M m m m Monday

"I aaaammmm sooo beeeyuuutifuuuuull to meeeeeee... What do you think you are doing with that camera! I never signed a release!! "
I am not for zee eating but for zee seed savings!! See affixed note plz!
Oh noes...she has de camera!!! If I close my eyeses she can't see me....












This is the mitten and Cammie's sweater on the needles as we speak. The sweater is Ultra Alpaca and the mittens are Nashua superwash wool so they will be way toasty being double layered and wool, but washable like an acrylic. Sweet.


I found out about the Montreal Knitters Guild and am tempted but holy cow they are far from me. Technically I am not IN Montreal but I don't think that'd be much of a problem. Meetings are on Tuesdays but way over in Beaconsfield which is on the other side of Montreal and with traffic? Oy. We are talking an hour or more depending. What to do what to do....?
Today Cam has another orthodontia appointment. Right now they are every two weeks and that coupled with regular detal appointments for Ben Cam and Me it seems like I F%^&ing live at this place. Its a pain in the arse but you gotta do what ya gotta do for your family.
On the plus side...Interweave Knits Holiday edition comes out tomorrow and me gots to have.
The double knit mitten is coming right along (see picture from this morning). I ripped it back because of dissatisfaction with the decreases (messing with the colour placements) and will attempt them again later. The yellow stripe is where the thumb will go. I picked up Cammie's sweater today and and almost at the end of the first skein of yarn. the colour pattern for the front starts in another couple inches. Gotta figure how I am going to manage that (colour work only on the front but the sweater is knit in the round. Also need to start the sleeves asap because they get added soon after the colourwork starts. This whole "winging it" method of sweater design is not recommended. If I knew how to design it right then I would but for now I can only arse around and hope for the best...then write down what works!! LOL I did chart out two alien designs from Knitty's bmp pattern and figured on a repeat of the two alien chart, counted the stitches, figured how many stitches at each end would center it on the front blah blah math math. My nerves are now about the raglan shaping and its effect on said colour work pattern. Maybe it'll be fiiine. But most likely it won't. Maybe only 3 aliens?? Oh well. If at first (second third 4th) it doesn't succced then I will rip rip again.
Ginette has Colinette Jitterbug 'Velvet" in stock now at Effiloche and today is payday which means that I may have a small falling down later in the week. Velvet has all the scruptiousness of regularly coloured Jitterbug BUT in a tweedy effected colouration rather than VERY colour contrasted. Not quite solid coloured but enough that say if one was to want to do a nice stitch pattern on a sock or something, the stitch pattern would SHOW rather than be hidden in the colours. I have wanted to try "Charade" and "Twisted Rib socks" plus I have an eyelet rib stitch pattern that I was thinging about attempting in a sock or something and they would all be stunning in these new Jitterbug colours.
I did mention Jessie recieved her sox right. She is in love with them!I mean, she picked out the colourway (Jewel) but this was in June! And her memory is not so hot! After a soaking in SOAK they were so incredibly soft and cushy and like a spa treatment for her feet. To those who say "eeeew" to WOOL because of scratchy itchy experiences all i can say is "go fondle Colinette Jitterbug superwash merino". Not your grannies bargain basement itchyassed wool that made you cry in discomfort as a kid. But ya gotta pay big for wool so fine which is why I am holding back.

Oh I forgot

Friday night knitting was excellent as always. I frogged the frigged up mitten (AGAIN) and started anew with two colours. I knit with two colours (one on the left hand one on the right) and it was slow going with many a dropped needle since I am not real handy with the continental style. I striped the cuff and salt and peppered up the hand.
This is a mitten for Cameron...and it was TOO SMALL!!!!! Dangit!!!!!! Yesterday I ...shudder...ripped it out again and cast on more stitches. I'm back to where I was with another inch or so to the thumb.
I hope this one works. If it does I will post the recipe since I am making it up with parts of patterns that I like without the parts that fuck me up. If it doesn't work out, oh well. Its not like I'm not getting used to THAT.

Big Night Out

Last night the man and I went out. As usual, plans did not go exactly as we had hoped.
The "Wine and Cheese" at the yacht club was more of of a sit down meal (wtf?? who calls a meal wine and cheee??). It was soooooo crowded with tables set out that my claustrophobia went into pretty high alert. I was chill though...controlled the hyperventilating and did not scream but the litany was rinning through my head "get me out getmeout gemmeowgemmeowgemmeowgemmow..." and I think maybe my eyes started bugging out. HM could see the panic in my face. Its different for him because he is taller than most of the people there wheras I am shorter so I feel buried in people. As in BURIED ALIVE!! in a jostling mass of people acrrying wine and bowls of soup. Me no likey. HM said "so what do you want to do?" I said "LEAVE??!" (gemmeowgemmeow..). So we did. So much for a nice mingley time meeting our fellow yacht club members. We booked outta there and went to Indigo on Ste Catharine's and perused books. Then we headed for our 8 PM reservation for dinner at Sho-Dan.
Oh My Gods...delicious. If you go you must order the "Lips". They aren't on the menu but are a house specialty as are the "Pizza"..also fantastic. If you like Japanese fusion and sushi make this a destination. Its not cheap but holy smokes it blows all other sushi I've had away. I think its on Metcalfe up from Ste.Cath's.
So then we thought "Hows abouts a movie?" and off we went to the former Paramount, now Baque Scotia cinema. He wanted Heart Break Kid...but it wasn't there though he had checked online earlier in the day. I wanted SuperBad which he did NOT. Elizabeth 2 wasn't starting for another 45 minutes...same with Stardust which i saw already... etc etc etc. So we thought...maybe try Colossus in Laval. There we totally struck out. Already started, full, or not wanted. Sooooo...we went home...
Big night out...home by 10:15pm. Typical.

Thursday

Supper tonight was reeeeeaaaallly yummy. I made it up as I went along and now present what I did:

Chicken Baked Pasta

Chicken thighs (boneless+skinless)
Garlic...2 tsp
Basil
Salt and pepper
cheese (cheddar and parmesan shredded)
Meatless Tomato pasta sauce "Fine Herb"? I think its a Catelli one.
Pasta (it was spaghetti )
Baking dish

Pan sear your chicken thighs with the garlic and a nice dusting of basil, and some salt and pepper.
Place it in the baking dish and spoon some tomato sauce over the chicken pieces with a wee bit extra between. Don't use TOO much.
Bake the chicken until you are sure its done inside. While its baking boil your pasta.
Remove the chicken from the baking dish. It should be swimming in sauce now! Put the pasta in and and place the chickes pieces on top ( they should have a nice coating of the sauce baked onto the top when you took them out of the dish for the pasta to go in). Now top it all off with cheese and bake it again intil the sauce is bubbling up through the pasta and the cheese is all melty and delicious.
Serve with a veggie side dish or salad.

