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?

Changes

I am no longer making 5 pairs of slippers. I am not in love with these slippers so I refuse to knit 5 pair. So, Taylor is getting slippers, Holly is getting a hat which is over half done in less than a day and is very purple, Annika....don't know yet...mittens?, Heather..maybe still slippers since I won't need to fudge the numbers around, Payton...I dunno..maybe still slippers but different ones. Lorne's getting a hat too. His mittens turned ladies size so its a hat for him.
Of course my hats are PLAIN PLAIN PLAIN because I don't know how to cable yet.

Wednesday

I'm a bit brain foggy this morning and my heads a bit swimmy...both symptoms of the dreaded forgotten meds too many days in a row. Oopsy.
Let's see...I had something to ramble on about...what was it...?
I'll free style it and see what comes:
Ravelry: Can I just say how much I love it AND hate it? I love it because its all about yarny people and their doings and interests. I hate it because I am LOST in there about a couple hours or more a day. Its such a time suck but such a good one. LOL 17 group memberships and counting. I am so sad.
A big thing that came from The Rav is that I am going to commence the Canadian Guild Of Knitters (CGK) Level One in January. Whoot! I am gonna learn SO MUCH. I'd been thinking about it and really thought, oh no thats for REAL knitters but you know what? Level One is a course on the basics and its going to force me to branch out and accomplish so much more than I have the skills for right now. I am very excited. Someone posted a question about it in the Canadian Knitters group and next thing you know there are a pile of us in a spankin' new group for Level One-ers. We've agreed on a late January start date so that we all have time to scrounge the fundage for fees (membership and course fees add up to 85$) and get our registrations settled. We come from all over the country and are in the group to support and encourage one another through it. Very cool. Of course soemone had to point out that the CGK is only administered to by 2 people and made like its not as established as the American one. To that I say Fuck that! If I wanted to be and American knitter I'd be one. The CGK is only 5 years old and if Canadians can't get behind their own "national" guild because it doesn't have lots of judges to weigh in on your swatches thats pretty lame. Its a frikking swatch...how many people need to examine it to decide if you mastered the technique or not? I am proud to be Canadian and a Canadian Knitter. Lets just leave it at that.
Lets see...what else...
Did I mention Cameron lost his bottom retainer? Its going to take 200$ and a week for a new one. Argh. Could this come at a worse time of the year?? (holidays, winter tires, birthdays)
Uuuummmm....
Oh I know. Yesterday I rented the new on video Waitress. I wantyed to see this at the theater and I waited for it to come out...I anticipated this flick, ok? And it played at exactly ONE Montreal theater that I am aware of for maybe a week. WTF? So then it was wait for the video grumble grumble. And yesterday was THE day. I went to Blockbuster and rented it as well as disc one of the Tudors for afternoon laundry/knitting TV.
Waitress was delightful. I loved it. I laughed out loud and I teared up. I watched it all alone and thoroughly enjoyed myself. Andy Griffith was funny and touching as the crotchety old man Joe. He killed me. Nathan Fillion has great timeing comedically as always and his usual handsomeness but also played his role very well. Awkward, infatuated doctor. If only I had HIM nuzzling my neck while I bake. Oooh la fuckin' la.
Ok..but the big thing for me was that Keri Russell can actually act rather than just be pretty. I mean, I hated that Felicity TV show and thought she was pretty lame. Oh My Gods. She was great as this bitchy cranky troubled woman. I am taking back every bad thing I thought about her talent. Its not her fault that she gets cast as sacchrine sweet characters. This was an excellent character for her.
Jeremy Sisto: Remeber what a freaky character he played on Six Feet Under? Here he is being a nut but wow he does it good. Favorite scene? Him coaxing his wife to have sex. It was like a 4 year old asking for cookies. Please?.......Please?.........Please?....... ROFL
After I watched Waitress, and almost every special feature,then I HAD to bake a pie. Watch the movie and I dare you to try to fight that urge. I dares ya.
I used to bake more and i dunno, life gets in the way sometimes and the fact that if it ain't chocolate half my eaters won't touch it...its a frustration. Anyways, I went to my Company's Coming Pies book and dug out old fave "Flapper Pie". Its a vanilla custard pie with meringue. I had all the ingredients unlike for French Silk pie my other old fave and apple cream pie needs pastry crust so that weren't happenin'. Anyhoo, Benoi decided he wanted to help and may I just say that we had a great time. Its an easy unfussy pie so there was no stress. We just toodled through it and had fun. Bonus: Ben actually TRIED the pie later loved it. He has never A) tried a pie I made or B) liked one. YAY! After pie making we cooked supper together. that didn't go as smoothly because what I had on the menu was not what he wanted to cook but we compromised and he made a "salad" for he and Cameron to share. Lets just say these kids are not salad eaters. He got out the veggies they like (celery carrots and cuke) washed them, cut them and put it all in a bowl. He had such fun. AND they ate some. There is enough left over for tonight which made Ben proud and happy. When you have a child with a learning challenge (ADD) these little things can make a kid feel so much better about themselves and what they are capable of. Its a nice change from the nagging and scolding and negativity.
Yesterday I cleaned the outside of the fridge (brushed steel is a pain in the ass, just so's you know BUT the Magik brand of cleaners is awesome!!) and went through the kid's school calendar and marked all their inservice days on the big family calendar. Let me just say holy moley they get lotsa time off. Last day before Xmas is the 21st and they don't go back til the 7th of January. Holy smokes.
Magik cleansers: HMan bought them not me. I don't usually jump on a cleaning product bandwagon but he hates the flat top stove because of the marks it gets so he bought the magik brand cleaner for that and it works so much better than whatever we had before that. Next thing I know is that theres a spray bottle of another Magik product, this time for the brushed steel appliances (think these are hints maybe???) so yesterday I was all 'chyeah as if its gonna work better than what I do already". Long story shortened: it did. SO, if you have a flat top stove (love mine) or steel appliances you must try Magik cleaners.
I think thats it for now. My knitting has stagnated a tad because what I am making just doesn't excite me (acrylic slippers) and I haven't figured out the right combination for Lorne's mitts. I am thinking he will get a hat. Hats are simpler. See how I need the Level One?

