Knitting Content...

Last post of 2007! What a crazy year. But I digress...onto the knitting content...



I had a few goals for holiday knitting and I'm pretty pleased with what I was able to accomplish. Mind you, we weren't swamped with a busy holiday schedule, so I was able to kind of take my time. First up were a pair of felted clogs for the constable. This is the very first thing he's ever agreed to or asked for in terms of knitted items from me. I've made him a couple of pairs of socks, which he likes well enough but doesn't wear all that often. Apparently I make the cuffs too short and he just doesn't understand my aversion to knitting miles of ribbing or gargantuan cuffs, so we agree to disagree on that point. I decided to felt one clog before knitting up the other for the sake of sizing. Despite still being soaked, he sort of tried it on and gave the go ahead for the second clog. They're both felted now, and still waaaay too big. I may give them one more turn in the wash to see if they might shrink up a little bit more, but I'm not overly optimistic. Has anyone else encountered sizing problems with their felted clogs? The ones I knit for my mom were way to big as well. Mine are admittedly a little big on my feet, but I mostly wear them with socks, so I don't notice as much. I'm not sure where the problem lays, whether it's with my washer and it's felting abilities or my gauge or what. In any case, as they're already done, the hubby has agreed to wear them anyway. We shall see how it goes. And as an aside, after picking out the colours and knitting them up, I've realized that I've inadvertantly made very Griffindor-y felted clogs (all Patons classic wool by the way...don't know the colourways. I never pay attention to that anyway).



I also finished my warm and wooly socks, and they get the Hank seal of approval. Not surprisingly, (as his name is Hank after all) he really digs the hand knits. He likes to bite my alpaca fingerless gloves and always seems to snag my big blue cardigan. He thinks it's great fun. I...do not. Anyhow, these socks are awesome and exactly what I was looking for. They're big enough that I can wear a pair of cotton socks underneath, thereby making my feet totally and completely warm...finally. These are knit out of the Briggs and Little Tuffy, teal and lilac I do believe, and they aren't kidding when they call this wool Tuffy! It didn't bother my wrists so much but it wasn't the most luscious yarn to handle. At least my socks should be nice and durable. I plan to knit another pair doing the reverse colouring, with MC lilac and the toes and heels in teal. The Harlot just posted not too long about about afterthought heels, which I've done on this pair, and how she's not a huge fan, but sees the value in that particular technique. I have to say, I think I may be an afterthought convert. I like the look much better than the common heel and I find that the fit is much better as well. I especially like it for doing different colours in the toe and heel too.



Last night I started on one of the Three Tams from the winter issue of Knitty. I am doing Tam C, if you're at all curious. It's sitting there on top of some work that I need to do from home today, as a little prize for when I get that done! I really, really dig the idea of doing Fair Isle/stranded knitting with a variegated yarn...too clever. No ends to weave and lots of interesting colour changes. As I haven't quite mastered the art of lots of bobbins of different yarns, this is a good place to start with the whole Fair Isle business. Oh yeah, and the hat is for me!



Here was my knitty-related haul for Christmas, two lovely books from the constables ma and pa. Debbie Bliss Simply Baby and Nickey Epstein's Knitting Over the Edge. I love the photography in the Debbie Bliss books just as much as I like her designs. I could just sit here and thumb through them again and again! With my Christmas funds, I ordered four more books (and lets face it, I doubt I will stop there) which are as follows: Son of Stitch n' Bitch (Debbie Stoller); Essential Baby and Junior Knits (Debbie Bliss) and Cables Untangled (Melissa Leapman). I was trying to wait until the hubby and I had time to drive into the city and spend like crazy people, which we had planned, but I got too antsy and figured that Chapters wouldn't have everything I was looking for anyway. There are still a few that I'd like to get and I'm pretty sure I will, but I have a birthday coming up, so I might hold out until then. In reading all of the Knit Nite blogs, our next meeting should be quite the show and tell!



And for tonights festivities, I have a pulled pork in the crock pot and it smells some good in here, I'll tell 'ya! Cooking this all day makes me half crazed when it's ready to eat. It's delightful. I have a couple of other treats to whip up, but as the weather here positively sucks today, I'm sure it won't be much of a hassle to spend a little time in the kitchen.

Y'all have a safe and happy New Year! Catch up with ya in '08!

He's Bigger Every Morning...

I forgot that Fridays were supposed to be for Hank.



His one ear popped up the other day.



The other is still only half way.



I think he knows that this only makes him that much more adorable.



In fact I'm sure of it. Poser.



This dog is going to walk all over me, isn't he? And I do mean literally.

Until later...

Hank E. Coyote, Super Genius...

