I know cats aren’t a super “farmy” animal but these kittens are barn cats that we were given from our bee equipment supplier. And they bring endless laughter to our lives with their hunting exploits (dragonflies, mice, voles, and one golden finch) and their vocabulary for “please let me inside NOW!”

Tonight they were playing Pirate Cats.

yes, this boat will do purrfectly for my seaward purrsuits! Just the vessel for me!

And think of all the tasty fish I’ll catch!

I just need to check below deck on my supplies. (What Ramona doesn’t notice is that Mewes has noticed what a purrfect fishing vessel this dinghy would be.)

Ack! We’re being boarded!

*hiss hiss* You can’t be on my boat. Mewes, go away, we are not friends! You are most un-welcome!

Abandon ship! Pirates!!

Oh well, I don’t like the water much anyway. This truck will suit my needs much better!

What? Do you think you’re going somewhere?

Go ahead and try….

I dare you….

Please meet my assistant, Manfred Lawrence Archibald the Third.

Or as I call him, Habib.

Which Marc refers to as his “slave name.”

Whatever his name, he is a wonderful model for my baby-knits.

He also is willing to model in the nude.

More importantly,

like the sweater?

I hope someone little and living in my belly likes it too.

Whadya think, Belly-Resident?

Like your new sweater?

May long weekend has always held the tradition of camping for Marc and I. But this year we decided on a different outdoor trip. Last September we had the luxury of buying a little sailboat at a very reasonable price. It was such a great deal that Marc bombed up to Sechelt on the Sunshine Coast just to snaffoo this before someone else came along and recognized this bargain.

Nesika (Native for the collective “we”) is our 25 ft C&C sailboat. She can sleep 4 but 2 feels pretty crowded. She’s got a little icebox and an alcohol stove, a head, a small galley and just enough elegance to make us feel very rich! We did our first over-night in her this weekend, two nights actually. And it was our first attempt at anchoring. We did pretty good if I do say so myself. (But really, the confession must be made that Marc did most of the work. I kept myself busy trying to steer the steed!)

We skipped over to Portland Island. I’d never been to Portland but Marc explored it for a few years with his scout troup from Victoria. The island is dotted in fruit trees, roses and shell midden beaches. The island was a First Nation’s village for hundreds of years. The beaches are evidence to this, covered in white shells where the First Nations had their many clam feasts.

Hawaiian immigrants who settled on the island in the 1880s also farmed there. Now the island is part of the Gulf Island National Park Reserve.

The first night, we anchored at Royal Cove which is the North end of the island. Our night was pretty rough as the wind came up quite fiercely. So we moved the next night to Princess Bay which is the South of the island. The night was more calm but both anchorages suffered from bouts of BC Ferry wake.

We had a great walk around the island and said hello to the local inhabitants.

They didn’t invite us in for tea or anything but we promised we’d call next time before just dropping in.

On the way back, we had a strong wind and we got to have a good sail back.

We had a great time and it was really nice to get away. Our farm was growing weeds for us while we were gone and the cats were littering voles about the garden as presents upon our return.

Sailing is quite compatible with reading a good book, knitting, napping. I’ll post on my latest project a little later. Also with the chives, thyme and sage blooming, the bees are in the garden, busy as well… bees!

Getting the opportunity to see more of my lovely islands was a pleasure and I was immensely grateful for such a competent calm husband, such beautiful weather and such a happy little boat!

Hope your May Long weekend was great too!

It is my birthday today and I am 28. I woke up a little bit early because the birds were chirping, the sun was streaming in and the cats were sleeping in the chives. And I thought, it is my birthday and I have to work. I’m going to make sure I enjoy my day. After all, happiness is my choice right?

So I put on a rosy pink dress, put pearls in my ears, braided my hair fancy, put on eye-shadow. Yes it’s Pender so eye-shadow is hugely dressed up. (Funny thing is that because I rarely wear eye-shadow, I’ve rubbed a lot of it off already. *sigh*)

And then I made myself a small cup of coffee with a dollop of whipped cream and I treated myself to an oat-raspberry-chocolate chip muffin!

Marc gave me the ultimate surprise though. He managed to find a very good deal on a high quality Canon Camera. I’ve been leaning towards exploring photography as a new hobby. You, dear reader, have already been subject to a couple of experimental shots, and you will be subject now to more, I promise!

-In saying this, I fully realize that this post and the previous do not have any photos, for that I apologize profusely. I have been writing these on the sly, not at my home computer, so I do not have access to my plethora of pictures.-

So picture instead in your mind, me at my computer — with a cold that I picked up recently and am trying adamantly to ignore– in my pink dress, pearl earrings, enjoying the elusive sun outside the office, choosing to cheerfully munch my raspberry muffin and typing insurance policies – and writing sly blog posts.

Please enjoy Earth Day, this day my birthday, as much as possible!

When I begin the weekend, especially in the Spring, I have quite the “To-Do” list. I’m not sure if my husband dreads this list as he knows that there will be only guilty relaxing- as we have things to do Sir!

On my To-Do list this weekend included a few things we got done and a few we didn’t.

I got the buttons sewn on my tiny vest so that it’s ready to ship off for baby. This thing is just about the cutest thing ever!

The top buttons totally don’t match. Somehow I’m hoping that it just doesn’t matter to my friends. These are the friends, after all, who put up their bare Christmas Tree, named it Franken-Pine, and sat on the couch 5 feet away and threw the ornaments at the tree, hoping they’d stick. The tree was incredibly lop-sided and the first time the top star was adjusted, the tree fell on the unsuspecting victim. These are some of my favourite friends!

Another item on the to-do list was seedlings.

This is our potential tomato seedlings. Yup, pots of dirt. Trust me, it will get more exciting. Planting seeds is such an act of faith. It seems like the most unlikely thing to happen. Putting a grain into the dirt, pouring some water over it, and hoping. Somehow, the seeds wants to grow, it knows how to grow, and it grows. I love this small miracle.

After all our hard work, we decided a reward was in order. A picnic. And not just anywhere. Somewhere really special.

Hope your weekend was as productive as mine!