End of summer

The last few weeks have been all about enjoying the end of the summer. I know summer only ends in a 2 weeks, but there is a frost warning tonight in 3R, and I have been sleeping with my fleece nightgown and socks for the past few nights (that's the price to pay to sleep with open windows as late as possible!)

So, first, Santa Fe. 

Wow. 

It was awesome, and weird, because so...exotic. I travel quite regularly, but this was not a place I expected to go one day. That's probably why I just said yes enthusiastically when my friend invited me to join her and a few other ladies to spend a week there; my past experience taught me that I always enjoy going to places that were not on my bucket list, since I have no expectation whatsoever. 

And I was not disappointed. I spent week in the desert, staying in a charming adobe, visiting Navajo pueblos, drinking margaritas, enjoying the most wonderful food and shopping for silver and turquoise jewelries. I felt very far from my dear Transylvania and all its trees! The colours, the smells, the landscape, everything was so different, while being so North American. 

Oh the food...

Chilis and jewelry, that's quite representative...

Picture for my man, who would really like to decorate our house with this

Indian museum

Our adobe

Taos pueblo (http://www.taospueblo.com/)

The annual Indian market (http://www.swaia.org/)

Bandelier national monument

http://www.nps.gov/band/index.htm

at the Indian market

Since I came back, we got to go a nice baptism, and then this weekend was the moment I wait for all year long: camping at Lac Clair. 

Lac Clair holds a very special place in my heart. Five years ago, I was invited to spend a weekend there by one of my good friends, the same guy who, a few months later, became my man. We have been going back every year since, and each single time, the magic of that place calms me down as soon as we get there. This is one of the only place on earth where my billion lists don't follow me...as much. 

This year we rented a freshly renovated tiny cabin. We went to bed at around 8:30 pm, and I slept like a baby until my man woke up at 4am to restart the fire. I decided to go out and spent about 15 minutes just staring at the moon and the stars, before I went back to bed. 

Somehow, I haven't had insomnia for the first time since Christmas since. I'm crossing my fingers it will last, and I'm hoping we can go back before the end of the season...

Emergency camping blocking

making jam with the plums from our trees! 

final yummy result

Young ducks resting next to our place

yes, we got that close to them...

In other news, I have 5 inches left on the woven blanket, the greylina you see being blocked on the picture is only missing its button band, and awesome news, a few students from one of my research lab decided they needed something to do during their break at the hospital (they're nurses), so they decided to learn how to knit. We got together last Monday in a coffee shop, with a few other friends, and spent a few very pleasant hours together. We are doing it again this Saturday morning, I can't wait! 

Talk to you soon! 

Bliss

  I have not been very good at keeping up with my blog this summer.
Not that I had nothing to write about! I probably have enough to write a novel, with :
- A wonderful month in Transylvania, visiting friends and learning a lot about embroidery, Hungarian language and new recipes
- 1 week in Lilloet and Vancouver with my man
- an urban garden that gave a lot of dill and cherry tomatoes, and not too many cucumbers nor peas...
- a half day a week added to my part-time job
- a new busy role on the Board of our local craft association
- a new certificate in translation
- several translation contracts
- a quilt course
- a hardanger course, and
- as of this morning, a new pilates course.

Thank God I have a 16Gig card in my camera...

So, anyway, I have a lot to write about in the future, but I'm starting with the end and what I did last weekend, which was Thanksgiving here. It was a beautiful, beautiful weekend in the Mauricie, and we decided to go camping at the camping site where we usually go. I love this place; it's quiet, it's beautiful, and it is close by.

We brought my canoe (birthday present from my man...Did I need a canoe? Did I ask for a canoe? Noooo.....But after this weekend, I'm so happy to own one! )

It's was a warm weekend, so camping was very comfortable. I was hoping to walk a lot around the lake and go to a lookout, but because it is hunting season, it was not recommended. So we went on the lake instead, 3 times in 2 days. The colours were out, and it felt just amazing to be in the middle of them. Most of my pictures were taken on Sunday morning, when I went out by myself at 7:00am. I was totally alone on the lake, except for 2 loons who were up already.My man and I went back later on, before going back home, and this time we shared the lake with a couple of Mergansers.