Pumpkin's Turn at Minter Gardens

Pumpkin hanging out, watching TV and waiting for me to get ready.



"I'm the king of the castle!"  When we finally we arrived Pumpkin ran ahead to "the big rock"  Peanut had told her all about.



Okay....here she was making a big show of being bored and having to wait again, but really.....I was less than a minute behind her! Sheesh!



"Land ahoy matie!"  Pumpkin's favourite places had nothing to do with flowers, and everything to do with imaginative play.



"GiddyUp"  Sometimes with a favourite game it was hard to get her to move along! (She claimed her mule was being stubborn").



"Chee-chee-chee!"  Come down from there Monkey-Pumpkin. I'm pretty sure tree climbing is frowned upon here.



"What happened to this guy?". Pumpkin nearly had me convinced that lazy workmen get turned into stone.



"Hello, hello! Anybody home?". After meeting the stone man Pumpkin was wondering who else lives at Minter Gardens.

 

"I'm too H O T! Can I take my shirt off?".No Pumpkin, we'll just have to find a shady spot to sit for a while.



"Awwww, *whine*, how come the mosquitoes always hang out in the shady spots?" Oops, I put mosquito repellent on before I left home but I forgot all about poor Pumpkin.



"Here birdie, birdie! Come on over big guy....."



"Hey Mister Stork, what'll it take to get you to give me a ride?"



"Just over there, to that cool little cottage. It looks to be just my size!"



Careful Pumpkin, that moss looks slippery.



"Here fishy, fishy, FISHY!".

Whoa! Pumpkin! Look out behind you. Here comes a mean ol' tortise and he doesn't look too happy about you messing with his fish.





"...is......is he g...g..gone yet?"



After getting a safe distance away from the mean ol' snappy guy Pumpkin took a few quiet moments to watch a tiny bug.



"Huh? Where'd it go?".  I guess it had wings?



Pumpkin was very excited to find the quiet "Fairy Stump" that Peanut had told her about. They both agree, Panalaya, the white elf lady, really needs to come here.



"Come and find me!". Pumpkin just wasn't interested in the flowers but I had to get at least ONE picture. It is a garden after all. I was sneaky and told her to go hide in the flowers.



Pumpkin had such a good time today that she was really disappointed when it was time to go home again.

A Flap About Flaps

One of my pet peeves is pants (or shorts) with back pockets that have those annoying button down flaps. The very first time you wash them the flaps crinkle up and stick out. And yeah.....I'm NOT going to start ironing my summer shorts. My solution? I sew the flaps down!



Who ever uses back pockets that have to be buttoned anyway? I have a large enough rear end that I sure don't need to start carrying extra junk around back there!

Finished and in Use

The crocheted bowl is now completed, starched, and in use.



The handwoven dresser scarves are now wet finished, hemmed by hand, and in use as well.



I love the way the textured, plain weave looks against the dark, smooth, wood of our new bedroom suite. 



The sixteen feet of weaving gave me five runners altogether with no further leftovers. In addition to the 4 pieces needed in the bedroom (for two night tables, a mule chest, and a chest of drawers) I had enough finished weaving to make a runner for the kitchen table as well.

Alexander Bridge Excursion

When all the crowds are gathering for big Canada Day celebrations and group activities my husband and I scurry off to quieter locations, preferring to spend the day enjoying Canada's natural beauty.



This year we headed up the Fraser Canyon to Alexander Bridge Provincial Park and walked the old highway (pictured above) down to the old Alexander Bridge.



It was more of an easy walk than and actual hike.



A train surprised us by roaring by just as we approached the tracks. No time to set the camera to best capture the speeding train.



There were a few other people stopping by to enjoy the view, but certainly no crowds.



Looking out from the old Alexander Bridge you can see the new bridge which was built in 1965, just downstream.



Looking through the rusty deck at the mighty Fraser River rushing by.


All the rust and corrosion does nothing to add to one's sense of security while standing on the bridge.



With the very wet spring we've had this year the Fraser River is flowing very fast and high.

Haven't Done That in a While

As anyone who is a regular reader of this blog knows, I have a LOT of different hobbies. Lately it's been mostly about the dolls and sewing and knitting for them. But recently I've been feeling a renewed desire to do some of my older hobbies as well, some of the ones that I haven't done for a bit. Here's a little taste of what's been going on over the past week or so. First, I've been weaving. We bought a lovely new bedroom suite and it arrived on Thursday. I'm now weaving runners for the tops of the dressers and night tables. My floor loom is crowded against one wall at the moment so these are being done on my rigid heddle loom, a 24" Beka.


 


I've got it warped for 16 feet! I'll have extra woven yardage left over after I'm finished cutting and hemming the finished weaving, but it was easier to set up the direct warping procedure for the full length of two banquet tables, hence the 16 feet. I had plenty of the warp and weft to work with so "waste" was is not an issue. I'm sure I'll figure out something I can do with the leftover bit. Who knows, maybe it will show up as some finished object on Etsy?

The other thing I hadn't done in a while is crochet. I think Ravelry might be responsible for renewing that interest. I saw some really neat crocheted lace covered rocks, but .... yeah .... need to go hunting for appropriately sized and shaped rocks for that one. So in the meantime I decided to crochet a bowl and a couple of small doilies.


 


They may, or may not, end up on the new bedroom furniture. We'll see. Depends on how they look when the blocking/starching is finished.





This was definitely a case of being more into the process rather than the finished object. I just wanted to crochet and didn't really care whether or not I was producing something useful.

Peanut Visits Minter Gardens

All bundled up and ready to go.



"Is it dangerous there, Wovenflame? I'm a little scared!"



Peanut's favourite spot in Minter Gardens is a little, open air building that houses the Japanese miniatures. She absolutely loved what she called the "My Size" trees.



The first day of Summer also happens to be our first real day of SUNshine!



Peanut wasn't too fond of the Creepy Stone Lady.



But she really loved the teeny, tiny, purple flowers.



And we found a whole patch of flowers that matched her dress!



A short rest by a bubbling fountain.



Not too happy about being in the arms of the Scary Leaf Lady.



Spending a quiet moment by the water curtain.



Some of the other photographers wished they had a cutie as the focal point of their pictures too.



Peek-a-Boo



If you listen really carefully you can hear the birdies (over the roar of the freeway traffic....*sigh*).



Peanut raced ahead but then waited for me at the next corner.


Peanut asked me to show this particular picture to the new Elf Lady, Panalaya. She thinks Pan should come here for a photo shoot after she gets her new wig and a faceup.