woot!

I posted everyday for 30 days. Yayness! Hopefully you've learned a little more about me and my nut-ness...otherwise well...there's no helpin' ya! LOL!

I actually have nothing to say, I was at work all day today and came home and plopped on the couch knitting a Maelstrom sock. More in my next post (which may actually end up being tomorrow!).

Toodles!

A good day!

I was awoken by wonderful rays of sunlight this morning. It made my day nice and...sunny :D Don't worry, I haven't been smoking copious amounts of drugs, I'm just in a really really REALLY good mood today. I even dared to go downtown amongst the hoards of people and I was all smiles. Strange...I know!

I bought a couple of cheesy movies and I found a gorgeous shoe store. My big issue with shoes is that since I have big feet (size 11.5) finding shoes is HELL! But lately I've realized that designer shoes go up to bigger sizes. The only downside is that you have to shell out about 300000000000000000000000$ for a pair since they're all leather. I haven't decided on a pair, but I think that I at least found what I'll be getting myself for Christmas this year :D

Toodles!

News...

I'm really happy, for the past couple of days I was a little antsy because I have some friends that are traveling through India at the moment. Considering the attacks on Mumbai, I wanted to make sure that they were all safe and sound. Today I got a wave of emails from them all ensuring their okayness.

Tonight I'm sending out a message of peace to people. Can't we just all get along? PLEASE????????



Toodles!

recent addictions...

Since the holidays are fast approaching (Happy Thanksgiving to those south of the border!) and everywhere I go there are lists of what people think are the best gifts, party ideas and bla bla bla. So I decided that I'd make my own fucking list of cool things :D

First off, there's blogging. Yes I know, I haven't been in peak blogging form in the past week, but I've managed to post daily for all of November. Shocking, I know! There's something really fun about knowing that there are 15 people all over the world who actually read what I write! So that's number one.

Secondly there's osteopathy. I tried it to see if it could help with my knees (pulled both ACL's in 2007) and other chronic pain issues. I was in luck. My osteopath RULES! It helps that I'm basically getting manhandled by a sexy french dude every two weeks but it also actually works! I'm physically better and really let's be honest, the sense of touch is by far the most comforting of them all.

Then there's Fair Isle knitting. Jebus this stuff is addictive. It started with the Bird in Hand mittens and now it's turned into an obsession. I just want to knit with lots of colors all the fucking time. Don't worry, I'm not steering away from the land of cables (mmm cables!) but it's nice to know how to do something new!

I also recently discovered yoga and pilates. I'd tried before without being really interested but wow! I've been alternating between both everyday for the past few weeks and shit it's great. I like that I can feel myself getting stronger, it's very rewarding.

Musically, I fell in love with the soundtrack to Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. I have a super crush on Micheal Cera so I knew that I would like the movie. But the music blew me away. It's perfect for sitting around and drinking tea while staring outside (I know, I have no life!). I can't find a YouTube version of "Electro-Socket Blues" by Rogue Wave, but you need to listen to it. It's perfect perfect perfect!

Finally, since it is the start of the holidays, there's a Christmas movie that I just adore. It's perfect and sadly within the next couple of weeks I'm going to start watching it daily. Here's a preview of it. I think that everyone has already seen it, but I think you should still watch it again. In it you'll find wonderful elements like Liam Neeson (at his prettiest...prwwwweow!), Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Alan Rickman, Emma Thompson and Joni Mitchell's perfect version of "Both Sides Now". Here's a bit of a teaser (first scene of the film)...



Whew! Now that I got all of that out of my system, I'm going to go watch it again and cry while drinking tea :D

Toodles!

Dear Beer...

Tonight during the hockey game, the other K and I proceeded to get ridonculously drunk. The Habs won and we were happy. We then headed out to a bar on the Plateau to meet up with a friend that we met in Aix en Provence in France and got even more sloshed. This is not traditional behavior on our part :D, but who cares really...

Lots of stories were told, confessions were made and serious laughs were had by all. Tomorrow, I will be back sober.

Toodles!

Tuesday

Hello!!!

So I'm back with actual content!!! It's been cold this past week so I've been wearing my Log Cabin Socks a whole lot. Add to that the fact that I made them out of non superwash wool...guess where they are? If you guessed soaking, you are correct! I'm not used to non-superwash socks so hopefully this will work out in the long run.

