This, that, *and* the other thing!

This = yummy food that helps deal with the overload of late summer zucchini & tomatoes:

Want the recipe? It’s super easy and it looks kind of impressive. It’s also vegetarian! Yay!

That = I’ve actually been getting some knitting done. Case in point, one Dancette shawl in Plucky Knitter Primo.

Holly Carp is this stuff nice to knit with! Dancette is also a lovely pattern. I didn’t change a single thing when I was knitting it. Not my normal modus operandi.

The other thing? Hmm, well…oh, okay. I’m back to being a part-time student again. So that’s exciting. Sociology this semester. Need to see which theory I side with, sociological or psychological explanations for criminal and deviant behaviour. I have a feeling it’s both, but don’t ruin the surprise! I had a little study date with myself last Friday night. First off, over to have some sketchy pho in downtown Whalley. Mmmmm, Bun Cha. ZOMG, amazing.

Insanely good. Then, walk over to the lovely new library. Wait, what’s this? Hmmm, graffiti or something deeper?

I like to think it has a deeper meaning than a binner trying to keep track of which manhole covers he has investigated under. I’m probably wrong though. Then, once all settled in the library what should my wandering eye espy outside?

Why yes, that is four locals smoking crack beside the rec centre. Sigh. Then I went back to my books.

This Friday? Lather, rinse, repeat. Hopefully there won’t be anyone smoking crack outside the library this time, but I’m willing to take the chance.

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.

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. 

 

Hello, welcome to midterms and term papers

Please understand that during this week you will have no life.  You will see no friends.  You don’t even get to knit on the bus, now go re-read the Homeric Hymn to Apollo and Demeter and every other god or goddess and the tragedy of Oedipus the King.  Seriously, this guy?  He had a bad gig.  Just sayin’.  Oh, wait.  Don’t forget about Prometheus.  I have to admit though, I’m a little smitten with Hermes.  I love this whole stealing Apollo’s cows bit.

Also, Persephone and the whole underworld thing.  I would give my left arm (not the right, let’s not get crazy here), to hang out in the underworld.  But no, mom, (Demeter) pulls an epic hissy fit, starves the people and stops the grain from growing until Persephone is returned.  Uh oh!  What’s this though?  Persephone ate some pomegranate seeds while she was in Hades?  Oh, oh, oh!  She’ll be spending 1/3 of her time there from now on.

She did it on purpose.   One can only cavort with nymphs in flower filled meadows for so long before craving a little of the dark side.  Know what I mean?  I think you do.  Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

Okay, anyway, off on a tangent again.  I have to go study some more.  I’ll be back after Tuesday. 

Lumpday, errrr I mean Sunday

My next course officially starts tomorrow, so I’ve decided that today will be all about reading and being ahead of the course schedule instead of behind the course schedule.

This semester is about rounding out some breadth requirements and a bit of a break from crim, so I’m taking Introductory Anthropology.  Lots of reading but really interesting stuff.  The first unit is focused on the changing views of anthropological studies from westerners studying ‘the savages’ to the more modern study looking at all cultures with a much less biased viewpoint that western is better and more advanced.  I particularly liked this article.  It’s from 1966 and parts of it made me really giggle.

My library copy of I, Robot came in last week too and I’m really enjoying it.  It’s much shorter than I thought it would be.  Asimov has a definite efficiency with his language and the story just zips along.  Prolly be done this afternoon.  So, just in case I do finish that,  I have the backup book of Whores and Thieves of the Worst Kind which is a historical and human look at women and prisons in Illinois from 1835 – 2000.

We’ve been doing a bit more gardening this weekend.  We found a new (well, new to us anyway) kind of mulch made from chipped coconut husks.  The stuff is dead cunning.  Here’s 1/2 of the first bed done in it:

It should definitely help hold moisture in the ground so less watering and should also retard weed growth.  Win win!  I hate watering and weeding so I’m pleased.  Okay, back to the reading and note taking.  My progress is being monitored dontcha know!

And done

Final exam is over, I think it went pretty well.  I’ve holed up in a coffee bar on campus and just read this delicious bit of prose:

‘It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains much be in want of more brains.  Never was this more plain than during the recent attacks at Netherfield Park, in which a household of eighteen was slaughtered and consumed by a horde of the living dead.’

