Scrapbooking

Today Ashley Golem came over after she was finished work so that we could work on the scrapbooks we’ve been working on together. After I did the photos of the Jamaican’s that are working on the farm, it was really hard to find small albums to put them into. I love being crafty and my mom has tons of scrapbook materials so I made seven small photo albums and put the name of each man on the cover and today Ash and I put all the pictures into the albums, they look great and we think they’ll make great gifts to celebrate the end of the season!

Crochet Purpose

Since my last crochet post, I’ve been working on a few more baby hats. I like them because they’re small and I can try out several patterns a day and practice on different stitches rather than getting locked into a big project. Well, after about 5 hats, I started to think, “I don’t know this many babies! What am I going to do with all these hats?” I didn’t want to waste the yarn, but I really like doing these projects. I’ve been thinking about it for a few days and just kept pushing it out of my mind. It’s like when I do quilts and I wonder what to do with that many blankets! So this afternoon my mom’s friend Debbie called to say that she went to Fabric Land on Saturday and picked up some cheap material for my friend Amy’s grandmother, Mercedes (aka Nana). Mercedes is making baby clothes and receiving blankets from donated fabric to send to Mexico where women there have nothing to take their children home in. BAZINGA! There was my answer – so I called Amy’s parents house (where Nana is visiting) and told her my idea that I could make newborn hats and booties for each of the 50 packages she plans to send at the end of the year. She thought it was a great idea so now I have the perfect place to send all the hats and I don’t have to worry about not putting the yarn to good use!

Scarlett Visits, Ola Stays

Today my mom and I went out with Scarlett for a bit since she’s here visiting for the day. We went to a few stores and ran a few errands with her in St. Thomas. Having a baby is so much more effort than being by yourself - especially since it was raining and cold! The extra bags, the extra weight, the constant attention, it took forever to do simple tasks! We didn’t stay out to long and when we got home we made a hot meal and cuddled into a relaxing afternoon. Here are a couple of photos of Scarlett, she’s just the cutest.

Scarlett modelling (trying to rip it off her head) one of my knit hats

Also, we’ve been watching Shelley’s “dog” Ola while she’s gone. Ola is a Chihuahua and she’s a very quiet, simple dog so I know I shouldn’t complain but she is beyond skittish (she trembles if I even walk by her) she doesn’t cuddle (except with my dad) and she refuses to come to me (even if it’s to let her out to go to the bathroom). I like having the company in the house during the day but she is not very friendly!



Walk Around the House

Today while I was walking outside to dump the compost in the gully, I noticed alot of little bugs and spiders around, so I grabbed my camera to get some practice in. Most photography websites I look at say to take at least one picture everyday - to learn to keep looking around you for things worthy of that picture each day. I loved this spider (even though they give me the creeps) that was hanging off the gutters at the front of the house. Scarlett is coming to visit tonight since she and Shelley are going to Florida for a couple of weeks and my mom wants to see her grandbaby before she goes - so I'm sure that Scarlett will be my photo of the day for Tuesday.

Puff Ball - Mushroom in backyard



Boxall Erosion



Move Over Red Wagon

Today my Dad unveiled the gift for Scarlett that he's been working on all week. He took an old, raggedy red wagon and spruced it up. He sanded it, painted it, and even added the Deere decals. He did a great job and Shelley and Fraser both loved it. Scarlett got alot of attention when they all went out to the apple orchard today!

Tonight after Nathan made it safely back from a night out with his friends in Toronto (it was a celebration for Nathan and his friend Scott's joint birthdays) we headed down to Debbie and Casey's place (friends of my Mom). Both Deb and Casey are great cooks and hosts, and even with 10 people around the table there was way too much food! We had homemade chicken soup (perfect for me and my cough), mashed potatoes with fresh dill, stuffed manacotti, caesar salad, ribs, fresh bread, cheese, and 3 kids of dessert, plus wine, coffee, and tea. It was a feast! We did manage to make a plate for my dad since he started harvesting beans today and he was happy to have it when we got home aroun 9pm.

IPM: Quilt Edition

Even though this is part of the International Plowing Match (see previous post) I wanted to give this it’s own post because I had such a great time with the quilting women in the rural arts tent at the IPM. I spent over an hour talking to several women who work at the Ingersol Art Centre. Shirley Campbell showed me how to hand quilt on a rack and we spent some time together doing that, then I went over to Stacie Littlejohn (Wallacetown) who taught me how to appliqué.  I sat with her for about 45 minutes and she told me about what different patterns mean and courses on quilt history that are offered at the Art Centre. We talked about our families and why we like quilting and she was so nice to talk to. I told her that the current quilt I’m working on is a log cabin and she showed me the following pieces.

-          Before pieces were cut and measured, quilters would use a cross-x pattern, each block fits between at least 2 lines on the X and then you just sew until you reach the line and then put on your next piece

-          There is a dark side and a light side to a log cabin pattern that represents the farm life (daytime) and the family life (night time)

-          The log cabin centers were only 2 colors originally – red (to represent the hearth) or yellow (to represent the light that leads the farmer home at the end of the day

She was very knowledgeable and very patient while she taught me how to hand appliqué. After I finished with my small piece she showed me the prize winning quilts that were on display in the tent and we chatted a bit about each. Who knows if I’ll ever run into Mrs. Littlejohn again but the passing relationships I’ve made in the last 2 weeks, by going out of my comfort zone and talking to strangers, have added something wonderful to my time here in Boxall.

