New beginnings etc

Tomorrow marks a big step in our family. Tomorrow is exciting to me. Tomorrow we have an appointment to register our first born at secondary school. I am torn between being thrilled and wanting to puke. Can I get a hollah from the other mommies out there?

Ben (AKA Thing 1) is in 6th grade. This is his final year of Pramary school. Its the end of an era for him and us parents. We decided that he should continue his education in his first language so we are switching from French education to English. Why? Well, whilst he is brilliant with math, language is NOT his forte so much and we though that given some of his issues, we would try to level his playing field. He reads English as well as or perhaps better than he reads in French, so he won't be held back due to poor reading skills but his spelling and grammar might suck pretty bad. Apparently thats ok though because so many of the students come from Francophone families so he won't be the worst. Without the struggle of doing everything in a second language, he may even begin to excel and maybe some of his issues will be less intense. Being a teen is hard enough without having the struggle of language. He has a solid French foundation now that will be an asset in life. We are satisfied.

However....he's just a little guy! He's young for his age and small for it too! Its so scary for me to look at sending him off into a world of bigger people!!!! I know I know...he'll be fine...everything will work out...but for me its still scary as shit. Luckily the woman I spoke to totally gets that. She's probably heard it from every parent and maybe experienced it herself. I still wanna throw up though.


Now for the part I am actually quite happy about. Thanks to my sucky French skills I haven't been able to volunteer or be involved in the boys school and very little help in the homework department. Now? I am so looking forward to becoming more involved!!! I can volunteer. I can take part in the Parents organization (I forget what its called here...not PTA but its the same idea). Once Cameron is going there too (we convinced him it would be great thanks to their Focused program in Visual Arts) it will be even better! Maybe I could start an extra curricular knitting club if there isn't already one, or volunteer with it if there IS one already? Hman was intrigued by the fact that there WAS a Golf club/team but due to lack of volunteer coach this year there isn't. If its just a case of being a volunteer and not a teacher, he may consider volunteering as well! Lets face it...I'm also pretty stoked about being able to read notices from school without having someone translate or needing a dictionary, to be able to more or less comprehend the Report Cards (even though they are pretty weird now and even Hman doesn't quite get what they mean...so much for OUR higher edumacations), the chance to be the involved parents we wanted to be and were more so back in NS...this is a happy thing. And a scary thing. A new beginning for the family in a way.

Ravelympics knitting: I suck. SO SLOW. Very little progress made on my St-Denis Arctic Mittens . The charts are fine...the yarn is wonderful...I'm just very slow when it comes to busy colour work with DPNS rather than a circular needle like on a sweater or hat. I am going to try switching to the Magic Loop method for small circumference knitting in the round and see if that clears my path a little and speeds my progress. I only have 12 more days! ( I think?)

NOTE: If you go to the St-Denis link and decide to print the charts, note that the thumb charts have not yet been released and that the thumb placement on the palms is hard to spot .

Next week Things 1 and 2 have their "spring" break! YAY! No alarm clocks! We will be spending 6 nights in salty Scotia and are very happy about it. We will get to see some family and hopefully some friends and maybe walk on a beach in the cold and bracing briney breeze. A change of scenery is just what the doctor ordered after the last couple of months we've put in.

A trip to FRENCHY'S is also in my future I foresee! I miss Frenchy's sooo much! I got my most favourite pair of jeans there (Old Navy low waisted boot cut with lycra) about 6 years ago and those babies are still being worn. Not bad for about $4!!! At the rate Thing 2 has been out growing things we like to stock up on some larger sized clothes for him to grow into. Maybe I'll find something for myself for a change too? Hard to say. My sizes are hard to come by there.

I'm dying to see friends we didn't get to hook up with last trip. This one will be much less a whirlwind since there isn't a business trip thrown into the mix. 4 more sleeps to Friday!

Have not polititians feelin' spendy

http://thechronicleherald.ca/News
I had a good sanctimonious post about this but my computer ate it.
Aren't you glad?

Knittings

Jim posted a question in the comments about thrummed mittens. He's a non-knitter (aka muggle) and does not know what a "thrum' is. To him I offer this 'splanation.

