PuggleTrouble

Fall Knitting

2010-10-31T15:35:00.010-04:00

So, moving is completed (for now!), cottage is all closed up, Fall is in full swing, and life seems to have gone back to normal.

First up is my newest WIP, my Mini Rainbow Clap, using my delicious Kauni rainbow yarn from the Knitters' Frolic. I have just finished the set up and increase rows and am about to start the slog of the straight section. My last clap took over a year to knit... Let's hope this one gets done a little sooner!

I also began my first proper shawl, Claire's Crazy Shawl, using Crazy Zauberball, also from the Knitters' Frolic. It is currently hibernating as the thing with proper shawls is that the rows quickly become too long for my concentration span... I took it out to frog it and decided to weigh the yarn yet to be knit out of curiosity - how much further would I have had to have knit those huge rows for? But the shocking discovery was that I was over half way done! Now how could I frog my first "proper" shawl, knowing that I'm closer to the end of it than the beginning. So this shawl is saved, for now, to be picked up at some other time. (Sorry for the crappy picture - my camera seems unable to focus on it right now!)

Another project started from Knitters' Frolic yarn was my Americo Pima Cotton Flame Roman Holiday Scarf. This is my mindless, endless stockinette stitch scarf to work on "when I need a mindless knit". I say this out loud to proper knitters, but in reality it seems like the only things I can knit are mindless!!! I haven't got very far with it - it is indeed endless - so it's languishing somewhere in amongst the boxes. This is the only photo I have of it, and it is probably three times that length now, but there's still a very, very long way to go! But the drape and the feel of it is so beautiful, that I know one day it will be done...
One day...

Apart from this, I have a million things that I NEED to knit right now! I have never had so much yarn, and such lovely yarn, ever, and I wish my fingers were as nimble as my mind so I could have it all knit up already and be draped from head to toe in my gorgeous knitted creations.
But in order to do that, I'll need to do less dilly-dallying and more knitting.

See ya!

Summer's over....

2010-09-20T06:53:00.004-04:00

Actually, it's not officially over until Wednesday evening, but it's metaphorically over for us. This is the start of Cottage Shut Down Season.

The entire summer has been wonderful, if not busy. It has been the first summer in Canada where the weather has been hot and steamy all summer long. It's the first summer we've been to the cottage every weekend (bar 2), and the first time I finally got the point of having the cottage - sun, beach, swim, kayak, nap on hammock, not all raking, weeding, painting, cleaning, clearing, bugs biting. After the past year especially, this whole summer has seemed like a (well deserved!) holiday.

On top of all of the cottage fun, we relocated, I got a new job, I went to the UK to visit my wonderful, lovely, supportive, unique family, and I turned vegetarian! But more to come on that later, now that the nights are drawing in, the weekends will be spent at home, and we slow down to enjoy cold, cozy winter.

Unfortunately, I have barely knit a stitch the entire summer. Something to do with the 30+ degree weather, not AC, living in a greenhouse with no curtains, and knitting shawls makes REALLY long rows that take me 20 mins to knit....
However, I have bought more yarn, both in the UK and in the new home of Lettuce Knits and I fully intend to restart my knitting in a couple of weeks.

Next weekend, we're finally moving completely out of Kingston and being reunited with our "stuff". Not sure how it's all going to fit into our one bed apartment, but hey, it's only temporary, right? Well, maybe temporary. We may be moving "in a couple months", but then again we may stay here for "2 more years". Good to know that while somethings change, like our pace of life with the seasons, somethings stay the same, like our unstable future!

TTC Knitalong 2010

2010-07-11T11:13:00.008-04:00

Too

Much

Fun

!!!!

The first port of call was The Naked Sheep.

Was this my favourite store? I'm not sure, it's so hard to choose! But this is where my budget was blown! Unlike the Knitter's Frolic, where I had A Plan, and A Dream, and stuck to them and was an efficient buying machine, here I was all "Oooooh!"s and "Aaaaaah!"s and "Feel this!"s. I almost shed tears! The only thoughts I had were "This would make a gorgeous shawl!" closely followed by "No more shawls!" followed by "This would make a gorgeous shawl...." And so on.....
Given the recent heatwave, I just couldn't imagine knitting hats or cowls or sweaters or cardies, so I found myself back to thinking about airy, drapey, cool shawls, and thus back to "No more shawls!"
Time was a ticking and we were given our 10 minute warning. My lack of focus found my thoughts in a whirl of
Shawl - No more,
Cowl - Sweat,
Shawl - No more,
Cardigan - No money
Shawl - No more,
Hat - Too hot,
Shawl - Just one skein.... But which colour????
Then before I knew it, with the help of an Evil Enabler (Thanks, I love you!!) I found myself virtually penniless smooshing 2 skeins of Tosh Sock in Violin and Glazed Pecan!
What I particularly loved about this store was that there were knit samples everywhere you looked. Beautiful, dreamy, lovable samples. And each one clearly stated the yarn used, how much yarn, the name of the pattern (most of them were free patterns) and where you could get the pattern (website, ravelry etc). Perfect inspiration, great information. I now know that I WILL knit a citron shawl at some point, for sure. I had been thinking about it for a while, but was nervous of the super long rows and possible monotony of the pattern (because it's not like I've never knit endless stockinette stitch before!!!!). But now I know it'll be worth it!

Anyways, next was The Purple Purl, with their delicious mini cupcakes!!

Again, I fell in love with pretty much everything I touched! I just zipped from shelf to shelf and back again, smooshing, imagining what to knit it into, calculating different scenarios, wishing I had more money.... Oh, I should have bought (or at least written down the name of!) the yarn the Cashmere Cowl 2 - Lace Rib was made from.....
There was a large table with comfy chairs where the locals kit and enjoyed the drinks and snacks on sale there. Lovely atmosphere, lovely yarn, although not quite as accessible (super high shelves) and pricing wasn't too clear, either, and it was tricky to ask the price when it was so busy (Curse you, tiny budget, curse you!! Money shouldn't come in the way of love!)

After a delicious lunch at Big Fat Burrito (yum!), we took it in shifts to go into Lettuce Knit. Check out the sweet stained glass window above the door!

By this time I was kind of melting, and the store was busy, and tiny, and hot! Yet I still swooned at what I saw and touched, and nearly bought another billion skeins of glorious shawl yarns. Here I learned about "Featherweight" and now I'm determined to knit it, right after I'm done with the Whisper cardigan!

We then made a voluntary stop at a Secret Venue. I call it this only because it's not an actual yarn store, it has no name and is found in an unsuspecting office building. If I wanted to go back there, I couldn't. There's just no way of telling where it is. As our tour guides ushered us into the building, a passer-by, worried she was missing out on something, asked why a bunch of red-bag-holding women were excitedly squeezing into this innocuous building - what's inside? After learning it was for discounted yarn, her face contorted. What? Yarn? Oh, OK then.... and on she walked.

When we arrived at Americo Original, I felt like I had arrived home. Oh, there's not enough money, time, or storage space, to satisfy my cravings in this store. The ceiling was clad in bronzed metal tiles, the floor was some kind of acid treated concrete, there were huge, chunky, textured bags to die for, every garment knit up had perfect drape, and again, I may have shed a tear of wonder. Did I really just fall in love with a winter version of my Roman Holiday scarf, with end ruffles? And what was with all the strangely constructed clothes, that huge and draped and hugged, just right? Go on, try it on, encouraged the staff. That and a 5 skeins for $50 sale, what's a girl to do?
Alas, out of money, I vow to return "home" in a few payday's time......

It was an amazing experience that I definitely recommend, and want to do again. It was not only a great knitting bonding experience (I met too many lovely people, and I'm not exactly a social butterfly!) but it was also the first time I'd ever spent real, quality time in Toronto, and I think I like it!!

PS Sorry for the word heavy, photo light post. I promise my next one will be more succinct!!

Welcome Maggie

2010-06-28T10:11:00.008-04:00

Unfortunately, this is not the latest addition to our immediate family, it's the latest addition to my MIL's family - which would make her my...sister in law....? She is reported as being a poodle / Schnauzer cross. But I'm telling you, she's definitely part sheep dog of some description.

First, she grabbed a ball of yarn off the table. It kind of looked like a ball, so I let it slide.

Then she grabbed Doug's socks out of my knitting bag, and tried to run off with them. She's obsessed with MIL's socks, so I was kind of flattered that she'd recognized them as socks, not just some tube. Cheeky monkey, but no harm done, right.

Next she stole the yarn from my lap, while I was knitting with the other end of it. So I knew I had to keep an eye on her. Enough's enough.

So on Saturday, I turned around and she'd got under the chair, into my knitting bag, and was chewing on my Crazy Shawl! Noooooooooooooo! I ran over, got the shawl from her mouth, and rocked backwards and forwards, crying, stroking my poor, traumatized shawl. On closer inspection, there was just one loop that was stretched out, but after some gentle coaxing, all was as it should be. The only real casualty was a broken stitch marker - and possibly my nerves.

Is summer, cottage knitting over for me? Or will I have to invest in a yarn bell?

English Princess in Canada

2010-06-24T08:20:00.002-04:00

I used a ball of of yummy Misti Alpaca Tonos Chunky, picked up at the Knitter's Frolic, to make my version of the Russian Princess in Exile hat that's been in my ravelry queue for AGES.
In my dreams, I thought it was going to be this giant, bubbly, marshmallowy hat that would add much needed volume to my too small head. And it wasn't. It was just a regular hat sized. I'll admit, I was a little disappointed.
I kept the needle in it, held the back seam together with hair clips, and tried it out at my knit nite. It was voted upon and decided that it was, indeed, the perfect hat.
I seamed it, and wore it around the house for a while just to get used to it. And I wholeheartedly agree, it is the perfect hat - I love it!

The one, the only, the Knitter's Frolic!

2010-06-14T15:00:00.009-04:00

You know what it's like when you look in books and magazines and see the wonderful, wonderful pieces of art that people create.
Then you go to Michael's or Walmart and look at the yarn there, because that's all that's available to you. And you feel cheated because the things you've seen in the books, magazines and on ravelry, and the visions you see in your own mind, can never be created using the yarn available.
And then you go into a LYS and swoon at all the beautiful yarns, different fibres, different weights, hand dyed, and a whole new world of creativity is opened up to you.

Now imagine a whole town, where every store is a different LYS! Where you can see and can touch, in real life, yarn you've only ever seen in pictures! Where you can see the yarn knit up, watch it drape and move! That is the wonder that is a yarn show, that was the 2010 Knitter's Frolic in Toronto.

It was like a dream, only a super lucid dream, where I saw yarns that I'd never dreamed I'd see in real life! Where, for once, my purse was full of money! Where I took that money and exchanged it for pieces of my dreams!

Oh, my! Here I am with my stash:

(Why yes, that is my Lacy Baktus!
And no, it doesn't match my outfit!
And yes, my Urchin is in my purse, which also doesn't match my outfit!
And yes, it was to be shamelessly worn with the Lacy Baktus, even though it doesn't match that, either!
And yes, I am now officially a Knitter, because I want to wear as many hand knits as I can at the same time,
even if they're not matching
and not needed!!)

And here are the details of my dream-come-true stash!

The first ball of yarn I saw, I had coveted from a distance for some time. Could I really deviate from my plan and buy on impulse in the first minute, in the first stall I saw?
Hell yes!!!

Soon I found myself face to face with a Crazy Zauberball. Another on the dream wish list!

I was searching for 2 chunky yarns to make 2 chunky hats from. Now chunky yarns are a bit passé, I guess, because they were few and far between.
Here's what's left of the glorious Misti Alpaca:

And here's 2 balls of Dye-Version Chunky Wool, which have already been knit and frogged!

Then, as my last seconds there were ticking away, I fell in love with the most beautiful scarf in the world (a million drapey rows of tiny stockinette stitch!) And a moment later I was blessed with 2 balls of Americano Original 100% Pima Cotton Flame. Yummmmmmm!

Oh Happy Days, indeed!

Let the updates begin!

2010-06-14T13:47:00.004-04:00

I haven't dropped off the face of the earth, just..... the usual! We're moving again. It was supposed to happen a couple weeks ago, then it was supposed to happen last weekend (Don't ask!), and now it's all set for this weekend coming!

I have many things to share, both here and on my 101 blog, but will try and a do a number of quickie updates, instead of one huge one. After all, I find myself with a week to pack the house, and welcome the distraction!

I have been knitting, sewing, cooking, cottaging, working, reading, dreaming. Nothing new there, then!

We're on a break

2010-05-01T19:29:00.005-04:00

Hmmmm. I am a frustrated bunny...

When I got my sewing machine for Christmas, I knew it would a long time before I was making wonderful, one-of-a-kind, flattering garments that I'd designed myself. I knew there would be blood, sweat, tears and a lot of swearing. I knew from my previous attempts at sewing clothes for myself that the road was long, winding, and with dangerous bends. I knew it would take time and practice, practice, practice, with a lot of patience.

And I still know that. I know it's all true. I know because I have had absolutely no joy in sewing since I started*.

1. The night(mare)dress
First there was the dress Burda Easy 7661. Supposed to look like this:

But actually I wear it to bed when Doug's not here to scare away any burglars or sexual predators that may break into the house.

2. The One Piece Wearable
Then there was a One Piece Wearable dress, which is still sitting around somewhere because I don't know how to finish it. So it looks like this, still:

3. The self drafted skirt
Then I decided to draft a skirt to my exact measurements so it would fit perfectly. But I measured my natural waist instead of where I wanted the waist of my skirt to sit. And then I didn`t think about ease. This resulted in a very short, very tight skirt that started just under my boobs and ended just below my bum. NOT a good look....

4.The walk-before-you-can-run dress
Then I found a super easy, specifically for beginner, even easier than "Easy" dress.
The Burda Start 8517, where I messed up putting the elastic casing in the sleeves so many times that I had to throw them away because they had so many little holes in them from the ripped out stitches. (Or maybe it was because I was so frustrated...)

5. The I-want-to-do-two-things-at-once shirt.

Because I was so frustrated with the dress, I had another project to work on at the same time. Or was it because I was so frustrated with this top, that I started the Burda Start dress.... Anyway, facings, inter facings, stay stitching, darts... So many new things to learn! It ended in a top with a ruffly neckline which is too wide and sits a full inch above my shoulders, bunching sleeve caps, no waist shaping, too tight around my hips, too much fabric billowing at my lower back and some weird wings at the elbow slit.

So, once again, I decided to start at the beginning. I got the book Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe, and the Built by Wendy Dresses: The Sew U Guide to Making a Girl's Best Frock, and the Design-It-Yourself Clothes: Patternmaking Simplified. (Happy Birthday Me!!)I thought it was going to be like the sewing version of Stitch n Bitch books. I thought I'd follow the directions and end up with something the resembled what I wanted to make.
But. no. My hopes were dashed when I measured (in the right places this time!!), I traced, I cut, I sewed, I tried the skirt on so I could accurately pin then sew the darts, and it was too small! WAY too small! I couldn't do the zip up over my bum or belly unless the skirt was pulled up to my armpits! I'm still nearly in tears over it - I had such high hopes that if I did it "right", I'd end up with a winner.

I know it takes time, practice and patience, but once again after spending half my weekend sewing with nothing but failure at the end of it, I think it's time for me and my sewing machine to take a break. Not forever, maybe just until I loose some weight and the skirt fits. Or maybe until my patience returns. Or maybe until the sting of failure has worn off. Or maybe until I go to Fabricland after work and buy some more cheap, ugly, old woman fabric that I won't get upset over if I ruin it.... I'm a glutton for punishment....

*Apart from the cushion covers, of course. I love those. They're wonderful and gorgeous and the soft furnishings version of the clothes I want to sew. Oh, and I've mended a zillion things - rips in bags/pants/pockets, taken stuff in, recaptured escaping underwires etc. Doubled the life of many of our clothes.