I spent all of yesterdays knitting trying aghain to make a mitten.
Again I must rip. ARGH! Very frustrating.
Ben had an appointment with his play therapist Sheila Ostroff today. OH my gods this woman is go great. What a genius in working with Ben.
The travel to and from the appointment is fraught with stress as we are always trying to beat the clock...get there on time and get home in time for Cameron and lunch. The parking sitch at the Montmorency Metro Terminal is INSANE!!!!!!!!! As in there is nowhere near enough. They have a finished parking facility (full) and some road side spots and then the overflow FILLS to bursting a really big empty lot riddled with big trenches and rocks and humps and bumps and lakes (not puddles) and MUD. It was iffy as to whether I would be able to maneuver the car OUT of the lot when we got back from Montreal thats how much more crowded it had become while we were gone. Insane I tell you. I'm gonna have to start leaving at 7:15 or earlier and drive us in in the crazed traffic because the metro takes longer than it takes me to drive home afterwards and I just don't have the time at that end...or find a lunch time placement for Cammie so I can stop wigging out about my abandoned child waiting for me.
The stress exausted me further than my semi sleepless night had thus far. Once we got home (Cameron had been waiting for us for several minutes by then unable to get into the house), and I fed the kids ate lunch, took them back to school I crashed so very hard on my sofa. Then afterschool Cammie had a Dentist appointment. Yay no cavities. Its a wonder.
So I will veg tonight in front of the boob tube. To knit..or not to knit...that is my only question.

The Blues

When I was a kid I remember distinctly loving, with passion, the colour sky blue. Ask many kids their specific favourite colour and you will sometimes hear "sky blue". What is it about this colour that appeals to kids? I think its this: innocence and exuberance. This colour is all about openess and sunshine, yeah? and thats kids.
So I will stop with the !!BLUE!!. I am embracing the blue and how happy its making my guy to have his room the colour HE picked out. How he is owning his blue. How his room has gone from depressing cave to bright happy space. It actually looks bigger (duh..no surprise but still...)!

I'm not done yet. Like I said, trim needs doing and his blinds put up. HM wants to remove the carpet (The FINAL uninstallment you might say) to reveal the parquet underneath (I hope its the same as the rest anyways). Then Ben will be taken to pick out a new comforter and maybe some supa-cool posters. I also want to get him a nice big bulletin board for over his desk and maybe some kind of organiser thingies and shelving for all his junks (dictionary/pencils/etc..etc..etc)so that his desktop is accessible for his work or whatever. A new lamp may also be in order for the bedside. When we are done this will be HIS room...not just the place where he sleeps and keeps stuff.

ARGH

I had a cheery happy Wednesday posting and accidentally erased it. #$%^^%###$%^%^&*~
So, in point form:
Started green mittens ...had pithy observations about dpns and knitting in the round obsession but oh well for that....
Pushing Daisies: Quirky show...last night Emerson Cod PI was knitting on the show...had observations and giggles about that..oh well...also LOVE Kristin Chenoweth as Olive Snook.
Ugh...this just is so not as good as it was.

Tuesday

(Gratuitous cat photo since I have nothing new in the way of pictures. Meet Miss Kitty! )

Today I have already slapped on that second coat of !!BLUE!! paint. I can't help it...when I look at those walls its is so very blue in capital letters with many exclamation points. Ben loves it. Next comes the trim work but I can more or less put the room back together whilst waiting for the gumption/paint curing and painter's tape purchase.

I also folded 3 loads of laundry that I'd managed to get clean and dry while sick this weekend. More is currently washing and drying. There is this afternoons fun and games. Boo Yah.

Also gotta go get some soup veggies and stuffs to make the chicken goop soup I started last night by making the stock. Chopping and simmering in my near future as well it would appear.

I turned the heel on Jessie's On-Line sock last night and am on gusset knittingI must say I am very pleased with the heel. Hope they fit her.

Happy Thanksgiving etc

I am thankful that I am feeling MUCH better. Still some congestion but nothing I can't handle.
Yesterday I did the cutting in on Ben's room and then had a wee lay down to recover. i just couldn't rest easy though because I knew rollering would be so fast and I was so close to being DONE. So up I got and went at it again and am pleased to report that coat one of the Oh My Gods BLUE is on the walls of Ben's room. He picked this shade of blue that I swear is the same as the Crayola Crayon colour Sky Blue. A very....cheerful...colour to be sure but holy moly thats a lotta blue. I tried to coach him into a softer shade but no dice. At least its lighter than that danged terracotta dark rust colour that was on the walls so his room will be less cave like.
I was going to do the second coat today and still might. It won't take long at all but I also have a chicken brining in the fridge for supper. We are not big turkey eaters in this house. Usually only at Christmas.
Wanna make an awesome roasted chicken(or tutkey)? Start out by brining. I just use heavily salted water (sea salt) though there are many recipes out there for using herbs etc. I like to brine overnight but a few hours is better than nothing.
After brining, I then mix together olive oil, minced garlic (LOTS), powdered poultry herbs( don't be stingy), salt and pepper and rub it all over the bird inside and out and pour the left over in it and on it. I don't tend to stuff a chicken but if you do , save some of the olive oil mix for after stuffing and then pour it over the bird in the pan.
Tented with foil, roast breast DOWN at 350 until the 3/4 done point then remove the foil and baste the bird with pan juices a few times between this point and done-ness. You should end up with a juicy brown tasty chicken to serve. I find roasting a bird breast down results in breast that is really juicy and flavourful rather than dry. If this offends your bird roasting sensibilities you could do it your own way or flip the bird at the 3/4 point for the bastings and browning.
HM has declared he is super sick of chicken because we eat it fairly often (The kids like it) BUT if I make it like this he comes back for seconds. Cameron declares it "delithiouth" (he has a lisp) .
Happy Thanksgiving/Monday everyone.

Sunday and Human Again

I slept more this weekend than I thought I could. And I am GOOD at sleeping. Sleep and decongestant and hot baths with cold relief stuff in them and ibuprofen for the feeling that my head was going to explode from the sinus pressure...these all helped. Today I feel human. I am breaking into a bit of a sweat now from the effort of typing but that might pass.
I may even get to start painting Ben's room today if this holds up.

