Knit Wit

My mind is a busy place, there are lots of half formed thoughts flying around in there.  Three children and all they entail, a household to run  and a job  I  love, but which sometimes leaves me a little emotionally spent with the intensity it can involve, these are the things I carry in my head,  and sometimes it is cluttered in there.

 John has been urging me for years to mediate, to quiet my mind somewhere to help it cope with it's load, but it has never really done it for me. I am too antsy, possibly impulsive and generally highly resistant to suggestion.

But unexpectedly,  knitting is helping me to find my center, on a particularly busy or stressful day I find myself jonesing for some time with my needles. There is meditative and soothing rhythm in the clicking of those needles and I am hooked.


I knit every where these days, on the sidelines of swimming lessons and ballet classes. Late at night when everyone is finally asleep and everything done and I really should be sleeping, but I am not.


I am slow, I don't have a particularly good technique, I am a little embarrassed of knitting in public and 'doing it wrong" but I am learning not to care about that. I spend time browsing Ravelry, looking at things I would love to make, and then feeling despondent as I read the information and I can not decipher it at all. But then I remember that a few months ago I could barley read a pattern and this year I have made three cardigans.

All the same pattern, the latest thing I made was a little pink Kina for a good friends baby girl. I made with some Debbie Bliss cashmerino yarn,  a thing of beauty. There are some mistakes in it, but not as many as the first one I made. I am improving. Admitedly though I am a little stuck on the Kina, I need to branch out, but am afraid, does anyone have any suggestions for what to make next for a beginner?

There is such a sense of satisfaction hand making a present for someone. I can't wait for it to arrive and to see it on the intended wearer.

                                                     Linking up with Leonie

Loving: Little Pieces Of Canada Around Our Home

Joining in with Meghan and all the other things people are loving.








We came home from our trip in July on a loose two year plan. Inevitably, as it has been on each  of our previous trips, we had fallen just a tiny bit more in love with Canada.

There are so many things around our house that remind us  of the people and places we love on the other side of the world. Like this beautiful cushion in Millie's room that her Nana made for her. Every time I see if I remember the night she gave it to us and it reminds us of her...

Our plan was hatched on hot balmy summer evenings, on sunny afternoon walks past pretty houses with even prettier gardens. John and I played a little Chose your own Adventure, does anyone else remember those books from their childhood? The kind where you could chose which path you were going to take in the story. I was such a naughty reader of these books, I would hedge my bets, peak ahead at the alternative path, learning that in almost every case, which ever path you took, the story would end the same.

And the lingering last of our Canadian fare in the snack basket, I was devastated this week when we used our last sachet of Carnation Hot Chocolate, so bad but so good

Our Chose Your Own Adventure centered around our imagined Canadian life. Twelve years ago almost to the day of our trip, I had rendezvoused with John in Hamilton, intent on finding a job.  John had already found us a house and we had firm plans, the firm kind that never eventuated, we ended up back in New Zealand and the rest is history. But on our trip musings we spent  a lot of time wondering how things might have been if we had  stayed there? I like to think it would be a Chose your Own Adventure ending, we would end up with the same ending, husband and wife,  three children, just in a different place.

My bright and cherry Ikea hand towel in the bathroom, reminding me of a manic 3 hour shop and Swedish meatballs with Millie in the Ikea dining hall

While away we were so seduced by our perception of the superiority of Canada. If we moved before Millie stared Grade One she could be in French immersion..... John's home town just happens to be the very epicenter of Pediatric Occupational and Physiotherapy, McMaster University, the learning opportunities for me would be phenomenal. We would have all of our family close by, the housing market is  much more affordable there, and the houses are beautiful. The cost of living is lower, the wages are much higher.....

And the cheap and cheerful Ikea chair pads that brighten up the boys room

We came home as negative Nellie's regarding anything to do with New Zealand. We both felt really down, we missed Canada, everything  here irritated  us. But as the months have passed we have inevitably settled  again.

And a cupboard full of pretty spice tins, so run of the mill there but exotic and colorful on my kitchen shelf

I am finding more and more contentment here, the boys have such a wonderful school, and good friends abound for them and us. I understand the education system here, I know how to steer them to university . And did we forget? we have family here too. A good life, my job that I love, John has a job that he does not love so much, but there are many benefits to it, for our family.

And a little boy who was gifted his cousins old Soccer shirts and he wears them in rotation, one on, one off, and they are pretty much the only shirts he will ever wear now....

