The ex-patriot's story

It's a cold but sunny day today, and if you're out of the wind, quite pleasant. I went for a smoke outside, and was chatting with one of the gentlemen who works at a food service place in our office complex. He's in a wonderful mood, looking forward to his New Year vacation and enjoying the sunny day. I noticed he had a really intriguing accent, and I asked him, "where are you from"? He answered, "Cuba". Then, I got some education.

I couldn't possibly relate everything he told me, but it was certainly eye-opening. In Cuba, doing the same work he does here in Canada, his rate of pay was $15 (Cuban) per month. To buy one litre of milk costs 2 Cuban dollars. Adults go without and keep the milk in the freezer to make it last, so their kids can have milk at least before they go to school in the mornings. The average Cuban goes without shoes, and wears the oldest of clothes - and of course in Cuba it's scorching hot, all the time. He told me that when working outside, he would often feel as though he was going to have a heart attack from the heat, but he must work.

He told me of a friend he has, who is in his words, "ignorante". This other man loves Fidel Castro, Fidel is all good and makes Cuba all good. He told me, Fidel is no good. Fidel lives in a huge mansion, huge table, loads of food with $700 bottle of wine with his dinner, while the common Cuban people go hungry. But, he is optimistic. Now that Fidel's brother is president, things are slowly starting to change. The Cuban people (if they can afford it) are now allowed on the land of the resorts which we North Americans flock to - before, they were barred. There are plans for casinos to bring more money and jobs to the country. But, he told me, after living there for 24 years, he came to Canada and HIS eyes were opened.

"The first time I went to buy groceries, there was a wall of milk. All this milk, I thought it was just a display. 'No,' my wife said, 'it is all real, all to buy.' So much food! Incredible." He is grateful for his job, for his home and for the ability to buy warm clothes for our cold winter. He is happy that his wife and daughter are healthy (and all three of them have milk to drink). His daughter goes to school with a good breakfast and sleeps in a soft bed with no bugs or leaks. He told me, "After I lived in Canada one year, I went back to Cuba. I saw my house, my family - I cried. I cried because before Canada I thought that was all there could be. And then, then I hate Fidel. The people are not free. Canada is free, we are very lucky here." I agreed with him, wholeheartedly. We ARE incredibly lucky here.

This smiling man, enjoying a cigarette break from his job in the sunshine, looking forward to his vacation. "People work hard, but they need to rest. I'm going to relax, enjoy myself a few days." So right.

Back to work!

All good things must come to an end, including Christmas holidays. Yesterday, being Sunday, we were completely lazy - gamed most of the day and knit and watched a movie. Today the alarm went off and I was not pleased to hear it beeping!

So, back to the office to hear about everyone's Christmases and do some work - albeit at a rather leisurely pace. This week is about closing down 2008 and prepping 2009, file maintenance and cleanup. Time to get our ducks in a row!

Happy Monday!

The continuation of Christmas!

So today, the day after Boxing Day, we ventured out to spend our Christmas money - whee! Peter got some good beading tools and resource books (his newest passion - made me a lovely tigerseye bracelet for Christmas). I hit the warehouse sale at Wool-Tyme but nothing really stirred me there, so we went into the main store and I found some gorgeous Galway Highland Heather (colour 620, the deep burgundy), which I will turn into a Mr. Greenjeans later this winter. Also got some pretty Cadenza (colour 955, a shocking but lovely purple mix) that I am going to make into Brenda Dayne's Pembrokeshire Pathways socks. Of course I want to start them both right away!

But, I am going to try to "be good" this coming year, and work on just one project at a time (hm, sound familiar?) Right now I am almost halfway through Peter's new work socks (well, halfway through the FIRST one), and of course worsted-weight socks go quickly. Then I want to finish that green pullover I started for myself back in the fall, which got stuffed in a bag and ignored in all the moving fuss. And then, a pair of Fleece Artist socks for Mom's birthday in February. THEN - then, I can start on the new projects!

Today the weather turned warm and wet - right now it is about 2 degrees above zero and just *bucketing* rain down, which is sitting on top of the ice and making walking and driving kind of... interesting? But we are home safe and sound with no drama, thank heavens.

Hm, I just want to grab that Galway and give it a squeeze, for luck, you know? So it doesn't feel neglected. Nope, better leave it in the closet or else things might get silly. :)

Holy cow - in the time it took me to write this post, Peter just whipped together a beautiful pair of earrings for me! I will have to post a picture of them later... such a creative and generous hubby I have! Now I *really* should get back to work on his socks, I guess!

'Twas the day after Christmas...

And all through the house, was the sound of the keyboards as I geeked with my spouse!

Yes, it's Boxing Day and we are having a nice quiet geeky morning, gaming and catching up on newsgroups and blogs... I need to re-find all my blogs because I got a new (hand me down but still kickass) computer and of course haven't transferred all my files and stuff over yet!

The holidays so far have been lovely. Christmas Eve day I played hooky from work (the roads were bad, Peter didn't want me driving so I took the half-day off) and we had a nice quiet day of naps and knitting and baking the annual fruitcake! Finished Yumi's new hat just in the nick of time, as Christmas Eve we spent with the Bundy&Kid household, feasting (and feasting) on yummy nibblies and enjoying pleasant conversation and some good laughs. Home to bed early, and to all a good night.

Christmas Day we were up at the crack of dark again and immediately logged in to WoW to get our Winter's Veil presents from Greatfather Winter! So much fun to get all these neat virtual toys, snowball fights and rocket car races in the city... good silliness to kick off the day. Then out to Mom & Dad's (with a Starbucks stop of course), for present-ing and turkey-ing and all. Lots of laughs over gifts given and received - everyone was pleased and spoiled rotten as usual! I was particularly happy that my niece was THRILLED with a top we got for her - $3 at Value Village and she looks like a million bucks in it! I think everyone got what they asked for - I know I did - both the practical and the indulgent. Got some "do not spend on bills" money which is going straight to the big warehouse yarn sale tomorrow!

Today we are going to do some house chores (funny how things can pile up in a hurry when you're preparing for the holidays) and then out to Peter's brother & sister-in-law's for Boxing Day dinner. Mmm she makes an amazing ham! Then the whole weekend to goof off in before I go back to work on Monday (which will also involve some goofing off I'm sure, but what the heck).

I started a new pair of socks for Peter yesterday after the gift opening; the Freshisle Fibers Hunter's Socks in Marian's Suffolk Wool - they will be safety orange with black stripe, heel and toes. Perfect work socks! Hope to get some pictures up soon. I hope you and yours are also having a wonderful and relaxing holiday time!

Why I hate winter

Tonight, I was going to go to my first Knit Nite out with the girls in MONTHS. This morning, I walked up to the corner to catch my ride into work, and when I stepped from the street to the sidewalk, hit a patch of ice under the snow and BOOM! down I go. Blacked out briefly. Cars went by. Nice neighbour lady stops and helps me up, and back to my house (thank god), even so far as to take off my boots for me and make sure I was ok before she went to work (I hope she got in ok).

So I drag myself upstairs (thank god for good sturdy railings), get breakfast and anti-inflammatories into me right away, and up to bed. After a movie-pseudo-nap, assessed the damage:

1. Left knee definitely sprained;
2. Left ankle also sprained and size of a small football;
3. Left hamstring badly strained;
   
4. Lower back completely twisted;
5. Left shoulder making weird popping noise, probably strained but not too painful;
6. No headache so I guess no concussion;
7. Slight numbness/tingling in a few fingertips (yeah, no gloves, stupid).

Checked my work email on the Blackberry and a certain executive is screaming about certain deadlines yadda yadda so it looks like I will be going in tomorrow with a bag of painkillers/anti-inflammatories and my crutches (conveniently still at hand since last year's RIGHT leg injury). I will be there, I will be productive, but dammit someone is going to be fetching my coffee and snacks for me!

The real pain in the butt about this is that I can't even blame it on the OC Transpo strike, because the spot where I fell I would have had to walk across to catch the bus, too. Dammit. Ok, time for some more painkillers and maybe some knitting. Might as well!

Home sweet Home

Well, we've been in our new home for six days now and we absolutely love it. It's big, bright, clean and beautiful! My knitting chair is set up next to the fireplace, backing onto the living room window (southwest exposure, perfect for afternoon knitting), and the yarn is safely stowed away (and organized!) in its own yarn cabinet here in the computer room. Well... most of it. Three bags full of wool didn't QUITE fit, but they are for specific projects and therefore not part of the general stash, so that doesn't count... really.

It's five minutes for Peter to get to work, and a very relaxing bus ride for me (one bus, wohoo!) - about 30 minutes in the morning and 45 in the evening. Love not having to drive in the traffic anymore, especially with it getting dark so soon and the bad weather coming on.

I do have some small Christmas knitting to get onto soon, but first I'm making something for me; another One-Row Scarf, this one in green and black to match the Basic Cable I made last year for Peter (and then mistakenly felted in the wash - oops). It's actually a 2-row scarf, because I'm using some Patons Classic that had been worked with the green and black together, and I'm untwisting the two colours as I go. So it's two rows green, two rows black, and so on. I think it's coming together very pretty, and I can actually knit it on the bus using a small circular - the advantage of being one of the early stops on the route, I always get a seat!

So back to the new place... (sorry, very VERY excited about the new place). We are probably about 70% unpacked now (many more empty boxes than full ones!) and having a great deal of fun with finding just the right places for furniture and all the bits and pieces that make it home. Also clearing out MASSIVE amounts of stuff - some to a friend who is moving at the end of this month, and probably a couple of carloads full to the Value Village - still good things, but we set ourselves strict criteria:

1. Do we need it?
2. Do we LIKE it?
3. Do we have a place for it?

Amazing all the things that pile up over the years and you don't notice because they're squirreled away in closets or they've just "always been there." It's really refreshing to clear the junk this way (would have been better to do it BEFORE the move and not have to pack it all, but no system is perfect!). And we are acquiring a few nice new things - little touches like new bathroom mats and dish towels, start off fresh and clean and keep good housekeeping habits right from the get-go. We are finding so much enjoyment in little things like doing the dishes together, right after dinner, so that the kitchen is clean and tidy before bed. A real sense of accomplishment at the end of the evening - we both go to work, we come home, we unpack some stuff, we keep it all tidy and clean and we go to bed feeling happy and proud. It really is an incredible feeling, and it feels like HOME.

