Wednesday, November 29, 2006

Wednesday

NOT COLD today. hahahaha
So, I says to the man last night I says" Whats your schedule like Wednesday, sweetie?" and he gets the deer in the headlights looks that says "Oh shit she wanted to get out and I'm totally booked up" and said"Not good, dear. Why? " so I says"Well there is a stitch n' bitch Wednesday night and I was hoping you could be home by 6 so's I could go" to which he replies, loudly"Why didn't you tell me sooner I wouldn't have accepted this invitation to a gala this afternoon!?" to which I replied"Well aren't we all fancy schmancy". Tis the season for charity galas and stuffs for PR purposes. Also, i didn't ask sooner because I didn't know the timing sooner.
So no stitch n bitch for me. Thats ok. There will be others. But I had casted on two slippers to work on in tandem just for this evenings doings at the Second Cup on Monkland. But its ok. I will continue to be tied down to this house for another day or so until we go out for a greek dinner and to the Montreal show of Vinyl Cafe at Place Des Arts with Bruno and Antonella Friday night. I can wait. Barely.
That is all.

Tuesday, November 28, 2006

T-t-t-t-t-t-tuesday


And its frigging nippy. We had a sifting of snow last night and the front steps had some iciness. Waiting for the bus with the boys this morning was frigid and the bus was late. Wouldn't be so bad if I got DRESSED but no, I am a jammie mommy. Slide on shoes and a coat and stand out in the articness with bare ankles. When will I mend my foolish ways??!
Ok..so the hats are done. Complaints abound in the form of that they are a bitt too big. Oh well. Cammie still wants fleece in his (yes, fleece...) so on payday I'll get some fleece and attempt a lining.
Now I am working on Annika's neck warmer. I am skipping my last two French classes because the final exam is during one of them and really, why should I bother? We all know I am not going to pass, so essentially, level two is done for me. More knitting time! AND ...I gotta see Grey's Anatomy Thursday..ooooohhhhh..are Burke and Christina finito for goodo?? Muts watch and find out. So help me if its a rerun I will flippo.
Also, the knit meet Sunday was a bust for me and a few others. I waited for about an hour once I got there. A) I will NOT be listening to Richard again the his work is "close" to where I was going. Yeah...like the moon is "close" to the earth. So a 10-15 minute walk made me later than anticipated and I missed those that had shown and saw noone and left. There is a knit night this week. I'll see how it fits in.
8 days to leaving for NS. Woohoo. Itinerary:
-Leave late-ish Wednesday night after Richard's cocktail engagement. Sleep in Q.City.
- Richard sees clients Thursday morning in Quebec City and then we hit the road baby! Arrival is estimated at really really late Thursday night. Love you Julie! She is our hotel for the weekend.
-Friday...I must renew my license and we will visit and shop. Whhheeeeeee!
Night time will mean lotsa wine etc. as we settle into Julie's place a reeeeeellllllaaaaaaaxxxx. Love you Julie,
- Saturday: nurse any hangovery type ailments with sitting around slurping coffee in Jammies OR do stuff. What stuff? No idea.
Saturday night; Family do at my sister's place in the Annapolis Valley.
- Sunday: repeat of Saturday's doing minus party and with visiting maybe involved.
Monday : Leave NS very early to come back. If I can't find a hiding place that they can't drag me out of to force me into the car. We shall see.
Right this very moment I have a blob of warm, furry, kitteness on my lap. He only really likes this when I am on the computer. How cute is this. My lap is finally warm after the whole frigid bus thing. Thank you Monkey! My widdle kitten angel. He will have his firsty vet visit in December. He's been growing a bit and we have all his litter issues and food issues addressed. Since our surprise brakes repair we couldn't take him this month so December its time for needles etc. Poor baby. He will be an indoor cat (we hope) now that we live in a town setting. He keeps trying to make a break for the open doors though so we have to be vigilant. The chances of imminent death any second by logging trucks and wildlife are much reduced by living in town and indoors so we want to take the precautions we didn't with the girls and keep him healthy and happy. I know...the logic escapes those that vet their cats regularly..but we just didn't. Plus the vet we used to go to for spaying etc didn't push vaccinations since he was a kinda holistic therapies guy. So there you go. It was a choice and we made it. Plus we were very poor and had babies in diapers to pay for. Now we can afford better care.
Hmmm...lets see... Mom and dad still have the rodent. I'm still jibbering helplessly when the subject comes up, such is my horror. Speaking of rodents: Flash left a present on the back step this morning..a mouse head. She may be a psycho but by gum that girl can hunt.Ben and I praised her skills mightily with much pettings until she seemed like she was gonna turn on us at which point we left her alone. She's a moody girl.
So..must make chickeny soup since the microwave and my chicken had a difference of opinion as to what they were doing yesterday (it was set for thawing but it dang well near cooked the chicken..so we had steak instead and rather than throw the bird out I threw it in a pot). Also vacuuming would be good since Joyce is coming for the night. She better not talk through House tonight is all I an say. She will get a warning before hand and I WILL have the duct tape handy. I mean it.

