That's So Versatile, Ellen!

On Sunday past we took Ellen to Cape St. Francis with the notion that she could model near the lightstation. Not so! They have a fence put up and that's as far as we could go. We explored the immediate area and took a few snaps anyway. 

Ellen was amazed at the versatility of the piece she modelled. It can be worn backward or frontward or even as an apron. Ellen said it feels good no matter what you do with it. This is the piece I started knitting on the plane when we went on vacation. I got tired of knitting it (I have more exciting plans), so I added strings which ended up adding hundreds of stitches! and versatility. I really like it now that's it's finished. It's hand knit with Patons Bamboo Silk and Berlini Angora.

Back to Cape St. Francis. You go there by driving through the Town of Pouch Cove and then unto a dirt road for 4 or 5 kms. It felt like 4 or 5 kms. We didn't keep track. There was some other traffic around and lots of bumps (as you can see by the last picture) :-) There's a few cabins along that road and lots of fences near the lightstation. I went up on one of the cliffs to try and get better pictures of the lightstation, but you still can't see it very well. I guess the main thing is that the seafarers see it. There are plenty of big rocks in that area of ocean. In a few of the pictures you can see white waves in the middle of the ocean. Those are caused by the shoals near the surface. A lightstation is definitely a good idea in that area! Ellen thought so too. She wanted to stay inside the safety of the fence. It was windy enough out there to blow the wool off a sheep! You'll notice in one of the photos that at least one electric pole is secured with guy- wires that are anchored by galvanized bolts (rust free) drilled into the rock. It's a real pretty spot despite the harshness of the weather there sometimes.

With all the wind and the bumpy ride, Ellen was beat when we arrived home. She's been standing by the fireplace ever since!

The lightstation is out in front of the building in the picture

Kind of bumpy for taking pictures!

Lovely Day in Flatrock, Ellen!

Thursday past we had our first snow storm of the season. We even had a snow day at work! I'm always amazed at the patterns that snow storms make on the house windows and always take pictures of it so I can remember how it looked. Of course, with snow storms comes snowblowing and shovelling. We did our share of that the other day (after we bought new shovels because we can't find the old one). We've had a melting day (my term for above freezing in winter) since Thursday, so some of the snow is gone now. We waited a couple of days after the snow fall before taking Ellen out. This is her first winter in Newfoundland and we didn't want to scare her by taking her out in a snow storm (even though it wasn't that stormy - just slippery on the roads).

Today was pretty nice. Around 0 degrees C and not much wind - a great Ellen day! I had another cowl finished for a Christmas present so off we went to Flatrock. The dandy red tractor you'll see below was in someone's yard on the way to Flatrock. Couldn't resist getting a snap. The Catholic Church at Flatrock is home to Our Lady of Lourdes Grotto. This is a famous place that sees lots of tourists every year, so much so that the Pope came to visit here in 1984. I think they have some outdoor services there in summer.

After taking some photos of the Grotto to show you, we went across the road so that Ellen could do her modelling near the ocean. The cowl Ellen is modelling is made from Moda Dea Dream yarn (from the stash) mixed with Berlini Ladder Ribbon Glitter (new this year!). This cowl was knit in the round with the ribbon glitter used every fourth round in a YO K2tog round to make the holes. It's really soft and not itchy.

When Ellen finished modelling, we moved through the town and took a bunch of pictures near the ocean. Lots of sea birds that flew away when I tried to take their picture. They all moved over a couple of cliffs! Pretty nippy on the fingers there today while I was waiting for the right size waves. You have to be a bit careful when taking pictures of waves. Sometimes I get lost in thought and then when I look down and the waves are right at my feet. If the tide is coming in, the waves sneak up on you! Today, I was standing waiting for a big wave but could hear water running. When I looked down I was standing in the middle of a river that was flowing under the beach. Walking along the beach I didn't even notice it. 

Today at Flatrock I got that "Christmas feeling".  It happens every year sometime during Fall. It's a nice quiet feeling and I can almost smell Christmas in the air. Ellen is not accustomed to all this "feeling" stuff but she's getting in the groove for Christmas just the same. Good thing. We still have lots of knitting and modelling to do!

Small sea snails stick to the rocks