Friday..THE DAY

Its the last day of school in this house....Ho! Hey!
The boys are pretty glad but sad too. Gonna miss their peeps I guess although I will not miss hearing about that F$%^ing Francis Whasisname picking on Ben for 2 whole months. Little as**ole.
Our celebratory plans include but are not limited to: KFC or McDonalds or Pizza Hut (gag) for supper tonight, new shorts!, new tshirts, gonna go see Kung Fu Panda tomorrow..
While shopping for said shorts and tshirts at The Children's Place because Cameron out grows everything OR destroys it, I also stopped in at HMV and a yarn store. At HMV I got Hman the new Coldplay CD because I didn't get it for him for Father's day and I got me the Katy Perry CD. Excellent. At the yarn store I only got ONE skein of wool because of the yarn diet but this was Alafoss Lopi at 25% off and I needed more for the future felted rug made with, you guessed it, Alafoss Lopi. I think I need 3 more colours and I'll have enough. I think...should double check that.
Yesterday I casted on a mitten....I knit and knit and started a double knit pattern iafter the ribbed writs and got half way through said double knit pattern when I decided it didn't look right and ripped it ALL out. Dude, thats like 4 inches of knitting (ribbing, increases, AND intarsia/fair isle/stranded/ choose your term ) my hands are sore today especially the left because I only use it alot when doing stranded knitting in the round.(I can't purl left handed) For a slowish knitter like me that ws a long time of knit.
Today I casted it back on again but in reverse order of the colours and I am adding stripes to the cuff. I didn't get all that far and I'm still not sure about the colour combination but will wait until well into the stranded work again to be sure. Yarns: Paton's classic wool variegated and Lismore sheep farm in a natural light gray.
Why do I have so much trouble with mittens? Its not like its friggin' rocket science but they never turn out how I want. I rip them out all the time. Even that gorgeous Latvian style one I was working on got ripped out. siiiiiggghhhh. I think this time I will succeed though because I HAVE ripped it but still want to make it and even if its "not quite it" I will keep going. Its a 40 stitch cast on and 2x2 rib on 4mm needles for the wrist..For the hand I will switch to 5 mm needles and increase by ten...sounds huge yes? Yes because then I want to felt it down a bit to fit! Mwahahahahaaaa Double knit AND felted. Can you say "Holy Warmness, Batman! Your son will love you forever!"? I knew you could.
I'm going to go listen to Katy Perry telling me about kissing a girl and liking it while I work on this wrist ribbing. I have 40 minutes until the guys get home.

2 More Sleeps

School is finished on Friday. Can I get a whoop whoop? The kids are all "why do we have to gooooooo? We aren't learning anythiiiiiiiiing! Its boooooorrrriiiinnngggg!" I say you are now learning that life is not always interesting and does not always have a point. Git!!
Tonight Hman's dad is staying over and I has the stress. We all know how I'd rather take a nap than do housework so the house is dusty and cluttery as usual BUT Hman is an amazing tidier so he did a hurricane run through of clutter busting and I will follow it up with the actual cleaning of floors,disinfecting of bathrooms(ick), dusting, and fragrance enhancing. Wheeeee(not). I was saving it all up for today so that it actually LOOKS like someone does housework when his dad is here...if I did it yesterday I'd just have to do it aaaalll again. We know how we hates the redundancey...redundency...hmmm...dictionary plz?
Meanwhile I am becoming infected with the Mitten Lust. I am wanting to make mittens for this coming winter because, as you know, its F*cking cold and snowy here in winter and I have Mitten Misplacers also known as children. Seriously, they lose them all. Come summer I just throw a bunch of singles out. BUT I also am wanting to make PRETTY mittens that will have little to no appeal to the boys. Thanks to my Barb, I may have the answer...warmth and beauty for men..
http://www.freevintageknitting.com/mittens/620-mittens-pattern.html
I love me some free patterns. This is why I loves me the Internets.
Currently on the needles: Richard's 6 ply socks #1 is in the gusset stage, Jessie Belle Maman socks #2 in the leg stage, My wrap around shrug currently in the I am bored with it stage, Jessie's baby bootees for a friend will be done tomorrow or Friday and mailed out soon.
I think I am safe to cast on some mittens.
Spanish update: The tickets are bought...squeeee! We fly on Air France to Paris and then to Malaga. How exciting. I had travel books in my hands at Chapters the other day but just could NOT decide which one to buy. They all had excellent selling points like maps and info and they weren't all just repititions of one another. I think I need more than one for my Pre trip research on Spain, in particular the area we will be staying in. So exciting. We still feel like its a dream..US going to SPAIN!!
Gardens: weeds weeds weeds. Lottsa weeds. Blooming roses and weeds. My snap peas are non existant. The swiss chard also very sparse. The radishes are doing quite well and I see the carrots in amongst the larger radish leaves. The tomatoes are coming along as well and need some tying up. Cukes were replaced and the new plants are doing well if still small. I had some temporary insanity issues at the plant nursery and got some red pepper plants. I never have luck with peppers but Cammie loves them so I will try again. The Royal Burgundy beans seem to be doing ok this year. Last time I tried them here there wasn't enough sun in the spot I had them. Now the garden boxes are in full sun. In the herb bed/box the basil looks sickly, the cilantro is bolting, and the sage looks tiny but the dill seems happy and the parsley and lemon balm are thriving. Strawberry plants are forming berries and I hope we get them before Nature does.
Ok...that is all thats going on here. :oD