Moving day in 5...

All the knitting is in a box. All the books are in boxes. After today, the computers will be in a box. We are moving in five days and everything but the kitchen is now in a box.

I am SICK of boxes! I want to automagically be done. I'm tired, tired, tired. And I miss my knitting. :(

Countdown's on...

So here we are, two weeks out (well two weeks yesterday) from the move, and we are about 80% packed up. Utilities and cable/internet/phone booked, movers booked, and a BIG pile of boxes in the front porch. Still lots to do but I'm not stressing too much, and making sure to take time for some R&R along with the preparations. I made a pair of slippers! For my grandmother, she loves them (little booties, I need to take a picture), and they are nice and cozy and warm. Felt good to start/finish something quickly!

So looking forward to the new place - yesterday it rained all day and Peter said how perfect a day it would be to curl up by the fireplace with a couple of good books. Soon!

One minute

I set my watch alarm this morning to be sure and remember to stop and pray at 11:00. It beeped, I advised my co-workers of the time and bowed my head in thanks and sorrow. I had set a second alarm for exactly one minute - it did not beep. The battery in the watch had died.

Somehow, that's appropriate. It takes far more than sixty seconds, once a year, to properly appreciate the sacrifices of people in uniform, and of their loved ones.

Remember - always.

Fall back!

Yes, the time change was last night/this morning, and even though I was up at 6:30 (new time) I feel pretty good today. That extra hour is a bonus!

Been working on the packing up and staying on top of the housework so that come moving day everything is clean and ready to go. Even got some knitting in yesterday on my green sweater, I was watching TV after I twisted my ankle in the shower (it's better today) and really needed to knit. A little progress is a good thing!

Still lots to do, this week I need to arrange for the utilities to be transferred on the right date, and talk to the DMV about switching my car over to my sister, and get the mail forwarding / change of address stuff set up with the post office. We did get the movers booked, so that's all set to go. Now more packing, more tossing, more packing, more sorting, more packing... but it will be SO much easier at the new place when all the unpacking is smooth because stuff is sorted and labeled properly.

And, it's November! A little over 3 weeks to go... then we get all settled in and ready for Christmas. Life is good!

Snow Day!

The wind is howling, the snow is falling (and has done all night), and I, my friends, am not going out in it today. I have ONE vacation day left for this year, and today is it. Instead of going to work, I am staying in the warm, with my fuzzy PJs, my kitties, lots of hot tea and soup. I have packing and dishes and laundry to do, a hat to knit, and all of Season 2 of "Big Love" to help me enjoy the day.

I feel kind of bad that Peter had to work and not take a snow day, but he's an excellent driver and deals with the stupidity of the "oh-dear-what's-all-this-white-stuff" people far better than I do on the first snow of the year (the forecast was for about 6", with high winds - just enough to bring out the stupid). However, when he gets home there will be homemade chicken soup waiting, and a meatloaf for dinner - maybe even cake, if I'm feeling really energetic.

The funny thing is even though I don't have to go to work, I got up with the alarm (ok, and the snowplow noise) at 5:30. I have a whole day and I get to decide what to do with it. BLISS!

If you're out on the roads today, be safe. I'll be sending you anti-stupid-driver vibes, from here in the warm.

5 weeks to go!

5 weeks from today will be moving day - so much to do but progress is happening. I packed another bookshelf and a bit yesterday; my god, we have SO MANY books but I wouldn't part with them. Packed up the spare linens (really, we don't need 20 towels for 2 people!) and a few odds and ends from the kitchen that are going to a friend. Got laundry done, got dishes done, and all that was Saturday morning. Then I fell down on the couch until 8:00 and had a Corner Gas marathon - such intelligent, funny stuff, I love that show! Too bad they're in their final season but really some shows are meant to have a finite lifespan or they get stale - it's good that they recognize that and are going out gracefully.

Today the forecasted rain seems to not be happening (yay), so we are going for groceries, new boots for Peter, and then down to B&K to bang some more wood together on the deck. Have to get more empty moving boxes too. I actually do enjoy the packing up when it's not rushed - fill a box, label it with contents and room (hell, I'm even colour-coding the rooms), put it on the pile. Kind of like moving-Tetris LOL!

Sometime this week I need to get into the yarn bins for a pre-move tidy up and make sure everything is secure, and also get the mats out for my new toque, as it's been getting cold lately. It should only take a couple of evenings to knit up and then I'll be set for the winter. All the other projects are on hold until after the move, but I'm planning to make Christmas tree ornaments for gifts this year and they are quick and fun, so that's something to look forward to. Here's a shot of the ones I did last year, I may do some new ones but these ones I really like:


Hard to believe that Christmas is only 2 months away! Well, by then we will be all cosily settled in to the new place. I'm looking forward to Christmas Eve snuggled up by the fireplace with my hubby and my kitties - assuming of course that Mok doesn't attack the tree (she's such a mischievous little brat sometimes, but we love her).

Oh, so much to do! Have a great day.

As Bernice once said...

"Time is against us, and we have things to do!"

It seems the fall days are flying by now; the forecast for tonight is for -5 and the page-a-day calendar on my desk is getting thinner and thinner (actually so am I - yay!). About six weeks until the move and so far I've packed exactly 5 boxes of books - not even a full bookshelf. We have empty boxes piled up in the front porch, it's just hard to figure out where to start. What do we not need every day? What do we not need at all? I've put all my knitting away in the yarn bins because if I get sucked into a project I will neglect the packing even further... *sigh* I must make an attempt to pack at least 1 box each day, otherwise it's going to be a mad rush and things will be a disorganized mess, which will make me crazy.

In good news, my folks have generously offered to pay for movers, so at least we don't have to do the lifting and lugging - just get everything packed up and labelled and then stand back and give directions. The unpacking of course will be another task, but we will find places for everything (and everything in it's place ha ha) fairly quickly.

OH, for a week of holidays to just get it all done! Unfortunately my vacation-day bank at work is at a meager .76 days (yeah, not even a full day) so I will have to pick away at things. So, what am I doing at the computer? Procrastinating of course!

Like Bing Crosby said...

I've got plenty to be thankful for. (Holiday Inn, great movie if you haven't seen it).

Counting-blessing time!

1. Peter my husband
   
2. My family (blood and chosen)
3. My kitties
4. My health (mental is getting better, physical is WIP)
5. My work and coworkers
6. Our new home (as of December 1st we have a LOVELY new home - squee!)
7. Books and knitting and movies and computers and other things to enjoy leisure time - of which I actually HAVE a fair bit, these days.

It's been an up and down year, no question, but since this is a traditional day for giving thanks, I want to thank everyone who loves me, who shows concern for me, who makes me laugh and smile and even sometimes make me completely crazy. And I want to thank me too, because (to quote the Beatles) it's getting better all the time. And it's been some hard work along the way.

Go. Be with those you love, and thank them. And have pie!

Gotta move...

So new-home-hunting is on; we found a charming little condo last weekend but sadly the owners decided they preferred a higher-income, no-cats family. Screw'em. We move onwards and upwards.

After a brief (and, I admit, moderately whiny) chat with Mom, she has offered to front us first and last and a couple hundred extra if needed to get a NICE place - the kind of place we can afford three months from now, but not right now. So we surfed a bit and found two quite nice-sounding split-level condos (they are on the same street) that are in a very nice neighbourhood and convenient to work for Peter and a quick bus to work for me. Going to see one on Sunday, waiting to hear back on the other. Cross fingers. These are real "grown-up" type places, the kind of place that you think (if you're like me and have had some bad luck, housing-wise, in the past) that is almost too good for you. Then you (ok, I) gives myself a mental boot to the head and says "You know what? You DESERVE a nice place to live, stupid!"

In other news, I met with my nice therapist guy on Monday and he pronounced me "much improved." So unless I go completely off the rails, I don't need to see him anymore, and I still have a good list of reference materials to check out if things start to go a little wonky. The meds are helping, I totally believe that. Aside from a few initial side-effect adjustments (which went away quickly), I feel a lot more balanced and composed. Little shit don't get me down no more. And with the colder weather setting in, I will be quitting smoking again very soon (probably within a couple weeks), and really feel the knit-urge coming on strong again too, which is good because for a couple weeks there I didn't feel like knitting at all, which is really odd for me.

Even work is improving - stuff is getting wrapped up for this year and next year is starting to set up nicely. Oh, still the occasional fire to put out but like I say, it ain't getting me down no more. Onward and upward!

TGIF

Well, it's been an interesting week. Lots of work-work (an unbelievable amount of paper has crossed my desk this week). A bit of manual labour (dig, dig, dig, dig... yay, no more digging!). And for some extra weirdness, we're going to be moving, sometime in the next 2 months. Our landlord has decided he wants to give our house to his daughter to live in, so out we go, by November 30.

Now, we had planned on moving anyway, just were thinking maybe Spring would be a better time. Ah well - everything happens for a reason, in its season, as they say. So the next few weeks are going to be hectic; finding a place, packing, hauling some stuff out to Peter's brother's place and to my folks... (smart parents, mine - they gave us a patio set for our wedding and now they're "storing" it for us - theirs is worn out). Not a lot of time for knitting in the next while, but this weekend I'm going to try to get a bit in, in between loads of laundry and calling for apartment viewings. Provided Mok-mok, Preventer of Knitting Via Excessive Cute-Snuggling, lets me!

