Boo yeah!

One pair of Fetching: DONE!

Hahaha(insert Machiavellian voice here)....I sooo rock!

I am sooooooo going to bed now.

One down!!

One to go!

I wasn't sure if I'd have enough of the Peacock to finish both gloves, so I added some grey stripes, including a bitty one around the thumb. It seems now that I had little to worry about, but I like the stripes: I think they're funky, and SIL is pretty funky!

Not sure if you can tell from the at-RO-cious pic (damn, I need a proper camera! this thing only does misty black-and-whites well) but there are about 16 ends of yarn hanging out of that glove, waiting to be woven in. I'll get to that tomorrow.

Off to cast on another!

Come and Get it!

Or, FETCH it, as the case may be.

Quick post. Decided that needle roll with beaded stitch markers and row marker will be SIL's Christmas gift (probably). But her birthday - remind me to ensure that I conceive my children NOT in the month of March - is on the 22nd. So what will she get for her birthday? Maybe some fetching Fetchings!

MORE leftover Patons Classic, I happened to have needles to knit to gauge, and I'll be adding some grey - possibly around the palm - to make sure I have enough of the Peacock Blue Patons to finish the Fetchings.

Good thing I'm a pretty quick knitter - you know, for a poser-knitter, who's never knit a sock, and has only knit one sweater, EVER - so the Fetchings should be done for Friday, when we meet for Thai food for the SIL's birthday dinner. Of course, I also have to finish (and by that, I mean start) my little cocktail dress for the little cocktail party Hubs and I need to go to for his job on Thursday evening. Ack!

Gotta go. Too much to do!!

Meteorological craziness

The grass outside my house is green.

It's GREEN.

This just generally sucks. Usually when people around here talk about a green Christmas, they really mean a greyish-brown Christmas, that is, one lacking in snow. Currently, I'm looking at a Christmas greener than Hallowe-en was!!! WTF??!!

Is this some sort of El Nino year? And does anyone know why Blogger won't let me use accents? I feel like a big tool using French and Spanish words without accents.

Oh, yeah, I still knit. I totally frogged that scarf for my sister, and now I'm knitting it again much narrower, possibly too narrow, and possibly on needles just one mm too small - I'm not positive. I do have the purse for her. It's little, but it's pretty adorable, so I think it will be fine if the scarf doesn't get quite finished.

SIL's needle roll...umm, not started yet. But I'm not too concerned, since it should take only a few hours to throw together in my sewing room. I have some lurvely fabric and ribbon to use: I'm looking forward to getting it done! I'm thinking I might try to knit up some wristwarmers for her, too. But we'll see how much time I end up with.

Happy Christmas wishes to you all!

L'amour est enfant de Boheme, il n'a jamais connu de loi

I know, I know, three posts in the same day; what's up with that?

Last year, I was involved with an amateur opera night, and it was...ok. It was expensive and a little disappointing (largely staging issues, due in great part to the SD kind of, well, not know what she was doing. Nice lady, clueless in regards to music, opera, and I would venture, staging) and I didn't think I would do it again this year.

Then I got an email from the Artistic Director/Board.

They offered me Bizet's "Habanera" from Carmen, Malika in the Flower Duet from Delibes' Lakme, and Papagena from Mozart's Die Zauberflote. Well. That's a horse of a different colour!

After explaining that I'm not in a position to pony (ha ha, get it? with the horse metaphor? yeah, my pun-filled grandfather would be so proud!) up $400 to cover costs, some other options have been presented, including seamstressing which, obviously, would work out well for me, so it looks like I'll be singing with Bytowne again this season. Which, frankly, makes me happy.

I felt it necessary to reiterate to the AD that I am not a mezzo-soprano, even though I sang a mezzo/switch part last year (Octavian from Strauss' Der Rosenkavalier which is a fabulous opera and sooo lovely to listen to, anyone with any interest in opera should have a listen. I'm partial to the trio/duet at the end of the opera, since that's what I got to sing, but really, it's all lovely!! And funny!! Try to see it, if you can!). And I got this lovely email back telling me that I have a "wide range and warm-velvety tone". !!!! I still have trouble taking compliments seriously, and maybe it's BS to try to fill out roles; either way, it's a damned fine thing to read about myself! I'm certainly don't mean to sound vain: I just want to share my joy! I honestly have trouble believing these things said about my voice; it just seems so unreal. I've been singing for years, but this is new, and very novel (which is really just a French loanword, to mean new, so that's sort of a redundant statement, isn't it?).

