Kindred Spirits and Timmy Ho's and Meetups
As a girl, as many (most?) have in the Western World, I read Anne of Green Gables with great flourish and glee. The entire series, given to me for a birthday I think by my grandparents, was read more than once. I remember some snotty little shits mocking me for it. Yea, last I heard they didn't make it very far in life anyway . . . they've never been farther than Florida, think that sinners live in NYC, and the world ends past England and France. Odd, I know . . . as the prefab furniture I bet they pour into their homes comes from IKEA, out of Sweden, and to them that country would be A) some foreign land and B) not worthy. Yea, conservative memories of the Midwestern tween and early teen years still have dark strains.
C'est la vie.
As those reads of Anne Shirley went, back then I doubt I really grasped the nature and geographic locale of PEI. Though, in the late dirty 30s I certainly do. I was up there for a conference, on women's studies and abortion politics (for which I'll blog about sooner than later), and the locale also served as the site research for a travel piece I'm writing. It's an extension of the literature I've been crafting for awhile now, and . . . it is fun. That's a diatribe for another day.
In the meantime, grassy knolls along the side of the road.
And poutine. Curds, gravey, and fries . . . no, folks from Jersey those are NOT disco fries. Poutine . . . has an undercurrent of pure artery bliss.
Along the isle, in Summerside.
Lobster rolls, or the bun as the Teaser no Pleaser. Do try JMK Fishmarket . . . there's low overhead, so don't expect thrills and frills. Instead, you've got some pretty good lobster on a roll. As for the contest entry . . . Pleaser No Teaser. The roll is better, and a buck cheaper. ;)
Yes, you're welcome for the eye candy.
Perhaps, the irony du jour . . . my Monetta in the Parisian stripe that I tossed into the knitcation contest not in Paris but Canada. C'est la vie. That dress has been worn so much this season that I'll certainly be making more on the next seasonal return.
Kismet, per se? Yes, that's an Istanbul stamp. Perhaps something is telling me something again. That's what T thought. Turkey is still on that ten year plan.
See above for the Anne love. In the books, as she grows up, they guzzle drink Raspberry Cordial . . . yea, booze flavored raspberry drinks. Or some-such Really, it was a way to mask the consumption of liquor for a religious and conservative culture. Yet, Anne was a fictional tale set on PEI. PEI, though, is real set in reality so to speak. The isle certainly does have a conservative strain . . . though, all of that aside, the fictional world of Anne comes alive via the visitor's center (the site of Lucy Maud Montgomery's homestead and inspiration) as the meadow invokes images of Anne and Diana dancing in the fields. The cafe and gift shop sell cold Raspberry Cordials.
Reality alters fiction here. It's just raspberry pop.
Farther east is the end of the world. The historian in me tells you to see my first book and the chapter on Anne and PEI. There's a reference in there about potato farming and the settlers du France declaring PEI to be "the end of the world." Here, though it is more part of an island culture and joke at the East End Lighthouse affirming the brave soul that life and happiness abound on this isle. Around these corners, while still doing research, there was a moment of respite found. Good times.
Views. You're welcome.
And Timmy Ho's. Yes, I brought a pound home. So did T. Morning and noon, at night too . . . I do my coffee. Especially good coffee. As I have never hidden, I have a strong and long love of Canada. I'd move there just for Timmy Ho's I think.
Oh, that Sol Hoodie I referenced in the last post. There were two. They were used well. And, after five of these it has been altered to a perfect fit. On my, I shave 5/8th from the shoulder meeting arm seam. Sew up XXL sleeves (which, I no longer need to do . . . sleeves on regular size whenever I make it again), and I take in the waist 1/2 and inch. On Tanfer's . . . normal sleeves, and her waist comes in a few more inches than mine. I always use the metal zipper, and after a wash or two the minor bump below the chest eases out. What's the from? Ease when sewing. The weight of the zipper gives the hoodie some style, and it makes it lay well. Like a sexy glove.
And proof that the silk Myrtle looks like a dream. Post conference talk. Not the most flattering photo, but as T said it best "heavy talks exhaust you, research while having fun exhaust you. We've done four of these since January. There's a reason we are tired. And you're Lupus. . . " Then we made jokes about kindred spirits, and as we sloped through rain later that evening instead of paying to see the Green Gables musical I made up my own songs based on Anne and lurched and danced them for her through raindrops, fields, and elevator holds. You know you wish you were there. It was a spectacular performance.
C'est la vie.
As for that dress . . . tights and boots in the fall. It is a smidgen short, but . . . I'm sure I'll kill it with dry erase marker inside of three wearings. Ha!
And, then almost a week later, as the Instagram buzz attested I found myself at a meetup.
In all reality, the Lupus hell and work chaos nearly kept me away but a few hours in I found myself having a second cider at dinner and realized I was staying. Cha cha. Was worth it . . . and those Mood rewards: a 176 dollar bill was 30.50. Yup. Of course, I dropped another 47 at Paron, especially on the bolt of denim was passed around the chain, and a few bucks at Pacific Trimming for top stitching thread in maroon for said denim . . . jeans this fall. There's some pant weight knit in that loot for my second pattern I'm drafting, as number one is out to the initial testers now. Meaning. . . they really get to test it before I send it and tell me what went south on it.
That aside, I also didn't tell anyone I was going as--well--I didn't want to hear the hysteria of "you're meeting someone from the internet? You'll end up dead in a back ally." I said this at dinner and these ladies nearly snorted on their adult beverages on me. I didn't have reservations . . . it's just, well I know fools in my extended circle who still think NYC is going to get me killed because muggers lurk around every corner. Blah blah blah.
On that note, vacation dreaming aside there's always more to come as you know.
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