Hiatus

Due to a family emergency, I won't be able to post for a little while. Thanks!

Mad Cleaning Skilz

I have been cleaning like a madwoman today. And what do I have to show for it? It would appear nothing... My desk is a wreck, there are books all over the living room floor, and I have never needed to vacuum more in my entire life. However, the windows are clean, the bookshelf is de-cluttered (because, yes, the floor is a better place) and the kitchen has been entirely reorganised. I also cleaned the ceiling fan in the entryway and the baseboards in the upstairs bathroom. And I fixed the kitchen table. It was wobbly. (yes, there is a wrench in the middle of the kitchen floor.)But seriously, folks, I got a LOT done today.

Ian helped too. He used the plant sprayer to clean the computer keyboard. (obviously, the keyboard survived)

But it wore me right out. Not much time for knitting, and since there was a whole Incident during my movie last night (I will discuss that tomorrow, when the pain is lessened) I didn't get much done on my sock in the last 24 hours.

Anyway, I am going to go to bed now, and hopefully not have any nightmares, because all my Johanna Lindsey books landed in one spot and I looked down and saw this:

It looks like she's stalking me or something. OOOOOOOO! Spooky!

Smugness has a price

I read Knitting Rules by the Yarn Harlot yesterday. I enjoyed it more than the other two books I have read by her, I think because there was more discussion on knitting. Instead of being about knitting as a philosophy, it was more about knitting as a hobby, and there was some advice etc. She must be very disorganised because she keeps losing her tape measure. She mentions it on her blog and she must have mentioned it six times in the book. Each time she mentioned it I laughed smugly to myself thinking I have never lost my tape measure. Mwahahahahahaha! So then I put Ian to bed last night and then sat down to check if my sock was ready to start the toe when lo and behold! No tape measure! Not in my purse, not on the couch, not on the end table, not in my pockets, nowhere! And as an added bonus, my beat up metal gauge checking thingamajiggy is missing too.

That's just what I get, isn't it!

I wasn't without options, however. I used the one out of Travis's tool box.

Speaking of my sock, it was time to do the toe, and now that sock is done. Soooo done. And I lurve it with all my heart and soul. I don't know why, but I love it more than my first ones. They are plain and grey and unremarkable entirely. And the yarn was cheaper. And I didn't do a better job on the heel and I think I did a worse job on the toe, (although I did master the Kitchener graft and didn't cop out with a 3 needle bind off). I think the reason I love them so much is because they seem so much thicker, warmer, and longer. They are just cozy as all heck. But you know, it may have to do with the plainness afterall.

As I mentioned earlier, I like the middle of knitting. I like to be in my groove. I don't like stopping and starting. And so as a result, circular stockinette has to be the single most gratifying thing on the entire earth that I can do. No purls or k2tog's or anything else to mess with my mojo. You could say the same about garter on straight needles but I think garter stitch is kinda fugly. Stockinette is perfect fabric, with row after row of perfect, neat little v's, nestled into one another. And the finer the fabric, the more satisfying it is. So that's why I like the sock so much. A whole lot of stockinette. (the heel messed with my groove a bit, but it made me feel smart, so I will forgive it)

Anyhoo, I did get the second sock started (although I got some housework done first... second sock syndrome hitting me right there hard) and I am back in my groove again. And I am thinking of making a sweater out of this yarn (Paton's Kroy Socks) I am thinking about a raglan with a simple crew neck and one inch ribbed cuff and waistband. Nevermind that I have no pattern, no clue on a sweater, and I am thinking of knitting a sweater for Travis (a large dude if I ever saw one) in stockinette out of sock yarn...

Am I a lunatic?

We will have to just put that on my future wish list I guess.

***

Whew, lots about knitting today. But what about Ian, all you Ianophiles are thinking! Well we had a great day today at the Dollar Store. I got him some magnetic letters for the fridge (he had some already but now we can spell stuff) We also saw this:

Yep. That's a Piecake pan. So maybe I should have got that for my Dad since he always used to try and get me to make him (or bring him) a piecake. The reason I didn't is because it is really cheap, you could tell by looking at it that it would just dissolve directly into your piecake.

Right after that Ian went over to a lady and yelled at her "Move Lady!!!" (she was in the way of our cart.) So I figured we should leave the store before we got in trouble for being rude to the other customers and taking pictures of the merchandise.

More sock and curtain drama

The curtains are still up. I don't know when I'll get a second opinion. I need a visitor. In the mean time, the tags are still on. It means I can change my mind.

