The Will To Blog...

...is hard to muster sometimes. A few reasons; first, I was on my own for two weeks while the constable was on course and for the first week I was sick, for the second the constable took the portable blogging machine back with him on said course. The stationary blogging machine (re: desk top) and I don't get along very well.

Anyhoo...

I'm worried that there is something very, very wrong with me. To illustrate, I present to you exhibit A.



A cake. I made a cake. For no apparent reason. I just was gripped by the notion that I wanted to make and decorate a cake one day and it wouldn't let go of me until I up and did it.



I think what started it all was that one day, I was thinking about little A's first birthday, which will be here freakishly soon (still five months away, but at the rate time is passing, it might as well be tomorrow) and what should I do for it and hey, we'll need cake and oh yeah, my mom used to make some pretty awesome cakes remember the time she made a little one and brought it to my third grade class that was both awesome and embarassing because there wasn't enough for everyone so I could only give some to a couple of other people so really what was she thinking? but anyway I could make a cake and hey, those fondant cakes are kind of cool I betcha I could do that let me Google that and see what I can find out.

Welcome to my diseased brain.

So I Googled and asked a friend of mine who makes cakes, bought some food colouring gel and well, here we are with a heap load of cake without a cake-eating occasion. This compulsion would've been helpful a week and a bit ago when it was the hubby and Hank's birthday. Oh yeah...



Birthday goofiness. Hank is two. Constable is older than that. Little A doesn't have a clue what's going on, but thinks it great fun anyway.



Speaking of her, this is how I found her when I returned from a minute in the kitchen. No idea how it happened. But, I suppose there are worse things in life than to be attacked by a soft, squishy sheep. She's my constant source of awesome in a day. She's...however many weeks older than the last time I posted. Yeah. Almost seven months. Let's go with that.



Now for knitting...oh, the knitting. Sometimes I feel a slave to it, I really do. I'm in the midst of a creative explosion at the moment, so there's a tragic little trail of works in progress strewn about the house. The above photo is the result of a solo trip to Have a Yarn prior to being abandoned, I mean, before the constable went on course. I think a few hours of autonomy combined with wool fumes left me defenceless to the lure of colourwork. It's a Lanett pattern and yarn and it's pretty and delicate and intricate looking without being overly so. Sized for 3 yrs. so I've got a while to work on it, which is a plus since I pick up and drop things at an alarming rate anymore.



There are some others, but in the interest of brevity, I'll just showcase the most recent and what I'm currently working on. From left to right, a wool soaker for my nephew for Christmas and a cabled earflap hat in the works to match (gotta keep all essential body parts warm and toasty); the Pretty Thing cowl a la the Harlot in the works in scrummy alpaca; an adorable little bonnet type hat for the baby (need a photo of her in it to really do it justice); and two felted pumpkins that I converted into little felted pumpkin baskets. I'm also crocheting food, but I don't have a picture of that at the moment. And I've got a few paper projects on the go as well. Damn Cricut machine. I KNEW this would happen.

Hmmm, anything else I need to get caught up on? I did make a couple of soups in my absense. One was what I call a Frankenchickenball Soup. It was chicken soup with chicken meatballs in it. My own recipe. Tasty enough but the chicken balls were too big. After that was a rushed french onion. French onion in celebration of being able to actually eat all the onions I wanted without having to get any grief about it while my beloved was gone and rushed because, well, I started too late in the day for eight hour soup in the crock pot. And you could really taste the difference. FYI, don't rush french onion. I did take photos, but, well, who cares really. Then it was Thanksgiving and I made a turkey but we ate it all before it got to the soup stage.

That should just about do it. Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go and listen to the repeat of Q on CBC radio. I heard the morning broadcast and some female sportscaster totally dissed knitting during their sports culture panel discussion, and since I was playing with the baby at the time and only heard snippits of what was said, I want to make sure I have all my facts right before I send off my snarky little email. As an aside for anyone who listens to copious amounts of CBC radio like I do; a fun game to play while you're listening to Q is to count how many times Jian Ghomeshi says 'zeitgeist'. Can also be played as a drinking game.

Until later...

Soup on Sunday & Twenty-five...

I'm having an utterly craptacular day. Woke up with a nasty-ass headache to a baby who's a big crank-a-pants and thinks that screaming is the only effective means of communication. Her once set-your-clock-by-it predictable schedule appears to be changing as well, and it's completely messing with my head. Waaaa. Anyway...



This is the redeeming quality of the day though. Both my baby boy and my baby girl sharing space and getting along. Yes, she's blurry...that can't be helped. She's a girl on the move. She seems to really like Hank, notices him more all the time, but when she's in the Jolly Jumper, it's hit or miss as to how she feels about him. Sometimes she's utterly entralled and others, like for a brief moment this morning, seemingly terrified. He could be on the other side of the room completely unconcious and all of a sudden, she just starts wailing while looking at him. Little weirdo. So we had to have a little chat about Hank having livingroom rights too, and that seemed to straighten her out a bit. Hank, for his part, is a perfect gentleman where little A is concerned. I've very impressed. I was hoping that he would innately know that little miss requires special consideration and caution, and so far, he does. He listens a little more carefully to my commands when she's around, and that's just pure awesome.