Saturday *sigh*

So I goofed last night/this morning and shut off MY alarm when I shut off Peter's at 1 a.m. Which means I slept too late to make it to my exercise class, and for extra fun woke up from a nightmare by means of Mok licking the nightmare-tears from my face (good kitty, she loves me). After a half-hour of cuddle-recovery from the dream (which I thank God can't remember), I got up and am FREEZING cold with full-body aches. Blargh.

Upside, I got on the scale and am down to 171.4 lbs - was around 175 a couple weeks ago (too lazy to look it up right now) so apparently the cigarette diet is working. HA! Yeah, I'm smoking again, full-on. About 3 packs in the last 2 weeks, and with the corresponding lack of appetite I'm losing weight, albeit in the "wrong" way. Whatever, I'll quit again soon - quitting is not hard for me to do - and it has been helping me deal with stress at work, so I'm not going to beat myself up for it. Although I DO at times want to beat up my fellow-smokers, who have invariably been greeting me outside the past week with "What are YOU doing here? You quit! What's that in your hand? Oh no!" And I'm responding (pleasantly) with "same as you, having a smoke. " God, the hypocrisy.

So today I'm going to take it easy again, and maybe putter on some laundry, and maybe knit and maybe read or game awhile. I'm tired, bone tired, despite having slept longer than usual (or maybe that's why). Odd, I've been feeling better and better (mentally/emotionally) all week, but today I just want to stay in my PJs and do not much. Tomorrow will be better.

We are becoming a nation of wimps

From the Weather Network website, Thursday September 18, 2008, 3:29 p.m.:

FROST WARNING: City of Ottawa
Issued at 3:00 PM EDT THURSDAY 18 SEPTEMBER 2008
WIDESPREAD FROST EXPECTED TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. THIS IS A WARNING THAT AT OR NEAR ZERO GROUND TEMPERATURES WILL CAUSE FROST IN THE PARTS OF THESE REGIONS. MONITOR WEATHER CONDITIONS..LISTEN FOR UPDATED STATEMENTS.
A LARGE ARCTIC HIGH PRESSURE AREA FROM THE NORTHWEST TERRITORIES IS PRESSING SOUTHEAST ACROSS NORTHERN ONTARIO AND WILL SETTLE OVER SOUTHERN ONTARIO TONIGHT. UNDER CLEAR SKIES AND LIGHT WINDS TONIGHT TEMPERATURES ARE LIKELY TO DROP TO NEAR OR BELOW FREEZING FOR SEVERAL HOURS TONIGHT INTO FRIDAY MORNING. AS A RESULT WIDE SPREAD FROST IS EXPECTED.

My God. It's FROST, people, not a bloody 3-foot blizzard! Jeez...

Fall is upon us!

Well, not for another 3 days per se, but the chilly temperatures in the mornings this week are making me think I'd better get the toque done to match the scarf I did last month! Been working away here and there on the new sweater, it's at a fiddly bit around the neckline/shoulders and every time I pick it up to work on, a cat materializes in my lap so the progress is a bit slow. Ah well, even 1 row is something!

Things are "evening out" for lack of a better term, emotionally and whatnot. I've been on Effexor XR for a week now and once I got over the initial side effects, it seems to be helping. Of course just talking things out with people and trying to let go of the little daily annoyances is helping too! My new motto is: "If this is my problem, I'll deal with it. If it's not, I'm not going to worry about it." With my job, just being able to step back and say, "Hey, not my responsibility" is a WONDERFUL solution.

And with the rest of life, I am doing my damndest to not make mountains of molehills. For instance, my car needs repair (the muffler is d-e-a-d). This will cost between $200-$500 to fix depending on how badly rusted out the other bits and pieces of the exhaust system are. Six months ago, this would have been a CRISIS - how can we afford it, when can I get it fixed, etc. etc. Now, it's an inconvenience, but not a catastrophe. Take car to shop, shop fixes car, car is safe and sound again, carry on. It just means a pinch in the budget but we will have some extra income in the next couple of weeks so it's a temporary glitch. Dishes piled up in the kitchen? Well, if they don't get done today, they'll get done tomorrow. Ditto laundry, as long as we both have enough clean clothes to get through the work week, I don't mind spending part of Sunday doing the washing. We're not living in an insurmountable den of filth, so I'm not going to feel guilty if I don't want to do chores after work every night.

Maybe it's because the sun has finally decided to come out and stay a few days, but I'm actually feeling pretty good about life, the universe, and everything (42). So I want to make note of that, so I can look at it if a dark day rolls in. Happy Thursday.

Step 1: make a plan

Next year (next summer), Peter and I are taking a REAL vacation - the first one we've had in about oh... six years? We are going to drive out to Gibsons BC and back, and the plan is to have it coincide with the Gibsons Fiber Festival. When we first got together, and for the longest time when we were dating, we spent loads of time just bombing around the back roads, driving here and there - then we did a road trip down East so I could show Peter my old stomping grounds, and now this will be about double the length of that trip. Suffice to say, we love spending time driving together!

Of course there are many things to be arranged in the meantime - vacation time to accrue and book off, a new(er) vehicle (that's the biggie, but we'll figure something out) that will be road-worthy for the trip, and then we will pack our little bags and boogie!

It's a year away, and I'm already excited. This. Will. Happen.

Week in review

Today's thought for the day: "If Sinners Entice Thee, Consent Thou Not" (from Isaiah, apparently, but I heard it in "Guys and Dolls". I interpret that to mean not so much that one should resist temptation, but rather take responsibility for oneself. In other words, "No Excuses." So that's my thought for the week.

It has been a rough week, I admit. Ups and downs, of the sharp extreme type, and mostly I'm just tired out now. Work is starting to get out of control again (summer insanity is over, and now the fall is looking worse), and I'm starting to question how much longer I can remain here. I think to a large extent my work situation is affecting my eating/exercise/stress response habits, and not in a good way - but (see above) that's up to me to examine and deal with. Can't point fingers to blame others for my own actions. I've been eating poorly, sleeping poorly, not exercising (much), and I even had a couple of cigarettes this week. However, I am a grown up rational person and if I DECIDE that's what I really want to do, I'm not going to beat myself up about it. Just move on and try to do better.

Public Service Announcement: banana bread

If you cleverly peel your overripe bananas and put them into a large ziploc and pre-mash them (with the bag safely closed), you have the ideal makings for banana bread or muffins. If however, you then FREEZE the bag-o-mash-bananas, and then THAW it on the counter, well... the line between "thawed" and "fermented" appears to have been crossed sometime around 3 a.m. My bag of potential bread-and-muffins smelled like the after-effects of too many daquiris. Yikes.

No bread and muffins this morning. Dang it.

Long weekend huzzah!

Well, the past week or so has been particularly brutal - emotional rollercoaster time (don't worry, I'm getting help from lots of different places and people) but I am now 40 minutes away from the start of the long weekend and SO looking forward to it!

I have knit up the first ball of the Patons Classic for my green Henley sweater, this afternoon I'm going to put it on some waste yarn and check to make sure the sizing is going to work (hard to tell all scrunched up on the circular needle). Loving the yarn and the k3p1 rib is simple and soothing. Must dig out the camera and get pictures of it, and the scarf from last weekend, up to share!

This weekend is going to be mostly relaxation but I want to do a bit of "back-to-school" tidy-up - I've always liked September as the real "start" of the year and I have a few systems and things I want to get set up and ready to roll - kind of a coordination of all the stuff I want to do:

1. "us time" with Peter
2. Weight Watchers (including some menu plans, etc.)
3. Exercise plan
4. Depression research, counseling and self-care
5. Knitting!
6. Social stuff - visits and guild and knit nites, etc.
7. Future planning - career change, education, location change, etc.

So mostly I need to spend some quality time with my Day-Timer and block out a realistic schedule that includes both the "must do" and the "want to do". However, I'm not spending the whole weekend obsessing on this! I am going to knit, and watch movies, and play WoW, and make some good meals, and get out for a walk in the woods, and Knit Knit Knit because the cold weather is coming!

Happy Labor Day all!

Getting my knit on

Wow, yesterday I knit A LOT. I knit through movies and olympics but I couldn't tell you what I watched because really I was FOCUSED on the knitting. Which felt kind of good.

I started the Henley as planned but unfortunately after about 2 1/2 inches I was really not loving the Seeded Garter Rib (I think that's what they called it) so I ripped out and restarted in a plain K3P1 rib which I am liking better. Simple clean lines and I think the purl ribs will help it be a tad more form-fitting. I am also considering doing a bit of shaping at the waist... I may be heavier than I'd like to be but I still have a defined waist and I'd like to emphasize that! So the pattern as written is quickly becoming a template instead. What's that EZ used to say? I'm the boss of my knitting?

Also finished ball #1 and started ball #2 of the One-Row Scarf 2008; I am loving the Maxi Tosca, the stripage is random and surprising and pretty (although the colours could just as easily be masculine, they are blues with a dash of red). Thinking of attempting the hat as a One-Row adaptation but not sure if it has enough stretch for a hat. To be decided.

And I see that Yumi (and family) got home safely from their vacation - huzzah!

And now, I must go do a load of washing in preparation fo the trek to the laundromat. Unfortunately the weather man lied and this morning's rain came early, so I will need to take yesterday's washing as well and throw them all in the dryers. Fortunately those big industrial machines get everything bone dry in 15 minutes! Then it will be groceries and I think the plan for late morning/early afternoon is a visit to the in-laws and out-laws (Peter's family, then mine). I'm bringing my knitting.

A new project or three

The Adagio Shawl is in time-out. A good push over a weekend would finish it, but I am sick of the sight of it right now and don't want to be knitting negative vibes into such prettiness. Carole, my dear friend, is being super-understanding and patient and told me to "go knit something for YOU". So - I am.