WWKIP Day...

Happy World Wide Knit In Public Day! Check out your town or city to observe knitters doing what they do in public. Down with shame of sticks and string!! It does not mean we are boring or old or mental! Well, we could be those things but the love of yarny goodness has nothing to do with THAT.
Knitting is good. TRy it.
My KIP in the Parc Lafontaine has been relocated to indoors thanks to threat of rain and thunder showers. Not good to be a knitter with metal needles (yuk) when lightning decides to strike. Anyways, I will go to Effiloche for a cozy afternoon of knit and chat.

Friday

Thanks go out to my anniversary well wishers. Its very sweet of you to take the time and send a sweet comment and I really appreciate them.
We had no plans for our anniversary because HMan had been away for 5 days and on the day of the anniversary he was having to spend time with his boss rather than me. My whole outlook was "well...whatever...its been 14 years so maybe we don't need to celebrate so much..." so I was very surprised when Hman returned Wednesday night. He presented me with a card, Godiva chocolates, and a British knitting magazine he knows I like. How sweet is that!? I felt bad because I had done all kinds of nothing in the way of gifts and cards for him. Ooops.
The card contained an invitation to go out for dinner and a movie this weekend. He's going to try and get a reservation at Chez Dodo, a French restaurant on Metcalfe, for tomorrow night. Isn't that nice?
Tomorrow is also World Wide Knit In Public day. Montreal Knits is loosely hosting a gathering in Parc Lafontaine. Basically show up and knit as a group in the parc. Some KIPs in other cities are super organised with games and prizes and celebrity attendees. Its wild!! Maybe we will get it together for next year. If it rains I'm just going to go hang with Ginette at Effiloche for the afternoon. Which is VERY hard because there is yarn for sale there and I am trying to NOT buy any yarn until Rhinebeck. I have plenty of yarn. More than I can knit up anytime soon. Some of which I regret buying..hello skein of baby blue silk for baby sunhat which I didn't knit because the pattern was too hard with non-stretchy yarn.
Having startitis issues again. The shrug is coming along slowly as are the two pairs of socks..one pair is half done and the other is at the heel flap of sock one. Now I want to start something new......

June 11

1509- King Henry the 8th marries Catherine of Aragon.
1927- Babe Ruth hits 19 and 20 of his 60 home runs.
1966- Janos Joplin performs her first gig in San Fransico.
1978- The movie "Grease" opens.
1994- Marriage of Me and Him. Also Hell froze over. Sorry about that. :oD
14 years married, 17 years together. Wowee wee wah. It doth boggle the mind.
There are no exciting plans or plans of any other type because the boss is in town today. Stupid boss. Maybe on the weekend but I doubt it since Hman has been away and not had time to make any, Sunday is Father's Day, and Saturday I am WWKIPing.

How Much Do We Pay?

In the demand for cheap mass markerted goods, people overlook the unseen costs until they smack them in the face with a board.
Cheap plastic toys are great! OOpps! Now we know that the contain lead.
Cheaper/better cans for food are great! Ooops! Now we know they leach Bisphenol A into the "nutritious" foods they hold.
Durable cheap water bottles are great!! Ooops...now we know that they too leach chemicals intothe fluids they hold.
Cheap durable carpets...Ooops! Off gassing!
Affordable cashmere!!! Ooops!

