Mail from San Diego

Dear Laura,

It has been snowing here. When I say snowing, I don't mean, "a few pretty flurries and maybe enough to shovel." I mean, "scary scary bad yikes horrible driving roads closed oh my gosh the snow is up to my knees and it's supposed to snow for the next ten days." When they said we were moving to the snow belt, they weren't kidding. I love snow, but wowie....this is SNOW.

However, after an hour-and-a-half of white-knuckle driving home from work tonight, I finally made it to the post office to pick up a lovely package that has been patiently waiting there for me since last week.It was yarn! From California! With chocolate in the box, too! What more could a girl want on a blustery winter day?? I have been aching to try out some Mega Boots Stretch, too.

It's my prize for winning Theresa's contest. Thank you, Theresa! What a generous and fun package!

Next time: Germany, yarn stores, and other goodness.

Love,
Nikki

p.s. Currently reading: Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West. Have you read this one? I'm about three chapters in, and while it seems clever enough....the jury is still out.

I'm a winner!

Dear Laura,

Well, I'm in Germany and having a lovely time (you know, but our readers do not, that my beloved has been in Deutschland since October 1st and is staying until spring to work on his doctoral dissertation and I am lonely at home.) I'm even over my jetlag in under 24 hours. I think it's my magical ability to sleep anytime, anywhere that helps out with that.

I've had a lovely time so far. We went to a toy store today and drooled over all the awesome German board games. It's so hard to find the good German ones in Canada - and they had dozens, nay, hundreds in this little store! And then we went to a chocolate store and bought truffles, and then to the gummi bear store to buy gummi bears and then to the tea store to buy tea. And did I mention that we had my favourite kind of breakfast - fresh pastries at the bakery down the street? Yes, at this rate I am going to gain 10 pounds on this trip, but I will love every calorie!

The most exciting knitting-related part of this trip is that we are going to Berlin for 3 days while I am here and they have a number of lovely yarn stores, some of which you may remember from Alison's post here. I actually emailed her for yarn store advice and she sent me some great tips.

Today's exciting news, though, has nothing to do with Germany. Would you believe I won a contest? Amazing! It's here, at Theresa's blog. She's a brand-new-doctor too, in San Diego. Thanks Theresa, you made an already-great day even better!

Stay tuned for yarn photos from my trip to Berlin!

Love,
Nikki

Change of craft

Dear Laura,


Well, the knitting progress around here has been pretty dismal lately. I have started a cute little vest for my nephew, and I've also started a thrummed mitten made with *silk* thrums (SO SOFT) for my allergic hands - but therein lies the problem. My arthritis is acting up and my hands hurt and that means knitting hurts. So my knitting is pretty much just acting as decoration for my living room right now.


Don't despair, though! I've been doing some mad sewing and have lots more projects in mind. Just thought I'd share some recent creations with you!


I needed a new bag for dragging all my stuff too and from work. I was trying to come up with something that could be bag and purse all in one, and after hunting in the stores for months, I finally just sat down and sketched out what I had in mind, made up a pattern, ordered some fabric on eBay, and went to work.


Here's the result:

The fabric is by Kaffe Fassett - I know! Here we've been thinking he was just a knitter and it turns out he designs wicked fabric on the side. Here's a close-up:

I think the print is called "planets." Cool, eh? The bag is lined in purple and it has a bunch of pockets inside which I forgot to take pictures of. It's a little more vibrant than I might have chosen - it's always hard to tell how blinding something is when you're looking at photos online, but trust me, this thing is BRIGHT - however, the brightness is growing on me.


Next up: tablecloths. When we moved here, I picked up a cute little round table to put in the corner of our kitchen. It's just a nice size for the two of us to eat at, although we have crammed four people around it once or twice. My dad even refinished the table, so it looks lovely. Of course, with a nice new finish on it, I'm always afraid it will get damaged so I keep it covered most of the time. Or I'd like to, if I could find a tablecloth that would fit. I have hunted high and low and just can't find any that are the right size, a nice fabric, and reasonably priced.


It took me long enough, but it finally dawned on me that it might be neat to make my own tablecloth! (I know....slow.) I decided circles were to hard, so I chose to make two square tablecloths in coordinating fabrics that could be layered, at a 45 degree angle to each other so that both layers show.


I saw my friend Pamela this weekend and she was mentioning Len's Mill Store in Waterloo as one of her favourite fabric stores so I decided to check it out when I was in KW today. Holy moly. That place is unbelievable. And they have yarn, too. Did you ever check it out when you lived there?


Here's the finished product, hot off the sewing machine:

Close-up, you say?
And the bottom layer is plain old ivory cotton. I'm just tickled pink about how well they turned out.

I also got two coordinating Christmas fabrics - hopefully I will manage to make those into tablecloths before December! Oh, and I got a quilt pattern. And a charm pack which is currently spread out on my living room floor. I think a quilt is taking form.

What have you been up to lately?

Love,
Nikki

Currently reading: Hary Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (I'm on a re-read of the whole series. I'm enjoying it immensely.)

Currently listening to: These Happy Golden Years by Laura Ingalls Wilder (I'm into books on CD in the car these days. This is a huge blast from the past which I haven't actually started yet - just got it from the library tonight and can't wait to listen to it tomorrow morning!)

Slow knitter

Dear Nikki,

It turns out that when I don't watch tv very much, I don't knit very much. Also, when I'm in the middle of a few projects that I'm not that excited about any more (read: projects that are almost done but I'm kind of sick of but feel I should finish anyways), I don't knit very much. And when both LYS around here are closed on Sunday, I can't buy the new yarn I want at the time I want, so I can't start the fun new projects I want to knit. So, all in all, very little knitting news to report.

One thing though: Remember the Morderne-esque baby blanket? Well... how much do you think it matters if it's lopsided?

Other than that, I'm just enjoying checking my Ravelry wait list position (only about 3000 people ahead of me... I can't wait!), and not watching tv. Much. I'm trying to just watch programs I actually want to watch rather than just staring at it for hours on end.

While I'm not watching tv, I have managed to discover my local library. So, the books I have read recently (some from the library, some not) are:

• Bellwether, by Connie Willis. Still awesome.
• Stitch in Snow, by Anne McCaffrey. I picked this up at the library because I loved Anne McCaffrey's dragon books, and this was a novel with a main character who knits. Sounds great, eh? Unfortunately, it really didn't turn out to be all that great. But it was a very quick read, so that sort of makes up for it.
• Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon. As per your recommendation, I'm considering reading this series. It's not super-fantastic, but it is definitely a page-turner, and it kept me interested, so that's all good.
• and I'm currently reading Passage, also by Connie Willis. Also, still awesome. Although, I must admit, as I recall, I didn't fully understand the end last time I read this. Maybe this time will be different.

