Last Saturday of July Sky

Clouds.A bit cooler (or "less warm", as they are saying on the radio - it sounds very PC) today, with a bit of a breeze. The heat wave may be over. I finally finished Maryella today - I was having closure issues - the hooks and eyes that I bought were way too big. I ended up finding some clear snaps on clearance at Michael's. As you can see, I am unable to tie a decent bow to save my life. I ended up trimming the ribbon right down. I hope to get it out to Ute early next week. I am feeling a bit down, so no amusing quips today. However, a picture is worth 1,000 words... (So what exactly makes a meat department "aggressive"?)

Art Show III

Some fancy lighting, and it's no longer gratuitous - it's art. Here's my favorite - Thumb/torso. The figure is graphite on paper. This hung on the wall in a restaurant we used to go to when we lived in Ontario. From the sublime to the not so sublime - Here's the most disturbing. DH did this - it was one of his first efforts. I struggled when he asked me what I thought of it. A few more items for your amusement: We stand on guard for thee. Here's one of DH's current projects. The figures that are knocked down are not down for effect - it's because Greedo walked across the canvas before they got glued down. For Zib: Speaking of poker: DH's trademark: This is how he now signs his paintings. See this - DH picked it up when he worked at the Zellers head office. It was a present from one of the Health and Beauty reps - because this sculpture is coated with Sally Hansen nail polish. I am not kidding - Nail Prisms in Amber Ruby.

SP8 mini survey

1) What is your favorite season of the year? As mentioned in a post below; the off season, when things are cheaper. And downhill ski season (but not necessarily winter). 2) Where is your favorite vacation spot? For a "holiday" - Club Med Turks & Caicos. And I don't even eat the chocolate bread (well, I did before they started using white chocolate). If I want to "travel", New York City. 3) If you could visit any place in the world, where would it be? Each of the metropolitan centres of Europe. 4) If you were a specific kind of yarn, which brand and kind of yarn would you be? Damn, I hate these kind of questions - it sounds like one of those internet quizzes that assigns you a label based on your responses to a short questionnaire. "What type of condiment are you? You are mustard - bright and tart, as comfortable at a ball game as you are in the back seat of a Rolls Royce. Hot and sweet, a picnic just isn't the same without you". [Sometimes I scare myself - if only I could harness this power for the forces of good] I dunno - how about Habu Textile's Copper Boo? Firm on the outside, soft on the inside. Not what you expect at first glance. One of a kind. Tricky to care for. [actually, I just like the doofy name] 5) If you won a shopping spree to your favorite yarn store, what would you get? A sore back from carrying my haul to the car, and a negative, yet predictable reaction from my hubby (Didn't you already have enough wool?)

Thursday ramblings

It's all about perspective, isn't it? Clue #548 that you do not live in a real city - lumber trucks driving down the main thoroughfare. Speaking of where I live - there's my house; it's the one on the hillside across the lake. No, not that one; that's the house down the street with the tacky statuary. To the right. In fact, I have yet to be able to identify my house from across the lake, or from the bridge. It's a minor obsession of mine - part of the problem being that the relationship to other landmarks changes depending on what angle you are looking from. One day I am going to take binoculars with me and get Kyle to stand on the balcony and wave a flag or something (anyone recall that Survivor episode?) I picked up this toiletry bag in Hull; I thought it would be good to store circs in. It turns out that it makes an attractive carrying case for a sock in progress. I'm on my own until Tuesday - hubby has gone to visit a buddy in Calgary. Tomorrow morning I am going horseback riding at a place just up the hill from us. I am quite looking forward to it. Granted, I haven't ridden a horse in about 10 years, and my muscles are a bit sore from a fairly intense workout earlier this week. This may make for an interesting gait on my part this weekend. My goal is to get a bunch of small things done this weekend: start preparing the next set of mailing for my various attempts to buy friendship Secret Pal exchanges, get around to doing the final finishing on some nearly completed projects, dye some yarn, put away clothes, complete the remaining dictations from this week's clinics, interpret a bunch of pulmonary function tests, get a Webring set up, and catch up on some of my medical journal reading. Plus, I have to get Art Show III ready for tomorrow...

