Boxing Day

I hope everyone had a great Christmas day. We sure did starting at 4:45 AM when Cameron woke us to ask if he could open his stocking...LOL We even stress the fast the night before that stockings are great to open while everyone is asleep so that you have something to do and won't WAKE ANYONE UP!! Oh well. I listened to crinklings and giggles and mutterings until I dozed off again and was woken by Ben's more voluminous (as in higher volume!!) exuberance at 6. We gave notice that Mommy and Daddy would rise at 7 AM and to please ply with stockings until then.
It was so hard to crawl out of bed but its so worth it. Ben got a card game that had him nearly in tears with joy (Milles Bournes?) because he loves it so at school. Also screamed "Yes!! Yes!! Yes!!" at his 6th installment of a Quebecoise series of books. Its the final book of the series and he has them all AND has read them and loved them. Yay!
Cameron got the Pokemon book of his dreams...its like a big catalogue of ALL Pokemon. The illustrations are excellent. He also loves his Floam...they both do actually. Weird modelling clay stuff. Very cool. And I have helped both boys hatch their test tube aliens....heeheeheee. This is a cool interactive toy that they have to hatch out of its cocoon and keep fed in its tube for two weeks after which it can "survive" on water. Its blinking light indicates its status (fine, drowning, starving) and you register them on line.
Husband Man says I did well this year with the gifts..except the wine carafe! its fate is still unknown for now. he may take it back but thats ok. He LOVED that sweater I got him.
I got Attatchements for the Sexy Beast so i can grind and slice and make extruded pasta . I got 2 Elizabeth Zimmermann books so I think my EZ book collection is now complete, as well as the Knitting Glossary DVD. Woohoo! Help at the push of a button. I also got an excellent looking Indian cook book so lively curries will be abounding in the new year. I like books on CD for when I am knitting so HM got 10 books on CD in one set of 45 CDs in a zippered organizer. All classics like Pride and Predjudice,Wuthering Heights, Oliver Twist, and Frankenstein!!! Woo hoo! I hope they are read well. So excited! I really wanted Pride and Predjudice too. Yay yay yay! I gots chocolates and a knitting mag that I already have and one I don't and soaps and bubble bath.
My final xmas knit gift went horribly WRONG and ended up in the trash. Its ok. The kid is getting other things anyways. So now I cast on a pair of socks for ME with my hand dyed from this summer (Lismore Sheep Farm single ply) I got a couple inches done last night watching TV and they will be SO warm and pretty in their candy colours. Plain vanilla sock pattern though. I'm glad to do non xams knitting. Back to Cammie's sweater! Fix Jessie's sock! More socks and sweaters and mittens....I do have quite the pile of yarn and ahem...yarn shop hopping is planned for THIS saturday in the 'Fax. heh heh heh. So excited. I need some roving for thrummed mittens. I never finished Ben's but I will and make more! So easy...so warm...so wonderful.
ok...gotta breathe...
Happiest of holidays to one and all and may the new year find you healthy and joyful!

The Pattern...

.........I Has It!
My Presciousssssssssssss...

Birthday Pics

My new fingernails

Same fat fingers but tipped with funky dark nails. I likee. I bought the polish a month ago but was holding off getting to the salon for nails. A new set takes over an hour...ssssiiiggghhhh. Its hard for me to sit so long. Now, if i could get a manicure while sleeping, that'd be awesome.
Thanks to Steve and Mymy (meemee) at Ongles Mymy for awesome pretty fingers.

Shameless Promotioning

I had a big long post here and for some reason it disappeared. The gist of it is this: Do you love hand made luxurious soap? If you do may I recommend my favorite? Its made by a friend in NS and any handmade soap I try gets measured to this standard (and none have quite made it). I am hoping to place an order in the new year, oh yes I am! Bye bye dry itchy skin.
www.bohemianbubbles.com
Terri has been soaping for a few years now and her family uses no other soap but hers. Eczema and dry skin disappeared in her house. She worked and worked and took home soapmaking to a whole 'nother level with her spa quality offerings for sale. She has exacting standards so let me tell you, her soap is real good because she would have it no other way.
I'm looking at the Honey I Love You bar. Mmmmmm huuuunnnnyyyyy.

