What is in a Title?

So what does “Knitting Under Water” refer to anyways, and how did I come up with that name?  I thought of it a little while ago when I started to get more interested in making a blog.  I was thinking about how to combine knitting (the main theme) and water (a main theme of my life).  The “Under” part just popped in between the two words. 

I have been knitting since my Mum taught me around the age of 5.  (Perhaps if I get this wrong, Mum can jump in on the comments section here, I think her memory is going to be much better than mine).  I remember knittng something with lots of holes in it.  I knit a pencil case, and sewed in a zipper, and clothes for my stuffed toys.  When I was a teenager I decided to make a sweater and Mum bought me a lovely kit from Mary Maxim, it was a torquoise and pink joked fair isle pattern.  For the 80’s it wasn’t that bad.  My Mum knits, as did my Grandmother, or Bonma.  (Good mother in french).  Bonma used to knit sweaters for a store in Toronto, as well as for her kids and husband.  I still have and wear sweaters that she made.  In fact I have an unfinished sweater of hers that one day I would like to complete. 

Water is a very pervasive theme in my life.  My astrological sign is Picses.  My Chinese zodiac sign is the Ox in the year of yin water.  And my profession is water treatment, mostly drinking water these days.  I also deal with treating water for industrial purposes however.  I’ve been doing water treatment for ten years now, and am still fascinated as there is so much to learn.  A flavour of the type of systems I work on is:

That facility treats water in Idaho.  If the plant fails, people could get sick!  If the plant doesn’t make any water, the operators have to call the firefighters and tell them not to fight any fires.  This summer I was working in a town in Wyoming where it almost came to that!  I worked through the night to try and fix the problem.  (And knit in front of the computer watching the system). 

But sometimes there is a beautiful view!  And I get to play with chemicals:

I do believe I’m trying to smell for chlorine in that particular photo.  Please note the safety precautions of safety glasses and gloves!  Safety First people!

I’m off to skate at the Olympic Oval tonight!  Tomorrow, stay tuned as I’ll reveal my cool new office that I’m moving into since you know who has finally moved out!  (That’s just a test to see if he’s really reading this!)

Une Canadianne Errant retourne a sa pays!

Hello Everyone!

And Hello from Calgary Alberta, or Cowtown as it is known.  Where everyone knows the price of crude oil, the status of the beef industry, where it was -15oC this morning and 3 inches of snow. 

My blog title today means “a lost canadian returns to her country”.  The full lyrics are here.    (Hey look Mum, my first hyperlink!)  Essentially I have been living away from Canada for ten years now in Singapore, Boston and Salt Lake City.  Those years have been full of wonderful experiences, adventures, friends, tears, blood, and yes, sweat.  Being originally from north of Toronto, I’ve returned to my country, but to a new city of Calgary. 

I wrote my first travelogue/photo journal in 2002 during a trip to the Philippines.  During the commissioning of a pineapple juice filter we hired a shaman to sacrifice three white chickens to the local spirits for good luck, and good operation of the filter.  The photos were bloody, and the e-mail a sensation at work.  The best part is that the equipment finally started to work after we did the ceremony (except for that earthquake).  So in a way a blog is a better forum for doing what I’ve loved doing for years now; trying to show people what I’m seeing and experiencing.  I hope you will join me as I explore the themes of culture shock of a canadian in Canada, reflections on my life as an ex-pat, explorations of Calgary and environs, and one of my favorite pastimes, knitting.  Here are my current projects to give you a little taste…

Piper Guarding the Christmas Surprise Blanket

 

Juno Regina from Knitting almost Done!

The back of “Hooded Sweater”, Pattern #16 in Fall Vogue Knitting.  I really like how this is turning out so far.  I used Silky Wool, which has a lighter gauge than the yarn used in the magazine.  The pattern opened up like lace, and reminds me of peacock feathers now.  Once I finish the Chritmas Surprise blanket I can get back at it.