are ankle deep in mud trying to solder copper pipes that won’t stop dripping. Or when your drain freezes and your washer spews all over the laundry area, and through the floor to the basement. But thank the gods and goddesses for dirt floor basements!

But the really good things are:
I do now have fully functional pipes to all of my water areas, both hot and cold.
I can now solder copper pipes, and have the tools to do it should the need arise.
I know how to shut off water supplies.
I saved approximately $200 in plumber fees, and survived the adventure..
I don’t hate my house, and nobody caught a tirade of swearwords. NOT EVEN ONCE!!!!!

Totally stolen from CanKnittian

List seven songs you are into right now. No matter what the genre, whether they have words, or even if they’re any good, but they must be songs you’re really enjoying now. Post these instructions in your blog along with your seven songs. Then tag seven other people to see what they’re listening to.

Stormy Weather - Sarah Harmer, Songs for Clem

A great re-make of a fabulous song. I can’t get enough of this one, the whole album really works for me, but this song has always been one of my faves, and she just does it ever so well.

Raised on Robbery- Joni Mitchell
Every good Canadian girl should have this song in her repertoire. It is the ultimate dance around, housecleaning, ruising- down –the –highway with the top down song.

American Idiot- Green Day
This one just says it all.

Skater Boi- Avril Lavigne
This one is courtesy of the wee missy in my house. She has given up on the girly girl fuss and is wearing combats and singing along with Avril dancing up a storm. I am thoroughly enjoying this phase in our life. She keeps me real.

Down to The River to Pray- Alison Kraus
This song levels me, brings me to a place I can deal with, when shit is going on.

Sugar Magnolia- Grateful Dead
This song never leaves my playlist. It has been there in many forms for more years than I can count. I never met a version of it that I didn’t like.

I’ll Fly Away- Alison Kraus, Gillian Welch

Just plain brilliant on every level, great song, great singers.

Tied for number 8 for many reasons are the following

Uncle John’s Band- Indigo Girls, Deadicated
Ripple- Jane’s Addiction, Deadicated
Big yellow Taxi- Joni Mitchell
Canadian railroad Trilogy- Gordon Lightfoot.

And on that note, I tag:
Kate, Jackie, Joe, Kelly, Jay, Deb, Diana

work in progress

Just a little update on the goins on here chez lizzie. I am working on a project for my power of images class, and am having a blast. The assignment was to appropriate an image and make it something it isn't. I chose to cut wee missy here from a photo and play around with her a bit.
The original photo has her father and brother on either side, all hangin out the window first thing after nap time. Messy hair and sleepy eyes and such. I am making her a glamour queen. kinda wierd, buit definately out of context no? not sure what the final product will look like but the playing around is kind of fun fer sure.
they may become stitched papers, or they may just be apprpriated in other ways. dunno yet. I think she would make a great t-shirt. or poster.