I have a stalker

2010-04-17T10:59:00.002-04:00

OK, so you remember I became intimate with my seam ripper last weekend? Well, this casual affair has taken a sinister turn. I think the seam ripper is stalking me.
Seriously, whenever I turn on my sewing machine and sew something, there he is. One minute I'm sewing away, then I see him hiding behind my pin cushion, next thing you know, he's all up in my business ripping my seams. I've tried to tell him I want no more of this, but he's not taking no for an answer. Even when he's not there ripping seams, I feel his presence taunting me with every push of the peddle.
I think the only way to outsmart him is to be extra, extra careful, to picture my finished result, picture what I'm about to sew and see if they agree, and to live fearlessly.
I will not let this evil seam ripper rule my life - I will continue, to try, try and try again!

The Seam Ripper

2010-04-11T15:47:00.002-04:00

I have just become very intimate with my seam ripper.

I'm sewing a dress, and have been dutifully basting every seem to check, then sewing it properly with teeny stitches and ripping out the basting. Yay me for being less in a hurry, and more careful!

That was until I got to the sew the casing for elastic in the sleeves. There I dutifully pressed, turned, pressed again. And then I lost patience, and speedily sewed the elastic casing in millions upon millions of teeny, tiny stitches 1/4" from the edge.

Only I didn't, I sewed it slap bang in the centre of the casing instead of on the edge of it. I could almost thread the elastic through each side of the stitching. Almost, but not quite.
Cue me, my stitch ripper and millions upon millions of teeny tiny stitches.....
Oh, and then when I was done, cue me, my sleeve, and millions upon millions of teeny tiny, yet very visible, holes......

Just walk away........

All change, nothing new

2010-03-18T09:14:00.006-04:00

Lots of stuff has been going on here, but also nothing new....

I started my new job last week - yay! - but am so sick this week, I had to take 2 days off.... Not the best first impression, but how can I work with no voice? If it had have just been the feel-like-I've-been-run-over-by-a-truck sickness, I would have soldiered on, but that combined with no voice.... I guess I just need to re-germify myself! Because of the new job, the steep learning curve (un-learning old habits, learning new ones, getting to know the kids (and adults!) and their special ways, new routines, new rules, new exceptions to the rules) and the germification, I have pretty much done nothing else over the past few weeks!

The Lacy Springtime Baktus is done, has been for a while, and has been very well worn, but I only have this grainy picture of it... Maybe when I'm feeling better there will be more photos.

Here's also a picture of the original baktus in full working order.

I've started knitting D a pair of socks! Just a plain pair, only a few inches of top-down done so far, but we'll see how it goes. Not really photo-worthy yet, just a striped tube. Let's wait until I hit the heel!

The super secret sewing project is also completed, but I still haven't mailed them out, so can't show the photos yet....

I was hoping to take part in this apron competition, but then found out it was open to US residents only. I may make my own anyway. Just for fun.

I also recently saw these wonderful placemats on QuiltedDogs blog. She's being totally organized and sewing them now for Christmas, but I loved her Spring-like colours and want to make some for the grand openning of the cottage!

Spring is definitely in the air, and it feels very much like it's all-change around here. Things certainly needed to change, it's just a question of which direction they'll be in - here, there, or somewhere else. Whatever happens will be cool with me, just as long as me and D are back together again.

Anyway, I'm off to sip more tea, pop more pills, and probably take a nap so I'm fighting fit for my return to work tomorrow!

Sunshine and Simple Things

2010-02-22T13:56:00.002-05:00

I've just spent the morning taking the dog for a walk, eating lunch and then finished reading a good book, lying on my bed, listening to the radio, bathed in sunshine. I think this is the sunniest place I've ever lived.

This is the most perfect morning, and I totally appreciate it.

Valentines Day, Pancake Day and Long Distace Relationships

2010-02-16T20:37:00.003-05:00

Last weekend, on Valentine's Day, it was mine and Doug's 7 year anniversary. Now Doug's not the commercial, sentimental kind, and I've never been a big believer in Valentine's Day, so we celebrated it as we always have done. No flowers, no chocolates, no jewelry. Just me, Doug, a lovingly home-cooked meal, and a bottle or two of wine. Heaven!
But that's what we do every weekend since he's been working away through the week. It's then that I realised the up-side of a long distance relationship. Every day spent together is like Valentine's Day. Lucky us!

Today is Pancake Day. This is a big deal for me, for my family, and my people in general. In fact I blogged about it last year (Oh, so I guess I've just missed my 1 year bloggiversary.... Ooops....) As I am trying to create and maintain Family Traditions, I celebrated it by myself. I mixed the batter, waited patiently for it to rest, and then I started frying! And with only one person eating the pancakes, it was even more frantic than usual. I was stuffing the last bite of pancake down at the same time as dishing up the next! Needless to say I got pretty full pretty quickly. And I was only half way through the batter! So I cooked up the rest and will eat them tomorrow with some savoury pork filling. Yummy!

But I have to say, Pancake Day is not the same when you're not sharing the pancakes with the one you love...

Will I ever learn?

2010-02-07T21:08:00.006-05:00

So, while knitting is coming along swimmingly, (I'm on the flip side of my Springtime Baktus!) My sewing is.......not.

1. One Piece nightie

Using one of my bed sheets from Value Village, I cut out a dress from One Piece Wearables. (It's going to be another nightie - I need more support than spaghetti straps if I'm going out in public!) There was one only pattern piece! It was so quick to reinforce the paper pattern, cut out the material and sew up the centre back seam! Now it's just hanging around, bored, waiting for me to buy bias tape to finish the neck and arm holes, and ribbon for the straps and under-bust gathering. I wrote out materials and measurements on an index card, to take to the store with me. Then finally this can be done with.

2. Self Drafted Skirt

After my last, dismal attempt at sewing from a pattern, I decided to draft a skirt from scratch. Hmmm. I used this tutorial and measured and drew and cut and basted, and came up with a skirt that was too small. I had such high hopes, and learned so many things!
Firstly, I should have made measurements from where I wanted my skirt to sit, not my natural (and very high) waist. Because this resulted in a skirt that started up under my armpits, and ended quite a ways above my knees!
Secondly, I added seam allowance, but I guess I should have added some ease? Not much wiggle room here.... Back to the drawing board....

3. Still with the aprons

I bought a bunch of pillow cases that I'm making aprons out of. I have fully completed 3, but the rest are hanging around, getting bored, waiting for me to go buy ribbon and contrasting fabric for pockets. I took small samples of the fabrics and put them in a Ziploc bag with a list of notions for the aprons, and the list for the One Piece Nightie. Then I can finally finish them.

So armed with my lists and swatches, today I went to Fabricland. With my shopping list in hand. With all the details of those little things so I could finish a bunch of projects in one go. I bought my list so I wouldn't get distracted. Focused. Get only what you need. Just in, and out.

So, I came away with:

1. Useful, lovely, secret-wedding-project fabric(The recipient may be reading this, so I'm not sharing!)

2. The impulse buy fabric

And then I saw some completely inappropriate, crazy, pink-stripes-with-golden-dragon-flies fabric, and having no idea what to make from it, I bought a random 1.5m of it...(?)
But I do love it so!

3. The Oooh-patterns-are-on-sale! impulse buy

So while riding the impulse wave, I bought these 2 patterns. Well, they were on sale, after all....

4. The items on the shopping list
Ooops, I knew I forgot something.....

Finally Finished

2010-02-01T13:09:00.006-05:00

So, I finally finished my never-ending baktus, and finally got around to taking photos of it. Those who have seen this bad boy in real life will know that since finishing it, I have barely taken it off! I even colour-coordinated my outfits so it would go with my wonderful baktus, which is the most effort I've put into my appearance for a long time!
Isn't she lovely....

So, after all that roll-on-the-floor-like-a-three-year-old-having-a-tantrum-rather-than-knit-another-row garter stitch, you'd think that I wouldn't be doing any more anything that has a whisper of a garter stitch in it.

You'd think.

But you'd be wrong......

Let me introduce you to my newest knitting project - my Lacy Springtime Baktus!
Isn't she lovely!

Granny's Night(mare)dress - Burda Easy 7661

2010-01-18T10:34:00.003-05:00

I practiced making this dress from an old sheet before I bought proper fabric to make it from. I'm glad I didn't waste the good stuff!

From this:

To this:

Description:
Very Easy
Dress / Shirt,
semi fitted

Pattern Sizing:
US 8 - 20, Eur 34 - 46 (After measuring myself, I found out I was a size 14! Oh my!)

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
No! Well, maybe, if I'd have put the belt on. But no, not really....

Were the instructions easy to follow?
Yes.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
I don't think it's "semi fitted" at all. (14 inches of extra fabric at the back? Plus however much at the front? Even with the belt, there just would have been too much fabric gathered at the waist.)

Fabric Used:
Old bed sheet from Value Village. Cotton, white with tiny blue flowers.

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Didn't make the belt as I was going to wear it as a nightdress.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
If I looked like the models on the packet, if I used some nice fabric, maybe.
If a theatre company wanted a costume for an old granny's nightdress, yes!

Lessons Learned:
-Look at the shape of the dress and imagine it on MY body, don't look at the model on the packet!
- I ironed wax paper to the back of the pattern pieces so I could use them again. (!)
-Press all the seams where the instructions tell you to, when the instructions tell you to!
-Read the instructions. Carefully. Multiple times. And look at the diagrams. Carefully. Multiple times. Don't just scan it and do what you think you remember the instructions told you to do...
-Make sure all pattern pieces are cut out, the correct number of times before you put the rest of the material away.
-When you reach frustration point (uncontrollable swearing), walk away.
-It's tricky to distribute a gather easily.
-So that's how bias strips work!

What would have made the project easier?
-Ironing board (not an iron on a towel on the living room floor.)
-Cutting and pinning table (not the floor)
- Sharp scissors, really. I could have nibled at the fabric with my teeth and it would have looked the same, and probably taken the same amount of time...!
- Fabric marker (not ball point pen!)
-Good lighting.

Conclusion:
- Always make a practice piece before you make up the real piece.
- It's a learning experience. Don't get disheartened from a mistake, learn from it and become better because of it. (Life lesson alert!)

PS. This was one of my 101 in 1001 goals.

Cushion extravaganza

2010-01-18T10:00:00.003-05:00

So, I have finally finished all 5 cushion covers, and have filled them.
Here's my final cushion extravaganza!!

Description:
Diva Creative Project Kit, to make any two of:
wall hanging, messenger bag, pillow or apron

Pattern Sizing:
N/A

Did it look like the photo/drawing on the pattern envelope once you were done sewing with it?
I didn't make any of the things in the kit....

Were the instructions easy to follow?
No! I am a very beginner and there were no diagrams, just some vague written instructions. Probably fine for a non beginner, though.

What did you particularly like or dislike about the pattern?
Didn't use the patterns.

Fabric Used:
The enclosed 6 pieces of 18"x42" cotton

Pattern alterations or any design changes you made:
Made 5 cushion covers, envelope-style. One plain, four simple patchwork.

Would you sew it again? Would you recommend it to others?
The fabric's really nice, but I think it may be a little expensive. The patterns should have offset the cost, but I'll never use them.

Lessons Learned:
(Where to start!)
- I loved holding a real life, 3-D, thing that I'd made, that had come from my head.
- I loved "designing" the cushion covers (I made several designs, to scale, so should I ever want more cushion covers, I have a few to choose from!)
-I made a template of each pattern piece from cardboard to help in the assembly line process, and if I should want to make any more in the future.
- I loved how quickly they came together.
- Make sure seams are pressed the right direction before sewing... (I got one that had flipped over!)
- Seam allowances should be equal on all sides of every piece. I had seam allowances of 1' on one panel, and 1/2" on another, which made lining it up to sew together unnecessarily tricky.

What have made the project easier?
-Ironing board (not an iron on a towel on the living room floor.)
-Cutting table (not the floor)
- Sharp scissors
- Fabric marker (not ball point pen!)

Conclusion:
I loved designing the cushion covers, and loved making cushion covers; they look great on our sofa.
I think I like making patchwork things.

Sewing, Sitting and Knitting

2010-01-08T16:13:00.005-05:00

I have been sewing up a storm recently!
Last week I sewed 3 cushion covers and fixed a rip in a bag.
This week, I've sewn the other two cushion covers,
sewn up a rip in the bum of my favourite pair of trousers(that I've been wearing like that for months, just making sure that my underwear is of a matching colour...),
taken in a too-big pair of trousers,
and put a slit up the back of an otherwise impractical skirt.
Nothing photo worthy (except the cushion covers), so no one's missing out on much, what with me being without my camera and all (boo hoo).
I also went to Fabricland and picked up a couple of "easy" patterns in the 1.99 basket, and 2 BOGOF Burda's. I'm a little too excited to get started on them, but my ridiculous perfectionism has stepped in and is demanding that I don't cut the actual patterns, but transfer them onto something else and cut that out instead....
Probably just as well as I don't have any fabric anyway, just a couple of old bed sheets and D's old dressing gown/robe/housecoat/whatever-you-want-to-call-it....

I've also been knitting. I'm proud to say that I have picked up the boring old Baktus once more. I've said it once and I'll say it again, I don't know why I find this so boring, because I really love the scarf! Really! But whenever I see it sitting there in the knitting basket, I just have to groan out loud and go find something else to do..... (Unfortunately, I have nothing left of interest in my knitting box. Nothing. All the yarn in there is horrible, which is why it's still in there! If it was nice, then I'd have knit it up into something already.....)
Anyway, the reason for the rising of the Baktus? I went to my first Kingston KnitNite, or Sit'n'Knit, or Stitch'n'Bitch! It was LOVELY! The pub we met up in was EXACTLY how I imagined a Canadian Lodge to be - huge cozy fireplace, dead animals hanging from the walls, wooden walls, comfy couches, alcoholic hot beverages, and most importantly, wonderful company. I. Loved. It. And can't wait to go back. With a camera, so I can take photos. And a more interesting knitting project.

See my baktus now? Definite progress being made. For sure.
(Photo taken using my bf's old phone. It also doubles as my watch. Who knew one person's junk could be another person's watch and emergency camera!)

Naughties Recap

2010-01-04T11:28:00.004-05:00

You know, I didn't even notice that we were entering a new decade. I was recapping on the year, not the decade. (Actually, I was putting a brave face on the year, only remembering the good times, but it seems like I'm not the only one who is glad to see the back of 2009!)

In fact it would be quite impossible for me to recap the last decade. A lot can happen in 10 years, especially to a person from the age of 21 to 31!!
Highlights include:
Graduating university,
Living a very cool, single-lady's life in London - great job, great social life, great friends, great attitude,
"Being true to myself" by chucking it all in, doing a TEFL course, and moving to Taiwan, exciting times, GREAT job, crazy social life, travelling,
Meeting the man of my dreams,
Learning to knit,
Following D to Canada,
Moving lots, seeing lots, "growing" lots, (spot the euphamism..!)
Getting pregnant, then loosing the baby just shy of 6 months pregnant,
Moving lots, seeing lots, growing even more.....

The first half of the Naughties was great, the end of the naughties, not so much!

I think the Teens (Is that what we're calling them?) will see the up cycle again. Because it's about time! I have my 101 in 1001 to keep me moving forward through these tough times. I've learnt a lot of lessons, grown wiser, tougher and stronger, to see me through these tough times. I have adapted to live though these tough times with happiness, so I think these tough times have out stayed their usefulness.

The upswing is coming! Hooray for that!

2009 - a retrospect

2009-12-21T11:48:00.007-05:00

Well, this will be the last time I post here in 2009. (Besides, it's no fun posting without pretty pictures, anyway. I'm sure my camera will be returned to me someday soon....)

It has been a year of changes.

I have moved twice this year, living in three different cities. I have been appreciating the impermanence of life and embracing the ebb and flow.

Work wise, I look to the future knowing that I am the definition of myself, not the job that I have.

It has been a year of family.

I met my sister and her husband in Cuba this year. I also just recently visited the UK and saw my entire family. This year we have enjoyed video calling on skype.