In knitting, a "thrum" is a bit of unspun wool roving that is knit with a stitch in a piece of knitting, usually mittens or slippers. The stitch with the thrum is repeated at a regular interval and causes a pleasing dotted appearance on the right side (outer side) of the knitting. The ends are inside the garment and create a warm insulative layer that is wonderfully soft and cozy. That layer is why the mittens or slippers (or any other thrummed garment) is over sized. Its a much needed bit of cozy up here in Canada, land of igloos and polar bears if you go north far enough. The technique is thought to have originated in Newfoundland but some theorise that it is a northern European invention that made its way to Nfld with settlers and traders etc. Whoever is responsible, us chilly willies say "THANK YOU!" for the cute and cozy Thrummed garment. Mmmmm thrummy goodness.

Thanks goes out to my family for sharing their plague cooties. What would I do without a lovely sinus cold to make me so snottilicious? Such generosity deserves reward...possibly a pillow over your sweet sleeping faces some night when I have regained strength. UGH...I am dosing with Cold F/X and Sinutab since the symptoms hinted at their existance this morning. I "heart" drugs. I am not the type to whine about a virus and yet do nothing to fight it. I WILL take vitamins and remedies and sleep as much as possible and as a result sometimes I am well again the very next day. Not a fan of needless suffering. Nope not a bit. Why yes I did have an epidural during child birth, thanks for asking, and if I coulda been, I'd have been unconscious. Miracle of birth my ass. Ok....maybe I would not have been comatose for that...hindsight is iffy on the subject.

Lookit! I made pictures! The pretty coloured one is my darling sister Jessie's scarf that seemed to go on forever and ever and ever. I don't like making scarves and have no idea what possessed me to make this one but its beautiful and soft and cozy and she deserves every delicious stitch of that 50/50 silk and wool blend. The colours will go with any sweater or coat and will look stunning against her olive skin.

The grey sock is my first of a pair of Nutkin socks. I love this pattern. Its easy and pretty and I only changed one thing...the heel. I did a regular ol' slip stitch heel flap and turned heel rather thna the pattern's short row heel. I just LIKE the regular ol' heel bestest. Aren't they awesome? Yarn is Cestari 100% wool sport/sock on 2.75 or 3 mm needles. I'm pretty sure they are 2.75s. I started these waaaaay back in November so its hard to remember.

That is all!

Thrummed Mittens

(my Dad's thrummed mittens are the blue and white spotted ones...Xmas gift 2008)
Thrummed mittens are some of the warmest hand gear out there. They are oversized due to the wool roving inside and some people don't like how they look as a result. If you have problems with cold hands, these could be a solution.
They are kind of fun to knit, especially in public. Folk freak out when they see them! (This can be a little scary too if they are blah blahing loudly in a language you don't always understand and come up fast and loud from behind you, startling you in a coffee shop.....just so's you know)
People think its hard to make thrummed mittens but it really is NOT. They are dead easy to knit for any knitter. Its just a matter of learning a wee technique and making a lot of thrums before starting so that they are ready. However, they can be a bit tedious because they do go slower than just knitting up plain mittens. The finished product is worth it, though.

Alison's Thrummed Mitten Pattern (written for woman's medium)

You will need a 100 gram (4 oz) skein of worsted weight yarn, 50 to 60 grams (2 plus oz)of wool roving, and appropriately sized DPNs(or circulars for magic loopers). I used Briggs and Little Heritage yarn and 4 mm dpn needles.

Cast on 36, 1x1 rib for 18 rows, increase to 45, knit two more rows to the first thrummed row.

I go every 3 stitches, ie: thrum, 2, 3, thrum , 2, 3.. for a row. The next thrummed row is done like this: 1, thrum, 3..1, thrum, 3.. so that the thrums are offset. There are 3 knit rows between my thrum rows (thrum row, knit the thrums through the back loop row, knit row, knit row.. and repeat).
Continue to thumb placement (use EZ's thumb trick). Place the thumb in row 3 of your thrumming sequence and it will not disrupt your patterning. Continue for the rest of the hand. I used 11 stitches with the waste yarn.