I bitched because I had no shoes....

Until my sister gave me her bad news.
I have been grouchy the last couple of posts thanks to PMS etc. Its been colouring my world a bitchy shade of crabby. Then I was chatting with myssister who has a genuine reason to be unhappy this week. It makes me feel very small and petty in comparison. Another reason why I want to be her when I grow up...only taller.
The decision to have a pet put down is never easy and always sucks. The pet in question had been failing for the last few years and it was obvious her time was running out. I am proud of my sister and her ability to support the pet as long as she did through deafness, blindness, a canine form of Alzheimer's, and elderly infirmities. She held out as long as she could and its longer than I could have let me tell you.
Tess, you are missed. Your stinky ears, your funny wriggle, your joyful whining in greeting. You were a Good Dog, always gentle and sweet. Be at peace and chase those Summerlands bunnies with gusto.

Thursday

Things are calmer and kinder here Chez Nous so far today. The guys were buddies again when the came home from school yesterday afternoon and played well until bedtime. HusbandMan didn't make it home in time for me to go out and I admit, I was pissed off. He always seems able to get home early on the days I don't need him to but its luck of the traffic and where his last meetings of the day were located. I guess I am going to have to call a sitter from now on if I want out.
So instead of my usual post knit night euphoria, today I'm schlumping around looking at unfinished projects and lacking in drive or ambition.
BUT my laundry is WAY caught up! For that I am grateful. I listened to Lime And Violet while I folded many clothes and deposited them in the correct baskets.
They are still calling for rain this weekend. I have mixed feelings about that. The snow piles are getting pretty tall and could use some shrinkage, but then they will freeze and there will be no shifting them until they melt in April or May. sigh..Winter!
My Scarf Of No Name measured out at approiamatelt 36 inches last night after this week's picking away at it. Only 24 inches to go to the goal length of 60 but i feel like OMG is this thing ever gonna end. Scarves, man...torture.
Today is the last full day of school before Christmas. the guys have tomorrow morning and then thats it until the 7th of January. I can't believe my trip home is coming so fast. One week!
Toys R Us had an ad on the radio this morning. They got in a shipment of Bakugan!! If you don't have boys my age then you won't care about this but my guys both had Bakugan on their lists and I can't find them anywhere and I started looking in November! Limit of two per family. First Come first serve. How early will I have to get up for this??? Anyone? Anyone? I have never queued for toy shopping before and honestly, don't think I should since they have a great haul piled up in my closet. But still......its Bakugan..one of the hottest boy toys this year.
Must..resist..urge..to..buy..children's..love.....

wednesday and the mood is ..?

Its up and down and all around today as I clean house and try not to kill people.
The laundry became a pile up yet again but this time its not all my fault. We had the idea that since winter came early, lets make an ice rink out back! This necessitated thawing the hose after its exile in the shed and connecting it to the only usable taps...those already attached to my washer. That would be fine but a certain rink flooder doesn't disconnect the hose when he's done so i have been washerless for 3 days and thats all it takes to go from somewhat in control of the laundry sitch to holy fuck where are all the clean socks in this frikkin' house. Today, he finally reconnected the washer and it has its second big load tumbling now. That doesn't seem like much laundry but remember that front loaders have loooooonnnggg cycles and hold a lot.
Then I attacked the kitchen floor. I vacuumed and mopped like a mad woman. I even pulled out the fridge and stove (eeeeewwwww). I am so sick of white floor that I could cry because I had it nice and cleanish,but once lunch was over I literally had to take the mop to it again. Thank you pomegranates!
The cat boxes need sifting and the aquarium needs cleaning/water changing, neither of which are fun.
I have a pork rosat marinating in the fridge. It better pass the finicky eater test better than last nights meal of creamy leek and potato soup, which was quite good. But HMan wouldn't touch it and instead had leftovers and a sandwich. Ok...is it just me or is this rude? I felt dissed. I'm still feeling POed at that. Its bad enough for kids to turn their noses up at what i produce for a meal but he is old enough to behave better.
I have no idea if i can get out to knitting tonight. Traffic is snarly what with snow removal being not done well and getting from point A to B is not easy so who know what time his Lordship of The Soup Rejection will get his ass home.
Speaking of asses: My son, whom I do love just don't always like, was so mean to his little brother at lunch i could have gleefully hurt him. i sent him to his room for his own safety. Thing 2 got a cute little certificate of recognition from his English teacher for a term well done and he was so proud he had to bring it home at lunch to show me. Thing 1 got pissed off at Thing 2 and ruined the certificate with snow because "he made me mad". There is a tear in it and the ink ran from the snow and poor Cam was sobbing his heart out when they got home while Ben mocked him making crying noises in a mean voice. I lost my temper big time...I couldn't be reasonable and kind and talk it out because I had one kid bawling and the other ranting like a little tyrant. Basically the tyrant was informed that he had behaved like something very rude and was shut up in his room...at top volume and rage because civility went out the window. sigh.
The house is empty again and quiet but I am still upset for Cameron even though he has accepted the situation of his certificate getting ruined. He was so happy about that certificate. It gave his ego such a lift and then his brother went and destroyed all the happy. I am so tired of this. I know Ben has his issues and his therapist can explain them all and give us methods to cope and things ARE better than they used to be, but sometimes I am just so resentful of the chaos he brings to the family unit.
PMS and lunch hour drama...not a good mix.