I started my 2008 hat/scarf combo today, the scarf part anyway - it's the One Row Scarf, and I'm making it in Maxi Tosca which I got on clearance (yay!) at Wool-Tyme the other day. The hat I don't know what I'll do but probably a simple 2x2 ribbed toque. Pictures to follow. I think the scarf will be a quick knit, I'm doing it at 22 stitches on big-arse needles (#2 old-school, probably around 7mm?). Good visual interest but really the pattern is a no-brainer on such short rows. Good thing!

Last week I got the new Interweave Knits and Vogue Knitting - today I picked up the Fall Knit 'n' Style. Normally their patterns don't do much for me but this issue (October 2008) has this really simple and pleasant Henley sweater (from KnitPicks) that I love the look of - it's a style I wear well - AND it will be the perfect use for the Patons Classic (Forest Mix) I've been hoarding for about 2 years! I did the math and I should have enough yarn for the size large, with a bit to spare. Minor annoyance - the pattern notes give you two different pattern stitches but only one is used in the pattern. I looked it up on KnitPicks site and the alternate stitch pattern is meant to be used for the men's version of the sweater. Confusion solved. I'm trying to find comfortable and flattering clothes that are work-appropriate but still pretty casual, and I think this will fit the bill nicely. I plan to cast it on tomorrow, just to keep the momentum going. Fall is right around the corner!

Oh, and thinking of work clothes, I found pants that fit (and are fit for work) today at Roots, of all places! They are men's but styles are so unisex now, I don't care. Got a charcoal-greeny-gray, a standard khaki and your basic black, all three pairs for $135 and change including taxes. I have a rule about not spending more than $50 for a pair of pants, so I am pleased with these. After the ruthless weeding-out of the wardrobe last weekend (3 bags full to the Value Village), I was starting to think I would have to go to work in my fleece penguin PJs!

I need to pull out my turtlenecks and stuff for the fall/winter and decide how many more tops I need ... well, I guess I only really NEED five but it's nice to have some variety in the rotation. I saw a pretty oatmeal-coloured v-neck at Wal-Mart today that I liked the look of... actually several pretty tops at the Wal-Mart. They are reasonably inexpensive, last at least 2 years, and are comfy and flattering. I love the long-sleeve t-shirts I got 2 years ago but they are not really flattering to the "muffin top" belly I have at the moment - a little too snug. Very flattering to the cleavage though!

Can't decide if I should call it a night and crawl into bed with my book, or find some Olympics on tv and put a few more inches on the scarf. Hmmm... maybe another half-hour on the scarf. You know, just to make the picture-taking worthwhile!

I haz a sad...

I really hope Yumi is enjoying her vacation but I am missing her (and reading her blog). YUMI COME HOME!

It's my birthday!

And so far, it's been interesting. Last night we had the Thunderstorm of the Apocalpyse (rain, hail, wind, lightning, thunder to shake the house), which blew out the transformer for our section of the park. So from 5 p.m. onward we had no hydro, which made for a quiet evening. 1 a.m., Peter's alarm goes off. 1:30, the Hydro trucks roll in to fix the transformer. 2:30, the phone rings - one of Peter's co-workers (who apparently forgot the cellphone number). 3:30 the power comes back on, which freaks out the cats. 5:00 my alarm goes off.

Yeah, I'm feeling every one of my 37 years this morning. Thank heavens for Tim Horton's!

Once more I get sucked into a Good Idea...

I spotted this over on Laurie's blog, and it seems like a good idea for my type of personality. Maybe you might find it interesting too. Happy Thursday.

The difference a good night's sleep makes

Last night I was in bed, cats locked out, lights out, at 7:30 p.m. Peter didn't get home until 4:30 a.m. That's nine hours of uninterrupted sleep. I feel almost human again. This morning was a series of minor emergencies (other people's) which I dealt with in a slightly less-accommodating fashion than usual. Example:

1) "Are we going to have x issued before tomorrow"? At 9 a.m. My response: "It'll be done before noon." It was done by 11:30.

2) "I need (don't you LOVE statements that start with I need?) x information on a, b, c, d, e, f, AND g - today." My response: "I am busy this morning, you'll have it by 1:30." It was done by 11:50. I get back from lunch to a panicky-sounding call from this same person - "Call me." No. I gave you what you want, I am not calling you to decipher it for you.

Which brings me to a peeve of mine - useless phone messages. If you call someone for business reasons (or even for personal, for that matter), and leave a message on voicemail, tell them:

• Your first and last name. There are many people named "Mark", you are 1 of 15 that I know personally.
• Your phone number. Don't assume I have it.
• What you are calling about. Really, isn't that the point of the message?
• When you are available for a callback. I'm not glued to MY phone 24/7, I don't expect you are either.

There is NOTHING more time-wasting than a message that says "Hi, it's x. Call me." Odds are, when I call you back, I will have to listen to whatever your crisis is, take notes, look things up, pull files, get other people involved - all things I could have done BEFORE calling you back.

Sorry, ranting. I was starting to say how good I felt today. Yesterday I got both the new Vogue Knitting and new Interweave Knits and there are a few projects that I am considering ... down the road. Got a big list already and anything REALLY good doesn't go out of style, does it?

Good thing - Bad thing

Good thing: buying a whole pizza to share with your co-workers at 10:30 on a Wednesday morning, just for the hell of it.

Bad thing: being too tired to meet up with your bestest buddy for coffee after work due to sleep deprivation.

Good thing: finding the perfect new cardigan pattern in the new Fall Vogue Knitting.

Bad thing: not being able to afford the roughly $200 that the yarn for said cardigan will cost.

Which reminds me, that I really need to finish my Wednesday's Cardigan and see if it is at all suitable for the office. It's been so long since I looked at this project, I have no idea if (a) it will fit me, and (b) if I actually have any clothes that go with that particular shade of purple-plum yarn. It may end up gifted when complete, which really stinks because the yarn was a Christmas present. Two years ago. God I suck at finishing things!

How's your Wednesday going?

This is the Birthday that never ends...

... and it's started early!

On Friday, I treated myself to an early birthday gift of a headset with microphone, the better to hear when I'm playing WoW and I can talk on the Vent server as well without craning my neck and yelling. Very handy when one is about to die and needs assistance (in the game, in the game).

Today I stopped over to see Mom & Dad after work and they early-gifted me with a Logitech cordless keyboard / mouse combo, because Miss Mok-kitty has a clever but annoying trick of lying down ON the mouse cord, thereby immobilizing the mouse when I'm trying to do stuff. Cordless mouse = foiled kitty (for now. I'm sure she will think of another way).

I will NOT go into a rant about how setting up said cordless combo took 1 1/2 hours and much cursing (ok, I rearranged my desk and stuff too but most of the cursing was at Logitech). I've given it a good in-game test drive and now this is the official blog-maiden voyage. The mouse is small and nimble, the keyboard reasonably fast and responsive (good key-click resistance, just the way I like it). The only thing I don't like is that it does not have little lights on the keyboard for your CAPS lock and NUM lock - just a brief message flash on the screen when you turn them on or off. So the only way to know if they are on or off is to toggle the key a few times. A bit annoying, but not a deal breaker.

Anyway, my extended birthday festiviting continues on Friday, when I am playing a golf tournament and having dinner with Dad, and Saturday when the family is gathering to go to Wild Wing (my pick) for an early dinner. And I am having pre-birthday (me) and pre-vacation (her) coffee with Yumi tomorrow evening. AND and and - my boss has promised to bring a cake on my actual birthday next week! I usually make cakes for when people in our department have birthdays, so it will be a special treat to have someone else bring it (thus making up for not being able to take my birthday as a day off this year).

You know the best bit? It's not even a significant number. 37. Big deal. Happy extended birthday to me! (and in case you are wondering, the actual day is next Tuesday).

Reality - do the math

So I was working on Carole's shawl again last night, and watching Mythbusters. And at the end of the show, I had done ONE repeat of the pattern. One repeat = 11 rows. 11 rows = 1 inch. This shawl is supposed to be 66" long, and I have 18" to go. There is NO WAY I am going to get in 18 hours of knitting time in the next week, so I told Carole her birthday just got moved to Labour Day. *grin* She's fine with it, told me not to stress about it.

This reminds me of when I did the 2006 Knitting Olympics and did the math... every time I do the math I have this wall of reality hit me. Why is it that I think shawls are small projects? Note to self: Shawls are BIG projects. Especially shawls that are not a big open lacy pattern (Adagio is decidedly NOT open and lacy, but rather like a corrugated blanket for the shoulders. It will be warm).

If I knit as my full-time job, this shawl would take 2 weeks of full-time knitting. As it is, it is taking a little over 2 months of part-time knitting. I love it, but will never knit it again. Ever! [1]

My real job however is going pretty well - I am caught up on the stuff that gets neglected when I get busy, and am actually working at a summer pace - i.e. half my usual speed. Stuff's still getting done but I'm not stressing. That, and cutting back to 1 coffee a day in the morning, is making me sleep better at night. [2]

I still have songs from "Rent" floating through my head - that show really stuck with me. I did not go see the live show (god, that was 10 years ago!) when it was big and came to Ottawa - at the time, the idea of a musical about AIDS was just wrong to me - a little too close to home. But now having seen the movie version a few times, I see that it's about hope and love and good things, and it makes me feel good (yeah, I cry at points, but it's cathartic). Forget regret, or life is yours to miss. Yep. Also the story of the guy that wrote the show is amazing all on its own - if you don't know it, rent the 2-disc DVD and watch the documentary on disc 2. Wow.


[1] You have to imagine Jamie from Mythbusters saying "Ever!", right there.
[2] Yes, I can sleep with Peter gone. Last night I was in bed at 8:00 and out light the proverbial light. Which made waking up at 3 a.m. significantly less painful.

The price of celebrity

Well, local advertisement, anyway. My picture and name were used in a print ad for my company, which has been re-run several times in the local paper. (whee). So today I get a call from a sweet little old lady asking me all kinds of questions about our products, etc. that I just don't have answers for. And I could refer her to the right department and the right people, but I can't do that because she has somehow made a connection to me and it would be Not Good to bump her over to someone who might not be as willing to listen and help. So I will get her answers, and call her tomorrow, and hopefully that will be that.