We have enjoyed summer weekends spent at the cottage, a FIL memorial canoing trip, Thanksgiving celebrations and are about to spend Christmas with the InLaws.
As me and the BF are forced to spend so much time apart, we have really got to appreciate each other, our own family. Our stillborn daughter's absence is felt, but it's not as raw as it once was.

It has been a year of knitting,
I have done A LOT. 2008 saw a near complete hiatus from knitting, which was more than made up for in 2009! I have knit 22 projects!
11 for me, 11 for gifts. (This surprises me, as I thought I was a selfish knitter!)
I have knit:
8 hats
7 scarves
2 headbands
1 pair of fingerless mitts
1 washcloth
1 blanket and
1 pair of slippers
I also knit a clapotis, but it's so big I'm not sure whether it counts as a shawl or a blanket...!
I think I have abandonned as many projects as I have completed, too!

My hopes for 2010?
I hope for me and my BF to live and work in the same city again, so we can spend more time together.
I hope to spend as much, if not more time with my family, my in-laws, and my immediate (me, BF, pup) family.
I hope to finally knit a jumper or cardigan for myself, and to only knit things that I love with yarn that I love!

I wish everyone peace, love and health in 2010.

I'm back

2009-12-14T08:39:00.004-05:00

I am finally back home. My other home, that is. The Canada home. The place with my stuff, not the place with my family!
Unfortunately, my mum went into hospital the day I left to go home (Family home), and didn't get out again until the day before I left to come home(Stuff home). So there was much driving backwards and forwards from London to my home town to make hospital visits.
But all is well. Mum's back home, feeling much better again. She'll be off work for a while yet, but is much better.
I got to see nearly all of my family, some family friends and even some of my friends!
I'd love to share the pictures with you, but I left my camera at my mum's house! Can you believe it? She'll mail it back to us at some point, but seeing as she's not yet mobile again, it may take a while....
I finally finished Mum's Mustard Coat, Black Scarf on the coach ride to the airport. I made it into a loop, as I forgot to take the button with me. Which words out great as the buttons on her mustard coat secure the black scarf perfectly. Photos are, er, on the camera.....
I met the recipient of Kate's Baby's Hats, also in hospital, but fingers crossed will be going home for Christmas! What a little cutie he is, too! And it turns out I hadn't seen his mum for 8 years!! How can that happen? How am I old enough not to have seen a great friend from my adulthood for 8 years?
I managed to squeeze in a little touristy type sightseeing. Lunch at Selfridges, Winter Wonderland in Hyde Park, a trip to the O2 (or "The Big Old Dome" as my 4 year old nephew refers to it!), drinks in Trafalgar Square, various restaurants and bars. Photos are, er, on the camera.....
Then, after a horrible, horrible 1 hour long, 4 stage immigration interview, including a rummage around in my suitcase, I was back in Canada. (Because who knew a visit to my family just before Christmas was such a suspicious thing to do! Oh, don't get me started!)
When I left Canada, the weather was almost balmy. In fact England felt a little colder! But I got back just in time for the first winter storm of the season! Without winter coat, winter boots, a hat, thick jumpers/sweaters. Brrrr!!
But I am home again now, with my pup who I missed so very much, my winter coat and boots, and a 2 lane, long driveway that needs shovelling. Best I go buy a snow shovel, then.

Immigration, winter storms and snow shovelling - welcome to Canada, eh!

See ya

2009-11-23T09:55:00.006-05:00

Not much knitting going on here, I'm afraid.
Lots of cooking here. Lots of dog walking. Lots of drinking of water and green tea, lots of vitamin taking here, but not much knitting.

Why?

Because I am going home for a visit in 3 days!!
My mum and sister decided that this year for my Christmas present, they would buy me a (cheap) ticket home!
Seeing as I'm not working until after New Year,
seeing as Doug is working in yet ANOTHER city through the weeks,
seeing as it's been over a year since I went home, and it was under very, very sad circumstances,
seeing as I have the bestest family in the whole wide world ever
and seeing as flights are super cheap right now,
there really was no reason not to accept their very generous offer!

So, I'll be off for a couple weeks.
See ya!

Pea Green Mustard and Scarlet Cranberry Urchin

2009-11-16T11:54:00.008-05:00

Yay, I finished my Pea Green Mustard Scarf!!
It's lovely and squishy and BIG and versatile. I love it!

I have recently rediscovered skype, what with my family living a million miles away from me (well, more like 3500 miles, actually...) I love that I can see my friends and family, see their houses, wander around the house with them Blair-Witch-style, as they carry their laptops from room to room. (Yep, a web cam is definitely on my Christmas List this year, all they get is a silly picture of me!)
So, one time I was talking to my mum and she said that she really wanted a black scarf to go with her new MUSTARD coat!! Could I knit her one? Well, this is crazy that someone WANTS me to knit them something, but also crazy that MUSTARD should come up again! So I'm going to knit her a Mustard Scarf in Paton's Silk Bamboo, which I hope is still on sale at Michael's!

I also joined my local Library last week. Yay for a great knitting section!!
I already have Twinkle's Big City Knits, which I love to look through for inspiration and to dream of which project I'd like to knit first. But I actually haven't knit a single thing from the book. Not even a scarf! In practice I'm not sure that the super bulky sweaters will be very flattering to a person with curves. Especially not when my measurements are bigger than the largest size given in the book!
But I do really like looking and dreaming....
So in the library, I found Twinkle's Weekend Knits. While I wouldn't spend the money to buy another book of chunky sweaters in teeny sizes, I'd love to read it for free!
While the models in this book look pre-pubescent and there are far fewer patterns, I learned something very interesting. The "knitted measurements" have fantastic negative ease. So much so that a garment will fit when the "actual bust measurement" is 7" larger than the "knitted bust measurement". This means that I am no longer larger than the largest size, I am, in fact, a small(!).
So, in my excitement that Twinkle knits are not totally beyond my (confidence) grasp, I quickly whipped up a Twinkle Urchin!

I knit 10 pattern repeats instead of 9, and added an extra knit round between every increase and decrease round. I used 2 shades of red - an bright red (cranberry)and a slightly more purple red (scarlet) - held together which resulted in a red-on-red tweed in a great shade of red.

The hat is HUGE, though, so some care is needed to arrange it on my head, or this might happen.....

The Trinity Veg Mix

2009-11-07T11:35:00.006-05:00

On the weekend, I made up a batch of chopped onion, celery and carrots. I always had thoughts of browning up a HUGE batch of this, and freezing it in portions, because so many meals I make start off life like this. Well, I didn't get far enough to brown it, portion it or freeze it, but I did have it sitting in my fridge, ready to be scooped out out of the bowl and become the base of a meal at a moment's notice.

Out of this particular bowl, I managed to make 2 giant dishes:

1. Spicy Sweet Potato Soup / Curry Sauce

This sweet potato soup came out a little spicier than I thought it would! I was using a can of chipotle chilies, which is something I`d never used before - never used a chipotle chili, and never used a canned chili. I had this idea in my head that chipotle chilies weren't very hot (because Rachel ray always says they have a smokey flavour) and that canned chilies didn't count as real chilies , so they couldn`t be too hot, either.
So when I added my chili to the soup, I didn`t think to take out the seeds......
Yes, that`s right, I know nothing about chilies!
I tasted it and it bit back! Too hot for soup!! So I decided to use it as a curry sauce, hoping that chicken, rice and coconut milk would temper the heat somewhat...

Right now there's 6 cups of the stuff in the freezer!

Adapted from 125 Best Pressure Cooker Recipes, Cinda Chavich

2 - 3 cups Trinity Veg,
2 cloves garlic,
2 sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped,
1 regular potato, peeled and chopped,
1 canned chipotle chili, DESEEDED!, and chopped,
3 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 tsp garam masala

(Plus coconut milk, broth, rice, chicken and fire extinguisher to serve!)

1. In the pressure cooker, saute trinity veg in a little oil for a few mins.
2. Stir in garlic and saute for a couple mins more.
3. Add potatoes, chili and broth. Mix well.
4. Lock lid in place, bring up to full pressure over high heat, lower heat to maintain pressure and cook for 12 mins.
(If not using a pressure cooker, simmer soup for about 20 mins.)
5. Release pressure quickly, blend with stick blender, stir in garam masala.
6. Enjoy.

Or if it's too hot because you didn't deseed the chili,

7. Add cooked, chopped chicken, veg, broth and coconut milk and serve over rice!!

2. Chicken and Barley Soup
Inspired from The Healthy Slow Cooker, Judith Finlayson

This soup is a favourite of ours - super quick to assemble, super satisfying and hearty.

4 or 5 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
2-3 cups Trinity Veg mix,
1 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp cinnamon
3 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup pot barley

1. Put thighs on bottom of crock.
2. Saute trinity veg in a pan for 5 mins. Add thyme, pepper, cloves and cinnamon. Stir.
3. Put veg on thighs. Put barley on veg. Pour stock over everything. Don't stir.
5. Cook on high 3-4 hrs, low 6-8 hrs.

Guy Fawke's Night

2009-11-06T09:34:00.003-05:00

Yesterday was Guy Fawkes' Night in the UK. In Canada we've just had Thanksgiving and Halloween. I bumbled through these events, but they don't really mean much to me. It's nice and everything, but that's it.
But Guy Fawkes' Night? I just love it! What's not to love? Standing in a freezing cold field, miles away from the bonfire and any heat it might give off, to watch the amazing fireworks displays. Then afterwards, fighting with every other person in London to get on the underground, or into a pub, or a restaurant. Still with a buzz of excitement in the air.
And they're fantastic, the fireworks! (Think Canada Day on Parliament Hill!) And even though you're an adult, you still can't stop yourself from "Oooooooooh!" or "Aaaaaaaaaaah!" -ing. As the sounds escape your lips, you turn around to your friends with a laugh of embarrassment, only to find them doing the exact same thing! As a kid I remember eating hot roasted chestnuts fresh from a fire in an oil drum. I remember waiting for it to start, and standing in the field FOREVER. And I remember meeting up with neighbours / family friends / cousins in the middle of a field, with so many other people, in the dark, without a plan or a mobile phone. (Guy Fawkes magic, I guess...?) And then afterwards having to rush back to the car, to beat the traffic, because we had to be in bed, because it was so late!!
As well as the organised firework displays, I remember fireworks from an empty milk bottle buried in a wheelbarrow of sand at my dad's house. Of Catherine wheels nailed to fence posts, of them getting stuck and not spinning. Of dad lighting the firework, running back to us, and waiting with baited breath! And still waiting. And still waiting..... And then looking confused at each other. And then the disappointment and exhalations. And then the WHOOOOSH! Aaaaaaaaah!
On an even smaller scale, I remember indoor "fireworks" in a country cottage with mum and family friends. (Hmmmm. Very underwhelming...)
I love Guy Fawkes' Night. I love the smell of the bonfire. The crisp, cold air. The ruddy cheeks and stamping feet. The drawing of names and spirals with a sparkler. The meeting up with grown up friends, but feeling like a kid. The excitement of doing something dangerous.

This Guy Fawkes' Night I didn't even remember until I read my sister's facebook status. It's sad not to have the traditions you grew up with, but to have another cultures traditions instead. I'm getting to be less and less English, but I'm not Canadian. I don't want to be looking back all the time, but I don't want to loose where I came from. It's a hard, fine line to walk sometimes.

My knitting mojo is back

2009-11-04T20:14:00.010-05:00

Yes, finally, my mojo is back!
There have been a few disasters on my needles recently, but then the clouds parted, the knitting gods smiled down at me and just look at what I did!!

1. Poems Easy Headband

This is the one that got me out of my knitting slump. It was cute, quick, easy and it worked!

(And it took such a tiny amount of yarn that very quickly, #2 flew off my needles...)

2. SWS Easy Headband!

I had a wee scrap of Paton's Soy Wool Stripes left over from the infamous Clapotis, and before I knew it:

Seeing as that one was such a success, too, I dug deep into my knitting unpacked box and found something that I'd forgotten I even had - a glorious bag of Noro left over from Mittens knit in 2007!! There was a ball and a half, so instead of another headband....

3. My Happy Cowl

Being an uncoordinated "thrower", I just hate purls (unless it's all purls), so imagine my delight when I found this recipe for a ribbed cowl with no purls!!

It had its debut today, and it is super warm and
I
Love
It!

Which got me thinking a lot about YO's and K2Tog's, and before I knew it:

4. Pea Green Cowl

In my quest to knit my nephews coordinating centipedes (Why????)I found myself buying Vanna's Choice in two shades of green. I saw the lighter shade was called "Pea Green". I kind of have a pea phobia. (Irrational, yes. But isn't that what a phobia is, an irrational fear of something?) So I had second thoughts bout buying it, but in the name of love and art, I bought it. When the knitted centipedes went the way of the UGH!, I thought the Pea Green Vanna's Choice would slowly rot in my stash forevermore. (Can acrylic actually rot?)
The only food substance that comes close to my fear of peas, is my fear of mustard. Something that yellow is not natural! Don't get me started on the smell....
So imagine my surprise when I found myself casting on a Mustard Scarf with Pea Green yarn! Really!
And take a look - I love it so far!

That's all the knitting for now, but remind me to share my cooking adventures next time....

Puggle News

2009-10-29T14:48:00.011-04:00

Seeing as my blog is named after her, and seeing as she is the sunshine of my life, I have some MeiLi pics and stories to share.

1. Basement fetch
Her new favourite game is playing fetch up and down the stairs to the basement. Very handy for cold, rainy, windy days when neither of us want to venture out too far.

(Don't be scared of her eyes, she's not really a psycho puppy!!)

2. She disapproved of my last knitting project.
I came back home today to find it out of my knitting bin and on the floor,

with the yarn ball all the way.......

in a different room. OK, OK, I'm frogging it!!

3. She's a colourful girl.
Within a week of moving into our lovely house with the lovely cream carpet, MeiLi developed a taste for orange highlighters.

It's in several places, in the middle of the main living room.... Any ideas how to get them out??

4. She's diggin her new dog park!

If only there were other dogs to dig it, too!

PS. Strange things grow in the trees in my neck of the woods -

a hat and....

a bike!! Really!!

Knitting News

2009-10-27T09:38:00.012-04:00

I have a few things to share with you, but most of them are disappointments of some description...

1. Baktus

I have been plugging away on this one for a while, but it's kind of boring knitting - knit, knit, knit.... Ooooh! Kfb!! Knit, knit, knit..... It's not growing any and I can only knit 8 rows in one sitting before getting bored. I bought a scale, finally, before we moved (which seems like an age ago!) and the ball of unknit yarn weighed in at 61g. Imagine my disappointment when I reweighed said ball last night, and it was only 60g.... Of course when I took an updated photo, I can see that it's pretty much the same as the last photo, note only the 1g difference in weight.
Sigh, the never ending baktus continues....

2. The Diotima Shell
So, back before we moved, I went to the LYS to buy some yarn to knit Doug's Super Dooper Fingerless Mitts and there was a HUGE relocation sale going on, so in a fit of guilty panic, I used grocery money to buy this yarn:

I already have 3 balls of ribbon yarn in my stash that I've had since forever, and can't find anything to knit it into, so what on earth possessed me to guiltily spend grocery money on 4 more balls? So, with the disappointment of the lack of progress on the Baktus from, I decided to knit the Diotima Shell. Here's the progress so far:

Thing is, I know this style of top doesn't suit my body shape, and it's going to be too short, yet I had to start knitting it last night, just to make progress on something. I even redesigned the front to make it a v-neck so it would be a little more flattering, but it's still going to be too short. So I'm going to frog it and try again to make some kind of summer wrap, maybe a Ventura Wrap.

3. The Knitting / Reading / Game Playing Room

I was very excited that our living room in the new house is so big, we can have 2 different "rooms" in it. We have the TV "room" at one end, and at the other end, we have, what I have named, The Knitting / Reading / Game Playing Room. See here:

I'm so excited about this room. The huge windows look out onto the tree in the front yard, and out onto our sleepy little cul-de-sac. I imagined lounging on the sofa, knitting up a storm, with birds tweeting in the tree. Or curled up reading a book, while enjoying the cute view. Or finally unpacking the wooden games we bought in Thailand and playing them with Doug in the sunshine over a leisurely cup of tea/coffee on a weekend morning.....
Only we have no storage furniture to put there, so welcome to my knitting area:

Hmmmmm. Not quite the picture I had in my mind. The "games" part is in a similar state. I guess this is another WIP......

