51. Read 6 novels written by Women (2/6)

I have just finished reading The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows. Borrowed from the Lenders' Library at my LYS.

The entire book was a collection of letters and telegrams between a writer, her friends in London and Scotland, and the members of the Society in Guernsey. It was largely about the occupation of the Channel Islands during WW2, and a bit of a love story.


It's a short, easy read, an interesting format and I recommend it.

92. Go see the owls at Owl Woods

(So, this is one I added, not on the original list)

When my friend told me about this magical island near-by, where owls go for the winter, where it's possible to go watch them, in abundance, in the wild, I felt compelled to go. I did research on the internet, got detailed directions, sparked D's interest, waited for good weather, on the weekend, when D was home, and the stars aligned for us to go on Valentine's Day / our anniversary / Family Day weekend. What perfect timing is that!

We got the ferry to the island, which broke the ice on its way over.



We drove around the island, totally enchanted, fantasizing about camping on the island. No, having a cottage on the island. No, having a bachelor pad downtown, but our "real" house on the island. Complete with bed and breakfast. For divers. No, for knitters. No, for yoga and meditation. No, not a bed and breakfast, a yurt community! And not a downtown pad, a boat and a motorbike for commuting into town!!!

We missed out turning, and drove round some more before finding this mystical wood. It wasn't very busy, which was good, but once we got in the woods we just wandered around aimlessly. How are we supposed to find these owls? Other people find them, then we just go where the people are, and look at the owls......
No people, no owls.....
We wandered some more.....
Saw some.... other birds.....
Wandered some more......



Saw lots of "owls" in the distance, but when we looked through the monocular, they actually ended up being the end of a broken tree limb / top of a post / can't even see what I was looking at now.....
Wandered some more......
Started giggling....
Wandered some more.....
Wondered if we were ever going to any owls.
Wandered some more.....



Wondered how many owls we'd walked by that were laughing at us because we hadn't seen them.
Wandered some more....
Bumped into very helpful birdwatcher man, who asked us if we wanted to see an owl. We followed him into the bush, and he pointed to this tree, while whispering instructions to D.



Where's the owl? And then I saw it! See:



So, we crouched and watched this cute little owl, which was RIGHT THERE, right in front of us, so close, in the wild and everything, just opening an eye and looking at us, looking at him.

It was great!

78. Go to the movies once a month for a year, alone if I have to! (3/12)

We saw it in 3D! With glasses and everything!
So, so very cool! It was amazing! How did they make it look so real?
LOVED it!

(Storyline is nothing earth-shattering, just your regular blockbuster-movie-type storyline.)

35. pap

Nuff said

78. Go to the movies once a month for a year, alone if I have to! (2/12)

January 26th, 2010
Me and Jen,

Up In The Air



Who doesn't love a movie with George Clooney in it?!?
Is it a chick flick? Is it not? It's a toughy. It does have a few chick-flick-y moments in it, but ultimately, I think not.
This movie was so funny! I was laughing nearly all the way through it. Often in parts where no one else was laughing. So maybe it was just me that found it so amusing....
The storyline was original and clever, the dialogue hilarious!!, the characters were very likable. Dare I say lovable? There was a variety of moods expressed, from warm and fuzzy, to desperate and dire.

I. Loved. It.

3. Explore craft fair

These are some vintage pillowcase aprons I've made to sell at the annual craft fair at our cottage. (Awaiting ties.)
I figure I have 7 months to make stuff to sell. I have many, many ideas of things I want to make, but will start small and easy until my sewing skills develop.

44. sewing (machine), one me thing

After the success of the cushions, I decided I'd break into sewing clothes. From scratch. Running before I can walk? Yes, I think so!

Here's the pattern I bought for $1.99




I decided to do a practice run, so made the dress out of a flat sheet from Value Village.

It seems like the sheet was the perfect fabric for the pattern. Only thing is, I was going for a cool, summer dress and instead got an old granny's nightdress.



NOT nice! I hope to make something a little more flattering next time......

(More details here.)