What have you been up to lately?

Love,
Laura

Archaeology

Dear Nikki,

So, I started writing this post just after Labour Day weekend... and I walked away from my computer to make dinner, and apparently I never got back to it! So, sorry for the long break, but here, at last, is a post!

The labour day weekend was one of relaxation and organization for me. It was nice to get some down time just before the school year started, so I definitely took advantage of that. I reorganized my kitchen (slightly - I can still find most things), and I did a bit of an archaeological dig in my yarn trunk, looking for UFOs (UnFinished Objects). And, boy, did I ever find a lot.

The reason for the dig was mainly because I want to start 2 new projects soon: Rogue for me (are you still interested in a mini-Rogue-along, Nik?) and a pair for mittens for my friend Chau, as a thank-you for all her excellent organizing-stuff-for-me-to-do-while-I-was-back-in-Ontario. Luckily, she wants blue mittens, so I'll even get to choose yarn that I love. Yay! I figure, though, that I should finish at least a couple of the projects on the needles before I move on (new term resolutions and all that).

Without further ado, I give you my UFOs:

A felted purse, I started before Christmas last year
(because knitting a sweater and gloves wasn't enough to do!)

My friend Mary's Ravenclaw Quidditch socks. They are too big.
(If Justine ever tells you not to worry about gauge, ignore her!)

Socks that I started before driving out to BC.
Something went wrong when I got to the second toe, apparently.

Remember going to Romni Wools a couple of years ago?
This is the laceweight I bought then...

Baby blanket (loosely based on MDK Moderne Blanket).

Now, this is actually my WIP.

Moebius scarf
Mathematically fascinating, but far to scratchy. Scheduled to be frogged.

Moebius basket
Also fascinating. It's done except for felting.
See the twist in the handle? That's what makes it only have one surface!

Ummm... lace shawl. I was going to knit this on my drive out to BC last summer.
See how far I got?

Ballet Camisole
Soooo close to being done! I was waiting before I bought a crochet hook for the edging before joining the shoulders. I don't know why. I will finish this soon. Really.

Baby sweater
Pictured here all in pieces, now finished with button bands and ends sewn in. Only thing missing is buttons!

Scarf
Pictured finished. This is the same yarn as the baby blanket (cause I wanted to test it out). Very soft, and the scarf was ideal airplane knitting.

So there you have it: my extensive collection of UFOs. Except a pair of socks that's not worth seeing because I've only done about 4 rows on them. They were too big as well.

One more picture for this photo-intensive post: the two of us when we met up this summer. Not too bad of a picture, considering I was holding the camera, eh?

Miss you!

Love,
Laura

p.s. You know how I told you I was trying not to watch tv for a week (except for one show that I am video-taping)? Well, it's killing me, because I think I'm pretty hooked on it, but I am finding myself with all sorts of time for other things like, oh, say, blogging, emailing, a bit of cleaning. I also found time to order some stuff from Chapters, including Bellweather, The Other Boleyn Girl, and the six-hour BBC version of Pride and Prejudice on DVD, as a treat because it's so great. I am currently re-reading Scarlet Feather while I wait for them to arrive.

p.p.s. Your Honeymoon Cami looks great! Now I'll really have to finish mine!

Fibre Fun!

Dear Laura,

Well, I'm not sure we can even chalk that one up to a little summer break, and we definitely can't pretend we've spent the past month and a half reading Harry Potter! We have been slacker bloggers, there are no two ways about it!

First things first: I loved HP7 and now need to go back and re-read the whole series so I can get all the little details. Your thoughts?


Second, on a craft-related note: did you finish your Ballet Camisole? Can I see?


And finally, some recent crafting from my end of the world. You may recall (I think I told you) that I was taking the Honeymoon Cami with me as honeymoon knitting. (This was Plan B, as Plan A to actually have it finished in time to wear it in Italy on my honeymoon - as the original designer did - proved to be a vast overestimation of my available knitting time before the wedding.) At any rate, I did finish it, right around the end of the honeymoon. And now I present:

The honeymoon cami, and a terrible photo of me. Please excuse the....general yuckiness. I thought about cropping my face out, but that's too much work. Also, please ignore the messy house in the background (hello, Mr. Iron, on the telephone stand) - it was just after we moved in.


Anyways, the details - the yarn is Dale of Norway, I think it's Svale, but the ball bands are long gone so you'll have to take my guess on that one. The colour is the off-white shade - natural or ivory or something like that.


I wildly goofed up the lacey part at the bottom, so it in no way resembles the photo on the pattern, but it looks okay nonetheless - and by the time I realized how screwed up it was, I had already finished a few inches past that and just couldn't bear to rip it out! So...it's a little unique.


I really love this top, and I think the saddest part is that I haven't worn it at all yet, except to model it for this photo. I'm just not a big tank top girl anymore, what with the penchant of my shoulders to sunburn in seconds. I'm determined to find a warm day this month (that is, before fall sets in for real, which is going to be SOON) and wear it at least once!


I do have a few other projects on the go or just finished - so there should be plenty of material for a few posts in the next little while!


Oh! And other exciting stuff - I went to the KW Knitters Fair this weekend! It was so fun! I bought some Tussah silk roving to make myself some wool-free thrummed mittens from No Sheep For You (which I LOVE - thank you!) I also got some of this, for another upcoming project. And THEN, when I got home, I called Lettuce Knit to ask them to mail me some Blue Sky Alpacas Dyed Cotton (in colour "shell") for my mittens (since I couldn't find it at the Knitters Fair) and they were pretty much the nicest people ever. It was a weekend filled with fibre excitement!


That's all the crafting news that's fit to print. How are you??


Love,
Nikki

Less than 8 hours...

... until Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows hits book stores! I pre-ordered my copy to pick up in-store, but Chapters has no record at all of me doing that, so I guess I will be buying it tonight at midnight, and hopefully I won't be charged twice for it! (I will be sure to complain if I am, don't worry).