In other banal details of my life, I've decided that I'm going to make soup on Sundays. I love Sunday, a day for being quiet and lazy, in my opinion. Which doesn't really jive with having to make dinner...also in my opinion. Enter soup. Delicious, warm, satisfying...served in a bowl. What's not to love? I have this great soup cook book, so for the autumn and winter, the soup months, I'm going to cook my way through it on Sunday evenings. First installment in the series was a very successful and yummy Cream of Cauliflower and Walnut soup. Taaaay-steeee. The recipe called for a little paprika to be sprinkled on at the end, which I didn't have, so I went with nutmeg (same colour) and for me, that just was the icing on the cake. Or the nutmeg on the soup I guess. Awesome. I've since discovered though that you really need to eat this up in one go, as the little bit that was left over went brown in the fridge overnight. Boo. But it's wasn't that much, so it wasn't a huge waste.



In knitting, I've started a sweater for my sister's dog, Franklin. He's a new addition to her fam, a Yorki-poo, and since he tips the scales at a whopping 5.5 lbs, I figured that a harsh Canadian winter might be a bit of a challenge for him. Heck, a good stiff breeze could send this little guy into a spasm of shivers. Anyhow, I'm already half way through this project and I don't anticipate it taking me much longer, if I can stay away from the Broadripple socks that keep calling my name. I'm suffering from a bit of startitis at the moment. Especially since this little dog sweater seems to have cured me of my cabling blockage and I'm dying to get at my Starsky sweater that I had totally anticipated having done by now, even though I both started and then promptly abandoned it back in the late spring.

Anyhow, I'm going to go flake out for as long as possible. Until later...

Where are we?

Seriously. At four months (four months as of Saturday), this child is already well travelled. Three provinces, one night in a scary slasher motel (daddy isn't allowed to make the travel plans anymore) and waking up to new faces at every stop along our way to Ontario. And she has been AWESOME through it all. Her only revenge was to poop three times the first day on the road and twice on the second. I've become a real pro at the quick change on the back seat of the van.


Hank in the scary slasher motel our first night on the road. Our big joke was that Hank kept asking, 'Why do we live in the van now?' This room wasn't much bigger.

I gotta give a big high paw and puppy props to this guy, my good 'ole Hank. There was much fret and worry and back and forth about bringing him vs. boarding him and in the end, he came with. He too has been awesome. Hank has an issue or two, but he's coped remarkably well, much better than I would ever have imagined, so much so that I am really very glad that we brought him along. I thought that with a baby and a dog in tow, by the time we got here I'd have aged ten years and been driven to drink. I'm still driven to drink, but, ya know, for entirely different reasons.

I had hoped to put in a picture of some remarkable knitting progress at this point, as I brought a whole heaping bag of it, but after a few hundred kilometers, two outfit and five bib changes and constant chin wiping later due to a steady stream of milk phlegm and teething drool, I started to wonder why I even bothered. I did manage to crochet another bib on the trip, simply because I was worried I would run out of the stack I had handy in the car.

I do have about an inch or so completed on my Grape Hederas that I started before we left (Cookie A. pattern, Tanis Yarn in Grape), but since arriving, have not picked them up once. Busy busy busy. We hit the ground running most days. It's been lovely to see everyone so far. They will be plenty of time for knitting back in ye olde Nova Scotia I'm sure.

So it's taken me two solid days to compose and attempt to publish this post, what with running here and there and shoddy internet connection. So we'll end it here. Hope to have something fun to post for tomorrow though. Until later...

Multiplicity...

No baby yet.

This is my 304th post. That's insane. I've filled 304 blog posts with not a whole lot to say about yarn and fabric and occasionally, my dog. Or the weather. And yet still you read. Bless you.



Still doing a little sewing to keep myself entertained. I've been on a bag jag the last little while. I inherited a bunch of quilting fabric from the constables grandmother a while back, when she was clearing out and downsizing. Nice stuff, but some of it...well, I wasn't sure what I would do with it. I like to quilt, but they are the kind of 'few and far between' projects. Anyhow, I'm continuing my efforts to de-stash a bit and lighten my load, at least with respect to craft room if nothing else. And it's been really fun to turn inward and challenge myself to making stuff from materials I already have...this is what I keep telling myself when the reality is I can't manage to be upright for more than five minutes at a time, so going out and procuring said materials is, like, a righteous pain in the ass. Anyhow, four bags so far and yesterday I found a few more remnants that might do well for this particular pattern. These make nice little knitting project bags so who knows...some lucky knitters out there might be in possession of one at some point.



On one of my Frenchy's sprees, I picked up a couple of pillowcases, intending to try out the whole pillowcase dress thing, and seeing as it's simple and fast, I managed to bang out three of them. The faded blue paisley one was from a set of my own sheets, ones that I loved dearly (strange how you get attached to stupid things) and for some reason, I hung onto the pillowcase. Anyhow, it was my tester. It is the 12 mos. size, the orangey-ish one, 18 mos. and the one with the blue roses, 2T. I was thinking these would make really great beach cover ups or just bumming around in the sandbox kind of wear. Things that I'm not going to get too fussy over if they get incredibly dirty. They really are quite cute. There was enough pillowcase left over that I was thinking of making little draw-string bags. Ya know...for shell collecting or the like.

No knitting to speak of really as I've sorta lost my mojo. But I did wake up this morning feeling the urge to cast on a new project, which was a delightful change of pace. So who knows. Two projects that I had started have bitten the dust. A grey (what was I thinking?) sweater I started for my nephew is now in the circular file and a pair of socks that I started for myself just weren't doing it for me, and have since been frogged and re-caked. I feel very good about these decisions. Sometimes deconstruction is as satisfying as the construction.