When you are a scant inch or a pinch less from the finished length you need and are just before your last planned thrummed row: In the row before the thrummed row (row 4 of the thrumming sequence) decrease by K1, K2tog. Thrum the next row as scheduled and all the thrums will fit in pattern perfectly . Knit next row tbl as usual. The next TWO rows are decreased by K2tog all around. This leaves you with 8 stitches to finish off by running the working yarn through them and cinching off. I was very pleased with the shape and the fact that my thrums stayed in pattern. If desired you could have placed 3 thrums in the second to last row for denser tip thrummings.

Take out thumb placement yarn and pick up the thumb stitches, plus one at each end to make 24 thumb stitches. Knit one row and commence thrumming sequence until almost to the right length. In row 3 of your final thrum sequence K2tog around, row 4(final row) K all, break yarn and finish.

This is for a women's medium width. To up size or down size, increase or decrease your stitch count by 3's.

Absentee-ism...

Sorry if I have mispelled the title of todays post. I don't have a dictionary on hand and am too lazy/don't care enough to look it up online. For that I do apologise.

It was pointed out to me last night by someone very dear and darling to me, that I have been lax in the blooging department. For this also, I apologise.

Sometimes life doesn't send happy cheery blog fodder a person's way and I don't want to waste anyone's time in posting a downer. At the same time, though, a blog is a journal where I should be able to post whatever the fuck I want. What are your thoughts?

So, where to start? There is a bit of crap happening on this end that I am not at liberty to share with the internet-verse but I can say that its making life a bit of a pain in the ass these days. To put it mildly. I keep telling myself to relax, breathe, things could be worse and then guess what!? THEY GET WORSE!!!! There is a lot of deep breathing going on here, let me tell you. And teeth grinding. My jaws have been aching.

This week chez nous, we had the car break down again. I had escaped the house to take part in a knit night in NDG when it happened so I ended up having to go back home. Last time repairs cost almost 2000 dollars. That was just back in December. This weeks bill of repairs is less than half that, so I guess its a small blessing. Something to do with a misbehaving engine cylinder. We hope it will done today.

Today we had a lovely phone call from Thing Two's teacher. It would appear that he has been lying and sneaking about homework and things needing signatures. Also, doing very little in his classwork. Troubling and called for an immediate intervention so we walked to the school and hauled him out of class to A) find out where he'd hidden his back pack and B) confront him with the issue. It would seem he's been keeping a lot of feelings and worries and fears under wraps too and they all came spilling out once the dam of tears broke. Things are being dealt with but the added stress is not welcome.

My Dad's health continues to be of concern. Apparently something showed up in his blood tests that warrants an ultra sound on his internal organs. My mother was very vague on that part. She'd rather discuss the neighbors and other various and sundry topics in GREAT DETAIL AND LENGTH than something thats actually important. I'm trying to be patient until I know whats what but its very frustrating.

I think thats it for the crap that I CAN discuss.

KNitting: I finished the charcoal and pink thrummed mittens that I was making for my hairdresser Nancy. She's a great person and I appreciate her skils very much. I go months between cuts but when I need the bangs trimmed, she never charges me for it. Sometimes she even takes it upon herself to style my hair at those bang trimmings to give me a boost and we chat about our families, weight, blah blah blah. She'd admired Ben's thrummed mittens last year and I promised her a pair eventually. She loves them.
Work contuinues on my sister's scarf but the last few days have not been productive knittingwise. I have about 1/2 a skein left to go and I want it done next week so I gotta get crackin'. Still don't have a Ravelympics project but have options. Did I mention that I have taught Hman to knit? He picked it up really really fast! Its a great way to clear the mind of things that are stressing you out or worrying you, if you can force yourself to sit down and do it. I don't foresee him becoming an adept but he at least is giving it a try from a therapeutic point of view. :o)