On a good note:

4. My new Notions Case

I got this little stunner at the dollar store! I love it because of the red coral pattern. (The other side isn't quite as coral-like, but hey, it was a dollar.)

4. Lopi 24
On Friday I went to my new LYS - Wool Tyme! Again, I raided the grocery slush fund and bought this:

Most of the stuff in it is far too complicated for me to do, but I love the looking at the pictures, aspiring to one day be able to knit the fair-isle-yoked sweaters. And there are 2 hats, a scarf/sweater thingy, and a sweater that I am , in theory, able to knit.

That's my knitting news. Hopefully next time there'll be some progress, somewhere!

2009-10-22T15:11:00.004-04:00

Yay! We made it to Kingston!! It was a slow and frustrating ride, but we got there in the end.

The movers were 5 hours late and the s-l-o-w-e-s-t movers in the world! We arrived in the dark, so we didn't get a good look at the place until the next day, which was a little disappointing.
On Tuesday our stuff was to arrive "after 10.00am". And indeed it did arrive after 10.00 - 5 1/2 hours after 10.00!!
But everything was there, nothing was broken, it's all good.
I'm mostly unpacked already. I promised myself I wouldn't unpack the computer until everything else was unpacked, so I wouldn't get distracted...... I didn't manage that, which is why I'm only mostly unpacked!!
I haven't managed to put our bed frame together as I wasn't there to watch Doug take it apart, so I've been sleeping on an air mattress in the living room. Which is good because I need to fall asleep in front of the TV when Doug's not here. Speaking of TV, this is what I've been watching:

So near, yet so far!! But Doug's home tonight so over the weekend I'm sure he'll manage to wire it all up...

Absolutely nothing going on on the knitting front. In fact I haven't even unpacked my knitting stuff! I have nowhere to put it! In Orangeville it all went in the office closet on the abundant shelving. Here the mini office closet is full of boxes of paperwork and computer cds/games/wires. Nothing's in the guest bedroom* closet, but I have a perfect knitting / game playing / reading nook where I want to keep the knitting / games / books, but we don't have any storage for there.

You see, the trouble with renting and moving so often is that nothing ever really fits.
Our furniture fit the first apartment, but then we moved and it didn't fit any more, so we got more to fill the gaps.
Then we moved again, and even the new stuff no longer fit, so we got even more (for free!!) to fill the gaps.
Now we've moved again, our living room looks a bit like a furniture store, devoid of all personality and functionality, and very stark with the WHITE walls and so-dark-brown-it-looks-black sofas.

But how far do you go, given that it's so temporary?
Paint the walls?
Buy new drapes for all the windows?
New cushions and throws?
New rugs?
New art?

I don't know, maybe I've been watching too much daytime TV - I'm sure it'll look great with the pics on the walls, the eventually empty boxes put away, and Doug sitting on the sofa!

*(I feel a fraud calling it a "guest" bedroom, because we never have any guests!! I think I'm going to call it the spare room from now on. It's more accurate)

Two more sleeps

2009-10-15T11:53:00.004-04:00

Two more sleeps and we'll be moving!
I think I have packed everything that I can pack. Our stuff will be leaving on Saturday, but won't get to Kingston until the Wednesday at the earliest. So, I have not packed stuff that we will need until the move, or the stuff we will need until our stuff arrives. So much stuff!! (I'm a little disappointed at the lack of purging going on, though. That's one of the fun things about packing. But seeing as we were only here 5 months, we didn't manage to collect any new crap.)
Kitchen:
That's the kettle, mugs, tea bags, coffee maker and coffee (for Doug), a couple glasses, a handful of cutlery and the oddments of crockery . Freezer stuff will be binned on Saturday (although I'm eating my way through this as fast as I can!). Fridge stuff (sauces, marinades, pastes etc - I have a lot) will be packed into the cooler Saturday. I thought about leaving out a pan or two, but then I'll also need spatulas, oil, salt, pepper etc, so I'll be eating takeout in Kingston!
Living Room:
TV needs some help to get into the box, so that will wait until Saturday when the movers or Doug can help me. Ditto with the surround sound stuff - D wants to do it so he can remember how to hook it up once it gets to the new house! Yay! I get TV until the last minute! (But it's all going with the movers.)
Bedroom:
I have some clothes to last me a week, an alarm clock and i-pod, the mini TV and an inflatable mattress. (I am sleeping on the bed, though, until it gets packed up Saturday!)
Bathroom:
Essentials only (seriously, I even packed my hairdryer!) Plus extra toilet rolls to take with us.
Office:
The computer is coming with us because Doug doesn't trust it will arrive in one piece, so yay!! for having the computer until the last minute, and again once we arrive!

The cleaning stuff is still unpacked, because I want to clean before we leave - I've seen hints of what dust monsters are living under the sofas!

So today, I'm not sure what to do with myself! Maybe a little Baktus action, a nice fall walk with MeiLi and photos, watch a movie, eat some random food from the freezer....

Must be the calm before the storm.
But I can't help thinking I've forgotten something.....
Something big......

Happy Thanksgiving

2009-10-13T10:00:00.004-04:00

4 more sleeps and we'll be moving!!

I had a wonderful weekend with Doug and his family at the cottage. We ate, drank, were merry. We ate a lot! In fact, I'm still eating leftovers from Saturday's Thanksgiving dinner.

Being British, I don't really get Thanksgiving. Doug loves it, his mum loves it. When the extended family arrived, I wished them all "Happy Thanksgiving!!" and just got strange looks in return. When we ate dinner, we didn't go round the table being thankful for something. We didn't talk about Thanksgivings gone by. It's kind of like Christmas, but without the presents or the big lead up. It was fun. It was also Doug's birthday, so it was nice seeing him being spoilt as he doesn't really do that(try as I might!). When we got back here, I put candles on a cake, sang happy birthday and gave him his presents. I'm not sure if he liked his hand warmers or not. We'll see if he wears them over the winter or not. I'm already planning a hat for him for Christmas, but maybe I should just accept the fact that he doesn't do knitted gifts!!

We are very excited for the big move. I feel so light and carefree. We've been in this holding pattern for months now. We uproot and move from the only "home" I've had in Canada, then we find out the job is not going to happen, and Doug gets sent back "home" for a few weeks while I'm left here. After many "We don't know"s and "Soon"s, a few weeks turn into a few months. Doug's driving from Ottawa, to Orangeville, to Barrie, to the cottage, to Port Hope, to Kingston. Now we seem to be moving forward. I can't wait to be living with Doug again, full time, and the move makes it that much closer. Yeah, I get that I get to see many dfferent towns in Ontario. Yeah, I get that we're lucky Doug has a job in these economic conditions. But I'm telling you, this constant change, the instability of it all, it's really exhausting!

A year ago today.

2009-10-06T13:02:00.003-04:00

I'm not sleeping well. I have bad dreams every night. Literally I have bad dreams multiple times every single night. I wake up too many times to count. It's been going on for a while now, and it's getting worse.

And now I've started clenching my teeth in my sleep, too.

I thought that my wisdom teeth were bothering me, and started worrying about how much it would cost to get them out here (It cost me about $10 when I got them out in Taiwan!) And then I realised, I got them taken out already! How can my teeth hurt with no wisdom teeth? I had a poke around, and sure enough, my teeth ache even the sides where the wisdom teeth were taken out already.
Then I realised that it's not just my teeth, it's my whole jaw.
It's not just my jaw, it's my neck, too.
It's not just my neck, but my shoulders and upper back.

It's then that I realised that when I woke up in the night, I was super tense and my jaw was locked together - dreams causing clenched jaw, or clenched jaw causing dreams?
Also, I've been sitting down to watch TV in the evenings and have been overwhelmed by physical exhaustion - sitting down, switching to relax mode and finally unclenching my mid back to head.

It's all coming to a climax right about now.
The being alone thing
The relocating thing,
The packing thing,

But more importantly, tomorrow is the one year anniversary of the day I gave birth to my baby girl.
A year ago today, probably at about this time, the doctor told us that the baby had no heartbeat and induced labour.

I've been waiting for this day. Watchng it and waiting for what effect it will have on me. Watching it come closer, unable to do anything but wait for the impact. I was so busy watching and waiting that I didn't realise that the impact had begun already.

I'm already exhausted, but I know that one breath at a time I'll make it past this next milestone on my winding road of greif.

Knitting Update

2009-10-05T11:32:00.006-04:00

Doug came home this weekend, and with him he bought OUR camera. So now we can have a knitting update:

1. Caramel Cowl
I knitted this up an age ago. So called because the chocolate and caramel colours look just like, well, chocolate and caramel! More specifically, Cadbury's Caramel (which, incidentally, is the same colour as my hair... Weird!)

2. Baktus
I. Just. Love. This. Have stopped knitting it for no reason, other than that I've been busy packing, and busy avoiding packing, and busy procrastinating..... But I love it! Still need to buy some scales, though.....

3. Doug's Super Dooper Fingerless Mitts
I started and frogged the first mitt about a million times. Couldn't count, decided to randomly change the number of stitches without making sure it was divisible by 4, couldn't count again, dropped a stitch right near the beginning.... But then once I got started for sure, it was a quick, easy, satisfying knit!
So far on the second mit, I've had a repeat performance of the first......

4. Garter Stitch Pull Through Scarf
Because, really, I don't have enough on the needles at the moment, and I don't have enough to do getting ready for the imminent move....

Oh, and in case you're wondering, the Spa Afternoon turned into a Movie and Spa Afternoon, which then turned into "I'm not a girl" Movie Afternoon....

Then after D left to go back to Ottawa I cheered myself up by renting 2 great, but very bleak, movies (The White Masai and Wendy and Lucy), which were perhaps not the best choice of movie for one feeling a little abandoned.....

Where am I now? Oh yes, packing....

2009-10-02T15:29:00.005-04:00

A friend from my Taiwan days recently sent me an email asking for my address. She said I always seem to be moving, so she doesn't know if she has the current address or not. Since I last saw her I have lived in 9 different houses in 9 different cities. That's an average of one every 6 months in the last 4 years!

I was also on the phone to my mum. She wanted to send Doug a birthday card and had to check if she had the right address for me. She said "Oh, you should see the mess in my address book under your name!" Since leaving home, I have lived in 16 different houses in 11 different cities. That's an average of moving more than once a year for the last 13 years.

It's no wonder I feel dislocated, rootless and temporary sometimes!

So, Doug has found his work camera, so when he comes home this weekend I'll finally have mine (er, I mean ours...) back! Which means I can unpack my WIP's and recently FO's and share them! I'm so excited! It also gives me another distraction from packing!

I've been tackling the kitchen today. I remember from the last move we made packing up this room was a never ending task! You need a lot of things left unpacked until the last minute, because you've got to eat. And everything's so fragile, so it needs newspaper and bubble wrap and those rubbery non slip mat things and everything's weird shapes that don't fit together well, and so it takes up a million boxes. And I have a small kitchen! I also don't have much newspaper, only one bit of bubble wrap (that's been used so many times, all its bubbles have popped), and no non slip mat thingies - (where did they go?)

The last move was so difficult because we had a teeny apartment, and loads of stuff, and boxes were packed floor to ceiling,
and we couldn't even get to our sofa to sit down FOR DAYS,
and there was the second bed on its side in the living room, and a sofa and chair outside, next to our front door! (Moving from a one bed to a 3 bed, so we acquired free furniture from D`s work, but it couldn`t fit INSIDE our apartment!)
Oh, it was terrible. When the movers arrived, there was still a lot of stuff unpacked, and I was so tired and in denial that we were leaving, that I lost the ability to look at something and decide whether to pack it or toss it. Ugh!

Anyway, even though we haven`t booked the movers,
we`re still not sure when we`re moving,
or how me and the pup will get to our new home,
I`m feeling much more positive and organised about this move!

Really!

(Or am I in denial again........)

Yes, I'm going to do it

2009-09-30T17:26:00.003-04:00

OK, I have started a sister blog for my 101 in 1001 challenge.

I actually only have 90, not 101 things to do, but I figure if I'm going to be doing this for nearly three years, things are going to be changing (I hope to have a baby, among other things!!) (and I dare say we;ll move a few times, as well!), so I need a little wiggle room......

My official start date Will be tomorrow, 1st October 2009.
My official end date will be 28th June 2012.

I broke my list down into 11 categories.
1. Career and Work
2. Financial
3. Social and Relationships
4. Home and Family
5. Health and Fitness
6. Mental and Learning
7. Emotional
8. Spiritual
9. Self Confidence
10. Purpose and Contribution
11. Fun and Adventure

The category I will find the most challenging will be Fun and Adventure, but it's what I need to do the most!
I'm sure as time passes, I'll try and focus more on the "serious" things, like Career and Work, and Purpose and Contribution.
There aren't too many knitting or cooking entries, as I love these things, so I won't find it difficult to do lots of these over the next 1001 days!

I will blog here as often as always, and even mention my 101 things, should they be interesting enough. The other blog is purely for 101 updates.

Should you be interested!

Post or mail?

2009-09-30T11:33:00.002-04:00

Isn't it funny that in the UK we call it post and the company's Royal Mail
And in Canada we call it mail and the company's Canada Post

101 in 1001 - First Draft

2009-09-28T13:40:00.003-04:00

101 in 1001 progress..........
I'm making a preliminary list, but I'm not very happy so far.
Many things are habits - how do I decide when something's become a habit?
There are not very many small, easy tasks. Which means no easy checking off. Which means unmotivating
There are lots of "This, or this, or this..." I've included them all individually, but will only do 1 or 2 of them.
Some of it feels like a shopping list, which I'm quite ashamed about.

I will keep tweaking until I get something better....

Career & Work

1. Get job,
explore alternate / supplemental income -
2. spa treatments,
3. pottery
craft fair
4.(knit slippers,
5. fridge magnets,
6. transfer candle glasses,

Financial

7. Pay off Canada debt,
8. pay off UK debt,
9. open Savings account,
(second source of income see 2-6)

Social & Relationships

10. Make new friends,
11. call dad once a month,
Make some new Family Traditions -
12. fish Friday,
13. Sunday dinner,
14. banoffee pie (Thanksgiving),
15. chocolate cherries, craisins (Christmas)
16. cheese pies (Christmas)

Home & Family

17. another dog,
18. another baby,
19. get married?
20. Date Night,
cottage plans,
21. Make sun room cushion
22. Make sun room table
23. New bedding
24. Pictures on wall
home plans
25. get containers (non plastic) for kitchen rice, beans etc.,
26. get rice cooker,
27. tortilla press,
28. toaster oven,
29. coordinating tea towels, cloths, oven gloves, mat
30. proper storage boxes for DVDs, CDs and computer games,
31. cushions for sofa,
32. bedside tables,
33. dressing table,
34. photo albums filled,
35. sonic electric toothbrush)

Health & Fitness

36. walk dog every day,
37. yoga class once a week,
38. weights class once a week,
39. yoga 30 day challenge,
40. cook healthy (Bento) lunches,
41. cook healthy dinners,
42. drink more water,
43. drink green tea,
44. dentist,
45. pap

Mental & Learning

Study
46. Indian Head Massage,
47. Thai Yoga Massage,
48. Yoga teacher,
49. NLP-ish linguistics, psychology, mentoring,
50. pottery,
51. cake decorating,
52. sewing

Emotional

Journaling
53. emotional and
54. "while I was present I noticed... for writing book,
art
55. pottery,
56. sewing (machine),
57. knit,
58. embroider,
59. photos

Spiritual

60. Meditation,
61. Buddhism?
62. reiki,
63. essential oils, aromatherapy

Self confidence

64. nice hair,
65. nice makeup,
66. nice clothes.
67. Toast masters?