IPM

After spending 2 days in my mom’s office I was ready to get outside! I’ve had a bad cold (my first in over 2 years) and being outside always makes me feel better. So today I went to the Internation Plowing Match in St. Thomas. I spent most of my day wandering around, looking at all the booths and exhibits and watching the shows - square dancing, Canadian Cowgirl Rodeo, Traci Kennedy (local singer), square dancing tractors, and several live acts on the bandstand. The square dancing tractors were really amazing. I thought it would be slow and that it wouldn’t really look like dancing but the men did an astonishing job. There were 8 men (4 dressed as women) who drove the old tractors and they did a lot of intricate moves and were very fluid. I then went to watch the square dancing. I love square dancing – we did it in gym class when I was in the 4^th grade and from then on, I wanted to be a square dancer. I even had a dress when I was a kid. My grandparents (Stinson) used to be in a club, and I was always jealous. So I got some information about local clubs, and I’m seriously considering going.

Hospital Day

I've been working at the hospital (answering phones, selling lottery tickets) covering for my mom while she works out of the office at the Internation Plowing Match this week. It's the 50th Anniversary of the Plowing Match being in St. Thomas and I'm excited to go tomorrow ( I hear there's an amazing quilt show!)

My Mom and her co-worker Joanne at he M*A*S*H theme tent

Patterns

When I was in Saba, a reason I got into quilting was that I ran out of yarn on Saba and I really like crafts (it's definitely the Stinson in me). But now that I'm home and yarn is just a trip to Walmart away, I've started up again - after a few youtube tutorials to get me back in the swing of it. When Barb, my friend Ashley's grandmother passed away a few months ago, she had a huge container of yarn in her home and since I was the only one who would use it, Barb's daughters allowed me to bring it home. Now I have more yarn than projects to do! When I was going through the container I found several projects of Barb's that she had started and it made me think of the homemade gifts my grandmother had made for me (clothes, jewelry box, quilt) and it made me feel closer to them knowing I was holding something they put time, care, and love into. This is a pattern I found online and thought was so adorable!

Happy Birthday Nathan

Today was Nathan's 26th birthday. He decided to take the day off studying (but still set time aside to prepare his materials for the upcoming week) and we relaxed together, napped, and watched a movie. For dinner my parents took us the to Keg for dinner. The food was just as amazing as I remember it being. We all had steak dinners and Nathan even got his birthday (ice cream) cake at the end of the meal. For his birthday, I gave him a spoon. Yes, a regular piece of silverware. When we were in Saba, Nathan would ONLY eat with this spoon, and he had a million reasons why this spoon was the best spoon. I took alot of Walmart silverware to our apartment on Saba (and left it all there) but I did take this one spoon as a souvenir (shhh....don't tell!) I hid it away in my sock drawer until today. He looked so happy when he opened it, and it was a fun inside joke (well...I guess not anymore!) for us. I was surprised he didn't bring it to the restaurant tonight.

Happy...62nd? 512th?...ohhhh 26th Birthday!

Bachlorette

Tonight was the bachlorette party of my childhood best friend, Shannon Peart aka Shannie. Shannon lives in Ancaster and is marrying her longterm boyfriend (Tim) this October in London and Nathan and I will be going to the wedding. I'm so excited and happy to see them great married, they are a great couple who always seem to be laughing together. I was a little nervous for the party because I haven't seen most of the girls in attendance since high school and they all stayed really close, but they were really welcoming and asked me lots of questions about Saba and before long I felt like I fit in. It was really nice to see Liana and Meagen (Shannon's sisters) who I haven't seen in so long! We spent the shower portion of the bachlorette in St. Thomas then hopped on the rented school bus that took us to London for the night. It was alot of fun, but I'm glad I napped in the afternoon-- I didn't make it to bed until 3am! Luckily, I was able to be up and ready to go in the early morning, except for the wounds I sustained from the night before. My right leg has 3 distinct bruises from an excited party goer who got a little to into her dance routine, the other, well, maybe my feet are just too used to running shoes and birkenstock sandals, because my shoe was filled with blood at the end of the night.

Discovery!

Nathan has been studying all over Elgin County. He’s been to the Port Stanley, St. Thomas, and Aylmer libraries this week alone. He’s really working hard and getting a lot done. Last night Billy called and they caught up on what they’ve been doing and how far they are in their studying and Nathan has been ‘skyping’ the guys he studied with on Saba as well. Nathan leaves the house around 7:30am each day and returns around 6pm. I think Nathan is starting to feel pressure to study and write his exam since his friend Scott wrote his exam this past week. Scott is from St. Thomas and went to Parkside Collegiate (but graduated before I got there) and he moved out East (New Brunswick) with wife several years ago. Today when I was cleaning out the book case in our living room I came across a book I bought at Goodwill that belonged to Parkside and I bought it to return it to the school and then never did. I pulled it off the shelf to put in my pile of “things to deal with” and I opened the front cover of the book.