Buyers Remorse

HM is very tricky for me to get gifts for. Just when I think I have cracked the code, my dreams of happy gift opening are dashed when he gives me that "What were you thinking?" look after opening said gift. Sure fire winners are :chocolate, wine, and porto. Thats gets pretty dull for the giver lemme tell ya.
A couple of years ago he mentioned he'd like to have nice carafes for wine and I got one that christmas. Its ok. Not Fabulous.
Yesterday I found Fabulous. Its crystal with silver plated pouring spout with a mesh filter so no dregs get in or out. Its fantastic and I like its somewhat triangular shape (wide base with narrow neck...like in a laboratory) and the fine quality. the man works hard, loves his wine and deserves a treasure to be proud to have and use.
My remorse: He is gonna turn to me with that what were you thing look because he is a man and will NOT see the beauty and "treasure" quality of the piece...just "another" carafe and let me just say ...I got it a BIRKS. This is not a 20$ Walmart "crystal" carafe. I have the reciept though so if its a dud as a gift, he can return it.
Back story: We were at Birks to see if they could have my big ugly ring sized. I hadn't thought of Birks at all but Angela suggested it and DUH they are Canada's answer to Tiffany's so if anyone can get it done its them. Thats why I went. While tehre I was browsing. There were the beautiful pens. I wanted to get him a Mont Blanc pen because he loves nice pens. Holy shit. Those buggers start at over 300$. Not happening. Then I saw the crystal wares and the gorgeous wine carafes and since the price was a fair bit less I went for it. The price was still significant and makes my stomach hurt as only a large expenditure on one item can. I just know he will get pissed off and return it.
So far his gifts are clothes(jeans and a sweater and those rubber shoe protecty things for his dress shoes), 2 DVDs,Ferrero Rocher chocolates, and the carafe. I will get a really really nice bottle of wine to go with the carafe, a bottle of porto (not white not white not white..remember not white) and somemore chocolate. I can't find my way back to the boat store for nautical stuffs and would only buy the wrong thing though a gift card (ick) would work. I know he wanted a barometer but I don't know a good one from a bad one and is it for the boat or the house??And hello, those buggers a few hundred bucks too. He is better picking his own, seriously!(SCREAM)
I hate this.

3rd time lucky?