Purpose & Contribution

68. Big brother, big sister / girl guides,
69. premie knits / angel knits for local maternity ward

Fun & Adventure

do something fun once a month-ish (ideas.....
70. snow shoeing,
71. hiking,
72. flying?
73. camping,
74. kayak trip,
75. canoe trip,
76. 4 wheeling,
77. US camping trip, (mini triangle tent trailer?),
78. community-based activity (conservation? Fundraiser?)

Rude awakening, Farmer's Market and a spa day

2009-09-28T11:29:00.007-04:00

I woke up this morning to rain.
I woke up a little later to a thunder storm.
Now the wind is howling and I feel a bit like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz. It's definitely Fall already! But that's not the rude awakening I'm talking about.

I have been packing like a fiend recently. (I have to say it's much easier to pack in this house than it was in our last, teeny tiny apartment. Here there's enough space for each room to house it's own packed boxes.) Last week I was in chaos, with boxes everywhere (full, half full, empty), and piles of stuff everywhere(to keep out, to pack, to wrap, to throw out, to think about), and then just general stuff on all of the surfaces, (because when it's that much of a mess, who wants to tidy up after themselves).

I woke up Friday morning to the sound of the door bell, and then someone coming into my house. I was half asleep, and a little bit freaking out.
I shouted down the stairs "Who's there?" and my landlady poked her head up the stairs and said "It's me. I have some people to look at the house."
"What? Now? But I'm in bed."

So she showed the people around the basement and downstairs first, to give me chance to put some clothes on, then I went downstairs while they looked around upstairs.

After they left, the landlady came back, and as you can imagine heated words were exchanged. I was shaking I was so angry at this invasion of privacy. (And also extremely embarrassed. My bedroom was stinky, the house was a mess, and I was in bed, asleep, in my PJ's at 9.30am.)
I told her she can't just come into my home, with other people, without letting me know first.

She said she tried to call that morning, several times, but there was no answer. I told her she has to let me know first.

She said they worked shifts, so it was difficult to find a time when they could come. I told her she has to let me know first.

She said that she was only helping us, to find someone to take over the lease for us. I told her I know, but she has to let me know first..

She said usually her clients go out if there's a viewing. She said she never lets them out of her sight. She said if anyone was in danger it was her, being alone with them. I told her she has to let me know first..

Then finally she apologised.

So after I'd recovered, I spent Friday filling the boxes with the piles to be packed and gradually clearing the floors and surfaces of things. (But I have a long, long way to go yet!)

I also now sleep with my phone, just in case I get any early morning calls!

*************************************

Saturday, me and the pup finally made it to the farmer's market.
It was on until 3.00pm, so at about 12.30, we left. The dog was hyper, so we (me and pup) walked to the library and back first so she'd calm down a bit. We got to the Market at just after 1.00 (and the dog was even more hyper than before!!!) to find out that actually it closes at 1.00, not 3.00!
The tables were all empty, the food stands were done and the vendors were in the backs of their vans packing up. This was the last chance I'd get to go to the farmer's market before we move. How disappointing. Still, I managed to pick up a frozen sheep's heart for MeiLi's Thanksgiving dinner and a small tub of beets, which I've since baked.

*************************************

Sunday, I spoke to D on the phone and was excited to learn that he would be coming home Friday morning!! It's difficult him being gone all week, and it's difficult that on the weekends when we do see each other, we're never alone. He was planning to drive the trailer to the cottage (where it will be stored for the winter, NOT indefinitely!) and spend the weekend there. (MIL would come get me on her way there). But while cleaning the trailer roof, he found some bubbles. The roof's under warranty for all of eternity, so he's driving the trailer to get it fixed, then coming home!! A whole weekend from Friday lunchtime, to Sunday lunchtime, just the two of us! I can't wait!
I was so excited I gave myself a spa afternoon. I put spa music on loop on the computer, I had a face mask, bubble bath, meditation, dressing gown and slippers, and a glass of sake! I felt wonderful, peaceful, beautiful, serene. I think when D comes home, we'll have a spa afternoon then, too. Then he can relax, rejuvenate and enjoy the weekend.

101 in 1001? Should I?

2009-09-23T12:36:00.003-04:00

I am toying with doing 101 in 1001.
I'm sure it's just a procrastination ploy.
1) First make a list of stuff I really should / want to be doing.
2) Then I'll have to make some kind of order to it all. Like separate into different categories to make sure I'm exploring all aspects of my life.
3) The break them down into single actions, short term plans, medium term plans, long term plans and habits.
4) Then break down the larger goals into smaller, manageable pieces of work
5) Then find criteria to work out when I know that I've achieved something.
6) Then work out some kind of timeline with deadlines.
7) Then some kind of reward systems so the random deadlines have some kind of meaning and I'll actually stick to them.
8) Also some kind of regular check that I'm "on track" and haven't forgotten anything.
9) Then I need to review my goals periodically to make sure that they are still relevant given life's regular changes.
10) But I also need to limit changes so I don't just spend all my time reviewing my goals instead of actually doing anything.

I could waste..... OMG I'm getting giddy with how much time this could waste (or spend)! How engrossed in it I could be! For months!!
But I'd spend all my time and energy doing this instead of doing the things on the list.

While exploring the site a little, I came across this article about people's daily routines. Now, I have notebooks FULL of my different daily "Routines". I love routines (I think due to all the things I feel out of control of, it's nice to be able to control something so totally!) But usually I change the routines so often that I never stick to one long enough to make it a routine. I do it for a short while, then I don't, so I amend my routine to suit my needs better, then I do it for a short while, then I don't, so I amend it again and so on and so on ad infinitum. Wouldn't the 101 list just be like a huge longer, more involved version of this? With the same conclusion, not really achieving much at all, except spending time?

But when I just try to be a piece of dandelion fluff, floating on a breeze, seeing where it will take me, the spell is broken when I talk to someone, come back down to earth and realise how aimless I am.
As my college room mate used to say "Failing to plan is planning to fail!"

Most people find a happy medium between planning and going with the flow. I seem to just be completely obsessive, or completely void.

Of course what I should really be doing is packing the house up. (Last night Doug called to tell me that we (me) could move to Kingston as soon as October 1st. This is great news, and much better than November!)
Oh, and sending my mum a load of low fat, easy recipes.
And calling the landlord to tell here we need to break the lease.
And go grocery shopping.
And eat lunch.
And .........

Sneaky changes

2009-09-21T19:31:00.004-04:00

My vocabulary has shrunk a lot since leaving university.
It was OK while working at the Sunday Times as I read all the time, for work and pleasure.
It got smaller when I was teaching English as I purposefully streamlined my vocab so the kids could understand.
Working in daycare, my English shrunk even more, but my working French improved!

I feel I've been missing out on the changing of the English language.
When did furniture become pieces, or rooms become spaces?
When did woo hoo become whoot, or yum become num?
When did quarters become fourths, for goodness sake?

Reasonable Contradictions

2009-09-20T16:39:00.007-04:00

I have just got back from my trip to Cottage / Ottawa / Cottage / Ottawa / Cottage.
I've been gone for a very long time, or so it seems.

1. I kind of felt settled in the trailer in Ottawa
(even if it didn't feel like I was in Ottawa, but in some other, new city...)
2. Doug's going to visit Kingston on Tuesday, and the move is feeling real again, instead of some distant fantasy
(although it has been postponed, yet again, probably until November...).
3. Plans are going forward with "Thanksgiving at the Cottage"
(even though the plans are being made without my input. Or Doug's apparently. But that's another kettle of fish entirely.....).

Things are on the roll again, we're moving in a forward direction, slowly but surely, we'll get there in the end.
But I'm feeling more lost than ever
(despite feeling a sense of relief when we came though the front doors.)
And I have been uncharacteristically creative
(in a surprisingly logical way.)

I find myself in this strange town again,
alone again,
confused again,
and wondering what I did before I went away.

Now, where was I again? Anyone?

Startitus

2009-09-04T12:57:00.004-04:00

I've been a bit of a wreak recently. No real reason for it. Maybe through boredom, I'm not sure. But I don't think I've ever had so many projects on the go at one time:

1. Fetching.
The week before last I knit 2 different fetching fingerless mitts. I decided which one I liked best, and will now frog and re knit the first to match the second. I have photos on the camera, but didn't download them before Doug took the camera to work for the week.

2. Baktus Scarf
Started a couple days ago. Weigh skein of yarn. Knit triangle until half of yarn is used. Decrease triangle for rest of yarn.
I don't have any scales, so I'll just knit for a while, then stop and hopefully by then will have some scales with which to weigh accurately and start decreases. I love the squishiness of it so far. But I've never knit on such teeny needles before! I think it's going to take a while to knit...

3. Razor's Edge Blanket
Still plugging away, despite knowing I don't have enough yarn!

4. My own super long ruched cowl
I just cast on last night for this. It's totally my own design, not based on anything else. I'm very excited about this. But again, I know I need more yarn or it's just going to look like a huge, fuzzy elastic band hanging limply around my neck..... But I'll keep on knitting it until I run out of yarn. Then it can hang around until I get more yarn...

5. Written driving test.
I have been studying for my written driving test!! I've resisted it enough. I realise that in this country I can't have any kind of Independence without learning to drive. It's a long process. Written test, 12 months later driving test, 12 month even later, full driver's licence. I've been doing on line test and finally got a pass mark yesterday. A little more studying, and then I'm going to take the test!

6. A Complicated Kindness.
I also started reading this book from the library. I need to finish it before I need to return it.

7. Introducing NLP
I've also started to read and make notes on this book, in an effort to.... fix everything wrong about me and how I present myself to others? Well, it's interesting, anyway. I got this book a few YEARS ago, and haven't read it yet. It's about time.

8. Yoga
I've started upping my yoga quota because next year I want to do the Yoga Teacher Training course. Only I have my period this week, so my practice is somewhat limited....

9. Chakra Meditation
I've also started do do chakra meditation, with an intention to making my practice stick. 7 chakras, 7 days. It's like it was meant to be. Still having difficulty with all the distractions, though.

10. Moving (The ongoing saga)
We're supposedly in the middle of moving again. In fact we were supposed to have already moved by now. But it's been postponed again. I've unattached myself from my (So Called) life here, but haven't attached myself to our new home / life.

And therein lies my problem, I think. I'm up in the air, therefore everything I do is also up in the air. I can't finish anything, as I don't know where I'm going to be at the end. So all I can do is start and start and start to make myself think I'm moving forward, even though I'm no closer to a destination.

So now I have 2 hours to finish getting ready, finish getting packed, finish the laundry, finish the housework and chores and finish my blog. Because for the next 2 weeks I do have a destination. I'm off to the cottage for the long weekend with Doug, Dog and MIL, then off to the 5th wheel in Ottawa for 2 weeks.

Of course I shouldn't get too bored there by myself, as I have a lot of things to finish!

2009-09-01T15:08:00.005-04:00

So, yes. I was lamenting about lost adventure - adventurous places, adventurous activities, adventurous people.
And then we decided to go canoeing!

We've been to the Barron Canyon before. 2 years ago when my mum and her "friend" came to visit, we did a grueling 3 day canoe / camping trip. It was too hard, too many portages, and the weather was.... drizzling.

This time, the sun was shining and we just did a day trip - paddle against the current in, stop for lunch, paddle with the current out.

It was beautiful and wonderful, but again, it was very hard work! On the way back, my arms were so tired that whenever I took the oar out of the water, it felt like it was made of lead. Oh my! I guess I'm in bad shape and need to do more exercise!! Well worth the pain, though. What a fantastic trip!

Now for the adventurous people I met while I was away!

A Newfie at the Pembroke campsite.
I couldn't really understand his accent very well, and he totally couldn't understand mine. Conversation was..... repeated a lot.

Hitchhiker in Ottawa
The man who shares the trailer with Doug randomly picked up a young, female hitchhiker on the drive to Ottawa. She stayed the night at the trailer and left to continue her journey the following morning.

The guys Doug's staying with at the trailer park.
They're all small town, hunting, farming people. I asked lots of questions and found out lots about how to have a small farm, with a few chickens, pigs, sheep (Goats are not recommended. Too naughty, apparently!), and lots about hunting (tents in trees?), butchering etc.

We also ate deer sausages and moose burgers! Yummmmmmm!

Mail check

2009-08-31T23:17:00.006-04:00

And just when you're feeling totally miserable and sorry for yourself,
you randomly decide to check the mail box at 11.15pm,
and find a parcel from your wonderful sister in there!
Inside are two photos of your nephews,
and a sneaky packet of Cadburys Buttons!!
((((((((Smiles)))))))))))

Postponements

2009-08-31T17:44:00.004-04:00

Yes, we did have a great adventure.

I went canoeing, camping, met some interesting people, ate some interesting things, read, knit and walked. It was great.

However I'm feeling a little blue today. After spending 10 days with Doug, he left this morning and I won't see him until next weekend.
Also, the move has been postponed for another month (at least), so I'm sad that this long distance and waiting and no job and no money and unsettled thing is dragging on and on and on.......
And also I think I'm PMSing all over the place

I know I'll feel better tomorrow, so I'll wait until then to share the adventure.

Off on an adventure

2009-08-20T11:40:00.008-04:00

Gone are the adventurous nights
that end in daylight
after meetings of extraordinary people
in extraordinary places.

Gone are the daily adventures of just getting things done
in a foreign language,
foreign culture.

Gone are the bus rides,
train rides,
plane rides
to somewhere exciting.

Gone are the diving weekends,
the parascending weekends,
the exploring weekends.

Gone is the adrenaline.

When did I lay down and die?

I miss so much about those days of drive, experience, adventure. It's me that's changed. Apathy and a resignation to "those days are over" have set in. I need to take control of my life. I need to get those things back.

I'm going to get those things back!

So, in a baby-steppin' kind of a way, this weekend is a weekend of adventure! We, being me and my MIL (Hey, I said baby-steppin!), leave in the morning to meet Doug in Pembroke.
We will be camping in the trailer in a camp site I've never been before!
We will be hiring a canoe to take a trip down the Baron Canyon
(Photo taken summer 2007)

I have a feeling there will be fires,
and drinking of special coffees,
and wildlife
and laughter.
And, oh yes, there will be adventure!

Then after that I'll be in Ottawa for a week! I'll be in a campsite out of town, probably with no way into town....
I think there will be walking and hiking,
and campfires,
and drinking of special coffees,
and wildlife
and laughter,
and maybe some adventure!

I will be taking some books with me, the camera, and, of course, some knitting. Just in case I need to calm myself after so much excitement!

I'm taking my Razor's Edge Blanket, whose colour changes look far more interesting and delicate in the picture than in real life!

I'm taking some Moonlight Mohair to knit a snuggle cowl, because I'm still on a stash attack, clearing out the old so I can fill the space with new!

And if that doesn't work out, I'm also taking my lovely Bouton D'Or Opale, because after having it kicking around for 3 years, I finally have decided what to make with it! - Fetching!

Ginger cake

2009-08-19T14:31:00.004-04:00

Last time I went to the UK I smuggled two McVitties Jamaican Ginger Cakes home in my suitcase! Of course, they were squished to within an inch of their lives.....Well, squished to within an inch actually! I just love the warming, sticky yumminess of the cakes.....

Last week I made Ginger Cake. It was based on the Ginger Cake recipe in The Book of Jewish Food, only I adapted it because:
* I didn't have Golden syrup, so I used Maple Syrup.
* I thought the called for sugar, on top of the syrup, would be too sweet, so I used way less that. (Because I obviously know more about Jewish cooking than the author....?)
* I replaced half the fat with applesauce to make it a little better for you.
* The book says not to eat it straight away, but to make it 3 days before you want to eat it - it keeps a long time. Unfortunately my version doesn't - Eat it soon or it gets dry!
* I also got to use the electric whisk attachment of my hand blender, that has seen very little action since I bought it in 2003!