It's a beautiful day and of course I'd love to be able to take the Hankster for a nice long walk. Alas, we are cloistered. What did they used to call it? Confinement. Yeah, they kinda weren't kidding. He's been such a good boy for the most part. He tolerates all the napping very well. Thankfully it's staying lighter much longer and the hubs can get him out a bit if he's home from work early enough. I just keep telling Hank that pretty soon, things will get better for him and I promise to get him out more often. That first walk with the stroller and a freaked out, holy-snappin'-crap-Lou-I-haven't-been-for-a-walk-since-summer-of-'08 German Shepherd should be interesting. Poor guy.

Anyhow, that is all. Until later...

A Dog and his Dog...

Just thought I would inject a little cute into your day. Until later...

Foreshadowing...

I got a small taste of what I might be in for in a few months over the weekend. The constable was sick, the dog was weird and up all hours and the wind was howling, threatening to tear the house apart, or so it sounded at times. All of those combined conspired against my getting any sleep whatsoever, and so I saw the briefest glimpse of a me without much sleep for only two days. The extended version should be oh so charming indeed.

I did manage to knit a bit in between fits of sleeplessness and desperately trying to nap. First up, these:



Saartje's Booties knit out of Sirdar Denim DK for Pinta's soon to be cousin for Christmas. Soon to be as in like, likely to be born around the same time. Too cool. Oh yeah, Pinto Bean has now become Pinta Bean, and since the constable and I are having a bit of a hard time coming up with a name we're both sold on, I'm trying to convince him just to go with Pinta and our troubles are over. If only she were one of a set of triplets, I would be all over it (get it? Nina, Pinta, Santa Maria?).

Anyway...this is a great pattern. You can whip these little buggers up in a couple of hours. I plan on making a pink pair for Pinta and perhaps convince the BIL and SIL to take a photo of their bean wearing his and I'll do likewise. Matchy-matchy :)



I also brought this out the closet, where it had been hanging in anticipation, and added a little detailing which I think is charming. I can't decide between knitting a pink rosette and adding a snap closure or picking up the pink baby safety pins I saw at the store to use as a closure. I'll give it some more thought.



T'would appear as though I have pink on the brain. This lovely mess is the dainty pink sweater I alluded to in a previous post. What I find exceedingly frustrating is that I seem to knit lovely things for other people and when I sit down to crank out a project for myself, arse it up more times than I can count. I haven't ripped back, cuz I flat out refuse to where lace is concerned, and I'm sure the mistakes aren't as plentiful as I think they are, but I do know that there are some spots where I've mangled the pattern and well, that will have to be part of it's charm I suppose. In any event, this is going to be wee so I hope she's not going to be the huge baby that her father insists that she will be. What is up with that anyway? I keep hearing, 'TEN POUND BABY' to which I keep asking, 'Do you hate me or something?'



More pink, this time for me. Plain vanilla socks in Tanis Sweetheart. Still adore this yarn. I had a pattern in mind for this yarn, but then went a-travelling and vanilla seemed more practical. Looking forward to finishing these, as they make cozy socks. And of course, I plan on making little ones out of the leftover. Mommy and me socks.

I've got last minute shopping to do and have been stalling all morning cuz it's cold and windy and I just don't wanna. Meh. It's just too cozy in here these days. Hank begs to differ. He'd much rather be out in the snow while it lasts. Maybe if he can keep from driving me nuts for 20 mins, I'll indulge him. Up again at 4 am to be let outside has not put him on my 'nice' list for today. Although he was allowed to open a present this morning. But that's really only because he needed a chewy to keep him occupied and the cupboard was bare. But he was pretty excited at the prospect of opening a present. So that was cute.

Anyhow, I'm off. Until later. Have a great holiday y'all.

Busy Weekend...

On the twelfth, Hank and the constable celebrated their birthdays. It was Hanks first. I think he liked it.



Hank got a new toy. He's not good at sharing (yes, that's me snorting on the video).

Had some people over for Thanksgiving dinner, which was lovely. I like making a big meal every now and then, as long as there are lots of mouths to enjoy it. I think it went over well. And I had no problem eating turkey sandwiches for lunch and another full turkey dinner last night as well. With some stuffing and gravy and turkey still left over. Mmmmm....don't have to cook for the rest of the week.

I've been knitting furiously as well, all stuff I can't show you just yet. All in good time, my pretties. All in good time.

Yesterday was a big day. First ultrasound which I was pretty excited/nervous about and ended up being totally amazing. I have to say though, I was pretty bitter (re: exceptionally bitter...only time I wished I still lived in Ontario...don't get me started) over the fact that they don't give out ultrasound photos here in this fine province (at least not in my little corner of it), but was pleasantly surprised when I was able to snag one for myself anyway. Check this out:



The detail that they can pick up these days is just outstanding. And my suspicions were confirmed; there is indeed an alien life form dwelling deep within. And apparently it hearts NY. Who can blame him really?

Then there was that little matter of a federal election. I voted, hope you did too.

And now the week is half over and I still feel like it's Sunday. Holidays totally screw me up. Must get some work done then.

Until later...

Love and Hate...

Love:



--My Central Park Hoodie. A less than enthusiastic photographer who disappeared inside before I could approve the photo shoot and perhaps request additional shots resulted in a handful of photo's that did nothing for either the sweater or the model. This is the best of the bunch and can best be described as me doing my best immitation of a sulky teenager.

--Meeting new people. It was a perfect fall day here in NS and I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow Raveler and Mountie wife from BC who I have been exchanging Rav messages with for the last little while. Lovely lunch and chat and some yarn shopping to boot in Mahone Bay. A thoroughly pleasent meeting and afternoon, which left me feeling very contented and happy, floating on a little yarny-purchase cloud all the way home. Soon after my arrival the dramatic turn off events resulted in the aforementioned hate.