Friday

Today the kids have no school and sice its Thanksgiving weekend no school Monday as well. Thought "Ahh! Perfect day for the trip to the gov't run clinic for prescription renewals etc and not having to miss school!" Then I woke up sick. Waaaaaaaaahhhhhh...
Made it back from CLSC to say goodbye and mucho gracias to Marla. She should be nearing NS by now if not actually in the province already. After she left i went to bed until it was time to go back to the CLSC at our appointed time. Afterwards we all came home (oh yeah HM stayed home to help me with the francophones)and while HM did work related stuff and the kids Played I slept..and slept... Got up at 3:30pm and was back down at 5pm until 7:30 pm. Is now 9:42 pm and I'm getting tired again.
Stupid colds and flu season. This sucks.
No more news on Ben's room obviously but the primer is dry and paint is ready when I am.

Thursday morning/Wednesday Night Pikkies

Wednesday night with the Montreal Knitters!! Some got cut out of the picture because I suck as a photographer so i apologise...but I took a pic from either end of the row to try and get everyone.
Smiley gal in pink shirt on your right is Robyn of Robyn's Nest. She is smiling because she made money off me and Marla last night..hahahahaha She such a yarn crack pusher.

Smiley gal in white and grey is Sarah. She is such an amazing knitter it makes me sick...love her but really hate her. i so jealous.


The people at the very end of the row weren't actually with us (man and woman)....maybe they were there illicitly and having an affair and THIS is the photographic proof!!! Oooooohhh the drama. Good thing I suck as a photographer.
Knit designer Veronik Avery had time to join us tonight. I tried to find her new book at Chapters but couldn't find it. Will need to look at another store. I think its called Knitting Classic Style or Classic Knits or something like that. My fave pattern by her in Interweave Knits magazine is the NDG Sweater.

Last night I finished the Fake Isle hat!! This morning I soaked it in SOAK (Aqueous scent..I think that the name of the scent) and then worked the pointy bit the developed at the top and had me concerned because I didn't want the hat to make me look like I had a nipple on top of my head no matter how beautifully patterned. Now it is drying and hopefully will never again get the pointy bump thing at the top.
As you can see its a glorious sunny day here and Marla is already dipping into the primer for Ben's room. have a great day.
PS: Ben's red Betta fish, Fighter, died last night. His toilet bowlside funeral will be today at noon when Ben comes home for lunch.

Home Improvement Nightmare.....

Nothing ever seems to go smoothly when one decides to improve or change something in their home. We want to paint ben's room because I don't thing dark terracotta is a really fun kiddy colour. He has decided on a blue shade (hello Crayola Sky Blue like paint chip) and though its not a shade I would like its his room. At least I talked him out of red.
The problem is that the paint on his walls started peeling off. It began with a scratch from a bookcase or something next to his closet in this photo...
.......And some patches started on the wall next to his bedroom door thanks to his desk edges.
Then a couple of patches on the window wall.
Using razor blade window scraper Marla, Ben , and Cameron have peeled/scraped ALOT of the terracotta paint (and its PRIMER) off these originally horribly blue walls. Walls that are eerily almost exactly the same colour as we are going to paint the room. Freaky, non?
See the paint patch face on the wall? Those are patches of terracotta paint that have decided to stick and they make a face that looks like it is as horrified as I am about this Frakking mess.

I LOVE THIS SONG!!!!

Code Monkey by Jonathan Coulton http://www.jonathancoulton.com/store/downloads
I heard it on Cast-On Podcast and can not get it out of my head. Love love love.....
Go have a listen I swear you will NOT be sorry.

Another reason why I am a good catch

(cue Barry White voice) I can make a very sexy cappucino. Look at that head of foam...look at the cinnamon and sugar sprinkled on top... yeah baby.

ssssslllllllllllrrrrrrrrppppppp
aaaaahhhhhhhhh


mmm-mmmmmmmm
Thats good sexy cappucino

Photos to Appease The Barb

First I shall mesmerise you with my glowy eyes and my stripey furriness.......
Follow me, human slave...To your DOOM...or to the cat dish whicever comes first...
Stinky goodness from a can...you must buy more stinky goooodddnnneeeeesssssssss............

Calls...

This morning, a day I went back to bed after shuffling the kids out the door, the phone decided to ring. First it was Marla. She announced she was packing up and hitting the highway today instead of two weeks from now, if that was ok. Alrighty...
This also meant that Barb wouldn't be able to ride shotgun on the trip here as we had hoped because of the short notice. And it also means that Ben's room may not get painted because the prep work still isn't done ( see above 2 week timeline).
So today I am refreshing guest bed linens and vacuuming and Febreezing and maybe bathing the dog ( she smells doggy and it doth offend some) and making the kids take their clean laundry to their rooms. I should clean the fish tank too but just because it needs doing and I have been putting it off.
Anyhoo, thats about it for today near as I can tell. Preparing for a guest and the usual Monday junk like laundry and vacuuming. I am so exciting.
A big shout out to Suldog too.....love your comments.

Yet another Sunday

And the end of my 39th September....seeems like there was more of them than that but, NOPE, only 39.
Today I attempted to do the two socks on one circular needle and it went badly. Very badly. 3 Times. We will not be doing the 2 socks on one circular because A) after 4 or 5 attemps in all, this is not a time saver technique for me so far, and B) Me no likey. Then I cast on with DPNs and thought I'd do the 5 needle thing for a little change of pace. Me no likey. Awkward and too many points to dodge. Back to 4 DPNs and very comfy with that thank you very much. The newest set of socks is again for my big sister and is being made with her skein of On Line yarn. I have a skein of this yarn in my stash from winning a contest at Effilochee and now that I am working with it I am considering giving it away. Will not buy it. Me no likey. Its very pretty but in that fine range that I really don't enjoy (like Opal and Confetti). I am thinking that after this pair and her next pair I need a serious sock vacation. Scarves are starting to look good. Something not needing DPNs.
This weekend I replaced both toilet seats with these ones that are labeled "easy clean". If I made a seat called easy clean you bet your boob job that magical cleansing gnomes would be involved. These seats mearly feature these hinges that unlock so's you can take the seat off without unscrewing the bolts and clean more thoroughly quicker. I know...its fascinatinging to me TOO! The old seats had brass hardware and were the bathroom cleaning bane of my existance what with rusting of bolts and greening of the brass. The bolts on the downstairs actually had to be CUT off to free the seat. Now there are horrible abrasions on the toilet that can't come off but by Gods I now have easy clean seats and we will never go back.
Went to Chapters and bought two books. Book 3 of a series by Mike Stackpole and Crazy Aunt Purl's "Divorced, Drunk, And Covered In Cat Hair". The Stackpole novel was a disappointment but Crazy Aunt Purl is always fun. She kinda speaks to every woman on some level with her experiences even if one has never been divorced. Its a quick read..chapters are sometimes only a page or two...but one doesn't read Laurie Perry for brain exercise. You read her for entertainment and a feeling of "Yeah I know exactly what you mean". Her journey from married to single contains a lot of what any woman has experienced in being her own person (budgetting, shoe love, self medicating, crying on the floor, cat wrangling...) and her sense of humour is just so gosh darn cute you want to have her in your pocket so's you can pet her.
Anyhoo, thats it for weekend stuffs. Gotta make up for lost time from the failed technique adventure.

