I owe you stuff. Like,

~ What I read in March. Hey, last month I was early, so if I’m a few days late this one it all balances out on the big karma scale.
~ Why I have a love/hate relationship with Facebook.
~ Where I was this weekend.

Well, I’ll answer the last one first. I went home for Easter to see the folks and the siblings and the cats. And maybe some green grass and buds on the trees; alas, they had as much snow there as there was in North Bay. Don’t colour me shocked about snow at this time of year – yes, it was unfortunate that it fell around this particular religious holiday when you would expect to see flowers blooming and grass growing and various animals frolicking. When my sister had her First Communion many moons ago, there was a freak snowfall – in mid-May. And from credible sources, I’ve heard tell of near-freezing temps in Timmins in July. A little snow early in April? Pshaw. I sneer at it.

(An aside – you know what I miss the most about Southern Ontario, besides jokes about Dunnville and Wainfleet? The fact that there are no less than fifteen classic rock stations, and that at any given moment, at least one of them is guaranteed to be playing Led Zeppelin. So! Awesome!)

Anyway, it was a great weekend of reading, watching hockey (we are die-hard Hab fans in our family) and curling, and, as the kids say, chillaxing. We also played a lot of Heroes of Might and Magic III, because we’re old school like that.

(…What? Where was I last week? I went home for Christmas for a few days. I took the train down, partied hard with the ‘rents and the sibs, and then took the train back. I had to work this weekend, so I couldn’t stay for long.)

So, finding no bins, I went to look at blinds, because I needed something for the window in the kitchen. My window looks into my neighbour’s kitchen window, and it’s kind of disconcerting at times.

(…Sorry? Where have I been for the last few months? I apologize for that. I’ve been busier than I expected, what with the new job, moving, NaNoWriMo, and the new job. Sometimes I compose blog posts in my head, but then I get home and all I can think is “……………..”)

Back to my story – I found bamboo blinds for the living room window, because the curtain there was falling apart. When I got to the checkout, I was told that blinds were on sale – buy one, get one free. Woo-hoo! There hadn’t been one that would exactly fit the kitchen window, but bamboo can be trimmed – good enough! And in a fit of ambition, I got both of the up last night!

(…I beg your pardon? What did I get for Christmas? A pasta maker and a ravioli press, maple syrup from my parent’s neighbour’s sugar bush, a set of frying pans, a ball winder (yay!), a knitting calender, a cookbook, fluffy sheets, a sweater, and some baskets. No, I couldn’t get it all back because the train company frowns on bringing wheelbarrows onto the train, so the ‘rents are bringing what I couldn’t carry when they come up in March. Can I finish my story?)

In a further fit of ambition, today I finally got my books onto the bookcases (it only took three months), hung a bulletin board in the office, hung a dry erase board in my kitchen, did the dishes, went for groceries, and made cream of carrot soup and zesty cornmeal bread. I was going to make foccacia bread, but I didn’t have enough flour.

(…You again? What am I doing to ring in the new year tonight? I was just getting to that!)

Plans for tonight changed several times over the past few days, but the one constant was wanting to be anti-social. There were plans for someone to have a trivia games party, but it turns out everyone else wanted to be anti-social too, so I got to do what I had wanted to do all along – stay home in my pj’s, knit and watch movies. It’s not that I wouldn’t have like to play trivia games, but I just wanted to stay home tonight.

(…What am I knitting? A sock. It was supposed to be a Christmas present, but I only had one done at the time. I’m at the heel on the second sock, so it shouldn’t take much longer. Podcasts, especially the three hour round-table Battlestar Galactica discussion, make wonderful knitting accompaniment. And to answer the question I know you’re going to ask next: yes, I did buy yarn when I was home. It’s pretty and soft and I loves it.)

Any more questions? No? Okay then! Happy New Year!

Yesterday, the ILP tried to go to the kitchen and restaurant supply place and the giant book store. Hilariously enough, both were closed. So I hit both places today.

If you are ever in the St. Catharines area after Christmas, might I suggest stopping by the Book Depot (it’s on Welland Ave. for those in the region). Books that are already on sale are even more on sale for the next few days. I made out pretty good – among other things, two Nigella Lawson cookbooks, A Cook’s Tour by Anthony Bourdain (I’m hooked, I tell ya…), Me Talk Pretty One Day by Dave Sedaris, The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger, and Sellovision by Augusten Burroughs (which I started reading while waiting in line). The clerk tallied up the total and then divided it in half, which made me all giddy and excited and wanting to go back again tomorrow. But I somehow have to get them all back to Sudbury, plus I don’t have room on my shelves (or, at least I’m not going to have room) to house them. Plus, I need to save money for my SEX (stash enhancement expedition – a knitting term) on Thursday.