Disclaimer: No dogs were actually injured in the filming of this video. He has a rather solid melon.

A Festivus for the Rest of Us...

It snowed again yesterday. It started early and finished late and we have another 6 to 8 inches on the ground. I had to go to work and so drove home about 60 km/h on a rather treacherous highway. No biggie, I made it home safe and sound. It was coming down pretty steady all day, so we did what anyone else might do on a day like that. We put up our outside Christmas lights. Five days before Christmas, in a snow storm, we decide that it's the perfect moment to put up lights. None of the strands we had were specifically outdoor lights mind you, but we like to live on the edge, so we went ahead with it anyway. We'd planned to string them around one of our porch posts, across the porch roof, and around the post on the other side. It went really quickly until the constable realized that we'd done it backwards. The end with the plug was at the opposite end of where the outdoor outlet was. So down it all came. That's when the lights started malfuncitoning due to the cold. It was getting near dark by this time, so we ditched the whole effort. I'm thinking of changing our surname to Griswold.

Not to be defeated, the constable drove to the Superstore to get some outdoor LED's that were seriously on sale and we're to try again just as soon as he wins a virtual Superbowl or whatever other vitual football championship he might be playing at the moment. Speaking of Christmas decorations on sale, I picked up a tree the other day:



It was three dollars! And I picked up the little stockings and the green twinkly lights too, all of which were dirt cheap, which was awesome. The presents are all from the constable's fam., (one of which we think is beeping...what the heck is that???!) who sent a box of love earlier this week.


The festive house. I don't know if this is actually any better than a dark house. The constable went out to inspect our handiwork before he left for actual work and declared the whole thing rather 'ghetto'.

We're not exchanging gifts with each other at Christmas this year. We've just been too busy. We've decided to celebrate Festivus instead. As the constable won't let me put up a Festivus pole or have the traditional airing of grievances, I guess it won't be so much a traditional Festivus as a post-Christmas celebration. We'll pick something out after all the hoopla dies down (and is hopefully ridiculously on sale) and go get it then. This was the agreed upon rule, until I went to the mail box yesterday and saw an issue of Saltscapes with my name on it. My lovely hubby got me a subscription! Technically, it's still not a Christmas gift as he had the impression it wouldn't show up until January. Anyhow, I think it's a very lovely, thoughtful gift. Saltscapes is a Canadian east cost magazine full of all kinds of great stuff...recipes, local people, history, current events and topics...a very readable mag. It caught my eye as soon as we got out here and helped me get aquainted with the area. I love it.



To keep me busy over the holiday, I picked up two skeins of Briggs and Little Tuffy to make myself some very big, very thick, very wooly socks. I've said it before, I'll say it again...this is a drafty province. Slowly but surely, I am beating back the chill, one wooly layer at a time. At our last Knit Nite of '07, blogfree Donna let me play with her swift, and although I wasn't too swift about how it worked, I did catch on. I wound two lovely little yarn cakes and am now totally enraptured with the whole notion of a swift and ball winder. If this spinning workshop I'm taking in January sticks, I'm so getting all of the yarny toys.



And finally, here's my Hankles (he has kankles you know. I think he thinks his name is 'Hankles has Kankles!' cuz that's what I say to him all the time...it amuses me cuz it ryhmes.) He's 10 wks old today. I think I'll save Fridays for Hank updates, since he was born on a Friday. He went to the doctor today and was a very good boy about getting his shots and stuff sprayed up his nose. He's quite the ladies man already, as the women in the office, including the vet herself, are very taken with him. We were very encouraged about all of this as he's very cautious about anything new, and he was just settling into the car ride home when he barfed all over the back seat. Yep, that's my Hankles. His big stuffed buddy Rosco and his car blankie had to have a little wash this afternoon. Hank was a bit distressed about seeing his crate so Rosco-free. But, that's what happens when you barf on your friends.

And on that note, I shall take my holiday leave. Not sure what level of blogging will take place between now and the new year. Maybe no, maybe so. In any event, to all my bloggy friends, both new and old, have a very happy Festivus and a wonderful New Year! I'll be thinking of y'all as I chillax with my Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack and my hot chocolate and Bailey's. In fact, the kettle is boiling as we speak.

Until later...


Festivus unveiled on Seinfeld...these are all the bits where Festivus is discussed. I love Gerry Stiller.

Decking the Hall...

Well, it took a while, but I finally got all my decorating done!

Behold, the majesty of the holiday! (I was watching Creepy Canada when I took this photo this morning).

