Knitters And Hikers

Knitting and hiking - both things I love to do. Since moving to Thornbury though, and despite living amongst some of the best hiking areas in Ontario, I have done far less hiking than in London.

My preference (perhaps because this was the norm in London) is to hike for a couple of hours, have coffee with my hiking friends then head for home. Hikers here, seem to enjoy longer hikes. They start later in the morning, incorporate lunch and make a day of it. I keep paying my membership dues and waiting for someone to organize - 'my type' of hike. That is to say - I have often bitched suggested that instead of the long, time-consuming hikes, we do a two hour hike. To date, no hiker has responded to my suggestion.

So, in true Brenda fashion, I decided to organize my own hikes. Calling them Two Hour Tuesdays, I started with Ingrid. Knowing that she too loves to hike, I asked her to come along on today's inaugural hike. Then, as we were preparing to head for home last Thursday, after knit group, I mentioned it to Wilma as well.

Imagine my surprise, when today, at 9 am, I pulled into the parking lot to see six!!! hikers. Ingrid invited two friends - both knitters. Wilma invited a friend - another knitter. Not one hiker had taken my suggestion, but you can count on knitters. Six, knitting-hikers , or better said, hiking-knitters had a wonderful morning hiking the Trout Hollow Trial in Meaford. Of course, I didn't think to take the camera, so in your mind's eye, I hope you can see the Blood Root, Violets, Fiddleheads and trout fishermen - one with three trout in the net, that we saw.

And now, I still have lots of day before me. I could spring clean the next room on the list. wash some more sweaters, or make the bathrooms sparkle.

Instead, I think I will

Lack of Knitting.

There wasn't much knitting here at the Harris Household over the weekend. Saturday, we spent in Toronto, as Peter had a show opening at the Mira Godard Gallery. Sunday, I spent reading Next by Michael Crichton. It is this month's book club selection and I am w-a-y behind.

So, when I sat down to write today's blog post, there was limited knitting to inspire me. Instead, I will point you in the direction of what inspired me in blogland today.

Elana at I Frogged It has some marvellous pictures of her visit to the Koigu farm. Amykaralee and Terri inspired me with food. Amykaralee has a new recipe for a Feta Potato Pie which I will serve with Terri's Chocolate Brownie Cookies tomorrow night.

Kim at Curliegirl is taking ice cube baths!! - Well, only after running her usual Sunday 42 K run!!

Now, off to get some knittting done. It's been a long time since I had a FO and I'm anxious.

Spring Cleaning - Knitter Style

It's that time of year.

The season to shake off the dust and cobwebs of winter. Some people wash walls, scrub floors, polish silver, and windows. Me, I do this.

I sort my winter sweaters.

Then I wash them. My soap of choice is Eucalan - the no-rinse, wool wash.
Following the wash, comes the lengthy drying process. Sweaters laid flat on a towel on the bed, don't dry quickly.

This year, though, I came across a quick-dry method. Place the sweaters in the dryer - no heat - for 20 minutes. It works great. The dryer takes out the dripping moisture, encouraging them to dry much more quickly. But with no heat, the sweaters don't felt.

Einstein Coat

Ramswool Vest

Two down, countless to go.