Reading: I have gone back once again to George R.R. Martin's series A Song Of Ice And Fire. I re-read A Game Of Thrones again last week and am on to a book two A Clash Of Kings. This is a really good series of Fantasy fiction and is as yet unfinished. Book 5 is breathlessly awaited for a few years now. Thats the great thing about Martin's writings....they are NOT rushed and thus crappy installations to cash in on a theme. This tale is convoluted, loaded with major and minor characters and takes a lot of time to tell. Book 4 A Feast For Crows was disappointing in that it covered only half of the story at that point in time...the other half is coming in book 5...there is JUST SO MUCH! So while it seemed like the story did NOT progress, it kind of did. Its hard to be patient but this series was started several years ago (I first read it in the mid to late nineties and book four only came out in 2006 or 2007). If you like murder and mayhem, intrigue and mystery, betrayals and plot twists....you might enjoy A Song Of Ice And Fire.

Workin' and stuff

Grrrrr...I'm a scareh monstah!!!!
Photo taken by Cameron Autumn 2008 in the Laurentians while we were on a walk. He was trying to get a blurry effect and had me shaking my head and jumping around. Guess what? Didn't work so you can now see me in all my goofy monstery-ness!!


I mentioned awhile back that I had fallen into a new job opportunity but I didn't give much in specifics. I think I didn't want to Jinx it...LOL

I am currently a sales rep for St-Denis Yarns, a small and brand new yarn company created by Veronik Avery. If you are a non-knitter then you won't understand how awesome that is. If you are an up to date knitter who understands the WOW that is Veronik's design talent, then you will feel my bliss.

So, now you can see why I blog and knit so much less...I'm on the phone!!! LOL Thanks to that, I need to call Valerie, my wunder-chiropractor, and get a left shoulder tune up ASAP. I'm kinked but not in a fun way if you catch my drift. Nudge nudge, wink wink, say no more...

Winter here Chez Nous has not been so bad of late. Yes the ground is still white but the last week or so has been pretty mild and seen some melting, flurries, and even a bit of drizzle. Sorta like being back home but without the mud.

Since the fall, my mother's health has much improved but my poor ol' Da is experiencing some elderly issues that have us concerned. This is life with older parents, I guess. I am hoping to get a trip home sometime sooner than later to visit the folks back home. Its been since November and the visit with Mom and Da was very very brief.

Anyways, thats what I have been up to! I hope this winter season is treating you all well and you have your warm woolies keeping you comfy. If not, go buy some St-Denis "Nordique" and get some warm woolies made!!! ;oP

I need a LIST

Its January here Chez Nous. I know its January EVERYWHERE but when I bring it up like this I mean its SAD/depression escalation time for me. this week I had the joy to experience this AND the PMS so, you know, it was touch and go there as to who would die. Luckily we all survived relatively unscathed (I credit yarn, crappy novels, and Glee...and maybe some sugar).

So, as I said, its January at my house and I think I might survive the winter better if I made myself a LIST. Oh yes...nothing says you have been navel gazin' too long like a LIST!

Being an animal of short attention span and forgetfulness, I both bore easily and forget those highly entertaining ideas of stuff to do that I come up with almost constantly. there fore, I just this minute came up with the idea of making a LIST while the idea is fresh in my mind (aka before I forget). Also, too much choice often paralyzes me into doing nothing other than taking a nap and hoping I will wake up with a direction. Thus a LIST! I don't have to do it in order and all my ideas/choices of things to make and do are there for reference. Nikol Lohr made herself a list but this is not a copy cat activity. For reals! I was actually over on my Friend Sarah's blog and saw her 2009 finished projects round up and saw a couple of things that made me go Hmmmm and then I thought "...HEY! I have a lot of things that make me go Hmmm...I should write them down. Like a LIST!" See? Inspiration is everywhere.

I forsee this LIST being the impetus behind smaller, qualifying lists-of-no-capitalization. Like the item regarding choosing a Ravelympics Project. This is the current bane of my decision making existance.

LIST 2010

1) Rag Dolls

2)circular needle holder that hangs for a clothes hanger.

3) Cat mittens

4)Ben's sweater

5)Robin's Egg hat

6)pick a Ravelry Olympics Project

7)make a list for #6

8)make thrummed mittens for Cameron

9) Bunny Hop Slippers

10) Make a duct Tape dress/torso form

11) make those stitch markers for Ginette

12) French Press Slippers

13) Unoriginal Hat

14) EZ's Green Sweater

15) something for Itzel's baby before it gets here.