Hate:

--When the dog shits on the floor for the third time since moving into the house in July. Seriously, WTF? This dog is trained. He practically asks in as close to a sentence as you can get with a dog, 'Um, excuse me, but it would appear as though I need to be let out of doors to relieve myself. Could you possibly assist me in facilitating such?' To which we happily reply, 'But of course Hank. By all means.'
Both the constable and I were in the house and not at all pre-occupied. I was at the computer upstairs, he in the livingroom playing PS2 baseball. At no time did Hank politely ask to be let out. Not until the unpleasent stench of dog feces wafted into the craft room was I aware of his wrong doing. Middle of the landing at the top of the stairs, which, thankfully, had a plastic drop cloth down as we are back at the painting. But still...what gives? He'd been out just a little while earlier, and made no attempt to make his needs known. Instant grumpiness. For the entire evening. Which probably lead to the other thing I hate...



--When I don't listen to that inner voice that says, 'Wait to borrow a swift from someone before you decide to wind that skein.' That mess was a lovely, squishy hank of Tanis 'Sweetheart'. Now it is the bane of my existence and will haunt me until tomorrow, as I refuse to do battle with it any more this evening.

I want a glass of red wine so bad it makes me quite literally want to cry.

The Remorseless Eating Machine I've Become...

So if I were to tell you that within the last couple of weeks we...



...acquired a mini-van to compliment our Heep...er, I mean, Jeep...(seriously...is it ever going to stop raining?)



...that I have been concentrating my knitting efforts on rather small items made out of rather soft, person-specific yarn...(it's not pink...it's a rather yellowy-peach or peachy-yellow...but it's Rowan so who cares)



...or that yesterday I went to Frenchy's and spent ONLY $37.00 (and some change) on all of this (officially a Frenchy's convert now). What do you suppose I would be trying to get at?

Still not quite clear? Maybe for some this will help clarify. The other day, in a blind haze of ravenous hunger, I sat down to a plate of six chicken wings, which at the time seemed like the most glorious meal on the planet. The constable came in from the shed and innocently said, 'Hey, can I have one?!'

My response was what I liken to perhaps a cave woman, crouched near the fire with a grisly leg of stegosaurus (or some other sort of Flintstones reference) clenched triumphantly in her fists. The rest of the tribe is sitting tentatively on the other side of the fire, watching carefully and apprehensively, and with much envy as the woman gnashes her teeth and savours every last morsel. No one dare approach the woman, for beside her, laying in full view for all to see, is a large and heavy club that she has no trouble wielding at any individual that dare come between her and her feast.

Does this sound familiar to any other pregnant or previously pregnant women out there or am I just totally out of control?

So yes, I be pregnant. With child. In the family way. The rabbit done died (that one I've never quite understood). I'm just soooo excited. We both are. Something we've wanted for quite some time so it seems and now we're on our way. Terrifying, exciting, bewildering...it's all good. Lots and lots to do in the next seven months or so. So much crafting. The weirdest thing though...in all the baby crafting I've done over the last few years for friends and family around me who've had wee ones, I've always been very definite in what I wanted to make and had no problem just jumping right in and getting to it. But this little bean (hereafter referred to as Pinto Bean, as it was about that size when we first let the cat out of the bag and it's just stuck) has me a bit stumped. Stymied.

Maybe it's a perfectionist thing, like I have to make just the right this or that. Or maybe it's just not knowing what we're going to have just yet. I'm a bit on the impatient side as well. But it's getting better. I went to the fabric store yesterday and came away with some great ideas. There's lots of stuff I'd like to knit. Who knows if I'll get around to half of it. It's all going to be lovingly barfed on anyway, so I shouldn't get to hung up about it.

Anyhoo, seeing as it's Saturday and I'm here all by my lonesome, save my trusty compatriot Hank, (who startled a deer the other night when I sent him out into the back yard on the end of my flashlight beam for his evening poo. Didn't bark or chase or anything...he got a treat for that) and I have no motivation for cleaning when it's this miserable outside, I think I'll give my craft room a proper christening and while away the afternoon. Stay tuned for a rather steady stream of baby related items in the months to come. Whee!!!

Until later...

PS: Another note about Frenchy's; also in my purchases I got What to Expect the First Year (had picked up What to Expect When You're Expecting a while back for fifty cents...awesome) and another child rearing book for birth to five years. I also had one for the constable titled 'How to Keep the Baby Alive Until Your Wife Gets Home' but figured other than the title, he wasn't likely to read it anyway! I'm keeping him pretty well informed. I never believed it before when people tried to tell me, but this whole Frenchy's thing really has it going on. Most of the baby clothes I bought were all Old Navy, Baby Gap and Carters. Barely, if ever, used. In excellent condition. And honestly, I found more gender neutral stuff there than any store I've been to yet. Twas mightily awesome. But really, seeing as blue is my favourite colour, all shades, but navy in particular, even a daughter of mine will spend quite a bit of time in that colour anyway. When we do know what we're going to be welcoming home, I see shopping sprees of epic proportions taking place. Hubs got a little fashion show when he got home last night and was mightily impressed at the price tag. Yay bargains.

Vacation, all I ever wanted...

It was brought to my attention last night by my bff that I have all but fallen off the face of the earth. So I thought a quick update was in order.