Two nights in a row with no pee. At all! Plus last night he slept all night, so I'm all caught up sleep wise. Now if only I coud get caught up on my knitting. A man sock takes a freakin long time. Luckily the knitting is just plain knitting, and I like to challenge myself to see what kind of speed I can get up to. But right now I'm not knitting. I am writing this. And I don't have much to say. In fact, I am wracking my brain right now.

Maybe I better get to work on my sock then.

Bye!

Some random stuff today.

1. I got some new curtains. The old ones couldn't hold up to the pressure of a toddler running around. I have a bay window and I put burgundy drapes on the two side windows and embroidered gold coloured sheers on the main window. I haven't decided if I like it or not yet. The drapes are nice, they block out everything, and they were a little less expensive. If I take back the sheers, and exchange for more drapes, then I will save $15. On the other hand, the drapes do not match the carpet. (ha! I put that in a sentence without having a double meaning!) They are actually more red than the other stuff in my living room, which is like a very dark rose. The sheers are pretty and delecate looking, but they are too long, and unlike the drapes, they will be very difficult to hem up. And if I take back the drapes and get more sheers it will cost an extra $10. Or I could just leave it all how it is. Either way, I have those really cheap curtain rods and they are all tab top, so I will need to figure out some better curtain rods or get some kind of valance. Sigh. Life is rough.

2. Ian did not pee at all last night! Woo hoo! He made up for it by having growing pains and waking up every hour crying! Yay! No sleep for Mama!

3. Hey Janet Jackson! You want some feedback? Here's some feedback: Your song SUCKS!

4. I really should get around to crocheting those fugly blocks together. I am using my current sock as an excuse. I will take a picture when I am done. At this point I am just past the heel on the first one. What? They are big socks!

5. The weather was fantastic today. Ian and I went to the park in our sweaters! Sweet! -4 tomorrow though. I guess perfect spring days in February can't last. I really shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. It will be hard putting the old Winter Coat back on again.

Go with the Flow

My god, that kid can pee. He can pee like no other on earth.

He is pretty well potty trained during the day... very very few accidents. I wonder if he isn't just holding it in until he goes to bed? He also doesn't pee the bed during his nap. Which is good otherwise I would be about ready to put him to bed in the tub all the time.

When we have the problem is at bed time. And since I am not working at just this moment, I am trying to save some money as best I can; besides, he was soaking through his pull-up each night. So I went out and bought a reusable training pants. They worked for a couple days, but he soaks right through it. So I started putting his cloth diapers on underneath (yes they fit... I bought ones that adjust from a newborn straight up to a 3 year old...not that I ever used them. I let myself be talked into using Pampers against my will, thereby costing myself hundreds upon hundreds of dollars over the last few years and causing untold damage to the environment as well. Both facts cause me untold guilt and bitterness... but hey! That's a story for another day.)

Anyhoo, so I put the cloth diaper underneath the training pants, and this kid is now peeing through about 10 layers of flannel and a nylon outer covering. So I went to the Royal Diaperer (the only place in the HRM I am aware of that sells good quality cloth diapers) And I bought this super jumbo pair of plastic pants. So the kid sleeps in 1 cloth diaper under one cloth pull up with a nylon outer layer, under 1 pair of plastic pants.... and he is still soaking his pajamas from navel to knees. I have to change the sheets every single night, sometimes twice, because I always check on him when I go to bed and if he's wet at that point I change his whole outfit and sheets at that point.

It's exhausting. And the laundry! Geeze Louise!

I also don't give him beverages at all after supper, and I put him on the toilet right before bed. So I am running out of things to do here. I am thinking of starting to wake him up when I go to bed for a pee on the potty. Also, just so everybody knows, I do NOT yell at him or give him any kind of trouble for peeing the bed. I just see if he's wet and change him. I feel pretty bad for the little guy. It's not even the accidents that bothers me, its the sheer volume of pee that the kid comes up with. If he were sleeping in underwear and pajamas, I am sure he would flood us out of the house. I think he might be saving up!

Any thoughts?

Slow Going

No pic today. I'm too cheap! I feel like I am not getting much done knitting wise around here, because things keep interfering. (I know what you're thinking. Big Brother is NOT interfering. I can knit and watch tv at the same time. Duh.) Actually, what is interfering is weather, supplies, and finishing.

The knitting is done on the WGB. I am blocking the stupid thing so I can crochet it together evenly, but since I only own 8 straight pins, I can only do one square at a time. And last night I stuck one of those pins straight into my finger. My knitting finger. I want to go get some new pins but the weather was really bad yesterday and I didn't want to try to get to a store. We got about a foot of snow yesterday, then it rained and washed not only that snow all away, but also about half of the underlying snow as well. So I guess I could go get pins today. Hm. Maybe later.