Karma

I stopped by a thrift shop that is run by a local "charity" (who manifest their godliness by picketing our hospital every Tuesday. Or maybe it's Thursday - it's so hard to keep track). They were having a 50% off sale, and I picked up a bunch of yarn. This is what I got: Another bag for Somerset to play with! (Sometimes I envy her for her little pea sized brain that is so easily amused. But then she'll start licking a zipper, and I decide I might be better off) Here's the yarn score: All this for $8. Now, the woman who rung up the sale was dividing the prices in half as she went through each of them, then adding them together, and stumbling along with the math. I probably should have paid $12 to $14, and if it was any other charity, I would have corrected her. But I decided that there was some beauty to the concept of me screwing a charity that I would never support out of $6. Shaker yarn. Strong as hickory, apparently. I can't say that I consider hickory as being the paragon of sturdiness, but to be honest, the first thing that usually comes to mind when I hear the word hickory is "Hickory Farms" cheese trays. Some shiny rayon/cotton yarn for when I get around to trying some type of a lace project. It's a lovely pristine white. I am toying with the idea of dyeing it, because it would become 2 tone, I imagine. "rug yarn" which is PERMANENTLY mothproof. Approved by the USDA, no less. My plan is to use the rug yarn and shaker yarn for felting (as long as the hickory-like strength and infinite moth immunity allow the felting process to proceed). If they don't felt, then I will use the yarn to make a yoga mat bag. Because tomorrow after work, I am going to go to Lululemon and buy me a yoga mat, because a) I have lived in BC for a year now, and I might get deported unless I start playing the part by owning Lululemon merchandise, and b) today was the first day I did this: 7 AM Yoga in the park, compliments of the YMCA. A few blocks down was a used bookstore. These 2 books were each marked $9.95. The woman at the counter said "Why don't we just say $18 for the 2?" Umm, OK. Now, wherin lies the karma? What cosmic force allowed me to get these bargains? Well, the other day, I stopped to pick up the mail and there were 2 packages for me from Blue Moon Fibre Arts. I opened the first one, and found my "Socks that Rock" Club yarn for July, as well as the pattern. I thought that maybe the second package contained some type of advertising material. When I opened it, there was my "Socks that Rock" Club yarn for July, as well as the pattern. They sent me an extra. I initially gloated over my good luck, but then decided that I really should notify them of the error, and sent them an email, figuring that they would want me to send it back. They thanked me for my honesty, said that they had adjusted their spreadsheet, and suggested I send the yarn to someone who needed a little treat. Soo, the way I see it, if I hadn't notified them, they might have continued to send me duplicate yarns until the end of the exchange. Because I was an idiothonest, my reward was the books and yarn for less than the cost of the STR yarn club pack. So, I am now trying to decide what to do with the extra STR package. I might look for a charity to donate it to for a raffle (I'm waiting to hear back from Blue Moon if I can include their pattern if this is the yarn's fate). Otherwise, I will send it to someone like the Yarn Harlot to use as a prize for a charitable act.

Secret Pal!

Package from my Blogger Secret Pal came earlier this week: Cookies!! Painting supplies (so I can play around with acrylic) and a postcard. Complete with a picture of a shoe/sandal store :) Some lovely lavender soap (which is currently making my thrift shop yarn smell pretty) and a cute little makeup brush kit - which is awesome, because many of the makeup utensils I am using now are very dodgy indeed. Some Jasmine potpourri and an awesome Knitting magazine! Within about 2 minutes of flippling through the pages, I found 3 things I want to knit (which is good, because I was running out of future projects - ha) And, last, but not least, a sibling for the Manos twins! The colourway coordinates nicely with the teal, as you can see, and I stumbled upon a Black Sheep Bags pattern while I was killing time doing some research online while waiting for my next patient to show up. I will have to test felt a bit of each.