Tuesday.

Holy Frak there is a buncha snow outside my house right now. Its minus 18 celcius but no wond to speak of and we have more snow coming in the flurries before it swings around to rain Saturday and Sunday.
HMan tried to buy a snowblower on Saturday before Sunday's blizzard and had no luck. BUT the force was strong with him in that a business associate asked him yesterday if he knew anyone that wanted to buy a practically new (two years old, barely used, 10 HP) snowblower. Uh YEAH!! So we will get that this weekend I believe. Heart attacks averted! PS: about a 3rd of the price of a similar model NEW. I love you Universe!!!!!!
HMan started an ice rink in the back yard yesterday. Its had 3 sprayings of water so far and since the next few days will stay below freezing it will get a few more I think. Then if it rains, we have a layer of ice for it to settle on. In theory. The pain in the butt is Blossom cannot figure out why i want her to go out the front door to do her thing. She's confused...poo goes in the back yard in her mind and so the ice rink is not hugely hygienic though I cleaned up after her. Its the yellow blotched ice rink of the neighborhood. Stupid dog. She of course uses the area of least resistance...the snow is over her head everywhere else in the back yard. I should go out with tempera paint and draw flower petals around the pee blotches...LOL Purty.
Knit news: I knit another pair of holiday gift slippers last night. They still need their trim which will not take any time at all. One gift left!!! Whoot Whoot! My travel knitting will be to finish Jessie's sock and then I think I may cast on a pair for me. I do not yet have a pair of my own hand made socks and I don't know if you've noticed, but its frakking COLD here in my part of the world. My scarf is about 30 inches long now...halfway there.
Ok...so thats that. Ummm.. Oh there was this show on TV last night on SCN on improving your homes energy use. It was kinda like a game show. Anyways, the Halifax couple won. I think it was called Code Green. I am gonna go get me some window plastic for the living room today. That bay window is freakin' freezing. I should do the boys rooms too. The basement windows are under snow so they are pretty insulated right now. I bought new door stoppy weather strip for the front door yesterday but its too long. Now what?? Does it come shorter than 36 inches? I also will get a new door sweep, now that I know what that is and I checked my door and ours is broken. When it warms up later in the week I will put them into play since ya gotta have the door open to do this stuff.
Well...this is all. Knit night is tomorrow. Today is housework and the usual crap.