I finished these the other night, my second pair of Summer of Socks socks. I highly doubt I'm in the running for most pair knit, hehe. Anyhow, these make me happy beyond all reason. The colours don't match up and I like them even more because of it. Oddly enough, the striping pattern does match, which is just a little bit more awesome. These will get a lot of wear when sock weather comes.



I started these, pair # 3 last night out of the new (reborn??) Bernat Sox, pink camouflage colourway. I lurve Bernat Sox. It was the first sock yarn I used to learn to knit socks and it holds a special place in my heart. Glad to see it's back. I do love the self striping, but I was a huge fan of their solids, so I hope they introduce some of those again as well. Added bonus; now brought to you in 100gm skeins, enough to knit a whole pair for...wait for it...$5.95!! Can I get a WHAT WHAT?? That's right people...I bought enough sock yarn yesterday (pink plus a blue skein...shocking that I would pick blue I know) for two pair for $12.12 after my frequent buyer discount. Holy Carp. Yes yes, it's acrylic and all that jazz, but when you're jonesing for sock yarn and need a fix bad, you really cannot go wrong. The yarn is an acrylic nylon blend, knits up pretty and wears like iron. I have a few pair of Bernat Sox that I use for everyday wear...love them. Anyhow, these will be for my mom's birthday...which was last Sunday. Hehehe...

Other than that, we have company right now and then we're on some serious vacay. The constable actually has time off...what a treat. He needs to wind down. Oh, FYI, Hank dislocated his jaw (my hubby's jaw, not Hank's)...about a month ago. He's been complaining of pain for a while now and it got so bad this past week that he finally went to the dentist to get it checked out and sure enough, he's got that TMJ or whatever it's called. It finally dawned on both of us that the only time he sustained trauma to the jaw was when he was playing with the dog. Hank has lightning quick reflexes and sometimes when you're cuddling him with your face too close, he'll whip his head around and crack you right under your chin. It's happened to me too...and it really really hurts. SO, be forewarned...an eighty pound playful pup can inflict serious injury!!

Anyhow, I'm going dark for now but I'll be back in a few weeks with lots of knitting and stuff to share I'm sure. For now, it's max relax (even though I'm supposed to be working on the house...bah) and I'll catch ya on the flip side.

Enjoy the summer!!

Until later...

Progress...

Yesterday the constable and I took a drive to the city to order some new livingroom furniture. I don't know which was more exciting...the prospect of new stuff or the fact that I got an hour and half each way to sit and knit without feeling guilty that it was taking time away from real work. Either way, it was a good day. New furniture in as little as ten weeks! Whoo hoo! Very exciting.



I finished up the first sock of my first pair for Summer of Socks '08 and got started on the other. I so heart this yarn. I've said it before yes, but I just can't stress it enough. Seems to me that I'm going to have to get used to this particular perspective of my feet and legs, which make me look really tall with ginormous calves. Only one of the prior is true (I'm actually 11 feet tall).



Love the pattern, am giving short row heels a time out at the moment (afterthought heel on this pair) after our little mishap the other night. Spent an hour fiddling with it only to not have it work out in the end (waaay too many sts after decreasing). What gives? Am I making the whole short row heel thing too complicated? It just seems so incredibly piddly to me. Not straight forward. Maybe it's just still something that I don't entirely 'get' yet. Sometimes things have to marinate a while before the flavour really gets in there. And I'll have to take these outside for the final photo so that you can really appreciate the colour of this yarn. Even without the flash, just the 6 am sunlight streaming in, it looks washed out.

Yes, I'm blogging at 6 am. Shift work can be a b*&ch...for both people. Even though he's off for a couple of days, the constable still seems to be in night shift mode and came to bed at 5am. Which woke me up, to the tune of pre dawn light and talkative birds. Which sealed my fate. I tried to get back to sleep for about 45 mins. and then threw in the towel. Just gives me more time to get more stuff done I suppose. I fell asleep on the couch at like 9:30 last night anyway, so I'd met my sleep quota for the night. The dog though...he's all messed up. I kicked him out of the bedroom last night so I could close the door (his head was in the way...yes, the apartment is that small) so he hung out with the hubs while he played video games. Hank was quite excited to finally be going back to bed when I decided to get up. As I was walking around, getting the coffee ready, he more than once grabbed his stuffed dog Roscoe and made moves back towards the bedroom, looking at me with pleading eyes. He finally settled on sleeping near the sofa. He does this big grumbly-sigh type of noise when he's particularly tired. It's freakin' adorable.

Anyhoo, I should really get crackin'. The day is a-wastin! It's already 7 am!

Until later...

Simple Minds...

Well, I seem to have gotten caught up with myself. I feel a little less like a sack of dirt that has to drag itself about. Time to get back at the paintin'!!

But before I do, here are some things that amuse me greatly.



This is exactly the face that greets me every morning, even before I get out of bed. The first thing I do after starting the coffee is sit down at my lap top. At the moment, the computer station is on top of Hank's crate, which sits next to a fouton (I've said it before, I'll say it again...space is very tight in this here apartment). I sit at the end of the fouton, in my little computer corner, and Hank, after his morning hugs (something that should really be videoed, it's quite the ritual) he'll get up on the fouton next to me and do just that. I tried to get a picture of him in his other favourite pose, which is to lay his head on my knee and look up backwards at me until I make a fuss over him. Then he'll settle down and snooze next to me. It's lovely. He's very soft and warm.



This also amuses me greatly. Last night I finished the
Which Came First? pattern that I bought from MochiMochiland. At first, it's an egg...