One night a few weeks ago John said to me "we are not moving to Canada are we" I think I already knew that the answer to that question was , " no, we are not, not right now".  It is so very difficult split between two sides of the world. Not a day goes by when at least one of my children asks me when we are going back to Canada, talk of our Canadian family is daily.  This week I have a taken stock of all the little pieces of Canada around our home, some that have been gifted to us, others that when I look upon them I remember the events of the day that they were purchased on and it is inevitably a good or at least amusing memory! Canada and our Canadian family is so intricately weaved into the fabric of our home. Even though we are here for now,  I know we are lucky that we feel so connected, although it is impossible to be in two places at once, a little piece of all of our hearts lives on the other side of the world and I love the things we have that remind us of that.

Happy B Day Johnny B

In the middle of our family's busy birthday season there is one celebration that is easily overlooked. Never one for a big fuss John is happy to let his big day fly under the radar, it's a good illustration of his life philosophy, it's never about him.

It's been a long time between drinks, these are the last photos I can find of John and us together , due to my chronic camera avoidance syndrome.

Lately our family has entered a new phase of contentment, something has just gelled and it kind of feels like it is us against the world, we can handle anything, we are a tight unit. Much of the credit for this can be laid at John's feet, unassuming and never one to blow his own trumpet, he would be the last one to claim this.


In these days of social media saturation, with everyone showcasing their lives of perfection at every opportunity it is easy to get caught up in the death trap of comparison. I am lucky to have John, who grounds me and our family in the here and now, keeping it real.


Our life is not perfect, we have our moments and our challenges, but we are so lucky to have this good man, who would do whatever it takes for his family, who is always reflecting, growing, striving to do the best that he can. He works very very long  and hard  for us, yet  I know that when our children are grown they are going to look back and recall many times of him being right there in the moment with them, present and real.



I am lucky to have my partner in crime, someone to share a love of documentary watching and a particularly dark sense of humor.

Happy Birthday JB!

My Just Right Challenge: The Canada Cardie

I am linking in with Show and Tell on Leonie's Blog.



I really love to knit, over the years I have dabbled but never been able to produce much more than the odd hat or scarf. Being part of the blogging community you read a lot about knitting, I have seen so many beautiful things that people create. I have always dismissed them as being beyond my skill scope, but this year I decided that I would knit a cardigan for Millie.

The first attempt on the cheap bamboos, I do love knitting on the couch in my pjs after the kids are all in bed, preferably whilst watching a baking show

I had my heart set on knitting a Kina, I had fallen in love with this cardigan reading Retro Mummy and seeing the lovely ones that she had created. So much of this was new to me, I had limited experience of knitting on circular needles, I could barely read the pattern.....


When I was pregnant with Jack, I joined a pregnancy forum that has since morphed into a private Face Book group, and there are some incredibly skilled knitters in that group. I asked SO many questions of the woman on there, who happily shared their expertise with me. The Internet really is our modern village when we use it the right way.

Round two on the Addi needles, that is the Canadian cable remote in the background which I used to watch a season on Tori and Dean on demand, I can barely believe I am admitting this....

You tube was another invaluable resource. I learnt how to do a long tail cast on one night with a pause, play, rewind, pause, play, rewind and repeat... and the help of my ever patient mechanically minded husband guiding me through the motor planning difficulties that I faced with getting my knit on.


I had several attempts at starting this, difficulties with following the pattern and an absolute disaster when the cord on the cheap bamboo needles broke mid row when I was knitting one night at the boys Hapkido lesson.  I had to unravel all my hard work and start again. Then I was put onto Addi needles by one of my online friends and there was no looking back.

I took this photo whilst I sat in the back of our rented Dodge Caravan on the way back from Lego Land on a wet Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend where we got stuck in nightmare traffic on a ten lane highway, John did a superb job of driving on the wrong side of the road and I sat in the back with the children and my needles...

The bulk of this cardie was made while we were on holiday in Canada, I took it with me every time we went out in the car, I knitted to and from Lego land, I knitted to and from Niagara Falls and Marine Land. I knitted this while I sat watching the children swim for hours and hours.


It is my happy memory cardie, I feel like all those memories have been knitted into it's very fabric and the vibrant red of the bamboo yarn it is made of is just so Canadian.