Yarn Haul

Ok...remember that yarn diet I made noises about? So not happening.
Last night was Ariadne's first knit night hosting and I knew I would need to buy some more of that Cherry Tree Hill yarn (Foxy Lady colourway) and that Opal 6 ply I had covetted last time and the ballerina pink O-Wool...mmmmmmmmm puuuurrrttty. So That's what I browsed and bought. Then Robyn brought my order from her shop because she was gonna be there last night so why wait until next Wednesday riiiiigggghhhht? The Ariadne girls were totally cool with that which was very kind. 10 skeins of Anniversary twist!!! SWEET! I am gonna have such a great sweater with my 15 skeins (would be 16 but I made that hat for HMan which he has now declared Too Girly!)
OH and Robyn exchanged me one skein of "Mist" Colinette for "Sea Breeze". A certain little baby on it's way in the spring might have a very nice sweater or something made with the beige, brown, and turquoise colours of the 'Sea Breeze' Colinette merino wool.

Knit musings

I have been knitting a plain ribbed toque for my husband out of Briggs and Little's Anniversary Twist. While its not the softest cushiest yarn to knit with, I am confident that with a bath it will bloom wonderfully and get softer with use. HMan's comment "Its not the colour I thought it'd be..." *blink* Ok.
I SHOWED hime the yarn before I started. I showed him the progress. I am now about an inch from finishing and he decides its too blue. But he'll wear it! he assures. Yeah. thats not the point. I want him to love wearing it. To be proud of it the way Ben loves his sweater and the way Cameron will love his if it's ever finished. I took time away from holiday knitting for this as well. Ingrate...(grumble grumble)
I on the other hand am very fond of the colour and want enough skeins for my very own sweater. I kinda know how I want the sweater to look but want it done in the round, not in pieces, though it may benefit from seaming. I want a Raglan sleeve for its flatterning fit on most body types, a faux shawl collar which stands up a bit in the back but will be buttoned or pinned in the front (like the NDG sweater in the summer 2007 issue of IK). I need a cozy house sweater and a cardi would be more practicle but i really want this to be a pullover. Possibly with 3/4 length sleeves. This is going to take some plannings.....
I am itching also to do some latvian styled mittens and have heaps of inspirations and have yarn. Just lately too much going on. I MUST have Kate Gilbert's Bird In The Hand pattern. MUUUUSSSTTT HAAAAVVVVEEEE. Love the red and white of it but it will look lovely in the purple and mostly white hand dyed I have planned for it.Love the viney/twiggy floral motif with the wee bird on the thumb.
The Sea Minerals mitten is also lovely. Mostly I'd like to plan my own graph.... It could happen! Someday.. I was thinking on a Lady bug mitten one day. Or Bumblebees...or butterflies done in hand dyed with quick repeats.. Red Cherries on black...

On a less knitterly knote...I got my tree at IKEA for 20 bucks. Its the least expensive tree we've had since we moved here to the land of pricey trees. I have furniture to rearrange so I can bring it in and set up.
One thing I miss from living in the boonies is beiong able to prune my own greenery from my trees. I made kissing balls for the mudroom yearly, out of a potato and greenery sprigs (pine, fir, spruce, and cedar if i could scrounge it from a friend's shrubbery), and wild rose hips. Sprays for the door were easy peasy with boughs and a big ribbon. Buckets of sand or kittty litter were filled with greenery boughs, dogwood twigs (RED) and wild rose hips and sat by my porch steps.
Now to decorate I need to buy stuffs more and I miss that tromping through the bush of the back fiels to select branches etc. On a plus? We at east have snow for Xmas here. LOL

Ok..does anyone else find this creepy and wrong?

On ELLEN today Tippy Hedron was a guest and talking about feline rescue. She is part of a group that rescues big cats from less than optimal situations...lions, tigers, panthers ...you name it.
She talked about a Liger and displayed a photo and explained that a Liger is the result of a male lion paired with a female tiger, where as if the pairing were reversed the result would be called a Tigon. This particular one may have been called Bob. I forget.
I'm sorry...this is just sick and wrong. Just like when that zebra and donkey got it on back home and created a zonkey (Oak Lawn Farm Zoo in Nova Scotia). I mean, ok...if the animals decided that they had to have one another, thats natural selection right? But if its a case of humans meddling with animals that would never have bred with one another, I just find it icky. Like the stories about rabbits mixed with cats. Mules are also kinda icky to me.
Am I too judgemental about animal breeding? Maybe. I just find it another way humans have interfered too much with nature.