The kitchen place is really cool, even though I feel like a complete amateur in there. There are so many pots and pans and implements to look at, that I feel that my cooking/baking would improve if I only had that funky looking wire whisk…

The other problem I have is that when you grow up with a mother who loves to bake and does so almost constantly is that you have an unrealistic expectation of how many pie plates, cookie sheets, muffin tins, loaf pans, cake pans, mixing bowls, etc., you really need. Do I need those tiny muffin tins for perfect bite-sized cheesecakes? No. Do I need a deep-dish pie plate with scalloped edging? No. Do I need a round bund pan for making gingerbread cake or poppyseed cake? Maybe, but I don’t need the $40 cast-iron one. So I limited myself to a nice, heavy mixing bowl and a long square pan for making brownies. Yeah, right…

Afterwards, I stopped at the library for a little visit (hi Elaine!) and then went to the yarn store in Fonthill. I got another ball of Dandy to finish the scarf I started eons ago but needed one more ball to complete, and two balls of totally cool novelty stuff – names of which I can’t remember.

And then I came home and finished Kiss of the Fur Queen. Good lord, but it was a sad ending! It was a sad book, but I loved it nonetheless. I’m all sad now, and I don’t really want to read Pi, but I’m going to force myself to anyways.

IÂ’m sure that everybody knows how much my body hates me
It lets me down most every time and makes me rash and hasty
- Billy Bragg, Sexuality

Over the past four days, I’ve had a grand total of 9 hours sleep. By last night, I was quite tired and more than a little stressed out. When I went to bed shortly before midnight, I kept thinking how much my body will appreciate a good, solid 7 hours of uninterrupted sleep. It took a while to get to sleep, because every time I’d drift off, I’d think of something else that needed to be done in the morning. Finally, I got up and made a list, and since I didn’t have to try and remember anymore, I dropped right off.

At 5:20am, my Mind woke me up.
“Pssst. Hey!”
“Zzzzzzz… *snort* Wha…?”
“Hey! What about the locks?”
“Huh?”
“The locks!”
“What locks?”
“For the suitcase, duh! Where are they?”
“How the hell should I know? I think they’re on the big suitcase.”
“Well, you should go find them.”
“No.”
“Why not?”
“Because I don’t need them. Now shut up and let me get another two hours of sleep, please!”
“What do you mean, you don’t need them? What if someone tries to break into your suitcase?”
“I don’t need them because I’m staying at Chez Larocque. The only person who might possibly want to break into my luggage is Rachelle to look for her Christmas presents.” (Note to Rachelle: Don’t.)
“But where are the locks?”
“Again, I don’t know. Probably on the big suitcase.”
“Fine. Where are the keys for the locks, then?”
“Shit! I don’t know! Will you bugger off?”

At that point, my sinuses decided to get in on the game and started running. For the next fifteen minutes, I was sneezing and blowing my nose and coughing and all sorts of other attractive things. Finally, I got up and my sinuses and my Mind started high-fiving each other for getting me out of bed an hour and a half before my alarm was supposed to go off. Bastards.

I just talked to my mother, and apparently the weather in Toronto is craptacular, but not doing anything at home. I’ll be doing the trek in puddle-jumps (stopping in Parry Sound and Barrie) to gauge the weather and road conditions.

Wish all us travelers luck!

Update: Despite miserable road conditions from Sudbury to Barrie (and moderately bad conditions from Barrie to Toronto, and “Meh” road conditions the rest of the way), I made it home in slightly over nine hours. It’s normally a six-hour journey.

Thanks for the good karma and best wishes!

I’m heading home for the holidays in the morning, and the weather isn’t co-operating. It’s snowing a little tonight, but we’re supposed to get more overnight. Plus, there’s a winter storm warning for pretty much all of Southern Ontario tomorrow. However, I’m not exceedingly worried.

