Well, there was another smelting thing..... I like the people, I love the husband.... but I'm getting a little tired of the smelting.
On the bright side, Snorri came back for a visit. 
And the beating of the hot rock is still amusing.
Wareham also had a few very attentive bluejays hovering about. I haven't seen ours in quite awhile.
Went to see the new Cirque du Soliel show - Ovo - in Toronto recently.
The show was a matinee so I took the whole day off. Neil worked the morning - he tends to be more gung-ho that way. Gets paid more for his dedication. I packed and lounged around the house.
Ate bad food at a fast food place on the way out. Had time to check into our favourite hotel before the show. I love the Cosmopolitian. It's technically just outside of the business district in Toronto, but you could throw a stone at it. The views are fantastic from the windows (we could even see the big tops of the Cirque on the waterfront), and the place is so Zen-like.
Meandered over to the Cirque tents and settled in to be entertained for a few hours. Lots of kids in Halloween costumes in the audience. The little girl next to us was so fascinated by the show, we hardly heard a peep out of her.
The little girl inside me was so fascinated I hardly moved myself. :)
After the Cirque let out, we meandered up to Vertical Restaurant. I'm always interested in trying new high end restaurants when we come to Toronto. I'm looking for that perfect mix of a quiet atmosphere, unobtrusive but friendly service, and food so good that it challenges perceptions and delights the senses. Vertical comes so close..... but I am getting harder and harder to please as I gain more experience in high end food.
I'm looking for that stillness that comes down around me when it's just about the experience right there in front of me and everything else fades away. High expectations, I know, but I've been there.
Anyway - excellent service, reasonably quiet atmosphere, good mix of music in the background, and the food was excellent. Not transporting, but there it is. We opted to split the appetizer in order to indulge in the Italian mult-course experience. New food experience - grilled octopus! Then we both had the half size portions of the lobster tagliatelle, and he had the black cod and I had ummm.... darn, it escapes me... another fish. We both had the creme catalana for dessert.
Although the fish was perfectly cooked, and the veggies a nice mix that worked well together, I think the dish needed a little dribbling of some sort of sauce to pull it altogether.
It was a beautiful night as we walked back to the hotel some 2 hours later, much relaxed. He walked, I limped - haven't worn those heels in quite awhile and they were trying to break my feet in again.
The next day we went shopping! Efston Science and Capital Leather and Findings managed to eat a few of our dollars respectively. At some point, Neil turned to me and expressed the feeling that it feels like we've had a full weekend already and how delightful it was that we still had another day before having to go back to work again. I was feeling the same darn thing. :)
Drove home to mundane food and candy handing out duties, shamelessly eating all the good stuff and giving out the stuff we didn't want. Did not get as many kids as most years so we've had to clean up the leftover candy this week. It's been tough. :)
Weaving with the handspun is progressing, but it's difficult to get a good picture of it. I've broken 5 of an original 120 warp threads so far, just in these first 4 rows of weaving. I'm hoping it will settle out and find a stable point of weaving. I'm having no end of grief with opening one of the sheds.
Karen
The reporting is getting a bit behind the reality. It was a few weeks ago now that I was at the Woodstock Fleece Festival, where I found this delightful fleece waiting to be taken home by someone. The vendors and displays inside weren't nearly as much fun as the creatures on the outside of the building. No pictures there. And although I didn't find a new spinning wheel, which I was hunting for, I did gather some new Shetland rovings, which I need like I need a hole in the head.
Came home that weekend to discover that somehow we'd managed to overlook this nest all summer long. Can't imagine how. We did notice an increase in wasps in the yard, but I guess neither of us ever looked up.
It's gone now. I had some guys from the local nursery do some yard work last week, and handed off the task to them amongst the other chores.
Leaves, of course, are everywhere. Neil got this new gadget that sucks and mulches them. It's been very handy.
But this one leaf paused on the way down to attach itself to the bird feeder.
Pretty.
Bird feeder by Darrell Markewitz at Wareham Forge. Advertising is intentional - he's our friend. And I really like the bird feeder!
This is one of my favourite pieces from the clay firing. It started out as a bowl, and collapsed, and turned into a small vase.
We made our yearly usual appearance at Bogenschutzenfest. I love this event. I don't really know why. 
Maybe it's the archery, maybe it's the silly factor. You see, there's this styrofoam bird on top of flag pole..... and the bar opens halfway through the day. 
On a more serious note, I have finally decided to weave with my handspun.
There it is, in mid-warp. I'm holding my breath. It's scary.
Karen
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