February 19, 2011

Monster

A few weeks ago, Dr. Beth postulated that there is a thief out there somewhere that steals your time. While I agree with her assessment, I think that in my case there is a monster at the end of the month, and he is eating all of my free time. It’s the only reason I can think of for it already being over halfway through February.

Frankly, most of January whizzed right by in a blur, and February hasn’t slowed down that much, either. I’m trying to keep track of interesting events, but when I look back on them I realize how long ago they actually were. Like, the dinner party I threw for myself and two friends, where one friend brought the apps and margaritas, I made fondue, and the other friend brought cupcakes. That was four weekends ago now. And then there was the last-minute trip to Toronto1 for the big librarian’s conference I hadn’t planned on attending for various reason. However, for various reasons it turned out to be a really good trip and I’m glad I was forced to go.2

Resolution progress:

  • Knitting! One pair of socks are finished, and half a sock from the other pair are done. I’m up to the heel on the pair of socks for Rhiannon, and I can’t find the fourth pair. No movement on the shawls and scarves. I ripped out the handwarmers for Karen and reused the yarn to make her mittens, which are almost finished (and better be done by tomorrow since I’m going to see her.)
  • Wine! Two bottles down!
  • Spinning! I’ve spun roughly 115g of merino wool, alpaca and tussah silk, and am working my way through 115g of superwash merino and cashmere.3

And now I’m going to see if I can beat that stupid time-eating monster into a pulp.

  1. Although I don’t know if you can call four days notice “last minute.” I suppose you could, if you take into account we hadn’t registered, arranged transportation or booked accommodations. [↩]
  2. Some people will wonder exactly how awful it must be to work where I do when I’m “forced” to go to Toronto to a really interesting conference for three days, and stay in nice hotels, and whatnot. You people would be very right. [↩]
  3. SO! SOFT!! [↩]

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January 14, 2011

Eleventy

Even though I vowed not to make resolutions, I didn’t say anything about not taking up eleven-themed challenges, such as reading eleven non-fiction books, running in eleven marathons, or setting up eleven charities to save the black-footed ferret.

On Ravelry1 , there is a plethora of eleven-themed challenges. Presumably, there were a plethora of ten-themed challenges at the beginning of last year, but I wasn’t paying attention. One of the groups I frequent, a group for people who like to knit mittens (which I most enthusiastically do!) the challenge is, as you may have guessed, to knit eleven pairs of mittens. 2 This is an acceptable challenge, and one I have signed on for. So I started looking around to see what other challenges I could take up.

The first one that came to mind was spinning 1100 grams3 of yarn. “Spin?” you say. “Do you actually have a spinning wheel?” Of course I do! And I know how to use it! I mean, I get enough surprised reaction from people who find out I knit – imagine telling them that I also know how to spin fleece into yarn. I find it quite soothing, actually – meditative, if I could be so bold as to say. And in the pursuit of meditation, I have managed to amass quite a stash of fleece, including various wools, some alpaca, a cashmere blend and a thick stack of silk hankies. Before I set about acquiring any more, I feel that I should make a significant dent in what I already have.

The second challenge that came to mind was finishing up eleven languishing projects. At first, I didn’t think I would be able to find eleven unfinished projects, but then I started counting. There are currently four pair of socks on the go right now, including a pair of knee socks that will never fit4 so they are destined to be socks and something else, as well as a pair of socks for Rhiannon. (It’s part of a trade – I’m making her socks, she’s making me a lace shawl.) There are a pair of gloves I started for my friend Karen, which are lacking only thumbs. I have at least three scarves waiting in project bags, a sweater I started last fall, a pair of socks for my niece, and a stuffed toy for… someone. I don’t know who. Clearly, without trying too hard, I came up with eleven projects I could finish this year.

Finally, and this one’s going to be the hardest, I have quite a few bottles of wine that I’ve picked up on my visits to my parents. My sister and I sometimes end up going on winery tours, and it’s not uncommon for us to return home from these visits with six or seven bottles each. Since I am running out of (cool, dark) storage space, I must make some kind of effort to free up some shelves for new stuff. This may be the most challenging one of all, really, especially if I have to do it all by lonesome (sigh).