I'm too dang nice, is what.

Moral of the story: don't get your picture in the paper. People expect you to be nice.

It's quiet - too quiet

It's entirely too quiet in the house. Squeeky is outside hunting small critters so she can leave icky corpses on the back porch for me to step on when I go out to hang laundry. Mok is napping on the desk under the lamp (her 'warm spot'). And mostly, it's too quiet because Peter is not here, snoring. Peter is on a vacation-covering-run for one of the other guys this week, and thus his shift is different. The good news is, that means no 1 a.m. phone call for a few days. The bad news is, that means not actually spending any awake time together for a few days. And the really bad news is, although I can go back to sleep after he leaves the house at 2 a.m. for his normal run, I am having a hell of a time getting to sleep because he's already left.

Granted, I enjoyed having an evening of girly movies and knitting to myself, but now it's time to sleep and there is a large expanse of empty bed (and a corresponding lack of warm cuddliness) which cannot be sufficiently compensated for by a five-pound cat. *sigh* I have a feeling that tomorrow may require extra caffeine, because despite the fact that I am very tired, I really don't sleep well alone.

However, I must make the attempt or I will be zombiefied tomorrow and that's bad for (a) getting to work safely, and (b) getting any work done once I get there. Much as I'd love to stay up and play Warcraft, I really must try to sleep. Wish me luck.

Free to be me

I know, this has turned into a very self-involved and not-too-much-knitting blog lately, but as someone wise once said, "more people are reading my t-shirt than read your blog", so I don't really care. It's a place to put down stuff that I think about, so I can look back later and see where I've been.

Yesterday I got to thinking that I tend to over-commit, and it's time to pare back my online commitments. So I left a few Ravelry groups that I was in, including the Mission Possible 2008, because I was starting to resent my knitting "obligations", and that's a Bad Thing. Also about the gym and whatnot - if I go to the gym I feel good but if I don't, why should I feel guilty? Ditto food - dammit if I really want chocolate cake or ice cream, I'm gonna eat it - I'm still eating better/wiser than I used to (down a pound from this time last week, BTW, so something's working).

And fall is coming on, which is when I typically make my "new year" plans (I was SUCH a back-to-school kid, and that sticks). Not doing it this year. Just gonna live each life one day at a time (ooh how 12-step of me), and for good or bad, each day will continue to pass into the next no matter what I do about it, or with it. Maybe it's the "Rent" influence - No Day But Today.

Anyway, that's my navel-gazing for Friday. I'm gonna knit some more on Carole's shawl this weekend. I want to finish it for her birthday. Then I'm gonna knit whatever the hell I want, because I can. No Knit But Today's.

It's all downhill from here!

As of this morning, our total debt is now less than $10,000. Which means, if we keep to the track we've been on the past while, we will be debt-free by March, 2009. Assuming of course, no crises, broken cars, loss of employment, etc.

Wow do I feel good this morning!

Long weekend recap

In a word: LAZY. Here's the timeline:

Friday night: out to dinner at Wild Wing (fabulous tastiness of doom!), then hit TWO video stores on the way home to stock up on movies for the weekend. Early to bed since Peter had to work Saturday morning.

Saturday: up at the crack of dawn, watched Rent (wonderful) and Swing Kids (wonderful) and got a bunch more done on Carole's Adagio Shawl. After lunch, played WoW until bedtime.

Sunday: up at the crack of dawn, watched the new Harold and Kumar movie (OMG LOL but don't watch it while eating), planned to go to the Knit-Out at the Experimental Farm but unfortunately my stomach had other plans (oogy). Pepto, peppermint tea, heat pack and more WoW until bedtime again!

Monday: Guess... yeah, more WoW! Played 'til midafternoon and then took a break to tackle some dishes and laundry. Watched Smokin' Aces (so so, wannabe Usual Suspects but not quite) and started to watch Brotherhood of the Wolf, but got interrupted by one of our skanky trailer-park neighbours and her wigger boyfriend parking their car on our lawn (!) and blasting the bass so loud it was vibrating the house (!). I stepped out on the front porch to have a polite word with them (*ahem*), and was so infuriated by the incident that I couldn't watch the movie anymore. At the risk of being an intolerant snob, I really REALLY need to get out of the trailer park, before I totally snap. We ran the numbers not too long ago and it looks like next Spring will be financially viable. It could be another Very Long Winter, I'm afraid...

Anyway, setting aside that moment of unpleasantness, it was a terrific weekend. Peter and I had tons of quality togetherness time, I got some extra sleep, ate reasonably well, got lots of knitting done, and really RELAXED. I even finished reading "Tale of Two Cities" last night. Sad ending. Great Book.

And now it's back to work for a shortened week (only 3.5 days because we get Friday afternoon off), and so far so good. Happy Tuesday!

PS - go visit www.yumiwebster.com to see some really cool photography. Go! Go now!

Long weekend!

So I am 15 minutes away from a 3 1/2 day weekend - huzzah! Only concrete plan is to go to the Knit-Out at the Experimental Farm on Sunday afternoon, otherwise things are pretty much wide open... I plan to do some knitting, some reading (Tale of Two Cities is gripping!), and maybe a bit of extra sleeping. I've been cutting back on my caffeine all week and going to the gym every day so I'm feeling pretty body-tired and brain-fuzzed.

So in case I don't post before Monday, happy Halifax/Dartmouth Natal Day!

Where in the world...

Are there no thunderstorms? Because I want to move there. This summer has been an endless stream of thunderstorm-induced migraines and I'd really REALLY like them to stop.

If it were a constant 15-25 degrees Celsius there too, that'd be a bonus.

Thanks!

It must be a sign...

Yesterday I decided that I want to re-start using the Weight Watchers points system for food tracking, with a view to getting back into the program in the fall when my schedule settles down.

This morning, I went into the lunchroom to get a glass of water (drink more water!) and there is a Weight Watchers magazine from January 2005, which was the LAST time I was on the program (hell, it might be my magazine, who knows?).

Definitely a sign.

Today is the first day...

... that I dragged my lazy butt back to the gym. Seriously, it's been months! I did 15 minutes on the treadmill, 10 sit-ups and 3 pathetic push-ups, then about 15 minutes of serious stretching so hopefully everything won't seize up on me like it did last week after a 20-minute yoga workout. I am SO woefully out of shape, my god. However, 1 day at a time is progress.

Speaking of progress, I got a fair bit done on the Adagio Shawl this weekend - it's at the black hole stage, yarn keeps going in but it doesn't seem to be growing at any great rate! Good thing I picked up those extra balls, but I don't think I'm going to need them all. Thinking the leftovers might make good blankie material, baby-sized. (hm, another project for the list...) It's 3 weeks + 1 day to Carole's birthday, so I think I'll be knuckling down on this pretty steady to get it done. I had hopes of squeezing in a hat or finishing a sock or two, but I'm afraid if I put this away it won't come back out again. Not tired of it as such, it is lovely, but it's taking a Very Long Time. Ah, it will all be worth it when Carole sees it - she has such an admiration for knitting (well, for MY knitting, I don't know what she thinks of other people's) that it really makes me feel great to show her projects, and this one is all for her!

And now... the cuteness!

From the world of smiles and giggles that is "I can has cheezburger?"

Seriously, that is the cutest thing of the week. And I know Mok and Squeeky would NEVER allow for such a thing, so vicarious cat-knitting it is. Enjoy!

Rain, rain, go away...

Please come back in... October. Yeah, about 2 months of sunshine would be nice after all this rain. Now, don't misunderstand, I love a rainy night (thank you, Eddie Rabbitt), but day after day after day of cold and damp mornings followed by showery afternoons and thunderstorm evenings is really starting to suck the fun out of the summer. Not to mention making it darn difficult to get laundry done, with no dryer!

Anyway, it is Thursday and the weekend looms ahead - last weekend despite my best intentions, I got very little productive done (but did accomplish a heckuvalot in Warcraft). This weekend, assuming I'm not in a thunderstorm-induced fetal migraine ball as I've been most evenings this week, I want to Get Stuff Done. What stuff specifically, I don't know... I'll figure that out later. Definitely some knitting, though, I haven't had the mental capacity to knit since last Saturday and I think that's contributing to my overall crustiness (weather, work, and other irritations are also contributing, but such is life).

Also, it's 2 weeks to the Summer Games and I have decided NOT to do the Ravelympics after all; firstly because our planned vacation just got cancelled (long story, administrative error but c'est la vie) and secondly because I really want to finish the Adagio Shawl for Carole in time for her birthday in August, so putting it on hold for 2 weeks doesn't really seem smart. Adagio is lovely, but it's very slow knitting. I really must take some pictures! It's very pretty in the striped Marble.

Thursday... I never could get the hang of Thursdays!

Random Tuesday

(Which I've seen at Yarn Harlot, and probably elsewhere, so why not?)

1. Banana washed down with coffee is surprisingly tasty.
2. It should be permissable to throw something (soft) at people who are simultaneously whiny and loud.
3. There are 5 months and 3 days until Christmas.
4. There are 1,123 days until my 40th birthday.
5. I have the biggest craving for Chinese food right now. Mm. General Tso Chicken.

And... that's it. I'm out of random thoughts. Talk amongst yourselves.

Weekend!

As does Yumi, so (sometimes) do I... here's my plan for the weekend:

Today - take Mok to vet for her 2nd round of shots, have an early dinner and maybe play some WoW if the thunderstorms aren't too bad. If storms are bad, finish reading my book. "Chicken something" (Peter is cooking) with a salad for dinner.

Saturday - load up all the laundry (and my knitting) and spend the day at Mom & Dad's, because our dryer is broken and there is no rain-free day in the forecast for the next few days. Saturday night - dunno.

