August 9, 2007

Back from The Fax

Wow. I meant to get this up sooner but what can I say...some re-entries are harder than others. My plane got me in yesterday, but a flurry of appointments and Mum-type responsibilities kept me from the keyboard. (You would be surprised how little leeway "but I've got to blog" gets you on these things. There is much work left to be done in the world, let me tell you.)

Halifax was, without a doubt, a burning whack of big fun. It's a great city, and even though I only had an hour free there, I made the most of it. Some of you may remember when our stalwart friend Tim flew the big city and a Harbour Captain job to pursue the shining waves of Halifax harbour and become The Master and Commander of The Tall Ship Silva...(still, I insist, the hottest job title EVER) and since I hadn't seen him since Joe and I were married last September, the first person I wanted to put my eyes on was he.

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Ship and harbour behind him, he looks for all the world like Halifax agrees with him. Tim took the time to point out a wonderful bit of trivia, which will likely only be poignant for Canadian caffeine types. This is The Tall Ship Silva.

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This .....this is the "taller than the tall ship" ship belonging to the guy who owns Tim Hortons.

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I'm not sure what that says, but hold on while I get myself another cup of coffee. (I wonder how much of that ship I bought?)

After wandering the docks for an hour it was back to The Lord Nelson where the knitters were beginning to mill about. I abandoned Tim to the bar and went up to my room to change, wash my face and have a complete nervous breakdown. That accomplished (I am nothing if not efficient) I went back downstairs and faced up to this:

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Halifax's finest knitters my friends, all organized to flip out the staff of The Lord Nelson, who in the long and fancy history of the hotel had (and I quote) "never seen anything like it." (I think there are many knitters there who can attest that while the staff was absolutely generous and helpful, they were pretty freaked. Alison has some great pictures, of the whole thing, including one of some of the Halifax Knitting Out Loud group (who are decidedly unruly - you know, in that wonderful Canadian way that still doesn't piss anyone off.) using a sign at the Lord Nelson as a battering ram to get into the ballroom. I'm thrilled that her pictures are so grand, since my camera has apparently "corrupted" some of the ones I took.

One of the pictures that did work was of Joe's Aunty Madeleine...

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who's claim to fame is not just that she lives in Halifax, but that she sang a rap at our wedding. (I could try to describe it, but it will never come off as well as it did in person.) There are Halifax McPhee's too....but they were MIA for this event. (The McPhee's of everywhere are notoriously hard to pin down. It's a family trait.)
Steph brought the esteemed Mr. Happy.

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As long as Mr. Happy exists my travelling sock is not so silly....
Lesley brought her baby....

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I love me a little baby action, and a baby in a Metallica tee-shirt is beyond cute. Beyond.

There were washcloths, one from New Brunswick, courtesy of May, and one from Janey, who gave it representing the blogless knitters of Nova Scotia. (This is where the politically active Rachel H. steps up and yells "BLOG-FREE! Not blog-less!) and although their pictures are corrupt...they are lovely.

There were designers, like the incomparable Ilga Leja

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and Deb Barnhill, (also corrupt, apparently) designer of the most Canadian knitted thing EVER.

This is just for Lene, who has wondered what Barbara in Nova Scotia looks like...

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she looks mostly like that, except I seem to have captured a manic look I assure you was not there in real life.
The camera decided to eat a picture of Sophie, and of Heddy (sorry guys.) but decided to let me keep this picture,

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The Halifax Knitters in their matching tee-shirts. (They may have been a little excited - as well as being enabled by Rhonda, who is the brainchild behind those fashion statements.) They made me one, and I love it. (Mine's green. You know how I love green.)

I was also allowed to keep this picture:

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of Hope the hat lady with her haul, which included, rather unbelievably, many pairs of warm socks...

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which shall certainly warm needy feet in the middle of a maritime winter. Brilliant. The whole thing was freaking fantastic (especially drinking the pride of Nova Scotia afterwards) and I just want to say a quick word about Mimi from the Loop in Halifax. If Mimi from the Loop was my local yarn store lady? I would never leave. (You can check that little detail with Megan, who is my local yarn shop lady and is a lot like Mimi and...well. I don't hardly leave.) I adored her.

The next morning I had an hour to see a little Halifax before I caught my plane, but it was not to be....
The gardens,

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The Citadel,

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and the whole Harbour were gone

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...swallowed by the infamous Halifax fog.
It was hard to leave anyway.

Posted by Stephanie at August 9, 2007 9:44 AM