I know Scott and I are both from St. Thomas, and went to the same school, and even both worked at the same place (Sterling), but that book has been sitting in my living room for over 7 years and I never opened it and when I did—who was the first borrower of the book? Scott Cook! A man we met on Saba and who’s name wouldn’t have made me look twice 2 years ago!

Woodstock Outdoor Farm Show

I’ve spent the last 3 days volunteering at the Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, selling tickets for an antique tractor that’s been restored and donated to the hospital for a draw to raise money for new IV pumps. I worked with 2 women, Mary, who works with my mom, and Liz, the daughter of my mom’s co-worker Joanne. We were lucky that we were working in the John Deere section because we were inside a barn selling out tickets. We were there from 9-5 every day and they were some lloooonnnnggg days. I was happy that I had Mary and Liz, we’d never met before but we sure did get to know each other over those 3 days, plus the 3 hours in the car each day. I am glad that my dad’s a farmer and that I spent the last weekend at Ben’s farm because I fit right in with the farmers. It was a really busy show and I had a lot of conversations with farmers. They all wanted to tell me about what kind of tractors they have, how many they have, what kind of farmers they are, where they live, etc. I met some amazing men who told me all about their farms, their upbringing, and their wives and children. I have such a soft spot for farmers, probably because of how much I love my dad and I know how hard he works. Today was our last day at the show and Mary drove us in her car. It rained ALL day so it was a slow ticket-selling day. When we tried to leave, we saw that the parking lot/field was a big mud pit. Luckily, I had my rubber boots on, unluckily, everyone’s car was stuck. Good thing we were at the farm show because there were plenty of tractors to pull people out. We managed to be one of the early group of cars who were towed, but there were several hundred cars in each of the 3 parking lots and people were going to be there all night waiting for their turns.

Close Call

Today after volunteering at the hospital with my mom I left the hospital to drive home (my mom and I had separate cars). As I was preparing to turn left onto Elm street (a 2 lane- one lane in each direction- street with a speed limit of 40km/hour) I was waiting until I felt it safe to turn. It was clear from my right, and the van coming on my left was turning onto the street I was waiting on about 20 meters. Behind the van was an SUV, the motorcycle, then several more cars. I pulled out to turn left because I had plenty of time to make the turn (even in my dad’s large truck) when BAM! The motorcycle that was 2 cars back decided to pass the vehicles in front of him (making his own lane, speeding, illegally passing, etc) and his tire hit my tire. Luckily, he was just picking up speed and managed to stop and not fly over the hood of my truck. To give you an idea of how fast it happened, the car that was coming on my left hadn’t even reached the corner to turn when the motorcycle hit me, and he was going to fast that he hit me in the first lane I was crossing over—NOT in the lane I wanted to turn into. He was speeding behind 2 large vehicles, passing in an intersection and then proceeds to call me the worst names I’ve ever been called, each accompanied by a BIG ‘F’. After he realized that we barely touched (I saw our tires touch so it wasn’t like we “hit” each other) and after he threatened to call the cops, he finally agreed to pull over. He eventually apologized for yelling at me, but had no answer when I asked him what he was thinking passing 2 cars, speeding, etc. He told me that it was my fault and that he could charge me if he wanted, and to top it off, he never took off his helmet the entire time. He was so rude and so careless. What bothers me most, besides the fact that I haven’t stopped shaking is that I still considered it a safe turn. I did everything right, it was a turn I’ve made a million times, and I just don’t know how I could have been safer. I’ve seen it a million times, guys on motorcycles making their own lanes in between cars, speeding, and thinking their invincible, it definitely makes me happy that my brother recently got rid of his bike.

Reunions

Today was a reunion day! Nathan and I have started going to a new church in St. Thomas and when we walked in the front doors we heard, “Nathan! Nathan!” It was Laura, a girl from Nathan’s church in Brampton! She was there with her husband and 2 young girls. Laura is on the worship team and helped lead the service. After the service I was walking out and ran into Janneke, a girl I went to high school with but haven’t seen in almost 10 years! She was there with her husband and her 10 week-old daughter (although you’d never guess she just had a baby, she’s as small as she was in high school!) We stopped and chatted for awhile, catching up on what we’ve each been up to.

Pictures While You Work

Today I went to Ashley and Ben’s again for a tobacco day. When I was there at the beginning of the week, a few of the Jamaican workers saw me with my camera and asked if I would come back and take some pictures of them so that they could have some to take home to their families, so today was the day I set aside to do it. There were 2 men working at the kiln and 5 men harvesting the tobacco in the field. They worked so fast and I was amazed how fast the wagon was filled. Ashley and I followed the men (on foot- it went really slow so it was easy to keep up) and the men really seemed to like the attention we were giving them. Ben and his brother Mick also work with the men and the brothers said that the men were in much higher spirits and a lot more talkative than they usually were (they were teasing each other a lot – especially when I started taking their picture).

They were all very nice and polite and I was happy for the experience.