Really sets the mood, don't you think? BTW, that's an RCMP Nutcracker there. My nephew got that for us last Christmas. I think it's pretty cool. His Sam Brown has come unglued though. The mini-stocking I just happened upon. It was in a a misc. box with some mini-Sharpies that I was after. And the screw was already in the wall, so, ya know...

So we're the only house in our neighbourhood that doesn't have any lights or decorations up. I'm sticking steadfast to my 'not in the house/no decorating rule'. Just seems a little silly to light up a house from the outside that is dark and desolate on the inside. I'm currently being accused of some serious humbuggery (that just doesn't sound right, does it?). So in an effort to compromise, I went looking for my spotlights in the Christmas decorations and they seem to be MIA. I know they're around somewhere, as I am also missing large quantities of decorations themselves. Anyhow, I may still go puchase at least one spotlight in an effort to at least be neighbourly. The house does look rather menacing with just a singular porch light on at night.

In other news, here's Hank:



I think he's pretty much doubled in size since we brought him home. It's getting harder to pick him up and have a cuddle. Which is why he decided that today was the day he ought to learn how to get up on the fouton by himself. I had instituted a strict no furniture rule prior to bringing the little weirdo home which the constable promptly violated. So the rule got ammended to no couch, fouton okay. Whatever keeps him quiet and satisfied...plus he looked really cute and wanted to be with me for purposes other than biting. I couldn't resist.

In crafting news, I finished the mom slippers:



Pre and post felting. This magical process never ceases to amuse me. Even post felting though, they look rather gigantic to me. My mom has size 9 1/2 feet, which are quite wide at the toe, and seeing as the mediums fit me very well with my size eights, I thought I'd better make the large size. It's hard to judge when you can't see them on an actual person. Anyhow, the first felting session I somehow forgot about them and they went through the full spin cycle. Yipes! Bad scene. They had felted back onto themselves. I tried blocking them out, but they looked really awful. This morning I threw them in a delicate warm cycle and grabbed them before the rinse. Still a little kinked up in places, but overally, much more esthetically pleasing. They may need some encouragement in the drying department as I hope to still send them off tomorrow.



I finished sewing the soles on mine last night and now my feet are so comfy! These really are the prefect slipper.

Today's project will be a couple of dishcloths to round out my mom's gifts (she loves these things and I can't stand making them but every once in a while...perhaps I should enlist Heddy to knit them up for me) and this:



I knit this hat umpteen years ago for my sister for Christmas. I was just starting to knit seriously, and as you can clearly tell, I was in some serious gauge denial. I had this and a matching scarf which was knit quite tight using too small a needle that ended up being too short because I ran out of yarn and couldn't find more. So she got a practically useless scarf (which she does actually wear, bless her heart) and a gigantic hat. The minute she put it on, she, as well as I, just about died laughing. It was hilarious. At some point, I reclaimed the hat and promised to somehow fix the problem. She's asked me over the years to fix the scarf as well, but it is still in her posession. Anyhow, I went rummaging for my own winter wear today and came across the infamous hat. If it were wool, I'd felt it and the problem would be solved, but seeing as back in those days, Zellers was my exclusive yarn dealership, I know for certain it's acrylic. So I'm going to rip it out today and see if I can't knit something respectable out of it. Not going to make it for Christmas mind you, but hey. Maybe next year I'll do the same to the scarf!
(I've buried my chin in my hoodie in the photo due to a horrendous acne outbreak...I blame the dog).

So that'll be my day. Quick check out the window seems to indicate that this big storm we've been hearing about may have started. Hope no one is stuck on the roads!

Until later...

Warmth...

I finally went and got my hair cut last night. I feel like a respectable human being again. I think my last appointment may have been in the spring or summer. It's been so long I don't remember. I don't know why I let it go that long. There have been some rather interesting coif configurations in the last few weeks. I know it's time to go when I keep putting my hair in two braids with a kerchief on top. It's what one of my high school english teachers referred to as my 'Russian refugee' look. Of course, the rest of the ensemble might have contributed slightly to the comment. Worn, threadbare, steel blue sweater; thrift store blue and black checked flannel skirt; black tights and 14 hole navy blue Doc Martens. Yessiree, that was my favourite outfit. I was beating the boys away I'll tell ya. And yet, the constable says he had a crush on me even way back then (we went to highschool together, but didn't date back then...cue the chorus of 'awwwwwwww's'). The dude must really like me!