Monday, November 27, 2006

HATS

These are the finished product! 2 hand knit earflap hats! Today Shirley showed me how to finish the edges with crochet and then I added the braided tassels. Ben's is the burgundy and Cameron's is green.
Cameron was my willing model in the crafting of these hats. Ben refused to try it on and I needed to know how close to done I was.




I'm proud of these goofy hats. maybe the next one will have a shaped crown rather than cinched... hmmmmmmmmmmmmm.......

Oh and by the way...I ran the hats through the laudry and they came out soft as kittens!! uuuuuuhhhhhhhh...kiiiiittteeeennnssss

Saturday, November 25, 2006

Saturday

Its Saturday! I slept in until about 9ish. Aaaaaaaaahhh. Good stuff. Ben is at his theatre class and we found out this morning his play is the same weekend we are in NS. Oopsy.
I am working on Heather's neckwarmer right now. Its in fiery orange shades paired with a red yarn to bulk it up a bit. Cameron's earflap toque is about a 3rd done.
The problem with all this knittiness is that my house is not very tidy. Pretty hard to knit and clean house. Also, I wish I had some books on CD to listen to while I'm knitting. Radio and music cds get boring. I've relistened to my Vinyl Cafe cds and that was nice to work to. So I've got some laundry going and I've vacuumed. That helps the messiness.
Tomorrow is Montreal Knits from 1-4. I am so happy to be getting out among english speaking folk. sigh. I've warned Richard that I will be incommunicato all afternoon tomorrow. He's very supportive of this outing, especially since he's been gone since Thursday morning at this conference he's been at. He might get home this afternoon. He managed to have some fun while he's been in the city so the conference hasn't been totally about work. He really needs a regular thing with guys. Like a regular poker night or whatever ...not work..not family. Something just for HIM. We spoke of it and he might ask his guy friends if they are interested...except his guy friends are from work...LOL Oh well.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Fleece as defense.

Get Fuzzy kills me. Go buy books, merchandise..make this strip creator a rich man.
Can you not hear the comically sinister voice of Bucky as he considers the danger fleece poses to the Cat Takeover Movement??? Yeeeessss........... fleece. It will be overcome... heh heh heh
My songet me to read this strip out loud with my Bucky voice that involves a slurring of the S's back by my molars. He near pees his pants laughing.
I wish I could get a job making funny voices that make kids pee their pants. Its SO fulfilling!!!!

