Wet Week and Sunny Sunday

(I'm having trouble sleeping, so I'm going to take a few minutes to blog. I hope this doesn't mean I won't be able to crawl out of bed in the morning.)

This weekend was the first one for which I had no plans since early July. I have to tell you, it was a huge relief. Although I love seeing family and friends, I really don't mind "alone time". In fact, sometimes I crave it.

Friday night Mr. Happy and I took advantage of the break in the unrelenting rain that has been falling here for what now, two weeks? We hopped on our bikes, backpacks on, and headed to the grocery store. Ah, yes, the glamourous life we lead. On the way back home, packs full, I looked around and realized that it was probably the nicest ride we'd had all summer. The sun was at that perfect hour, making everything golden. As we biked past Lake Banook, there were people paddling on the water, people walking on the trail, dogs sniffing trees; it was such a pleasant evening. Probably made more precious by the fact that we hadn't seen blue sky in ages. I really wish I had taken my camera along...

Yesterday the torrential rain kept me at home. I called Electron-Knits and invited her to drop by if she was in the 'hood. Ms. Electronknits just got back from a month at sea, and we're all really glad to have her home. Mr. Happy was home[1] so he entertained us with his silliness and cooked corn on the cob for us. The afternoon passed quickly and the next thing I knew it was 7pm and Ms. Electronknits was heading home.

Today I woke to the sound of my neighbour hanging out laundry[2]. I ran downstairs to peek out the door to see if she had lost her mind and was hanging clothes out in the rain. I was astonished to see the SUN! I welcomed my neighbour home from vacation as if she had brought the sun back with her. I raced through some chores and headed out for a walk. I ended up at Value Village where I scored some goodies that I wanted to share with you:

First, this pretty plate. It's about 14" long. I don't have a lot of serving platters and I really liked the idea of piling this with cupcakes or sliced cake:

Next, two vintage pattern books:

The Styles By Beehive book has some beautiful patterns in it that I can't imagine knitting, namely, dresses knit with fingering weigh yarn:

...for teen-agers!

There are some patterns that are very cute, a fair-isle sweater and these fair-isle gloves:

These sweaters:

...reminded me of patterns I've been seeing in Vogue and Rowan lately.

Perhaps my favourite find today was something that I had seen at VV a few weeks ago. I don't get down to VV very often, but the first time I saw this, I thought to myself, "Ok, if it's here when I come back, then I'll get it." It was there when I went today so I had to bring it home:

It's a little compact that contains two mirrors. I'm not entirely sure what the case is made of - some sort of plastic, Bakelite (I wish), Mother of Pearl (doubtful) - regardless, I love it. When I opened it up and saw the Made in Western Germany sticker inside I knew I had to buy it.

I know it's probably not worth much, but I have visions of going on the Canadian Antiques Road Show and saying, "yeah, so I paid $9.99 for it at VV..." and watching Valerie Pringle pass out when it's assessed at $1000. Hee hee. But I'll keep it, of course, because it's just so pretty.

It seems like everyone had the same idea for today: Arriving at VV, I ran into an old friend of Mr. Happy's and his wife, who are expecting a baby in October. Inside Alison and her boy. They were having a grand time in the toy aisle. And, on the way out the door, one of my neighbours was heading in with her kids. I hope everyone found stuff they're as happy with as I am.


[1] While it may not be abnormal for your partner to be home on a Saturday, Mr. Happy often has to record on Saturdays. It SUUUUUUCKS and I would like to issue a plea to local musicians: Please eff off and let me enjoy my Saturdays with my husband!

[2] Reminder to self: Neighbour has asked for help to oil the squeaky clothesline wheels.