I also finished that hat. Gah! I hate it. I will never ever EVER knit that horrible thing again. It is really hard to attatch pompoms to a really long strap. It is hard to make two pompoms the same size, even if you use the same piece of cardboard for each. It is hard to get a two year old boy to model a pink hat for sizing purposes. (I had to bribe him with a gummy spider) I don't know what I will do when I have to take a picture of it. At any rate, I am glad to see the back of that project.

I started a sock, just a plain one for a gift. Although started is kind of a positive outlook, I cast it on, joined it, and knitted half of the first needle. I think the reason I don't get Startitis like a lot of other knitters is I don't like casting on very much. I like knitting the middle part of a project, when you are in the groove with the knitting. I don't like starting or ending. Although I like thinking about starting, which is why I have a bunch of ziplock bags with needles, wound yarn, and patterns all ready to go. Anyway the sock is not my Fleece Artist one. I am going to do it, I promise.... I just want to work out some of the kinks in my sock-knitting technique. What I am doing is a pair of mens socks with Patons Kroy Socks in Flax. I even have a deadline... the end of March. Go Me!

Ian and I are going to make cookies today. He's napping right now, but we mixed up sugar cookie dough and we are going to make Valentine cookies when he wakes up. The dough is in the fridge. So I guess I should go and work on my sock while he's sleeping.... Or I could set up a YouTube account of my very own and work on uploading some of my videos! Yep, whatever feels most like procrastination!

Rose in Winter

Well I can send pics from my phone to an online album. It costs me .25 per picture, so maybe I should limit my phone photography as long as I don't have my camera. But it does take pretty good pictures, don't you think? Here are the flowers my wonderful camera-taking husband sent me for Valentines Day (one day early... he's prompt too!) I don't know how he did it. But I love him anyway. Enjoy!

For all you moms out there....

Missing your clubbing days? Can't get rid of the kids? Grab a drank and shake your bootay to this mad tune:

Swimming in a pool of coffee chocolate and Ian's cute as a Garter Stitch Blankie

Hi everybody. Thanks for the comments. I really like comments. They keep me going. (hint hint) It's nice to know people are actually reading this!

Some random thoughts for today:

1. I took Ian to the pool this afternoon. Now I feel all dry and flaky. It wasn't a photo oriented place, let me tell you. Plus I didn't have a camera. Anyway, Ian really enjoyed himself. The lifeguard had to tell him not to run to the slide, and he took it seriously. He started walking reaaaally slowly, one foot in front of the other, looking at me like it was all a big joke. What a goof.

2. Has anybody noticed how early the Easter chocolate is out in the stores? I mean, geeze! It was there in the middle of January. Who buys it that early? It's gonna have that white film on it by the time it ends up in anybody's Easter basket.

3. My wierd garter blanket is not done yet. I am almost done the last square. I have a picture of it on Sunday night, before Travis left with the camera. The blocks are a little ... uneven. So I guess I will have to block it. I am not even sure if I own pins. One of many reasons I am not a good example for knitters.... I rarely block anything, and I rarely swatch anything. And when I do swatch, if the swatch does not turn out right, I just change my needles and start my project. Luckily I haven't had any problems as of yet. Hopefully I will be able to fix my issues when the time comes for me to make something big where fit is important, like a sweater. Anyway, here's the blankie picture:

4. I think I may have taught Trav's cousin Jeanine how to knit. Yesssss! She picked it up really quickly which could mean that I am getting better at teaching people... the first person I tried to teach gave up, the second person managed to learn after a while, and then Jeanine figured the gist of it out in like 5 minutes. I also think she may be a natural at it, after all, when I showed her my mittens, she turned them inside out to see what they looked at... a sure sign of a natural, in my books.

5. Coffee is good. And on that note, here's a picture of Ian for you to enjoy. Now I am gonna go get me somma dat java goodness.

Yah, he knows he's good lookin'!

Why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?

I had to get up early to take Travis to the ship today. He's sailing into March. He's going to Florida. He's left me the shoveling. Let's all feel sorry for Florida Going Trav. Hey. Anyway, how's your weather?

So I am pretty tired today. Actually yawning away here like mad. I am taking a lazy day, and I just napped on the couch, and now its time to go get Ian up so we can have supper etc. Travis took the camera, so I don't know how the pics will be for the next few weeks, but I will have a go at it nevertheless. I am not entirely picture free. I have some pics I dumped off the camera before he left, I have my cell phone which I can use to send myself pics, if I don't mind paying to do so, and I have the Web Cam which is sadly tethered to the computer, and in a pinch I have Ian's Low Resolution Crayola Cam. And as an added bonus, I found my charger and rechargable AAA's when I was cleaning under my desk, so I don't have to worry about the battery situation.