16) knit top with sewn skirt dress for a little girl

17) that sweater for Baby Viola

18)fix Jessie's Colinette socks that she gave me in 2008 to repair

19)paint bathroom

20) paint hallway

21) paint other bathroom

22) replace laundry room flooring

23)retry Pretty Thing Cowl

24)hook a rug

25)locker hook a rug

26)Finish my Nutkin socks

27) make myself a sweater

28)camisole/tank top

29)Quo Vadis mittens

30) finish Mitred Mittens that I found stuffed in a drawer and then give to Tara because of her teensy hands


More as ideas come if I remember to write them down...

PP#3

My friend Janet made me these uber cute wrist bands for my birthday. Look at that beading???!!!! Thats attention to detail, my friends. I am so blessed to have made amazingly talented friends here in the QC.
The hat is my latest finished object, and I am hugely proud of it. This is H-man's very warm,lined, earflap tuque. After its Soak in the sink, it blocked out nicely on my styrofoam head form. It fits H-Man and he has declared it awesome and plans to wear it with pride on the slopes ASAP.
Yarns: Noro Kureyon makes the multicoloured background, Warani is the beige patterning, and Mission Falls DK is the soft, smooth lining.
Pattern: Its based on the Circus Loop Hat pattern by Luckyfind on Ravelry (free!!!) with some tweeking of the cast on number to accomodate both earflaps and a knit-in lining.
Knitting this hat reminded me of how much I enjoy the quick gratification of knitting hats and I forsee more in my knit future. Maybe not as involved as this one though.

Photo post #2: Christmas Tree (aka Bob)

What's a photo post without a gratuitous cat picture? They were not terribly impressed with furniture reaaranging and wreaked havoc on the porcelaine village. :oD

Photo post #1: Puerto Rico

Apres Noel

Its now after Christmas and things have relaxed decidedly around Chez Nous. Its a relief thats for sure. Our Christmas was very quiet but enjoyable. I do miss the Christmas Eve visitings etc from our former life. Christmas seems so empty without the extended family and friends to share it with.

I recieved the book I so wanted (The Knitter's Book Of Wool) and as a surprise I also recieved The Knitters Book Of Yarn. I feel so spoiled! These are wonderful books by Clara Parkes and deserve a spot on the knitter's bookshelf. I'm pleased.

I also got my long awaited birthday gift of a rug hooking frame and fabric cutter. My friend's mom decided she didn't want her equipment anymore and sold it to us for a very reasonable price. Also included was a bag of fabric strips she'd already cut. I may start a hit and miss piece for practice.

I'm suffering from a case of too many crafting options to choose from. I've got my sticks and string as always but now have the rug hooking (2 types: locker hooking and primitive hooking) and the knitting machine crying out for my attention. I wish I had several of me!!! There's just too much craftiness here for one me!

I set up my knitting machine on Saturday, following the instructions in the manual very carefully. I attempted to cast on and knit with it several times and in the last attempt actually got about 4 rows done before it arsed up. There appears to be a steep learning curve involved here. It may take me quite awhile before I ever get around to hooking up the ribber attachment at this rate. Le sigh...

All in all, a very nice holiday. Hope yours was bright and blessed.

BIRTHDAY

Today my baby, Thing 2 , is 11 years old!! He got his gifts (a Wii game and an Artemis Fowl book series addition)this morning and was very pleased. Today we will bake his cake together and later we will all decorate our Xmas tree (or "Bob" as the kids have named it). Its a slightly snowy day here but temps are gonna drop over the next couple of days to Brr-y number (maybe miunus 15 C for a high on thursday!). I have got to get the boy to a store for new winter boots...he's been wearing mine which are of the unisex variety since his feet are now too big for last years boots. He's into men's small sizes now...OMG!!! Shoes were a size 7 this fall and clothes are sizes 14- 16 or a men's small. He's not very tall though...maybe my height or a touch shorter. The hand me downs go from younger to older in this house and it doesn't always sit well but as my brother always says"It is what it is!", so shut up about it.