...and then you flip it inside out and try and get a close-up shot...



...and it's a chicken! Is it just me or does this make everyone giggle?

Super fast and easy pattern, although once assembled and stuffed etc., it is a wee bit difficult to flip inside out, especially if you're a child I would suppose. So last night I was mulling it over in my head before I went to sleep and I think that when I make this again (because I will soooo be making this one again) I'll try doing a provisional cast on at the opening and pick up the stitches to knit the corresponding part. I think that would give it more stretch, although stuffing it would be tricky then. As it's written in the pattern, you stuff the polyfil in between the two 'bodies' and then sew up the bottom. But anyway, those are just my thoughts on it.

I had the egg sitting on the coffee table, like it is in the first photo, when the constable came home last night. "Sweetie, what is this?" "It's for K. (our neice). Once I'm done playing with it of course." He stops, plays with it, ponders. "She'll never eat eggs again." Hmmmm....

I'm off to find something else on Ravelry that I can knit up in two days. Until later...

Stashbusting and Startitis...

Subconsciously I think I am preparing for the constable to be away for a week on course.



Project: Pinwheel baby blanket
Yarn: Marks and Kattens Bomull, 50% cotton, 50% wool
# of total balls purchased; 6
Original intention: A baby sweater of some sort
Total yarn used: 3 of the six balls by the time I'm done.
Started: Sometime in May



Project: Felted needle roll
Yarn: Patons Classic Wool, purple and rust
Original intention: Yarn left over from the felted slipper frenzy at Christmas
Total yarn used: Hmm...hard to say. Half a ball of the purple has gotten me this far, and I have another full ball that I was hoping to get rid of. Half a ball of the rust as well, which won't get me all the way. Not sure what I'm going to do after that.
Started: Today



Project: Colourful toddler socks
Yarn: Fortissima Colori (I think)
Original intention: Socks for me
Total yarn used: Most of that ball there hopefully.
Started: Last weekend

The other project is not a stash busting project, but rather a recent stash acquisition. Patons Stretch Sock in the Kelp colourway. I'm also trying two socks on two circs at one time, which while fiddly at first, seems to be going fairly well. Considering I started them yesterday, I'd say they're going pretty well indeed.



I love this face.

NEW SOCKS!

Fleece Artist Somoko mill ends, plain vanilla sock and you should see how much of this stuff I have left over. I toyed with the idea of doing a pattern, as I haven't done one yet with socks, but I am a blue fanatic and just wanted to see how the colour would play out by itself without being interrupted with a pattern. Sure enough, much love for these socks. And they are really really warm!

That's all!

One Night in Hillyfax...

So this past Wednesday the constable and I jetted off to Halifax for a mini-vacay of sorts. As a gift, my big bro had given us some tickets to go see Bob Dylan in concert. The nice thing about having a husband who works weird shifts is that every so often, it actually works out in our favour. He had the time off and my job is pretty flexible so we booked a hotel room and off we went.

Our hotel was in Bayer Lake, as we had some shopping we wanted to do on the way home, but after checking in and dumping our stuff, we headed downtown for a little sightseeing/shopping. First up of course was The Loop, which had this adorable sea creature display in the window! I was charmed by it. A felted jelly fish will get me every time apparently. If you check out the website, you can read about the little project that's going on.



After cradling some Tanis hand dyed skeins, one in bright yellow and one in bright orange, very uncharacteristic colour choices for me (there is a certain someone who I feel might be influencing my attraction to bright colours of late) I opted for the more moody and squishy Arequipa (how does one pronounce that anyway?). 65% Superwash, 20% Alpaca and the rest Nylon, is delightfully soft and bound to get lots of wear. Now, it wasn't you guys I was telling that I wouldn't buy any more yarn this summer, was it? No? Good. Must've been someone else. And I picked up the new YH book. More of a booklet, but very cute nonetheless.

After The Loop we hit Mountain Equipment Co-Op for the hubs and then traipsed around until we stumbled upon the Art Gallery of Nova Scotia, as we had really wanted to check out the Art of Hockey exhibit. But it was 4:30 and they were closing in half an hour. Boo. Turns out the very next day they had their later hours AND it was national museum day or something and they were offering free admission after five pm. Boo hiss. Two minutes in the box for the AGNS. So we went looking for dinner instead.



Along the way I saw the Wired Monk, the little coffee bistro where I've heard some knitters are known to gather (waves) and a Mexican tall ship. We ended up at the Lower Deck (pub) for a yummy smoked meat sandwich and some soccer playoff action. Cool place...long tables...good beer.

Then of course it was time for the really big shooo. But might I just interject here for a minute about the hilliness of that fair city? Okay, I knew it was hilly but as I'd only strolled it very briefly once before and this trip was more of a power-shopping/hurry up and find these places C'MON! I didn't quite appreciate just how up hill everything really is. *pant* It was a harsh reminder that I am woefully out of shape which really, is a bit of a misnomer. For one to be out of shape, one has to have been 'in' shape at one point. I don't think I necessarily qualify. Anyhow, it wasn't as though I was laid out on the pavement, but I lumbered a little more than I think I really should be lumbering at this age. Sheesh.

So anyway, Bobbo. I was quite the fan back in my teens as I considered myself a bit of folksie/hippy crossed with some sort of alternaweird artsy wallflower. Really, I was just confused with bad fashion sense. So I find it somewhat ironic that I ended up sitting next to the very epitome of my former self. Young, sweet and bubbling over with enthusiasm dressed in a very paisley vintagey dress, slouch socks and ballet slippers. She was clearly there to see vintage Dylan with his acoustic guitar and harmonica singing Blowin' in the Wind. As were 99.9% of the rest of the crowd I suspect. I wasn't really sure what to expect. I mean, after 5 decades, I'd say the standards get a little tired.

