May 2006-July2006
Saturday, December 30, 2006
3 Things Meme
3 Hobbies
*Knitting (duh)
*Reading
*Gardening
3 Things on my to-do list
*Exercise
*Organize spare room
*READ
3 Unique traits
*Innate capacity with languages
*Sympathetic - perhaps, too sympathetic
*Ridiculously muscle-y
3 Favourite drinks
*Gin and Tonic
*Pumpkin Spice Latte
*WATER
3 Passions
*Working with children
*My family
*Literacy
3 Good Bands
*NIN
*Depeche Mode
*U2
3 Things I am anal about
*Food
*Public washrooms
*My privacy
3 Random men
*George Dubya
*BONO
*Cary Grant
3 Bad habits
*Procrastination
*Judging others
*Lying
3 Painful experiences
*Tearing my ACL
*Leaving home
*Losing my grandparents
3 Treasured memories
*Learning to ride a 10 speed
*Family Summers
*Cruising to Alaska
3 Goals before 40
*Become a mother
*Lose weight
*Be a better person(how about 3 Dreams before 40?)
3 Biggest Fears
*Spiders
*Public Humiliation
*Insects
3 Favourite desserts
*Tiramisu
*Peanut Butter & Chocolate Ice Cream
*Xocaltl Triple Chocolate Mousse
Labels: Meme
Wednesday, December 27, 2006
So much to learn
Lessons. There have been lessons happening all over the place.
First of all Kira is learning to share her home and her beloved people. We are dogsitting - though we keep forgetting it ourselves. Cleo is such a good dog, she has fit right in. The cats aren't bothered by her at all - and she doesn't mind them.
After the 1st night Kira and Cleo are acting like old friends. There was the initial gaurding of food and warning growls when space was invaded, but after that they just co-exist peacefully. They even go out together to do their 'business'. In fact, last night Cleo turned and waited for Kira to finish before coming in. Come on!
I thought I would take them for a nice romp down at the river. It was a beautiful late afternoon, the eagles were whistling, I had the time. So off we went. When I stepped out of the car the smell hit me. I really should have just turned around then, but then there would have been no lesson learned, would there?
Anyone who lives near waterways during spawning season knows the smell I am talking about. Foolishly I thought, I'll just stick to the higher path and not go near the water edge - that will keep the dogs away from the dead fish. And it would have worked too if it wasn't for that pesky 60mm of rain. The fish are everywhere - way, way up from the water.
It was so nice out I thought - well, a few minutes will be alright. I can keep an eye on them.
This is generally as close as Kira ever gets to the salmon. She's 5. I know her. So I am walking around enjoying the crisp air and this view:
And I suddenly remember Cleo's owner having a lot of stories about her ROLLING in dead fish. Ugh. Better get out of there now. I call them both and they obediently start heading up the path with me. I keep a keen eye on Cleo and the ground - the fish are everywhere, remember? We are rounding the last corner and I turn to check out the view one last time and What The? Kira is rubbing herself on a filthy fish corpse!
The horrifying smell cannot be conveyed through writing. So overpowering. Yuck. I don't even like writing about it now!
I took the dogs to the track at the High School (we had only been out for about 10 minutes before the fish rolling) and let them run around. Kira was confined to the backseat for the drive - a new experience for her. She listened but she wasn't too happy.
Kira had a shower with Oatmeal Shampoo and baking soda when we got home. A spritz of her fabulous Kiwi-Mango coat conditioner and she is better than clean.
One final lesson: On the way to the Ferry Mom taught Debbie to knit. She is a very quick learner, I think she could be a natural. "I'm stitching!" she cried from the backseat.
Ahhhh. Another knitter is born.
Tuesday, December 26, 2006
Hee Hee! Anemoi Mittens!
Can I tell you how much I am loving these Mittens? I. Love. Them.
They are so much fun to knit. This is the first time I have ever tried stranded knitting. It is great. I am pleased to say that I didn't have any trouble with it. I am holding both yarns and alternating fingers like some old pro. Not meaning to brag, just blown away. It is a great discovery.
I am really enjoying the chart too. It is so like my old X-Stitching days - but much better.
Take a close look at that chart and you will see the most difficult part of this whole project. Yep. I had to colour the whole thing in by hand. For some reason my printer wouldn't print the dots in the squares ?!? so the charts all came out blank. That was a time consuming endeavour let me tell you. It did however give me an overall view of the patterns within the pattern.
Here is a peek inside the glove (Thanks Jason for teaching me that little flower on my camera means Macro - all this time I thought it meant Outdoors!)
Isn't that a cool shot? Look at those woven threads of yarn. I just love it.