Happy news today for me: I am investing in a knitting machine with my first pay cheque that a certain knit designer I know found on Kijiji for $50. Its a swell deal AND has an attachement that will allow me to mke socks, so its a much much cheaper option than the antique sock knitting machines I had been lusting after. Now all my sock knitting demands can be met in much less time than it takes me to knit by hand, once I learn how to make machine go. Veronik says she will tutor me if I have problems. Plus, if I want to I can make sweater parts on this baby too and speed up my sweater knitting..I have some skinny yarn that is supposed to be a sweater for ME and you know I'd be at it for the rest of my life if I knit it by hand. I foresee a drastic drop in my stash level as soon as I get over the learning curve.

I had news today about my birthday present of a floor frame for rug hooking and a strip cutter...it should be in my hot little hands by next week and I am very excited about this as well.

My friend Marie Michele gifted me a pattern today that I have been smitten with for a couple of days now. They are felted ballerina flats and just so frickin' CUTE and apparently very speedy to make and I have plenty of odd skeins of worsted that would be perfect for them, so guess what i will be doing ASAP.

My darling sister's intended xmas gift will not be ready for Xmas mail out. I still have a skein to go and just cannot get any amount of speed going on it, loverly as it is. It will instead be a, apres Xmas gift! January should see that #$%^& done...LOL How can something so simple and plain be so slow, I ask ya!? The yarn is exquisite though...

Speaking of mail outs I have got to get my ass in gear and get the cards in the mail too!

Lazy Days

I have been remiss in not blogging and for that I apologise. I just have not felt very bloggy. In fact, since the trip I have been extremely un-energetic. At first I thought I was getting sick or something but it was just plain old exaustion. How do other people do this...trips and then work and kids and all of that? Nowadays you need to pry me out of my cozy nest with a crowbar. Too tired and lazy to do or go anywhere except when I must.

Today however I need to break this behaviour. My friend V wants to go shopping together and that promises to be some good girly time, so last night I crashed out at 7 PM (seriously dudes I am breaking sleep records left and right lately) so that I would NOT go back to bed after the kids left for school this morning. I am also guzzling coffee.

Last week I came home from...hmmm...where did I come home from? Maybe Knit night? Anyways, I came home and my men had started the decorating by setting up my porcelain village and some other light up decorations around the living room. I think we are going to search out a U Pick tree place this weekend and cut down our own tree rather than schlep one home from the lots. Or at least the guys will. I think I have work.

I've been doing some part time work at Effiloche for the pre-holiday season. Mostly ball winding and helping English speaking customers so that Ginette is free to run the cash and help Francophone customers. Also I work one day or evening a week cleaning the shop which can take anywhere from 2 to many hours depending on what needs doing.

Knitting: I am doing very little lately!! BAD KNITTER (see the sleeping etc above). Sometimes sitting with my knitting makes me sleepy, so its been a little counter productive. On the needles is the Xmas gift started in June and now I have serious concerns that it will NOT be done for Xmas mailing. Also, my Nutkin socks have not progressed in over a week because I have been devoting any and all knit time to the gift. Can I state again how much I love the Nutkin socks? Its an awesome little pattern by Knitzi and its also a FREE pattern! The chart is dead simple to follow and after a few rounds you don't even need it really unless you put the work down and then forget how it works. I'm using Cestari sock yarn in Natural Light Grey and five 2.75 mm needles. Love. Will enjoy wearing them VERY much. I changed the heel however, to a plain ol' flap-type heel rather than a short row heel because I prefer the POFH. That was my only switcheroo.

Tonight is a combination December birthdays bash and knit night. Geeta, Celine, and I have all had birthdays in the last week and a half so Ginette thought we should have a party knit night. I will need more coffee while out this afternoon.

Work for a certain yarn company continues to be wonderful. I sent out 20 promo packs last Friday and one of my phone calls last week jogged a shop owner's memory that she had wanted to get the yarn in stock, so an order happened! YAY! Wait until people get a load of the next yarn...its fingering weight and in the same 36 colours as the sport weight. Delicious. The next pattern magazine promises to be just as awesome as the first edition too, dudes!