So,

Claire's Canadian Ginger Cake

2 eggs
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup Maple Syrup - the good kind!
2 generous teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups unbleached flour
1 cup warm water

1. Preheat oven to 325F / 160C
2. Beat eggs and sugar until creamy. Beat in oil, applesauce and syrup.
3. In a separate bowl, mix ginger, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and flour.
4. Gradually pour in flour mixture, alternating with water. Beat to a smooth batter.
5. Pour into two parchment paper lined loaf tins.
6. Bake for about an hour.

Yogurt-tastic

2009-08-18T12:24:00.010-04:00

I've been having Adventures in Yogurt recently. I made my own yogurt, and then had to eat it quickly. I got creative!

So, all you need is about 1 litre of milk, 2 tbsp "live" yogurt as a starter, a crock pot / slow cooker and a bath towel!

The recipe I used was based on this one. I made it smaller, as I'm the only one eating the yogurt!!

So, I put the (2%) milk in the crock, and cooked it on low for 2 1/2 hours. (This heats up the milk to get rid of all the "bad" bacteria.)

I unplugged the crock and let it to cool for 3 hours. (This cools it to the perfect temperature for the magic to happen.)

I took out a cup of warm milk and mixed it with 2tbsp yogurt. I returned it to the crock and stirred it all up.
I wrapped up the crock in a thick towel, warm from the tumble dryer, and let it sit for 8hrs, overnight.

And the result was.....

Yogurt!

Here's the timing formula, for those of us who need a little extra help to be organised....!

Add starter time:
Bedtime = _______pm

Unplug time:
Bedtime - 3 hrs = _______pm

Start time:
Unplug time - 2 1/2 hrs = _______pm

=>

Start time = _______pm
Unplug time = _______pm
Add starter time = _______pm

* It keeps for 7 - 10 days in the fridge.
* The more starter you use (yogurt) the thinner the yogurt will be.
* The lower-fat milk you use, the thinner the yogurt.
* Milk can be pasteurised, but not UHT (the long-life, shelf stable variety).
* You can use first generation yogurt as a starter for the second generation yogurt, but a second generation yogurt starter doesn't always work.

Here are some things I did with my wealth of yogurt:

1. Mixed in a spoon of wild blueberry preserves = Blueberry yogurt!
2. Put some yogurt in a blender a handful of with frozen berries and ice = Smoothie!

3. Mix with muesli and chopped fruit = Yogurt parfait!
4. Marinade meat with it = Tandoori Chicken Drummers!
5. Hang yogurt in double folded cheesecloth over a bowl
= Yogurt Cheese and Whey!

Uses of Yogurt Cheese include:
a) Spread in pita with lettuce, cucumber, tomato and fresh mint = Greek Pitas!

b) Mix with maple syrup or honey and nuts = Honey Walnut Spread!
c) Mix with garlic, cucumber and fresh mint = Tsatsiki-ish! Use as a dip, or a spread!

Mmmmmm!

Productive

2009-08-17T11:23:00.006-04:00

I am the world's biggest procrastinator. (I also tend to exaggerate a bit, too!) I have not been working since the end of April, (except for the three weeks worked in June, and the one week painting the cottage)! I have had A LOT of time on my hands, with which to do whatever I choose. In this day and age, that's most people's dream.

But for me, I find it quite tough. All that choice overwhelms me and I end up....... not really doing much.

However, something has changed because recently I have been a producing, active, contributing human being! These last couple of weeks, I seem to have harnessed the power of free will and mastered the ability to choose!

I think the difference is the exercising myself. It's been of a cardio and strength nature, as opposed ot my usual yoga nature (and when I say usual, I meant it in the loosest sense...) The yoga is relaxing and centering and calming. But I'm so unstimulated right now that the yoga is sending me off into a coma. The cardio / strength type exercising is waking me up and making me feel alive! Once I'm awake, then I am alert enough to get things done. And what a difference it has made!

I have been baking, experimenting (with varying success....) in the kitchen, reading, exercising and training the dog, exercising myself and knitting like a maniac! The Ginger Cake and the yogurt I'll write about at a later date, but right now I'd like to share some more FO's.

The Liquid Metal Cowl has been hanging on the back burner for a while now. But now it's done! My step mum has been very sick recently. Now I know I don't call my dad too often, but I had spoken to him since she got sick and he just brushed it all under the carpet. When my sister told me the full extent I knew I had to knit her something really special. But my stash is full of nasty yarn and only one thing kept coming to mind - Liquid Metal Cowl! It's super soft, snugly, luxurious, the perfect drape, very delicate and ladylike. It was a perfect gift for my step mum. So, I sat in front of the TV, watching movies (Barefoot in the Park, Moulin Rouge, some of Sleepless in Seattle) until I had finished knitting. The intention was strength and happiness. And here is the finished product, ready to be mailed off with the baby hats this afternoon:

Now all of this knitting action has fired up my creative juices (or creative juice, as I don't have much of them!)I was rummaging in my stash cupboard, and came across my Herringbone Neckwarmer. An original UGH! project if I've ever seen one. I love the fluffy wool, love the stitch, was loving the neckwarmer until....
I ran out of yarn,
couldn't find any more in that colourway,
tried to get creative and put a contrasting button band on,
put a contrasting edging on to try and tie it all together,
and ended up with an ugly, impractical, ridiculous mess. UGH! indeed!
But inspiration hit me and we quickly went from UHG!

to Aaaaaah!

I just got rid of the pink, and seamed it up the back to make a bulky, woolly cowl instead! I don't know why I didn't think of it before!

Knitting baby hats

2009-08-14T10:51:00.005-04:00

When I was pregnant with my angel, I went off knitting, just like I went off coffee, air fresheners, vanilla, washing up....... It made me want to vomit, even after we lost her. In fact I still don't drink coffee, and it's been 10 long months.

When we found out whether it was a pink or a blue one, I went to walmart and bought lots and lots of pretty cottons to knit the bibs, Komono and burp cloths from Mason Dixie Knitting and the BSJ by Elizabeth Zimmerman. The nausea had subsided, I could bare to look at needles and yarn, and I eventually began to knit the burp cloth. That's all the baby knitting I got done, because then our angel left us.
Once I could bare to look at it, I unravelled it and gave all the yarn to my friend because I couldn't have it in my house anymore. It took a while longer before I could pick up the knitting needles again.

However, now I find myself having knit 5 baby hats in one week -

Kate's Baby Hats #1, #2 and #3 for her scheduled early delivery at the end of the month. I knit these hats like knittng a prayer shawl. I put positive thoughts and love as my intention while knitting, and when the baby wears the hats, those feelings will permeate him/her.

And Ashlin's Hat #1 and #2. Ashlin's mum had a miscarriage when I was pregnant, and got pregnant again just after the stillbirth. Knitting her hats were a celebration. She'd lost her first baby, too, and now she had a living baby!

All this baby knitting for other people's babies. I'm glad I have the time (and the stash!) to do it. Both sets of hats were knit with very different intentions. I hope one day to be knitting hats with both love and celebration, for my own baby.

One day, I'm sure it'll happen. We deserve it.

Alone in the dark

2009-08-10T11:39:00.003-04:00

Yesterday there were severe thunderstorms in Southern Ontario. Just before lunch time, the rain was coming down like a typhoon day in Taiwan and I had all the lights on in the house, it was so dark. The electricity was flickering. I was a bit nervous.

However, the storm passed and I confidently plugged in all the electrics again and got on with my day. I spent it checking the tomatoes were still on the tomato plants, knitting a second Kate's Baby's Hat, burning lentil soup (The soup pot is still soaking in the sink!) and writing out the Yogurt recipe for my step-mum. (I also had to spend quite some time with the pup who'd got freaked out by the storm and was growling at my umbrella(?), fur erect, tail between her legs!)

Then evening came. I took the recyclables out and the first drops of rain began to fall. That's why it was so dark at 8.00pm - another storm!
The electricity started to flicker, and I got nervous again. Yes, I know that at 31 years of age, I really am too old to be scared of the dark. I know this. I have this run-away imagination that starts small and then speeds up exponentially. Once it starts, it's pretty hard to stop. The thought of no electriciy at night freaked me out.
As I was explaining the situation to D on the phone, the lights went out and we got cut off. It was dark, except for the lightening. I turned the flashlight on, to discover that the batteries were on their last legs. And then it hit me: I'm by myself, it's dark, I don't know anyone in this town, and I'm scared!
I'd never felt so alone in my life.

I couldn't take my mind off things by watching TV or playing on the internet, I couldn't call anyone - there was no electricity.
I couldn't leave the flighlight on for too long - we had no spare batteries.
I couldn't light the many candles we had - we had no matches.
I couldn't knit or read - there was no light.

I did the only thing I could do - hold tight and not freak out. The sounds of the sirens didn't freak me out. The thought of looters didn't freak me out. Flooding, or the house being hit by lightening didn't freak me out.
I filled a bag with the phone, maglite, wallet, house keys, camera and passport(?), and clutching the pup and listening to one ear of my ipod, I was the very essence of calm.

An hour later the power returned and I breathed a huge sigh of relief. I was safe and secure again. I may even have shed a tear or two. It was over.

I may still be alone, but I'll never be in the dark again - I'm off out to buy some batteries and some matches....

The fear / joy of DPNs

2009-08-08T19:09:00.010-04:00

I am taking some time away from yogurt (I'll post about that next week....) to share with you an amazing thing.

I just knit something using double pointed needles!

I know!

I first picked up a pain of bamboo DPNs about 4 years ago. I tried knitting the legwarmers from Last Minute Knitted Gifts. Up until this point, I'd been a Knitting God. Everything I tried to do, I did!

Knit a scarf - check
With multiple strands of yarn held together - check
With 2 different sized needles - check
Knit a scarf sideways - check
Knit something three dimensional - check
Design a gecko motif for Stitch N Bitch's Alien Illusion scarf - check
Knit a poncho in the round (circs) - check

I was unstoppable! I could knit anything I set my mind to! I must have a natural talent for this!

So I picked up the DPN's to knit a pair of leg warmers. I could knit, I could purl, I could knit in three dimensions, I could knit in a spiral. I could knit a pair of leg warmers, right?
Wrong!
I stabbed myself multiple times in the palm, finger, wrist. I twisted when I joined. I got a huge gap where I'd joined. Then the needle slipped out of the stitches and fell on the floor.
It was then that I realised I was sweating, I was in pain from both the stabbings and the strange contortions I'd done with my hands, (Well, my entire body, really), and I was so distressed and tense that my shoulders were knotted up somewhere around my ears.
I Had Failed.
Miserably.
In Multiple Ways.
I was, indeed, mortal.
What a blow.

Beaten, I frogged the inch or so of legwarmer, untangled the 2 different yarns I'd been using (damn, they would have looked so good...) and put the DPNs back in their little plastic sheath. And I have been afraid of DPNs ever since.

But, my friend is pregnant. It has been a difficult pregnancy with lots of scares and The Little Munchkin is being induced at 32 weeks. I want to give her support, but I am in Canada and she is in the UK, so the only thing I can do is knit for her and The Wee One. I poked around in my stash, poked around on ravelry and found a set of baby hats. Of course, as with most hats, they were knit using DPNs. I thought I'd just knit them flat and seam them up at the back.
But I just happened to have a set of DPNs the correct size.
I thought I'd give it a try. Why not? No one's here to see me fail a second time. No pressure......

And guess what.....

I did it!

I stabbed myself a bit, but then just pushed the needles out of the way!
I checked carefully when I joined, and I didn't twist the stitches!
I used the tricks I'd learned on Ravelry (for although I was too scared to actually do it, I didn't stop learning about it, as I do with everything) and I closed the gap where I'd joined!
And despite my pushing and pulling, the needles stayed put in the stitches!

So, how many times do I have to learn this lesson before I truly embrace it? Fear is everywhere, in everyone and everything. So why let it stop me?

Now just to show off, here's the hat! I know it's an odd shape, I know I veered away from the pattern, I know it's a bit wonky. But oh my, it's a hat that I knit using double pointed needles!

I'm glad for the pain

2009-08-06T12:43:00.001-04:00

I'm glad for the pain,

for the blood,

for the panic,

for the drama.

I'm glad she went out with a bang.

I'm glad she didn't just slip away with no one noticing.

I'm glad it didn't end in an anti-climactic

nothingness.

I'm glad for the havoc that she wreaked,

the turmoil that she left behind.

A permenant reminder that she was here

she existed

she was something special

she was great.

I'm glad for the pain.

Now she will never be forgotten.

We're moving - again

2009-08-06T11:28:00.005-04:00

Well, my personal pep talk must have worked! We got official conformation of our move to Kingston, ON yesterday! Yippee!! The move will happen in "hopefully early September"! That's just a month away!

Now I need to find us a place to live, in a city I've never been to, from Orangeville, with an immediate move-in date. Difficult, but I've done similar before. Then I need to pack up a 3 bed house by myself. It's certainly do-able, I just need to make me up a packing timetable. I can pack up winter stuff, spare room stuff, most of the office stuff. The rest will need to wait until we're closer to the moving date.

I think mentally I've already moved as this week, I started eating up my freezer contents because we can't move frozen food, and I've also made a mental note of all the things I'll miss about Orangeville and which I need to make the most of while I'm still here:

1. We have a lovely townhouse. It's all the things on my wish list - spare room, office, dishwasher, washer and dryer, clean, new, centrally and conveniently located, small yard. It'll be difficult to find a nicer house for us than this one.

2. Everything's within walking distance. And I mean everything! 3 different grocery stores, the large Big Box Store Area, the quaint downtown area, LYS (although I could only afford to go there once!)

3. The ability to open the gate in the back yard, and there is a field in which I can play frisbee with the pup. It's great, standing there in my slippers, drinking a cup of tea, exercising my dog, giving her off-leash practice. So easy!

4. Having a yard means we can grow food. This year we planted 4 tomato plants at the cottage, and 4 here. I have plans of jarred tomato soup, pasta sauce, salsa, chutney..... The plants are huge, there are lots of green balls on them, and doodles of flowers - it looks like day of the triffids out there! I just hope they ripen before we leave!

5. We're so much closer to the cottage from here! When Doug was working in Orangeville, we could just pop up there overnight if we wanted. It wasn't a big deal because it wasn't a 5 hour drive, like from Ottawa.

6. I've had a lot of alone time and had the time and space space to process the stillbirth of our angel daughter further, to take a step back from it, and to take a look around. I'm no longer grasping at anything, trying desperately to stuff it inside me to fill the void. I've moved onto the next phase of healing.

7. I've really enjoyed my spare time, too. I've cooked up a storm, done yoga and meditation, knit, of course, but I'll leave that for another post.

Personal Pep Talk

2009-07-29T12:56:00.005-04:00

So, this week I'm staying positive. I'm looking forward with hope and trust that every thing's going to be great.

I'm looking forward and I'm seeing me and Doug living in the same town again. I'm seeing us in a lovely house in a different city. (The Hydro job here has officially been cancelled.) I see me cooking delicious meals in our clean and tidy house. I'm seeing us settled down, in our lovely house in our new town, and it's home.

I'm seeing me working again, earning money again, and enjoying little luxuries - going out for a drink, for dinner, knitting from new yarn not stash, new clothes, yoga class. Maybe a sewing machine and sewing class, maybe an online course of some interesting description.

I'm seeing us being care free, laughing gratuitously, making plans, having fun, full of energy and life.

I'm seeing long walks and dog parks for the dog to exercise and socialise in, seeing her happy face looking up at me as she prances alongside me. I think I see a little friend for her, too, keeping her company while we're out at work.

I'm looking forward with hope and trust that every thing's going to be great.

Summer holidays

2009-07-26T16:23:00.007-04:00

In England, our summers are somewhat unpredictable. Maybe summer will be in August, where it's supposed to be. Maybe it'll be in July. Or just maybe it will be 2 weeks in April, maybe followed by a second summer in September. One thing's for sure, though. Whenever you book a family summer holiday in the UK, it will rain.