So, all things being equal, I'll be singing with Bytowne again this year. Anyone need tickets? Because I've got a whole wack of them to sell.

Now if I could just find my copy of Dame Joan singing the Flower Duet from Delibes' "Lakme"...I wish I wouldn't misplace cd's so often; what a pain!

Anyway, that's my happy update. I'm singing at my oldest friend's wedding this December 30 (a piece by John Denver he recorded with Placido Domingo, "Perhaps Love", very pretty) and my friend L from choir and I are planning to work on a duet someday soon, after the holiday rush. Lots of music things happening, so many I may start a second blog devoted to music. So keep your eyes peeled for a new button!

Have a great night all! I send you all lullabies!

Bed-time stories

Or, stories about bedtime.

Which is to say, I'm still sleepy as all get-out. I just realised that I never mentioned my little sleepover at the hospital, nor explained my long period of unemployment. Answers:

For about the last, ooh, let's say 6 months, I have been a zombie. Honestly, it started before that. In fact, I can't remember a time in which I wasn't sleepy or tired or burnt out. This has become my natural state. I don't like it much.

So when my time working at Hubs' office was at an end, we decided that I should take a little time, regroup, figure out what I really wanted to do, and have a break, because I hadn't really taken any sort of break since sometime in early high school (granted, not all that long ago, but still over ten years - yikes!). That was when we realised something was wrong. I slept for ten hours straight, then napped during the day. I slept for twelve hours straight, and napped. I had insomnia issues, and slept for fourteen hours straight, once I was able to sleep. Oh, we thought, this can't be right. And since most places of business will have you work for at least four hours at a stretch, and they usually want you conscious the whole time, working became not so much an option.

To the doctor we go, and she says "Sleep issues. Go do a sleep study." A month later, a fun sleepover at a hospital a 45-minute drive from our home, except for the part about it being fun, or a sleepover, because I didn't feel like I slept much. It was awful, uncomfortable, and possibly a waste of time.

So that is why I am in my house all day, every day. That is why I've started seamstressing. Because I can't stay awake long enough to have a real job. And it's no good, because I miss having a real life, although I do enjoy staying home with my puppy, and baking and cooking yummy things for me and Hubs to eat.

Yesterday, I heard from my doctor's office that the results of the study are in, so she'll discuss them with me in January when I am there for my annual physical. Here's hoping the problem is one easily fixed without weird or costly treatment! In the meantime, I'll be continuing my current practice of pretending to be energetic and lively. So far, I seem to have most people fooled!

So that is my tale of woe. Ok, not so much woe as irritation and moderate poverty. As you may note from several posts ago, I bought a pair of shoes, so obviously we aren't starving, but we certainly eat a lot of chickpeas out the cheap blue cans (whatever, I'm veggie, so I don't mind!). I just thought I should fill in the blanks, because if I was reading this blog, I'd be thinking "Why doesn't that chick go get herself a job?! What a lame-ass!" Maybe I am a lame-ass, but at least now you know why.

Happy Christmas to you all! And to all a good, slumbery, peaceful night!

Ribbit

I knit my sister a scarf last year, which I finished after Christmas because someone ate the needles it was on before it was finished (as I said about 3 posts ago, it's become a Christmas tradition). So the scarf moved from the apartment to the townhouse, and has been waiting for this Christmas. But it's too short. It just IS, you know? And I used all the yarn, and the nearest location for another ball of it is an hour long bus-ride. In the unseasonable, and yucky, rain.

Therefore, RIBBIT! I'll knit the whole thing a little narrower, and thus, longer! A good solution, I think.

Must go knit now. Too much time spent doing....nothing.

I'm BACH!