Sunday - dunno. Have a feeling Peter wants to go visit his brother, so maybe a trip to Perth. If not, might tackle into some more of the closet re-org / purge. I am trying to be utterly ruthless (read: realistic) about my wardrobe. If I haven't worn it in over a year, if it's smaller than a 30" waist, or stained, or irreparably torn, it's getting tossed or donated (as appropriate). Should also upload some photos to here and to Ravelry, do project/stash updates. Hm, is it a bad sign when your hobbies involve "should" comments? Food for thought.

Attack of the Dragon Woman

As a little treat to myself today, I decided to go for a haircut at lunchtime. Found the cut I want in a magazine (full front/side/back views), went to the salon which is convenient to my workplace. Was ATTACKED BY THE DRAGON WOMAN!

First clue should have been when she nearly ripped my earring out shampooing my hair.
Second clue should have been when she was pointing the scissors INTO MY EAR to trim the fiddly bits around the ear.

I should have stopped her, but there was at that point no other stylist in the salon and I did not want to walk out with a half-cut head! It got worse, she ripped out a chunk by the roots when removing a clip. She DRAGGED the thinning shears through (I don't think they'd been sharpened in awhile). She repeatedly raked and raked my scalp with her 2" acrylic nails (seriously, HOW are those practical when you are in the hair washing and cutting business?) And then, for the coup de grace, she burnt the back of my neck with the blow dryer.

Totally oblivious to my wincing and ouching, until the last thing where I literally yelled "OW! That is BURNING MY NECK!" She shrugged and switched it to the cool setting. I submitted to the "styling" (oh god, I can't wait to wash out the "styling"), paid quickly and left - no tip. I feel abused and my head hurts both externally and internally. I intend to send a letter of complaint to the owner of the salon. Meanwhile I hope it looks all right. If not, we do have the clippers at home, I can always do the Sinead O'Connor look... retro is in, right?

Hey, ho - let's go!

Today is Marky Ramone's birthday. He's the last surviving Ramone, and was always my favourite. Tonight, I think I'll watch Rock 'n' Roll High School in his honour. Really, really loud!

Gabba Gabba Hey, all.

Monday Monday

So I did start the alternating-ball thing with the Marble yarn, and from my eye, I can't see a difference between the old and new yarns. Will have to take some photos in really good light to be sure, I guess, but it's the "galloping horse" theory at work. It's coming along nicely at any rate - slow, careful knitting but it's growing steadily. However - we are halfway through July and I have a sock and a half to knit in addition to this shawl, so it may not be finished by the end of the month. Carole's birthday is in late August, I'm pretty confident I can get it done by then. Certainly not something that can be rushed!

Still struggling a bit with the healthier eating, but that I think is going to be a long process of change, so I'm not expecting miracles. Speaking of miracles, ever have one of those days when you want to basically poke EVERYONE in the eye with a sharp stick, and then suddenly someone does or says something really nice, and you feel better? Yeah, about ten seconds ago. Thank heavens.

Started reading a new book last night, "Busy Bodies" by Joan Hess. Cozy mystery, good characters, and I like the fact that she takes time to establish the community before dropping the body (somewhere in Chapter 3, instead of Page 3!). Nice light reading, a little change of pace. I just finished "King of the Gypsies" by Peter Maas (the guy who wrote "Serpico") and was actually rather disappointed in it. Oh well, not every book can be a total page-turner!

Tonight Peter and I are indulging in REAL pizza from K&S, which is SOOOO good. I will have just a small slice with salad for dinner and the same for lunch tomorrow - virtue in small doses!

Thoughts on detoxing

In a very un-scientific and un-structured way, I've noticed how reverting from the "good" way of eating (lots of fresh fruit and veg and whole grains and very little refined sugar, fat, caffeine, etc.) to the "bad" way (2 large coffees with cream and white sugar with Timbits for breakfast, slice of pizza for lunch, and no water all morning) can make me feel - oogy. Add to that the no-painkillers-for-a-week which was sidelined rather violently on Monday and I'm having rebound headaches already from not having taken anything yesterday or today.

Basically what I'm saying is I am AMAZED at how quickly the body (well, my body anyway) reacts to changes in what is being put into it. It's a good motivator to do things the "good" way. But - the pizza was really tasty. I'm not giving up my pizza entirely, no way.

Now - this is a knitting blog (generally), so I want to put out a knitting-related question: Has anyone ever knit anything large (say, more than 2-3 skeins) of James C. Brett Marble yarn? And part 2 of that, have you noticed drastic changes between dye lots in the same colourway purchased a couple years apart? I'm quite sure that Carole's shawl is going to need more yarn, and what I'm thinking of doing is alternating new skeins with old skeins, so if the colours are dramatically different, they will still alternate in a somewhat-even fashion (does that make sense?) If you think this is a Very Bad Idea, please let me know, I'm planning to do this on the weekend.

Wednesday's thought for the day

One square of high-quality dark chocolate, at 40 cents, is a reasonable investment in happiness. Yum.

Oh lord, it's hard to be humble... until ma nature smacks you down!

So, for the past week, I've been really REALLY actively trying to live my days and nights in a more healthful fashion. Better more consistent rest, better food quality and smaller food quantity, journaling both the food and emotion swings, etc. (apparently, writing stuff down helps one free the inner whatsis that restrains one from true happiness, etc. Or something like that. Anyway it helps - we who blog know this already, right?).

I even spent SIGNIFICANTLY less time on the computer and in front of the TV, and much more on knitting (in silence - no background, it was weird but very soothing), reading, writing, cooking, etc. etc. I did laundry and hung it out to dry. I weeded my garden (somewhat). I puttered on organizing around the house. I had not consumed ANY pain-killing medication other than a single Naprosyn for my knee the other day, despite several headaches (I had tea, and meditated briefly.) I cut back my coffee. I did not eat ANY chocolate for at least the past 5 days. No, seriously, I've been living the Virtuous Life over here.

And today, as my Re-Ward, I have a sore back like no-one's business, which forced me home from work at lunchtime, in agonizing pain, to take Tylenol 1's AND Naprosyn, and sit on the couch with my feet up watching television (Chuck Norris movies - hand to God - really, there was nothing better on!) and eating popcorn and ice cream bars with chocolate cake and coffee. Well, if you're gonna have a setback, get it out of your system in one shot, I figure. *le sigh*

Tomorrow will be a brand-new day. I have healthful snacks and lunch packed, I have my library books ready to return, I have my clothes laid out for work. And I'm going to bed a half-hour early, because oh-boy-howdy are these drugs ever kicking the snot out of my brain. Hopefully I will sleep well and the back will magically fix itself overnight (yes, I iced it this afternoon, and no, I won't put a heat pack on even though it feels SO nice - I totally recognize that this is some kind of inflammation). And tomorrow night, I will do a bit of gentle weeding in the garden, and make my hubby his long-overdue chocolate haystacks, and maybe knit a bit. It's all about the balance.

By the way, I can recommend Julia Cameron's "The Writing Diet - Write Yourself Right-Size" as a good little tap-on-the-shoulder book if you are at a stumped point in your more healthful living and/or creative thinking life. About 60% is basic diet advice, 20% 12-step wisdom (hell, it works for millions of people, why not?), and 20% really original (I think) approaches to getting the mind/body/spirit connection going through journaling and just better self-awareness. I learned a lot from it, and while I'm not one to follow a plan like Ms. Cameron sets out in a slavish fashion, I am adapting parts of it, and I am liking the changes.

Oh, and you know what? I saw a family of wild turkeys this morning. Here, in the trailer park. Somehow it was SO appropriate!

Happy Monday. Sleep well.

It's July!

Wow, back to work after a thoroughly delightful 4.5 day weekend! I'm feeling rested and refreshed and quite content with the universe. A few highlights:

Knitting: finished Dad's Cardigan (revised) - added 4" of length at the hem in garter stitch which is nearly invisible. I even remembered how to do a buttonhole! Dad 's very pleased with it, so that boosted my confidence to get back at the Adagio Shawl for Carole - and gosh darn it, I've NAILED that pattern at last! (I may be short in the actual amount of yarn I need, but I'm not worrying about that right now). And, have a great idea for Jamie's Wedding Afghan, which I don't need to have done until October, so all is well there too. AND I picked up EZ's EPS system (forget right now which book it is in) and made many careful notes for when I do Peter's Christmas sweater. Wanted to cast it on right away, but trying to keep focus on one project at a time.

Writing: been doing a little bit every day, and the ideas are really starting to flow. Picked up a new book from the library, The Writing Diet - Write Yourself Right-Size, by Julia Cameron (author of The Artist's Way), which looks interesting.

Reading: finished Rita Mae Brown's Dolley: A Novel of Dolley Madison in Love and War. I'm not usually a fan of historical fiction but I really enjoyed this - I almost always love Brown's books and this did not disappoint. I'm slowly working my way through Richard Dawkins' The Selfish Gene, because I really don't read enough non-fiction and it's fascinating stuff. Also getting through Neuromancer, which I'm enjoying more than I expected to.

Exercise: walking to/from the library at lunch, doing vigorous housework on the weekend. Baby steps!

Family: wow, were we social this weekend! Saturday morning with Yumi, Sunday evening with Mom&Dad and Karen (folks' anniversary - 42 woohoo!), Monday a spontaneous road-trip with Peter, and Canada Day breakfast and movie with Jason & Yumi (Bundy&Kid). All good, no stress, and I feel great... even had a bit of game time and got some house-chores squeezed in there too!

And of course now it's a short work week (2.5 days for me, since we get Friday afternoons off all summer) - lots to do but not overwhelming and no crises (yet). Although I did twist my ankle walking back from the library just now... it hurts like the Dickens but I popped a Naprosyn and it doesn't appear to be swelling. Unfortunately our convenient drugstore in the office complex does not carry ANY Tensor-style elastic bandages. So I can't really wrap it, hoping the anti-inflammatories do the trick (can't elevate to ice, either, I'm wearing a skirt today - oops!). But it's not sprained, just twisted. Hey, it's always something!