We'll start tomorrow. And I can tell you all about my WGB, which is the only thing I have been working on this week as I know full well if I stop working on it and pick up something else even for a second, it will never EVER get done. So yeah. Picks tomorrow, and a nice post for the Chopping Block as well because I made Guacamole and Stew. Plus I have the Quiche I promised there. My to do list is insane! Thank goodness I have survived this weekend with my procrastination skills intact. Which is what this post is.

See ya!

Baking day.

We did some baking today. You can read about it here. We also went out and chiseled off the car. I wasn't going anywhere, but I knew it was going to take some time so I had a go at it. It snowed on Tuesday all night and then rained, and then it was about -5c today, so it was good and stiff. Fun! Only took about 45 minutes!

Last night I was goofing around on the internet and I found this:




It is the oldest known bit of film ever made. It was made in 1888 by Louis Aimé Augustin Le Prince. It is actually really interesting not only for being the first ever movie, but also because a week later the lady in the middle died suddenly, then the director, Le Prince (the guy walking from left to right) disappeared mysteriously on a train a couple of years later. There is actually some speculation that Thomas Edison was involved somehow due to him and Le Prince both competing to invent moving pictures.

Actually, the whole thing gives me the willies to be honest. I mean these people are dead. And yet here they are walking around in this circle, trapped forever on film. It's like seeing a ghost or something. I think it has to do with that period of time being really spooky for me in general. I don't know why these dead people caught on film creeps me out so much. Other dead people on film don't creep me out. I can see Gone With The Wind or Wizard of Oz or even black and white stuff with dead people like Dracula and it doesn't bother me. Even watching newly dead people doesn't bother me in that way (although I have been exceptionally upset by Heath Ledger's death, I'm sad about it, but watching Brokeback Mountain doesn't give me chills)

Anyway. I wasn't sure I would be able to sleep after watching that. It reminded me of when I heard this, which is the oldest known sound recording. I think the scratchyness is what freaks me out. Like I said, its like hearing or seeing a ghost.

So I decided to look up the Roundhay Garden Scene on IMDB and I checked the message boards. Let me tell you if you need a laugh (to help dissipate the willies or what have you) I recommend checking that board. People's critiques involve plot twists, comments that they fell asleep in the middle, a list of people's favourite scenes, and discussion on the possibility of a sequel. I also found a link to this: (watch past the credits)



In the end I was laughing when I went to bed instead of sleeping with the lights on.

(I'm so wierd)

This is a parody.

So I was working with my Wierd Garter Blankie (hereafter known as WGB) and we were having a coffee and a bit of a chit chat when Ian walked by (hereafter known as Lee's Cutie) WGB and I both sighed because he's so adorable and we both enjoy looking at him all day. And he's not just cute! He's friendly too! WGB and I were discussing who would end up with Lee's Cutie. It got a bit heated but in the end we determined that even though I have already kissed Lee's Cutie (on numerous occasions), it seems likely that WGB will end up as a permanent fixture in his bed.



Then Lillian, Ian's cousin came by (hereafter known as the New Girl.) And before long we saw this:





WGB and I were shocked. Shocked and appalled that Lee's Cutie would be so fickle. That he would abandon us for the New Girl so quickly. But we decided we weren't all that surprised at all. I mean, she's such a hoochie! Check it out:




(Yep, you saw what you think you saw.... Bra Straps on a one year old. Apparently its such a big fashion these days for your bra strap to show that they sew them into little girl's clothing these days)



So anyway, eventually the New Girl left (I guess she was just a temp) and it was just me and WGB and Lee's Cutie again.



We were all a little uncomfortable after that.







(this post is dedicated to Melissa)

Random Blog

I just stumbled across this blog. It is completely random and has nothing to do with anything but it is pretty cool nonetheless.