I've also made progress on my Anemois. I don't have a pic because they don't look like much just yet. My only issue is that I'm knitting with scratchy yarn so as the fair isle progresses the fabric feel a little...coarse. Maybe if I block the shit out of them it'll be ok...Add to that the fact that they'll be a little big, they may need to visit M. Dryer once they're done.

Other than that, I'm just trying to get in the holiday mode. It's a month before Christmas and usually I'm all crazy and watching Christmas movies and rushing to listen to holiday music and stuff but I'm just not feeling it yet. I think I'm broken. Me. Not into Christmas just yet. I know my family is really happy about it though, so I guess it can't be such a bad thing :D

Alright I'm off to skid around in the streets, we got snow AND rain in the past 12 hours. Can't wait to walk to work...!

Toodles

Bleh...

I'm feeling a little bleh today. I just want to stay in bed and not move. I think it's because it's about to start snowing. I miss the summertime... I actually have some interesting things to talk about. There are some FO's, some WIP's and some actual life content.

Anyhow, I'll actually post something of substance tomorrow.

Toodles!

Crazy Sunday

I didn't get to sleep in. I went and bought a phone. I watched a shitload of football and proceeded to get piss drunk with friends.

Back tomorrow in better shape :D

toodles

Mmmm Sleep :D

That's what I'll be saying tomorrow morning as I let myself sink back into the comfort of sunday laziness.

We had a big fat huge party today for my mom's birthday. We had 20 guests and cooked like CRAZY. Everyone left drunk happy and full so I guess we can call it a huge success. Now I'm supposed to go to a party in a couple of hours and I don't know if I'll be able to stand up. I'm pooooooooped! I'm going to try a power nap for 45 mins...see how that goes :D

toodles!

Trying to distract you with witty kiwi humour...

Thanks AliP!!!!!



Toodles

Tonight!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Can't wait, more about it tomorrow!!!

The cold coldyness

I hate this weather. I know that hate is a strong word. But I HATE it. It's not that it's super cold yet, it's just that it's the period during which we're all getting used to the idea that it's going to be cold for the next 5 or 6 months. That's the part that sucks.

The cold coldyness has one advantage though. It's perfect for warm hand knits. And I must admit that I'm thoroughly looking forward to finishing my Tyrolean Stockings (most likely tonight) so that I can shlump around the house wearing really thick socks. Now I can't say enough good things about Cascade Eco because really, I've used a little less that 2/3 of the skein to make knee highs. I may have to make something else with this sumptuous warm yarn...maybe some little legwarmers for Serge - I dream of seeing the look on his face! Mwahahahahaha!

Toodles!

When I grow up...

...I want to be my cat. Oh to nap and stretch and chase q-tips all day long. Sigh. On top of it all Serge has now decided that he can yell at me. I'll wake up to him sitting on the corner of the bed with an annoyed look on his face (see pic below for an example) and he starts to meow as if he's trying to say "Scratch my shoulder blades and then feed me. NOW!". Sadly, 9 times out of 10, he gets his way. If he doesn't then he goes to war with my toes by crawling under the comforter and lightly biting them.

I swear sometimes I wonder who's in charge here...

A new week!

So I successfully managed to remain a pescetarian for a week. I'm very proud of this accomplishment (I say this even though I had a dream about eating steak last night). So I decided to challenge myself again. This week, my challenge is to eat 3 meals a day at home or at least eat home cooked meals. So no buying of supper anywhere all week. It's going to be tough, but what challenge isn't? The only things that aren't included in this challenge are coffee and movie snacks. Granted it's not like I go to the movies all the freaking time BUT, this week is special. Twilight is coming out. Now I know that it was a terrible book. It's the fast-food of young adult literature, but I still enjoyed the books all summer long. So there. Make fun of me, but I'm going to see this flick and by Buddha I'm going to enjoy it!

On the knitting front, I'm still progressing comfortably on my second Tyrolean Stocking and I'm planning on doing a little bit of yarn shopping tomorrow because I need some sexy Malabrigo lace so that I can finish my Muir stole before Christmas!

Toodles folks!