  1. It’s a social networking site for knitters. We are legion! [↩]
  2. And, in the time honoured fashion of all things on the internet that are left up to groupthink, rules and regulations popped up almost immediately, with some people asking if handwarmers could be included, or if fingerless gloves were acceptable, and other saying no; did colourwork count for more, or cables, or “convertables”? [↩]
  3. About 38 ounces. [↩]
  4. The pattern is written for someone with average calves. I, alas, have somewhat muscular calves – shut up! They are too! – and I can’t for the life of me make them work for me. [↩]

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January 9, 2011

Where was I?

Okay, so that was a really quiet period this blog just went through. But don’t worry – you didn’t miss all that much.

August was hot and busy. September was less hot and busier and Julie came to visit. October was mostly spent traveling (more on this in a sec) and being busy. November saw me once again attempt NaNoWriMo but fail spectacularly in the third week because I was too busy. December was bitterly cold and busy; the only break in the monotony was the surprise stomach flu I got Christmas morning. Which brings us to January, and it looks like it’s going to be – wait for it! – busy.

More about October! In October, my friend Rhiannon got married in Penetanguishine1 My other friend Jamie and I drove down and, when we weren’t at the wedding, we were hitting all the wool shops in an hour’s driving radius. At Thanksgiving, I went home for a few days, then flew to Winnipeg for a conference, and then back to my parents for a few more days.

And because it’s now 2011, I feel like I should make some kind of grand gesture, like proclaim that I will blog at least 3 times a week for the rest of the year!2 Or, announce that I will attempt some feat of noble self-improvement in the next six months! However, I’m kind of lazy that way, and if I don’t keep up with whatever deadlines I set, or live up to the goals I’ve made myself, I will feel like a failure and beat myself up about it.

How about this: I am going to try not to go that long without posting again this year. This seems achievable and maintainable.

  1. For whatever reason, I always want to say Petawawa. It’s kind of like how I always get Temagami, Temiskaming and Tobermory confused. For those playing along at home and not familiar with any of those places, let’s just say they aren’t even close to each other. Except for maybe Temagami and Temiskaming. [↩]
  2. On a happy note, I’ve been able to maintain a steady routine of going to the gym three times a week since August. Some weeks I’ve missed one, or I’ve been sick and missed all three, but it’s an achievement I’m pleased with. [↩]

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August 22, 2010

You’re about to smell what I’ve been cooking

I had an unexpected free weekend, and I spent most of it baking.

Last weekend, blueberries were on sale at the grocery store, three packages for $4. They’re not the tiny, wild blueberries of my youth that we picked in the wilds of New Brunswick while visiting my dad’s family, but they were pretty good nonetheless. I spent most of the week eating one package just as-is, in yogurt or in salads. Yesterday morning, I made the second package into blueberry muffins – they’re pretty good, and I’m going to throw a bunch in the freezer for later. And right now I’ve got a peach blueberry crisp in the oven for later tonight. Sadly, they weren’t on sale this week, and I’m thinking I should have got more last weekend (and froze what I didn’t use).

Today I made bread. It’s a recipe from the cookbook More Food That Really Schmecks [1. I don't know what "schmecks" means, although I suspect that given its placement in the sentence, it's either a verb or an adjective. ] I made the same recipe a few weeks ago and tweeted about it, prompting Dr. Beth to ask for the recipe. It’s a good basic bread recipe, and if you can get your hands on a copy of the cookbook I would strongly recommend it[2. It's a cookbook made of awesome, so it's worth it in general. ]. Today I decided to mix things up a little – I added 2 tablespoons of flax seed, 4 tablespoons of wheat germ[3. I'm going to have to hoard what I have left of my wheat germ - I haven't been able to find any at the grocery store for a long while. Probably they've moved it YET AGAIN. ] and about half a cup of sunflower seeds. Instead of using all unbleached flour, I used about half unbleached, half whole wheat. Granted, there’s no one else here to confirm this, but it smells and looks pretty good.

And now I’m off to peel some sweet potatoes for supper. I’m throwing them on the BBQ with tandori chicken that’s been marinating since last night.

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July 30, 2010

Thwarted

It’s been… a week at work. One of those weeks where, when you tell your non-librarian friends about the things that happened, their eyes get big, their jaws hang open, and they vow never again to tell people that libraries are boring places. And tomorrow, it’s mine (and half the staff’s) Saturday to work. It sucks knowing that you have to work the Saturday of a long weekend while the other half go breezing out of the building at 5 on Friday, knowing they don’t have to come in the next day but you do [1. And I know this because we all do it to them when we don't have to work long-weekend-Saturdays. ].