Knittyness

Christmas and Yule approach and we are travelling home for a visit before the holiday. This year the family gathering is earlier than usual so I have slightly less time for gift shopping for my grandnieces. This dawned on me with a startling suddenness yesterday and I decided I would knit a little hat for each girl (4 grandnieces and friend's daughter makes 5). Well, the hats have become neckwarmers on the advice of Teri and I have one done already. Its so plushy!!! I paired a boa type yarn with Bernat Satin. I figured wool might itch and I had the Bernat here from hat making. I just hope the boa doesn's shed and go wonky the first time its laundered or something because that would suck.
I signed on online with MontrealKnits, a stitch and bitch group in Montreal. There is a gathering on Sunday and it will be my first. I'm nervous but also hopeful that this will provide me twith someone that can show me how to crochet the edges of the ear flap toque I made for Ben. YES the toque is knit! Now its just finishing touches!! Then I want Cameron's done before his birthday (Dec. 15th) and he has requested that I line his with polar fleece for extra coziness. It means increasing the number of stitches for that hat and figuring out how to make and install a lining. Woo hoo new project.
My mom had bought yet MORE yarn to try the toque in the Canadian Living December issue. What you must know about Mom is that she has a HUGE stash of yarn already. Leftover balls, scraps, and yarns for projects that never happened used. Also projects that were never completed and could be unravelled for their yarns. And yet she buys more yarn. It boggles the mind. Boggles I tell ya.
I chatted with her about this. Mom and Dad are seniors and had serious financial set backs in 2006 in the form on a new furnace and lawyer fees. Their income is government pension so they are not living high on the hog by any stretch. And she buys more yarn. sigh. So I am hoping that I have encouraged her to NOT buy more yarn and if at all possible knit with her stash for gift giving at Christmas. Knit anything Mom..slippers, mittens, hats, anything small simple and quick, wash it to get the storagey smell out and then gift it! Use the stash and save your money for paying your bills. I think the idea "may" have taken. Hard to tell though. It is late in the season for her to knit gifts but maybe, just maybe I have given her an idea for the coming year. I hope so.
My stash is much much smaller than Mom's and I will need to buy a couple of skeins to pair with the girly boa I am making the neck warmers out off. Two of the skeins went with the Ivory colored yarn I had and one might go with the green I have but the other two skeins are shades of dark pinks and magentas , and violets and purples.
After these its Cammie's hat (I can't wait!!) and then one for Daddy..YES my husband actually wants me to knit him an earflap toque!! I feel like a REAL knitter now. No more just knitting scarves!! I can make hats, slippers, and scarves now. Its a heady feeling lemme tell ya. I may get crazy and try a mitten again, just to see if this time I can do it.
Little does Husband know that I had planned on knitting him an earflap toque as a surprise for Christmas...but the yarn I bought is not in the colors he requested. Dang.
And thus a small stash is enlarged............
uh-oh

Let The Crazy...COMMENCE!

I was chatting with my mom on the phone this morning. Oh..My..Gods.......... I had to then call my friend Marla to talk me down. Thank you, Marla. Without you I may have ended up running through the neighborhood in my PJ's jibbering like and idiot.
My parents' house is amazingly cluttered. Stuff abounds. USELESS stuff as well as less useless stuff. Entry to their home results in my having to control claustrophobia and hyperventilation. They are seniors I should add and Dad used to battle the clutter but now he adds to it.
Awhile back, they had a mouse. The first mouse they ever had (amazingly!!). They found out about said mouse because my grandmother's dining room table (massive I might add) is loaded down with things that would be better of in a pantry cupboard...bags and packages of candy and cookies and chips( my brother's step grand-daughter calls the dining room "The Candy Room") and , of course, STUFF.... and they heard rustling in the table area and found gnawed things on the table etc. Trap was set, mousie was caught. Did they change their cluttered and poor food storage ways? NO.
Chatting this morning I hear a new tale: Dad had a container og chocolate covered almonds and after refilling his candy dish, replaced the lid. Then the next day, lid is off and remaining almonds GONE. The verdict? They think they may have a squirrel holed up in the house somewhere. *blink blink*
My greatest fear?? That I will become these people......

jibberjibberjibber runrunrunjibberjibberjibberrunrunrunjibberjibberjibber



Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Interesting

Katharine Hepburn
You scored 21% grit, 14% wit, 57% flair, and 19% class!
You are the fabulously quirky and independent woman of character. You go your own way, follow your own drummer, take your own lead. You stand head and shoulders next to your partner, but you are perfectly willing and able to stand alone. Others might be more classically beautiful or conventionally woman-like, but you possess a more fundamental common sense and off-kilter charm, making interesting men fall at your feet. You can pick them up or leave them there as you see fit. You share the screen with the likes of Spencer Tracy and Cary Grant, thinking men who like strong women.