Gotta start carrying cash....

...so that I don't leave a paper trail. Had another small "falling down" at Effiloche tonight. Why oh why oh why do Ginette and Celine stock such scrumptious stuffs??! It will be the end of me.
So, I knew I would stash enhance but was thoroughly undecided as to what. I browsed then gave up and sit and knit and chatted with the other fine folk. Then nearing time to go, I gave browsing another shot. What would I want......hmmm.....well needed a bottle of SOAK so grabbed one of them....perused the wools and alpacas...then hit upon the Mirasol Hacho again. This is a wool from Peru and is supposed to share profits with some organization in Peru for kids. I'm fuzzy on the details, no pun intended (wool...fuzzy..get it?). I have a skein from Robyn's Nest and like the feel of it.
All of a sudden I am struck dumb (as in mute not stupid...or maybe its the other way around..) by this amazingly gaudy colourway loaded with oranges, greens, mauve, and yellows and a pale blue that is I swear exactly the same shade as my winter jacket. Or close enough. Suddenly I am scooping out all the skeins (4) of this colourway(#300 or Tutti Frutti), envisioning a scarf or hat with matching fingerless mitts to go with my powder blue jacket. I love it. It make me happy just looking at it for some reason. Now imagine in the winter when everything is bleah how happy these eyesearing colours will make me!
Then I got a yarn cutter pendant because I think they're cool and I have regretted not buying one in Halifax in August when I saw one.
Standing at the cash I sing songed at Ginette to "Come take my money before the yarn fumes wear off...!"
It must have been those German chocolate marshmallow cookie thingies Danna gave me. Sugar and yarn.... financially lethal mix.

Ooops

I was tinkering with my links sidebar and one thing led to another and I clicked the wrong thing and now this is what my blog looks like and my links sidebar is GONE. I am so pissed off.
Such a techno loser I am.

Thursday

Its raining today which I am not complaining about after the heat this week. My gardens are all quite dry for late September and I have been neglecting them terribly, making mental notes to go buy bags of compost and soil but then not doing it. End of the month pay is coming and I will do it then. Need lots. Its what I do in the spring and fall....lay down more dirt. Will I plant more bulbs this year? Not sure. Last years were a success thats for real, so maybe I should...it was a great spring pick me up.
The Fake Isle hat from MagKnits is wonderful to work on. The pattern is not so hard that I feel a breakdown coming on and a couple rows here and there actually give results that can be seen. Love the pattern so far and will want to do it again someday. My beef with the Noro is the way it feels, the difficulty I had casting on with it, and its thready over spun parts tangle which I find irritating. The colour graduation is lovely though and I will see how it washes up before I make the final verdict on whether I will use it again. It may be worth it in the end...?
Today i was sooo tired that I went back to bed after the kids headed for school. Stayed up too late watching TV since its premier week (FINALLY) and was tossy and twitchy thanks to naps in the afternoons. Tuesday i caught the new show Reaper instaed of season premier of House. I am tired of House. Reaper was funny ...21 yr old doofus finds out on his birthday that his parents sold his soul to the Devil before he was born and now he is satan's employee, returning escaped bad guys to Hell. That part has been done befor eobviously but not like this and its funny to watch this guy and his pals fumble their way through it. I especially liked Sock chasing the pack of dogs through the store with a leaf blower like some sort of maniac.
Last night I watched Bones and CSI:NY. Bones was great. I like that show. She is such a geek that its kinda funny and the cases tend toward the interesting. CSI: NY was fine. No big exclamations of enjoyment from me. I was never a big fan of it anyway but HM is. I like Las Vegas best.
Tonight will be Grey's Anatomy. Was losing touch with it last season but want to try the new season on for size. Enjoyed the Sandra Oh storyline of being set free at the altar....how will that be played out?
Anyways, thats my inanity of the day.

Number One, Status Report

Aye Cap'n.....
Couch potato kid is in position for optimal TV watching...
Fake Isle Hat (Magknits pattern, Noro Kureyon and Bernat Lana yarns, 4.25 mm 16 inch circular) is progressing though colours are not exactly as shown here....Not much progress in the Noro affection though...


And Jitterbug Socks (Jewel colourway) are nearing completion even with fuck ups and humidity.......


All in all, a very good knitting day.

In Love

Are these pretty socks or WHAT??

The Vinnland pattern over on The AntiCraft.

So in love with their vineyness...

Lead

Get The Lead Out Campaign http://www.usw.ca/program/content/4467.php?lan=en

Holy crap. Was watching Canada AM this morning and there was a segment on how lead is being found in MANY child targetted items from foreign manufacturers like those in China where labour is cheap and the products questionabkle. Apparently you can get lead testing kits to check your children's toys, lunch boxes, BABY BIBS that have plastic backing... Noone is safe from this. Who would ever expect that when buying that pack of plastic backed baby bibs that baby will chew on , you risk poisoning that baby.
United SteelWorkers is one of the driving forces behind this campaign and consider testing your kids toys, lunch boxes etc...basically anything made of plastic from China. I think yuou can get tests from hardware stores but the campaign is handing them out too.
This is very disturbing.

Muuuuuuuch better

And much less in hate with the universe today. My cure? I cleaned and did laundry and listened to Cast On while I folded laundry and then went to store and bought obscene amounts of chips and stuff and ate a whole tublette of spinach dip with chips after I got home and then took a nap. Oh and I took 2 super potentcy B complex stress vitamins too.

My darling sister called to ask "WTF?" after reading yesterday's posting. LOL I was much better by then so we had a laugh over it and she appologised for not having any Valium cocktails for me. She is forgiven.

Remember a few weeks ago I made little person slippers and I was sending them to grand niece Annika? Well, she got them! And they seem to fit good!!! I stole this picture from her mommy's blog. How cute, eh? Her mom's blog is She Said, She Said if you are interested.

HM is home sick. He's been ailing all weekend and not sleeping hardly at all (complete opposite of me) and thinks he will stay home today and try recovering some. His fever is broken he says and last night he got more sleep than he has lately. On the couch in the family room far far away from She Who Snores....Loudly.