Sunday

What a lazy day this is shaping up to be. I made some wicked soup this morning (a roasted squash soup) and then I got to knitting. I finished one Tyrolean Stocking and am progressing really fast on the second. I love these babies. They're warm and thick and will do great under boots with skirts/dresses during the holidays. Too top it all off, they're a really quick knit. Yay!

Other than that...nothing is going on really. It's nice to have a lazy day. I like Sundays like this.

Toodles!

Gifted

About a month ago, I won a contest over at Stumbling Over Chaos and on thursday, I came home from work to a great package. Check it out...


Isn't it great! There's some sock yarn in there, it's Woolarina Handpaint in the colorway Yucatan. Thanks again for the kick ass package Chris!

In other news, I'm a little concerned with the Canadian postage system. I sent out some yarn on Halloween for a Ravelry swap and it's still not there. My tracking number just says that it's been received at the post office when I paid and that's about it...damn you Post Canada, don't fuck with me!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Toodles people!

Friday

It's friday...YAY!!!!!!!!! Friday is just...the promise of so many wonderful things, like sleep. I like sleep. A lot. I was supposed to head down to Toronto for the Burning Man Decompression Party, but a bunch of circumstances doesn't allow me to do this. Poo. But I do think that I'll be taking myself to see the Nutcracker. I've been wanting to go for a couple of years and if I don't take myself, who will?

Speaking of the Nutcracker, as a Christmas geek, I'm a little pissed that Christmas commercials started on November 1st. I like the "after American Thanksgiving" idea because really, right now, everything just feels like it's being forced down my throat.

In other news, the new Twist Collective is up! Woohoo! Such a great diversity of patterns. I'm not looking at what I want to make just yet (since I've yet to make anything from the previous issue) but I just want everyone to go check it out. There's something for EVERYONE!

Ok, I'm off to eat something...

Toodles!

I'm a weak weak woman...

I couldn't help it. Not only was I swatching for my new Anemoi's, but I also cast-on yet another project. I had some Cascade Eco left over (about a skein and a half) from making my Placed Cable Aran and I wanted some really thick comfy socks. So I started going through my Ravelry queue and I had my sstack of Interweaves right next to me and then the next thing I knew, I was on Youtube learning how to do a Norwegian cast-on. It's very gratifying to make socks in a worsted yarn. After about an hour of knitting this morning, I'm done with the ribbing and one leg pattern repeat. Add to that the fact that I haven't knit cables (which I LOVE!) in a little while, these are just making me very very happy!

I tried to take a pic indoors since there's very little light outside...

It's a little fuzzy, I know...
I'm starting to think that I need to upgrade my camera. It's true! It just doesn't do it for me, although it's great for point and shoot when I go out with friends, it kinda leaves me a little...meh when it comes to more artsy stuff.

Ok I'm off...

Toodles!!!

Casting on again!

Last night I finished the Bird in Hand Mittens and I very much hope that they'll be warming Jennie's hands by this weekend :D

The only side effect of finishing these has been that I am now itching for more mittens. I had gotten some natural colored (my fave!) 2-ply wool from a small farm in a swap and it doesn't have huge yardage so...it's going to become a pair of mittens! Anemoi mittens to be exact. Check it out!


In an attempt to follow the pattern, today I did my first tubular cast-on while swatching! It wasn't nearly as tough as I'd expected although I can't really see what's so special about it yet...

To be continued!

Toodles!

Remembering...

Today is all about remembering. Are you wearing your poppy? I know I am.

Pescatarianism

What a word! Considering the damage I've made my body suffer since Halloween (there have been a lot of long boozy nights!), I've decided to offer myself a little respite. Not only am I not drinking for a little while, but I'm going pescatarian for the week. Now for the past couple of years, I've been toying with the idea of trying vegetarianism but really...I like meat too much. I think that sticking to fish as my only animal protein for a week could be beneficial. For lunch I made a rice and tuna salad and for supper, I'm having some grilled veggies with a bit of cheese (I'm debating between goat and grilled halloumi). This is nice though, I haven't had to stretch my culinary muscle in a little while and it feels nice to plan a bit.