The "Big Read" list

Stolen from Yumi's blog - (oh, and by the way I'm over yesterday's upset, don't worry, all is well again).

Books I've read are in bold (52/100).
1 Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen
2 The Lord of the Rings - JRR Tolkien
3 Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte
4 Harry Potter series - JK Rowling
5 To Kill a Mockingbird
6 The Bible
7 Wuthering Heights - Emily Bronte
8 Nineteen Eighty Four - George Orwell
9 His Dark Materials - Philip Pullman
10 Great Expectations - Charles Dickens
11 Little Women - Louisa M Alcott
12 Tess of the D'Urbervilles
13 Catch 22 - Joseph Heller
14 Complete Works of Shakespeare
15 Rebecca - Daphne Du Maurier
16 The Hobbit - JRR Tolkien
17 Birdsong - Sebastian Faulks
18 Catcher in the Rye - JD Salinger
19 The Time Traveller's Wife - Audrey Niffenegger
20 Middlemarch - George Eliot
21 Gone With The Wind - Margaret Mitchell
22 The Great Gatsby - F Scott Fitzgerald
23 Bleak House - Charles Dickens
24 War and Peace - Leo Tolstoy
25 The Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy - Douglas Adams
26 Brideshead Revisited - Evelyn Waugh
27 Crime and Punishment - Fyodor Dostoyevsky
28 Grapes of Wrath - John Steinbeck
29 Alice in Wonderland - Lewis Carroll
30 The Wind in the Willows - Kenneth Grahame
31 Anna Karenina - Leo Tolstoy
32 David Copperfield - Charles Dickens
33 Chronicles of Narnia - CS Lewis
34 Emma - Jane Austen
35 Persuasion - Jane Austen
36 The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe - CS Lewis (duplicate of #33!)
37 The Kite Runner - Khaled Hosseini
38 Captain Corelli's Mandolin - Louis De Bernieres
39 Memoirs of a Geisha - Arthur Golden
40 Winnie the Pooh - AA Milne
41 Animal Farm - George Orwell
42 The Da Vinci Code - Dan Brown
43 One Hundred Years of Solitude - Gabriel Garcia Marquez (that's a lot of solitude...)
44 A Prayer for Owen Meaney - John Irving
45 The Woman in White - Wilkie Collins
46 Anne of Green Gables - LM Montgomery
47 Far From The Madding Crowd
48 The Handmaid's Tale - Margaret Atwood
49 Lord of the Flies - William Golding
50 Atonement - Ian McEwan
51 Life of Pi - Yann Martel
52 Dune - Frank Herbert
53 Cold Comfort Farm - Stella Gibbons
54 Sense and Sensibility - Jane Austen
55 A Suitable Boy - Vikram Seth
56 The Shadow of the Wind - Carlos Ruiz Zafon
57 A Tale Of Two Cities - Charles Dickens
58 Brave New World - Aldous Huxley
59 The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time - Mark Haddon
60 Love In The Time Of Cholera - Gabriel Garcia Marquez
61 Of Mice and Men - John Steinbeck
62 Lolita - Vladimir Nabokov
63 The Secret History - Donna Tartt
64 The Lovely Bones - Alice Sebold
65 Count of Monte Cristo - Alexandre Dumas
66 On The Road - Jack Kerouac
67 Jude the Obscure - Thomas Hardy
68 Bridget Jones's Diary - Helen Fielding
69 Midnight's Children - Salman Rushdie
70 Moby Dick - Herman Melville
71 Oliver Twist - Charles Dickens
72 Dracula - Bram Stoker
73 The Secret Garden - Frances Hodgson Burnett
74 Notes From A Small Island - Bill Bryson
75 Ulysses - James Joyce
76 The Bell Jar - Sylvia Plath
77 Swallows and Amazons - Arthur Ransome
78 Germinal - Emile Zola
79 Vanity Fair - William Makepeace Thackeray
80 Possession - AS Byatt
81 A Christmas Carol - Charles Dickens
82 Cloud Atlas - David Mitchell
83 The Color Purple - Alice Walker
84 The Remains of the Day - Kazuo Ishiguro
85 Madame Bovary - Gustave Flaubert
86 A Fine Balance - Rohinton Mistry
87 Charlotte's Web - EB White
88 The Five People You Meet In Heaven - Mitch Albom
89 Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
90 The Faraway Tree Collection - Enid Blyton
91 Heart of Darkness - Joseph Conrad
92 The Little Prince - Antoine De Saint-Exupery
93 The Wasp Factory - Iain Banks
94 Watership Down - Richard Adams
95 A Confederacy of Dunces - John Kennedy Toole
96 A Town Like Alice - Nevil Shute
97 The Three Musketeers - Alexandre Dumas
98 Hamlet - William Shakespeare
99 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory - Roald Dahl
100 Les Miserables - Victor Hugo

Squished like a bug

My brilliant idea for the betterment of the company and my own position was turned down flat. Status quo is the way to go, apparently. I should feel appreciated that I am needed for my current task-set, but actually I feel more like no one else has time to do the shit-work I do, nor are they interested in trying to make the change. And further, my boss is annoyed at me.

Damn damn damn.

Nerves...

I have a meeting tomorrow morning with my boss, another department head, and a divisional VP about restructuring my job to eliminate (most) of the stuff I don't like and add in some stuff I will (mostly) like. It will be good for me, it will be good for the company, but it will make my current boss very unhappy and they may just say "NO" outright. I am a bundle of nerves right now...

R.I.P. George

I won't post dates or photos or pithy quotes, but just wanted to say that I'm very very sad about the death of George Carlin.

Revised - if you can't say anything nice...

Ok, so earlier this morning I posted about how I felt crappy and sore and whinge whinge whinge. Then I had a whinge-y, largely unproductive morning. Cause and effect. Post DELETED.

SNAP OUT OF IT! I have a well-paying job, a wonderful husband (who also has a well-paying job), a roof over my head, 2 loving (if moderately insane) cats, family and friends who love me and are loved by me, enough to eat, more books than I could read in a year if I had nothing else to do, and enough yarn to knit for another year if I had nothing else to do. There's even a few bucks a week for treats and little surprises here and there, and literally HOURS of leisure time to be as productive (or not) as I see fit. What the heck do I have to complain about?

Anything that I don't love about my life, it is up to me to make it change [1]. Pretending otherwise is a load of hooey. See this? It's my butt. See this? It's my own foot, kicking my own butt.

Ok, pep-talk over. I started knitting the Adagio Shawl (for Carole) last night - twice. Think I misred the pattern somewhat, so will try again this evening. I'm making it in Brett "Marble", which I think is going to be very pretty as it works up into gently-shaded stripes. Had a brief but fun visit at the Bridgehead SnB with the gals, including off-loading some what was I thinking? stash and acquiring some pretty new stash from the traveling stash bag - huzzah for free yarn!

Found out from Peter this morning that our Saturday plans are cancelled but new ones may be in the works - in the meantime, I think I am going to spend a chunk of Saturday morning on some domestic-bliss stuff. I haven't baked in ages, the living-room needs a tidy up, and I emptied my trunk into the porch last weekend to make room for golf bags. I figure a good solid hour of housework, then a couple hours of knitting before lunch, and leave the afternoon/evening open to "whatever".

Tomorrow, Miss Mok goes to the vet for her shots; I can't believe how big she's getting already! Such an affectionate little squirt she is, still working on the "no, we don't eat yarn" rule but she's learning a little every day. I think we are, too.

See, now I'm happy again. Blessings counted, coffee sipped, time to get back to some file management. How's your day?

[1] With the one small exception that my husband snores. Can't do anything about that!

Mid-year resolutions

Last night I was reading a wonderful article by the late Douglas Adams ("it's a sort of threat, you see...") about New Year's Resolutions and why they invariably fail. His main point was that people tend to stick them on random pieces of paper which they promptly lose. I see this point, as it reinforced my own tendency to lose track of stuff unless it's written down, checked and double-checked in a systemic way. This is, I've discovered, WHY I am 80% effective (or better) at work but absolutely a pathetic disorganized mess at home. At work, I have my Outlook, and everything goes in there - tasks, appointments, daily reminders, etc. At home, we have a Year-At-a-Glance wall calendar and a whiteboard in the hall for grocery lists and random notes. Not a real solid system.

So, I am going back to Day-Timer land. I've waffled back and forth from computer to paper-based organizing systems over the past few years and I've decided that I really need to keep 2 separate, but synched, systems. (Say THAT five times fast, I dare you). So for work, I will keep the Outlook system. But on my desk and in my bag and always within reach I am going to start keeping my Day-Timer, for personal notes, and lists, and plans, and maybe even some writing. I want to get back to writing, and I want to spend more time on important things like fitness and keeping the house pleasant (not antiseptic, but welcoming) and family and friends and so on. This requires a plan. Step 1 is get the Day-Timer and Step 2 is start writing stuff in it. Step 3 will be working out how to best organize it, but I think that will evolve over time.

So, some Mid-Year Resolutions:

1. At least 1/2 hour of physical activity per day - gym/garden/walk/yoga/something.
2. Re-evaluate the knitting project list, and estimate time to complete projects. Build a schedule (with some flexibility).
3. More balanced leisure time activities - especially for the summer, get outside more.
4. Write every day, at least 15 minutes. (Blogging doesn't count for this).
5. Cook a healthy meal at least twice a week, and clean up the kitchen immediately afterwards.
6. Go visiting or have company over at least every other weekend.

I've got other ones too about figuring out future plans, career consulting, etc. but there's not a real sense of urgency to those just yet. For the summer, these six goals are enough. I'll track my progress (in my Day-Timer, aha!) and see how I did, come Labour Day weekend.

