First Batch

The wonderful ladies in my Knitting Group gave me the first batch of donations for this Botswana round last night:



Anne Marie made the blanket, green bag and yellow scarf. Laina made the two large hats and red scarf. Bev made the adorable little pink hat.

I've heard from a number of people, promising knits by our deadline of March 13th. Thank you thank you to each and every one of you!

ETA: Anne Marie made the blanket, green bag, yellow scarf and red hats. Gina made the red scarf. Whoopsie!!!

Skating

Dear Knittah,

Today Noricum and I went skating. Well, Noricum skated, and I took in the view from her sock bag. Before we started skating, she bought some new skates:

These ones are much better than her old ones, because her feet don't hurt in them. She was able to skate quite a bit before her feet started to ache a bit, and then they only hurt a bit. Plus, the wire "laces" with the dial to tighten them are a lot faster to put on and take off, or even to adjust when necessary. Plus they're insulated. That's a necessity for outdoor skating!

We also had some hot dogs and hot chocolate that he Knights of Columbus were handing out.


We hope you're keeping warm.

Love,
Swatchy

Botswana Time!

We've done it before, now it's time to do it again! Readers already know that my doctor, Dr. G, founded an HIV/AIDS clinic in Gaborone, Botswana. Last year, I asked him if they treated many children. He said that treatment for pregnant women who are HIV+ is widely available and effective, and so not many children are born with the virus.

Dr. G then said that there is an orphanage near the hospital, and that 85% of the children there are "AIDS orphans" having lost a caregiver to AIDS. Did they need anything, I asked. Everything, he said. This was the beginning of our Botswana project. Friends, relatives and knitters joined me in making warm things for Dr. G to bring to the children.

And let me tell you, we've impressed them! The last collection was a true tower of love - eighty-six hand knit and crocheted items, including twenty-six blankets! Dr. G told me that the children (and adults) in Botswana are amazed that someone in America would make something just for them, by hand. They treasure every item we send, and put it to good use.

Botswana is in the southern hemisphere, so the seasons there are the opposite of where I live in the north. In winter, it falls below 40 degree (F) and no one has heat. Outside Gaborone, it is can be especially cold. So will you join me in making a gift for another child?

What to make: Hats, sweaters, socks, mittens, blankets and toys in bright colors
What to use: Warm, easy care fibers - superwash wool is a plus, but I'll take anything
When is it due? Our deadline for this round is March 13th

Email me for the address to send your items or to make other arrangements.

Finally, a big shout out to my knit and crochet group! These ladies rock hard core, and are largely responsible for the avalanche of gifts last time. Mwah!!

Christmas Tree Hunting

Christmas Tree Hunting

Dear Knittah,

Yesterday Noricum and I went Christmas tree hunting. It was *cold*, but it didn't take long for us to chop down the ditch tree using a pair of pruners. You can read more about the tree here.

Love,
Swatchy

PS: Noricum still hasn't found my tuque! I'm going to pester her to make me a new one, before my hair freezes off!

Manitoba Art Expo

Dear Knittah,

On Friday, Noricum, her friend, and I went to the Manitoba Art Expo. There was lots of lovely art there. I mostly hung in my travel pouch, but Noricum remembered to bring me out to introduce me to Linda Glowacki:

She does lovely needle-felted artwork, and got a real kick meeting me. She seems like a fun person!

We enjoyed looking at all the art, and Noricum saw lots of people she knew... some were from the art club she belongs to, and others she took workshops from.

The driving to and from the show was really scary, though. The roads were really icy! Plows and sanders were out, but they were having trouble keeping up with the conditions. Noricum's friend is a really safe driver, though, so we made it there and back without any accidents, although one red light we weren't sure if we'd manage to stop before the intersection. (After that we watched the walk signals, and slowed to stop if they turned red. That method had us stopped at a green light once, though. We felt a bit silly... but safe!) We saw one accident happen when someone couldn't stop for a red light, and another where someone slid all the way through a red light. In that second case, we were really glad there was a clear lane beside us, because that person *had* been in our lane. Had there not been an empty lane, we would have been rear-ended!