On the day of my birthday, after my mom called and woke me up, this is the first thing I did. I opened my gift from Janet. I LOVE IT! I squealed and got the camera out then ran to the computer to post the photo. Only one mf my kids was home. Hm and the other child were missing. i figured, ok, they'd made mention of birthday plans..maybe they are getting birthday brunch stuff or something.
While I was trying to get my photos from camera to computer, they arrived back home and I was called urgently to come quick, sit on the sofa, and cover my eyes and to not look on pain of death.
I began to get worried because I heard voices outdoors and hear I was still in my pjs with greasy hair and kinda smelly. I thought maybe he'd gotten our friend Bruno and Antonella to come over and was starting to feel peevish at being caught like this.
Open You Eyes!! was cried and someone started singing happy birthday and when I looked there were my two sisters in my living room!!!!! All the way from Nova Scotia!!! I blinked trying to process, I screamed because I was startled/surprised/thrilled and then I started to cry. I was laughing but it was more crying than laughing. To say this has been the best birthday ever is such an understatement. I have never been more shocked or more thrilled. They'd been planning it for a month, for one sister to get the days off work and for them to take the train to Montreal on Friday from Halifax and arrive here Saturday morning, for my husband to pick them up at the train station, to keep it all a secret from me.
They should be home by now, having left yesterday evening after I took them to Chinatown. It was hard to have them leave. I want them to be here for longer but of course, its not possible. We had such a great weekend together talking, and talking and laughing and talking, watching Hairspray on DVD (gift) in our jammies, going to IKEA and Effiloche..all the time talking and laughing and sharing jokes and stories. It was awesome.
I have no pictures though! My sister will send me her's after she gets settled back home and then I can put them up.
So, this was what freaked my freakin' freak on my birthday and it could not have been a better one.

Oh My Freakin' Gods

This
has been
the bestest birthday
EVER...........!!!!!!!!
I will post more when I catch my breath. Its just freakin' my freakin' freak the surprise that was sprung.
Forty totally rocks.

Look what someone's getting

Went holiday shopping with the kids at rockland Center, a mall in Montreal. Holy Schmoley. The mall wasn't packed with people but the traffic was insane. We looked at a cool pet store and the games store where I looked for a couple of games Ben's therapist Sheila recommended for guys like Ben ( Othello,Connect 4, and Eclipse).
We hit HMV and got a couple of CD's for H-man and the Body Shop for some yummers body wash/shampoo. Gods he's gonna smell soooooooo good.
Then we went to Harry Rosen....and practically RAN out the door. Over 300$ for a SCARF??? I think not. Burbarry can kiss my cheap ass.
I can't trust him with clothes that expensive either. It will either get ruined or lost.
Off to Banana Republic, which I didn't know The Gap owned. DUH. I know I sound like a shopper, but I'm not much of one. I found this beautiful sweater that feels like it was knit from angel's butt hair its THAT SOFT (fine Italian Merino). Do you think I chose well?? I think so too after what he tried to leave the house wearing this morning. Hello, business world?? You owe me a debt of gratitude for that one. After that the kids were bitching about being hungry so we hit the food court. Then I was woozy from spending money so we left for home. the traffic to get away from the mall was crazy. One car would get through a lighgt at a time that how backed up it was. But then we took the exit to our highway and it was clear sailing. But we sat on Rockland for 1/2 hour for cryin' out loud. Thank gods for the CBC.
I think he's going to love this sweater. I also got him one from Zellers last week I think but its more itchyish and casual. This one is for DRESS or OFFICE casual. With that price tag it should be formal wear...LOL No that'd be at Harry Rosen prices I guess.

