8th Day of Christmas - Travels

Mr. SDSC and I took a week out in the mountains this autumn.  And fortunately for us, 'the mountains' means the Canadian Rockies.  I had forgotten how fabulous they are.  We got married in the area in 2005, and really should make the effort to get up there more often.  We stayed in Canmore - I actually prefer Canmore to Banff.  It is less commercialised and therefore not nearly as busy.

The view from our apartment.  As it was a celebration of my birthday and our wedding anniversary, we got 'a room with a view'.  These mountains are the Three Sisters and are symbolic of Canmore.

Beautiful.

We did drive into Banff, and the scenery there is equally spectacular:

This is looking down onto Vermillion Lakes.  There has been a project to put out these red adirondack chairs in various places of beauty, and we saw some here, near Two Jacks Lake and the top of Sulphur Mountain.  I love the contrast of the red against the natural beauty.

You can catch a gondola (cable car) partway up Sulphur Mountain, and then climb (OK, it really is a walk, but you do get to ascend quite a bit higher) to the weather station at the top.  And this is what you get to see!

We went to the Hot Springs as well, which was lovely, relaxing and rather bizarre - just sitting in hot water is a little strange!!

Another day was spent around Two Jacks Lake - a gorgeous place, and very photogenic.

It was strange being without the dogs for a few days, but so lovely to get away.  The air smells sweeter, the pace of life is slower and we came back feeling most refreshed.  Until next time - we love you Canmore!

Happy Birthday to Me :)

I don't know about you, but I like to do 'me stuff' on my birthday.  This year I took it to a new level (it's a big birthday!) so I took the week off to knit, sew and spend time in the mountains.  Want to see some pics?

I started off my birthday week with brunch at the Banff Springs Hotel with family and friends:

If you are ever passing and have the option of lunching here - do.  The food is fabulous, the views are amazing and the atmosphere is just perfect.  The hotel is known as the 'Castle in the Mountains' and the architecture is based on Scottish castles.  Lovely!

Next up, a couple of days later, was a trip to Canmore - I actually prefer Canmore to Banff as it is less commercialised, and spent my 'birthday Eve' with my Dad:

Thanks Dad!  We had a lovely lunch and then I hit the Sugar Pine, a fabulous quilt shop:

These are all fat quarters . . . . you see I have a new obsession . . . . more details to follow!

I have to say that I often forget how lucky I am to live within driving distance of the Canadian Rockies -I can actually see the mountains when I drive into Calgary to work/shop etc., and yet it has been a year or so since I visited Canmore or Banff - I like to think that I made up for it (a little) with two trips this week!

I also finished off another pair of socks:

I love mismatched socks :)

And then I played around with McCalls 6361, a trousers pattern with a fly front.

Source

Here is a quick sneak peak - this post is getting rather long and I think that trousers need their own post!

They are actually made out of bright red corduroy, but it didn't photograph very well, so here they are in 'dynamic monochrome'!  Check out those flies!!  I plan on wearing them tomorrow, so will get some proper photos and give you the full lowdown!

How about you - how do you like to spend your birthday?  Do you celebrate or do you prefer to let the day pass you by?