Anyway, I went with blunt bangs this time instead of swept bangs. I know, this is revolutionary stuff. And I also made another apointment for mid-January. I'm thinking my image issues may stem from the fact that I do vey little in the way of consistent hair maintainence and then get completely frustrated when it won't co-operate. Duh. I'm also thinking of doing something in the way of colouring. At least, that's the appointment I made. I hit the big 3-0 at the end of Jan., and I'm really looking to do something different. I've decided that from 30 onward, ever five years I'm going to do something big or big-ish (ya know, within reason and budget and so forth) to celebrate. This year it's hair colour and champagne (cuz it's my champagne birthday...turning the age of your birthdate...which works well for me, but not so much for those born on say, the 4th!). I've always wanted to go red for some reason, so I may go with some red highlights. I've also always wanted to go all-over really blonde. But not like Anna-Nicole blonde. Not trashy blonde. Just...blonder. I don't have a lick of colour in my hair at the moment, my highlights have all grown out. So I hope I don't punk out and just do foil highlights again, like I do everytime. Anyhow, we'll see.

Enough of the narcissism.

After publishing my last post, I was a little apprehensive about it's tone, so I came back here around noon that day to delete and I found four comments, all assuring me that I wasn't nuts and that my ranting was completely acceptable. I so love the blog! It made me feel a whole lot better actually. So thank you to you guys. I'm in a much better frame of mind. And it didn't hurt that I won a little yarn from The Ninja Knitter! Yay! She's doing this really fantastic advent yarn giveaway over at her blog (link in my blogroll...Blogger isn't co-operating). I plan to pass along the kindness.



And I'm not sure how this happened, but I managed to finish a little project! I've been needing some cozy slippers to warm my chilly feet and so I knit up a pair of ballet ones from Fiber Trends. These took zero time to knit and actually hung around unfelted for an unreasonable amount of time, cuz I was convinced that they couldn't be felted in a front loader. I kept waiting to take them to the laundromat and when I decided that I just didn't want to do that, I thought, what the hell...let's just try the front loader and see what happens. If it doesn't work, I'm out like...six bucks. Big deal. And they felted just fine. I put them on the Heavy Duty cycle of my HE2 in a zippered pillow case and kept a close eye. I think I stopped the cycle and took them out before the second wash/go around (cuz I think the heavy duty cycle does at least two) and they weren't felted very much, so I threw them in for another heavy duty with a pair of pants and just walked away. I did catch them part way into the spin cycle and they had creased a bit, but I managed to block most of that out. In any case, they're perfect. Very toasty. I'm going to sew on a suede sole today out of a Frenchy's purchase. (I also made an itty-bitty pair that I have to post over at Ravelry...an Istmas-cray esent-pray, if you catch my drift).



These are so quick and easy that I've started on a pair for my mom for Christmas (she doesn't read the blog...she thinks computers are evil), and if I can keep Hank worn out by doing big romps in the snow in the back yard, I'll definitely have them knit, felted and sent away by Monday. Yay for me.

In house news, the furnace is now fully functional. Not surprisingly, the lines were frozen. The lovely Irving man came and fiddled some do-hickey's and performed some mysterious service man magic and now I don't dread going over to the house to fetch something. And it didn't cost an arm and a leg either...just a small, expendable appendage, like a toe or your little finger. Oh, and the fridge did self correct! So as much as I'm not looking forward to the oil bill for the house and the electric heating bill for the apartment, I'd say it's worth a little peace of mind.

Well, Hank is awake now and driving me to distraction. Guess my blog time is up.

Until later...

What I Want for Christmas...

This is an in-joke for the locals...but if you get it too, feel free to laugh along.



Hank.



Snow.

So I used to knit you know. Then we went and got this freakin' dog. Seriously, how do you people with children out there get so much done? And children aren't even crated! Hank is great, learning very fast, but I just don't know if I'm cut out for the puppy stage. How long does this last? Yes yes, stop reminding me it's been like a week and half. It feels like forever.

I haven't knit a thing in a good long while. It's making me cranky. Well, I was already cranky. This just makes me crankier. I knit to calm down and focus on one thing for a while. Knitting while getting up every five seconds to check on chewing or bathroom status or yelling 'No!' the other fifty-five seconds is not relaxing.
*sigh* It'll get better, I know.

Anyhow, we did do a miniscule amout of work on the house yesterday.

Meet my Everest.

The staircase is what kind of sold me on the house at least. It is solid and quite beautiful, and I could see the potential behind it. When we first arrived, it had carpeting all up the treads. At first, we thought of stripping the whole thing and staining it. Then we actually started stripping things and realized what a horribly long process that is, so we modified our idea to include the railing, both newel posts and the treads. The risers and dowels we'd paint to match whatever colour we paint the livingroom.



I am going to let you think that I got that all scraped yesterday. Frankly, I need the ego boost, even if it is a lie.



Unscraped vs. scraped. Facinating, truly it is.