The secret is out...sorta

Mwahahahahahaha.....
Yesterday the innocent announcement by my son that there was a Kn-Ball tournament on Saturday afternoon made the secret come out..HM had been making top secret surprise birthday plans. They may be lame. They may be fabu! I don't know because they are still not revealed, only their existance has been leaked. He's been making lots of ha-ha-you're-40 comments. He cares more than I do. About the 40, not the birthday. I am BIG on any day that involves ME getting presents.
About the big Four O: Its not that I am 40 tomorrow its that I don't have much accomplished by now. Ok YES I had a business with HM. That failed, kinda. We sold it before we could fail actually but did not escape unscathed (major debt related to the biz). So i guess that an accomplishment/milestone/something. I have two kids, but really, almost anyone with a uterus can do that even those that shouldn't. Ummmm...I have a BA but its pretty useless and my GPA sucked bad (too much liquor). But it is technically letters after my name and an education so i'm counting it.
I have yet to be divorced, no matter HOW HARD I TRY!! (Just kidding) So I think in today's day and age where many marrriages fall apart very quickly thats to be lauded. And we usually still like each other daily so thats pretty good too.
I have not killed anyone even though I have a homicidal temper/rage issue. Thats an accomplishment. I have enough control not to kill. Drugs are good.
Hmmmm...I'm sounding better and better!
I can knit socks! I can Knit! this is not just a skill (homey and for old ladies...chyeah right. I think NOT!!!!) but an artistic expression of my creativity. I may not be a Picasso or an Edith Piaf but I enjoy my artform and the happiness it brings me. Not to mention the friends it has brought into my life.
Ok...so I guess I am ok for 40. Not a rocket scientist cancer curing philanthropic superstar, but I am ok. And for me, being a slacking underachiever, I think its more than enough. Maybe I should even take it down a notch??

Winter Wonderland..?

But very crappy photos...sorry!
We have lovely piles of snow outside and always more to come at this point in the year. Its apparently going to be an old time Canadian winter this year and part of me is all "Oooooh cool" and part of me is "Oh f%ck a duck...." Why did my husband listen to me THIS YEAR in regards to firewood? "Oh last year was so mild we didn't use all our wood...no need to order any this year.." ...CRAP!!!!! Every other year I have always counselled "More wood than last year" and every year he doesn't listen. I have used the word year a lot in this post eh? Could it be because I am 3 days from FORTY years old?? We have no plans because HM's legs are still bothering him something fierce. They are so weak that he thinks he won't be skiing this season. Ever see a grown man fight back tears...figuratively? He loves his skiing and we got new ones last year. The doc said it was residual effects of a virus...sound familiar? I think at this point we need a second opinion. What if its some sort of muscular disorder or nerve disorder? These can strike formerly healthy people without any warning or known triggers.
Anyhoo, todays pictures have a display of presents and a WIP in the snow, and a picture of the snow in front of my house.
Presents are : a purple hat for Holly, blue slippers for Taylor, pink handwarmers for my mom, a grey hat for Lorne. The WIP is a blue hat for HM in Briggs and Little's Anniversary Twist. I can't wait until its done and washed so the wool can bloom and soften.

New Yarn

The lovely ladies of Ariadne Knits (see links sidebar) have moved from a soley cyber shop to also merchandise their wares in the physical realm of shopkeepery.
Located on the (hard for me to find)corner of St Jacques and Laporte, Ariade Knits boasts an inventory of yarns unlike those of the other shops in town. Cherry Tree Hill, Lorna's Laces, Lamb's Pride, Cascade 220....these are but a few of the lovely yarns brands they carry currently and their selection can only get better. The parking is free in that area too!
Granted some of the yarns are NOT cheaps (My Cherry Tree Hill set me back 22$ a skein)BUT the Cascade and Lamb's pride are very very reasonably priced yarns for less delicate projects at less than 9$ per skein.
i felt up some O Wool Balance which is a gorgeous cotton wool blend. You get the great feel of cotton with abit of wool's sproing in a nicely tweedy two tone yarn. It would make for a scruptious sweater that you could comfortably wear against the skin. Something casual.
I really liked the denim blue of the Lamb's Pride Worsted and its a brand that also had a bulky weight and a HUMONGOUS "Burly" weight. Big bulk but not the skinny to thick back to skinny of some bulky burly yarns which is great for texture but not so fun to knit up. Very interesting.
Madly in love with the Reynolds "Whiskey" and there were a couple of silk blends that I loved the feel and look of.
Yes, I came home with sock yarn...so what. I have Serengeti colourway and the African Grey colourway which is anything BUT grey. I thought that Serengeti could be for anothe pair of socks for HM but maybe its toooooo pretty for a man, hmm?