Find out what kind of classic leading man you'd make by taking the Classic Leading Man Test.




My test tracked 4 variables How you compared to other people your age and gender:
http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0>
You scored higher than 99% on grit
http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0>
You scored higher than 99% on wit
http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0>
You scored higher than 99% on flair
http://www.okcupid.com/"> alt="free online dating" src="http://is1.okcupid.com/graphics/0.gif" border=0>
You scored higher than 99% on class
Link: gidgetgoes on The Classic Dames Test written by OkCupid Free Online Dating, home of the The Dating Persona Test

Hat Experiment

I'm getting all knitty wid it and am now attempting a toque with ear flaps by modifying and combining hat patterns. Why can't I just do it the way a pattern says??? Cuz they do stuff I don't want to do like sew it up the back or decreasing. I am lazy. Plus I have no attention span to speak of so doing any fancy patterny stuff like stripes or ribbing is really hard for me to get right.
So, I followed a pattern in Canadian Living for how to make the ear flaps (triangles on a stick!) and how to cast the hat on and add the earflaps. After that I have it on circular needles so I work it in the round (straight knitting..easy) and when its long eough to set on the head right I will cinch the top shut rather than the whole shaping, decreasing thing. We shall see. After a few false starts and ripping outs, I now have taken a photo of it thus far..a blob of knitting on circulars with longer bits on the sides (ear flaps). The first time I had it on the needles it was all backwards and I would have had to purl the whole thing. Now its right (so far) and I will post all "The Making" photos when its all done. I am working it in Bernat DenimStyle yarn. Its so soft and pleasant to work with. I give it a thumbs up.
Laundry is mostly caught up and I have class tonight so this afternoon is about homework. I really need to work on my verbs.

Monday, November 20, 2006

Some days (rant)

You just can't seem to do anything right. Today started well...except for the whole having to wake up thing, but besides that, it was an ok morning.
I read, I did laundry, cleaned the bathroom sink again, showered, dressed, laundry, bleached a bit of the family room, changed clothes before I left the house thanks to bleach marks, went to Veterinarian..and thats when I stopped having a good day.
I wished to purchase wormer and flea treatments for the cats. I did so on a semi regular basis back home and since Monkey is new and all thought I should do everyone. 'Nope" said vet desk lady. "You need to have the animal examined first."
This sounded like insanity to me since I had not required this step back home. "Its The Law" she said and I said fine and left. Steaming I was. I felt like this was just one more pain in my ass that my new province had in store for me and quite frankly, my frustrations beaker is pretty much on overflow most of the time now adays.
This evening I chose to bitch about this to my niece who is a veterinarian and lo and behold, its not just a Quebec thing after all. Ooops. Who knew(besides veterinarians)?? I had no idea whatsoever. She pointed out that it was the LAW and that the vet clinics that had sold me Revolution and other pet stuffs were doing so ILLEGALLY and if I had been a better pet slave and taken my pets into the vet regularly instead of just for spayings and neuterings I might know this and Georgie would have been diagnosed sooner with Feline Leukemia rather than when he was dying of possible poison ingestion and ended up being euthanised anyway(thanks for dragging that bit of scab off that wound yet again), and pretty much got her panties in a twist about how I don't want to drag three cats to the vet for this stuff when I'd never had to before. Bad bad pet slave! BAD! Newspaper to the snout for me.
We ticked each other off, but I did send an apology since my ticking her off was entirely unintentional. What I took as a discussion she took as a belittling of her expertise and knowledge.
What had begun as a nice peaceful day to myself officially went down the shitter at that point. And I ask myself " Why do I care so much? Why?' Why is it so upsetting to me that someone is less than pleased with me? Whats the big deal? Why do I slink along (internally) like a dog thats been kicked too many times and cringe (emotionally/mentally)at someone's displeasure? Heaven fucking forbid that I should accidentally annoy someone or offend them or step on their toes, or make a mistake or shop too often, or laugh too loud or just plain ass be ME. I don't mean to but it just happens. Somehow things get twisted or misinterpreted.
Why do I give a tinker's damn about something so trivial and small in the scope of the universe and the suffering that goes on in it? I have no goddamn clue. And I wish I didn't care. I'm tired of it. I'm tired of guilt boiling in my stomach for stupid shit that I did as a kid that should have known better, maybe did know better, and did anyways. I'm tired of it rearing its head in the dead of night or being flung in my face to cut me down to size.
In December I will be 39. I do not dread it. I welcome it. I think this will be the year I start to stop giving a shit. Sounds like a plan. Then maybe my middle-ish years will be a bit lighter in feel than the earlier bits. I could use a lightening of the guilt burdens and all those other ones that I lug around too. Time for life's airline to misplace some baggage...for good.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