I am currently quite stressed out with leaving for Japan on Sunday; there sure is a lot of work to be done before I leave! My parents gave me a few neat early birthday presents which are great though: an inflatable travel pillow, which will hopefully help me sleep on the plane; an untra-light umbrella which weighs only 138g and will also be useful in my West Coast lifestyle; and some less exciting things such as a suitcase lock and a money concealer.

Two of the big decisions, of course, when embarking on a trip such as this one are (a) what will I knit? and (b) what will I read? I will be knitting the Ballet Camisole on the airplane (it's knit on circular needles, which I feel are less likely to be taken away than straight needles, even though on Canadian flights you are nominally allowed to have either) and Ravenclaw Quidditch Socks from Charmed Knits for my friend Mary (who bought the book for me).

The answer to question (b) is still a little up in the air, but I am definitely planning to take a couple of murder mysteries that my mom is lending me.

I am actually (finally) all set to get started on the Ballet Camisole. I actually knit a swatch, in the round, washed it, and dried it, and for the first time ever, I actually got gauge! I'm hoping that means that the top will fit, but we'll see how that works out. I have actually already knit one project from Charmed Knits:

Isn't he cute (if a little blurry)? He's all packaged up now and ready for his final desination (which is a surprise for the recipient, so I will not mention it here).

Anyhow, I hope you're doing well. Are you reading anything exciting these days? I have been re-reading all the kids' books I left at my parents' house, so that's not too exciting.

Love,

Laura

Re-entry

Dear Laura,

Well. I have no excuse. I am just a bum blogging partner, that's the bottom line. :) However, it's now my turn to hold down the fort while you're on vacation, so I'll do my best!

Thanks for posting in my absence! It was such a super-fun day, and having you there as a bridesmaid made it all the better.

I had six weeks off after the end of med school, during which I got married, went on a honeymoon, and moved house. Despite all that, I found lots of time for crafting! I think I have fodder for at least a few entries on here!

First up is the surprise project that I actually worked on over a few months: the fabulous bridesmaid's handbags! I decided to make a handbag for each of my lovely bridesmaids, all from the same pattern but with different fabrics for each. These bags were my first ever from-a-pattern sewing projects, and I think they turned out pretty well!

The pattern is tiny happy's shoulder bag. I modified it to use fat quarters and be more of a handbag, an idea that I stole from someone who had left a comment on tiny happy's blog post with the pattern. Thanks tiny happy!

Hope you're having a wonderful time in Japan!

Love,

Nikki

Holding up my end of the deal

Dear Nikki,

So I guess while you're on vacation, I'm kind of holding down the fort here at our blog... and a poor job I've been doing too! I also feel the need to post because I keep checking Justine's blog to see if she has posted recently so I can find out how her knitting is going these days, and it occurred to me that it may be slightly hypocritical to nag her to post when I hadn't done so in such a long time. But now... Justine: post!

Anyhow, to update our small but loyal readership, here's what Dr. Nikki did a couple of weeks ago:The ceremony was beautiful, the reception went very well, and I was thrilled to be able to be with you on this special day. So, Nikki is on her honeymoon, before getting back to work again.

From a knitting standpoint, the weekend was also important because I got to give Nikki what I have been working on for the past several months:(you didn't really think I was too busy to knit, did you?) It's an afghan/blanket with a lace leaf pattern all over it, with a lacy leaf border (which, incidentally, totally took longer to knit than I had expected!)

The week after the wedding, this is what I did. The weather was truly awful (it was cold and raining), but it was still lots of fun, and the kids who came out on the boat with us were great. I'm looking forward to doing it again next year (only, hopefully, with less rain). One of the coolest things (I thought) was that one of the people involved works for Mustang, so some of the people "attacking" us (with water guns) had black life jackets with skull-and-crossbones on them. Very cool.

Now, I'm just relaxing after my year of teaching, looking after a dog and a house, and I'm very excited this morning because it is actually sunny out! We'll be off for a walk shortly to enjoy it. Incidentally, apparently I like knitting blankets! I found a yarn that's really soft, and have started a log cabin baby blanket out of it. I wanted to make myself a log cabin blanket from this yarn, but the colours were really just too sappy (all pale, baby colours), so I caved and am making a baby blanket. That will also make it faster, which I'm sure I will appreciate later.

Anyhow, I hope you're having a fabulous time on your honeymoon! I look forward to hearing all about it when you get back.

Love,
Laura

Not Knitting Related, but...

Dear Laura,

I hope you'll forgive me for the non-knitting-related content, but I had to share.

Dr. Nikki, ten seconds old.

Dr. Nikki, two hours old.

I did it, Laura, I did it!!

Love,
Nikki

Fibre Festival!

Dear Nikki,

So, guess who's registered for the Gibsons Landing Fibre Arts Festival? That's right! Me! My aunt knew about it, and so she'll be going too. I am registered for the Moebius Knitting class. I am very excited about it. Now I can make even more mathematically pleasing knits! Woot! I think I will order my yarn and needles for it on KnitPicks though... you need two (2!) Addi Turbo 47" circular needles (or possibly one... I find the instructions ever so slightly unclear). Anyhow, I'd way rather get the KnitPicks Options that everyone is raving about as they are a much better budget option!

School is starting to wind down now. Luckily, I have made it through most of the material I was planning to cover, and we have a week to do review. It's weird, but it seems like I've covered so much more in my classes this term than I did last term. Anyhow, I'm really excited for summer! I'm not 100% sure what I'm doing yet, but it will include a trip to Japan, so that's pretty thrilling!

I hope everything is great with you now that your exam is over! Are you stressed about the wedding now?

Love,
Laura

Shoes and falls

Dear Laura,

Fabulous shoes! They look moderately comfortable, too, which is a major bonus in my life.

I don't think I've shown you my shoes yet. They are the perfect blend of cute and comfy, and since my skirt has a radius of something like one metre, no one will see them anyways.

White eyelet Skechers. They're perfect. And did I mention comfy?!

Your sunset was so pretty that I had to take a pretty picture to send to you. We went hiking on Sunday for an hour, when I just couldn't study another minute. This shot is of Tews Falls, which is in the Dundas Valley Conservation Area, about a 20 minute drive from our house. It's such a gorgeous area - a section of the Bruce Trail, actually. I love going out there.

Sadly, things just aren't that green and lush yet, and the falls are so high (41 m) that it's impossible to get them in one shot. But you get the idea!