Ah, Jane and the zombies, how I’ve longed for this moment where you and I could finally be together!

In other news, the final went pretty well, finished in well under an hour and of course I took some SFU picis for y’all.

I’ll post those when I get home and am on the big computer and not here on this wee one with a limited amount of battery life.  Here is a pici of how wondrous my current moment is though:

The biss, I haz it!

A week of finishes

Tomorrow is my final exam and I’m pretty darn pleased about that.  Because I’m confident I’ll do well and it was an enjoyable course?  Because I’ve learned so much that I feel I can take the criminological world by storm?  I’ve finally decided what my major should be?

No, not really.  It’s because tomorrow, approximately 5 minutes after finishing said test I will begin reading this:

Good thing too.  I couldn’t wait much longer. 

I also finished something  this week.  Well, it was last week actually but I gave it a bath and set it to blocking on the blocking board in the basement and sort of forgot it was done.  Bad knitter, bad knitter.  Anyway, it’s done and I’m really pleased with it:

It sure looks funnly all stretched out like that. 

This is Ice Queen, without beads, done in Yarn Chef Bouillabaisse in the Glowing Embers colourway.  Sooooo soft and soooooo squishy.  Used well under 1/2 a skein so pretty economical too.

Okay, I’m going to bed.  Must have a good night’s rest before my test.  Have a good night all. 

Thursday…really?

This week has been the fasted moving in the history of the world. I cannot keep up. My reading is behind, my knitting is behind, my housework…hmmm, actually it’s exactly where it always is. Much to my mom’s chagrin I’m just not that tidy of a person. I’m what’s called a stacker. I have wee piles of things, everywhere! When I was younger and still lived at home the only time I ever cleaned my room was if I a.) angry and b.) grounded and not allowed out. If these two things occured simultaneously I would rip my room apart with a vengeance. There was a fair bit of snorting and muttering while I did it. But when I was done, that room sparkled. I think mom used to get me angry on purpose so that I would clean up once in awhile! Hey mom, want to come over and make fun of my clothes until I start vacuuming? Bahahahahahaha! Love you mom!

I was tagged to do a poem last week the by the inimitable Plae. I’m afraid I couldn’t do anything as fabulous as hers, but I did whip up a little haiku on the bus on the way home:

all cold and sleepy

i make my way home slowly

meatpies for dinner

Extra bonus? Those are turkey meatpies and there are French fries to go with them. Going to steam a side of broccoli so that I don’t completely fail at the all four food groups thing.

Oh! I also bought these incredible tiny little circular needles last Sunday at Three Bags Full. They are from Hiya Hiya and are only 9 inches long. I’m working a sock all on one circular needle and it is great! I’ll try to get a pici and post it later. They are so cute, almost look like part of someone’s braces!

Okay, it’s guilty pleasure tv night. Survivor, CSI, and ER. I know, I know, I should be catching up on my reading. Not going to happen tonight. Besides, I got 95% on my first paper and I’m just cruising on that little high for at least another day. Happy Thursday all!

Wanna see something cool?*

*Note*  Coolness is in the eye of the beholder.  When I saw this I actually made a little gaspy noise way back in my throat I was so excited.  I’m also pretty sure that Heather and Kath will be just as smitten by it as I.  The rest of you?  Not so sure.

Anyway, just as further proof that wonderful things come from stationery stores, I give you the totally organized flash card system!  Oh sure, I hear you out there!  What’s the big deal about flashcards?  Look at these bad boys!

Fabulous yet still offensive neon cards!

and the piece de resistance – an organizer!  With little dividers and tiny sticky labels!  I’m in ecstasy here.

Huh, not so exciting for you?  Bummer.

In other news, I knit the spousal unit a hat.  A Thorpe hat to be exact.

I made it bigger than called for then gave it a tiny bit of felting.  Then I had to line it with fleece because apparently ‘wool is itchy’.  Poppy cock I say!  Anyway, sewing that lining in there was a treat and a half.  Now I remember why I knit and not sew.  Anyway, it turned out pretty good and boy is it warm!  Sorry, he wouldn’t model it for you.  The styrofoam head with have to do.

As an added bonus, the weather has finally turned and I haven’t had to shovel the driveway in two whole days.  It’s a miracle.  Happy Wednesday all.