Driving was much better on Saturday when Noricum took me grocery shopping. We were both very relieved that the roads had improved so much.

Love,
Swatchy

Winter Wonderland

Dear Knittah,

Winter has arrived. Please send warm thoughts.

I wonder where I put my tuque...

Love,
Swatchy

Vote Early!

Dear Swatchy,

You probably know that Election Day here in the U.S. is Tuesday, November 4th. The voter turnout is expected to be high with long lines, and Knittah just can't be wait in a line for very long (especially if it means sitting in her wheelchair outside). Luckily - did you know this? - she can vote by absentee ballot.

I got to check out the ballot before she filled it out. She said you are supposed to fill in the ballot all by yourself with no one around, so I had to go back to my shelf when she got out the pen.

But pretty cool, huh? Knittah says: "No matter who you vote for, make sure you vote in this election!"

Love, Nori

Rhinebeck 2008!

Howdy Knittah!

I've been pretty quiet lately, huh? You can blame Vicki - she keeps having work, and life and stuff get in the way. Ridiculous, I know! She even went to see the Yarn Harlot in Boston, and forgot to bring her camera!

That's not to say that I haven't seen our dear Stephanie recently though..




























(That was the second picture, taken after she said that she had dorked up the first picture, and requested a do over. The first wasn't that bad, but it did look like she was at the tail end of a crazy book tour..)





We went to Rhinebeck again! We weren't such good knitblogger stalkers this year, but in our defense, it was really really crowded!





































There were also a lot of people at the Ravelry party. They were less blurry than this in person.






























I was quite taken with this guy. His name is Thor, and he kept smiling at me. I couldn't tell if it was a happy friendly smile, or a get away before I bite you smile, but still, he was impressive.






























How many more days until Rhinebeck 2009? We can't wait to go back!

Manitoba Military Tattoo

Dear Knittah,

I'm sorry I haven't written much lately! Noricum and I have so many posts to write, but life has been so busy. This post couldn't wait though... because we met Fred Penner, and he said he'd look for our post!!! Do you know who Fred Penner is? He's an *awesome* singer of children's music, and Canadian, and Noricum has an autographed record of his from when he sang at her elementary school. He even had his own TV show!

Anyway, I suppose I should give a wee bit of a back story (before Noricum hares off to that silly desk of hers that she's trying to refinish).

Noricum's dad is in the Winnipeg Male Chorus, which was singing today as part of the Manitoba Military Tattoo. Fred Penner was the Master of Ceremony. After the performance there was a dinner, and Fred Penner (and the recently retired Chief of Defense for NATO) were sitting at the next table! After the speeches were over, Noricum twisted up her courage and asked for a photograph:

(Don't mind Noricum... she's a little star-struck, and didn't think to straighten out her vest.)

While we were taking photos, this one is of Noricum's neighbour, Don McCrae, who is the grand-nephew of the poet, John McCrae, who wrote "In Flander's Fields":


And this photo is of one of the handsome fellows from the 402 Pipes and Drums Band:

Noricum was a big fan of the pipe band performances in the show, and also loved the purple tartans. :)

We also spotted an RCMP officer in full formal dress while we were waiting in the car to figure out what entrance to use before the show, but Noricum was slow to think of me and her camera, and he was already half a block away (on a *cold* and *WINDY* day), so she didn't chase after him. Also, she was delegated with making sure Don made it to his seat, and didn't want to abandon him. Sorry! Next time, Noricum promises to think faster.

Well, I'd upload a few blurry photos of the show, but Noricum is complaining that she needs to do a tiny bit on her desk before dark. Hopefully we'll be able to catch up on some of the backlogged posts soon!

Love,
Swatcy

PS: No, Noricum didn't have the guts to pester the former NATO Chief of Defense for a photograph. Plus he had wandered off, talking to other people while Noricum was busy with Fred Penner.

PPS: We're getting kind of low on postcards... do you have more of them?