I've been using paint scrapers to do the majority of the work. Around five o'clock yesterday afternoon, I broke out the little orbital sander and just went to town. I don't even care how much sand paper it takes. I'd rather spent five hours using a hand sander and actually seeing results rather than spending the same amount of time to only get one and a half stair treads done.



It's fitting that I end here with a picture of one wall of the living room completed in drywall, because I may have just hit the proverbial wall yesterday in terms of this project. We've been keeping the heat very low in the house so as to alleviate some of the cost over the winter. Yesterday I turned up the heat to give the house and us a little break from the cold. Turns out, it hasn't been on at all. The furnace isn't working. Neither is the fridge in the house. We suspect that because of the low temps., the motor or whatever makes a fridge go hasn't been kicking in. Today I have to deal with a fair amount of rotten, smelly food. And the Irving oil guy should be here any minute to make a five second repair and charge us an arm and a leg.




The constable ripped out all the plaster in the entryway ceiling and I guess hopes to put up some drywall. Either that or put up drywall in the bathroom. Either way, the house is covered in dust again. The pretty shiny floors are covered in crap as is my craft room, cuz it doesn't have a door.

So I give. I've had it. Uncle. Enough. This sucks. Eight months. Eight freakin' months. Yes, we've got a lot done. But I'm tired. I'd like to live in the place where I do my laundry. I'd like to stop eating off of picnic wear because I refuse to move the kitchen stuff back into the apartment. I'd like to sleep in our brand new queen sized bed that we've had since last June and only slept in twice, because we had company. I'd like to cook in my new stove, use my dishwasher regularly, not avoid cooking or buying things that require a microwave because it's in the house and just mentally, 'too far away.' I'd like to unpack my belongings that have been in boxes and in various stages of storage since August of 2006. I'd like some room to move around and play with my dog. I'd like to get the $%^& out of this apartment.

...

The constable has heard enough of this the last few weeks, so I thought I would subject you, my faithful group of strangers, to my rant.

Anyway...c'est la vie. Any variety of home ownership has it's unique assortment of trials and tribulations. As a first home experience, this may take the cake. Did I mention we were mental to have taken this on? Just bar none, absolutely cracked? Well, you probably had that one pegged long ago.

In any case, this was cleansing. I promise more merriment to come, once I get this whole Christmas business dealt with. Boxes to send, boxes to send. I'll feel better when I'm more organized.

Until later...

PS: Hank Snow, famous country musician, from Liverpool, NS.

Merry Hankmas...

Not exactly Christmas card quality, but it was only his first sitting. We'll try again some other time.

Not much to report other than the Hankster is doing very well on all accounts. House training is coming along very nicely with only minor accidents which can all be blamed on yours truly. Sleeping in the crate, also a success with little to no fussing anymore. Sitting on command every time now with laying down and staying getting better all the time.

He's a fuzzy little genius. Except for the chewing. That needs some work.

Needless to say, he's keeping me busy and therefore not much knitting of late. I broke out a small project last night once Zippy (Hank's other unofficial name) had settled down and it was quite nice to just sit there and work on something for a while.

Tonight was Knit Nite which I thoroughly enjoyed (which I do every week) as it provided me two solid hours to immerse myself in this whole yarny business. Talking about knitting, looking at knitting, actually knitting...love it. Don't even think of trying to make me give it up!

Anyhow, that's all. Just a quicky. I was getting sick of seeing Keanu running at me when I popped on over to my blog.

Until later...

Cinimatic Guilty Pleasures Meme...

Chicken Betty has started a little meme that I think is pretty clever and could be a lot of fun. So I thought I'd participate. The whole idea is to think of the cheesiest, campiest movies that you love to watch and your favourite scenes in them. So here goes.



Johnny Mnemonic
I think this is hands down the best worst movie I've ever seen. When the only outstanding performance in a movie is brought to you by Henry Rollins, that should give you a clue (although he's very good at spoken word/monologuing, so I really shouldn't take anything away from the guy). The premise of the story is that Johnny (Keanu) is able to carry around large quanities of information around in his brain, where it has been downloaded and stored (FYI, this takes place in the future...like 2005 or something :) ) and he has some very sensitive information which people are trying to kill him for. The best scene in this 'film' (I use the term very loosely) is where he's simply had enough. He's standing on top of this garbage heep (most of the civilized world has been destroyed) and lamenting his lot in life. I don't think I've ever laughed so hard at someone trying to do serious acting. It's hysterical.
Come to think of it, I think pretty much any Keanu Reeves movie is a guilty pleasure of mine. I loooove Keanu, but am not above admitting that he's a tiny bit wooden. His best performances are when he's not talking much, ie. Matrix, Speed, and uh...