Staying cool with a blue hue

Or, I don't feel like working so I'm playing with my blog template. :D

Updated the Project List, it keeps growing and growing and I seem to be knitting less and less lately - oh dear! But there's lots of summer left, and Mok will eventually outgrow wanting to eat my yarn, so progress will happen.

This weekend will be busy - this afternoon is our company picnic (whee, softball), tomorrow is the company golf tournament (I'm taking Dad as a Father's Day treat - we should have fun and there are prizes and stuff), and then Sunday we're doing the "family thing" for Father's Day. I expect to be totally exhausted by Sunday night but ah well, it will be good to be active. I've been feeling like a lump lately.

Peter and I have been talking about our holidays in August - we may do some location scouting for a possible change-of-lifestyle move sometime in the next couple of years. We keep kicking around a bunch of ideas but haven't really nailed anything concrete down as yet. I think it's going to be a case of finding a *place* we absolutely love, and building our life around that. Not that we don't love Ottawa, but we're both small-town people at heart and need to figure out what we really want our life to be.

But - deep thoughts for later - it's almost time to pack up for the picnic and then the weekend begins! Hope yours is great.

If I had a million dollars...

(Or another day of stupidity in the office) I'd go be a light-house keeper in British Columbia. Doesn't that sound lovely? Loads of knitting time, I'd bet...

Memo to summer:

The only time I want 100% humidity is in the shower.

Do you know what day it is?

It's June 6th, and this past Tuesday was a new moon, so it's... Convoy Day! (check the link for the lyrics)

http://www.narrowgauge.org/4x4/cw_pages/lyrics/spirit/convoy.html

And guess what I got my darlin' hubby truck-driver to celebrate? Convoy on DVD! Woot! Trucks for him, Kristofferson in a muscle-shirt for me. Oh yeah!

Yeah baby!

And more on movies!

Yeah, just finished a movie post on my blog and then found this on Yumi's:

One movie that made you laugh: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

One movie that made you cry: Truly, Madly, Deeply

One movie that you loved when you were a child: The Sound of Music

One movie that you've seen more than once: The Commitments

One movie you loved but were embarrassed to admit it: The Land Before Time (I flied? No, you falled...)

One movie that you hated: um... hrm. I can't think of any.

One movie that scared you: Silence of the Lambs

One movie that bored you: The Quick and The Dead

One movie that bored you but everyone loves and you don’t see why: Lord of the Rings (sorry!)

One movie that made you miserable: again, can't think of any.

One movie that you weren't brave enough to see: The Exorcist

One movie character that you've fallen in love with: Just one? Silent Bob.

Last movie you saw: The Mission

Next movie you hope to see: National Treasure 2

Your favorite movie: Tombstone

It's alive!

Yes, I'm feeling better today, thank you. Soup and sleep (aka rest and fluids) is the best prescription in the world - though of course adding some Tylenol to zap the fever was necessary! Went to bed at 7 last night and slept like a rock, feeling fine this morning other than a slight achiness, but I think that's mostly inactivity - I haven't been to the gym in forever.

I need to upload kitty and knitting pictures but I'm posting from work, so instead I will give you some movie reviews! Recent stuff we've watched, and what I thought of it, just for a change of pace...with knit-ability notes, of course! ***SPOILERS***

Hot Fuzz: From the "Shaun of the Dead" guys, if you liked SotD you'll like this one - lower gore level, slightly smarter jokes, and lots of the same types of setups. A fun little twist towards the end made for a nice surprise. Not good for detail knitting, as lots of the fun is visual so you need to pay attention to the screen.

Sense and Sensibility: Yes, it's taken me over a decade to get around to seeing this - and honestly, I probably wouldn't have except I heard that Hugh Laurie was in it. Turns out Alan Rickman is also in it - woot! Lovely film, lots of pastoral scenery and sharp, really REALLY good dialogue, which (in my opinion) elevates it above the normal tragedy-with-a-happy-ending. Great knitting film, as I only needed to look up when Alan Rickman or Hugh Laurie were on screen. Got most of a leg of sock done.

The Mission: Jeremy Irons, Robert De Niro, and a very-much underused Liam Neeson trying to save "new world indians" from the combined forces of the Catholic Church, Spain and Portugal. You know they don't, you know that going in, but you still hope and hope... Gorgeous scenery, very understated performances by Irons and De Niro. Sad, sad movie. Lots of knitting, as most is dialogue and the battle scenes are pretty gruesome.

We Are Marshall: As I said to the family, "Football for dad, sad story for mom." This delivered both in spades - a real tear-jerker and bone-cruncher in one movie. I particularly liked the way the plane crash was handled at the beginning of the film - because really, the movie's about what happens AFTER, and it was well done that way. Not a lot of knitting, because this one calls for close attention to facial/body language and the football was edge-of-your-seat stuff.

The Number 23: Ok, this was equal parts cheezy conspiracy crap and creepy pyscho-manipulation crap - but still watchable and actually kind of enjoyable, if you can just get beyond the sheer coincidence levels. Convincing performances by Jim Carrey and Virginia Madsen (I like her anyway, don't see enough movies with her) - pretty good knitting flick, most things can be listened to rather than watched closely.

And... that's lunch! Back to work time. Have a good day!

A *slight* case of plague...

Yesterday dawned fresh and crisp and I greeted the day well-rested and full of enthusiasm. Met Carol for breakfast as usual, got some work done, met the new co-worker (Virginia, who shows every sign of being a fabulous addition to our team), and then somewhere just before lunch - blargh. Fever. Chills. Dizzy spells. Muscle aches. Oh good LORD what the hell is going on with me? Home again home again, to curl up under a blanket and be brought eggs and tea by my hubby, and cuddled by the cats. Early to bed, skipping the Detroit/Pittsburgh game.

5 a.m. Alarm goes off. I rise, feeling like I have a MILLION blankets on me when in fact there are none. Bathroom, thermometer, temp of 102 degrees. Oh good LORD what is going on? Dizzy as hell, phone the office and back to bed after a glass of juice and some Tylenol. Slept to 11 a.m., temp down to 99 degrees. Better. More juice, Tylenol and couch time. Knit a big chunk of Peter's new sock. Watched "The Mission" with Jeremy Irons and Robert DeNiro (depressing movie).

Now it's almost a quarter to seven and I am TOTALLY wiped out - I had a sandwich and lots more juice and even a half-mug of half-caf coffee to prevent the caffeine withdrawl headache. One more dose of juice and Tylenol and I am going back to bed with my hubby and my kitties (did I mention the girls are getting along ok now? As long as Mok doesn't steal Squeeky's treats, they're happy to be sharing space now). And tomorrow, I will go to work. And if this crap happens again, I'm calling the doctor, because mysterious high fevers with no other apparent symptoms are scary- especially if you watch "House" (which we do). On the plus side, I'm pretty sure it's not lupus.

PSA - It's a Girl!

Yes, apparently we were misled as to the gender of our beloved little Mok - she is without question a GIRL kitty, not a boy kitty. Peter had her napping on his lap Friday night, looked down at the fuzzy little belly and pointed out that the equipment was not correct for a boy kitty. Oops! Ah well, we love her anyway, and now she and Squeeky are starting to get along better too.

Busy weekend, full report later (I need to take pictures and put up links and stuff). Happy Monday all!

Maybe I should rename the blog "Life with Mok"?

So, after 48 hours the cats are getting closer to a rapprochement - last night I had Squeeky sleeping at my feet, and Mok sleeping on my head! What a truly bizarre sensation that was - of course, this was after an extended "settling-down" period where we had to keep retrieving him from inside the night table, the recess in the headboard, under the blankets, etc. (Under the blankets is *bad* place for small kitten with very pointy claws, if you know what I mean). But they are getting better - as Peter said, if Mok would just stay still for awhile so Squeeky could get a good sniff of him, she'd probably relax, but the little guy is just in CONSTANT motion, except when he's asleep.

He's a climber - up the couch, up the bed, up the (bare) legs [ouch!], up the chair to the desk - he walked across my keyboard last night while I was fishing in WoW - thank heavens it was fishing and not a battle of some kind! He likes the images on the computer screen, and TV - if he wasn't such a hyper little monster I'd worry about him becoming a couch-potato kitty.

The upside of this all, other than the utter adorableness of things, is that it's forcing us to keep a much tidier house. We can't leave ANYTHING out that he could get into, need to be sure and keep closets and cupboards closed, no stuff on the floor, etc. Who knew that having a kitten was good for your housekeeping skills?

Weekend coming up - huzzah! Big yarn trip to Perth this Sunday, and I think tomorrow I will try and get Dad's sweater fixed (assuming I can keep Mok from eating the yarn, of course). I can't believe May is over already, my God this year is flying by!

Our new addition

Mok'Thar, Eater of Worlds.

"Mok" or "Demon" for short. He's 10-12 weeks, irresistable, very energetic and pointy. I have scratches to prove it, but they were in playfulness, not anger. He's also very talkative, so he gets the sub-nick-name Squeeky Two. Squeeky One is not terribly pleased with the wee interloper, but they will make friends, I'm sure. Little Mok has one *minor* flaw - he likes to play with string. Yeah, I've locked up the knitting. *sigh* He will learn, in time, that yarn is not a toy. But for now he's exploring, and we are trying to just keep him from chewing all the electrical cords in the house, never mind the yarn. Cute, isn't he?

It's all in the presentation

There is not a hat in the WORLD that doesn't look good on Yumi. This one, however, looks TOTALLY adorable. Really - I mean, look at it on the table -


- still a cute hat, but not irresistable. On Yumi, it is *irresistable*. By the way, this is the fabulous Golden Snitch Hat (click link, scroll down) from Marian's super-clever brain, knit in her ever-wonderful hand-dyed Suffolk Wool. Go buy some!

The baby blanket pictures came out bizarrely blurry, so will follow later - I'll ask Peter to reshoot. The ones I took look eerily like an acid flashback.