Happy 50th Anniversary, Mom and Dad!

On August 15th, my parents celebrated their 50th anniversary, and what a celebration it was!

They invited my sister and I (plus husbands) to an overnight stay at Harrison Hot Springs, with dining and dancing on the Saturday evening and then brunch and a tour at Minter Gardens, on the Sunday.

Hubby surprised me by booking us in for the Friday, so we had a whole day to play before the others arrived. What a beautiful place! I hadn't been there in almost 9 years, which is scandalous, considering it's only about an hour's drive from our place. A beautiful lake and beach, a provincial park, lots of mountain scenery, hiking, biking, boating -- you name it!

We took a long walk through the mountain paths (about 2 hours) and discovered the actual hot springs along the way. Very steamy and sulphuric smelling (read: 'rotten eggs')! It was overcast, but comfortable on the Friday/Saturday and then sunny and warm on the Sunday. I took 168 photos -- thankfully, you'll only have to look at a few :)

This is a shot taken at Minter Gardens -- I thought the church was so tiny and adorable, until I went around the back of it and realized that it was a 'staged' facade, only!

Here we are, all dressed up, just before we went to dinner. How cute are they?
My mom is 70 and my dad is 75 -- not bad, eh? Hopefully, the good family genes will continue!

Hubby and I, in dress clothes -- a rarity, for sure!

And my gorgeous sister and hubby ...

The whole family together, at the restaurant. We had an amazing waiter and a fabulous meal, which was spread out over the evening, allowing us to enjoy each course, a little dancing inbetween and a lot of good laughs.

And a wonderful, memorable time was had by all! I'm not waiting until our 50th to go back there (we're only at 13!)-- I'm thinking that we should celebrate my 50th birthday there in a couple of years :)

Leaf Lace Scarf ...

During our recent heatwave, it was just too hot to do any knitting, with anything heavy. The last thing I wanted was to have a load of knit up yarn in my lap. So, I put my current projects aside and started a new one! I've had this skein of Malabrigo Lace Yarn in the 'Pagoda' colourway, wound up and ready to go, but no project assigned until now. The Leaf Lace Scarf is the perfect pattern for this yarn! It is so lightweight and airy, I hardly notice that it's there. The pattern is only 12 rows long, and bonus, the wrong side rows are all 'purl'. BTW, if you're going to knit one yourself, I highly recommend using markers between each repeat of the pattern.

I've been looking for an alternate, lace weight yarn to the Rowan KidSilk Haze, which I loved deeply until I developed a sensitivity to wool and especially, mohair. I think I've found it! The Malabrigo lace (merino wool) has the same soft feel, weight and lovely halo that I had with the RKSH, with very rich colours and only $9.99/470yd. skein -- enough to make this scarf. Yippee! Happy dance!

Thank you all for your very supportive comments on my last post -- your loyalty is much appreciated!