A Long Time

As I organize my self to do a post I always go back and read the last one I have done.  It orients my thoughts and keeps me from repeating myself.  It has been a month since my last post.  When I started I tried to post weekly and the time between posts has gradually lengthened.  I think monthly will be my new norm.  The renovating has slowed down and/or it is taking longer.

We were in Saskatoon for Brooke's fourth birthday.  It was a great time.  She wanted a 
"dance party" complete with disco ball and that was what she had.  After an hour of many children under the age of five all dance partying I was looking for a calmer place.  With foresight we had arranged coffee and a visit elsewhere.

Two hours later Zarchary and Heather hosted the family birthday dinner as Brooke, Ian, Carmen, Heather and I all celebrate our birthdays in March.  Another great time and a chance to visit with Heather's family.

Last weekend I was to a quilt retreat with a couple of friends from my new neighbourhood.  It has been a number of years since I have done this and it was great.  No thought to meals, dishes or anything else that might interfere with me and my sewing machine.  We were at Wolfe Creek Circle Square Ranch.  Fairly basic accommodation but served some of the best food I have had at a retreat. Too much as usual but I won't go into that.
For quilters only:  Shirley of Shirley's Sewing Room demo'd a ruler for pineapple blocks that is the slickest I've seen. I am in awe of the person with the math brain who designed it.  I won't go into detail here but if anyone is interested get in touch and I will give you more details.  For the Smarter Than you Think crowd it has the little grey square that you can click on with your "smart something" and watch a video about the ruler.  I think Clive might be onto something he just didn't choose the right examples for me!

Back to the more general topics.
We have new flooring in the living room and dining room.  The old hardwood wasn't too bad but by putting in new floor we were able to do move a furnace duct, fill some holes and do some levelling.  I really like the new floor, particularly the texture you get in oak.

Also it might just be my imagination but to my eye the wider boards make the room look wider which is a good thing.
Pat has started on the kitchen counter tops so far so good, they should be done by the time I post again.

We have had some warmer days. There have been moments where I am convinced that spring is on its way.  The squirrels have been spotted in one of their favourite spots and there is brown grass visible.

It snowed last night and this is the view from the front step.

Wayne Miskolczi of CBC radio weather fame assures me that the temperatures will warm up and the snow will melt. It just takes a lot longer if you still has a lot of snow cover. Do you think we fit into that category?
I long for the sound of running water, pussy willows and crocuses on the south-facing side of the ravine.