I finished it off last weekend at the pools back at home, while the kids were once again swimming

I have such a sense of achievement about this cardigan, it is a bit of a dog's breakfast in parts, the border is  jagged and uneven, there were a few holes, but over all for a first garment I think it passes. It was my just right challenge, harder than anything I had made before, but not so hard I could not do it.  I did stall in parts, I got to the sleeves and was very intimidated about attempting them, but they turned out to not be difficult at all. Successfully completing something you have never done before is incredibly rewarding.
 After initially rejecting it, due to not being pink or purple, Millie has taken to wearing her cardigan  with gusto. Jack though, is the most fascinated by my knitting, he wants me to make him something. I probably will, I don't want to put my needles down now, I have the knitting bug, big time.

The Op Shop Show Off: Basket Case

I am joining in with all the fabulous thrifting over at Max's lovely blog

I have not been doing much op shopping lately, we came home from holiday with a determination to declutter, not exactly conducive to new acquisitions.  However, I have to confess I have perused the shops a few times, but there are such slim pickings in my neck of the woods, it is a bit disheartening.


But my  obsession with basketry continues,  and when I just happened to pop into Habitat for Humanity and  saw this, although I wasn't sure what I could do with it,  it was too perfect and pretty not to take home with me. Plus with a three dollar price tag, how could I go wrong?

Turns out it actually fits into the decluttering schema perfectly as this basket is the perfect vessel for housing my knitting beside the sofa, pretty and functional.

I love basket work so much, there is a a lot  to wonder about, who made it? what was the intent of the making? I always feel a sense of rescue, that I am somehow protecting the unknown manufacturer's handiwork from oblivion. Is that a bit grandiose? probably.

And you may or may not have noticed that, my basket is sitting on top of, a new to me, Persian rug. The acquisition of this, is making me very happy. It was thrifted from my mother's garage, my most  favorite second hand store of all.

On the last morning

On the last morning....

I had to remember how to use my phone alarm so we could get a head start on the kids.

I paused to take a photo of this view from our third floor quarters, my first sight every morning,  for the past month. Taking in both the magnificence of these maple trees and the enormous generosity of Jeff, Dar, Jacob and Isaac allowing us to live our chaos in their home for four weeks and everything they provided and shared with us.



I crept downstairs to find John with his coffee, I knew that it would be the last time that the kids would get to partake in their morning ritual of sugary cereal and vitamins for a while, well the vitamins came home with us, Cinnamon Coast Munch  as called by Millie, will remain a holiday memory.

Even vitamins and cereal seem more exotic when labelled in French

In my last minute sweep of what we might have forgotten, there is a lot of spread with five people in four weeks, I came upon this Lone Ranger lego set that Dar had given Jack after he was so taken with the movie. Reminding me of just how many things we had done in this trip, memories made, bonds forged, lives shaped.

We were  a juxtaposed mix of emotions, anxious to get the return journey started, never wanting to leave. Home now, I think we have all left a big chunk of our hearts in Canada. Until we meet again......

Holiday Reading and Canadian Thrifting

In the last couple of months John has re-discovered the delights of reading fiction, and he has been on a mission to secure himself some holiday reading. Unlike myself, who will drop money at any opportunity, John can not bring himself to pay full price for a book. So,  we have spent some time exploring the used book and second hand stores of Hamilton and it's surrounds.  As you can imagine, this has not exactly been a hardship.

Last week John created a list of local stores and with our newly picked up rental wheels we set out with MIllie and Jack in tow. Google seems to be vastly out of date when it comes  to the locations of said used book stores, all but one on our list were no longer in existence. But I will never tire of driving around this city and taking in all the old buildings and houses. I love the way that people here take such pride in their homes and put effort into making things look pretty, it's my kind of town.

I took these photos when we were out walking, yellow seems to be the hot accent colour for home accessorising round here. That is my children there on my scooters, we packed them in our suitcases, best.idea.ever, eliminates walking related whining almost entirely. 

We tried our luck at Value Village,  a Canadian kind of Habitat for Humanity. Oh the things I could have bought, if only we had a container, in this city of beautiful  turn of the twentieth century houses there was so much lovely old furniture at the thrift store. But sadly all we left with was a couple of old magazine and some rather sad looking my little ponies to keep Millie occupied on the car ride home. 

Last night, Nana Canada took us to a used book store a couple of towns over, it seems that, used book shopping runs in the blood. Ben was very happy to find the next in the series on Lemony Snicket books,  that he has been devouring lately,  and John finally secured his holiday read. I am glad it has taken him so long to find one, it has been an interesting road to find it.