Summer skies

A series of hot and humid days make for cloudy blue skies.

Tall ships in the harbour and a spider by Louise Bourgeois in front of the National Gallery of Canada.

Summer has become so busy. When will there be time to relax?

In the meantime, I've got Slow Show by the National on repeat. There's a lot of snow in that video which is unpleasant to think about, but the song is rather romantic. I'm getting quite excited for my trip to Lollapalooza next weekend. I can't wait to see The National live!

I'm also excited to have this Sarah McNeil print on its way to me. Have I mentioned that I love foxes? I also found a tiny brass fox at the antique market Sunday morning. It brings my total fox count to 4 prints, one photograph, one ring and one afformentioned tiny brass fox. Wow, I guess that's quite a lot of foxes for one tiny apartment.

TTC Knitalong

A couple of Saturdays ago (July 10th to be exact), I joined Julie and many others on the 2010 TTC Knitalong. We tackled the East Blue route that took us to The Naked Sheep, The Purple Purl, Americo and Romni Wools. It was so nice to visit the two Queen East shops The Naked Sheep and the Purple Purl. I don't often get a chance to get out to them and they are so lovely and friendly! Since almost all of the shops were offering a special discount for Knitalong participants I went a little wild with my purchases. (Okay, a lot wild...) Thankfully, I have projects lined up for everything!

The whole haul:

9 balls of Mission Falls 136 Merino Superwash in Curry

4 skeins of Malabrigo Merino Worsted in Paris Night

2 skeins Malabrigo Lace in Polar Morn

1 skein Americo Andean Highland Wool

1 skein Romni Wools

Vogue Knitting Early Fall 2010 (won at The Purple Purl)

Classic Elite Yarns Saturday Afternoon pattern booklet

Mirasol Accessories Collection pattern book

The Mission Falls Merino Superwash is going to be the Basket Stitch Cardigan from CEY Saturday Afternoon pattern booklet. This one is well on its way and I'm quite in love with the color.

The scarf on the right is the Night Jar Scarf from the Mirasol Accessories book. I saw a finished version at The Purple Purl I couldn't resist the pattern, it was perfect for the pile of Sulka I had lying around (from another project I frogged).

The navy Malabrigo will be the Ariosa Back-Lace Cardigan and the Malabrigo lace will become the Geodesic.

In addition, I brought a project along to knit that ending up with me winning the Fierce! knitting catagory. I guess it was pretty crazy to carry around a color work project done in alpaca-merino on a very hot summer day! I can't wait to tell you more about that project, look for a new free pattern in the fall.

Summer Reads #3: All My Friends Are Superheros

This book is short and wonderful.

Tom is unique; all his friends have superpowers, but not him. He also has a big problem, his new wife, The Perfectionist, cannot see, hear or smell him thanks to a curse put on her on their wedding day. Poor Tom is desperate to make The Perfectionist see him before she moves across the country, thinking he left her.

All My Friends are Superheros is such a touching little love story. You'll finish it in an hour, but it will be the best hour ever spent reading. Not to mention, it's really funny.

Well, I'm off to Montreal for a wedding this weekend. I can't wait to explore!

Hope you have a great summer weekend whereever you are.

Scenes from my trip to Manitoba

Cupcakes from the Cupcake Corner in Winnipeg's Osbourne Village.

I recommend their chocolate with peanut butter icing, yum!

A groomsmen's and his lovely fiance's feet at our friends' wedding.

New airplants for my apartment.

A window cat.

An old barnhouse.

Iceberg sculpture in Assiniboine Park, Winnipeg.

The bride's dress.

More icebergs.

Taking care of my Summer Goals one-by-one.

#7 Mini road-trips to Winnipeg and a trip to Montreal this weekend.

Summer Reads #2: The Imperfectionists

I bought this book for its cover.

The Imperfectionists is a series of short stories narrated by employees an international newspaper in Rome that is struggling to stay relevant and profitable in the era of the internet. Interspersed between the stories is a chronological history of the origins of this particular international newspaper. Just like the title suggests, the characters are flawed. The struggle of the characters parallels that of the newspaper, both seem unable to move forward.

I often have a hard time with imperfect characters. I want them to change, but that's not the case with this group of imperfectionists. Each characters fears resists change until one event forces them all to move on. I found some of the stories infuriating while others were endearing. It is a quick read full of drama for hot summer nights.

In other news, I cannot get enough of watermelon tea from David's Tea. It is delicious both hot and iced. I think I'm going to whip it up into watermelon iced tea lemonade this weekend.

I also wouldn't mind making this Tomato Tart when it's cool enough to turn on my oven again.

Pizza

This is the kind of pizza you can find on the prairies. It's crust is big; crunchy on the outside and soft underneath the toppings. The cheese is on thick, mozzarella, the kind that comes in large white blocks. The toppings on this particular pizza were spinach, feta and tomatoes just on one half (mine).

I have yet to find a pizza like this in Toronto. Here, the pizza is thin crust, cooked in a brick oven with sparse cheese and toppings. Don't get me wrong, I love this kind of pizza. It was impossible to find on the prairies and I'm so spoiled to have access to it all the time. Nonetheless, I can't help but dream of the pizzas I grew up with.

So where can I find this pizza in the city?! Help!

What is your favorite kind of pizza?