Magnificat anima mea, Dominum
Et exultavit spiritus meus in Deo salutari meo
Quia respexit humilitatem ancillae suae ecce enim ex hoc beatam me dicent omnes generationes
Quia fecit mihi magna qui potens est et sanctum nomen eius
Et misericordia eius in progenies timentibus eum
Fecit potentiam in brachio suo dispersit superbos mente cordis sui
Deposuit potentes de sede et exaltavit humiles
Esurientes implevit bonis et divitis dimitis inanes
Suscepit Israel puerum suum recordatus misericordiae suae
Sicut locutus est ad patres nostros Abraham et semini eius in saecula
Gloria Patri, et Filio, et Spiritui Sancto
Sicut erat in principio, in principio, et nunc, et semper, et in saecula saeculorum. Amen.

And we're done! It runs about 30 minutes and features some fabulous Bach harmonies. The piece is at least 278 years old, and now I've performed it twice. Though I haven't had the very real honour of performing the two soprano solos, it is such a priviledge to be part of the over quarter-millenium legacy surrounding the work. And it's a super way to celebrate Christmas!

Magnificat being one of the most anticipated and preparation-heavy aspects of the season this year, I feel like I'm over the hump! It's all easier from here on in.

Still have some gifts to make, most specifically the needle-roll (or whatever it's going to be, maybe a small project bag with little pockets for scissors and stitch markers and such) for SIL. I think tomorrow will be a project-y kind of day. I've spent the last few days reading - for some reason, I really wanted to re-read the Laura Ingalls Wilder books. I'm not sure why. But I've read through them so back to the knitting and sewing. Benefits of knitting over sewing: I get to sit on my comfy sofa, watch movies, and sniff my Christmas tree while I do it. I can't do any of those things while I sew on my machine.

Mmm, and maybe Christmas cookies should happen soon...pretty ones in fun shapes with icing and crystal-y sugar.

Common

What is remarkable about the Christmas story - indeed, about the entire story of Christ - is how very unremarkable it is. The great commonness of the story, of the circumstances of His birth and upbringing and death, is what underscores and places in sharp relief the unfathomable wonder of His reality.

Born to poor, ordinary people, He was also born into a regal and priestly heritage. His father was a descendant of the great King David, and His mother cousined to a member of the priesthood, but neither of these attributes in any way signify that greatness and miraculous events will stem from their marriage. And they loved and raised a Saviour. They parented God.

He was homeless for much of His life. Born in a stable, sharing hay and warmth with livestock, His parents escaped with Him to Egypt to avoid the wrath and paranoia of King Herod. It was only after Herod's death that His family brought Him back to His homeland, the people whom He was born to save. As an adult, He wandered throughout His country, relying on the kindness and generosity of strangers and faithful for shelter. He was ostracized in Nazareth, where He and Mary and Joseph had made their home after the return from Egypt. He was neither kingly nor awesome. His life, His circumstances, were decidely human, decidedly common. And that is what is most beautiful about His story.

I have often pondered the Christ-question. So easy is it to wonder, "if God wanted so dearly for us to be saved, why suffer the birth and death of His Son - of His very self - to make it so? Could He not simply allow it to be? But in reading Old Testament scripture, one comes to understand that He wishes truly to save the people He so carefully and thoughfully created out of His deep love. Merely saving us from damnation is not enough. The making right, the making whole, of our souls is necessary. We need to be put into a state of grace, a somewhat state of understanding and oneness with God, which could only be achieved through sacrifice. How better can He demonstrate our great worth while also making clear to us our painfully broken nature?

So He came, and dwelt among us, and was one of us, was one with us, and One for us. And His sacrifice also became ours, and we were made to be right with God, no longer separated from, but together with Him, despite our brokenness, despite our sin. We are made able to ascend out of the mire of sin and heartache, and live in the Love of God. A love so perfect and everlasting as to become common. For He is common; He is in common with all People. The humanity of the story, the humanity of the Nativity, is what is so deeply compelling. We are driven to act.

What will you do?

I know, I missed another one...

I didn't post anything again yesterday. I'm having no luck, am I? But I was really busy. Here, look at what I did:

All by myself! I've said it before and I'll say it again: IKEA rocks. The Lions Club in Ottawa and IKEA teamed up and are selling balsam firs for $20 in the parking lot. AND, you get a voucher good for $20 at IKEA in the new year! So I didn't buy a tree, I bought another little glass end table, but right now it *looks* like a Christmas tree. Fabulous!

