bonus day off

So, I have the day off tomorrow (don’t ask). Yes, it is a Thursday, and no, it’s not an official holiday. This comes right before the real Long Weekend, which I randomly *do* get off– all glorious three days of it– so it’s rather nice, although unexpected.

If only the weather would be as nice as on the day I took these pictures (about a week ago, in a brief respite from all this rain!), I might consider ambling about for a nice walk.

There’s certainly no shortage of lovely scenery around, although I am heavily leaning towards spending the entire day wearing pyjamas* and snuggling with the kitten. (*I will not, however, leave the house wearing said pyjamas, something I have unfortunately seen much too much of lately. And not just at Shoppers Drug Mart either, when it might possibly be excusable to run out in pj pants on your way to get cough syrup or something. Ack– pet peeve alert.)

Who knows? I suppose the weather will partly dictate my plans.

To anyone else enjoying an unexpectedly long Long Weekend, have fun! And sniff lots of flowers.

PS- I will soon take more photos of our balcony garden… the herbs have absolutely taken off (we had to cut back the chives!) and the colourful flowers look wonderful.

shopping trip

I really wasn’t planning to buy anything– I promise– but I couldn’t resist:

They are salt and pepper shakers!! And for only $4 for the set, it was impossible not to buy them. They are enjoying a spot on the table, close to the other ceramic animals in the dining room.

And! The Big Purchase, equally unplanned but equally necessary once seen:

A lightweight quilt/counterpane for summer– much nicer than just sheets, and cooler than the duvet which has been removed since spring. Here’s a closer look at the adorable pattern…

See? And the bluey-green in the background just fit perfectly with the current colour scheme. Really, there was no way not to buy it. Plus, it came with the two pillow shams pictured above, *and* a quilted bag in the same fabric & pattern, which I’ve sort of declared as a yarn storage bag. I mean- it’s huge and lovely, just perfect for keeping at my side while knitting or crocheting!

This weekend has been quite lovely so far, despite both the rainy weather and plethora of bad drivers (if you’re out there, orange Pontiac Pursuit with license plate “Gripstrs”, this means YOU). Just enough relaxing mixed in with going out, which is my favourite combination for a weekend.

Even Leela has found time to enjoy her favourite pastime: fish-watching!

summer’s here

… and we need to install our air conditioner. Although, rumour has it that the upcoming week will be cool and rainy. We shall see.

PS: listen to this (click on the text at the centre of the page to play.)

I’d rather be…

Oh goody; exam time is upon us. This means marking, marking, and yes… more marking. But the thing is, when faced with this:

I’d rather be drinking this:

or working on this:

or frankly, anything but the marking. Those aren’t even exams, yet… brace yourselves for macro-sized photos of stacks of legal-sized paper, the size-of-choice for printing exams (“This paper is longer than usual…! I am intimidated!) over the next couple of weeks. No, that lovely folder of papers is full of stuff I am supposed to have marked before the exams even begin. Yeah. Good luck to me.

At any rate, that lovely piece of purple knitting above is on its way to becoming a pillowcase. It may join its friends on the couch, or perhaps, if it’s lucky, end up sitting on the shelf at a local interior decor shop. Fingers crossed!

The stitch definition is wonderful, since it’s cotton yarn:

Aside from that, I’ve been the lucky recipient of random and completely lovely gifts, such as:

a bunch of lilies, which look quite exotic and fun… and a lion-shaped teapot. (To join my collection of other white animal-shaped dishes.)

I love gifts. And I hate marking.

lovely spring

I can’t imagine living in a climate that didn’t include spring. Case in point: the following…

If I hear one more person say (a) “Gee it sure is HOT out!” or (b) “You know, they say this summer is going to be the HOTTEST YET!” I will eat loads and loads of chocolate. (You see I chose something that isn’t actually bad, since I predict that within the next 5.8 minutes someone will say either of the above. Well, actually, since we’re just sitting at home and since I don’t live with anyone banal enough to think weather small-talk is amusing, it might be more than 5.8 minutes. And since the other creature I live with is a cat, who- despite giving off a constant aura of wisdom- hasn’t yet actually spoken, it may actually not be until tomorrow at work that I hear the comments. But I guarantee it.)