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/chi-china-cashmere-htmlstory,1,1760776.htmlstory?coll=chi_news_custom_photos_util_2

Hot and Sticky

And not the fun kind either. The weather took a complete about face and went from wet and chilly to humid and hot. It was 30 C in the shade Chez Nous and its still not exactly cool tonight. Windows upstairs are flung wide open in the hopes of evacuating the hot and replacing it with cooler night air.
Unfortunately the pool is shockingly refreshing...not exactly stay in and swim temperature but one dip'll do ya for awhile!!
The neighbor better hurry up and get his garage built so that our yard has privacy again. Its skinny dip season.

Friday

Its cloudy and not hot and we have had rain over night for which I am not complaining. Hman made it to his destination safely yesterday and I hope his weather is good today for golf etc.
Today the plan is :strip beds, wash linens, go to park to feed ducks and get a treat, maybe hit Chapters in Pointe Claire. It so sucks that to go to a Chapters I need to go so far. Plus we'll get caught in traffic so that would be a bad idea. Maybe no Chapters today. It is already mid afternoon and I'm still in my jammies....
Chatted with big sister for a bit on the phone, flipped through National Geographic's Green Guide magazine, and have imbibed some iced coffee so maybe Its time to get my ass in gear.

Musings on a Thursday Morning

It is a glorious Thursday morning Chez Nous. The sun is shining, the new fence is almost finished, the kids are at school, I have done SFA so far except indulge in iced coffee and Dreamgirls. Life is good. So why am I feeling a touch of melancholy?
Part of it is that I really really want to go home for a visit. I miss Jessie and Julie and my mom. I haven't seen my new grand nephew yet. I want to give my grand nieces and other important offsprings hugs and kisses so that they don't forget their Aunty. Unfortunately a trip home isn't in the budget financially or temporally at this moment in time. Not that Hman hasn't tried to work it out but its either a whiz-bang-no-time-to-settle-in-and-visit-for-real long weekend or we break a solemn promise to the terrors and change our vacation plans and thats just not cool. You cannot expect your children to believe in you if you break promises and this was a big one that they have been counting on so I said no to the idea of changing plans. It sucks hard to be a grown up some times.
Part of the blue is that Hman has been quite absent family wise for the last month or so. He's had business trips, client obligations on weekends, yacht club obligations etc etc etc and when he IS here, he is either exhausted and testy or busy as a bee doing his yard projects.
Yet another part is the reconnecting with old friends. It makes you look back and look hard at who you were and who they were, why people grew apart, things said or unsaid that maybe should have been said, things done or undone that could have been better, loss of years with true and wonderful friends because of fears or self esteem, forgiving yourself and others for being young and impressionable and YOUNG. Doesn't that some up the foilble of youth succinctly? There is a lot of joy but a lot of regrets as well. Holy emotional roller coaster.
And lastly, HMan is on yet another trip with another to come later in the month and I guess I just miss his annoying person. I miss us together as a family relaxing and not losing patience and these days will return with the end of school and more evening/weekends outdoors together in the yard or out and about.
There is no school tomorrow so maybe my babies and I will take a LONG bike ride to the old town and stroll the park feeding ducks have a treat from the cremerie. Saturday is fencing day and the weekend forecast is for hot so the pool may have its first action of the season. This is something to look forward to.

And now...the back yard.

And my yarn...hahahahahaha..
This is my new bird feeder post that was crooked but now is kinda straight. Yay handy me and the Hman. My raised bed potager is doing well. Lost one cucumber plant so far. The new deck area by the pool rocks with the new swing for cuddling, napping, knitting, etc...

Heh heh

more cat pictures

Shrug

I could not resist the lure of my new yarn and wound it yesterday, casting on 90 stitches and commencing to knit while watching one of the worst movies I have seen in awhile Strange Wilderness.
After about 20 rows I decided the stitch pattern and the yarn were not (NOT) compatible. It was FUGLY!! Rip rip rip. Now I have 90 stitches with a seed stitch border (10) on each side and plain ol' stockingette in the middle and its VERY pleasing to me.
I just knew the world was waiting to know, and now you do.

Clarification....

Canape Cafe is in Pictou on Front Street, not New Glasgow. Go often, spend lots.

My Boyfriend+My Girlfriend= Must See Movie

I have to see Wanted simply for the hotness. I know it makes me a shallow pathetic human being but I am okay with that.

OH My Frakking Gods!