Belated Saturday sky - July 22

Sunset from the winery balcony Now you see it, Now you don't

Swap meet

I have joined another swap - the Favorite Colour Exchange. 1. What are your top three favorite colors? Good thing the question is for top 3, because it occurs to me that I don't have a hands down favourite. Lime green, Teal, and Red (blue-toned rather than orange-toned) would be the current top 3. 2. What crafts do you really enjoy? Knitting. I am thinking of doing some knitting with beads, as well as some dyeing. I have no plans to start spinning. I fully intend to get a sewing machine one of these days and start to sew again, but I don't forsee it happening for at least the next year or so. I am making stitch markers with beads, but don't have any plans to do beading for the sake of beading. 3. What products do you really covet? Stitch markers, general knitting notions other than straights or circ needles(I have 1 CHIBI, 2 old tape measures, and a 3mm crochet hook - no partridge in a pear tree, no needle gauge, no cable needles, no row counters, etc). I am magic looping my first sock, and would like to try knitting socks on dpns next. Some basic beading supplies would be handy as well - I am using a needle nose plier from the hardware store. I would like to find a pattern for a completely beaded purse or wallet that would involve knitting with small beads rather than sewing beads on the purse. 4. What other activities do you enjoy besides your favorite crafty things? Skiing. Reading. Napping. I also enjoy travelling to large cities and checking out the cultural happenings and public art, trying new restaurants, etc(and the yarn shops, of course) 5. Is there anything you collect? Dust. (See question 9) 6. What is your zodiac sign and/or Chinese zodiac symbol? I am a Libra. I believe that I am a Sheep in the Chinese zodiac. 7.What are your favorite… …scents/smells? lavender, cloves, jasmine, chai tea blends. …types of music and/or bands? 80's music, current indie stuff (no urban or country please) …authors? Somerset Maugham. Marian Keyes is the only modern author who comes to mind in terms as someone who's books I specifically see out. …animals? My cats. …places to shop? I love shopping in consignment/clearance stores, or in the sales racks of regular shops. Love getting those bargains. And yarn shops. …season? The off season. Shoulder seasons might be the best way to put it - late enough in spring that you can break out the summer clothes, and early enough in autumn that the leaves haven't fallen off the trees yet. The time of year that children are in school, and not travelling. …yarn/fabric/paper/other craft supplies? I am crossing over to the dark side [sock knitting]. I would looove to try some bamboo or soy sock yarn (if these things exist). I tend to avoid novelty yarns. Am also trying out dye-ing yarn; any (non-Kool aid)dye things that will colour plant or animal fibres would be cool. …candies or goodies? Dark Chocolate. Almonds:plain/smoked/spiced/chocolate covered/marzipan, etc. 8. Do you have any wish lists? World peace, chocolate that burns fat and lowers cholesterol levels, for my cats to stop shedding, for DH to put the blasted toiled seat down, a cure for chronic cough, and that all the master tapes and copies of "Lady in Red" be collected, stacked in a pile, and made into a huge bonfire. Oh, you mean a shopping list type wish list? I am in the process of setting one up on Amazon.ca. 9. Are you allergic to anything? No, but one of my cats has food allergies, and I think the other one may be allergic to housedust {which would be quite ironic since a large proportion of house dust is shed human skin cells - which would imply that my cat is allergic to me} 10. Do you have any pets? What are they? 2 cats, who are my child equivalents (just waaaay easier to fit into my lifestyle than actual children. We can leave them locked in the house with food and water if we go away for the weekend and they are fine. Just try doing that with kids. All of a sudden, you are on the front page of the local newspaper.) 11. Please include anything else you would like your secret pal to know about you- anything that would be helpful in finding you little gifts that you will really enjoy. Coming soon...By the way - my SP8 questionnaire might be in my blog archives.