This is my 3rd attempt at posting today. My other entries were too cranky and I deleted them.
Mitten progress: the mitten for a 7 yr old child is now a mitten for a full figured woman. Try try again.
Handwarmer progress: One is longer and looser than the other. Will make a 3rd in the hopes it matches one of the other two.
Slipper progress: Haven't done anymore.

Thursday morning happies etc

Last night was knit night and I almost considered not going. I was cooking supper and getting pressed for time in getting ready (which explains my bad hair last night and the wardrobe malfunction I experienced on my way there). There were sheets in the dryer that I really needed to remember to get back on the bed before I left (I forgot). I was multi tasking like a mad woman and thought "Maybe I should just stay home and get this stuff under control". I did not do this. I went out to my first Wednesday night knit in a month and I am so glad I did (except for the bad hair and split blouse). Knit night revives my desire to just sit and knit. And to knit BETTER. I like sitting with like minded people and chatting about yarn, yarny things, patterns, colour selections, critiquing magazine layouts, family, TV, books,jobs, schooling, etc etc etc. In that 3 plus hours I got a much needed jolt of society and feel much better for it. Thank you knit night.
A great idea came up: a price book for yarn and supplies in the Montreal area. Many shops stock the same stuff but have different prices and offer different incentives (such as Effiloche's 10% discount to Montreal Knits members). This "book" would list the products..say Berocco's Ultra Alpaca, and the price of said yarn at each shop that stocks it so that we MK-ers know at a glance where the best price on that yarn is and can shop to our fiscal advantage. Thios will take a loooong time because tehre are only 4 of us discussing this and we don't shop THAT much. Ok...maybe we do but its a HUGE amount of data to colate..collate..I don't know how to spell that but you know what I mean. I don't have the Excel-Fu so Angela mentioned she might be better for compiling the spreadsheet...LOL Holy understatement Batman!
Last night I got quite a bit of Lorne's mitten done but I am not real happy with it. I think I will rip it and go again. I am using the Red Heart MacIntosh that I got last week for him in a grey, black, and white twist. I like the hand feel of this yarn and its not tooo splitty. Unforseen was my difficulty in counting my rows because of the black/whie/grey combination. Holy eye blurring!
Weather wise:SNOW again. And more on the way. Last night it started before I left the cafe and its was a slippery walking to the car. It got progressively worse as I drove home. I had HM's vehicle since HE has winter tires. I haven't any yet. Canadian Tire has had major back logging of folk needing their tires and I haven't been fit in yet. My car needs to be dropped off the night before so that we get a place in the early morning First Come First Served line up. Today I will not be taking the car anywhere.
Last nights supper was a pretty danged good slow cooker beef madras curry. I usually make chicken and haven't done a beef curry in a long time. This morning HM had COMPLIMENTS for my cooking. Gasp! Shock! Awe! heh heh I made a saffron basmati rice with peas as the side and a cucumber raita for a condiment(cools the mouth from the curry's heat). Tah Dah!
Here in this town imported foods are not always readily available and I like using the Patak's products (curry pastes etc) and in this tiny epicerie fine(Saveurs Unies), they had Patak's as well as other spice sources!! I got a garam masala spice mix that I have to grind in my morter and pestle and they had ground spice mixes for other dishes. I will be going back to expand my already bursting spice cupboard. They have lotsa goodies there that the average grocery doesn't stock. Me likey.
The Christmas tree lots are up and running here, are they going there? I bought a couple of new ornaments yesterday and some new LEDs. We got coloured ones last year and they are so dim. I like a bit of sparkle to my tree so I got some soft white minilight style LEDS for maybe give a bit more sparks of light. Here's hoping. The Alfred Sung collection at Zellers is oh my goodness gorgeous. I was drooling. The retro and nature based collections also had me going Oooh Aah. SO..I got 12(?)glass mini balls(heh heh balls) from the Sung "choclate" collection (pale blues, whites, and browns) because I like the colours and glass is just so much shinier than the "unbreakable" versions, I got two birch bark star ornaments from a nature collection, and those LEDS I mentioned. It was hard to stop. Our tree is ecclectic. We have mostly non glitzy ornaments of the homemade variety with some not very shiney store boughts. Some of them need to go away because I just don't like them anymore and I am thinking of replacing them with retro glass ornaments for their quirkiness and gloss. Also more nature based ornaments would be nice. And I always love when my kids make ornaments at school or we have a crafty session because thats what holiday memories are made of. Popsicle stick and pipecleaner angels. Popsicle stick sleds. Craft foam reindeer faces. Our tree topper is not lit. Several years ago I got a raffia angel at a craft store and fashioned cotton lace robes/dress for her. I think the boys an I are going to paint pinecones this year and add glitter too. Those holiday balls in IK's holiday issue would be TOTALLY at home on our tree. But see how the holiday tree in this house is lacking in shiny? I'm adding a bit more shiny. It must be done.
Do you have a kid? A craft enjoying type kid? Here's how to make pinecone holiday trees: You need pinecones (nice fat open ones), miniature terracotta flower pots, paints and stuffs for decorations.
Paint the pinecones green (or whatever floats your boat). You might wanna paint the flower pot too; again, this is your boat and whatever floats it. When paints are dry, glue the fat end of the cone into the top of the mini flower pot so now the pot is the tree's stand. Maybe give the ensemble a spritz of spray varnish to give a sheen (or use a matte type...rememeber the boat?)and this will help protect your paints from getting scraped off or flaking.
Decorate the "tree" by gluing teeny tiny stuffs that will look like holiday ornaments. Boa yarn? Garland. Crazy tiny pompoms or shiny beads? Balls. Crazy tiny star or angel or whaever? Topper. Glitter? Glitter. You get the idea. When all the glues and paints are set fasten a hanger of some sort to the top of your creation and Voila! A wee pinecone holiday tree. Wanna make it SMELL like a tree? Leave the bottom of the terracotta pot paintless and each year add a drop of pine, spruce, or balsam fir essential oil. It will soak into the clay and smell awesome.
At Zellers they had painted pinecones of various colours for SALE. Holy lazy, man! Go FIND some pinecones in a park, bring em home and paint then yourself. I highly encourage anyone to scope out the ornament areas and get ideas and inspiration for homemade versions that you can do with your kids. Get a fine Sharpie and add the year somewhere on the ornaments because eventually you lose track of when you made them together.
Hmm..what else is rattling around in my brains..there's lotsa room for the rattling...
I think that covers it.