We picked up my brother and his dear girlfriend from the airport today and drove them to the Ferry. And wouldn't you know it - the battery died on the camera just as I was about to take the 1st picture. Sadly then, no pics of them. Which is quite sad - the last time they were here was July. Ah well. We have made a pact to visit every 2nd month from now on. Time just goes by too quickly.
I made them some Butter Tarts and Chocolate Pretzels for the Ferry ride. Mmmm. Thanks to mystery blog that I can't find again...for the Pretzel recipe. Next time I am going to melt the chocolate and drizzle it over top - better for presentation. Boy were they delicious! I alternated White, Milk and Peanut Butter chips - so good.
In the meanwhile here is an older picture of them.
Labels: Family
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Ambition
Ambition can be inspiring. The force that drives us onward to success.
Sometimes ambition is foolish -- case in point: Kira.
Ambition certainly leads us outside our norm, pushes us out of our comfort zones. Which brings me to my newest project Eunny Jang's Anemoi Mittens.
They are so beautiful, so elegant and so full of new techniques that this is quite a challenging undertaking for me.
I made the trip into West Van for just the right yarn, despite weather warnings for extreme snowfall hazard (and yeah, it only rained the whole time) and having barely recovered from a wicked case of food poisoning. (I know. The very day I started my vacation. And blowing my 7 year record to smithereens!)
I am so eager to get knitting these!
I know this can be a busy and costly season for people out there but (if you haven't already visited the Yarn Harlot's site) I wanted to let you know about her Knitters Without Borders challenge. Please go check it out. A little can go a very long way!
While you are in the giving mood pop on over to Knit, Perchance to Dream and see if you can help another knitter cover her soaring medical costs.
Here is a pic of a blanket my Mom crocheted for new baby boy Rhett.
Wednesday, December 20, 2006
Somebody Tagged Me!
OK - Don't take this the wrong way but I am having a hard time coming up with a list of weird things about myself. I AM weird. I know that - but my mind is going blank.
I will try.
1. I am thoroughly impatient with adults. Children on the other hand...
2. As a child, all of my books were shelved in alphabetical order by author and seperated by subject. My brother, sister and friends had to sign out books that they wanted to read. I had actual old-school library slips, a date stamp and everything. I was generally 'open' on the weekends.
3. I had imaginary friends until I was a teen. My imaginary friends had complex lives with family histories etc. They frequently accompanied me wherever I went and they were almost always the most interesting people I spent time with.
4. I have the unfortunate ability to remember conversations verbatim, even over a decade later. Did I say conversations? Oh. I meant arguments.
5. Aside from a scant dozen people, I have no recollection of who I went to school with. {probably I was distracted by the Imaginary friends} Talk about awkward! Living in this small town and working with children, I have faked more friendly conversations with people (read: Complete Strangers) who know me and my family than I can possibly count.
6. My biggest life decisions have all been made in bathrooms.
I am sure I am one of the last bloggers out there to do this Meme. If you are somehow behind me, consider yourself tagged!
Labels: Meme
Saturday, December 16, 2006
PHEW!!!
Can you guess what this is?
Answer at end of post.
Ahhh. It finally came to me. The camera was at my Aunt's house. Thank goodness because we had exhausted every last crook and crevice in this house and the car. I even looked at work - duh duh dunnnnhhhh. That is a job and a half, let me tell you.
Here is an example of the vibrancy that is Cotillion:
When I saw how very flamingo/electric pink this yarn is I thought it would be perfect for my other Aunt (pictured at left). And then once the sock was begun I suddenly thought "Does she wear socks?" I have asked about 5 family members and none of us can remember seeing her in socks. Don't get me wrong - she is not some sort of animal, or preternaturally hot being - she simply wears high heels and bejewelled sandals at ALL times. I wonder what she did when it was snowing in Vancouver?
I am still going to knit the socks and see what to do with them when they are
complete.
It feels so durned good to have a camera again. I was really feeling out of sorts with my pictureless blog. (Pssst - if you think you might have the answer to my plaguing questions, post a comment...Richard!! You cheeky rogue!)
It was a macro of Luc's Bubble Kimono.
Finally on the home stretch with this thing. Garter stitch is torturously slow progress. Honestly, I WOULD rather watch paint dry. This little sweater has felt interminable.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Who are you?
| I am a |
Honestly, the things you resort to without a digital camera! (Post title is in honour of Kira's favourite song, and why we don't answer the phone during the opening of CSI Las Vegas.)
Things you cannot see pics of that came in the mail today:
- *My Knitpicks order came with feltable wool, Simply Baby and a few other items for my SP recipient.
