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camping at PineryProvincial Park
Last Friday, I had the day booked off when it looked like we’d be heading way up north to go camping about six hours from home. When Sandra started getting this temp work, I switched the reservation to Pinery Provincial Park, 3 hours away on the shores of Lake Huron near Grand Bend Ontario. Although we could have easily driven there after work and arrived around 10pm, I decided to keep the day off, run some errands, go to Costco, and be able to pick her up from work at 5 and get on the road.
Friday didn’t exactly go as planned. I blame the sketchy noodle bowl from the mall fast-food Japanese restaurant on Thursday. But I stocked up on steaks and baking potatoes and corn and beer and had the dogs and the gear ready to go by 5:30.
The drive to Pinery was lovely. I’ve never been through Stratford before, and really, must find a way to go back for an actual visit. We passed through what felt like the heart of Ontario’s agriculture community; so many farms, growing everything from corn to soybeans to broccoli! We saw cows and sheep and alpaca and goats. We even saw a Turkey store with an LCBO in it. Weird.
I didn’t know what to expect about Pinery. From the descriptions online, it sounded a lot like a very family-friendly campground, with lots of programs and a fabulous beach. Our site – 948 in Burley campground – was rated “good” for quality and “average” for privacy, which tends to mean it’s pretty open to both neighbors and the road.
As we drove through the park for about a half hour to get to our site, I realized that Pinery was both much larger and much more wild than I’d expected. From doing some reading, I’d learned that Pinery has the largest Oak Savanna in Ontario; a grassy area dotted with majestic oak trees.
Living in Canada, I don’t feel like I see a lot of Oaks. We had one in our back yard growing up, but in later years, I’ve gotten more used to Maples as the standard. Our side was mostly open, but had several gorgeous Oaks around the edges for a bit of privacy.
But the main reason to go to Pinery isn’t for the trees. It’s the 10km of white sand beach, with shallow warm waters and perfect sunsets. Like about three dozen Provincial Parks, Pinery has a dedicated “pet exercise area” at one of the beaches. The rules state that dogs must be kept on leashes, even on this pet beach, but many (including us) were just keeping leashes nearby and our dogs under control in the water.
First thing Saturday, I took Jackson and Cooper to the beach to burn some energy. The week before, Sandra worked on two pitches until midnight, giving us little time to get them to the dog park during the week. And man, were they full of beans! At 10am on Saturday, the dog beach was still fairly empty. Not so a few hours later when we went back for the afternoon with chairs and sandwiches to enjoy the rest of the day. We staked out our spot in the sand and I spent the next four hours in the water.
So many sandbars make the water pretty much waist deep for a long distance, so it was warm and sandy underfoot. One of the best swimming experiences I’ve had outside the Caribbean! For the dogs, this was great. I could stand and they could swim constantly, or I could run with them through the shallower sections while chasing balls.
This was really the first time we’ve swum with both dogs for so long. We took Cooper to Kelowna BC when he was about 5 months old and went to the dog beach there. But Jackson hasn’t really been in the water with us for more than a few minutes at Killbear.
Jackson, as it turns out, gets a little anxious. I don’t know if he’s worried about us, or if he just doesn’t like swimming. Many times, he swum up to me and pawed at me with his front paws by jumping half out of the water. Sounds cute? It’s not. His claws are kind of sharp, and with the power of a 95lb lab, have left huge bruises and scrapes over much of my body.
I figured out that if I watched him coming at me, I could turn and hold him a bit to give him a break and help him calm down. Then, send him back to the shore where Sandra would be waiting.
On the other hand, Cooper was even more of a suck than I’d believe possible. If he swam out to me, he expected me to hold him… on my shoulders.
Pretty cute, actually.
Whether this past weekend was the best camping we’ve ever had, or just a really good time, it doesn’t matter. Going to the lake for two nights felt, to me at least, like going on a fantastic summer vacation for much, much longer. I had that end-of-vacation-cry feeling when we drove away; I didn’t want to leave.
![Campsite 948 in the Burley Campground. The privacy was rated as \](http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4093/4940981343_95b2202035_s.jpg "Campsite 948 in the Burley Campground. The privacy was rated as \")
looking at it from bothsides
I’m making such speedy progress on this sweater now. I think I’ve turned the point where I know it’s working out and I won’t have to rip back again. It’s a good feeling; the ability to just move forward.
This week, I started on the sleeves. Purling in the round on dpns is apparently not my strong suit; I was developing pretty severe laddering between the needles. I was shocked! I never have laddering issues when I knit or work in pattern. Rather than fight it, I decided to just knit the sleeves inside out so I could… well… knit.
Within a few rows, I became pretty enamored with how these cables look from the inside as well. It’s a completely different look, and had I planned better, I would have provisionally cast on the underarm sleeves so it could be truly reversible.
Or maybe I’ve just been looking at the yarn too long and am going a little batty in the brain.
What do you think?
Man I love this cable. You’d asked where the pattern was from. The truth is, I can’t remember. I started on this project back during the Olympics this year, and I’d written out the cable instructions. I think it’s a variation on something from a stitch guide. I’ll take a look through my books when I finish the pattern and see if I can find the source.
I’m just finished with the first of the sleeves now, and it’s looking like I’m going to need another ball of yarn. I tend to forget how cables can suck up yarn. I also designed this a fair bit longer than I’d expected when I bought the Galway. Luckily, I should be able to get another ball at The Purple Purl during my day off today. (!!!!)
Yep, I have today off. I’d booked this as a vacation day at the beginning of the summer when I thought we’d be doing a long weekend five hours north at Restoule Provincial Park. Sandra’s still working (yay!) so we’re staying a bit closer to home and going over to Lake Huron for some beach time and sunsets. I’ll pick her up from work at 5pm with the dogs and the gear so we can be on the road, but until then, I’m going to run errands, buy yarn, and make pickles.