Facebook finally earned its keep with me. I found my old bestest friend from highschool, probably the only person I would have wanted to find from highschool actually! LOL I'm so happy.
Now I order all my family that visits our hometown to buy lots of goodies at the Canape Cafe on Front Street. Its Cathie's cafe!! I think thats so cool!
I feel a bit giddy...I have also had a lot of caffeine! Therefore I AM giddy and highly caffienated and we all know how that gets me going! Scary.
Ok...what else....
The radishes are up. The Sweet peas are planted and netting hung for them. The swing arrived and awaits assembly. I fell off the yarn diet last night and bought 5 skeins of Berroco's new Peruvia Colours in colour way # 7220. Its not on the website colour chart yet so I couldn't snag a photo. Its pretty..trust.;op I want to make a wrap around shrug for myself with this and probably a contrasting neutral like beige or natural grey.
This will be our little secret, non?

More Gardening

The grass in the back yard is MUCH healthier than that of teh front yard so its really really hard to dig up. Especially with my gimpy groin (strained something). So my darling HusbandMan built me 3 more 4x8 raised-bed frames for our "potager" (vegetable or kitchen garden). That make 4 beds altogether. The previously existing bed was filled and planted with culinary herbs. The other 3 frames are laid out so we have two rows of two. The intersecting spaces for walking will be paved with flagstonesque patio pavers and crushed gravel. Where the 4 paths come together centrally I have planted a sweet cherry tree. YAY! Cherries! This particular variety is self pollinating so colour me happy.
Today I got bagged soil, chicken manure, and compost and filled a frame. Mostly. It coulda used a couple more bags so next bed will get a couple more bags. I am also trying that MYKE growing supplement for veggie gardens for the first time. This first bed is now heavily planted with blocks of carrots, radishes, peas, bush beans, mesclun mix, and swiss chard. I am thinking I will still get another bag of soil and scatter it over top thinly.
Next bed will have the cuke(trellised) and tomato transplants and I am not sure what else. More carrots for sure.
The last bed is held in reserve for my poor over crowded strawberry plants that need moving from their current spot. That over crowded bed can then be dedicated to the raspberries that are taking it over. I have that bed planted with the strawberries but then I was gifted with a raspberry cane that I stuck in the groud in the autumn to over winter it (never got it properly planted. THEN when spring came and we were spending the summer in NS, I popped it into the end of the strawberry bed until I could make a good spot for it. It went BESERK and is now many raspberry canes and is actually escaping the bed. It will be brought to heel this summer for sure and I will also top up that bed with a sack of compost.
Sunflower sprout count: 22. Wowee!
4 oclock sprout count: 10 ? Grrr.
Morning Glory volunteers: I yank a few daily. I only NEED 3 vines for that spot.
HM also built me a planter by his new deck. I need to fill it and Plant my sweet pea seeds. They can then climb trellising and cover the side of the Rubbermaid shed. Pretty AND smell glorious. LOOOOVE sweet peas.
I found a transplant of catnip at Home Depot yesterday and bought it for Miss Kitty. She loves her some home grown 'nip and I have it in a big pot now. Still no mouse scultures though. I gotta draw the line somewhere.
Pictures when I have some.

Stupid things people do......

On the commercials for a news program tonight, a story they will broadcast is about teens buying up Morning Glory seeds at garden centers to use them as a hallucinogenic drug.
I'm filing this under Stupidest Things I Have Ever Heard.
I wonder if you told them that smoking dog shit would make one high, would they come clean up my yard for me? Blossom would be the most popular dog on the street because she goes ALOT.
Does this mean that I could be arrested for growing Morning Glories soon??? I feel so guilty tempting youngsters with my rampant vines right out there in the front yard for the whole world to see. Its like a grow op right under everyone's noses when you think about it. AND they are organically grown....I'm just sayin'...

Continuation........

After much more groin straining work and additional consultations with Miss Kitty, the front yard is more or less complete. There is some mulch to lay on that landscape fabric as soon as my body is up to it and yes I keep buying plants to tuck in here and there. The 4 o'clock seeds are FINALLY sprouting in the long dirt strip at the front of the garden too.

Pictorial

In the beginning, there was a yard with mucho dead grass thanks to white grubs. I worked and I worked and had a meeting with my landscape consultant, Miss Kitty. In the above photo we are discussing the plans: She thinks there is a marked lack of catnip and that the design cries out for mouse sculptures and low lying bird feeders. I think she was being just a little catty with her comments.

This is what I bought....this is what I thought it was...

I accidentally bought a Ligularia 'Britt Marie Crawford'(not a Euphorbia..my memory isn't great) which is yellowy orange. I thought I was buying a Meadow Rue. See the difference? Me no happy but the Ligularia iiiisss kinda innerestin' isn't it? I still want meadow rue tho.