Mini Bathroom Reno

The linoleum in Chey's bathroom has been peeling up at the bathtub edge since we moved in. I kept "meaning" to fix it, but like so many other things, I never seemed to actually get around to it (nor did Dale). A couple of weeks ago, I turned to Dale and told him that it was ridiculous that we couldn't seem to fix something so minor (but that could save us thousands of dollars if we fixed it BEFORE the bathtub ended up in the Living Room due to rotten floors). It's our most expensive investment, shouldn't we take better care of it?? That did it for both of us. We decided to replace the linoleum with tile and while we were at it, we decided to paint and do some other minor fixes.

And we rock.....

Before: This picture is from when we first bought the house. You can barely see the yellow walls and lino

After: The walls are a nice mint/sage green

We geeked it up and  hit the Calgary Comic Expo this weekend (It was Crazy Busy! Fire Marshals shut it down on Saturday and they stopped selling tickets shortly after we arrived on Sunday Morning). I even made (yes, made... as in forced, although they were quite happy about it) the kids don their Hallowe'en costumes. I wanted to show them off in a place where people would appreciate the work.... and I was right. Several attendees asked if they could take the kids' pictures (Chey was Yoshi and Eli was Link). Eli's, in particular, was a hit. Probably because he looks like Link in or out of costume...... The cosplay costumes were amazing! Everything from several other Links (Eli's was the best, of course), pikachu, Freddy Krueger, Dr. Who, Zelda, Midna, ghostbusters, Dr. Arliss Loveless (the dude with the wheelchair from Wild West (his was one of the BEST)), various super heroes, barbarians and knights and many other characters that I am not familiar with. 

We even came across Midna (Link's Helper in Twilight Princess). 

 Even though it was uber busy, I thought it was fun (stressful, but fun) and we will go back next year.

I think it's safe to say....

Spring has SPRUNG!!! Lookie... a flower in my garden!!!! I planted over 500 bulbs in the fall..... I'm very excited to see the continuing show through spring and early summer!




I've been spinning again. I started spinning some gorgeous silk, just before Christmas, but lost my mojo. I decided to finish the singles yesterday (I had 1/2 bobbin left to fill) and when I was almost done... the doorbell rang and the Woolee Winder I had ordered in January was at the door. This lit a fire under my butt and with the Woolee winder I was able to ply 408 meters on ONE bobbin, amazing!..... It's a light fingering weight yarn (although I haven't done the WPI to check for sure) and purdy as hell....... I am now motivated to do more spinning which is probably good, considering that I ordered a sweater's worth of Roving a couple of weeks ago and it's due to arrive at any time......

Could it be?

That spring might actually be here?? Finally?? This winter has been the longest and coldest I can remember in a long time. We actually had freezing temperatures for a few days last week!! In May! At least now, when I look out my window, I see leaves on the trees. They're not quite all the way out, but hopefully, there is no turning back. I just hope that we have a decent summer. Last summer was bad, we only visited our little lake a few times in August and I want to spend a LOT more time there this summer!

Today I plan to get the rest of my flower beds done, along with my planters and hanging baskets. I normally do 4 large planters, 3 smaller planters and 2-3 hanging baskets. 2 of the large ones are done (I risked their death in the freezing weather, but they seem to have survived), so I'll be mostly buying for the other planters.

I am also starting to plan summer activities. Summer camps, camping and a visit to Vancouver Island are all in the works and this summer will be a first for me and for Eli. He is going to spend around 2 weeks with his Opa and Carey on their boat. I'm really excited for him! I think he's going to have a total blast! This will also be the first time Chey can go into Day Camps (well, 1/2 days at her age), so I'm looking forward to that as well.

I've been in a bit of a knitting "blech" lately. I finished a couple of projects and then couldn't really think of anything I wanted to knit. I actually went nearly a whole week without knitting (much, I did work on my sock club socks a bit)! I seem to have gotten over it though and am working on the Whisper Cardigan from Interweave Knits spring issue. I'm using a lovely wool/silk blend lace yarn from Zen Yarn Gardens in a colourway called "Shimmer". It's a silvery colour, perfect for summer. I also joined the Fiber Club through this website and received my first club fiber this week. It's a really pretty blend of browns and red, 100% Superwash Merino. I plan to start spinning it soon.

I finished my latest spinning project. I had originally thought I would get a sport weight or DK out of a 3ply, but I, apparently, spin pretty thin... A 3 ply worked out to about 18WPI (lace weight), so I cabled the 2 of the 3ply together and got a Sport weight/DK weight out of that. It turned out VERY soft, but is definitely under-plied or something because it's pretty wavy. I got about 400m of it though and gave it to my sister who came to visit last week. I plan to use the little bit of Roving left from this (I thought I spun it all, but found about 50g in a different location) to practice spinning thicker singles. I'd really like to be able to do a 3 ply Sport/DK for the Fiber Club Fiber



That's about it for me right now.... I'll try to post more, but the weather really gets me feeling grumpy and I don't feel like doing much of anything.... here's hoping for better weather!