Some might say "OMG! Wool for baby stuffs!!!! The stains! The difficulty in washing!!!" and to that I say Poo! Wool is PERFECT for baby stuffs and I only wish I had been a knitter when my kids were small. Its naturally dirt repelling. Its also naturally fire retardant!!! Think of that next time you read the labels of baby's stuffs and see the fire retardant label and then wonder what chemicals they are using. Its warm even when it gets wet (and you know babies get wet thanks to leaking diapers etc). And wool is NOT difficult to wash. Seriously. You throw some good wool wash (NOT Woolite ) or my handy stand by, shampoo, into some tepid water and you put the item in to SOAK. How hard is that? Now with good wool wash like Eucalan, or Soak, or maybe Kookaburra (not 100% sure) you don't even need to rinse the item. It has soaked out the soil and is low to no sudsing. No rinsing! How cool is that? With shampoo there IS rising needed though. You SQUEEZE out the item, not wring it, then wrap it in towels to squeeze out the most water you can OR put it in the machine for a spin cycle while its in a pillow case or special lingerie/fine washables bag.

Dudes...it doesn't get any easier. Go with the wool. You know you want it.

HOME: Day 4

Thats right. We have been home for 4 days (arriving Chez Nous around 8 am Thursday morning after and all night drive from NS). So much happened while we were away and so much has happened since that I am a bit blurry around the edges, brain wise.

I had my first Margaritas in Puerto Rico and can now say that I like frozen as opposed to shaken. So there. I can order Ms with authority!

I drank before noon more than once. Don't look at me like that.

Yes it was margaritas...they are shameless temptresses I tells ya.

I spent lots of time on Palomino Island soaking up sand and swallowing my fair share of sea water when snorkelling.

Hman made my want come true when he rented a Hoabie Cat and took me over to Palominito Island which was taunting me with its lovely desert isle-ness. While we were there a guy came out of the water after swimming over from Palomino, thats how close it is. But I am not in such good shape as swimmer dude.

There were iguanas every where. Very cool.

The frogs known as El Coqui are very very LOUD for their tiny size. Prompted several evening sessions of yodelling "koKEE koKEE koKEE" around the resort. My husband is not too embarrassed...given enough beer he started doing it too.

I met super fabulous people and caught up with others that I haven't seen in awhile. I had fun.

And then when I came home I was offered a super cool job that I am thrilled to pieces over. I am now a yarn company sales rep. Or "account representative" since Julie says "sales rep" is passe. I must be pretty old school because sales rep keeps popping out. Thrilled does not even cover my joy. I am stoked!!!

Girly stuffs

I'm not a big time girly girl but I do like me some girly stuff. I love pretty clothes and shoes but never really get a chance to wear them being a stay at home mom and all. I do colour my hair to both give it a bit of flair and to cover the $^^$#$ing greys that have been multiplying in the last couple of years, but I am not real regular about it.

Now I have a trip coming up. I also watched a video my my friend Karine's (topstitch girl in the side bar) blog of how she does her minmalist make up. Together the two mingled in my brain and made me buy stuff. Thats my story and I'm stickin' to it.

First of all, nowadays everything seems to break me out. My skin was resilient as a teen and I wore pounds of make up with no more breakouts than an average teen girl would experince. Wash my make up off before bed??? That was for sissies...and sober people since in University bedtime was often preluded by alcoholic beverages. No real adverse effcts. NOW? Even washing my face can sometimes cause an eruption. I've tried pricey stuff and cheap stuff...natural stuff and chemically stuff..its all the same to my face. My facial skin seems to have the temperament of a toddler being given pureed peas...accepts it and then spits it out and has a tantrum.

Since watching karine's video and having this trip coming up, I bought some Neutrogena "Healthy Skin" cleanser for wrinkles and acne...thats should cover it right??? So far so good but its only day two and a half. Of course, washing my face makes it then feel a tad dry afterward so today I got myself some Neutrogena daily moisturiser for sensitive skin. Its oil free and seems nice and light. Lets keep our fingers crossed!