On the knitting front, the never ending Bird In Hand mittens (that I'd given up on, finished and then frogged) are coming to an end. I managed to almost finish the pair in a week. When I started making these everything was fine but then all of a sudden, they were a trillion times to tight and my fingers were getting mangled in them. I threw them across the room put them away and re-cast on last week. Considering that these ones are in a correct gauge and don't squeeze my fingers like a vise, they'll be going to Jenny (who's been waiting with cold hands since february!!!). There's a bit of light outside, I might try and photograph the completed one today. I should have the second one finished by mid-week. I like getting things done! Wooooo!

Toodles!

excesses

I just got home from my friends cottage. It was a boozefest. I don't think that as a group we've ever gone this far. There were 6 of us. We cleaned 5 cases of 24 beers and 2 bottles of wine in 48 hours. We ate a lot which helped, but it was A LOT! I think that my liver deserves a bit of a respite this week so this will be the booze-free week for me.

Now I'm off to bed. I'm tired from my weekend :D

Toddles!

Saturday post...

I'm up north with some friends and have discovered the sheer wonder that is the scheduling posts option in Blogger. So as you read this, I'm sitting by a fire, hanging out and not thinking about elections :D

Have a great weekend everyone!!!!!!!!!!!

I leave you with a pic of me wearing a hat that I badly wanted at Rhinebeck but didn't get. I'm actually quite happy that I left it there because I don't think I would've worn it all that much...


Toodles!

Too funny

Last night I discovered a nice bar in the Mile-End district called Helm. They brew their own beer :D The other K and I took our french buddy there once his suitcases were dropped off. No. We do not waste time.

Just to make sure, he is nothing but a friend. Really. Really really! Funny commenters!

Toodles

Yayness

Today a friend that I met in the south of France over the summer is coming to Montreal. I'm so very happy and excited!!!!! I'm off to the airport with the other K to pick him up and after that, we're off for drinks for the rest of the day!!!!!!!!!!!

Toodles!

Elections...again?!?!?!

The Québec government has disbanded and called for elections. For the 5th time in 7 years my province will go through a seriously expensive election. I'm a little annoyed. It's not that I like the party in charge, I'm just a little annoyed with the lack of options. Everything comes down to either being a separatist or not. And then there's the inevitable seriously right-wing party and the seriously left-wing party. Obviously the latter are closer to my personal ideals (big shocker huh!) but at the same time, it's a new party who didn't get anyone elected last time and who might get 1 person in at the most.

To top it all off, I'm a little pissed that so many people around me are waaay interested in American politics and who refuse to get motivated by our own elections. What gives? Don't get me wrong, I seriously love international politics, but I also think that it's important to focus on what's going on at the provincial level. These people are directly responsible for a good chunk of education funding (which the don't do very much of...), hospital funding (another thing they forget to talk about 90% of the time) and language questions (a *highly* touchy topic in Québec). Add to that the fact that I'm expecting the separatism issue to come back and well...let's just put it this way, I'll be arguing with a lot of people about politics in the 32 days to come...

SIGH!

In other news, I don't know how I feel about it being close to 20C outside in November. It gives me a bit of the boo boo jeebies... Global warming is real folks (oh great that's going to be something else that's going to be fun to hear about in these elections!).

Toodles!

A word on politiks

I have my own opinions on the American elections. I also don't live in the US so you know...can't vote or really get my opinion out there. But still, I'd like to remind some people out there that both Obamarama and McMaverick are fairly great politicians. Now, were I American, able to vote and living in a Sarah "Awesome" Palin-free world, I'd be faced with a tough decision. The important thing though is to VOOOOOOOOOOOOOTE!

(sorry, this comes from an argument with a friend who doesn't understand why I haven't blogged about my opinion on what's going on south of the border)

Toodles!

Sweded...

Last night, in an effort to not watch pre-coverage of the American elections (please go VOTE!), I popped Be Kind Rewind in my DVD. I had such a great time watching it. Sometimes, that's all a movie needs to be great!

Michel Gondry directed this flick. You may know him from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and The Science of Sleep. He's fucking genius. There's a simplicity in his movies that appeals to me. I guess that when I watch a movie, I enjoy flaws. I don't want to see a super perfect lead character because as a spectator, I can't get behind that. I like seeing characters that I can not only relate too but can also transpose into my entourage. This is also true with stories. I like imperfect adventures where it doesn't always end well (except for this movie). Anyhow...