So I drove Hubs to work yesterday morning (half-hour drive) and then went directly to IKEA (a longish drive, but still worth it!) The people there are super: we crazies who were waiting in the snow for them to open were let inside ten minutes early and given coffee! And people were chatty and cheerful and it was lovely. Got my tree from a kind Lions Club gentleman and successfully shoved it into my trunk. Did I ever mention I'm a little shrimp of a person? I'm like 5'2". I bought a 6.5'+ tree! And it's a nice fat one! I'm sure I looked ridiculous battling with it. Whatever; I triumphed!

Then I got my copy of John Denver's Rocky Mountain Christmas, waiting at a cd shop. Yay! Hubs says "It's cheesey". I said "I don't care if you like it or not: you're going to have to listen to it every year". I put up with a lot of football. He can deal with some Denver!

Hauled the tree home. Stopped off at CTire, got a stand. Lugged the tree out of the trunk to the front steps. Sawed the end of the trunk. Rearranged the living room to make room for the tree, sweeping up entire warrens of dust bunnies, prompting serious allergic reactions that have only recently abated (yeah, I know, if I dusted more frequently, it wouldn't be a problem. I'm lazy). Put the tree in the stand. Got it in the living room - still not entirely sure how I did that without knocking over everything, including the piano - and snipped the twine holding it all folded up. Tree was crooked. Nearly knocked it over and/or broke the stand in the process of righting it. But - again - I triumphed. Boo-yah! And now I have a big, lit, but otherwise naked, tree in my living room, slowly smelling up the house to be all Christmas-y. Yum!

I'm planning to post again later today, since this is essentially yesterday's post. I think I'll put my scholarly cap on for that one. Dig out my brain and see if it still works!

To conclude, when I arrived home with my tree and my cd, I discovered that the dog had opened the bedroom door, and had proceeded to eat my knitting needles. AGAIN. So that is Wembley's Christmas tradition: eating bamboo needles weeks before Christmas while there is a gift ON the needles. She's lucky she's so damned cute. But you see how I end up writing up these posts:

Any wonder they take so long to complete? What a little nut!

Nights in blue satin...

Hee hee....


So glad that's done! After much screaming (my sewing machine went totally on the fritz, and it just about destroyed me) the dress has gone home. Finally!

My last minute trip to the fabric store proved profitable: some nice black georgette for $2.60 a metre! It's little black dress making time! Woohoo Christmas cocktail dress for $15!!

And within the next few days I should really get started on the needle roll for my SIL. Tomorrow is Tree Day, though, with the listening of much Christmas music (I get my copy of Rocky Mountain Christmas tomorrow!!). I need to complete the Christmas-ing of my house.

Have a snowy night,
D

What?

You've never seen a dog in a hoodie before?

Totally meant to post yesterday. Let's just say: I hate satin. Gosh, I can't wait to sew up FOUR bridesmaid's dresses for my sister's wedding, all in satin. Really. Super.

I spent all day hand hemming that blasted dress. It's pretty. I hate satin. Then I discovered I'm 20 cm short on ribbon for the empire trim. So now I'm busing (oh, I also hate the bus) to the fabric store. I could have gotten it last night, before dancing, with the car, but I was still hemming. I hate satin.

Best wishes to all of you never having to deal with satin in any unpleasant way. Because I hate satin.

Christmas Get-to-know-you

NAME: Darlene

1. Egg Nog or Hot Chocolate? Hot chocolate. I’ve occasionally enjoyed eggnog, but it is a straaange drink

2. Does Santa wrap presents or just sit them under the tree? Oh, he wraps ‘em!

3. Colored lights on tree/house or white? White lights on the house, and the tree outside, white lights on the Christmas tree, coloured lights hanging from….well, I haven’t decided yet. Maybe wrapped around the banister. But I always find they look very Bollywood, not Christmas-ey

4. Do you hang mistletoe? I’m a wreaths and garland gal

5. When do you put your decorations up? I would like to say we’re all deco’ed up over here, but not yet. I’m hoping to get it all done this week.

6. What is your favorite holiday dish (excluding dessert)? Mum’s always made great turkey. I don’t even eat meat any more, but I’ll be cheating with a little piece Christmas day!