It’s possible I’m a little obsessed with home preserving. I’ve made Ginger Peach Jam, Peach Jam, and Peach Salsa with our grocery store haul of peaches. And now I have some canning pickles and dill. Mmm… dill…
Anyhow, have a great weekend. I hope this sweater will be done by the next time you hear from me! I have another deadline project to start designing the second the yarn arrives on my door stop so if I don’t finish big blue before then, it’ll be a month.
ginger peach jam
A few weeks ago, I picked up a book on creative recipes for home preserving. One of them – this deliciously spicy Ginger Peach Jam – was too compelling to ignore. I came home last night with a few pounds of peaches and cooked up a pot of jam.
I’ve considered myself a decent cook for quite some time. I’m confident enough to know when to experiment, to add more or less of an ingredient to taste, to improvise as the mood strikes. But until this year, the domestic arts that require a little more precision and alchemy have evaded me; baking, candy-making, and canning. Earlier this year, I feel like I leveled up in baking. I’ve learned to take more time with measurements, to strive for perfection rather than improvisation. And the results have been pretty consistent.
So now, canning.
In particular, the preservation methods of making a well-cooked fruit jam into something safe and shelf-stable for a year, seem like miracles to me. Acid, sterilization, heat, pressure… it’s all quite cool.
The ability to have home-cooked foods out of season is pretty appealing too. Here in Ontario, our produce is among the most delicious I’ve ever tasted. Why not make that last a little longer?
Yesterday I made 8 250ml jars of Ginger Peach Jam. I have 7 to put away – or give away – and 1 already opened in the fridge for my morning coffee. All for about a dollar a jar.
You know what? It’s delicious.
I’m hoping to go to a fruit farm this weekend and pick our own. The Put ‘em Up book didn’t fail me on this recipe, and I suspect the others are pretty yummy as well. I have more peaches to work with tonight; a peach salsa or maybe a ‘regular’ peach jam for Sandra. And then we’ll see what else I can dig up.
and it fits too
I have a minor love affair going on with this sweater. It appears in my dreams, unfinished yet compelling. I think about it, even when I can’t be with it. And every day, I eek out a little more time to spending knitting, even if it’s at 7 in the morning for a half hour before work.
This morning, I cast off the body. I chose to do something a little different with the lower edge. A simple k1p1 rib finishes off the reverse stockinette sections, and I altered the cable pattern for the final repeat to help it lie as flat as possible.
Keep in mind these photos are before a good blocking. For cabled sweaters, I always always ALWAYS wet block before wearing, especially with a bouncy wool like this Galway. A good, long soak helps everything open up and lie flat, even if it delays the instant gratification of wearing it right away.
I’m jumping ahead, though. I’m still a while from being ready to block. Two sleeves and a neckline treatment still to go. I’ll probably leave the neckline for last; I have some concepts in mind but haven’t decided how open I’d like to keep it. Part of me is pretty enamored with the graceful openness it has right now.
We’ll see.
The funny thing is, the color blue looks different in nearly every photo. It’s a bit elusive to capture and changes with the light and shadows of the day. The truest color is in the first photo here; a brilliant emerald blue, like a deep lake.
And oh yeah. It fits. Like a glove.
feeling a little blue
Another weekend, another set of camping plans cancelled.
Late last Friday, Sandra was handed a rather large and daunting project for her temp job; one that would require her to nearly master Adobe InDesign CS4. Rather than attempt to get a few hours in on a laptop in the woods before the battery died, we decided to stay home. Again.
It’s not all bad, though. Aside from a major incident with my servers at work on Saturday afternoon, I basically knit the entire weekend on the blue cabled sweater.
It’s chugging along now. Maybe because I can see the end in sight, but it feels like it’s going faster and faster, rather than slower and slower as I near the finish.
As of last night, I’m halfway done with the increases near the end of the waist shaping. The photo at the right shows the side view. I decided to put the waist shaping on the inside of both panels, rather than the outsides. This should keep the cables very vertical rather than curvy. I think this will work out well, but we’ll see.
To be honest, I’m a little scared to try it on, now that I’m getting close to the end. Is that weird? I think it’s going to fit wonderfully, and maybe I’d rather just risk the unpleasant surprise for the chance to be wowed the first time I put it on. If anything, it’ll be a little on the small side, and I’ll need to find a model for the photography. Lately I’ve been enjoying using my friends as models. I like to be behind the camera, and although I love showing off my work, I can have more control over the photos when I take the pictures.
So many cancelled plans this summer. First camping and canoeing, and now running too. I’ve been struggling with shin splints since last November. I took time off for six weeks in the winter to let them heal. But since then, I haven’t been able to run more than a few miles a week without a twinge of warning pain. I made it through the spring and early summer, and did a few races of 5 and 10k. The last 5k was in early July, and the week after, I thought my leg was going to complain its way right off my body. The pain was pretty bad, and I decided to just throw in the towel for a few months, and give it every shot of recovering.
Unfortunately, just as with the campsite reservations, I’d booked my races for the season back in the spring. This weekend is the Midsummer Night’s 15k, my first ever race last year, and one I’d been really looking forward to repeating. There’s no way I could run 15k right now. Not safely, anyway. And long ago, I decided to opt out of the half-marathon in September, even though I’d been registered for so many months.
All this change is disappointing. My summer has not turned out as I’d imagined. But I guess I’m ok with that. It’s a good reminder for me that I don’t have control in everything. And canceled plans mean new plans; Blue Jays games, long walks, BBQing in the backyard, and new knitting projects.
And I snagged a great campsite reservation for this weekend.
Now we’ll just see if we can use it.