The nephew blanket is all knitted up, and now I just need to have a little seam-a-thon to finish it. I have a few hours to spend in the car next week, so my plan is to make Brad drive so that I can seam. I decided that a second blanket was a completely crazy idea, so instead I have started a Honeymoon Cami for myself, which I estimate will be 75% complete at the end of tomorrow's final review lecture, that's right, my last class of medical school. I find the thought that I am actually done med school utterly terrifying. The licensing exam (which I write on Monday, for 8 hours) is equally terrifying, but I am so looking forward to getting it over with that I'm actually excited about it.

You can say it. All this studying has gone to my head and made me a little loopy. I am actually looking forward to the biggest, scariest exam of my life. Because then the godforsaken studying will be OVER!!!! Hooray! Almost there!

Love,
Nikki

Shoes

Dear Nikki,

I have successfully found the perfect shoes to wear for the wedding. They were relatively inexpensive, they're comfortable (I think), they're fairly dressy, they're brown, and I can definitely wear them with other things. Couldn't be better!

see shoes here
(by the way, how cool is it that this shoe store shows all their products online? I love it!)

Laura

Sunset!

No progress

Dear Nikki,

Well, I keep meaning to post, but I keep not having any progress to report. I thought of taking a picture of my tank top in progress, but then I realized that it would be picture of yarn and needles... and I only finally managed to pick up the needles on Saturday! My LYS isn't open on Sundays and it took me a while to make it there when it was open. Anyhow, I'm hoping to knit (and for real wash and dry) a few swatches soon, and then get started on it. This time, I will swatch. After my experience of ripping out most of the back of Malcolm's sweater, swatching seems like a darn good idea.

I imagine that by now you have ordered the yarn for your new blanket. If so, what did you get? If not, I think that the Crayon yarn looks fun, but might be kind of a pain to knit with. My extensive experience of knitting huge scarves out of boucle yarn has lead me to believe that fancy yarn can be annoying. But that may just be the particular brand I used. Anyhow, I think a log cabin is an awesome idea, and that the Crayon colours look very fun!

I've finally figured out what I'm finding so weird about the weather here. It's spring. And it keeps being spring. And it's cool-but-not-cold. And it has been for weeks. I am decidedly not used to that. I am used to it being winter-winter-winter-winter- a week or so of spring - and hot sunny summer-ish weather all of a sudden. I may be remembering wrong, but that's what I think happened. And so, I am waiting for it to warm up. And it's not happening! The weather hovers around 12 degrees and it just stays there. It's the weirdest thing (let's not talk about the rain).

Oh! I almost forgot (although I don't know how)! I just bought and read the Yarn Harlot's new book. It was most excellent. There are letters throughout the book by a newbie knitter who turns into an avid knitter and stasher through the book - they were my favourite part!

Anyhow, I'm off to get ready for bed. I hope all is well with you!

Laura

A dilemma

Dear Laura,

I am having a yarn indecision crisis, and I need some assistance. Nephew #2 blanket is looking just lovely, and I am on stripe number 4 of 7. The trouble is that I am not sure this blanket is going to last me until these lectures are over, and it would really be tragic if I had to sit through the last few weeks without something to knit. (Just ask Pamela...she's reading....hi Pamela! She had to sit through a, ahem, rather dull lecture this morning with no knitting. It was sad.)

Of course, we know that (apparently) KnitPicks packages can take a little while to arrive, so I'm thinking it's time to order some more yarn for my next project, which will be....wait for it....a baby blanket. The Boy's PhD supervisor is expecting, and I'm going to take a shot at making a blanket for this baby, too.

I'm not totally decided on a pattern, but I'm leaning toward a log cabin, just because I think it would be fun.

My dilemma is this: which yarn to use? And which colours? It's a nightmare, I tell you! I really like my Shine Worsted, but man oh MAN they need to expand their colour range. This baby's sex is unknown, so I can't just pick all the pinks and do something girly (which is what I'd LIKE to do) - but it's hard to find an aesthetically-pleasing, gender-neutral combination of 5-6 colours!

My next idea was to use Crayon instead. It's a frisée yarn, which I think would nicely hide the tendency of log cabins to have less than perfectly square corners. And it's machine washable and dryable, which is a key trait in a baby blanket. The colour selection is a little better - I am contemplating either red/orange/yellow/green/blue/purple/buttermilk or periwinkle/blue/light blue/azure/buttermilk. AND it's USD $1.99, which I think you will agree is a steal. The dilemma is that it is only DK weight. It says you can use 3.75mm or 4.00 mm needles, and I'm currently knitting the Shine Worsted on 4.00 mm needles, so it might end up similar - but I will be sad if I feel like I am doing a lot more knitting and not getting nearly as much blanket for it.

Help, Laura! What do you think? (And for that matter, if you're lurking out there and reading this, leave a comment with your opinion - I'd like to hear it!)

Love,
Nikki

p.s. I'm still reading Into The Wilderness, which is proving to be quite delicious. Claire Fraser even makes an appearance! (You've read the Outlander books, right? RIGHT???)

You are so talented!

Dear Laura,

Oh my. Those shawls are breathtaking. I love them! You are so fabulous! Yay yay! (And hello to Erin, who is going to stop by to check out the shawls...Hi Erin! Glad to have ya here!!) :)

I am sad to hear that you have no KnitPicks yarn yet. That truly sucks, my dear. I am devouring my yarn, because I'm spending HOURS each day sitting in looooong review lectures, and I like to knit through them. (I'm pretty sure I already told you this on the phone, but we have a rapidly-expanding audience - at least two people! - so I figure I should fill them in on this crucial information.) Nephew #2 blanket is looking about twice as big as the last time you saw it, and if it wasn't already past my bedtime, I'd show you a picture. Just trust me - two stripes, and a third one already started.

I forgot to tell you last time about my wonderful new needles. I order a set of Knit Picks Options needles when I got my yarn. They are reasonably cheap, and they are lovely. Everyone in blog world was saying that they are "just the right amount of pointy" and it's totally true. Plus, they're hollow, so they're light. They just zip along, knitting up a storm. I love them.

I am already plotting my next yarn order, because I think I will need a new project before these review lectues end! (The end of April...which seems far away, but I suspect it will come quickly.) I have another baby blanket in the pipeline, I think. I'm contemplating a log cabin design - mostly because I think it would be fun to make. Do you think it's a good choice?

Off to bed with me, to dream of yarn and jaundice (one of the topics of this afternoon's lecture).