Growing up we went on many UK summer holidays, in a caravan. Not the huge luxurious trailers I see here in North America. Just a small caravan.
The "dining room" table went down between the "dining room" chairs - the Master Bedroom.
The back rest of the chair by the "kitchen" propped up on two wooden legs to make bunk beds.
Squeak, squeak, squeak and the rocking of the caravan signalled morning. (To run water in the "kitchen" there was a foot pump on the floor.) Followed by the smell of gas and the click of the stove lighter. By the time the kettle whistled, we were light headed. One trip (admittedly it was a winter trip, not a summer one!) the water froze in the jug of water under the caravan. No morning cup of tea for mum that weekend!
Soon, there were 2 adults, 4 girls and 2 dogs. We outgrew the caravan. Us kids got banished to the awning. It zipped around one side of the caravan, with a tarp on the ground. Inside the awning, hanging from the poles, was an inner tent with one blow-up mattress and 4 giggling girls. We still got woken up by the squeak-squeaking and rocking from the caravan (Surely it was still from filling the kettle with water...), but we were saved the smell of the gas.

One particular holiday was 2 weeks in the New Forest. It was just mum, my step dad, me and my sister. And the two dogs, of course. It was raining when we arrived. It was raining when we left. I'm pretty sure it didn't stop raining for 14 days. It was so wet that we couldn't put the awning on. The field became a pond. Rivers were swollen and dangerous. Cars were stuck in the mud. Tents were floating away. One poor couple lost their dog and when we did venture outside, we could hear the woman wailing for it. From that night on, our dogs slept inside the caravan, not under it as in previous nights. And the rain kept falling.
I have no idea what we did during the days on that vacation. We must have visited a different local attraction each day, as we did on all of our holidays. But the only activities I remember doing was all of us sitting around the "dining room" table playing cards by one dim light. When we got bored of that, we played dice. We only stopped so mum could watch Coronation Street on the tiny portable telly. It was black and white and you had to tune it with a dial and jiggle with the antenna. Out of the four channels, we could get three. Luckily one of them was ITV. If you squinted, you could make out the picture through the snow. If you strained, you could here voices through the static. With a constant nodding of the head, you could follow the picture as it rotated up off the top of the screen, and back up again from the bottom. All of this with the constant, sometimes deafening, sound of the rain drumming on the roof.

So, last week was our family summer holiday. Not spent in a caravan, no. Spent in a cottage! Not spent in the British summer, no. Spent in the Canadian summer! But ultimately, it all came down to the same thing - Rain, rain and more rain!
Monday to Wednesday, we sanding, washed and put 2 coats of paint on the exterior of the cottage. We got up, drank tea and coffee (tea from a whistling kettle, of course!) than worked until 9.00pm. Then it was time for beer and falling asleep in front of a DVD.
Then Thursday morning it started to rain. I woke up and heard the rain. Our cottage is not insulated, our cottage is open to the rafters, and when I heard that rain, drumming on the roof, I just knew it was Summer Holiday Rain. Just like home! And sure enough, that rain kept on falling until we left on Saturday!

So here's the before:

and after:

shot of our cottage paint job. It ended up quite a bit lighter than we thought. The stain looked like melted chocolate ice cream in the pail. Doug hated it at first, but is slowly coming around to it.

Again?!?

2009-07-16T10:05:00.004-04:00

So, word on the street is.......

Another Move!

This time it looks like we'll be moving to Kingston, Ontario at the end of the summer.

Probably.

I've never been to Kingston, but it has multiple yarn stores, multiple libraries and multiple off-leash dog parks. It's on a lake, and it's a city. It also has a ready made job (breaths huge sigh of relief!!) working in the office with D. I've done it before, I don't mind it. And it pays more than working daycare!

So, all I need to do now is enjoy the rest of my time here, at the cottage and in Ottawa before we move!

We're off to the cottage for a week. Painting, knittng, kayaking.

Happy holidays, everyone!!

Highlights

2009-07-13T17:06:00.003-04:00

I had hoped to fill you in on the adventures of the past few weeks.
But my computer has other ideas and is not uploading my images!
I'll try again tomorrow....

But the edited highlights include:
knitting
reading
working
visiting
cooking
fireworks

Stay posted for photos......

Busy busy bumble bee

2009-07-13T10:43:00.017-04:00

It's been a busy few weeks. A fun few weeks. And up-in-the-air few weeks.
But, in the words of Nina Simone, I'm feeling good......

I've been back in Ottawa, celebrating Canada Day in the nation's capital, knitting, catching up with friends and cooking Algerian, reading and going to the cottage.

First, being back in Ottawa. How I love that city! Here's a picture of my Urban Puppy:

Second, watching the fireworks on Parliament Hill on Canada Day - breath taking:

Third, I finished knitting Clapotis! And I now have a pic of Sammy's Belated Birthday Blankie:

Forth, I've been cooking Algerian feasts - traditional couscous and chorba frik. So. Very. Good.:

And finally, we've had the kayaks out!! Finally the weather had cooperated, and I've been embracing the lake.

I've said it once, and I'll say it again;
I'm feeling good!

A few of my favourite (cottage) things

2009-06-16T09:28:00.012-04:00

1. Kayaks. Hopefully we'll get them out more often than we did last year.

2. MeiLi - in all her Diva-ness. Dog sit on the ground? No way. Lap or chair only for this pooch!

3. Patriotism. At first I found it funny - where are we again? Oh yeah, Canada. Then I found it irritating - Seriously? Another Canadian flag? Now I like it - We're Canadian, and this is what it's all about. Cottage life...

4. Bug Lantern - pure poison, but it works. Even if my lungs do hurt....

5. Chiminea - I loves me a fire!

6. Double hammock

7. The gentle sound of the wind chimes

8. The indoor fake fire - cozy and very necessary in cooler times!

9. My Dollar Store Gerdenning Kit - thanks to the MIL for the kit, the advice and the free plants transplanted from her garden!

10. Strawberry Milk - I can only find it in Gravenhurst, so it's my special cottage drink!

I love my friends, however far they are

2009-06-12T13:45:00.004-04:00

Yesterday was the best day of the week by far!

Me and my friend, F, finally got to speak to each other on skype! We'd been trying all week and I honestly thought that it would never happen, but finally (!!) we made it!
We went to high school together, stayed in touch and visited through university, stayed great friends after uni in the London days. Our friendship survived F's year in the states and Mexico, and her stint in Spain. Since then our paths haven't crossed do often, although we do email all the time. I was in Taiwan for 3 years, then moved to Canada. She has since moved to Turkey. And last month she got married!!
We had so much to catch up on. I just can't believe she got married!! I wish I'd have been able to go, but alas, Turkey is a very long way away.

Then I met an old friend for lunch! She called out of the blue and said she'd be over in 20 minutes!
We first met when we were working in construction in Northern Alberta. It was 3 or 4 years ago, and I haven't seen her since. Now her hubby and D are working on the same job, and she lives in the next town on.
It may not seem like a big deal, but to meet someone for lunch - when you've moved to a new town and don't know anyone, where the only IRL conversations you've had have been with the woman at the grocery store or the library - it's a huge deal!

Then I called my sister to see how her mini vaykay went. (Great, in case you were wondering!) And her phone call inspired me to make Chicken and Veg Goan Curry for dinner. Yes, it was as good as it sounds!

Then in the evening, the phone rang again - it was Z!
We also went to high school together, then she came to Canada for University and stayed here. We randomly met up again in Taiwan for a year! The she returned to Canada (Vancouver). She now lives in Saskatoon, and we have seen each other a few times (Canada`s a HUGE country!) and call and email each other often,
Z is getting married (secretly) in Vegas this summer and was seeing if I had a job yet, and thus afford to go with her. (Unfortunately, the search continues....)

Wow, I've been feeling a little lonely and a little sorry for myself recently. I'd forgotten that although I don't see them very often, I have the greatest friends!

Anyways, I`m off to the cottage. Have a great weekend!

New Family Doctor Rant

2009-06-08T08:55:00.002-04:00

I haven't had a family doctor for years, not since leaving the UK. I was very excited when we finally found one in a town 1/2 hour from us.

We went for an introduction / meet and greet with her. Of course the death of our angel came up. Of course, it was a prime time for a medical professional to be thoughtless....

I told her about how we had lost our last child in October, how she was still born.

She said how sorry she was. She asked how pregnant I was and when I said 24 1/2 weeks, she said "Oh, I thought you meant you'd carried her to term!" and waved it off (literally waved her hand!) as if loosing your baby when you're nearly 6 months pregnant is nothing.

"Oh, at that time it's just boarder line stillbirth or abortion."

"You mean miscarriage....."

"Yes."

WTF?

"Well, miscarriage happens a lot. We don't know why it happens."

"It was a placental abruption."

.....blank stare.......

I know she's not a specialist, but really, it meant nothing to her!

"Well, you don't need to worry. You're young. You can have another one, it'll be fine."

Do I need to say how insensitive this type of comment is?

"Well, there's a greater risk of a placental abruption happening again if you've already had it happen once."

"Really? What's the risk, exactly?"

"I'm not sure."

"Well, I'm sure it's small..."

I don't need to say that the small risk thing doesn't help, because it's already happened to me! The fact that the risk is now greater than before!! doesn't make it seem so small to me!

Then she made another dismissive remark how it's nothing to worry about, no big deal and D even jumped in at this point and said:

"It's really serious, actually. We spent 3 days in the hospital. Claire lost a lot of blood and had to have a blood transfusion."

Awkward, yes. But the meet and greet continued.

Then it was D's turn to get insulted. She was asking about his family history, about how old his father was when he died last year.

"Oh! He's your father? That's really old. What's going on here?"

I was just about ready to walk on out of there at that point! I was very surprised when D started justifying the age gap between his mum and dad.

Really, how unprofessional.

But I haven't had a family doctor since 2002, and Doug's family doctor retired a few years ago. And now we both have a family doctor. So I guess she's better than nothing.

Just.

Show and Tell

2009-06-05T12:34:00.014-04:00

OK, so I restarted my computer and everything is right with the world again! Phew!

1. Puppy Power
Let me begin with sharing a picture of my sleepy puppy. She's sleepy! When she's not hyper, she's very, very sleepy.
When I open the blind in the mornings, she actually buries her head under the covers so she can go back to sleep.
In the old apartment, she would wake up long enough to say goodbye to D when he left for work, then would go straight back to bed (yes, under the covers!) until I woke her up after my shower to go for a walk.
Nowadays, she doesn't even get up to say goodbye to D! She stays sleeping!

Of course, we encourage all this sleepiness because she's just so cute!

2. Knitting
I'm still waiting for the picture of Sammy enjoying his blankie, so I can't share that with you, but I can share the shaggy, loopy scarf with you! It was based on a kit for a straight scarf, but I like my scarves long, and apparently I like my loops loopy! So it soon became clear that I wasn't going to get a decent length scarf out of those 3 balls. So I made the scarf an L shape, so it was a neckwarmer, with buttons instead of a scarf with a knot! Voila, Shaggy Loopy Scarf:

Also, I started on my Liquid Metal Cowl. I loved Floabel's Cowl so much, she told me how she did it! (Yes, that's the yarn that I left on the bed, and MeiLi played with, and I spent an age untagling!!)

And some stash....

And now we're off to the cottage to light up one of these!!

Happy weekends, everyone!!!

Unable to share

2009-06-05T12:08:00.004-04:00

I had hoped to share with you some of my recent knitting, however, my computer doesn't want to read my camera's SD card! And I can't get the camera software to load, so it won't let me use the cord to upload the images......
I'm a little worried.....

ETA:
I just tried the Memory Stick Pro card from the other camera - that doesn't work either!
And the jump drive which has all my job stuff on it (resume's, covering letters, questions etc), that doesn't work either!
Now I'm really worried.......

Thank Crunchie it's Friday

2009-05-29T12:37:00.006-04:00

Oh, how I love Fridays!

Everyone's always in a good mood on a Friday. In my last job I didn't use to work very often on a Friday, but when I did there was an air of excitement in every room! The ladies I worked with, who often had heavy hearts, would be almost giddy. There'd be a final burst of energy as they whirled out the door with high hopes and high plans for the weekend. In fact, the Fridays I worked were as good as the Fridays I didn't!

And, as quick as a wink, it's Friday again today! Where did the week go, I wonder?
I applied for some jobs (ECA, Chiropractic Assistant),
got my first rejection letter (Library),
I rewrote my resume a few million times,
yoga (Yoga Shakti),
meditation (learn to meditate with Pema Chodron),
went exploring both with the dog (walks through town, to grassy areas, to find other dogs and owners)
and without her (errands, grocery store, drug store, Bulk Barn, Library),
I watched a couple movies (Valkyrie and Dead Like Me),
did lots of housework,
cooking (Avgolemono Soup and Enchilada Casserole for the first time!),
knitted a bit (Clapotis and Liquid Metal Cowl).

But really, this week has just flown by! I have a nagging voice in my head: "Another week without finding a new job. You didn't work hard enough doing that, did you!" But really, it doesn't matter now, because it's Friday! The day that everyone gets to enjoy. The weekend is spent doing things like watching movies, knitting, playing with the dog, or in our case, going to the cottage. I don't have to feel guilty for doing something fun! I get to do what everyone else is doing!

So as I finish my errands and as I'm packing for the weekend, I get to think Thank Cruchie It's Friday!!

Belated Birthday

2009-05-28T16:30:00.006-04:00

It was my birthday a little while ago. Well, quite a while ago, actually, but I've been somewhat disorganised recently (Gasp!) and haven't mentioned it....

I come from a family who are BIG on birthdays. Really BIG! On a regular birthday, one ending in a number from 1-9, there are many celebrations!

1. Romantic birthday celebration, celebrated with the man-of-the-moment.
2. Girlfriend Celebration, in the form of a night out with, but not limited to, girlfriends.
3. Family Celebration, which usually consists of an evening meal in a restaurant with mum, auntie, sis, maybe a cousin or extended family member.
4. Actual Birthday Celebration, which starts with a cuppa tea in bed, maybe a breakfast downstairs. There's card openings, present openings. There's the customary "Happy Birthday to you!" either sung down the phone before going to work, or message on the answer phone due to time changes. If there's no work that day, then there's a whole day of activities planned - whatever you want to do because it's your special day!

This year, however, I'd found myself in a strange predicament. We were going on vacation for my birthday, so I knew I wouldn't get any prezzies from D. He also doesn't do cards. Ever. So I knew I wouldn't get a card from him. My friends at work wouldn't get me anything (or so I thought!!) because we don't do that. And no one wanted to come out to celebrate with me because it was the weekend between pay checks, so no one had any money. And because I was meeting my sister on vacation, anything from England would come with her. So I knew that on my actual birthday, I'd have nothing to open and there would be no celebration. Oh my! So I decided to take matters into my own hands. I went shopping for my own birthday! And here are my goodies!!

A water bottle!
I'm really bad for not drinking enough during the day. I can't survive on tea and beer alone!! I have a plain metal one for water already, but I need more encouragement. This one's for Crystal Lights!!

A Learn To Meditate CD!
It's something I've always wanted to learn, so why not? I found this box of CDs. It looked the best of the bunch. I'm 2 "weeks" out of the 5 "week" course. Each lesson has so many pointers in it, that I find that at meditation time my mind is just leaping around, remembering the many interesting things that she said. It's so great, but each lesson needs to be listened to multiple times if you're a complete beginner like me!

A bronzer!
After a llooonng Canadian winter, I was so white, I was verging on green. So what better than a little cosmetic pick-me-up? I looked and looked for a bronzer that was neither orange or glittery. One that I could wear during the day. And this is the perfect shade of natural, sunkissed radiance!!

I Take The Vow

2009-05-28T10:15:00.002-04:00

A GLOBAL MOVEMENT | I Take The Vow

Shared via AddThis

(Nearly) all settled in

2009-05-13T10:47:00.003-04:00

Before I was pregnant, I was not a mother. When I was pregnant, I was preparing myself to be a mother. Maybe I was a mother, as she grew inside me, and I felt her play. Then she died. And now I don't know who I am.
I'm not the person I was before she existed. I've lost even more innocence than I already had lost. You can see it in my eyes, in my posture.
I'm not the person I was while she was inside me. I'm not full of hope or purpose.
When we were trying again, I was a person trying to become a mother.
But then we stopped trying. Now I'm this new person who's not sure who she is, what she's doing.