Botswana, The Next Round of Knitting

I saw Dr. G this week, and he is recently returned from Botswana. He told me that our gifts were a tremendous hit with the volunteers and children.

There were so many beautiful things, that the staff divided them up. Larger items went to the orphanage near the hospital. As I think I mentioned before, 85% of those children are AIDS orphans (meaning their primary caregiver(s) have succumbed to AIDS), but only 15% of the children are actually HIV positive. All of the baby items went to the pediatric ICU at the hospital. Dr. G said over and over that our gifts were so deeply appreciated, and that the care you put into making them means so much to the recipients – much more than a donation check ever could.

So let’s do it again! Weather is getting warmer in Botswana right now, so I suggest we aim for sending knitted items as our spring approaches. Here’s the essential info:

What to knit: All items are needed, and I’m waiting for an update on any specific requests.

Fibers: Think WARM, so wool is better than cotton. Think DURABLE, as most items will be washed by hand in a tub, and hung to dry on a wire fence or similar.

Colors: Any and all colors, especially bright colors.

Our deadline is March 13th. Email me for information about sending in your donations.

Alpacas!!!

Dear Knittah,

Today we got to see alpacas!!! And other furry critters! We petted lots of soft things, both living and processed. :) Noricum is being a stick-in-the-mud, and hasn't even taken her photos off the camera. (She said that she *had* to do laundry. Harumph!) Anyway, another member of our tour group is obviously much better organized than Noricum, and has her photos on Flickr. :) Hmmm... let me see if I can get this slideshow thingy to work...



Did that work? At any rate, I'll work on getting Noricum to do something about her photos, and the cabin post, and the Toronto post and... *sigh*

Love,
Swatchy

After all that...

We were just wiped. It was time to end the sleep over by actually getting some sleep. I got in to my PJs, and Swatchee and I cuddled down for a snooze, under a lovely afghan that Pele's human crocheted for me, and sent all the way from Arkansas!

I hope Swatchee will keep in touch with us all

Thanks for the visit (and your patience listening to the ramblings of a bear

After the game..

.... time for my music. I'm a real rock'n'roll bear.!! :) Swatchee was right into it and can do a pretty mean percussion in his boot, by hopping up and down on the desk. We ROCK!!!!

FINALLY!!!

We finally get to do our real man-thing, beer, nuts and football games. Well, I shouldn't say "man-thing" because my human is the football nut in this family, and she ends up screaming at the TV! Go Bombers!! Win a game, once in a while, will ya?

We had fun hanging out.

After all that running around..

.. we had to toake a little break on the deck swing. We're pretty good friends at this point! It was nice to relax for awhile and listen to the deck pond.

After being yelled at...

We ran around to the front of the house and tried to hide in the flower bed there. My human found us of course, but she wasn't mad at us anymore. We're both there -- can you find Swatchee?

BTW, that a first-time chrysanthemum behind me. Isn't it going to be fabulous when it blooms?! It's huge!

One of those "QUIGLEY!!" moments ;)

"You boys get off the grape trellis!! What are you thinking??? "

Well, she is right. The grapes aren't ripe yet.

High Flying Swatchee

I guess it's a super-boot, because he was able to jump really high on to one of the birdfeeders. He hung around for awhile hoping the birds would come back so he could say hi, but I guess he was scary looking or something.

DON'T PANIC!!!

Hippo was just horsing around. Startled Swatchee at first, but they both ended up giggling. Swatchee was glad to be having some adventures. Not very often that you get to be "eaten" by a hippopotamus. BTW, Hippo is Gnome's friend, and spends that whole year outside too.

Swatchee REALLY like his boot!

Not only was he able to get close to the the Vomiting Frog on those slippery rocks, he was able to get right into one of the flower gardens, and meet one of my favourite buddies, the Garden Gnome. He doesn't have a name either -- wel, he does, but he says it's secret. Gnome names are something special that only other gnomes know (?). Anyhow, he stays out all winter and disappears under the snow each year and hibernates. We really know that spring is coming when his cap starts to peek out thorugh the snow. Swatchee and the Gnome really seemed to enjoy each other's presence.