Monday…here comes Santa Claus, here comes Santa Claus

We’re in the final countdown to Christmas now.  It will be here on Friday, whether or not you’re ready.  Me, absolutely not ready.  Mind you, we’re not really celebrating it much this year so I guess I’m actually okay. 

Hubby has been doing some baking, (butter tart squares & Nanaimo Bars – nom, nom, nom.  Apparently sausage rolls are iminent), and I’ve got one final little Christmas present to finish knitting before Thursday morning.  All is on track, really.  Hubby says we’re ‘Not exchanging gifts or doing stockings or anything.’  Um, yeah.  I didn’t listen to that bit of silliness either, I didn’t do presents but he will have a stocking, thank you very much.  There will be no Ebenezer Scrooge in this house. 

I also got my last two books for the Canada Reads 2010 readathon delivered today.  Good thing too, I finished Good to a Fault yesterday.  It was a wonderful book, I just loved it.  There was this sort of slow moving middle of summer feel to the storytelling.  Loved it.  Tonight, I shall start the second book of our Ravelry readalong, The Jade Peony.

Thoughts

Said the shepard boy to the mighty king
Do you know what I know
In your palace wall mighty king
Do you know what I know
A child, a child
Shivers in the cold
Let us bring him silver and gold
Let us bring him silver and gold

Really?  Not a single knitter in the bunch?  No one had a nice sweater or a blankie?  So disappointed.  Granted, silver and gold could buy you a sweater or a blankie but why not cut out the middle man here?  Nevermind, I’m reading too much into this, I’m sure.

I’ve been listening to a lot of Christmas music lately.  It’s one of my complete weaknesses.  I subscribe to no religious doctrine but I will sing out loud and proud to any Christmas song that comes along be it religious or secular.  I particularly like this, this, this, and this, and this incredibly non-religious classic.    I also love this story about that last song, brilliant.

Started reading ‘Good to a Fault‘ and so far, I am loving it.  I feel like I really know the two primary, (to me, anyway), characters of Clara and Darlene.  I remember feeling so many things that as a youth like Darlene and I’m currently feeling so many things that Clara if feeling in her early 40’s.  The other thing is, it feels…so very Canadian.  Not just because the story is situated in Canada but the overall feel of the narrative just feels Canadian, whatever that means. 

Okay, I’ve babbled on long enough for one night.

Pretty much the luckiest knitter in the world

No really, I am.  The knitting group I’m ‘involved’ with recently had a Festivus Miracle Swap o’ rama.  I’m sure I mentioned it.  Anyway, I was spoiled like mad by the incredibly talented Lauren.  She has these mad knitting skills and creates wonderful fine lace doilies, knit ones.  Now I’ve crocheted doilies, but the thought of knitting something that fine and particular sort of makes my eyes go crossed.  Lauren, she just shrugs and says, “Meh, no problem.”  Like I said, mad knitting skills.

Wanna see what she created for me?  It’s called Purple Hannah, I love that name.

Isn’t it lovely?  Wanna see a closeup?

How beautiful is that?  I’m so smitten.  Oh, and it didn’t hurt that there was luscious chocolate in the package.    Lauren also knit me a Ballband dishcloth which is wonderful because I’ve wanted one for ages.  Oh, and see the pretty blue bag with the kitties on it?  Perfect for a sock on the go project.

Hey!  You know what this means?  I have an empty project bag.  I can cast on a new sock if I have a project bag to put it in!  Score.

Thank you so much Lauren!  It was really lovely to be spoiled by someone of your knitting calibre.  I love it all and I especially love that you would take so much of your time to create something so lovely for me.  You rock!  I really hope I get to spoil you at next year’s swap.

I also go my marks back for my course, pulled a B+.  Ta da, humanities breadth requirements now successfully met.  I can now wander back to my crim/psych/soc classes where I belong.

Ahhhhhh, that’s better

Final exam is in the bag, and I’m feeling a lot better about it than I did about the midterm, so that’s nice and I’ve made it home in one piece.  Dogs are strewn about the floor, fireplace is on, hot coffee in my cup, knitting at my side, and I’m just about to start a new book.  A novel.  For fun!  Luxury I tell you.   Oh, and the first snow of the season is just starting.

It’s been quite cold around here lately, well for us anyway, so I wanted to see if the pond was frozen enough for skating when I was up at SFU today for my exam.

Ummm, where’s the water?

More importantly, where are the fish that were in there a few months ago?  Hmmmm.

I did finally remember to take a picture of this mosaic wall while I was there.

I just love the colours in it.  Plus, it’s huge,

And, in case you were unaware, Christmas is coming.  Know how I know this?  Purdy’s has their wrapped boxes of chocolates out.  Those boxes come with pretty bows that are attached to stretchy ribbons.  Ribbons that just happen to fit Stella.