As I told a former co-worker in an email earlier this evening (hi Elaine!), “Yes, yes – I know there’s a winter storm warning. We get those every year, but how many times did we actually *get* a storm? (Watch – this time, there will actually be a storm. Just g/God’s way of taunting me.)” (The answer is – rarely. Never at this time of year.)

But just in case the weather is bad and I have to drive through it, could you spare me a thought or two? I should be okay if I take my time and accept that I may have to stop somewhere along the way.

Anyways, g’nite. Maybe I’ll post something brief in the morning.

But! All is not lost! I got lots of yarn, lots of leftovers and other assorted goodies, and a microwave out of the deal!

S.E.X. – stands for Stash Enhancement eXpedition. I made several stops for yarn on the way home. The first was in Barrie, when I stopped for coffee; there’s a Michael’s across the parking lot from the Second Cup where I was, so I wandered over. I came out with four balls of Lion Brand Incredible in City Lights and Autumn Leaves. Then I stopped in Fergus, where my sister had purchased a couple of hanks of Manos de Uruguay for her birthday. Upon seeing the yarn up close and in person, I also succumbed to the yarn and bought a hank. I couldn’t remember what colour Denise got, so I went with Jungle, because I love green and I knew hers wasn’t green. Also purchased was Christmas present yarn, so I can’t talk about it.

When I left Fergus, I picked up Rachelle in Waterloo and we went to Guelph. Len’s Mills has a serious overabundance of cool yarn, and the rest of us (sort of) jokingly refer to it as Denise’s stash, since she’s there at least once a week. It was decided that we needed to “visit” the stash, and we all came away with stuff. I got four balls of Alafoss Lopi in various shades of green to match the Manos, a ball of Patons Divine in grey, and for some reason, a ball of Red Heart Cozy in white. So, I’m going to be good and busy for the next little while.

Drugs – I finally found my migraine medication at home – yay! The prescription is about six years out of date, and it does very little good, but it was my first line of defense if my head started to hurt. Of course, when I was unpacking tonight, I realized that even though I’d found it, I hadn’t thought to pack it. *sigh*

Rock – my music selection various from trip to trip. Sometimes I listen to a CD once, then I switch it; other times I listen to one or two over and over. On the way down, it was sort of mixed, going from Fleetwood Mac’s rumors, to Modest Mouse’s Good News for People Who Love Bad News, to a mixed CD I made for a road trip to PEI, to Buck 65′s Talkin’ Honky Blues. When I picked up Rachelle in Waterloo, we added Ray Charles and Medeski, Martin and Wood to the mix. However, my trip home was all about one CD – and for once, it wasn’t The Trews House of Ill Fame (which, after nine months, I can still listen to constantly). No, this time it was all about the Rolling Stones, and a compilation CD of the best of Forty Licks (which is a “best of” CD).

Roll – I was quite pleased with myself that I managed not to overeat at any point this weekend. For me, it’s an impressive feat. However, I did manage to score big on the leftovers front, something which I don’t usually manage because I either lived at home or too far away to bring home food. In addition to stewed chicken and dumplings and turkey, gravy, potatoes and turnip for a soup, I also scored two jars of jam (loganberry and an extra large strawberry), a pumpkin pie of my very own, and a box of Land o’ Lakes raspberry hot chocolate. Thanks Mom!

(I also somehow managed to get Rachelle’s leftover turkey and cheesy broccoli and cauliflower. Seriously – I don’t know how that happened! *burp*)

Oh – and the microwave. My b-i-l decided that they needed a new one, so they had to do something with the old one. Since I’m microwaveless (and wasn’t minding it) it was decided that I should get it. Initially, I was resistant. But when I got it home, found it a place on my counter, and heated up a piece of pie, I realized it was worth it. Thanks Denise and Mike!

Friday night – got home, ate lasagna with my sisters and b-i-l. Watched Love Actually – actually not a bad little film. Went to bed.

Saturday – got up late-ish. Sat around the breakfast table with my sisters and mother. Eventually showered and dressed. Went to the new yarn store in town. Got my hair cut. Returned to yarn store to purchase two balls of Gedifra’s Dandy (enough for a scarf) – pretty! Went home. Met sister’s boyfriend for the first time. Whole gang of us go to grandparents for a hootenanny (whole lot of hoot, great deal of nanny). Ate, got caught up with lives and goings-on of cousins and other assorted family members I haven’t seen since the winter. Ate. Had sing-along in the garage with rest of family. Fun was had by all.