The movie is about two guys who erase all the tapes in a video store and decide to remake the movies. They call is "sweding" the movies. As is your movie has been "sweded". Look it up on YouTube, it's catching on and people are now creating their own versions of popular films!

I can tell you this, I liked this movie a lot. It was hilarious, it had Mos Def in it and Mia Farrow is a total space cadet as a loony old lady. There's also a really sweet and sensitive side to it as well. A great sense of friendship and community without a load of over-emotional over-acted bullshit. Definitely check it out!

I've included both the "official" trailer AND the "sweded" version (starring Michel Gondry!) and I'd be really curious to know which one you enjoy more...

Official version


Sweded version


Toodles!

Just a case of the mondays...

Due to the lack of sun, I woke up this morning with an urge to just roll back under the comforter and stay there. Serge quickly jumped on me and reminded me that as his human, I must feed him and rub his belly before even thinking of going back to sleep...Little fucker he is...!

Last night, I ended up knitting quite a bit on my Muir shawl. I haven't spoken about it much mainly because I have no pics of it. But it's time to gush about how gorgeous this pattern is. It really is. Plus it's me friendly (i.e very forgiving in the mistake dept). I'm knitting it in Malabrigo lace. This yarn is the shit. Period. I love it and want to squeeze it and name it George! I'm actually nearing the end of this knitting project. It calls for 13 lace repeats but I think I'll be going for 15 just to get some good length on it since I'm a little tall and round. Hopefully I'll be able to finish it by the end of the year (I'm not a fast knitter, what can you do?) since I'd wanted 2008 to be my year of lace.

Speaking of yearly recaps, I saw a fucking Christmas add on tv this morning. Nooooooo fucking way. Halloween was 3 days ago and we've moved on so soon? Really? Anyhow...

Here are my last Rhinebeck pics (I know I'm fucking slow). **Warning...pretty yarn ahead**

Some Brooks Farm Solo Silk which will become Ene's Scarf
Some indie sock yarn (the one thing I said I wouldn't buy...I'm weak!)
...sigh...how I care for thee sock yarn...
I'm so sad the color of this yarn doesn't come out well, it's a perfect mix of brown and red (hence the fact that the colorway is called Mahogany...)
And then finally (the last yarn comes with a story), I was gifted with some super sexy alpaca/silk laceweight yarn that AliP won at the Ravelry party. Yes, my yarn peeps are the bestest.
I think it's stupenderific. Thank you AliP!!!!!!!!
Whew! I can,t believe that it took me so damn long to post these...anyhow, it's done!!

Toodles

Hangovers

I have one now and really...they're no fun. Last night, I over indulged in a terrible mixture of Caesars and Vodka 7's. My liver and I are not friends right now. To top it off, I had promised my nieces that if they got good report cards, we would go see High School Musical 3. Now I've made some stupid promises in my life...but really... High School Musical 3. I'm an idiot! And of course, this morning they showed up with their report cards and held me to my promise. To be honest, it really wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, but I just wanted to lay in bed and moan until the drums stop playing in my head. Anyhow. I survived both the hangover and the early wake-up call and now, I'm just sitting around trying to find something useful to do with my carcass. I think that maybe a little bowl of chicken noodle soup and Be Kind Rewind will hit the spot just right. Who knows, if I don't fall asleep in the next hour, I might even knit!

Toodles

NaBloPoMo

Happy month of November to all of you out there!

I hope that you all had a swell Halloween, I know I did. I spent most most of it scaring little children shit-less in a haunted house at work. A lot of them cried :D I'm sorry, but there's something great in seeing a kid freeze in front of someone in a mask and just start shaking. Muhahahaha. Don't worry, I'm not THAT mean...

Anyhow, November is the month of the ever popular NaNoWriMo but I can't write 50 000 words. I can talk that much, but really, writting down a story that long is not something that I want to do. Instead though, I decided to challenge myself (don't roll your eyes) and try out NaBloPoMo. The goal is to post everyday for a month and since I've been fairly inconsistent with my blogging, I'm going to try this out.

So...I guess that this was post 1 :D I'll be back soon (tomorrow actually!) to post some much promised pics of my Rhinebeck acquisitions.

Toodles!