Lazy Hazy Sunday

A roundup of stuff from the last week: Good weather for a nap. Spent some time in the evenings working on my sock. Here's where it was at on Friday. Was visited by a sock yarn connoisseur. I have made much more progress, and have just started the ribbing. I picked up this great skirt at a boutique across the street from my office - they had sale racks on the sidewalk and it caught my eye as I was on my way to the postal outlet. A few days later, a patient was telling me "Oh, I wanted to get that skirt, but they didn't have it in my size!" Too bad for her - I scored the only size L. You can never have too many peacock themed items of clothing. The sequins aren't completely secure - every so often I spy one on the floor - it's like a little shiny trail. This great yarn is the second skein that my one skein pal sent me. I think I am going to use to make a dreamswatch I will probably use it as a sash with this skirt. I might try to use it as a headwrap as well, but scarves, etc always seem to slide down my hair. Amusing story for the weekend: To celebrate our anniversary, we went for dinner at a winery. It was damned hot out on the patio, even though it was 7:30 at night. We got a bottle of champagne to have with our dinner, and DH wasn't that crazy about it - it had a bit of a brandy-like aftertaste. I, however, quite enjoyed it, and ended up finishing the bottle. (keep in mind that dinners at wineries are always long, leisurely affairs, which last a few hours). After we went to bed, I started to notice that the room was spinning...I then proceeded to spend the next hour and a half on the bathroom floor. Kyle was trying to help me out - giving me gravol (which didn't stick around long enough to work), and finding an elastic so I could tie back my hair. He finally decided that reinforcements were necessary, so he went downstairs and brought Greedo up to cheer me up. Greedo of course was very confused because we always yell at him if he comes into the bedroom. So that's the memory of our 6th anniversary that will always stick in my mind - Kyle bringing me a cat to make me feel better

6 years

Allow me to digress from knitting as we reminisce for a while. This was what happened under the Saturday Sky over Caledon, Ontario 6 years ago. I married Kyle, and it was one of the best things I have done in my life. He drives me crazy, and he drives me to some little town in the middle of nowhere so that I can check out some obscure point of interest. He makes me mad, and he makes me delicious salads for lunch. He puts up with my neuroses, and he puts up a ceiling fan in our bedroom unaided. He refers to me as "my beautiful wife" in public. He's my biggest supporter, and I would be lost without him. And to top it all off, he's stunningly handsome too! Happy anniversary sweetie. I love you.

Freezer Friday

How apt - I think the thermometer hit 34 C (93 F for my US audience). Browsing through the freezer was quite a pleasant experience. Here's the downstairs freezer - fairly neglected, as you may have guessed by the ski boots sitting next to it. This is where we store the Mom items - the soup she cooks when she visits and the leftover coffee for next time. Note the lack of magnets, etc on the upstairs fridge/freezer. Magnets do not stick to stainless steel.> Let's take a look inside, shall we? This is a liner for the world's best wine cooler. You keep it in the freezer, and then pop it into this shell, and your wine remains cold for hours (assuming the bottle lasts that long) Ideal for those of us who haven't gotten around to knitting a wine bottle cozy. Frozen pasta - probably heresy, but it thaws quickly in the microwave, and is great for a quick cold pasta salad or warm pasta entree. Tuna from the farmer's market. Cat treats (yeah, training - "Shed!" "Sleep!" "Run around like you are insane!" hmmm, maybe they are working...) Greedo has food allergies (the irony of a cat having food allergies is lost on many, especially when you consider that said cat belongs to a respirologist who is an allergy skeptic), so he needs to get "novel" proteins. Interesting fact - these treats contain garlic. Cats and dogs like garlic - who knew? I guess it's not like they have to worry about it making their breath smell worse. Get your mind out of the gutter. These are buffalo (actually bison) SAUSAGES, okay?