Hmmmmmm...now I hear the shower going...maybe he's going to work afterall....

Its that time again...

I am angry...I have rage...I want to cry..I want to be ALONE with NOONE ever speaking to me. This include kids, spouse, dog, cats and fish. Everything I try to accomplish hits a brick wall (Knit a hat, mitten, fix a chair....)and I am plenty ready to give up. I am tired of having to THINK for OTHER PEOPLE on an almost constant basis (if there is no garbage bag in the bin, do not put garbage into the bin...get a fucking bag, line the bin and THEN dispose of said trash. Is this really that fucking difficult?? Likewise if you pee on the toilet seat...wipe it off.)
I am sick to death of laundry, cooking, DUST, wiping up counters, floors counter floors counters floors, toilets and floors and counters. Did I mention the floors? The Counters? The dust in this house is driving me right up the wall. seriously. i could wipe every fucking surface of this house daily and still there would be more dust when I turn around. Is it any wonder that I give up and try to sleep and eat my existance away? Except I can't because then someone would bitch that they have no clean socks or underwear or that the house is a pig sty. Which it isn't but today I seriously feel like it is and in some areas thats true even though its has been vacuumed and dusted not so very long ago.
Yes its that time again. PMS . Just hand me a Valium cocktail will you and then fuck right off. Thats a dear.

Dammit

This morning while the kids ate breakfast I knit on Jessie's sock. This is something I do almost daily. We are all in the room together, me in my comfy beat up chair and the boys at the table..sometimes HM is in his chair across from me with his cell phone thingy checking calls and emails while eating his breakfast or sometimes he is reading, and I can monitor the kids keeping peace or laughing at jokes. The radio is on and today the sun was beaming through my new window coverings. The heel flap was done according to my measuring tape and so I picked up along the heel, knit across the instep, picked up the other side and was trying to distribute what seemed to be a lot of stitches. And it was a lot of stitches. BECAUSE I'M AN IDIOT! I forgot to TURN the heel before picking up. I could have cried right then. At least I calmly put it down untiol I am emotionally able to pick back that row of instep knitting with patience. I didn't want to load sock with all the negative vibes I was projecting. Also, I could have divided the stitches between heel flap and instep with more intelligence and I will put this down to being a moron AND this being my first sock where I carry the ribbing down the top of the foot. The Purls don't wanna line up so I have to fudge around. Pain in my arse and not intelligent knitting.
Starting to get a complex about not reaching Barb by phone for a few days. Either I have done something wrong or she's really busy. I am paranoid so I think its me but I'm pretty sure she's busy. Paranoia is an ugly thing.
We as a couple in charge of family decisions..when I say we I mean me since it is kinda up to me though we did discuss the subject and decided that we won't be going home to NS in December before Xmas. There are several reasons. Weather, long drive, were there all summer, summer cost ALOT, its stressful to travel so close to Xmas and it almost always interferes with Cammie's birthday, we have done the trip the last two Xmases since we moved away, and if I decide I can't miss it I have to do the trip without a co-driver because HM has said he's not doing it this year. He doesn't see why I don't fly out and do the family thing alone but I don't do it just for me. The boys need to stay in contact with their family, I think. But since we never made such a rigorous schedule of visiting the Quebec family as we have the NS family, I think its time to let go a little bit. To not do so would be a tad hypocritical for me.
Speaking of visiting but not in a dammit way, Marla is supposed to drive out in a week or two and will stay a few days and then continue on to her SILs in Ontario to visit. This will be her third visit since we moved here which I think is a testament to friendship that we are willing to travel to spend some time together and keep the link alive. We will be painting Ben's room.

Ugh

Gods dog farts stink!!
BLOSSOM!!!!!!!

Call me Crazy

but I would really enjoy this : http://www.mycruiseplanner.us/rw/group/Sea+Socks+2008/sailing#277
If I had a bazillion dollars I would so be taking my favorite knit pals on this cruise. I wouldn't enjoy it alone so much but...Or maybe I would...You have a week to get to know folk and make new friends from all over the world.. And heaven knows I'm not exactly stand offish though I think sometimes Husband Man wishes I was. Especially in the city, at restaurants etc... where for some reason I sometimes talk to strangers. OR strangers talk to me and I talk back. Its a curse, this inate friendliness. Even though I really hate a lot of people just because.. such a contradiction I am.
What was I talking about?.................

Finally....

This is the end product of todays busy-ness. My morning room finally has a new window treatment!! Made with my own two hands since the drapery fairies failed to come.





I searched for blinds in the right size...no dice. Blinds of the correct size would have to be made/ordered and I just don't have the organizational skills and budget for that.

So, Monday while at Walmart getting Cammie a new back pack I grabbed 5 meters of crumply off white sheer fabric.
If i'd been smart and organised I would have measured the windows and, you know, PLANNED the whole thing. But since it was me and I was fed up I just marched in there, got what might be enough and left.

The first panel gave me MUCH encouragement that I was on the right track. And I actually didn't make it too short! That has happened before. I am most certainly not a talented seamstress.
This fact is nailed home when , even though I measured several times to approximate panels of the same length, the panel at the other end of the bay window is a few inches LONGER than the first one.




But anything is better than these beat off dirty blinds.
Look at photo number one and then come backk here. See? Strategic plant and knitting needle caddy placement m,akes it so's you can't really TELL that I fugged it up!
To hang the sheers at the same angles as the windows I used that spring cord curtain rod that you hook up. Artful arrangement of gathered fabric hides the hooks.

My photos suck, but trust me...its so much nicer! And it only took me a couple of hours! Well...5 months or more plus a couple hours.

aaaaaaaaarrrrrrrr

It be International Talk Like A Pirate day, aaaaarrrrr. There be lots of piratical goodness on the web t'day so fill yer booties with that. Har! Or I'll make ye walk the plank.