I..Hate..Yahoo

At least once a week I get bounce notification. I end up not getting messages or having my messages not delivered. It is seriously pissing me off. Why do they do that????!
Ya hear me Yahoo???! Yer pissin' me off! Quit it! I'll sic Naomi Campbell on your ass.
I mean business.
Also, burnt my feet tonight by taking a hot broiler out of the oven. The grease and liquid in the bottom portion slopped out on the oven door, floor , and my feet.
Ouch. Much screeching and cursing ensued.
Tried to shop today. it sucked. Looked at MP3 players at Future Shop (for Richard) and got confused and headachey. Also looked for Battlestar Gallactica season 2 and 2.5. None in stock. Pokemon Sapphire(for Cameron's birthday), none in stock. Did get the new Evanesence and Stargate SG1 Season One. Priced PSP...almost passed out. Yay me.
Went to Walmart even though it annoyed me. Got a $10 bra I like and they had black microfiber tights in my size..got 2 pair. Looked at PSP..almost passed out. No Pokemon Sapphire. No Pokemon card collections in a can like last year. No Yugi-Oh either.
Went to EB Games...was told Pokemon Sapphire is discontinued. Great. Somene else can tell Cameron because he has been asking for it for a year and we couldn't find it then either. FUCK.
I think I'll start hiding out in my closet with a tub of ice cream.

Photos!

I am plumb wore out from being so cute!!!!! Sleepy time.........
Brush brush brush...brush brush brush.....
Love me! Adore me! I am a cutie patootie!
THUMBS!!!!!! Fuzzy little Monkey kitten thumbs.


Don't you want to touch my Monkey? How adorable is he anyways??! Irresistable , green eyed thumbyness.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Tuesday