Point Break Keanu Reeves, Patrick Swayze AND Gary Busey?? C'mon people! It really doesn't get any cheesier than this. This is where the name Johnny Utah came from, for those who may not be as well versed in the ways of the Keanu. I mean, that should say it all right there. Keanu, as an FBI agent going under cover as a surfer to catch bank robbers.
Any scene that has Busey in it is my favourite.



Howard the Duck goes back to my childhood, and I watched this movie I don't know how many times, and I think I knew it was bad even then. Not that I cared. The 80's were just ripe with terrible movies, weren't they? Though the older I get, the more I realize that movies are just bad in general. Anyhow, the premise of this one is a duck living in a parallel universe in a world much like Earth, where ducks are the dominant species, gets transported to Cleveland via an experiment gone hay wire. Howard befriends a struggling rock musician, played by Lea Thompson and together they try to find a way home for Howard and uncover a sinister plot in doing so. They are aided by a young and presumably pre-Bull Durham Tim Robbins. This movies is terrible, but who can resist a cigar smoking, foul (fowl?) talking duck with credit cards? Certainly not this cat. This is the kind of movie that if it were to come on tv, I would likely watch it. As I would with...


Encino Man

Tell me, who wasn't 'wheezing the juh-uice' back in 1992? Okay, so perhaps it was only those between the ages of 13-30. Anyhow, I still think that Brendan Fraser is a tragically overlooked actor who is capable of so much more than Blast from the Past or Bedazzled (hmmmm...didn't know that his grandfather was a Mountie...that explains Dudley Do-Right). I think he deserves more dramatic roles cuz I think he's a sweetie. And of course, the early nineties were all about that weird little man named Pauly Shore.
As for favourite scene, not sure if I can pick out one specifically, but if you were the right age during the early nineties, you undoubtedly knew every line from this movie...buuuh-ddy.

I was going to try and do five, but I think I'm fresh out at the moment. This has been fun though. I may do this again, as I'm exceptionally opinionated about movies. I'd like to do another one of these of just the worst movies I've ever seen, period. Ones where I really do lament the loss of that time, and am infuriated that I will never get it back. Hmmm, gonna go think that one over.

Until later...

Gonna Think Twice, Gonna Do Right...

I heard the most offensive thing the other day at work. I haven't heard something this offensive to my ears in quite some time. It was so offensive to me that it quite literally made my skin crawl, and I just had to share it here with you all.

This is what it was:

The Carpenters version of Ticket to Ride by the Beatles. Eeeyyyeeewwww!

This particular song epitomizes everything that was so horrid about seventies pop music. I am here to tell you my friends, it was decidedly UN-easy listening. Listening to The Carpenters (I don't mind their hits...much) instantly transports me back to my first home in north-ish Ontario on Lake Simcoe. I'm four or five and playing records on the family hi-fi system. And my favourites at the time were Kenny Rogers The Gambler, Barry Manolow and the Mini-Pops. The Mini-Pops were all me and I still love them. The rest constitutes my mothers tragically poor taste in music. Listening to the easy listening station on Galaxie sattelite radio while at work, I have to admit that when I hear 'You Picked a Fine Time to Leave me Lucille', I get a warm fuzzy nostalgic feeling. That and 'I Can't Smile Without You'....eeeeesh.

Anyhow, nothing much to talk about today other than to say it was kind of a rough first night for wee Hank, though he did remarkably well in the bladder control department, as far as seven week old puppies go. We made it out twice overnight at four hour intervals with success both times!(as if you are all dying to know the elimination habits of my canine). Such a smart dog.

And with that I just wanted to give a big shout out to y'all who stop by here either regularly or semi-regularly to take a looky-loo at my blog. All of the lovely comments and the cheerleading and the sharing of common bonds really does make me feel as though I am part of a community, despite having never actually met some of you! It's a very cool feeling. So I thank you all. Knowing that you're there makes writing this silly conglomoration of ramblings all the more worthwhile.

Here's to a great holiday season.

Until later...

Pick of the Litter...

Well, today was the day. The constable and I are now proud puppy parents to a rather floppy and pretty uncertain large ball of fluff.

And we're calling him Hank.

But what you're really here for are the pictures!



I forgot to take the camera with me when we went to pick him up, so these first photos were of our first order of business, a bath. Playing with your brothers and sisters in close proximity to your own waste products requires a quick tub, dontcha think? Anyhow, he was not a fan, but survived and was greatly praised.

