Friends I Follow

Sunday, June 26, 2011
Goodbye
Goodbye to Saba.
Goodbye to my friends. 
Goodbye to Joel.

Goodbye is a little sad so how about thank you.

Thank you Saba.
for welcoming me with smiles, waves and honks
for teaching me to live with less
for showing me beauty like I have never seen
for teaching me to be creative with what I have
for helping me appreciate my home
for entertaining me on a daily basis
for the adventures you provide on every hike and scuba dive
for showing a prairie girl what real hills are
for showing me that even though you are little, you have a lot to give
and most of all for bringing us all together

Thank you to my new friends.
for making me feel welcomed, always
for accepting me for who I am
for always being there for me
for helping me find the humour in our situation
for inspiring me to try new things
for providing support just when I needed it
for beng honest with me
for teaching me how to sew
for the amazing memories I will never forget 
and the life long friendships with the most amazing women

Thank you to my husband. 
for bringing me with you on this adventure
for making me so proud
for making me feel appreciated
for being honest with me
for putting me first
for supporting me
for sharing your dreams with me
and for loving me 
I have enjoyed every minute with you over the last 11 months


And what is a post without any pictures.

The amazing friends I have made. 


One thing Sophie and I are going to miss, our walks with Joel. 

Saturday, June 18, 2011
Since September when Sally introduced me to sewing/quilting it has kind of taken over my life. Between searching for fabric and patterns I have spent hours on the internet dreaming and finding inspiration. I know I am kind of a loser like that. But because of Sally I have now finished 4 quilts. With many more requests to work on when I get home. So I thought I would give you a little round up of my work because I know you all care so much.

My first wonky pot holder. I love the retro feeling fabric I found in Sally's scrap bin.

My first full sized quilt! The obsession begins...

My quilt for new baby Alex. I love the zig zag but the animals on the fabric got a little amputated. Oops! 


My quilt for Alex's sister Emma. I had a little trouble putting it together but only I can see the flaws now.  And if you can see them please don't tell anyone. 

 The new baby quilt for the cabin. The babies needed a blanket, I came to the rescue. 

I even make a striped back. I am kind of in love with this quilt which I designed as I went. Yep I'm turning pro. Now if only I could get my corners to match up..

Hope you enjoyed this round up. Next week I am back to real life so I think my sewing is going to slow down. But my fabric buying might increase. Real fabric stores here I come!!! 


Tuesday, June 14, 2011
I guess I have changed since I came to Saba. I could barely make dinner for Joel and I when I came, and then last week with the help of some lovely ladies I made dinner for 14 adults and 3 children. Who saw that coming? 

I am proud (well Winnipeg proud) to have introduced perogies to a lot of new people. I love perogies and am always so sad when people tell me they have never heard of them much less tried them. So I got to work with the help of Leslie and Lauren assembling about 8 dozen (I think it was more but we lost count) potato/cheddar and sauerkraut/bacon perogies. Of course I had all the fixings: sour cream, bacon and sautéed onions. I could only find turkey kielbasa so I passed on that, and there was no rye bread. So it wasn't the full experience but I tried. The meal was topped off with a huge salad and my other favourite, apple crisp. I had a fabulous time and was so happy to have Leslie and Lauren there to help. I am also thankful for Lauren letting us use her house, because I know my 342 sq. ft. of cottage could not accommodate that many people  

The only disadvantage to doing the cooking is that I have no pictures of the event. So if you want to see my masterpiece and all my friends chowing down head over to Lauren's blog, http://fromourfrontporch.com/2011/06/14/sos-cooking-night/

I did take these pictures last week though....

Sophie watching geckos run across our screen at night


The other Sophie. The dog we have been fostering for a few days. 
She loves treats, walks, sleeping and getting pet. 
She is up for adoption if anyone is interested....

Thursday, June 9, 2011
Prior to this week the weather has been constantly beautiful. It was hot, sunny, the water was extremely calm and so inviting. Joel and I even went on a night dive. We saw a lobster half my size and about 3 nurse sharks swimming around and feeding. It was amazing! Perfect way to finish off my diving here. 

Since the weather was so beautiful on Sunday, when we left for church Joel decided he was willing to take a break in the middle of the day and go snorkelling. I was beyond excited! So we headed down to The Cove to see what we could find. The water was gorgeous, so warm and calm.

There was a huge school of pretty blue fish


There were also other things lurking in the water.....


And sea turtles


And more scary things..



I love how crystal clear the water looks in this picture. And that my mask is slowly filling with water.


After snorkelling we headed over to the tide pools. This is one of our favourite places. They look so different every time we go. The last time we went the tide was really high and the sea was rough. Meaning you can't go in very far for risk of being swept away. But when we went on Sunday the water was soooo low and calm we got to explore places we had never been before. 

Joel got a great close up of this "thing" (I don't know what it is). He knows but he's not here right now...
I think closes and sucks things into the rock or something like that. 


And this really cool sea urchin on the right. There are hundreds down there that look like the one on the left but we only saw one of this kind. It looks like it is made out of metal. 


And when I say there are hundreds of sea urchins I mean it. And they come in so many different sizes. This one is probably the scariest one I saw. Look how long those spikes are. They were probably somewhere between 5 and 10 inches. Wouldn't want to step on that one.


On a side note I learned something interesting last week. If you step on a sea urchin you cannot pull the spikes out. They are too delicate and will just break. They have to work their way out and it can take over a year! Talk about uncomfortable. So a note to everyone, watch where you step! 

This picture is from the same view as a painting we bought. Minus the fact I am in this picture. Opps! 


Aren't the colors beautiful. These pictures do not this place justice. 


Barely even a ripple in the sea. 


This picture was taken in January. We are looking down at the place Joel is standing in the picture above. We couldn't get down there because the waves were too big and the pools we really full on that day. What a difference! 


I'm sorry for the delay in posting. Not much happened the last couple weeks. But hopefully I will have more to update you on after this week of activities! Stay tuned!