Rainy rainy Tuesday. Yuck.
Made it to Maxi to get dish washing powder and whilst there grabbed som laundry liquid too. I'm not out but don't have lots and DO have quite a bit of laundry to be done. Will it get done? Aaaahhh..that is an interesting question....
Cameron has been dealing with some bully problems at school. A little dickhead named Samuel, formerly a good pal, has been annoying Cameron, calling him names, and even physically hurting him. Cameron is almost double this childs size so its not because Cammie is smaller and a good target. But he is a kid who has been taught that hitting is not nice. He gets so confused about this because we have also been trying to teach him that its ok to defend himself.
I personally think he should take Samuel out back and pound the snot outta him. When he kicked Cam after school last Thursday I did call his mom but she wasn't yet home from work. Since I had class I told Richard to try again later because it had to be dealt with. Of course he forgot because we had company and there was wine. Friday was a much better day for Cammie as was yesterday but today Samuel has been antagonising Cameron again. Guaranteed that if Cameron retaliates he'll be the one in trouble because its the Law of Being The Victim...and happened before in an unrelated incident.
Benoit seems to be handling his new dosage of Concerta well. No zombie child, no weird behavior, no side effcts noticeable EXCEPT that today he got 3 (THREE) billets Bravo for excellent examens. Woo hoo!!! He says he feels like he is learning more and he says he feels like he is paying more attention in class. We'd had some issues this fall with him being distracted and forgetful and thought perhaps it was time to change his dosage after almost 2 yrs. HIs doctor agreed. The idea was to give it a try and if there were any problems detected we'd switch him right back. The Best Concerta related side effects of all? His self esteem. No longer last in everything and quite so prone to tantrums due to overwhelming frustration. No longer the bane of his tearchers's existance for the amount of extra "help" he requires. No longer the distraction and disturbance of the class room requiring many parent teacher meeting and notes. In short, he has a happier and more fulfilling school and life experience. For the last almost two years.
Hmmmm... what else...
Richard and I have been discussing an idea that is at once ridiculous and at the same time tempting. NO..not another child. I hesitate to bring it up because it might make us look stupid having gone this route before and not been financially successful at it.(are you NUTs?? my mother, sisters, brothers, would say) The subject has come up between us a couple of times and then been dismissed quickly as memories of disaster come to the rescue. This time the idea keeps tickling but I am partially hoping it goes away...FEAR. It is scary to consider but at the same time exhilerating. Possibilities beckon but so does upheaval and change and we all know how good I am with that! If any more discussion comes up I will note it here and clarify what it is if it looks like we might lose our minds and go for it.
Since I am skipping class tonight I may just treat myself to a wee nappy-poo on the sofa after a trip to Dollarama for Tennis balls. Camerons bed is horribly loud and we have figured its the ladder scraping on the floor. Did I mention this before?? I went to Dollarama this AM but it was still closed. After lunch hour, its tennis balls and a nap. yes!

Monday, November 13, 2006

Monday

Today was good. Then it wasn't so much. And even though what made it not so good wasn't serious or terrible, it was enough to ruin my day. Now I am home with Monkey purring at me and trying to type and the day is getting..better.
I think Iwill be missing tomorrow nights class because I really don't want to bother getting a baby-sitter since Richard's away.
Pizza preparation calls....

Sunday, November 12, 2006

Saturday, November 11, 2006

Company!!!



When Richard and I had our shop in Nova Scotia, we had the wonderful good fortune to hire Sam as a part time clerk. She was a treasure and we adored her. Her time with us was far to short for our liking because of her intended journey to Thailand and a life of adventure!

Sam is BACK in Canada and brought with her the most lovely man, Alex. We had the great great great joy to host then for two nights here at our home as they make their way across Canada. I snapped a quick pic to remember them by until we meet again. We had a great time drinking too much wine Thursday night, and comparing headaches Friday. This picture is Friday evening after they wandered the streets of Montreal and before we had supper. Poor Sammy was sooo tired!

We miss them already!!!