The ride home was a little rough. It takes about 45 mins. from where we got him to our place, so a decidedly long ride for one who's only been in a vehicle once. Turns out he's a bit of a nervous drooler. He was soaked from the mouth to the paws when we reached our driveway. Overall though, he did very well.



Here's 'ol Hank after his bath...all fresh and poofy! It was a bit of an adjustment from bathing a nearly bald (in comparison) Jack Russell to this little guy! He's got a lot of fur. And it's sooo soft.

Of the five males that we had to pick from (yep, we were first!) Hank was the only black and tan and one of two that came right to us immediately. He and the runt of the litter were very interested and very playful. I picked up Hank and he was very affectionate and comfortable being held. The hubby went into the pen to get aquainted with everyone, one of whom wasn't too keen on waking up, another who was too busy playing with a toy. During all of the requisite document signing, Hank stayed right up against the pen wall near where we were. I think we knew right away that he was the one. And funny enough, if you remember the last post where I put up puppy pictures, Hank was the little guy looking up at the camera, sitting there all by himself. Co-incidence? Hmmmm...



I like the little sideways glance in this one, as if to say, I am really not sure about you lady! So far we've had three (perhaps four) successful trips outside to use the loo and three little accidents in the house, one of which was clearly my fault as I truly think he was trying to tell me he had to go. He was whining alot and sort of restless, and I was trying to settle down and eat some dinner, so we won't count that one in the final tally. He's pretty good about his crate, though closing the door is something we're working on. We'll see how sleeping tonight will go.




We've had a few good little plays and I think he's kind of settled in now. It'll still be a while before he's truly figured out what the hell is going on. Kinda sad really...one day you've got all these playmates, then these strangers come along and take you away where you're all alone. I'd whine too. And stay very close underfoot, which is what he's been doing. He's so fun to watch though, cuz he's still unco-ordinated and unsteady. He's all over the place.



Anyhow, it's been a big day for Hank, and for us. I think we'll pack it in.

Thanks to everyone for playing along with the whole name game thing. I don't think there was a clear winner in the poll, but clearly Hank was a solid choice (and I like how it's also knitting related, but don't tell the constable!)

My little prizey things are going out to the following; Chicken Betty will be getting something from me cuz she thought Johnny Utah was as hilarious as I did and also suggested the name of Robert Smith, clearly appealing to the Cure fan in me.

Kim B. will be getting a pair of hand knit socks for the name of Saxon, cuz it appealed to the history major in me and the thought of Saxons fighting Britons sent me off on many a little day dream. Kim B's not a knitter, so a solitary ball of yarn or the like wouldn't be likely to excite her!

My Knit Nite ladies will be getting (hopefully) some homemade goodies for playing along and being interested in the puppy overall. And Panzer, Weiner and Schnitzel were definitely names that I was totally up for, though someone else in the decision making process didn't share my sense of whimsy.

Anyhoo, tis all for now lovelies. I'm sure I'll be boring y'all with many a photo from here on in. Until later...

Bitten by the Frenchys Bug...

I was told it would take three tries before it stuck. And sure enough, they were right.

Having come from Ontario, I'd never heard of Guy's Frenchys before, though the concept wasn't new. I'd been a fan of Value Village, cuz I'm always up for a bargain and one can sometimes find a real jackpot, especially if one is into crafts. Just ask Carrie over at Carrie's Workbasket...she's the queen of the ultimate find. She just nabbed herself a copy of Nicky Epsteins Knitted Embellishments at a used book store for FIVE DOLLARS! Not long before that, she wrangled herself a whole set of circular knitting needles for fifteen dollars. I bow down...(though I did once find a mini weaving loom for six bucks, so I do okay myself).

Anyhow, Guy's is basically the same idea I think as Value Village, but a different set up. Dresses and coats are hung up around the perimeter of the store while all other items are in big bins set up around the rest of the store. You have to pick through the bins to get an idea of what they have in stock. The bins are organized by category, like ladies blouses or kids sizes 0-24 mos., that type of thing.

To be totally honest, it was the picking through bins that kind of put me off. I didn't really have an issue with the items themselves, it was just that I didn't want to spent that kind of time! I like browsing through racks or meandering up and down isles, but rifling through bins takes a certain level of commitment.

Various people had regaled with their own unique tales of unbelievable Frenchys bargains and assured me that I'd just have to hit that one jackpot and I'd be hooked. I was still skeptical, but I thought I'd give it one more go. Besides, I was looking for old bedding for our new room mate, to put in his crate. So lets start there.