Anyway, he started off with Rainy Day Woman #12 and 35, followed by It Ain't Me Babe, both of which were heavily rearranged to suit the rest of the show, which was all rockabilly/blues. It Ain't Me Babe was so different from the original, and Dylan's voice was soooo gravelly and harsh that not only did I say to myself, 'Whoo boy, we're in for a rough night', but in going over the set list later on with the hubs he was utterly shocked that Dylan actually played some songs that he might've recognized.


(yeah, we had crazy good seats. I managed to smuggle my camera in, and even though they were checking bags at the door, just about everyone around me had one. This was the still I got right before filming about 30 seconds before I got scolded by a security guard. Filming with a camera...not acceptable. Filming the entire concert with your Blackberry {dude in front of me}...totally acceptable. Anyhow, I'm going to be a good girl (re: cops wife) and not post the vid online. I'm the kind of person with the kind of luck that would get lambasted with some sort of copyright infringement hassle.)

I don't have the full breadth of the Dylan discography, only the hippie highlights, so even though I knew he ventured into this rockabilly territory, I'd never heard any of it before. I was quite pleasantly surprised. Bobbo, even at the ripe old age of a billion, still rocks the house. The show was about two hours dead on, without any interaction or kibitzing from Dylan, just two solid hours of music, including one encore. He did do All Along the Watchtower for the encore. But he never did play guitar. Just the keyboard. Poor Bob did have a bit of a senior moment though when he misplaced his harmonica and one of the roadies had to hand it to him.

I've always thought of Bob Dylan as this really ethereal, other worldly character, and he did not disappoint. The whole not talking to the crowd thing helped this. And it cemented in me a strong desire to only see geriatric rock stars from now on. The show started at 8 pm, was over by 10 and we were both back in our cozy hotel beds by around 10:30-ish. Man, am I ever getting old!

The next morning, we hit LaZBoy and pretty much picked out a whole new living room for the big move into the house, hopefully sometime this summer. We haven't ordered it yet, just spent a couple of hours picking out fabric and wood finish, which was way too much fun.

As for my baby boy Hank, he spent his first night away from home with friends of ours while we were gone.



I was really quite apprehensive about how he would handle it, but after an initial bout of homesickness as he watched my husband pull away in the Jeep (I couldn't go...I've seen how Hank reacts when I hand him off on his leash to someone else) I guess he settled right in and was a perfect little house guest. He got more walks in one and a half days than I get him out for in a week, which made me feel quite inadequate as a puppy mom. Oh well. I feel much better about leaving him with people now, knowing that he'll be a good listener and follow their rules.

And that's the week in review. Very refreshing to get away, if even just for overnight. There's so much to see and do in the city, I'd really like to go back for a two day excursion sometime. As for knitting, I'm just about finished some socks out of Fleece Artist Somoko mill ends (yummy) and am really itching to start another big project. I feel the tides turning towards me becoming a sweater knitter.

Have a nice weekend y'all. Until later...

"Is that your boulder? That's a nice boulder!"

*1000 points to the person who can name the movie where the post title came from.

Before I get started, there are a couple of items that I would like to address and insist that they both cease and desist immediately.

#1: News stories that seem to be on a weekly, if not nightly, basis about the rising price of gas. "Is there anything to be done to ease the pain at the pumps?" No, no there isn't. Unless we all stop driving cars.

#2: Burying lucky charms/tokens/coins at centre ice in hockey arenas during international hockey competitions. It was cool during the 2002 Salt Lake City games when Canada won both gold in men's and women's hockey. Now it's just tres fromage.

That will be all. Thank you for indulging me in my snarky moment.

So thank you to those who commented on the boulder in my yard. I have quite an affinity for it myself. And it gave me a little idea. I thought that since you liked this boulder...



You might like all the other boulders in my yard. Follow me on a little boulder tour, won't you?



You may need to click to embiggen, but here are some in the side yard...



...and some more in the side yard (the side yard is quite expansive). I should've gotten a close up of the big pile of mini-boulders that the constable made last year during his epic battle with the rocks in the ground. He went around excavating them, only to find out later from the locals that the rocks actually breed underground and once you remove one, another will appear to take it's place. After making his little rock pile out in the middle of the yard, he gave up and our lawn mower has paid the price. It no longer cuts grass...it just sort of vacuums it. I personally think we should build an Inukshuk with the rocks (I couldn't find a definition with a photo). Here is a photo.



Here's some boulders I'm hoping to have a deck built onto sometime in the future, though I'm not sure how that will transpire.



Here's 'The Three Boulders' that I quite like and think of as purely decorative. And yes, the grass is quite long. Remember, the mower no longer cuts, and I guess we're okay with that (the yard is not my jurisdiction...I do enough inside the house...that's the deal. Kinda backfires on me when a certain someone has 'landscaping' ideas).

So there you have it! If any of you would like a boulder and are willing to come and dig it up and transport it away, I'm sure we might be able to accommodate you!