new hair

How much chin does one woman need anyways!? I had my hair cut to get shaped back into a bob. That way I can go straight, as we see here, or curly and messy like usual. Tadaaaah!

Interesting

tuesday

i have a cat in the lap so typeing is hard.
laundry still not done but i did vacuum. yay. today we woke to snow!! Kids were thrilled. yay! but now its drizzling.
Ok cat is done and typing can resume. Last night I completed my first pair of xmas slippers. Only 4 more to go and some mittens. Oh and the hand warmers. They are 75 percent done.
My house is cold. The main floor thermostats are light sensitive ..at dusk they will turn back to a night time set temperature. Unfortunately even though this is awesome for the electricity saving properties of never forgetting to turn back the heat before bed since its light sensitive and today is dim, the thermostats think its dusk and are NOT warming up to daytime set temperature. Brrrrrrrr. and Grrrr. If I break down a turn up the night time temp I may forget to set it back..I am forgetful so this is very possible.
Another peeve. My mom, the woman who birthed me, forgot (quote unquote)that I sorta collect hard cover books (if they are good and I liked them or they are a classic title etc)since I was in high school( not to mention I went to friggin' university and hold a BA in English Lit) and told my aunt she could have the over a hundred year old copy of Vanity Fair she has lying around. WTF?? To say I was flabbergasted is an understatement. Words were said. Gasping was done. Stammering was also done because before the words were said I was gasping and speechless. Moll Flanders will not have Becky as a neighbor on my shelf even though they have so much in common. Just another reason how I know my mom is slipping with her age. Lets be clear that I begrudge my wonderful aunt NOTHING. She fully deserves to have every antique book in the 'verse if she wants it and I love her dearly. This is about MY MOMMY not remembering that she has a (slightly)bibliophile child. She has no recollection of this collecting that I do even though she has in the past given me books she has come across (My Friend Flicka, National Velvet, maybe The Yearling but that coulda been Jessie, At The Back Of The North Wind...)at thrift stores or in bookcases in her house. The bibliophile child that calls her on the phone almost DAILY. I'd say I wasn't gonna call her daily anymore but I already forgot and called her to tell her how excited the boys were about the snow (DOH!). Let's just say I'm hurt that she forgot who/what I am.
Enough about that. I had to write it and get it out. There are several issues tangled in with it such as her age, her age related mental slippings and health, etc ad infinitum.. Moving on...
Today I will attack the laundry with renewed vigour. Also I get my hair trimmed today. Yay a trip to the stylists chair! I love getting my hair cut. Its the attention and bit of pampering that goes with. Maybe I should get my nails done too? But then the laundry wouldn't get conquered would it?
As I fold endless loads of laundry I will listen to podcasts. Love listening to podcasts while knitting and folding laundry. Yay for podcasts. For supper I am going to do that chicken and baked pasta that I did about a month or so ago. It was SO good. Have to pick up chicken on the way home.
Hope everyone has a great day. Stay warm!