Monday whilst doing my Christmas shopping, I stopped into the Bridgewater Frenchys to peruse their bedding stock. I found this twin sized comforter, which I cut in half and then zig-zagged the raw edge with my sewing machine. The half then folded in half (got all that?) fits quite nicely into the crate. Now I have two crate blankets, one to use and one to store, made from one comforter. And I thought that the sports motif was befitting a little boy. (!)

I also picked up a couple of twin sized fitted sheets and turned one of them into a partial crate cozy.


As the crate needs to double as a side table while we're still in the apartment, there were some wires hanging down the sides of the crate that I didn't want to puppy to be able to get to. So a few measurments and hems later, and we've got a crate cozy! I bought two sheets thinking I wouldn't get enough fabric out of one, but one was way more than enough. I have huge usable scraps out of the one sheet that I used, plus all of the other sheet.

So if that was all I ended up with out of this particular shopping endeavour at Frenchys, I would've been quite satisfied with that. I think the comforter was three dollars and the sheets were somewhere in the $1.75 range or something. But then I started strolling about the store and came across the 'Odds' bin. I'm a fan of odd things, and though I knew they meant mismatched items or just things that weren't categorized in other bins, I kinda hoped I would find something odd. And I kinda did.



A whole smorgasboard of handwoven items. Now, a sad truth that a crafter must reconsile themselves with is that some day, that item, be it a baby sweater or a crocheted blanket, that they worked so dilligently on and fretted over every detail, may end up spending it's golden years in a place just like this one. Countless times I've gone into thrift stores and seen piles and piles of hand crafted clothing and bedding languishing in obscurity for a mere pittance a piece. It makes me kinda sad. Undoubtedly I wouldn't feel this way if I didn't participate in these crafts myself, but when I look at that matching baby sweater and hat, I know that someone picked out the pattern, pondered over it's difficulty level, saw it both as a challenge and a pleasure, happily anticipated shopping for the yarn and stood in the shop fondling this colour and that colour, finally picking just the right one. Then that person took all of these random elements, yarn, needles, pattern pamphlet, and spent their evenings and afternoons in joyous activity and contemplation on the intended recipient.

It makes me feel slightly better if I can tell that these discarded items have been repeatedly washed, which means that at least they were used. And you can't totally blame whomever discarded the item in the first place. Children grow, tastes change and we can't all keep everything forever. If we did, we'd all end up on those Oprah hoarding specials (did anyone see the one with the woman who had 75 tonnes of garbage, not to mention the usable stuff, in her house???). But knowing that these things were hand made by someone who had to have a certain level of skill and who put an awful lot of thought behind making it, makes it seem as though these 'things' should be just a little more special than your average consumer item.



All of this is what probably prompted me to 'rescue' all of this stuff. It was the apron with the blue designs that first caught my eye. You can just tell that something is handwoven when you see it. I snapped it up in a hurry and then began the serious digging. The aqua coloured place mats? I found four. The pinky and white checked ones? Six. There's two of the plain cream coloured ones. Some of this stuff have personalized tags on them which say 'Hand Woven by...' right on it.


A small item, about six inches square, probably a sample to test out weave structure and pattern.

Moreso than knitted stuff, this just breaks my heart. It takes nearly an entire day to dress a loom, and that's just the prep! You haven't even begun to weave anything yet! Weaving itself is pretty straightforward, and the results are always impressive. And durable. And would fetch a pretty penny at a craft sale. I got this stuff for a fraction of what it is truly worth.



Then there's my little handbag problem. I just came across an entire box in the garage, like a 2 cube packing box, full of my handbags. I was so excited to see them! I saw these at Frenchy's and they told me that I must take them home. The flowery one in the middle is a thick resin/plasticy thing that will make a great beach bag. The two canvas totes are Martha Stewart Living bags, which I'm guessing were a free gift with subscription or something. Anyhow, I'm not a Stewart-ite, just liked the colours and the shape of the bags, so I'm thinking good knitting project bags. The little one was just too cute to leave behind. It serves no useful purpose other than to sit there and be adored, so that's what I plan to do.

In addition to this haul, I got about five books, one on refinishing wood (cuz up to this point, I've just been doing whatever I feel like), one on tailoring clothing, a few kids books and Dan Brown's Angels and Demons, which I've been wanting to read but wasn't willing to pay $12 for! Yes, I'm exceptionally frugal. I don't spend any money on myself, can't remember the last time I bought myself a piece of clothing or got a proper haircut. And so this is how the repressed consumer in me rebels. It takes me thrift shopping and goes ape shit. But ya wanna know the grand total of this little excursion? $31.75. Tell me the last time you bought three tote bags, one comforter, two fitted sheets, 12 place mats, one apron and five books for $31.75.

Damn right I'm going back.

PS: We get the puppy Friday morning.