Sunday 16 August 2015

Sunday Sevens - 16th August

1:
My wonderful neighbours have done so much for me since I moved to Canada, so I'm repaying them by dragging Mrs E out on a bike ride every now and again. They have a 5 month old daughter, so she can't go far or for too long. But she appreciates the break from baby (hopefully!). We ended up out for about 1.5 hours heading north out of the city....


2:
I spent money on a posh mattress. Anyone who's stayed at our place knows I haven't done that for a long time.... The floor is more comfortable than our old mattresses (and North American King size vs UK double? No contest! Also not shipping the beds over will mean more space to bring bikes, fabric etc etc!)


3.
I went hiking. On a school night. I think this the first time ever!  Prairie Mountain is near West Bragg Creek out to the SW of Calgary. It's a favourite for evening jaunts and an excellent get fit/training walk, as it's only 3.5km to the top but with 700m ascent (that's a lot, some sections are over 45deg). The path is very well defined, there are no route choices, and the risk of meeting bears is very low (lots of people, no berry bushes).
I proved my fitness by making it to the top in 1h04, and then my stupidity by running down in 40 minutes. Cycling does not make you fit for running down hill, I couldn't manage stairs properly for the following two days....


4.
Tracing patterns and cutting fabric. Why does it take so long? I just want to get on and sew!!! This is going to be my first Butterick 5526 shirt (for work, in white , although there may be some hidden surprises....).


5.
In preparation for Mal's next visit from the UK in a couple of weeks time, I've invested in some hiking trail guides.  This is not your average guidebook, this is "Don't waste your time in the Canadian Rockies".  It grades the hikes on how good they are, the intros are informative and entertaining and the hiking guides are very well written.  It even comes with pamphlets for each hike that you can take with you (so you don't have to lug the book around).
This hike is from the "Don't bother" section....


6.
It was raining (people in Calgary aren't used to rain, they stop - much like Brits do when it snows).  So I went shopping.  And I bought Tea.  This is very important. I am after all from a nation of Tea drinkers.  This tea is very nice and quite expensive.  The Irish breakfast is quite a strong blend (think Yorkshire tea) with a deep bitter flavour, and the Kenyan is weaker but still has more to it than what you'd get in the supermarket out here.



7. 
I was hoping to finish my Onyx top this weekend, but I got distracted (I'm not very good at finishing things...). All I need to do is sew the buttons on to the cuff tabs.  Isn't it the prettiest Liberty fabric though (for those of us not into twee florals)?







2 comments:

  1. Enjoying your adventures from a distance - you're certainly making the most of it!:-)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Catherine! It's very hard but I do try :-D The most challenging thing is deciding what to do next! And it'll soon be skiing season..... :-)

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