Monday Monday...

I don't remember the rest of the words. Anyhoo, its Monday at any rate and it was a good weekend.
This morning started out well except for this weird noise that shook the house. Like a boom. It was a what The F? moment and HM left the bed to investigate. There was nothing. Sonic boom? Very odd. So, I got up too thinking the tree had fallen on the car? Or something exploded? But nope, nada. Then I crawled into Cammie's bed where he was still sleeping to snuggle and wake him up for school. Why is it that kids wake early everyday except Monday? Cammie (Thing 2) is usually up early but man he's a bear if you have to wake him. We snuggled and talked and joked and finally everyone was up. Ben(Thing 1) was today's early riser. When the kids were getting dressed after breakfast all hell broke loose with the squabbling and yelling. So much for a happy morning!
I just googled Thing 2's #1 Xmas gift wish and holy crap! 120 bucks...I think NOT. Stupid cool toys and their commercials. No wonder I haven't been able to find it in the stores...I don't think its being stocked!
Let's see...what else is on what I call my mind....
Oh! The workshop. Very cool.
The facilitators I had met before and was very glad to meet again. There were a couple of people there that I knew though we hadn't seen one another for awhile. J was a student with me at Crescent Moon 2 years ago and R is a former student and a teacher with Crescent Moon though she's not teaching this term. It was great to see them. There were a lot more people attending than I had expected and one woman even travelled by train from Quebec City to attend. Amazing. We listened to the facilitators explain the class and its focuses,contacted our power andimals/familiars/totems for aid, cast a circle(this was a Wiccan themed course) and then partnered up to practice each step of the technique. Assessment, unruffling, treatment, reassessment, grounding. How long should a session last? Average timespan, for the aged, for the very very ill, etc. How to bring the elements into the ttreatment for specific problems or findings. Long distance TT was discussed. Ethics of healing. Self healing. My partner says her problem knee felt much better after my treatment. She focused a treatment on my congested ear and I could very much feel it. Shivery!LOL.
One of the facilitators originally learned TT in University during her nurses training 20 years ago. With time and the practice that she has had she finds she can often distinguish between different types of energy or aura upsets..emotional, physical, mental... Very interesting. A Reiki master was in attendence to learn something new and raised the question...We need permission to work a healing but do we also have the right to refuse to do a healing? What was the opinion on that and how does one refuse? There are energy vampires out there who knowingly or unknowingly drain one of energy or vitality. Have you ever met someone who just makes you tired when you are with them? as if they have just drained everything from you and left you wiped out from their very prescence? They are maybe very needy, or clingy, a chronic complainer, or very nice but somehow just sucks you dry of the will to be. Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? These are drainers and you can shield yourself if you know how. They may come to leave you alone when they don't get what they need. Or maybe you need to distance yourself from the person. You may unwittingly be doing it already! Isn't the human instinct amazing? I digress...sometimes these types of people seek healing for their energy fix and the ethics of healing/refusing was the question/comment. Very interesting! And there are people who do not want healing when they seem in need of it which is why one needs permission. To work a healing without is breaking respect and compassion for another and healing is not about that. Some people need that pain/illness/experience for a reason that is unknowable to us . We are all shaped by our experiences and that makes us what we are. Also, somepeople LIKE being unwell because it brings them something they need, like attention, sympathy,....
So, my question remains... should I go forward and become a certified TTist? I am considering it though this is only to be a recognised practitioner get even more in depth knowledge...I can do it now without certification. How "official" should one make it if its really not necessary to do the technique on your own? Its not like there are openings out there for TTists on Workopolis. Anyways, its a pretty handy skill to have and the more you work with energy the more adept you become (practice makes perfect).
Enough about this now.
Today's line-up includes much laundry. It was all caught up and now its not. ARGH. I should vacuum too and do the bathrooms AGAIN. My girlfriend Julie always says she needs"people"...like rich folk have "people". People for cooking and cleaning and doing all the crap one is far to important or busy to do. maybe I needs me some people too! Cuz I am surely tired of de-germing bathrooms and vacuuming crumbs and fur, and washing dirty clothes for folk who never say thank you. Not that I ever did either I suppose but STILL that is NOT the point. Am I right? Or just whistling in the wind as usual? Probably the latter. As usual. ;oP