Tuesday

Today was picture day at school for both boys ( they looked so handsome...sigh) and also THE DAY that Cameron got his retainers. His teeth are even worse than Ben's so his top retainer now is one that is cemented into place whilst the bottom one is removable for cleaning and adjustments. In about 3 months, depending on progress of the correction, his top retainer will be removed to be replaced with a removable one.
To say this has been traumatic would be pretty accurate. He came home for lunch hysterical about the whole situation. He is having trouble swallowing, chewing, drinking and talking. He was frustrated and probably a little scared. What if it stays like this? What if it never gets better? What if he never gets the hang of having these things stuck in his gob and is doomed to applesauce and slurring forever???? Which, he being of the glass empty variety when upset, was certain it would.
That top retainer is a real bugger. Its bonded to his teeth, covering his molars with molded "plastic?" about 1/8th of an inch thick (maybe less) making for an awkward chewing surface not to mention difficulty biting with his front teeth since now they can't seem to meet to close the deal, so to speak. The metal adjustable part is at the roof of his mouth so now his tongue can't press against the palate for swallowing etc. So, I will be trying to make easily chewed food for awhile. I am glad its not me and he has my sympathy.
I feel like I am getting a head cold. I have that irritated nose feeling. Will go grab a zinc tablet in a minute but wanted to mention that the Jitterbug sock is about to have its heel flap started. i made good progress today after folding last weeks laundry and listening to back episodes of Cast On. I just finished episode 50...slowly catching up to the rest of the knitting 'verse.

Recipes

My Coquilles St. Jacques ( seafood casserole):
Thawed-ish Scallops and Shrimp(peeled and deveined but raw) to make 4 cups
Small onion finely chopped
Mushrooms, sliced ( 8 0z package)
White wine.... maybe 1/2 cup? I just sloshed it in.
Lemon juice (a tbsp or so)
Cream ( 1/4 cup or so...I used the 10% coffee cream stuff i had onhand)
Butter
Garlic ( maybe a teaspoons worth)
Flour ...2-3 Tablespoons
Tarragon..1/2 tsp or so
non bland shredded cheese ( 1 cup or so) I used a taco blend of colby, monterey jack and chedder. You could use chedder and parmesan or a gruyere...
Mashed potatoes.

Heat a pan and add a pat or so of butter for sauteeing the onion and garlic. When the onion is soft add the shell fish and sautee until the shrimp are pink and the pan has lotsa liquid. Add lemon juice and wine during this phase. Now, strain the contents of the pan, reserving the liquid and setting onion shellfish blend aside. Return pan to stove, heat and throw in some more butter. Sautee the mushrooms until cooked and set aside. Again, put butter in this now very tasty pan, melt it and toss in the flour, stirring to make a roux (look it up). Using a wisk, return the pan liquids to the pan to make this roux into a sauce. Add some cream. Return the fish and mushrooms to the pan and add tarragon. Simmer 5 minutes very gently. Add the cheese. Throw in some pepper too. Taste it and adjust seasonings to your taste. The sauce should be of a nice thickness.
NOW put this all in a casserole dish and top with mashed potatoes. If the sauce is too thin the potatoes will totally sink. A little bit of sinkage is tolerable. Piping on the potatoes is a great idea but who really does that? When its all pretty, throw it in the oven under the broiler to brown the potatoes a bit. Serve with veggies of some sort on the side.
Seriously yummy.

Smothered steak:

Steak pieces
steak spice
soya sauce
onion
water
butter

Season the steak pieces with the steak spice and brown well in a hot cast iron pan with butter. When browned, put the meat in a dutch oven or roaster. Sautee the onions with butter in the same pan and put them in the roaster with the meat when softened. Deglaze the pan with water and soya sauce and add to the roaster.
the meat should be almost covered with liquid when you cover it and put it in a 325 degree oven to cook for a few hours until fork tender. Do not let it dry out! Top up with water as needed.
When ready, remove the meat and create a gravy with the dark juices in the roaster by adding some flour and water. Serve with mashed potatoes for a real down home comfort meal.

A small "Falling Down"

As the Yarn Harlot would say when she "accidentally" buys more yarn. I went to Effilochee last night to a WARM welcome which was lovely. Dana was there and gave me hugs as did Daniel and Ginette....oh it was lovely. I got a couple of rows on Cam's sweater done, showed off Jessie's sock and fondled ALOT of new stock in the shop. Oh my Gods there is so much new stuff I could barely take it in. Rowan, Mirasol, and Mission Falls, and Ultra Alpaca Light and new baby alpaca that oooooooohh if you slipped your hand into the cubby and just fondled...(sound like Homer Simpson when her drools)...the softness is unbelievable. Colour colour EVERYWHERE!! Cashmere!!!! Oh the wondrous beauty of it all.
So as you recall I had a slight mission for stash enhancement for mitten making. I bought 2 skiens of Naruko superwash wool. Now the thing is Naruko isn't very soft ...BUT this is mittens not undies so thats ok . Also the colours are faily "meh" as in blah. BUT they are 100 gram skeins... I got and olivey green and burnt pumpkin that went nicely together and then for the new Mission Falls superwash ( 50 gram balls and soft soft and amazing lovely colours) I selected one skein of an aubergine purple. These three colours will make stunning mittens together! Very beautiful BUT not all girly. Machine washable warmness for my guys.
Dana begged to see the Fake Isle hat that I was going to do this summer...problem is that I didn't do it!! OOOPS! She loves the look of it but wants to know how hard it will be before committing....so under her pressure..I mean sweet guidance ...I bought a skein of Noro Silk Garden.
Noro gets raves from knitters all over the web. Its ..nice...but I may never knit with it again. Lets just say i like the idea of Noro with its colours and textures but its kinda bitchy to work with. Also...pattern called for Kureyon not silk garden...WHOOPS. Hope it all works out anyways with my black worsted for the "fake fair isle". Silk doesn't have the elasticity of wool. I may need to switch it for a skein of Kureyon. Anyways, I cast it on last night before bed and am on round 3 of the ribbing.
So current WIPs are : Jessie's sock, Fake Isle hat, Cammie's raglan sweater, fixing one thrummed mitten and making its mate (oooh and Ginette plans on having more roving come in October...hee hee), that damn bamboo mobius I never finished..... At least I'm not bored!
I may go back to Effilochee tomorrow and take Ben with me. He wants to learn to knit and maybe just sitting awhile with other knitters and trying it himself will encourage him. Ginette said that they found that people were learning better informally than in the beginner class setting so this is what I will try with him. Less pressure to sit through a class. Yet it will make him more likely to try for a longer time than here at home...perhaps. One can only try.
While HM has the couch potato at a sports lesson, I will try and encourage the attentionless to focus.