Love,
Nikki

p.s. Currently reading: Into the Wilderness. I found this book at my parents' place the last time it was there. I think it was a hand-me-down from my grandma, who I think has excellent taste in books. I'm only about 40 pages in, but so far, so good. I always like a nice, thick volume of trashy historical fiction!

p.p.s. Hi Somaiah! Laura, meet Somaiah. She's in my class, and she doesn't like to leave notes, but she's here. At least she said she would be.... :)

Spring Break!

Dear Nikki,

I am very glad to hear that you're not dead! Excellent news. I am also not dead. I was just enjoying my lovely Spring Break last week! I didn't get as much work done as I had planned (since when is that a surprise), but I did get some skiing done, and some much needed resting. I spent the first weekend up in Whistler in the Roxy All-Star Women's Ski Camp. Basically, it was two great days of lessons. My skiing has dramatically improved, my confidence in particular. I can now ski down black diamond runs! Even ones with trees! It may not be pretty skiing, but I haven't been panicking, and I do get down it, so that's great! On Monday I was back in town for a meeting. Tuesday, my aunt and I did some fabric shopping. We bought some brown fabric for my new shower curtain (not yet in progress), and... some fabric for the bridesmaids' shawls. What do you think?

Dress with Shawl and Telephone Cord

Shawl with Dress

It's a sheer off-white fabric with little bits of silver going through it. You can't actually see the silver from a distance, it just looks kind of sparkly. I think it's pretty and I hope the other girls like it too! And anyhow, if they don't work out, we just won't wear them and that will be fine.

Wednesday and Thursday were occupied by some more skiing, and the (very quick) hemming of the first shawl, using a serger. The shawl is currently way too long, but I didn't have the dress with me to figure out what the right length would be, so I'll be trying them on together sometime this week. How exciting!

The weekend I spent doing a bit more work, and watching tv. Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason was on TBS this weekend, as well as a few other movies. I didn't watch all of them, but I taped a few so that I could watch them later. It was very relaxing. Do you know what I didn't do though? Knit my new yarn! Why? you ask (I can hear you). The yarn isn't here yet. I've been checking my mail regularly in the hopes that it will arrive, but so far, no dice (and, more importantly, no yarn).

Anyhow, I'd better get to bed. I have to get up early for work tomorrow (I really enjoyed sleeping in last week)! Love,
Laura

p.s. Currently reading: I just finished Handful of Time by Kit Pearson. It was very good. I was actually in the book store (okay, fine, the book section of my grocery store) looking for The Lights Go On Again by the same author (I think I borrowed it from you once) because I had just finished reading the other two books of the War Guest Trilogy and wanted to complete it. The grocery store didn't have what I was looking for, so I bought Handful of Time instead. An excellent book though. In celebration of St. Patrick's Day (sort of but not really) I'm reading Scarlet Feather by Maeve Binchy. Can you tell I'm in a re-reading phase?

Catching my breath, catching up

Dear Laura,

You may be relieved to know that despite my absence from blog world (and apparently email-responding world....I got your lovely message, thank you, response coming ASAP)...I am not dead. I am in fact alive and have even found time to knit lately. I'm just a bit paralyzed, with the big news of last week (for our non-existent readers: I found out what my life is going to look like for the next two years and it's mostly good)...and the creative juices just aren't flowing! Hence, no blogging, and very little emailing. I think I'm finally recovering though. :)

How are things in B.C.? Have you started your ballet camisole yet? I do not have the new IK yet (and am trying to resist in general, since I clearly have no time to knit anything from it....although I suspect I will relent and buy it later this week, when I have a scheduled study date with a classmate at the Starbucks inside Chapters)....anyways, what I was going to say was that the Cable Down Raglan looks lovely and I think you should go for it!

I got a box of KnitPicks goodness in the mail on Friday, which was excellent timing because I kind of needed some yarny goodness after all the emotion of the week. None of the yarn looked anything like it did on my monitor (although it was quite close to the catalogue colour....too bad I didn't look at the catalogue before I ordered). Anyways, the watermelon colour is pink, not red. And the crocus colour is pinky purple, not dark purple. However, the colours I picked still, fortuitously, look fabulous together so I decided to cast on - and so far I like the results.

I have been doing tons of knitting because we've begun the review lectures for our licensing exam, so I am spending a fair chunk of time sitting in lectures. The lecturer today even told the class that she had noticed a knitter was present, and that she herself had knit her way through her med school review lectures. She seemed like an awfully smart lady - I figure it was probably all that knitting, don't you think?

Behold, the first stripe of the Circle of Friends blanket (a.k.a. nephew #2 blanket), 4 rows from completion:

Or, Stove With Yarn.
(What can I say....it's dark and wintery out today
and I couldn't find any good lighting anywhere else!)

Only six more stripes like that and the blanket will be finished!

That's all the knitting news that's fit to print. Hope you're doing well. We must have a good long chat sometime soon.

Love,
Nikki

p.s. Currently reading: I just finished Crocodile on the Sandbank, the first in a series of mysteries about Amelia Peabody, a British female amateur archaeologists/amateur detective in Egypt in the early 1900's, which someone told me was "along the same lines" as Laurie R. King's books about Mary Russell. My take: yes, "along the same lines" as in "smart feminist protagonist solves mysteries." Otherwise...meh. The plot and writing were kind of mediocre. I like Mary Russell a lot better than Amelia Peabody.

Yarn!

Dear Nikki,

Well, you have inspired me to get on it and order the yarn for my new big project. That would be the Ballet Camisole. The pattern actually calls for Knit Picks Shine Sport, so I was glad to read that you enjoyed knitting with the worsted weight of the same yarn! I chose a colour on the purple-ish side of blue, Hydrangea. I think it's really pretty! I think a real advantage of knitting a tank top is that there is a slight hope that it will be done in time for summer! I sure hope so anyways.

I also ordered 2 balls of Swish Superwash yarn (in Ballerina!). I'm thinking of knitting a cabled sweater and I wanted to give the yarn a test-drive to see how I like working with it. I really like Rogue, but I'm also considering a pattern that was in the latest Interweave Knits, the Cable Down Raglan, if you have the magazine. This is really some long-term planning though, because with how busy I've been, the tank top will probably take me until summer! Anyhow, I'm also waiting in excited suspense for my yarn... I wonder who will get theirs first!