Ravelry.....

I am addicted. I cannot stay away. I didn't think this would happen to me but it did and it's weird. I wasn't one of the first to jump on the Ravelry bandwagon and as usual not the first in the know about it either. But its got its hooks and needles sunk in and won't let me go! Its a little sad and pathetic..not to mention scary. Now I see how gamers get hooked on something and spend hours online.
For those that visit and are not in the know, Ravelry is a knitting community that spans the globe. Its all located there and people from all over join and share their love of yarny things through groups pertaining to any subject they share an interest in, posting project and stash pictures, sharing pattern sources, organising their own Yarniverse by keeping an online record of their stash and needles and books etc, people find friends they know and make new ones.... Its all encompassing!
The closest I ever found to this was a parenting site I was involved with while my kids were smaller and Ravely actually out strips that in terms of camaraderie since people are forming groups about everything there could possibly form a group about and finding other birds of their feather. The linking factor is YARN . Amazing!! Crocheters and knitters rub shoulders in some groups while other groups are a bit more segregated to one skill or the other. Wowee wee wow.
So, thats where I have been. that and xmas knitting and xmas shopping and I also broke down and went to the used bookstore on Thursday and have been devouring the 3 novels I bought (on the last one now). Needed a reading fix bad. Now that I have had it, I will get back to my knitting again and do housework again (yeah right). Dust bunnies aren't reeeeeeaaally a health risk unless you are asthmatic, right?
Yesterday we went to the Christmas parade in Montreal and froze our asses off. Then we hit a Walmart on the way home that we had never shopped at, so that Ben could have some winter boots. While there I found actual wool yarn! GASP!! Its the Walmart near the 440 at Bois Des Filions. i got so excited I started to hyper ventilate. And yes I bought some. So much for that yarn diet I keep mentioning, but 3 of those skeins will go to a holiday gift for my soon to be nephew from Saskatchewan. I forgot about him when I planned my holiday list. i have my 5 girlies but now my nephew will be marrying next summer and his fiance has a 7 year old son. They will be in NS this year so how could I omit him now that I have recollected him?? I am hoping to make him a quick hat and mittens of an acrylic(70) wool(30) blend called MacIntosh by Red Heart. Classic greys with white twist. Good for guys.
Today though I have big plans! I will be attending a Therapeutic Touch workshop in Montreal this afternoon and am also picking up a package from my friend Nathalie, of 20 vanilla beans for making vanilla extract and vanilla sugar. Very thrilling since the price is insanely good because she buys in bulk for her business of soap and beauty product making. Happy happy joy joy. I gotta buy more vodka(thats my extract base) and hunt out a good bottle for the project. I had one but I think its gone now. Maybe I will just use the vodka bottle and wait on a nice one for when its ready to use.
Therapeutic Touch is a healing modality that involves energy work and is a therapy used by some nurses to give comfort and relief to patients. Unlike Reiki it is not an initiatory practice meaning its methods are available to anyone not just those initiated into the practice. Its not the same as Reiki but a valuable tool in a healers arts. While in my journey person's course (level one of Crescent Moon School)I found my niche of green witch and healer. I have been waiting and looking for opportunities to further that study and the skills that I had been unknowingly gathering for years by reading books on herbalism and stones among other things. For this I will always be grateful for the events that brought me to Montreal, to Crescent Moon and its teachers and students, and for the richness they have added to my spiritual life.
I should probably get something to eat and shower in preparation for heading out. Have a marvelous day everyone.