Now, going away always makes me revamp the make up case, too. For someone who almost never wears this stuff I have a fair bit. I tossed my old (virtually full)foundation and powder, washed all my brushes and applicators. I invested in a new neutral eyeshadow quartet, lip liners to use as lip stain since they were super marked down, a new tube of foundation to combine with my daily moisturiser (only won't do it daily ) for a tinted moisturiser effect instead of the feeling of having a layer of shellac on my face (which I am hoping will be easier for my skin to tolerate), a new pressed powder compact, and a fancy powder brush with a cap for having in my purse to deshine while out. I had one before but I lost it or broke it. I cleaned my sharpener and sharpened all my eye and lip pencils. My blusher is still pretty unused so I kept it.
I think I'm ready facewise, to travel.

I coloured my hair too. Can't have all those strangers seein' my greys now can I? Plus now my roots and ends resemble one another again which is always nice. New shiny hair and a fresher face. Wish I'd bought some new shoes too! I'm feelin' girly!

I dyed a skein of cashmere and this was the result

What I started with was a fairly bland skein of cashmere in a shade of beige/tan/camel. It was very yellowy light brownish...or brownish yellow? I called it icky. Anyways, it was the last one of this colour in the shop and sweet, amazing, superwoman Ginette gave it to me with the orders to dye it and make something nice for myself. OK!

I soaked it in warm water laced with a healthy splash of vinegar while I prepared the "dye". I went through my cupboards to see what blue food colouring I had left and came out with Wilton's in Sky Blue. Not at all what I was aiming for but it was blue and the skein was soaking so I mixed up a good strong batch of blue water laced with the miracle substance also known as vinegar. Because the Wilton's gel always seems to leave bits behind I strained my solution through a paper towel lined strainer. No gooky jelly bits in MY cashmere thank you very much.

The skein was squeezed out and laid in a Pyrex baking dish and I poured the dyeall over and around it and then kinda smooshed it around to try and get the solution all through the skein. When i was satisfied with my saturation I topped the dish with some plastic wrap and fired it into the microwave for between 2 and 3 minutes to get nice and hot. then it sat for a little while until it was cooler and the dye was pretty much out of the water and into the yarn.

I took the whole she bang to the laundry room sink for squeezing out the liquid and for rinsing in sinkfuls of clear water. then I went a further step and gave it a soak in Soak . In the skein the colour was kinda...odd. Hmm...olive, khaki, blueish green in there too, hints of the original colour. I was not sure I was happy with the results. When it was dry it was better....or maybe I was just used to it. In the ball though, I definitely liked the effect of all those shades mingling!

This pretty yarn cake is currently being made into my own Pretty Thing Cowl, pattern by Stephanie Pearl-MacPhee. Its slow going because patterns with charts challenge my brain and attention span very much. But its smooshy and soft and I am told I look great in greens, so I am happy and will be happier still when its DONE and I can wear it snuggled around my neck.

Halloween guys

We had a zombie complete with nasty teeth compliments of food colouring and a wizard. He's NOT Gandalf or Dumbledore...he's just a silver wizard. Lets be clear on that. ;oP

Things seen at Rhinebeck

Rhinebeck and its loot

A lot of the joy of Rhinebeck is in the people you get to know. Cases in point are viewed in these pictures.

We have the lovely and charming Veronik and her friends Carol and Laura, whom I have laid claim to. mwhahahahaha

We have Isolda Teague disguised as Bob the Ravelry mascot. She knit that head ehrself in about a week or two. Bizarre. I didn't actually meet her but just snapped her picture.

We have my Mindy from Virginia with Joanne and Otto of Strauch Fiber Equipment Company and Heidi who works with Mindy in the Kid Hollow Farm booth where this photo was taken. Joanne is my new email mentor in locker hooking and Otto is just a cutie pie. Heidi is actually shorter than I am. For REALS.

And then we have most of my loot. Not pictured are my two sweatshirts and my earrings. And the stuff I gave as gifts already.

Goodbye, Harley