About Emu Oil

http://www.highcascadeemus.com/about_emu_oil.html

A question about emu oil made me want to address the subject here and I apologise if the use of emu oil offends any vegans or PETA members.
While I was in Hawaii I made friends with a very beautiful woman named Amelie, the daughter of a client to my husband. This chick is seriously pretty! Tall, flowing hair, big brown eyes, wicked sense of humour (we got along great but drove her dad and HusbandMan crazy on the drive to the big crater). Her biggest beauty secret....emu oil! She had heard about it from a friend who knew lots about it and found it was working wondefully for her. Amelie suffers from psoriasis and has to be on a drug therapy for it because its so bad, but she found the emu oil soothing as well.
Its been used in Australia for millenia by aboriginals as a medical treatment for various ailments and is know to have anti inflammatory properties. Current research has it being a good source of Omega 6 (or was that omega 3?) essential fatty acids, and highly penetrating when applied to skin.
Anyways, I have tried lotions and potions and creams and stuffs and still am getting eye wrinkles, forehead wrinkles and a lot of the lotions and potions don't agree with my skin. Emu oil doesn't make me break out and after one month I swear the wrinkles were reduced around my eyes. I buy mine ( and its a " produit du Quebec") at the local health food store in a wee pump action bottle that I appreciate for its ability for me to limit what I use to a drop at a time...one drop goes pretty far. I apply and for a few minutes it can seem pretty oily but then its like there was nothing applied. I especially like it as a night time treatment for my eyes and lips.
So there you have it. Emu oil...the rendered and refined fat from a bird... beauty in a bottle. Could be worse...could be sheep's placenta or urine, right????? Or the blood of young beautiful virgins...? What a woman will do for pretty skin......sigh

Today

Today I spent the entire day thinking it was Thursday. Even though I knew HM would be back from his trip tonight and that was scheduled to be Wednesday, I still thought it was Thursday until about 5 pm. How sad and pathetic is that?
I was knitting a mitten from a pattern found online for "generic mitten" and even though I was only about 2 rows thumb base I ripped it all out. It just wasn't what i wanted. What I NEED to do is fix thrummed mitt number one and then make it a partner. What I need to do is work on Jessie's second Jitterbug sock (its started) and that would go wicked fast if HM would take me on a nice longish car trip. Yes, these are things that need to be done...but I want to do something else. Maybe cast on Cammie's sweater which I have sorta planned out on paper but need to wind the yarn for?
No...what I really wanna make is generic mittens so that once I master the method I can make cool funkadelic mittens. For this I had thought to use my stash BUT stash does not include superwash other than sock yarn and I am NOT making sock yarn mittens. I want really warm but totally washable mittens. Robyn's Nest has Cascade washable but the colours are not exactly masculine-ish. Ginette has MUCH super wash in both DK and worsted at Effiloche and I am hoping to drop in on Friday night for some stitchin' time. Perhaps I could wind yarn and cast on Cammie's cozy sweater to work on there AND buy some superwash wool for mittens? But that would lead to stash enlargement .....hmmmm..... I fail to see the down side of this plan..........

Happy Things

I was reading Crazy Aunt Purl this morning and she mentioned her "Ca Buy Me Love" list and I thought...hmmmm. I should have a happy list. Things that just make me happy to use or whatever. So here goes:

Favorite Perfumes; I don't just have one. i'm so fickle! Some women have one perfume their whole life and its their "Signature Scent". I just can't though I did try. I was a Shalimar gal for years BUT my body chemistry changed and now to apply Shalimar to my body is a recipe for "Whats That Funky Smell??!" . I CAN spray it on my clothes and thus combat the body thing but its just not the same. Currently I have 2 perfumes/colognes/ eau de toilettes/whatevers" Bambou from Yves Rocher and Wisteria from Crabtree and Evelyn. I am open to others though cuz like I said..I am a fickle bitch and cannot commit to one.

Favorite Household Product: Hertel Concentrated cleaner. I use it everywhere. I use spray bottles from other products that ran out or bottles that I bought and mix up my own spray cleaner with Hertel, water, and essential oils like tea tree and lavender. Its makes for easy spot clean-ups between deep cleanings. Works great on glass and other surfaces and is biodegradeable.

Favorite body wash: Well, again i am fickle. I was using Neutrogena Rainbath because I love the smell, like Pears soap. Its a clean, unisex, non-perfumey smell. LOVE it. Now though, my skin is complaining! It must be age or the exposure to the elements this summer, but my legs and arms are getting crinkly!!! EEEK!!! I scratched at an intch and holy dry skin on my legs and arms and then I looked closer and they were no longer smooth and suppl...wtf? When'd that happen?? So now I am showering with the Dove body wash oil for very dry skin (the pink bottle) and trying to remember to moisturize.
Fave Moisturizer for body: Body Shop Coconut Body Butter.
Fave Moisturizer for face : Pure emu oil.
Fave Moisturizer for hands: Tacyderm
" " " " """""""""""""" Lips: Blistex ointment
These all work really really well.
Which brings us to Hair .
Fave hair conditioner for damaged, fucked up hair: I had two...One real pricey from the salon and one from the drug store. I forget the names but they work good without making the hair all limp.
Fave Hair Product right now: A Got 2 B product for curls. Its sprays on wet hair and doesn't get crunchy while encouraging my curl. Its great but makes my head itch later.
Fave Lipstick: A moiturizing Revlon colourstay. Stays on great but doesn't get too gunky or dried out on the lips.
Fave mascara: That one Queen Latifah hawks from Covergirl.
Favorite sock yarn : Colinette Jitterbug
Favorite needles: bamboo, various brands but not the ones from Zellers. Too dull.
Favorite jammies: flannel bottoms and tank tops. Comfy!
Favorite Kitchen Shortcut: Jarred garlic and ginger.
Favorite Laundry Detergent: Tide!!! But i almost never buy it because its so expensive. I love the smell of Tide powder but with the HE washer I use liquids and ones that are much less expensive.
Favorite Dryer Sheets; I don't use them often but the one I currently like is a President's Choice with Lavender scent. Mmmmmm soothing.

Thus concludes my day to day things that make me happier.

No Good Knitting Today

Today was a day that said "Do not knit. No good can come of this if you do so!" and I pretty much held out until late this afternoon. But then the lure of the thrums kept beckoning and I so wanted to finish the first mitten so I had Ben try it on and judged the thumb placement, after having finished the body of the mitten. I folowed the instructions for picking up stitches and , gulp, cutting the yarn between and working the thumb and its thrums to completion. Only....
The thumb is TOO SHORT!
Then after that disappointed finish I picked up the sock and diligently worke dthe rounds and toe decreases until i was ready to graft the toe shut. But whats this I noticed...? A DROPPED STITCH 3 inches back?? Rip rip rip........
So...after a few hours of knitterly endeavor I am truly no further ahead and in the case of the mitten, I need to deconstruct the thumb end and continue it until its actually long enough so I am possibly further behind, depending on your perspective.
I am perturbed and look forward to these kids going to bed so I can drown my sorrows in Simon Pegg and ice cream.

Oh My Gods...