As well, yesterday I had quite a time editing and uploading some pictures to Ravelry – I’d taken them, I’d edited them, and they only needed uploading. But for some reason the file format wasn’t being recognized, which meant re-editing all 40 or so photos. What was supposed to be a relaxing evening updating my stash turned into a hair-pulling exercise and several rants about Gimp.

To make having to work on a Saturday more palatable, and to do some activity that might bring me some contentment, I declared that I would bring in cupcakes the next day. Because who doesn’t love them some cupcakes? Stephen Harper supporters, that’s who! [2. Also, probably Stephen Harper. ]

So, with purpose and determination, I came home, had supper and got to work. The first thing I saw when I got in was some week old bananas that needed to be turned into something delicious. Chocolate chip banana muffins – perfect! [3. It's a recipe from a hippie-earth-crunchy muffin cookbook my mom has. Originally, it calls for some kind of nuts in the muffin and somewhere along the way the nuts turned into chocolate chips. I don't recall who's to blame for this delicious substitution. ] Now what? Carrots! I got some carrots at the farmer’s market last weekend, let’s make carrot cake cupcakes with cream cheese icing! And what else? What about chocolate cupcakes with caramel icing? Only CHILDREN who support Stephen Harper don’t like chocolate cupcakes!

Then I looked around, specifically at my sugar. And flour. And eggs. How is it possible that I’m low or almost out of ALL of them AT THE SAME TIME, when I most definitely need them? And what’s worse is that I only had enough paper liners for the muffins. GAH!

I hope the staff like their stupid chocolate chip banana muffins and their stupid carrot cake IN A PAN with stupid cream cheese icing. I’m going to be over here sulking while I lick the bowls.

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July 4, 2010

Terrified

The following is how to have a truly creepy, terrifying dream.

It’s a cool evening – some might even call it cold. Close the windows almost all the way but leave them open a little so you can still get some fresh air. But don’t have enough blankets on the bed so you’re still chilly. Huddle up with the cat under the covers and eventually drop off to sleep.

Wake up in the middle of the night and hear a rustling noise. Figure that it must be windy outside and it’s just the sound of the leaves in the trees.

A few minutes later, hear a thud-THUD sound. Figure that it must be the cat jumping off the table or the counter (and make a note to scold him about it later), but realize the cat is still next to you so that can’t be it. Ponder this development for a few moments.

Before you’ve come to any firm conclusion (or at least one firm enough to help you get back to sleep), hear the sound of footsteps and realize that someone is in the house. Freak out a little, but quietly. Try to figure out where the phone is and if you can reach it from your current position. Remember that if you pick up the extension upstairs, the light on the phone upstairs goes on so whoever is down there will know that someone is awake upstairs and it could end very badly. Hope that they leave soon (and spare a rather random regret that you haven’t backed up your laptop lately because surely they’re going to take that, but silently smirk because the laptop is almost 5 years old and making bad noises, so they’re getting a lemon.)

Suddenly, the hall light comes on, and you hear footsteps on the stairs. Start panicking in earnest, and start tossing and turning. Maybe whoever it is doesn’t realize there’s anyone home, so make enough noise to make it sound like there really is someone home but they’re not awake yet.

Realize it’s not working because the intruder is at the top of the stairs and is now coming down the hall. And now they are outside your room.

Consider your options. First on the list: is this a dream? If so, can you wake yourself up? Try that.

Wake up, laying in the same position you were when you fell asleep, which is the same position you were laying in the dream. Have an attack of the willies and realize you’re not getting back to sleep tonight.

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June 26, 2010

A chronicle of books

Today, for the first time in months, I pulled my book journal off the shelf of the bookcase in my kitchen. The reason was that I had just finished another book today and wanted to record it before I forgot it and the other two that I’ve finished this month. And then I remembered that I’d started a Google document at some point with the titles and authors of two other books I’d read earlier in the year but was nowhere near my journal to record them, so I started the doc to record the information in case I forgot about them, which is good because I almost had.

After, I started flipping through it, looking back at past years. There were quite a few books I’d forgotten about, a lot that I had remembered the plot to but couldn’t remember the title, and more than a few I think I want to re-read at some point. Other things, like why I had written “lupus?” in the margin beside Gil Adamson’s Outlander or where exactly did the quote about the head in the jar come from[1. "Hey, is that a head in a jar?" "What gave it away - the head or the jar?" ] and which title-less Suzanne Brockmann book was I referring to when I wrote “almost as good as Troubleshooters books”[2. It's dated summer of 2008, around the time I was in the Maritimes, which means I read it and gave it away and forgot the title but remembered the author. ], puzzle me. And then there are all the different pens, the handwriting, short vs. long descriptions, funny comments – basically, it was a big long trip down memory lane.