Seafoam and.....Regular Foam

My mitts were looking a little.... wierd. And I hate frogging stuff, even just a little. So since its not like I don't have enough to do already, I went for stashbusting and decided Ian needed a blanket. So I knit a rectangle out of some Red Heart Baby Clouds I had in stock, but it wasn't enough. So I went to the discount bin at Zellers (classy) and got a little more, as well as a beeeuuuuteeeful contrasting colour that I let Ian pick. Have a gander at this baby:

It will be done in 6 alternating panels of seafoam and...ummmm... regular foam colours in plain garter stitch on 10mm needles which i will then crochet (!) together with a lovely blueberry coloured yarn I happen to have. Let me tell you, that will be the highlight of my knitting year. Foam coloured (hate) fluffy (hate) acrylic (hate) garter (hate) squares (hate) crocheted together (hate) that I chose for some reason over everything else available up to and including my perfect Fleece Artist sock yarn which has been lovingly wound into centre pull balls by hand (or rather by thumb) And yet I pick this. What is wrong with me? My stashbusting wasn't even successful because I had to get more yarn. Which I hate.

Anyhoo....

We did end up taking Ian to the Discovery Centre on Sunday. I forgot to take the camera. But I did take a picture of the pamphlet I got before I chucked it in the recycling.

Anybody who knows me will be surprised I threw it out, given my extensive pamphlet collection. (What? Maybe I'll need to know the hours and rates for the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic for 2002 some day!)

The Discovery Centre is a great place to learn about all kinds of cool things. Here is a list of things I learned at the Discovery Centre:

1. Just because your 2 3/4 yr old boy went potty right after you get there, doesn't mean he's not up for peeing in his pants 5 minutes later.

2. The Discovery Centre does not have hand dryers in its bathroom.

3. The bubble room is great for camoflauging pee pants on little boys.

4. Don't leave the bubble room until your kid is good and ready unless you want everybody to watch you drag a screaming soapy kid through a museum.

5. The sand box is not a good place to visit after the bubble room.

6. Don't leave the sand box until your kid is good and ready unless you want everybody to watch you drag a screaming, soapy, sandy kid through a museum.

7. Thomas sets cure everything.

8. See number 6, only substitute sand box for Thomas set.

9. Air powered floating ping pong balls cure everything, without the dependency issues.

10. Wet sandy kids get cold fast in February.

So yeah. We had a good time, anyway. (I think the camera, however, is relieved to have passed up this experience.

Picking my Knits

I think I have That Hat figured out. The tension is much
more even this time, and I figured out how to hold the
yarn two at a time, which helped prevent tangling and
sped things up a bit. So here's where I'm at:


(I need to get another stitch holder or something)

Here's a pic of me holding down the edge to see what it will look like when its hemmed:



I still need to do ties and pompoms, but I am bored with
it for right now, so maybe later.

I went to the Loop on Thursday for the first time. I had a
pretty good time. I don't get out much and it was nice
to talk to people who are interested in knitting. I didn't
want to work on That Hat so I brought like 50 different
potential projects, and ended up with one mitten cuff.


It was a good choice because I could work on it without
thinking and therefore participate in a conversation. I
met some very interesting people including two (2) guy
knitters. (!) Here's a pic of everybody once I thought to
take a pic (some people had left by then)


I have to say, I was interviewed for Book TV one time
when I was at Grant Mac. It was a bit of a surprise and
I vowed ever since then to never leave the house
without any makeup on in case I accidentally ended up
on TV. So that vow lasted like a week. Until Thursday
when I was at the Loop and a TV crew showed up. I
think they were filming a bit for some kind of lifestyle
show on French CBC. Luckily I'm only in the
background, and what with me not speaking French, they chose
not to interview me. (good thing too. I had a zit)
Anyway, it was wierd. So when it airs, I'll post a link.
I would love to be able to go on another Thursday, but
Travis is sailing on Monday until March and so I won't
have any convenient childcare. It won't be impossible,
though. I am sure I can figure something out.

Ian's new favourite game is Scary Monster, where he
puts a blanket over his head and runs around growling.
He is indeed Very Scary. It doesn't photograph well,
though. He just wants to hide from the camera lately.
He suddenly doesn't want his picture taken.


Or he tries to grab it.


He has his own camera, but I guess its not
as fun. It doesn't flash as often. I don't know why.
Anyway, he's not entirely opposed to me taking
pictures, he just wants pictures of what he wants. And
he wants a picture of Thomas. So here's Ian and
Thomas.


The weather is pretty lousy today. It's not cold out but
there's a blasting wind. It's pretty warm, and all the
snow is melting leaving patches of ickyness. Even the
big Mound of Crap has shrunk a fair bit. Maybe now I
will be able to back my car in without having to start
with the bumper buried in ice. Or whatever. I like
having something to blame for my parking. Anyway,
maybe I shouldn't complain too much, I know some of
my family are having it much worse. So you all can
have a look at the Melting Peak of Mount Knitchenette
(plus bonus pics of my front yard and the Snow Pile of
Crap) and eat your heart out.