Sometimes, she’s really patient and just handles things so well.  Amazingly, this was one of those times.

Okay, I’m going to go read, knit, spin, drink coffee, watch Law & Order, listen to Christmas music, do laundry, and just generally relax for the rest of the day.  Think I’m over doing it? 

Oh, wait, one more thing.  You people with iphones and blackberries and such.  When you are on transit and there are Luddites like me around who do not have those things, we get bored.  Then we read your emails over your shoulder.  At least the guy on the train last night and I both seemed to.  We both kind of giggled while reading the same thing over someone’s shoulder, then glanced at each other quick, then at the person whose Blackberry we were reading.  Luckily they didn’t notice us.  It was an odd little moment of connection between strangers on and in transit.  Kind of cool.

This will only take a moment

Then I promise I’ll go back to studying.  There was an elderly gentleman on my bus today.  He was wearing a sort of…costume?  Not really the right word.  Anyway, he had this hat on and all over the hat he had homemade marijuana buds.  Big fuzzy green things, (I’m pretty sure I saw some eyelash yarn in there, just saying). He also had a string of them around his neck, and a big sandwich board/sign thing.  You couldn’t see what was on the sign, he had it turned in on itself (disappointed).  Halfway home he got a call and was talking about how well the protest had gone that afternoon.  How they had really communicated their non-acceptance of the fascist government and their quasi-legal ramblings regarding pot.  Kid you not.  I could not make this stuff up.

I Kinneared him.  Wanna see?  Of course you do!

I wish my cell phone took better picis.  Gingerbread man for anonymity sake.  Is it wrong that I want to try and make a big pot bud out of fuzzy yarn now?  Nevermind.  I’m going back to Hippolytus.

We have a winner, or two

The tupperware bowl of random numbers has spoken and here are the results.  Winner of the Socks that Rock is Lectio!   Winner of the Fleece Artist Suri Blue lace is Linda Choo.  I’m getting a page load error on Linda’s page, so she shall remain a woman of mystery for now.    Okay kids, I will be firing off emails to you asking for your snail mail addy.  Yarn in the post this week.

Thanks for all the wonderful links to Canadian designers.  Very cool.  I’ll be making up a designer page on the Ravelympics Team Canada page using all your wonderful submissions.  Now, I’m going to get myself over to the couch and get studying.  Final exam is on Friday so I am now officially entering radio silence for a bit.  Cross your fingers for me, k?

Brrrrr baby!

The rain has stopped, (after falling just about every day in November), and the mercury is plunging.  Okay, plunging may be a bit strong.  For us sensitive west coasters it’s feeling pretty darn cold and the weather service says next week is going to be even colder.  Good thing I finished this:

Nothing like a little Silk Garden to keep one’s neck toasty warm.  Two skeins of colour 245 and one each of 208 and 244.  I used the ever popular Jared Flood k1p1 scarf pattern, or as yarnpiggy calls it ‘the k1p1 virus’.  It was a bit tedious, but I tell you what, it’s kind of soothing to have knitting this simple minded once in awhile.

Here it is cozying up to the fireplace.

Note I had to chase off the dogs to get close to said fireplace.  As I mentioned, it’s chilly and those beasties are strictly out for their own comfort at this point.

Last call for entries into the Canadian knitting designer contest is almost here.  You must have your comment posted up before midnight (pacific time), tomorrow, December 5, 2009.  I’ll do the drawing on Sunday.  Who’s feeling lucky?  Here’s a reminder of the prizes:

The here and now

One tiny moment caught

Yep, that’s the right here and now actually.  Sitting in my favourite spot in the kitchen listening to a little of this,

and this,

and this.

Which, to be perfectly honest, is the only thing I’ve really enjoyed in the True Blood tv series.  Just saying.

Anyway, I digress.  Cup of decaf at the ready.  Oh, and that’s Jane’s new favourite thing in the world, a Pedi Paws.  Turns out, old dogs, kind of like old men.  Instead of runaway ear, nose, and eyebrow hair though, their nails grow at super canine speeds.  Clipping them was not working out, they kept splitting.  Enter the Pedi Paws.  Turns out, the thing works pretty good.  Mind you, Jane is almost 13 and is in that beyond placid stage of life.  I give her a big ol’ cookie, she holds that in her mouth, gets the pedicure, then wolfs down the cookie.  Win/win I’d say.

I don’t think I’d recommend it for a more stressed out dog, like say Stella.    Thankfully we never have to trim Stell’s nails.  She chews on them in the evening while she’s watching tv.  No, she really does.  She and Jane love tv.

And that’s my moment of domestic bliss.

Oh, and does anyone have any ideas for blocking lace fingerless gloves?  I want the stitches to show and blocking is the only way I’m seeing to do that, but I cannot for the life of me figure out how to get the job done.

