HAPPY 2016!!!

After a lovely holiday in Mooresburg, I've spent the past couple of days settling back into Toronto and work and the recent cold spell we're experiencing. My holiday time in Mooresburg seemed to happen in slow motion, and my return to reality has been even more jarring as a result. It's taken me the past 2 days to jump back in, but I'm here now!

My long and luxurious break provided lots of opportunity for exploring (yay!) and knitting (the best!)

 All the pairs of my Favourite Socks are finished. Ends woven in, photographed and ready to be given to their various recipients (not one single pair is for me this time, which feels pretty good I must say). If you can believe it, I still love knitting these socks. I've even got the yarn all ready for my next pair!

 

There was, unavoidable, a lag in studio productivity over Christmas and the New Year, but it was not completely without progress. The insulation is in, the insulation is in!!! Wahoo! I KNOW that if you had tried to talk to me about spray foam insulation a year ago I would have glazed over and thought about mermaids instead. All that has changed now. It's so cozy, so toasty and (my favourite bit) so PINK! I'm going to be sad to cover up that lovely colour...

As the weather in Mooresburg turned quite blustery and cold, my little shed remained warm and comfy even without the heat connected! I have my eye on a teeny little woodburner that should be just the right thing to heat this space. 

Next week a few local Amish carpenters are putting up these lovely wall boards. Can't wait!

Happily, I was able to explore a couple of new (to me) trails that are very close to the store. Both run through abandoned farms, sugar shacks and fields and are now protected land. Miles of beautiful stone walls, the remains of tiny cottages and old forest seemed to be everywhere.

 

I could go on with the pictures...forever...but I will stop there. It was so nice to take the time for long walks, fresh air and beautiful scenery. Back in Toronto, I'm jumping back into work feeling reinvigorated and ready to face the long to do list that is 2016. 

Happy New year to all!!

the time I was utterly lost in the forest

 Seriously. Last week I set out for a hike with my little sister's little dog. The plan was to walk from Owen Sound to nearby Inglis Falls along the well worn Bruce Trail. Well, I don't know whether it was me or the trail, but something went awry. I have already visited the falls, so I knew they were seriously beautiful and not too far away from Owen Sound. It was supposed to be about 10 kilometers there and back. I'm sure it would have been for a person who had thought to bring a map or a compass. I did not consider any of these things in my excitement to get going...

 All the trails are marked with these little paint splodges on trees. Different colours indicate which trail you're on.

Violet (she's pretty cute, isn't she?!) and I made it to the falls safely. They were even more beautiful than I remembered and we stayed there for a long while exploring and climbing rocks in the sunshine.

 

 

It was the journey home that got us turned around. Actually, I'm sure that Violet the dog knew exactly where she was going the entire time. It was likely only me that went the wrong way. Even though I reached a point where markings on trees seemed to want me to go either all directions at once or they would simply disappear altogether, I managed to enjoy the beautiful walk and amazing life in the forest that day.

These tiny little guys were no bigger than a pomegranate seed!

 

 

 

Even though I was cursing the Bruce trail at the time for sending me on a wild hunt for the next white rectangle painted on a tree, the walk was still utterly fabulous! Violet and I took 2 hours longer than we should have to find our way back (and were spit out on the motorway with a long walk home) but I put that all down to my complete lack of navigational skills. We spent the last hour or so of the walk scaling steep craggy rock up and down endless slopes - serious adventure time! Even the energetic little pup was knackered by the time we emerged from the forest, covered in bug bites and mud, twigs in my hair. Can't wait to get lost in there again very soon, although, I think I will bring along a map next time!