Sunday – got up early. Went to church. Went to get turkey for dinner. Went home and had breafast. Puttered for the rest of the afternoon. Grandparents arrive and eventally, dinner is served.

Monday – got up on time. Big breakfast, including blueberry perogies imported from exotic Sudbury. Sister and b-i-l leave. More puttering commences. Finish Dennis Lehane’s Gone, Baby, Gone. Start Jennifer Crusie’s Tell Me Lies. (Eventally finish it – at 4AM). Play Trivial Pursuit with mother and sister, but abandoned because the questions are either too hard or way too easy. Play Boggle instead. Putter and read until bedtime.

Tuesday – got up suddenly when I realize mother is about to leave for first day back to school. End up not going back to bed – eat muffin, shower, and get dressed. Go to library to see former boss and co-workers. Get special hot chocolate at grocery store. Go home, throw bags in car, get lasagnas from freezer (one for me, two for sister and b-i-l in Guelph). Gather other things sister forgot. Bid fond adieu to other sister and leave. Get to Ikea and spend longer that I care to remember in line. Get to Guelph and hand off lasagnas and forgotten items to sister. Go to yarn place and come out with much yarn [1]. Finally go for lunch (it’s 3:00PM now). Realize how late it is, and boot it to 401. Traffic is heavy, even on the 407. Around 7:00pm I remember that driving after dark in Northern Ontario is dangerous, due to deer and moose, so spend next two hours with eyes peeled for large hooved beasts. Eventually get back to apartment. Lament the end of a most excellent weekend.

[1] – Three balls of Wendy Velvet Touch in Flame Velvet (a discontinued colour). Three balls of Patons Divine in Floral Fantasy. Four balls Alafoss Lopi in Golden Green. Also, assorted knitting needles.

Barbie, who was as immobile and plastic on the computer screen as she is in real life, is standing around her house, when the phone rings. Surprise! It’s Ken! Ken is calling to invite Barbie, his go-to gal for lame-ass events, to go somewhere. Usually, it’s boring stuff, like playing tennis, going on a picnic, or going to the pool. Sometimes it’s to the prom (which seemed normal at the time, but makes no sense now. They weren’t in high school, so did they just drive around looking for proms to crash?). Whatever it was, Barbie always responded with a chipper, “Gee, that sounds like fun!” Then Ken would tell her he’d pick her up in an hour, and hang up.

Now came the challenge – getting Barbie ready for whatever it was Ken was taking her to. She’d drive around in her car, and you’d stop at the shoe shop, the hairdresser’s, and various clothing shops. You could change and colour her hair, or change the colour and pattern of the clothes and shoes – but she had to be back home in an hour! Which is soooo unrealistic – everyone knows that it takes two weeks of solid prep time for Barbie to pick out the perfect ensemble to go play tennis.

Once she got home, one of two things would happen. Either the doorbell would ring and Ken would whisk her off to some boring function, or the phone would ring and it would be that pansy-assed coward Ken, calling to cancel. “Gee Barbie, plans have changed, would you like to go to the [insert event]?”*

Because we played this game so much, “Gee Barbie, plans have changed” became a catchphrase in our family – a way of saying that something we had planned to do had undergone some retooling, and we needed to replan. And it was a fun way of boring aquaintances with stories from our childhoods, so, y’know – two birds, one stone, and all that.

All this to say that the plans for going home this weekend have changed. Not drastically, but changed nonetheless. My sister and I in the roll of Barbie, and my mother in the roll of Ken (sort of). The original plan was that I was going to stop at her place on my way home on Friday night, Saturday morning we’d hit the LYS in her neighbourhood, and then we’d proceed home. I’d get my hair cut Saturday afternoon, and then we’d hit the LYS’s there.

My sister called this evening to say that my mother has been dropping seriously heavy hints about wanting us home Friday night, so we altered our plans accordingly. She, her husband, and my younger sister will head home Friday evening, and I’ll head straight home Friday night. It’s actually a better plan, since it required a detour to get to her place. Plus, we’ll have Saturday morning to hit a few LYSs, get my hair cut, and then hit a few more. Plus, I won’t have to worry about the blueberry perogies thawing out over Friday night, and I can cook them up when I get home.

*Incidentally, if you put Barbie in a bikini or skimpy bathing suit and heels, it was guaranteed that Ken would take her anywhere, even if it was to the prom. Asshat.