ETA:  I totally forgot to add the following:

1.  Fred mentioned in comments the other day that he thought the new Mansfield Park and Mummies book was by a different publisher than Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters and Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and he was absolutely right.  I sense a publishing feeding frenzy.

2.  You guys have given me some great Canadian designers.  Keep ‘em coming!

3.  Little dog Abbie is super jealous that this post had absolutely nothing to do with her and most everything to do with the other hounds from hell that share our abode.  Bummer eh?

Well, that’s a load off my mind

Just subbed my last paper for the semester.  What is the significance of the heroes Odysseus encounters in the underworld?  So glad to be done.  Now I just have my final exam on the 11th and that’s it for this semester.  I won’t be taking a course in January, work is expected to be insanely busy with the Olympics and all that.  Our office will be open 7 am to 9 pm, 7 days a week for the month of February and possibly the first week of March.  You know that old curse?  May you live in interesting times.  Yeah, it’s going to be like that.

In addition to those interesting times, I’ve stepped up again to be the team captain of Team Canada for the Ravelympics.  I know, I know.  I’m not a supporter of the Olympics, particularly not the amount of debt we’re going to be shouldering for the next 30 years, but I am a HUGE supporter of competitive knitting.  I will not let the powers that be take that away from me.  While I could not possibly afford tickets to any of the events I wanted to see, I will be creating a little something special during those 16 days.  Leaning towards using a Canadian wool (or roving that I will spin, if I have enough time), and a Canadian design for my project.  We have some fantastic Canadian knitting designers, as I’m sure you’re aware.

You know, I haven’t had a wee contest in quite some time.  To celebrate the final paper of the semester, the impending Olympics, and to try and relieve what has surely been the darkest fall in the history of the world,  let’s have one now.  Post a comment with your favourite Canadian designer’s name in it and I’ll enter you to win, oh let’s say… these.

Prizes will be drawn using the super duper Tupperware bowl full of names method.  It won’t matter if you enter 1 name or 50, you’ll get one entry.  But hey, the more designers you give me, the better it is for me, so go crazy.

First prize, one skein of Socks that Rock lightweight in Dutch Canyon, 127 gms 329 m.  Second prize, one skein of Fleece Artist Suri Blue (50/50 Suri Alpaca and Blue Faced Leicester) 100 gms, 600m.  There isn’t a colourway name on this, but it’s all sort of blue/grey/smokey.  Pretty stuff.  Sorry for the craptastic pictures.  As previously mentioned, darkest fall in living memory.

Contest runs until midnight Pacific time, Saturday, December 5, 2009.  I’ll make the drawing on Sunday.  Don’t expect me up early either.  It’s the knitter’s Festivus Miracle Swap o’ rama dinner on the Saturday night.  I might be a little, delicate on Sunday morning.  If you know what I mean.  Questions?  Holes in my logic big enough to drive a truck through?  Send me a note.

Now, go forth and find me some Canadian designers. 

 

Climbing back up to the hill to my usual healthy self

I actually feel a bit like a human being today.  Which is nice.    Wanna see some more picis?  Sure you do.  Day three put us in Ottawa proper.  I could see the clock tower of the parliament from my hotel window and hear it lightly chiming away, small ones on the 15 minute intervals, longer ones on the hour.  I think it stopped chiming at midnight.  We’re a pretty civilized bunch, us Canadians.

During the day I was in information management training and I only had my lunch hour to hightail it over for some picis of the parliament.  The weather was perfect, I’m really sorry that I left BC in this killer monsoon, but Ottawa was gorgeous.  Mild and sunny.

Oh look, there’s my boyfriend again!

Queen Elizabeth II

Apparently we woman weren’t actually ‘people’ until 1929.  Nice.  Why was this not covered in high school?  All we ever talked about was the Plains of Abraham for heaven’s sake.

And parliament:

Turns out, when shown on tv and in pictures, they make this baby look like it’s got miles of lawn in front of it.  Not so.  It’s a big lawn, but I was a bit thrown by how close the buildings were to the street.

And here is their Terry Fox statue, right across from parliament.

They too are counting down to February:

And finally, a seagull on a light standard.  For some reason I was surprised to see one there.  I also wondered if he would have an accent compared to our seagulls.  I didn’t say it out loud this time though.  Learning, I’m always learning.

Two final things.  On my way to the airport I saw this sign in the train station.  #3 – Do not carry anything valuable in your purse.  Sigh.  I guess it’s back to putting my money in my sock eh?

And this final travel tip, always buy a book in the airport.  I got this one. 

But then I read on Fred’s blog that the next one is already out, Mansfield park and Mummies!  I’ll never be cutting edge.   Make sure you scroll down and click on the video of Posh Dancing.  Funniest thing I’ve seen in a long time.