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

Wednesday

It is most definitely November. Its chilly and damp most days but occassionally you get Sun's warmth and that releases an almost Spring like aroma from the Earth. An aroma of transition. An aroma of change. The smell of digging in, burrowing down, getting ready to rest.
Next on the agenda of celebrations and holidays is Yule. I have always been a fan of Christmas and not just because of the presents. If anything its was all about the anticipation for me. The magic of brotherly love, peace on Earth, goodwill toward men and all that. The whole Spirit of giving and togetherness. Then Christmas morning comes with its chaos and madness of ripping paper and afterwards I would think "Thats it? Thats all there is to this BIG DAY??" and I'd feel let down. Not necessarily out of disappointment at not getting what I'd wanted or not receiving as big a haul as say my friend across the street who always got a big haul. It was more about how all that anticipation and good feelings came to a screeching halt and then it was Christmas dinner and then it was clean up etc and back to school time. I wanted the feeling of Christmas to last..forever.
This love of the holidays continued well into my twenties. I loved carols and decorations and the first snow and getting together with my family and friends.
Now I am in my 30's...will be 39 come December 8th actually, and now I just don't feel it. At least not like I did before I had kid's. I used to knock myself out with home made gifts for my family. Chocolates and cookies in nice tins or bags. Jams or jellies or soup mixes or chutney's in pretty jars. Labors of love for my family. I still want to make Christmas but I'm too tired nowadays and I worry about Christmas more. Will the boys be happy with their gifts? Will this be the last year for Santa?? How will we afford gifts and a tree? Should we move to an artificial tree? Should Richard and I forgo gifts to one another in favor of a "house" gift or charitable donation? (no..I am too greedy for that I think). Will this be the last year the boys are quoted as saying "This is the best Christmas ever!"?
One year Richard said "no stockings for us this year" and to be fair, money was tight. I agreed but got him stocking stuffers anyway. Ya just gotta!!
It was my first Christmas ever without a stocking to open and I was surprisingly devastated. I had to go to my room later to cry when noone could hear or see me. I felt very foolish and yes, very childish, but Christmas has always touched my inner child and this was Inner Child's first year with no stocking, the child like part of Christmas morning. Its has not happened again.
Its getting to be decorating time. I would love to have a magazine perfect spread like my sister in law manages every single year. Martha Stewart could take lessons from Marilyn. The tree is always exquisite, my brother's lights outdoors are blinding and a testament to his joie de vivre, and all the holiday trinkets and vignettes in their home make you feel both jealous and inspired. Alas, I am not so handy with the decorating.
To help myself get into the mood to prepare for the holiday I now call Yule but my family still calls Christmas, I bought Dorothy Morrison's book Yule. You would find it in the New Age or Witchcraft section of your local Chapters and I must say so far I am really enjoying it. Where do our holiday traditions come from and what do other societies celebrate at this time of the year? Some of the answers are well known but she also has some insights that are less common. Its nifty and I am getting into the Spirit little by little. The holiday CDs help too. I highly recommend Bare Naked For The Holidays by Bare Naked Ladies and the Santa Claus 2 soundtrack as a couple of more modern collections.
Today our magazine with catalogue came from World Vision. A World Vision catalogue? you may ask to which I reply Yes! If I may be so bold as to encourage you to try and make the world a more comfortable place for a less fortunate family somewhere, I do so now. We have been sponsors to a little girl in Haiti for some time now. I only wish we could do more. By making extra donations or selecting a "gift" from the catalogue we can. We all can! www.worldvision.ca has detail on how you could gift an impoverished family with a goat kid, or fruit trees, or chickens... Help a village by stocking their medical clinic! Help some children by providing clothing... Check it out. Wake the Inner Child that believes in Santa. BE Santa for someone this year. You will never be sorry.
Blessed Be.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

Still Tuesday

And who'da thunk it, I'm a knob. I accidentally posted that entryless header much earlier today but then got distracted (ooh cookies) and forgot to go back and fix it. duh.
Ok...more reasons I'm a knob: Got so wrapped up in the Ashley Judd segment of The View today, and almost forgot to get the kids at school for lunch. Bad parenting. No more View for me.
Went to French class (also known as the French Method Of Psychological Torture 101 at Concordia's Continuing Ed) and discovered I am still not fluent. C'mon!!!!! Its been, like, 8 classes already and I actually attended some of them..what do I have to do to learn this stupid overly conjugated so called language. ARGH..what? study...? You're kidding right?
I can no longer blame my abyssimal (ok..I've tried this word 3 times..this ones staying even if its wrong) GPA from 1992 on work and liquor. Turns out, I'm lazy. WHO KNEW? (Mom, put your hand down!)
Now that I have photo capability (finally capable of putting digi photos on my computer) I will be A) taking more photos and B) posting said photos C) as soon as I remember to buy batteries for the camera. Oh..and this part isn't a part of why I'm a knob..
Or is it?
No more Diet Coke for me after 5 pm!! I'm wired!

Tuesday...