7. Favorite Holiday memory as a child: Has to be either the annual tree party or Christmas Eve.
My aunt and uncle bought farm land outside of Ottawa about 15 years ago, and live in the old stone farmhouse (which they had to rebuild, it had no roof or floors). Previous land owners had planted firs and pines to cut for Christmas trees, so for years they had an annual party, and everyone would trudge out through acres and acres of snow to the lot and choose a tree. They pastured cattle on their land (a few were their own, and they rented the space to another farmer) so we’d have to walk past a herd of cattle, hanging out in the snow. It was always fun.
Christmas Eve we always went to church (still do) and on the way there, we’d listen to one of the local radio stations that did “reports” on Santa’s progress. They’d always get a “phone call” from on of the people at “NORAD” detailing when they had seen Santa’s sleigh, and which way he had been heading. Church was at 7:30, so this was like 6:30, 6:45, so Santa was always on his way to Russia, not to Canada yet. And the service at church was just lessons and carols, the same ones every year, with candles lit around the sanctuary, and every congregant would get a little candle and they would start lighting them during the last carol (Silent Night, always) and slowly turn off the lights…Wow, I’m all teary thinking about it. It was so beautiful.

8. When and how did you learn the truth about Santa? Well, that whole NORAD thing kept me believing long after I had doubts. I mean, the people from NORAD wouldn’t make this stuff up!
Santa always had the same wrapping paper we had, and he wrote just like my mum. But it wasn’t until I saw the box from the dollhouse we had gotten for Christmas in my dad’s workshop that I knew (the house was set up in front of the tree, so it hadn’t been wrapped or in a box. That clinched it for me.


9. Do you open a gift on Christmas Eve? Did when I was younger, living at home. Now, Hubs and I are pretty broke (yes, I know, despite my hankering for shoes) so we’ll save whatever we’re giving each other until the morning. Someday, though!

10. How do you decorate your Christmas Tree? Some glass balls and icicle drop things, and random things I’ve inherited from my mum/Hubs’ family.


11. Snow! Love it or Dread it? Looooooove it!!! Hello, I got married in February to have pictures taken in the snow!

12. Can you ice skate? Dad taught me to skate on little bobskates when I was about 2 or 3, and on real skates the next year. I skate better than Hubs (he would contest that).

13. Do you remember your favorite gift? Bunny. My first Christmas, I was 6 months old. Parents (I think) gave me Bunny. He had a small round blanket body, and a little velour head that you could use as a puppet. I still have him, and when I can’t get to sleep (which is most of the time) I hold him in my hand and I drift right off. The blanket body is gone – dissolved, I guess – as are patches of his head. He’s more hold than not-hole. And I love him!

14. What's the most important thing about the Holidays for you? Honestly, church. I’m very churchy. Plus, so much beautiful music at church at this time of year. Do I have to mention Magnificat again?!

15. What is your favorite Holiday Dessert? I like homemade – not super-deluxe expensive special bakery – cookies. And pie. Mmmm…pie…

16. What is your favorite holiday tradition? Big Christmas dinner! Lots and lots of family!! And the annual no-longer-tree-just-lots-of-guitars-and-fiddles-and-me-dancing-on-a-board kitchen party at my aunt and uncle’s farm. Oh, did I not mention mum’s family is from Cape Breton? Yeah, that clarifies things, a bit, now doesn’t it?

17. What tops your tree? A star. Wise men followed a star and brought gifts, shepherds talked to some angels and got scared half to death. I like the logic of it. Star. Ours is a glittery wire thing I thread lights through. Maybe this year I’ll bead it.

18. Which do you prefer giving or receiving? I love giving when I feel confident it’s the right gift. And I love receiving something that has obviously been thought about, even if it’s like a $2 nothing little thing in my stocking. I like seeing the intention behind gifts. Warm fuzzies!

19. What is your favorite Christmas Song? Aspenglow, John Denver. Hands-freaking-down. LOVE IT. And the rest of Rocky Mountain Christmas: Christmas for Cowboys and Please, Daddy, being my second and third favourites.