We've moved, we managed it, we've unpacked and D's back at work again. We are all settled in. Well, nearly. I've managed to find a home for practically everything in our new place. Everything's where it belongs, where it should be.

Except for me. I'm still pretty lost.

New Place

2009-05-03T18:51:00.001-04:00

1. Washer/dryer in apartment / house.
Check!
2. Dishwasher.
Check!
3. 2 bedrooms. Or more!
Check!
4. House? (Dreaming...)
If not, Townhouse.
Check!
5. Back garden for pup.
Check!
6. Town centre.
Check!
7. In a city.
If not, outskirts of city.
If not, in a town.
Check!

Yup! Not bad, eh! We're moving on Wednesday!!

Things I'm glad I remembered in Cuba

2009-04-22T15:40:00.006-04:00

1. Keep out of the midday sun.
Just ears and feet that I forgot......
2. Get up at a reasonable hour.
You can sleep until midday on a cold, snowy weekend, not on a beautiful beach.
3. Chill out.
My legs still feel like jello, and I still have a stupid grin on my face!
4. Do one thing a day that makes you uncomfortable.
When me and sis first came up to the edge of the coral, and the ocean floor fell away beneath us, and the water streatched out into nothingness, and the fish were very friendly, we were a little freaked out and swam back to shore. Me and D went back out, and spent the rest of the vacation going "over the edge" and doing the best snorkelling ever!!
5. Smile!
I'm quite the shy, private person. I usually try to make myself quite inconspicuous. But everyone on holiday is all smiles, and "Hola"s, and exclaiming at the beauty, and starting conversations. I got quite caught up in it all, and I've decided that I quite like smiling at people! It makes me happy!
6. Haggling is a fun part of vacation, not an olympic sport.
So what if I paid a few pesos more for something. It's only a couple of dollars. Who cares!
7. Don't take yourself too seriously.
Me and D wanted to go to the real art market, not the arts tourist market, to buy a piece of real Cuban art back home with us.
But the real art, while very moving, was full of pain and anguish and termoil.
We decided we'd had enough pain and anguish and termoil in real life, so opted to buy a happier piece of tourist art from the tourist market!
8. Love.
I got to spend a week with the great man that I love, with my sister, who I love and don't see often, and my brother in law, who I also love, believe it or not..... It was lovely!
9. Cool mugs.

Not only did we do what's good for environment and use reusable mugs instead of plastic disposible ones, but our drinks didn't spill or get sand in, we didn't have to go to the bar as often, and our drinks stayed ice cold for hours. So, so glad we bought them!
10. Leave in Conditioner
I once read a magazine article how an olympic swimmer wet her hair before going in the pool to keep her hair healthy. The chlorinated water didn't get all in her hair, as the clean water was there first.
I didn't want the salt water to ruin my hair so, using the same principle, I put leave in conditioner on my dry hair before going snorkeling. In the evenings when I washed my hair, after a day of being in the sea water, drying in the sun, etc, there was no fight to get the comb through. I got in the shower, and my hair was as good as new!

Things I wish I'd have remembered in Cuba

2009-04-22T15:17:00.007-04:00

1. Apply sun block on the tops of your feet.
2. When reapplying sunblock after swimming, don't forget the tops of your feet!
3. When gettng out of the midday sun, don't forget to put your feet in the shade, too.

4. All the above for tops of the ears.

5. All inclucive is for convenience. Not an opportunity to get your money's worth.
6. Three meals a day is more than enough. Just because it's there, and it's free, you don't need to eat more.
7. One desert per meal is more than enough. Really.

8. Same goes for alcohol!!

9. Nail varnish remover. Or just not to wear dark toe nail varnish in the first place!
The hot, hot sun melted the dark nail varnish. The white sand stuck to the melted nail varnish. When cooled, bushing off the sand also brushed off the nail varnish. Before going out in the evening, I had to fill in the blanks.
And then the whole process starts again the next day......

10. I thought I was so organised. I even packed a spare rasor blade in case it got dull - who wants rasor bumps? Unfortunately I forgot the rasor itself.....
So I , unintentionally, didn't have to worry about body hair once on holiday! It was great! (Not sure how much the people near to me appreciated it though....)

Wish List for New Place

2009-04-09T22:39:00.003-04:00

1. Washer/dryer in apartment / house.
If not, washer/dryer in building. I NEVER want to go to a laundromat again. I'm a private person. I hate folding my undies in public.
2. Dishwasher.
I think this could really improve my quality of life. No, really, I mean it.
3. 2 bedrooms. Or more!
Spare room / office / library / exercise room / knitting room. Right now they're all in our living room.
4. House? (Dreaming...)
If not, Townhouse.
If not, apartment with separate entrance.
If not, ground floor apartment.
5. Back garden for pup.
And for herb garden, and possible vegetable patch. And BBQing and drinking beer.
If not, trails or park at the front door.
If not, trails or parks within walking distance.
(Poor puppy does most of her "business" in other people's front gardens. It's embarrassing for both of us.....)
6. Town centre.
If not, on a frequent bus route.
If not, on any bus route.
I know, I know, I need to learn how to drive. It's on my list of "Things To Do".
7. In a city.
If not, outskirts of city.
If not, in a town.
If not, outskirts of a town.
I just can't do country! It's not in me! Maybe once I learn to drive I'll feel differently, but right now..... it's like the opposite of claustrophobic. Big skies and open spaces freak me out.

These are my wants and needs. I've put them out there and FIERCE negotiations are going on.

Wish me luck.....

Moving again

2009-03-31T21:12:00.003-04:00

So, we got the call last week. We're moving again!

But in this economic climate, etc etc, it's good to have a steady income. And seeing as D earns a lot more than me, we move with his job.

In the few years we've lived in Canada, we've lived in 4 different cities. We've lived here in Ottawa for 2 years! It feels like home to me now, and I'm very sad to be leaving. I have friends, I have job, I feel settled.

But change is good. It challenges us, and makes us redefine our priorities. Time to take stock, see what I'm unhappy with, and do something about it. It's an opportunity.

But I am a little nervous, of course. The timing of the move sucks, as I will no longer qualify for funding to go back to school to do my ECE, which was the plan.

Now I have to decide if I really do want to do my ECE, or whether I just wanted to do it because it was free and for lack of a better idea!

Dip me in bleach

2009-03-23T08:52:00.005-04:00

I'm sick again! Chained to the bathroom for an entire weekend. I think that has to be the worst thing about working with young children - the germs. Where do they all come from? Why are there so many of them? Why am I always sick?

Is it the coughing and sneezing without covering their mouths? My personal favourite is when a child comes up to me, taps me on the shoulder and when I turn around, they let rip right in my face. "I need a tissue."

Is it the drooling over every surface? Nothing beats the feeling of moving your arm and having dried drool crust crack as you skin moves. Or unsuspectingly picking up a toy, to find it cold and slimy to the touch.

Is it the diapers? I mean, you have to wonder what the parents are feeding these kids sometimes. And sometimes it's all too apparent - blueberries or sweet corn......

I think I know who may have given me these upset tummy germs. Poor, sick little W. On Friday, he puked at 7.45am at daycare. Poor pumpkin was a strange shade of grey, and feeling very sorry for himself. While every other (smart?) member of staff gave him soothing words from a distance, I went in for the hugs and kissed forehead. And while he greatly appreciated it, I think my gut had other ideas....

Which leads me to my conclusion: The reason why there are so many germs, and why I'm sick so often, is not due to the sneezing, coughing, drooling or diapers of the little monkeys at work. It's due to the poor management policy of the daycare I work in. You see, poor W would have to puke on 2 separate occasions before we are allowed to call his parents. He would have to have diarrhea 3 separate times in one day before he could be deemed too sick to be at daycare. Because what is the point of paying money for your child to be in daycare, if the daycare sends them home every five minutes? Who would pay for that kind of childcare?
As he only puked once, he was allowed to stay. Poor W felt poorly all day, craving the one-on-one attention he deserved. He also spread his germs to his teachers and his little friends. And then to their families and friends, and their families and friends.

Maybe it's not the job that gives me an upset tummy, maybe it's the company I work for that makes me sick.....

Count your kicks

2009-03-13T12:47:00.007-04:00

So, here is the only picture of our happy little family - Mum, Dad, Baby and Pup. It was taken at our cottage about a month and a half before we lost her. I can't explain how terrible this experience was, is, and continues to be.

In October, when we were 5 1/2 months pregnant, we went to the hospital because I had lower abdominal pain.
Two days later we came out with an empty belly, and broken hearts and hopes.
A day after that, we were signing papers at the funeral home.

How can that happen? Here we are, in a developed country, in the 21st century. I'm healthy. I'm young. There were no complications with the pregnancy. I did what I was suposed to do, I didn't do what I wasn't supposed to do. She was (and still is) so loved and wanted. I'm a good person, we are good people. There was no reason for this to happen.

We held our breath until the first trimester was over with. Yes! We'd made it!
Through the second trimester we watched me grow, and felt her move, and dared to dream that we were becoming a family.
When we reached the viable pregnancy stage at 24 weeks, I breathed a huge sigh of relief. It's true! We're bringing a baby girl into the world! For if the worst happened, and I went into labour tomorrow, she has an 80% survival rate.
Because that's what the books say, what the prenatal classes told us. Be worried about pre-term labour. That's the only danger.

Nobody said stillbirth.
Nobody said kick counts.
Nobody wanted to worry us.
But nobody gave us a choice.

No one said, "I have some information that could save your baby's life! But I don't know whether to tell you, because I don't want to worry you.
It just takes a couple minutes out of your day. You can do it yourself, it doesn't hurt, and it's good bonding time with the baby."

If I had have known about kick counts, it still may not have saved my baby.
But it could save so many other babies.
If only people knew about it.
If only doctors told their patients.
If you know a pregnant mother, tell her.
Spread the word!

http://www.stillnomore.org/index.htm

Knitting and Me

2009-03-12T08:23:00.006-04:00

So, I first learned to knit when I was in the Brownies. I must have been about 8 or 9 years old. To get a merit badge, we had to knit a 10cm by 10 cm square that someone would collect and join to make a blanket for the poor. My mum is also a knitter. Or was. Or sometimes is, but usually not enough to actually finish any project started. She had needles in a funky red plastic tube, and she had yarn from the back of her wardrobe somewhere, and she taught me to knit. Of course the square wasn't very square, it had varying number of stitches per row, and even had a couple of ventilation holes in it. I, being my mother's daughter, got bored and didn't want to finish it, so my mum finished it for me, I got a merit badge, and some poor person got a little bit warmer. Everyone's a winner!
I didn't have any more interest in knitting after that, (although I did try several time to make dresses and curtains with mum's sewing machine, because as well as being a kinda sorta knitter, she's a kinda, sorta seamstress as well. But that's another story...)

Fast forward to 2005, and I'm in the middle of a damp, cold Taiwanese winter. We have 3 weeks off work and everyone I know is on an exotic, sunny vacation to celebrate Chinese New Year, and I'm in our damp, cold flat, with no heating, opening the windows to let the warm air in. I was bored and cold and desperately wanted something to do. I went to the Nobel Book Store that carried English language magazines and found a magazine on how to crochet blankets. Ting! I can learn to crochet, whip up a blanket, and get rid of my boredom and cold toes all at the same time!
So, without the Chinese words for wool or crochet hook, and no idea where to buy such things, it took a while for me to get the supplies I needed. But, I got them none the less and couldn't wait to get started! It didn't occur to me that a one inch square box at the back of the magazine might not be enough detail to teach me how to crochet. But I tried and tried and didn't give up trying! Even when my bf came home and would comment "Still making string?" I still wasn't fazed. Even when my fingers ached and I'd worn a groove into one of them, I still kept on trying.
But there comes a time in everyone's life when they have to bite the bullet and accept something about themselves that they don't necessarily want to accept. Finally after 2 weeks of trying, I accepted the fact that I'm just not a crocheter. It doesn't make me a bad person, but I just wasn't built that way.
And that's when I remembered about knitting! I may not be a crocheter, but I know for a fact that I'm a knitter! Somewhere, on some poor person's knee, there's a crooked, holey square to prove it!
Two months later, my mum sent me a birthday package. In it was a pamphlet "Twilley's Book of Easy Knitting" (c) 1969, a book "Hip to Knit", a pair of needles and a ball of something I'd never seen before - novelty yarn! In all its pink and purple fun furriness!

That was when I really invited knitting into my life, and I haven't looked back since.

Catch up!

2009-03-12T08:17:00.003-04:00

I have not had much time recently to post about all of the things I was hoping to post about. I have today and tomorrow off work, so I'm hoping to rectify the situation over the next few days.
I also hope to get my head around how to organise my posts so those who are interested in recipes can easily find those posts, and those interested in knitting can easily find those posts. It's certainly a learning experience for me - wish me luck!

Pancake Day!

2009-02-25T17:24:00.007-05:00

One of my favourite days growing up was Pancake Day. Well, apart from Christmas. And birthdays. One day, we'd come home from school and mum would announce that it was Pancake Day! It always crept up on us and always surprised us. Pancake Day was the most frantic day of the year. It was like a race against time. We'd eat as many as we could, as fast as we could, as if at any moment the batter would disappear and we'd have to wait for another year until we could eat pancakes again.

It was a total family affair (probably the only one!) with mum mixing batter and cooking pancakes, and me and my sister running around like headless chickens. Mum was a fantastic flipper, a skill I never inherited. She'd use a tea cup to scoop up the batter, swirl it around the pan, flip it and slide it onto the plate in our outstretched hands.

The traditional pancake, which would be our first, would be Jiff lemon juice (the kind that comes out if the plastic lemon-shaped bottle) sprinkled with white caster sugar, and rolled into a cigar. The sugar would soak up the lemon juice, but still stay crunchy.

We always used a knife and fork to eat our dinner, but on Pancake Day we only used a fork. It's like we had to eat the pancakes so fast that there just wasn't time for proper table manners.

When we were a little older, mum was so desperate to eat her pancake, that me and my sister got to cook our own. It was great! I remember pushing the pancake down with the back of the spatula so it would brown quicker. Of course it always ended in burnt fingers or hands, but it was a small price to pay for the wonder that is a Pancake Day pancake.

Since moving away from England, I find it really difficult to remember this fantastic day. There's no mum to magically announce it, no adverts for Jiff lemon on TV, no reminder at the grocery store. I'm sorry to say than on more than one occasion, I've let this day slip away unnoticed. This year, when transferring birthdays over to my new diary, I saw "Shrove Tuesday" in the tiniest writing. And so I wouldn't forget again I wrote in huge, neon pink letters:

Pancake

Day!!

And it worked! I found a recipe on the internet, made the batter on the blender (Ooooh! Fancy!), got the toppings on the table, and churned out pancake after pancake until the batter ran out! My boyfriend didn't get the whole franticness of the occasions, and didn't get that he had to eat so many. He certainly didn't get the lemon juice and sugar thing, so he had his with maple syrup, of course.

But I totally loved it, and how it bought back all those warm and fuzzy memories of when I was a kid.

PS Did you notice the puppy in the picture? I think she must be at least half British because she totally got caught up in the electric atmosphere, running from kitchen to living room and back again, and she so wanted to eat as many pancakes as she could, as fast as she could!

Welcome!

2009-02-06T08:57:00.004-05:00

I've been toying with the idea of starting a blog for quite a while now. And with the help from my Stillbirth Support Group, here I am!

This blog will mainly be about the following areas:

Knitting (which I've been doing on and off for 4 years) and other crafty things.
Cooking (which I just love to do, time permitting).
Reading (which I do even more erratically than I knit!)
MeiLi (our cutie-patutie puggle).
Canada (probably the weather!!)
Daycare (where I work).
And of course, Stillbirth (of our daughter in 2008).

That pretty much sums up my life at the moment. We've been through a lot of changes, and have a whole load more changes lined up for the near future. I hope to share the good, the bad and the ugly with you here!