My school has spring break next week, and I'm really looking forward to having some time to get ahead in my prep work, relax, and do some knitting. I'm also planning to get some quality ski time in too, so keep your fingers crossed for snow!

Love,
Laura

p.s. I'm not reading anything exciting right now... I've been re-reading Knitting Rules by the Yarn Harlot, but I'm on my second read through (in the past 2 weeks) now, and I think it's time for something new. I just don't have the energy to start something new right now. Maybe during spring break I'll get a library card and find something exciting to read!

Sock success

Dear Laura,

Wow, what a view! Thanks for the pictures - does that mean the fog actually cleared for a few minutes? I don't think the blurriness has anything to do with operator proficiency. Night photos are always blurry, in my experience! (At least they are when I take them!)

Those Fetching wrist warmers are lovely! Well done! They look complicated! As for the Ballet Camisole - go for it! It looks quite manageable to me. And of course in blue - is there any other colour?? ;-)

I finally finished my Dad's socks, and - of course - forgot to take a picture. They weren't all that exciting anyways - black/grey top-down stockingette. Almost as boring to talk about as they were to knit. I asked him to take a picture and email it to me, so if he comes through, I will post it! He was very excited about them, and he's saving them to wear at the wedding. How sweet is that?

I started a pair of socks for myself, for once. I decided to try a picot edge, which went well until the bit where I was supposed to pick up the cast-on edge and knit it together with the live stitches. I abandoned that plan - I'll just sew it down when the sock is done, even if that's the wussy way!

I'm also about to start a baby blanket for nephew #2, who is due in mid-June. I really debated about whether to make a quilt (my first) or a knitted blanket, but since I'm going to be sitting in a lot of review lectures in the next two months, I think something portable (i.e. knit) is a better idea. So, I'm going to make the "Circle of Friends" blanket (link to Alison's) from Last-Minute Knitted Gifts, which I borrowed from my fabulous friend Daina. I think the idea behind the blanket is that a bunch of friends can work on it together - but I'm going solo on this one. I'm using KnitPicks' Shine Worsted in Watermelon, Crocus, Bachelor Button and Green Apple. (That'd be red, purple, blue and green - vibrant if nothing else.) I used this yarn for the last baby blanket I made and it turned out really soft - AND machine-washable. Plus, it's cheap, and KnitPicks usually has pretty quick shipping. So, I'm watching the mail now for my yarn!

Well, I think that's enough crafting news for tonight. There is more....but I will save it for another day!

Love,
Nikki

Blurry Photos

Dear Nikki,

I'm so glad to hear you had a fun shower! I'm sad that I missed it! I did have a great weekend too though. My parents came out to visit (and go skiing), which we did. They also brought with them my pretty new dress :) I really like it. I actually haven't tried it on yet, but I've known all along it would need altering, so that's fine. I'll be sure to get it done soon!

Remember how you asked for view pictures? Well... I tried to take some, at night, because that's when the view is the best. It turns out though that I'm terrible at taking pictures, so I have included one very blurry view photo here for your viewing pleasure. I'll try again, but I really think you should come and visit to get the full effect!





I have also recently finished knitting my Fetching wrist warmers. Please see the (also) blurry photo below. I like them, but they curl out at the top and the bottom. I'm going to see if I can find some elastic thread to run around inside the edges to stop that. They're nice and warm though! I haven't really started anything yet. I'm thinking of knitting the Ballet Camisole from MagKnits... but in blue, not pink, of course. What do you think?





Anyhow, I leave you with one last photo, because I know you like daffodils, and to prove that I can take pictures that are in focus!

Love,
Laura

Shower fun

Dear Laura,

Have you dug yourself out from under the mountain of packing boxes yet? How is your new place?

I am in the middle of a blessed two-week vacation right now. It's been lovely. Kate and her mom threw a shower for me this weekend in B-vegas so I came home for the weekend for that. It was so much fun - but I wish you could have been here!

I thought you might enjoy some photos anyways. :) These are the ones that Mom took - I'm hoping that Erin and Karen will share theirs too so that you can see pictures of more than just me!

Love,

Nikki

Kate's aunt is a cake decorator, and she made this fabulous milk-free cake for me. It was SO good. And I was all excited because my name was on it!

I was forced to wear the requisite hat/veil made of bows from all the gifts. It was...fashionable, to say the least! In my right hand is the gorgeous bouquet that my friend Cora-Lee made. She's going to make our bouquets for the wedding, so she did a trial run so I could figure out if I was allergic to the roses. (I'm not, thank goodness.) It was so beautiful. I'm really hoping that someone else took a better photo of it!

I'm all class

Dear Laura,

Congratulations on finally moving into your new place. I'm looking forward to photos, as soon as that beautiful Vancouver fog clears!

I am looking out a very nice view as I write this. I'm in Toronto for a residency interview, and I think I already told you that Brad and I decided to extend our stay and have a little mini-vacation. We're staying in a nice hotel (thank you, Expedia, land of good deals) and planning to sleep for two days....er....I mean, we're going to do all sorts of cultural things and eat lots of good food. Yeah. Anyways, we're on the top floor of the hotel, and it looks south toward the lake - so we have a really nice view!

I have very little knitting-related news for you, sadly. I'm still plugging along on the hated black/grey socks for my father. I'm about halfway down the foot (they're top-down socks, so I'm getting there...), but I will spare you a photo since black stockingette socks are really boring to look at. I did buy some very pretty yarn the other day to start some socks for myself as soon as these ones are done, though! (Picture later - the yarn is buried in my truck, 22 floors down in the parking garage.)

On the medical front, I have done all sorts of interesting things since I last saw you. (I realize that I told you about some of this on the phone two days ago, but for the sake of our meagre but dedicated audience on this lovely blog, let's forget about that, okay??)

I did an elective in oncology (cancer medicine) that was great for my learning but very heart-wrenching. I worked with a wonderful, caring doctor who is just exactly the type of person that I'd want if I was a patient there. I really enjoyed myself for the most part, but I did find some of the cases really sad - like a woman only a few years younger than you and I who I met on her first visit to the cancer centre. She had just been diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma - which has a very high cure rate in young people, but is still cancer and still kills people. It was a bit too close to home for me.

I spent this past week working with the world's most unique dermatologist. He works in the town where I grew up, and I had heard that he was a bit curmudgeonly but that he had a busy practice so I would "see a lot" (which is apparently the best way to learn dermatology). Turns out he's had this huge change of personality over the past couple of years and has become a yoga instructor. He's really interested in complimentary and alternative medicine and actually prescribed meditation for one patient! He even diagnosed depression in one lady who came in complaining of a tingly tongue! It was wild!!! It certainly made for an interesting week, though!