On the knitting front, I have pretty much completed the Carmela's Cardigan. It's a cabled sweater with an odd yoke thingy on it and I must admit, I really don't get. This is the best I could do for a photo as the constable has been a bit of a phantom around here lately. He's helping out with the International Theatre Festival going on in Liverpool at the moment. Anyway, I was willing to give the cabled yoke the benefit of the doubt until I had completed the ribbing around the neckband to see if that helped at all with the oddness, but it hasn't. Also, and this is hard for me to admit, really just doesn't fit me very well. It has all the shaping in all the right places, but I apparently am delusional about my body image and opted for a medium when I should've knit a large. I knit a plain shapeless cardigan last year out of the Shetland Chunky Tweeds and it was, and still is, a big shapeless box. This time I thought I'd go with a medium as I wanted the cardi to be more figure hugging, but didn't take into account how much would be taken in with the cables. Thus, the figure hugging is a little on the obscene side. I did wear it around the house after I can finished it (I still need to knit the zipper bands, which I am doing instead of button bands) and it is super warm and cozy. Just extremely ill fitting and weird up around the neck area. You'll see more of what I am talking about when I get a better photo. I really should learn to use the timer on my camera. Anyhow, the pattern says to block before I pick up and knit the bands...but the yarn is largely acrylic. So to block or to hell with it? Your opinions?



Hank is now seven months, as of the 12th. Here he is at Christmas with his best buddy Max from up the road. I was going through my Hank Pics. folder looking for something to post and even though we were just hanging out with Max and his fam. yesterday, I came across this photo and just marvel at how much Hank has grown! Max is full grown, topping out at just under 60 lbs. As of today, Hank outweighs him by probably 20 lbs. And is probably taller at the shoulders by a couple of inches. Yipes! This also reminds me that I really should get a similar shot of them together now. Holy smokes. Anyhow, they totally dig each other, which is awesome. Even dogs should have best doggie friends!

I guess that's the week in review here. I'm currently working on a pinwheel baby blanket and a baby sweater. And a perpetual sock. Today's dilemma is to work in the house or call it a rain day and park my behind and knit. Hmmm...who knows what I will decide.

Until later...

Peer Pressue...

Other knitters I tell ya...they're a persuasive bunch. I've been happily knitting my plain old, cuff down, square heel socks for some time now. I felt no need to do patterned socks. I find sock knitting kind of like cleansing the knitting palette. I'd knit a bigger project and then at the end, be a little brain dead but my hands had extra knitterly energy, so I'd cast on for a sock and just go around and around for a while until a sock emerged.

I still had/have a sock yarn addiction, which I think just comes with the knitting territory. But ever since I became a Knitterpudlian, I've been slowly and subtly indoctrinated into their patterned sock cult, and now find myself cruising Ravelry and queueing (sp??) and favouriting free sock patterns.

Then, before I knew it, I joined the Summer of Socks 2008 sock knit-along. I don't do knit a-longs. I joined the Knitted Babe KAL, which wasn't really an organized KAL, just a place to throw up pictures of my weird knitted dolls. I find knit-alongs too...I don't know what the word for it is...organized maybe. Too many rules most of the time. Who needs that? But the Summer of Socks is perfect for me in that there are absolutely no expectations. The only rules or challenge is to see how many pairs of adult socks you can knit between June 21/08 and Sept. 1/08 I think. So even if I get only one pair done, I'm still participating. But in my somewhat contrary fashion, I will likely opt to only knit kids socks or not even knit socks at all. I thought this was a good motivator to knit up the ridiculous amount of sock yarn that I have acquired over the last couple of weeks.

Oh, and by the way, this is a random, picture less post. I do have a FO that I'd really like to talk about, but alas, I cannot. I finished it Friday at 11:30 pm and I was so stunned that I had finally cast off this behemoth that has been barnacled to me for the last year that all I could do was sit and look at it for a really long while. So I guess I did kind of talk about it there, didn't I? Anyhow, more on that in the future.



Okay fine, a picture. Me and my shadow. One of the few (only?) pictures of us together, as I am usually the photographer. I have to say that not only did the constable do a remarkable job of actually centering us in the frame (not something he's known for) but this is probably one of my favourite pictures. Isn't he fluffy??! And I am so thrilled to have wild daffodils in my yard! They're my faves.

So here's why knitting and more specifically, Ravelry are on my short list for the best things that have ever happened to me.Nova Knitter and I had coffee this morning with Calins, a lovely knitter from Halifax here in Liverpool visiting with family. Ravelry, for those who stop by sans fibre obsession and wonder what the heck it is and why I keep mentioning it, is, to put it quite simply, the absolute best thing in the whole wide world. To elaborate just a smidge, it's an online knitting and crochet community, sort of like the Facebook of the knitting world, only cooler because it's about knitting and not about stalking people you knew in highschool.

At first glance, Ravelry is an endless resource for knitters. Which it is. An unbelievable bottomless pit of helpful and interesting information. The added bonus, so I am quite happy to discover, is that it's a great way to meet new people! This morning's coffee talk revolved around knitting, yarn, dogs, more knitting, knitting techniques and uh...well, knitting. All with someone who I would likely have never met otherwise, all thanks to the wonder that is Ravelry. How cool is that? I've also come in contact with two other knitting RCMP spouses because of this site, which just kinda blows my mind. Who knew? Anyhow, I find it all rather exciting.

Seeing as it's Sunday and I am full sloth mode, I'm gonna call it a post. I have my cabled cardi that I think I can finish today with the help of a movie (of which I bought a boat load at the liquidation sale of our one and only movie shop in town...but really, Legend two disc special addition and almost the entire Kevin Smith library, as well as a whole handfull of others, all for $8.00 a piece...could turn it down) as well as a baby sweater that I am working on.

Happiest of Mothers Day to all moms out there.

Until later...