The Joyous Return of the Elph

This was a pretty good weekend. I actually both left the house, and accomplished things that needed to be done, proving to myself that this is possible, and opening the door to future successful weekends. There was also a whole lot of stuff that wasn’t completed, but I’ll try not to dwell on that right now.

It all started Friday afternoon. I went to Village Yarns to try to get the set of interchangeable circular needles that I’ve been coveting for a little while now. I got there just before the store closed, which was actually a very, very good thing. Wow – that is a beautiful store, with so many beautiful things that I’m sure I couldn’t have left without buying a great many things had I had the time. As it was, I knew that she wanted to close up in five minutes or so, so I only had time to ask about the needles (sold out) and then hie me out of there before money started spontaneously spurting from my wallet.

Saturday morning, I went to the market, once I finally convinced myself that I really should leave the house (not a small task). I picked up some mustards for my dad, of course being convinced to buy 4 jars (who needs 4 jars of mustard?) because it was $18 for 3, or $20 for 4. And I got another gift for someone else, who might be reading, so no details! But I always enjoy the market, so it was a nice visit. What really threw me off was the call I received while I was still sitting in the car in the parking garage, about to head into the market. A friend’s mum called me, declaring that she’d been abandoned by her own daughters, and aggressively asking whether I’d like to join her for the Cavalcade of Lights that afternoon. After finding out what that was, and where, and when, and not really having any good reason to say ‘no’ springing to mind quickly enough (other than the great wads of things yet to get done for Christmas) I agreed.

So then it was home for a bit, for more knitting (maybe I should work on the Christmas projects rather than the New Year ones, you think?) and some photoshopping. I decided that I really, really wanted to have my camera for the night of seeing pretty things, so I stopped at Best Buy to pick up a new memory card, hoping the whole time that the problem is with my card and not my camera. Then it was time to stand in line.

Is there some kind of rule that negates the idea of personal space when standing in line during the Christmas season? I was trying to be jolly and pleasant, but when people keep whacking me with their bags and attempting to bump me forward, it becomes difficult. Of course, this little stop made me late, which turned out to be irrelevant, as the Cavalcade of Lights bus tour was sold out, so we rushed off to get some dinner before hurrying back to Nathan Philips Square for the show.

And the show was great. Streams of fire and sparks and glittering confetti, and music, all reflecting off the backdrop that is city hall. But the best news of all? My camera is working! I rejoice!

I just have to stop here to say - Oh, man. I have never seen anything so cute in my life as this baby panda. Right now, he’s climbing in and out of a big tub filled with bamboo, climbing on spool, and just generally tumbling around in an unbelievably adorable way. Can’t… stop… watching… The cute barrier has been breached, my friends. Ack! He’s upside down! He’s cuddly and tumbly and roly-poly and… and… overcome, I am. Go there now. You’ll understand. Unless he’s sleeping. Maybe even then, though. Because the wonder of fur and cuteness is still there.

So, the Cavalcade of Lights – people dancing with fire, people singing with fire, fire shooting into the air. Pretty neat. And so many people crowded into the square that it wasn’t cold. Big bonus.

After the show, we shuffled through the crowd and walked over to see the Bay’s windows, all decorated for Christmas, with a Narnia theme. Very fun, and really well done.





And it was a joy to see the kids looking at the displays, pointing at the different elements of the display, the characters they recognized, and the windows all fogging up at around waist-height from their excited breathing and talking.



On the knitting front, I am making something beautiful. I have made things that are fun, things that are functional, things that are cute, and they did have their own beauty. But now I am making something that is beautiful. It's a joy to watch the stitches coming together to create a thing of beauty. It's hard to put the needles down because I just want to see the blanket get bigger, and become more beautiful.

Then there’s the sock. I am stuck. See how long it is? That’s the easy part.

The hard part is the heel thing. I made the turn, and now have the shape of the heel all set. But how to pick up from here and continue is a mystery I haven’t yet solved.

I think I’ll just watch the panda some more.