And Then, We Went to the Cabin

A vacation is having nothing to do and having all day to do it in. -- Robert Orben

I was away on a work trip for most of the week. It was a long week, with long days in places where I don't normally go with people I don't normally spend time with. I learned a lot, and I'm grateful for the experience, but I finished the week feeling weary. Oddly, despite being outside of my element, it was quite a productive knitting time. A few hours in airports and on airplanes afford a knitter with the rare gift of uninterrupted stitching time. After a day of traveling, I had most of one fingerless mitten finished:

After that, I didn't pick my knitting up again until I was traveling back home again... and I would have finished the second one, except as soon as I was home, I went straight back to the office. And then after that, I came home, packed up our stuff, and escaped for a weekend in a cabin in Cowichan Bay.

And yes, we packed the Rascal.

We've always loved cabins and cottages... not enough to build one and live in one full time, but enough to seek them out for little getaways throughout the year. There's something lovely about finding a quiet place, usually without a tv, usually near the woods or near the water, always with a cozy little space to rest and find your head again. Days are slower in the cabin, not because they are boring, but because you have time to slow... your brain... down...

Cowichan Bay is only a short drive for us, so it wasn't long before we were relaxing in front of the woodstove, a perfect place to finish my second mitten and for Rascal to finish his nap:

We awoke the next day to some welcome sunshine:

I blocked my mittens in front of a sleepy woodstove:

And then I picked up my Mehndi shawl and kept working on it. I must say: I thought I would dread working on such a complicated lace pattern, but I'd forgotten what it was like to knit one like that. It's like a good book: I can't wait to see how each row will end. I am mesmerized by the beauty of this stitch pattern. I don't want to put it down, not only because I am loving it so much, but because each time I do, I have to re-learn each symbol on the chart until I'm back in the groove again.

We just came back from getting lunch in the village. The clouds are rolling back in again, so I think I'll settle back onto the couch and do some more knitting. I am grateful for the opportunity to recharge after a week away. And after I do some knitting, I might go an enjoy a bath here:

It's a rough life, I know, but someone has to do it...