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.

Sick as a pike and feeling bad that I didn’t show you my picis yet

I’ve got some sort of cold/flu/plague thing, AGAIN.  But I’m feeling tremendously bad that I haven’t shown you any snaps from my trip to Quebec & Ottawa.  Let’s do some quick ones before I need to crawl back into bed, shall we?  Ottawa airport:

Lovely big wall o’ water, no?  Not the greatest thing after a 5 hour flight, just saying.  Every one of us suddenly realized that we needed the bathroom, right now.

My new boyfriend, Sir John A. Macdonald.

Some shots of my room, up in the rafters of the fourth floor.  So cool.  It was just a little bit like being at Hogwarts with all the weird angles and such.

Yep, you can find Grower’s cider in Quebec.  Who knew?

 

And here are some shots around the grounds.  The weather was amazing there.  It didn’t rain until I was back in the airport to come home.  Sunshine every day and really quite mild for the time of year.  These shots are the outside of the hotel and over the Ottawa River.

Biggest Silver Birch I’ve ever seen.  Which of course made me sing, “Land of the silver birch, home of the beaver.  Where still the mighty moose wanders at will.  Blue lake and rocky shore, I will return once more…”  Come on, you must have had to learn it in grade 1 too?  No?  Okay, never mind.  The joggers who ran by me didn’t seem to know it either.  I got me some strange looks.  Seriously, I’m not crazy, check out all the video hits there are for it.

What every reading knitter needs when out for a walkabout.

Quebec squirrel.  Do you think our west coast squirrels would think he had an accent?

Okay, that’s enough for today.  I’m pooped and I’m going back to bed.

 

 

Feeling sad? 4600 kms from home? Hmmm, what to do, what to do?

Go to the Rideau Chapters and buy knitting books, an extra hot steamed *milk, and a yummy bit of bakery goodness.  I’m feeling better already.

 

*for you lactose intolerant folks, try the soy chai latte.  Also very tasty. 

Technology is a fickle mistress

In that she won’t let me upload hardly any picis.  I will tell you two things that I have learned in my vast experience as a world traveller (NOT):

• It’s been a long time since I flew.  I may now actually qualify as a nervous flyer in that I looked like a dog hearing a far off whistle every time I heard/felt/sensed anything on the flight here.  Example, when the plane left the earth as shown here in Example A below,

I made the involuntary noise of “Eep” in a rather loud and squeaky voice.   This did not enamour me to the traveller in the next seat.  He also didn’t like my knitting needles.  I believe his comment was “Well, it’s good to see security is working!” while giving my Noro the hairy eyeball.  Git.  No one gives my Noro the hairy eyeball, except yarnpiggy.

• Forgetting to close your window when you go to bed in mid-November is very different in Quebec than it is back in BC.  Trust me on this one.
• Canada is HUGE!  Grade ten geography simply does not do it justice.  I’m talking oh so very massive and I only flew to Ottawa, there’s a tonne more before the next coast.
• Canada has approximately 1 billion lakes.  Give or take.  Seriously, we are a country of water.  Again, gobsmacked.
• The prairies looked like the most beautiful velvet patchwork quilt.  All shades of gold and brown.  I wanted to chart it so I could knit it later.

Okay, that’s it for me for now.  We’re having a group dinner tonight and I have to get changed and head out over there.  I also want to check out a nice hoodie I saw in the gift shop.

Um, wow

I am a looooong way from home.  Something like 4600 kilometres from where I should be.  On the plus side, my room looks like I finally got into that English boarding school I’ve been been dreaming of since I was about 9 years old.  I’ll post picis tomorrow.  Going to try to sleep now.  Inner time clock is so screwed up.

Is it very wrong that I miss my baby and the left coast?

Oh look, my obsessiveness is showing

Come 6:25 a.m. Monday morning I’ll be heading out on Skytrain, whipping towards downtown Vancouver and Waterfront Station where I shall then transfer to the new Canada Line and on out to the airport.  At approximately 8:55 Pacific time I shall be firmly ensconced in a mediumish sized plane, probably sitting beside some incredibly ‘interesting’ person, ’cause I always get the ‘interesting’ folks.  All sounds pretty good right?  I’ve got a timeliness, goals, etc.  Except for the insane level of fussing and fretting and list making I’m doing.  I have a spreadsheet with columns like, ‘Things To Do’ and ‘Things To Pack’, but that didn’t seem involved enough.  I’ve now moved on to the comprehensive 3M method.  Yep, a billion stickies will absolutely ensure that I don’t forget anything.  Right?

Well, except for the fact that I had to go in to work today because yesterday I forgot to set my out of office on my computer and left my iPod on my desk.  This is going to be so awesome.  I bet I get there and find out I forgot to pack underwear.  No wait, I’ve got a post it note for those.

I won’t even bore you with the angst that choosing knitting project(s) is causing me.  You don’t deserve that.  No one deserves that.

Did you know…

That it’s like 43 days to Christmas?  Oy, right?

Anyway, I did a little tidying up on the old blog, so if y’all could have a peak around and let me know if everything looks okay for you I would greatly appreciate it. 

The main thing I’ve added is a link to Kaleidotrope, a very cool print publication that has rapidly become one of my favourite things to read.  If you like to read stuff that’s a little bit off of centre, have a wander over there and check it out.

In other news, I’m almost 50% done my super secret Christmas swap present.  It’s so pretty that I’m going to have a difficult time giving it away.  I may make one for me.  Then my swappee and I could be extra cool when we’re out together!  LOL.

I’m going to Quebec for 3 days and Ottawa for 1 day next week.  I’ve never been further east than Edmonton, (and I was 9 at the time, travelling alone, and they would let me off the plane!), so I’m just a scoach excited.    I so hope it snows there between now and then.  They have sleigh rides and dog sledding available at the hotel I’ll be at in Quebec.  Um, cool?  YES!  Don’t worry, the camera is already packed.    It’s a work trip, but come 4:00 pm each day I’m let loose on a province that has never seen me before.  So cool.

Now, I just need to finish my Iliad readings and my 3rd paper for the semester before I go and all will be well with my world.

 

Pre-Friday Friday

Finished up my training course today.  I was assured by our instructor that I am now an effective communicator.  Huzzah!

It was too miserable out today for me to get you many interesting photos.  I swear, at one point, the rain drops were the size of kittens.  Okay, small exaggeration there, I’m just so excited to be communicating with you.  I did take a pici of this building that I rather like.

It’s a bit nondescript but it always puts me in mind of this comedic gem from Monty Python.

I know, the building isn’t the same colour at all, it just makes me smirk and giggle a bit.  Which also made me remember what just might be my most favourite Terry Gilliam bit ever:

Now, tomorrow is a statutory holiday here in Canada, Remembrance Day.   Our time to take at least a minute to remember what others have sacrificed and are still sacrificing for us.  Wreaths will be placed at memorials and speeches will be made.   At eleven minutes past eleven a.m. on November 11 millions of Canadians are all sending out thoughts of thankfulness and hope that all our troops will one day soon be home.  That kind of gives me goosebumps.