20. Candy Canes... In white chocolate bark form, yes please. Laura Secord carries it, or you can just go to Bulk Barn, buy a bag of white chocolate, smash some candy canes, and BARK’s your uncle!

In which the author decides how best to blow her new earnings...

Every Monday evening, I teach a group of teenaged girls how to highland dance. And it's a good time, to be sure. One of my students, L, has been step dancing (that's the one with the noisy shoes and the fiddle music) for years, so I've known her for a while. And she asked me to make her Christmas formal dress. As promised, here it is:

It's very shiny! I wasn't able to get a good shot of the whole length of it, but it will be about knee-length. We were going for a look inspired by Marilyn Monroe's infamous white chiffon from The Seven Year Itch. The shape of the bodice is about the same, but we've used gathers at the bust, and at the waist, instead of pleats. The fabric is a pale blue crepe-backed-satin, with a pink satin ribbon tie for the halter at the neck. The pink ribbon will also be around the empire seam of the bodice (after we've fitted the dress at noon tomorrow).

It's been strange making a dress for someone else. I'm a big chicken; I like to fit and refit throughout the construction process, so I've felt a little like I'm working without a net, sewing my first entire dress using only measurements (but I took measurements all over her! just to be safe). It's also felt strange to make a dress that isn't something I would naturally choose to make. Don't get me wrong, it's a sweet dress, and should look lovely on her (if it fits...oh pleeeease let it fit!!! I'm soooo nervous!!!); it's just that I've outgrown my love of crepe-backed-satin dresses. I pulled out my prom dress from 1998: yeah, it's like exactly the same fabric for it's skirt. Eight years later, I'm a bigger fan of wool crepe, dupioni silk, and silk chiffon. Tastes change, huh?

Any-whoo, my oldest friend (chronological age of the friendship, that is) will be married on December 30, and I am singing during the ceremony. It's a lovely honour, to sing at someone's service, and especially lovely because she and I have been friends for about 20 years now (holy moly, where the hey-o did the time get to?). And I have a - if I do say so myself, and I do! - FABULOUS dress! It's red, a beautiful, cool, candy apple red, dupioni silk, strapless, side-pleated, column. It looks just about exactly like this:

Ooh, golly, I love that dress!! But I need better shoes to go with it. And here I need some second opinions, because, frankly, I suck at making decisions for myself. I'm a goober that way. Here are our options (and they are all within $10 of each other, so price isn't a factor in deciding):
In that pic, the left one is bronze leather, and the right one is black satin, or theeeese: That pair is a rip-off of some Louis Vuitton shoes, and they are brown satin with a cream contrasting ribbon.

So what do I get? I'm absolutely in loooove with the brown ones, but I honestly don't think they'll work with the red dress. Boo. But maybe with the black crepe I'm wearing to the rehearsal, and you know, with everything else I can find!!! They're sooo lovely. But for the red: metallic leather, or black satin? I might be able to wear the black satin again at my sister's wedding this coming July (but they're stilettos, and she's being married outside, in a park, with the reception at my aunt and uncle's farm, outside...) so maybe I should get the leather, because it'll be a little more interesting....

You see now why it takes me so damned long to shop for anything! I'm hopeless...

Oh, yeah, and I still knit, too. I'm working on my very first attempt at fair isle: a big circle to felt into a potholder for...dunno, someone, maybe FIL's lady-friend, for Christmas (deets tomorrow!). Because now that I'm making a teeny bit of money sewing, I'm back to wanting shoes. Shoooooes!!

Old friends

Ok, I just found - finally - my very dear friend Jen's blog. She's brill; give it a check.

And she has Go Fug Yourself and The Superficial linked on her blog as daily reads. I feel sooo much less like a hollow, brainless idjit now!! ('cause, you know, I love that trashy celeb crap!! I hate to admit it, but I'm coming out!! It's true!)

And she has some not-so-flattering insights into Ignatieff. And I generally agree with her personal opinion of people (she having met the candidates on the Hill during her time as a page and a tour guide, I imagine), so I'm allowing myself to be a little more wary. Who wants a slimy party leader? Ooh, not me.

Oh! Justin Trudeau sounded like he just said he'll enter politics "when [he's] ready". Innnnteresting....