Well, I'm off to prepare for my interview. I stupidly forgot my dress coat at my parents' place, so I will be arriving at the interview in my lovely suit....and my puffy pink winter coat, which I may have mentioned was purchased in the children's section. The lining fabric is pink stars. I am so classy.

Love,
Nikki

Yes!

Dear Nikki,

I've got internet! I bet you were wondering why it was taking me so long to post! Well, I moved into my new apartment last week, and have been slooooowly working on getting everything set up. As of 2 minutes ago, I got the internet set up. Yay!

My apartment is still a huge mess though. There are boxes all over the place, and packing tape, and styrofoam from packaging. Canadian Tire has been making a killing off of me this week as I have been getting all the basic necessities (draining rack, cleaning substances, tape, cutlery drawer organizer, etc). I keep thinking I've got everything, and then I'll remember something else I need! Luckily it's on the way home from work!

Because of this, I haven't been doing much knitting. I'm working on a pair of off-white wrist warmers from the Fetching pattern off knitty. I'm making them from leftover yarn from my brother's sweater and I'm really not confident that I'll have enough yarn. I have four rows around the top to go and then just the mini-thumb, so I am hopeful, but I don't think I'll have much to spare if I do make it!

In other important (and very belated) knitting anouncements, my friend Justine has her own new knitting blog. Welcome, Justine!

Well, that's it for now. I have some more work to do, dinner to make, and boxes to break down. Take care!

Laura

Interesting...

Dear Laura,

Dr. Couz, a blog-friend who became a real-life-friend through a surprising encounter*, has tagged me to do an "interesting things about me" meme. The idea is to list 5 interesting things about yourself. Hmmm....

1. Some of the residencies that I seriously considered before deciding that rural family medicine was my true passion: pediatrics, internal medicine (with a view towards rheumatology), and orthopedic surgery. Yes, really.

2. One of the best trips I've ever taken was a cross-country road trip with my cousin (and soon-to-be matron-of-honour) and two other friends. We drove west and ended up on the Queen Charlotte Islands. It was phenomenal.

3. One of my biggest pet peeves is "unnecessary" quotation marks. Is it a "sale" or just a sale?!

4. I don't know if this is really an interesting thing about me, per se, but I do have some interesting relatives: my distant cousins are fairly famous Canadian musicians (Leahy), and my uncle is is a street luger in the X-games on ESPN.

5. When I was in grade six, I was afraid to go to school dances because I didn't know how to dance. Now, it's one of my favourite forms of physical activity - I've taken lessons in both ballroom dancing and Irish dancing and I'd love to do more.

Laura, I don't know how much of this is a surprise to you - but I realized that there aren't many interesting things about me that you don't know. Couz, I hope this was interesting!

I'm supposed to tag some more people do this....

1. Laura, it's your turn!
2. Tammy, one of my favourite artists, whose blog always makes me laugh.
3. Kristen, who I'm not sure has found this blog yet. Kristen, if you're here, speak up! :)

Hope you're enjoying the weekend,
Nikki

*I walked onto the ward on the first day of a new rotation this year and met one of my very friendly residents. As we chatted, she mentioned that she had recently returned from her honeymoon, and I thought in the back of my mind, "hmmm...someone I know just got back from a honeymoon....who was it?" A little while later, she pulled me aside and said, "do you knit?" When I replied in the affirmative, she said, "I KNOW YOU!" Turns out it was the author of a blog that I had been reading for quite a while!

The Grand Tour

Dear Laura,

Well, my time in the north has almost come to an end. My flight leaves tomorrow at 2 p.m. I'm a little sad to be leaving - it always seems that as soon as I start really settling in to an elective, it ends and I have to move on.

My preceptor wasn't working today, so I took the opportunity to wander all over town. I met my preceptor for lunch at this wonderful little cafe, where they have sandwiches on the most delicious homemade bread ever. Then I went to a little craft store that I've be eyeing almost since I got here. Turns out they have drop in quilting classes every Wednesday night - wish I'd know that three weeks ago! I did buy some fantastic handmade moccasins there, though! They had a pretty impressive selection of yarn, but sadly no dishcloth yarn, which was what I was looking for. This is a friendly small town though, so the lady who was working there directed me to the hardware store down the street - where they had an impressive craft department, including some beautiful fabric and lots of yarn! Not somewhere I would have thought to look for yarn!

I bought some yarn and walked on to the hospital, where I took a few photos and dropped off some "thank you" cards. Then I wandered home to warm up!

Oh yeah - it's been a beautiful week here, between minus 10 and minus 15 every day with lots of sun. Unfortunately, today, the day when I decided to go wandering, the temperature plummeted. I was bundled up on my walk, so I was warm enough - but my cheeks were freezing in the wind! Turns out the windchill was MINUS 28 today! No wonder I was cold! (And can you believe that I was actually out for a stroll in this weather? This is not the Nikki you know! I'm all tough and stuff now!)

I have lots of pictures for you today. Some of them are from a walk that I took on Wednesday, when it was sunny and only minus 15!

Here's the little Lutheran church around the corner. I think it's really sweet. There are a remarkable number of churches in this town, given that the population is (I think) less than 10000 people. There's a Jehovah's Witness temple right next door to this church.

This is just one of the residential streets a few blocks over. I'm hoping this photo shows all the

snow here! They've been clearing out snowbanks along the shoulders of the roads for the past few days, because they're so high that there's no visibility at the corners. For some reason, all this snow removal has been happening in the middle of the night - so I keep being woke by the "beep, beep" of some vehicle backing up at 2 a.m.!

This is my house. It's the end unit of a triplex that I think the regional health authority owns. It's a two-bedroom unit but there have been three of us here - the other medical student is using the rec room in the basement as her room. It's quite a comfortable little spot, and the sun just pours in that front window during the day.

Last but not least on our tour, the hospital. It was once a mission hospital, run by nuns - hence the big cross on top. There's a Catholic cathedral across the street. It's a great little hospital, with one ward for medical/surgical/pediatric patients, another ward for maternity patients, and a third ward for psych patients. There's also an emergency department, and next door there's a personal care home (i.e. nursing home). It's pretty functional for a small-town, relatively remote hospital!

