Tuesday 27 June 2006

End of June update

Well! The trip to Prince Rupert was FANTABULOUS!

I stayed here and highly recommend it. (Check them out!) Its a lovely rather quaint 3-storey house converted into a hostel. Everything was spotlessly clean, and they provided a free shuttle to and from the train station. Most of the travellers who stayed there were Europeans -- of all ages. Definately a fun way to meet new people. (And those late-night multi-lingual Scrabble games were a blast!)
The hostel is in the area of the city. Yes, Virginia, pretty much everything in the area sports that familiar black and white cow theme. For example:

This 'bathtub' was outside the tee-shirt shop, next door to the hostel. If you're in the Cow Bay area, you absolutely must take yourself to Cowpuccinos for the BEST carrot cake in the world! There are so many 'cow' postcards on the walls inside, you might have to have a second serving of carrot cake in order to look at them all.
I saw lots of these ... a nice change from PG. I swear the bird life here in PG consists of crows and more crows. Right now there are baby crows. Ever heard a baby crow squawking for food? Nasty! And they start squawking for food around 4 am!
I managed to down a few cold ones here along with a couple of great fish & chips meals. There's something special about eating fish & chips while watching a fisherman gut and clean a fish on the dock below! I think I ate enough fish to keep me satisfied until . . . last Monday. (I'm already craving good fish again! You just can't get good fish & chips in PG!)

You all know no trip would be complete for me without finding yarn or fabric. I never did find a fabric store, but I found yarn! I came home with some Briggs & Little 'Durasport' -- one-ply, 80% wool / 20% nylon -- two of ecru & one of a deep ocean-looking green. It comes in generous balls, 4 ozs I think, and should make lots of socks. I also met and knitted briefly with a small group of delightful knitters. (Hi Shelley & friends!)

The week ended with SeaFest, Prince Rupert's annual 3-day bash -- complete with great parade, tons of events, and the best darned shishkabob I've had in I don't know how long. The train ride back to PG was a little anticlimatic after that.

So. Back in PG. Have yarn, but no knitting happening! I've been working on a couple of quilting projects instead:

* 'Love me, love my cat' place mats (BD prezzie for someone who loves her
cat)

* 'Village Women' quilt (which was SUPPOSED TO BE African-prints placemats,
but the fabrics WANTED TO BE something much greater, so its now twin-bed
sized)

* Reds & fuschias wallhanging (this one's for me -- to go with my new
Chinese red cushions, and my crocheted afghan if I ever get it
finished!
)

Its been really hot here, and I don't function well in hot weather. As a result, sitting in front of sewing machine & fan is a good way to spend time. I'm starting a Political Science Web course next week, so that will undoubtedly cut into my quilting time a bit.

So what's new with you???