Sunday, November 05, 2006

Sunday

It was not a lovely day but a nice day nonetheless. Little productivity beyond some laundry and R fixing the bumper on the Echo that HE damaged last night. Other than that it was lazing about all the live long day. Oh and playing with Monkey of course.
Aaaaah the Saga of Poor Monkey. I have never had a kitten that didn't get the concept of a litter box on a regular basis, and I have had a lot of kittens in my 38ish years. As a result of his inexperience we have been keeping him in Kitten Jail also known as the bathroom. He has a basket and an antique wool crib blankie (that came from Scotland in 1950 according to my mom...is 56 yrs antique??) for his snoozing pleasure and use them he does! He has a doorknob mouse toy, water, food, litter box, a catnip sock and a catnip crinkly toy. He meows ALOT when we cuddle him. In complaint? Or seeking comfort? Sharing his thoughts on the'verse as he knows it? Also frantically meows when wanting food..because he kinda forgets where it is. Right now he is nestled in on my shoulder watching my fingers type, purring softly. How can we not love him even with his toilet problems???!
Friday night had R and I shopping andgoing to see a movie sans enfants. Long overdue outing. We hit Toys R Us for some xmas stuff. What a horrid store. Ladders everywhere, crying toddlers, lack of cool action figures. Seriously!!!! What is the big whoop?? Never again. We hunted at a few other stores in the Carrefour Laval for Gameboy games and DVDs. Cameron wants Pokemon Sapphire for his birthday.
The movie we saw was The Prestige. Oh my. Soooo good. Nary an explosion nor alien nor animated animal in sight and such a good story! I LOVED it. Richard said it wasn't bad. This from the man who loves Underworld. It boggles the mind. If you enjoy a good tale with twists, this is for you. I give it 4 stars out of 5 for a grown up drama that takes place in the late 18800's early 1900's. I'd totally see it again.
Saturday...hmmm..whatd we do..More nuthin'. I went looking for xmas gifts for Richard but Damn! that Bionic Wrench gizmo is pricey!! The version that was on sale last week was nowhere to be seen. Only pack of 2 sizes and the big one were there, at $59 and $39. Oy. I will get him the new Evanesence later and some Star gate dvds. Thought that wrench would be cool though.
Tomorrow is Monday and my shift at the MPRC desk. I will make it this week. Also Value Village has their 50% sale tomorrow and I printed off addresses to find a couple of them. Hahahahahaha. Yes...value shopping ON SALE. Bargain hunting will ensue.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

Photo loading attempt # 6 jillion and 3

The new guy. So far his name is Monkey because of his enormous thumbs giving him the appearance of monkey feet. Plus he is very very very busy and curious like a monkey. "C'mere you little monkey." is whats said most to him. Thats and " You **&#$% on the floor AGAIN!!??" "Use the #$%^ litter box, pleeeeeease!"







Yugi and Jason, best friends! Or ARE THEY???




Blossom The Amazing Hula Dog! Speak to her and she wags... I mean, HULAS like a crazed hula doll.

Improvements

I am no longer in the bottom depths of the dumps. maybe it was that flu that just knocked me so far down but since Tuesday I have a better energy level, and improved outlook on the 'verse. Thanks to all my pals that cared enough to offer encouragement. You all rock the rockin'est rock there is to rock. And thats saying something.
I have a couple of Halloween photos to post and also we brought home a new addition to our family yesterday. Blogger has been very irritating with my photos..GRRR. I will try yet again today.
Thanks bunch to Aurora and Suldog for their comforting comments about our Freckles. This place is so wierd without her. Its less snuggly thats for sure. Maybe the new kitten will be a cuddler. So far so good..except for the kitten poo everywhere and his current stint in the brig (downstairs bathroom) with the litter box. May he figure it out quickly!! Thank you to Scrappy The Bear my amazing veterinarian niece for the advice. Aurora, you would totally become BFFs with her because she is a phenomenal animal person, scrapbooker, stamper, phototaking type person. Very crafty that way. Her new blog is She Said, She Said and its listed over on the side. Great photos. I am so not gifted in that way.
So, things are better though kitten poopy and photos WILL be forthcoming because you cannot miss Blossom The Amazing Hula Dog. You just can't.