And I'm sure you're wondering if I'm ever going to return to craft-related content on this blog. I have been doing some knitting while I've been here - obviously no sewing, since Mrs. Stitchy isn't exactly travel-friendly! I've made a dishcloth already, and I've been working on a pair of socks that I'm working on for my Dad to wear to the wedding. I finished sock #1 before Christmas and I'mr eally trying to get the second one done for his birthday in February. It was only about 1/2" long when I got here, and I'm almost to the heel now - so I'm making progress. Finally, I started a new knitting project today - can you guess what it is??

Well, that's it - you're probably still waiting for all the pictures to load! Hope you're doing well!

Love,

Nikki

Are you really you?

Dear Nikki,

I just got back from a Guide meeting where we had someone from the local school board to talk about internet safety. He started out by making a couple of interesting points about the word safety: 1 - kids turn off when they hear it, because they hear so much about it, and 2 - it means different things to different people, and so context is critical. Then he spent the next hour or so freaking me out about the internet. He made another very interesting point though - basically that if you gossip about someone online or express an inner feeling, be it by email or in a chat or a text message or anything, you don't know who is reading it on the other end. The person you're gossiping about could be in the room at the receiving end and this could have negative consequences for you!

Anyhow, other than that things aren't too exciting around here. Ice fishing "On the river Saskatchewan"* sounds awesome, even if you didn't catch anything! I am curious to hear more about the northern medicine stuff; feel free to rant. Do you spend all your time in one spot or are you travelling round a bit experiencing different things?

The bib turned out much better on the smaller needles. In fact, I enjoyed knitting a boring rectangle with no shaping so much that I started work on the baby genius burp cloth from the same book. I'm not sure what I think about it yet...

It's a bit bright, eh? I am, however, liking it more the more I knit. I'm not really sure if it's wide enough to be a burp cloth. It's about 8" wide unstretched. What do you think?

Anyhow, I have an early class tomorrow, so I'd better go get some sleep. I'll post again soon and I look forward to hearing your wedding ideas!

Love,
Laura

* Of course I can!

p.s. I don't know what's going on with the photos... I'm having a hard time with them. I'll try to fix them later!

On the river Saskatchewan...*

Dear Laura,

On a lighter note from yesterday...I had a very "northern" experience today.

Ice fishing on the Saskatchewan River! My preceptor (who is like 5 years older than me and very fun) and her boyfriend took me ice fishing with them. It was actually pretty mild here today, only minus 10 or so, and it was a beautiful sunny day. We had originally planned to go snowshoeing, but my preceptor was on call, so we had to be within relatively easy reach of town in case of an emergency. Hence, ice fishing!

We didn't catch anything, but it was fun nonetheless. I wish I had taken a picture of the ice auger - you would have enjoyed that! Anyways, we drilled holes in the ice (okay, I watched that part) and put minnows on our fishing rods and plunked ourselves down in lawnchairs to wait.

And wait.

In the end, we didn't catch a thing, but it was really fun! I even got to ride on the snow machine. (Easily amused city kid, eh?) ;)

I'm sure you'll be shocked to hear....that I got a sunburn. In northern Manitoba. In January. Go me!

Love,

Nikki

*Can you name that tune?

Challenges of northern medicine

Dear Laura,

Helloooo from the north! Your baby blanket is adorable - love that fabric! How did baby bib attempt #2 turn out?

I laughed my head off at the YH's post about navigational difficulties in Waterloo. It's so familiar to me! Brad's dad recently moved here so I've been there quite a bit recently - and despite living there for four years, I still get lost on a regular basis!

I have recovered from my murderous cold for the most part. I still have a cough like an old man who's been smoking for fifty years, but otherwise I'm fine!

My experience up here continues to be...interesting. I think the most shocking part has been realizing just how much of a double-standard exists in our health care system. It's appalling how much we have to go through here to get something for a patient that would be thought of as a given back home. People travel for hours for a test that would be done in five minutes in the city. Very sick people have to make do without homecare, not because the funding isn't available but because there aren't enough nurses to do all the care. Critically ill patients wait on remote reserves because there is no doctor available to go with them in the helicopter to the city. It's terrifying, and it's sad.

All the people in the south who complain about waiting for hours in emergency rooms should try living on a remote reserve where there's only a nursing station - but no nurses to work at it. The nearest doctor is an hour away by air, and the nearest hospital is even further. There's just no way that people get adequate health care in such a setting.

I am developing an amazing amount of respect for the doctors who work in this environment. They work long hours with little or no backup, and their efforts are often hampered by a grossly under-staffed healthcare system. And yet, they do a great job for their patients.

I'll get off my soapbox now! I've been working hard but have been putting a lot of thought into wedding planning during my time off - we'll have to talk soon so I can run some ideas past you!

Love,
Nikki

Dear Nikki,

Have you read the YH's post about Waterloo yet? I totally cracked up when she mentionned King and Weber intersecting!

Not too much exciting has been going on with me. I've been dog sitting the past few days, which has been going pretty well. Tomorrow I don't have classes, so I get to stay home and work on typing up notes, which will delight the dogs as I will take a break mid-day to go for a walk, and they'll actually have someone around. I'm pretty sure they get bored when they're home alone. The other exciting news (actually, not good at all) is that my car is sick :( It's been in being repaired since Saturday; apparently the steering rack needs replacing. Which is not cheap, and comes with excellent timing to coincide with shipping my furniture out here from Ontario. Yay!

Craft-wise I haven't been doing much. I don't know what it is, but after working all day I'm totally exhausted when I get home. Especially if I've had a Guide meeting after work too! I cast on for the denim bib from Mason-Dixon Knitting (thank-you again for giving it to me!). I decided that even though the pattern called for 4 mm needles I would cast on with my 4.5 mm Addis. It's a bib; gauge totally shouldn't matter, right? Wrong. First of all, the needles are awesome, and even the denim cotton felt really nice to knit. However, the feel of the bib is wrong, it's too floppy and loose. So once I'm done posting this, it's coming off the needles and going to the frog pond. But, here's a picture of the bib in progress, along with one of the fun flanellette receiving blankets I plan to give to my co-worker (the bib is hopefully for her too).

I hope you keep feeling better!

Laura

p.s. Currently reading: Winter Holiday, by Arthur Ransome. The fourth book in one of my all-time favourite kids book series. I'm not even sure how many times I've read this one, but it's still great!