I really just want the damned results to come in so I can leave this friggin' living room. I have stuff to do, for pete's sake!

NaNoBloPo

We Knittyboarders have received a challenge from SarahJanet of Monkey Pants and Hippo Dignity to post daily for the month of December. And I'm going to try. I don't think they'll all be interesting, but I'll do my best.

Tomorrow, I'll blog my very first completed/nearly completed 'seamstress for hire' garment. A very enjoyable way to earn a couple of bucks! But until then, one of the funniest things - and most disturbing - I have personally witnessed.

A month ago, Hubs and I stopped by the nearby strip-mall coming home (from...somewhere, don't remember) to pick up some lightbulbs and some beer. Hubs went to the beer store for some Old Speckled Hen (nice, English, named after a car) and I went to the drugstore for bulbs, because most of our rooms were pretty dark. I'm standing in line at the cash, and these two highschool aged girls are behind me. And this is what I heard:

Airhead #1: Do you wanna get a 'Thins'? (*the thin Cadbury chocolate bar, marketed for their limited calories*)
Airhead #2: No! There's like a hundred calories in it!
Airhead #1: So?
Airhead #2: That's, like, a lot
Airhead #1: Oh. There's, like, 80 calories in an apple
Airhead #2: I know
Airhead #1: Did you know that there are, like, 1 to 5 calories in a gum?
Airhead #2: Ohmigod!! *!!* (audible shock, I think she stopped smacking her gum)
Airhead #1: I know!! Isn't that, like, the most terrifying thing you've ever heard?
Airhead #2: I chew, like, a hundred gums a week!
Airhead #1: I know!

War, famine, AIDS, political oppression...nothing compared to the calorie content of GUM. Read the whole thing in the worst dumbass, 'valley girl'esque, teenaged voice you can to appreciate it fully. And please note: it's not pieces of gum, it's A gum. Fabulous.

In other news, I've spent the day in my pj's, watching cpac (the Canadian all-parliamentary channel, like C-span) for coverage of the Liberal Party Leadership Convention. I'm not sure how I'll vote next federal election (I think I voted Independant last time around; I was just so unimpressed by everyone else) but I'm enjoying watching the coverage having little personal opinion. It's easier to appreciate it when one is unbiased. But the more I learn about Ignatieff, the more I like him; I'm a neo-Platonist at heart, and the possibility of a 'Philosopher King' of a leader appeals to me. And he's the decendant of Russian nobility (grandfather was Count Paul Ignatieff, Minister of Education to Tsar Nicholas II) so, you know, that's kind of interesting, from a trivia perspective.

Good luck, Mr. Ignatieff and M. Dion.

Check you later, all!

Scarves, snow, and swaddled puppies

This morning, I woke up to some lovely snow on the ground! It seems lovely and fitting that I finished the scarf for my mum for Christmas.

Back in October, when I made up my list, I planned to make her some sort of lace wrap. That turned into a lace scarf. But I fell in love with SWS in the "Earth" colourway. So the lace scarf became a "lacey" scarf. And I am very happy with it.

I used the Dream Swatch pattern from The Garter Belt
, knit on 7mm needles. It turned out very nicely. Four balls of yarn, with a good bit left over from stripe matching. A nice, moderately long, lacey scarf. Blocked the heck out of it, and it drapes into a slight ripple due to the crossed stitches. She's going to love it!

Next up: things to felt and fingerless gloves. Knitting felted potholders is going to be great (ok, boring, maybe) and easy to do when I'm distracted or half asleep. Nice...

Wembley got into the spirit of the snowy season and had a bath and a nice swaddled snuggle with me yesterday afternoon. I like a clean puppy. Now she smells like flowers! Rather than stinky puppy feet.

Awww...

I have comments from Bezzie and Turtlegirl! Awwww, shucks.

The FO is still blocking; I got a late start on it, and as I started, I decided to block it within an inch of its life, as if it were lace (it's not, but it is a little "lacey") so it was still damp before I took off for choir (ohmigosh! only one more week 'til Magnificat!! Wanna come?) so I haven't a pic yet. Tomorrow, nice and early, with whatever natural light I can get, I'll get you as good a photo as I can manage with *ahem* a camera phone.

Promise. :)

G'night!