Did you SEE that performance by Britney Spears at the VMAs?? Holy shit Batman thats some bad (as in very not good) dancing and lip synching. WTF?? Aren't award shows your chance to totally rock everyone's musical world with your BEST stuff??? A) she can't wear those underwear/bikini costumes with that body now. Please! The competition in the hot body world of pop is way too strong. Yes she looks great after having two kids so close but she does not look shake-your-shit- for the cameras great. Not even close. B) did she even know the steps?? A couple of times she looked unsteady on her heels and almost as if she'd forgotten the steps and was saved by her dancers C) she just QUIT the fake singing...or it was intermittant .

As a come back this was heavy on the crap. If you didn't see it check it out on You Tube. Its like watching a train wreck set to "Gimme More"..also not a very good song.

I think I have a new favorite show!

"Spaced" on Showcase. http://www.spaced-out.org.uk/about-spaced/whatisspaced.shtml
Too funny.

Knittiness on a Sunday

When at Chapters yesterday I got two audio books. See, I LOVE to read and I really enjoy knitting but I cannot do both at the same time. With audio books I am entertained by the story but I accomplish much in the way of knitting. Like:


Progress on the Jitterbug sock. Comfy and surprisingly NOT too big (yay!)
I commenced work on my first thrummed article. Check it out in all its cushy coziness. Its a mitten by the way.

A picture of an awesome Sunday afternoon where I bounced back and forth between projects and made progress on BOTH. Plus baked some cookies from the freezer and made sketti for supper. A very late supper. hee hee But Jane Austin and knitting was worth it baby!

Impatience

I am possibly the most impatient person in the world. It can be very ugly. Its not a good handicap when you are trying to parent. Did you ever notice how freakin' long it takes a kids to do or say anything and how they ask you stuff over and over and over...... Seriously, not a good gig for the impatient.
Also, when someone takes forever to do something that they want your help with...liiiiiike put a boat in the water at a yacht club. This is not good for an impatient person to take part in. Nope...not good at all.
Apparently loud, long suffering sighs are "stressful" for the slow one.
siiiiiiggggghhhhhhhhh

And The Lucky Recipient....

...Of My Child Sized Fuzzy Feet IS..............

ANNIKA!!!!! (cue music and confettii)

Annika is a delightful little girl who is also my grand-niece. Toasty toes to you Annika Harmonica!!!

Oh My

Crazy Aunt Purl has a sweepstakes goin' on! http://www.crazyauntpurl.com/
This should be funny .

Oh..and this too

Still Life Of Sock On Grubby Table . Sorry for the blurriness.

Still Life Of Sock On Grubby Mat.

Now, note how the coloured stripes have been changed to little blocks on the heel and that the darker ones of magenta and purple are on one side whilst the orange and yellows are more to the other. In between are the bluey/green blocks. Funky, yes? Gods how I love Jitterbug .

Because Barb Wants Pictures

Saturday past, we went HERE....

To eat this..oooh sweet yummy corncobbedy goodness.....

And we saw this beautiful maple ALREADY in its fall wardrobe.
This is Ben with his patch of sunflowers. Tres belle , non?

Takin' Back The Knit

Some day this will be ME!!!LOL

How is it possible that I didn't ever notice this funky wee zine?? Maybe cuz its not glossy and massively (sp) over produced? Its possible but it was brought to my attention last night and I am sooooo loving the two back issues I purchased from the publisher/editor/creatrix Jae Steele of the blog Domestic Affair. http://domesticaffair.blogspot.com/

Jae is a holistic nutritionist by profession and is writing a vegan cookbook. Look for it in bookstores sometime in 2008. She's very pretty, funny (reminds me of an old acquaintance back home named Denise), smart as all get out aaaaaannnndddd has personally had time with La Harlot before YH was all famous and shit! WOO HOO. They used to attend the same stitch 'n bitch in TO. Also, there are pieces by Ms Stephanie Pearl-MacPhee IN these back issues of Take Back The Knit http://zinewiki.com/index.php?title=Take_Back_the_Knit . I enjoyed last nights S'n'B so much because of getting these zines (love to read you know), sitting next to the very dry Sarah who made me laugh alot and I am waaaaay jealous of her mad knitting skillz (intarsia fingerles gloves, intrelac hat, fair isle vest, toe up socks and this is just what was on display last night both finished and WIPs.

Robyn of Robyn's Nest http://robynsnest.ca/ was in attendance and delivered me my order. Kadi was there to show her new crack ( first toe up sock and on circs! I am so jealous. Its Kadi that told me about the Charade sock pattern). Speaking of Charade, someone whose name Iforget but she was hugely fun, she had a finished pair and they were glorious in their simple elegance. Me likey muchly. Angela was there and she has a blog but I lost it! HELP! She's a gal from Nfld!!!!! My east coaster fix. Gave me two socks on one circ tutorial that worked for her so wish me less frustrated luck. The always interesting Janet was there first of all of us. She is so brilliantly smart and I really like her. Her voice is amazingly mellow and low. She should have a show on CBC radio. The soon to be married Jenn and creatrix of Muswell and Farmer Fox http://www.ariadneknits.com/patterns/patterns_jennie.html was there even though she has excruciatingly early mornings what with being a nursing student and all. And the sock guru Mona http://knitstricken.blogspot.com/ was in attendance as well. Mona doesn't talk alot but has great presence and if you have a question she may be the expert who has an answer. Remember Embossed Leaves sock pattern in Interweave Knits? That's hers. I showed her my mystery heel on Jessie's Colinette sock. What I did by mistake was Sl 1, K1 the knit rows and Sl 1 P1 the purl rows on the heel flap. What IS this heel flap I wondered because its actually got a really cool effect with this yarn. Mona was baffled. "I think you have come up with something New." she said. Interesting.

I was tired of tiny yarn and needles so I whipped up a down sized Fuzzy Foot slipper. WOW! During 3 1/2 hours of sipping and gabbing I knit an entire item! Think how fast it could be done at home with less distraction??! 28 stitches on 7 mm needles helped. LOL They should shrink up to be preschooler size. I will whip up Numero Dos today.

Do you watch The Shopping Bags? I am watching off and on while sitting here and its actually interesting! I liked the segment about oatmeal. Learned alot and must try steel cut oats sometime. Mmmmmm porridge...doesn't that just whisper comfort and warmth and frosty wholesome mornings?

Hmmmm...what else....gotta go to the post office to mail a pattern for my Mom and a SECRET package to a SECRET recipient....mwahahahahahahahaha

ARRRRGHH

Stupid 2 socks on one needle cast on stupid fucking ARGH!