- The yarn I purchased over at Destash for Cash came - it is lovely! My first Bartlett's yarn.
- My Cotillion arrived today!
Sheesh - can you guess who went overboard with her new Mastercard? I knew ya could.
Another book Meme
How it works: bold the ones you’ve read, italicize the ones you might read, cross out the ones you won’t, and underline the ones on your book shelf.
The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
The Catcher in the Rye - J.D. Salinger
The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy - Douglas Adams
The Great Gatsby - F. Scott Fitzgerald
To Kill a Mockingbird - Harper Lee
The Time Traveler’s Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - J. K. Rowling
Life of Pi - Yann Martel
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story - George Orwell
Catch-22 - Joseph Heller
The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
Lord of the Flies - William Golding
Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen1984 - George Orwell
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - J. K. Rowling
One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel García Márquez
Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
Slaughterhouse 5 - Kurt Vonnegut
Angels and Demons - Dan Brown
Fight Club - Chuck Palahniuk
Neuromancer - William Gibson
Cryptonomicon - Neal Stephenson
The Secret History - Donna Tartt
A Clockwork Orange - Anthony Burgess
Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - C. S. Lewis
Middlesex - Jeffrey Eugenides
Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
The Lord of the Rings - J. R. R. Tolkien
Jane Eyre - Charlotte Brontë
Good Omens - Terry Pratchett, Neil Gaiman
Atonement - Ian McEwan
The Shadow Of The Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
The Old Man and the Sea - Ernest Hemingway
The Handmaid’s Tale - Margaret Atwood
The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
Dune - Frank Herbert
Ok - what the?? I can't underline things on blogger?? How did I never notice that?
Whatever. I don't know how to cross things out either.
Of the books I have not read I won't read Life of Pi. I have tried. Three times. I can't stand it. I also won't read a Clockwork Orange. All I needed to see was a human eye held open by some sort of torture looking device and I am sworn off of it forever. Ugh. Horrific. American Pyscho was as close as I ever want to get again to reading about twisted minds on drugs.
Some of the others I haven't heard of or know enough to decide if I would read them or not. Some of the italicized ones I own, or have borrowed from the Library and have simply run out of time for reading.
I am greatly looking forward to some time off work so I can read again!
In other news: Still no camera to be found. The weather report is calling for 35-45 cm of snow. Let's hope they are right for once!
Labels: Meme
Monday, December 11, 2006
Secret Pal!
My package arrived today from my Secret Pal!! So exciting.
I cannot find my digital camera anywhere - just a little worrying...
She sent me: Knit Picks Simple Stripes Sock Yarn (fun!)
Kitty Cat Stitchmarkers that she made herself (so cute and I love cats)
The most incredible smelling Dulce De Leche Hot Chocolate mix in a cool canister
Pepperidge Farm melt in your mouth Sugar Cookies.
Thank you so much Secret Pal! I love everything. I just might have to curl up in my jammies with knitting and some of the decadent cocoa you sent! In fact - that sounds like a perfect evening. I am off to do that now!
Sunday, December 10, 2006
Where does the time go?
So I haven't posted in a while...but I have been ridiculously busy...so...there's that.
We finished our High Scope Training yesterday!! Feels good but we have grown so close to our trainer over the last 2 years that it is mostly sad. We should be seeing her again in February but after that? who knows.
After every training session I have so many ideas swirling around in my head, I barely know which to begin with. It was a very active training session so I didn't accomplish much knitting. I made up for it tonight though.
Progress is being made on the Kimono Top for Luc as well as Darling for Shae. I haven't been doing quite as well with the Blankets but what can you do? Also, I need to get to the 2nd Severus Snape sock. Good thing I am coming up on some holidays soon. Ahhhh - in that department I got myself some great cozy jammies. Flannel. Such a delight to wear. Looking forward to some serious couch time 10 days from now. Let the countdown begin!
A great deal of progress was made on food consumption and personal shopping this weekend as well! That is a whole other story, but I have to say we had some incredible and diverse food while meeting in West Van. All I can say is Baked. Goat. Cheese. & Roasted. Garlic.
Outrageously good.
Sorry 'bout the lack of pics - project pics coming soon.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Meanwhile...
I've been sick and we had this:
Kira loves the snow almost as much as I do!
It has actually stayed cold here this week so the snow has stayed. Of course I have been sick all week so I haven't been outside myself but Kira enjoyed it. I have felt a pressing need to watch homey, snowy, family movies. So I am sending my Mom out to pick up The Family Stone. I love that movie. My brother is planning to bring it for me when he comes over on the 21st but that is so far away...
To be continued...
Grey's Anatomy
Buttons
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
HP and the Philosopher's Stone
