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<\/a><\/p>\nWow, what a difference a month makes! Yes, it seems like I’ve been away forever, but it’s only been a month. And what a month it’s been! So to give you the very quick reader’s digest version, the following has happened since\u00a0 I turned 200 … Remember that hoarder I was living with? Well, no more. I have moved! The funny thing is though, I wanted to (had to get out of there for my sanity) by the first of the month (February), but found a place that I could take possession of on the 15th of the month. I had planned on moving my stuff into storage and staying with a friend until the move in date, but I came across an ad for a flight to Jamaica (where I am originally from) for $400!! Yes, that’s a direct flight from Vancouver, return, all taxes included!! The cost of moving my stuff into storage, then moving into the new space on the 15th, was going to be $468. Plus there’s the whole “living” during that time as well. So I talked to my new landlord and was able to move my stuff into the new space and store it there for the two weeks. I then stayed with a friend for a few days and took off to Jamaica for 2 weeks (until the 22nd).<\/p>\n
Did I mention that my mother comes from a family of 18? Actually 20, as my grandmother married a man (her second marriage) who had 2 kids prior to meeting her. So here’s the brief breakdown of my family on my mother’s side – my grandmother (Ivy) had 2 children from her first marriage. She divorced and re-married\u00a0 a man who also had 2 children from a previous marriage. They then proceeded to have 16 children together (and only one set of twins in the whole bunch). That’s on my mother’s side. My father came from a relatively small family of 11! ROFL! It was a lot simpler in that it was only one marriage. So anyway, while I was in Jamaica I stayed with my cousin Jerry, his beautiful wife Monique, and their 3 month old daughter Niara – oh, and Slimmas their cat, and Joy their German Shepherd (we’re now best friends). Did I knit while I was there? A little bit, but not a whole bunch.Monique did manage to snag my second Barrington (the alpaca\/merino one). Monique, I need a pic to put up here! I also met a cousin that knits (Janelle). I visited my grandmother and two aunts that still live with her in the house where I stayed as a child. My grandmother crochets but doesn’t knit (she used to sew like mad as well). I’m now fully in the midst of doing a family tree – yeah, it’ll have to be an oak or sequoia, maybe even a banyan!<\/p>\n
On my third last day there, I met a Rastah that knits as well – Paul Lewis – but he goes by JahP. He knits hats and scarves and such and sends them to a friend in England for sale. Believe it or not, there’s quite the opportunity to knit in Jamaica. While it rarely gets below 20C, it’s a perfect climate for springtime knits, lacy knits, and bikinis. Jerry insists that at 18C it’s cold, and he wants me to knit him a sweater. My cousins Clover and Janet live in the mountains and also wants some knitted goods to keep them warm. We’ll see about that. Here’s a picture of Paul with some of the goods he was knitting when I met him. What were the chances of that encounter?<\/p>\n