But then I got to 2009. Sad, neglected 2009. I only managed to chronicle about half the year, and there are a couple of post-it notes with acronyms I can assume are the titles of books which I intended to memorialize, but never did. There are books I am certain I read last year but aren’t there, and it makes me sad that I didn’t record them and some of them are most certainly lost to me now.

This has given me a renewed sense of responsibility to keep up with my book chronicling. I did a little at the beginning of the year, and now that I remember how important it is to me, how important it is to remember what I have read, I will be more diligent in recording my reading habits.

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June 19, 2010

Doing awesome things in public

Today was the day our knitting guild held its annual Knit in Public Day event. Again this year I had to work, but I did manage to dash over to the group who had set up in the Farmer’s Market and say hi, and then had lunch with the group who were gathered in the square behind the library. I even managed to do a few rows on a sock I started this week.

I’ve been a member of the guild for almost three years now, and it’s been a fabulous experience. The people in the group have taught me so much, and have been encouraging of everyone’s endeavors. I’ve been challenged to try new things and tackle harder projects, and it’s been rewarding. With their support, I’ve made five pairs of socks in the past two years [1. Which is as many as I'd made in the previous five years. ] and become the go-to person for knitting toe-up socks, started knitting lace [2. The key word there is "started" - note that I didn't say that I'd finished anything. ], and have gained mad stranded colourwork skillz. For example, this is a pair of mittens I designed and made my sister for Christmas (which I gave her in February and are being modeled by my mother in this picture):

Branching Out Mittens [3. It was only afterward I realized the huge mistake I made on the front. Basically, the left and right should have been a mirror image of each other since it's not a symmetrical pattern, but these are an exact copy. Maybe it doesn't look wrong to you, but now that I know I did it, it bugs the crap out of me. ]

Branching Out Mittens

Branching Out Mittens

I would just like to say thanks guys, and next year I’m absolutely going to book this Saturday off!

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June 18, 2010

Summer playlist

One afternoon on Twitter, about a month ago, I posted that I was making up a summer playlist – something that I could listen to while cruising about the city, with the windows rolled down and the stereo cranked. Several people offered some good suggestions, most of which I can’t find [1. I wrote them down! On a notepad! It's on my desk somewhere! ]. Here’s what I have so far:

1. Pump it Up – Elvis Costello. I’m pretty sure this was a suggestion. Besides, how have I made it this far without having this song in my collection? (There was also a version by Danko Jones in iTunes. Good, but not better than the original.)

2. Little Secrets – Passion Pit. This was going to be the axis around which all the other songs spun. I can listen to this song on constant repeat and not get bored of it.

3. El Scorcho – Weezer. I feel like I know exactly what they’re singing about. I’ve been the person doing the pleading, while being simultaneously exasperated with the person in question, and hating myself for being in that situation ONCE AGAIN.

Ahem. Moving on…

4. Make Me – Janet Jackson. You know those times when you don’t want to clean the kitchen, or the laundry is piling up but you don’t want to do it. Or sweeping – ugh, sweeping. Put this song on, and just dance through the housework.

5. Dancing in the Moonlight – Toploader. This song is unrelentingly, almost agressively, cheerful. Another good song for doing housework. Or, you know, cruising around while blaring the stereo.

6. Tightrope (feat. Big Boi) – Janelle Monae. Thank you CBC2 for bringing this to my attention one morning a few weeks ago.

7. Steal My Sunshine – Len. No, I did not get sick of this song during the early 00′s. Okay, maybe I did, but when I heard it the other week I didn’t realize that I’d sort of missed it.

8. Someday Baby – R.L. Burnside. This was in one of my wish lists, and I have no idea how long it had been there, or even who had recommended it. Bluesy, funky, kind of awesome, really.

This is it, so far. At least until I find that damn list.

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June 16, 2010

The line starts behind me

A few weeks ago, I had it confirmed that I’m the biggest nerd in the city, or at least the biggest one at my gym.

Last year, the gym I go to replaced all of the old equipment with bright shiny new machines that had TVs attached to them. This has its drawbacks (we are all working out together in isolation), but there are many benefits to this as well. One is that you can watch whatever you want without inconveniencing anyone else.

From what I’ve observed in the several months that we’ve had them, men in general watch mostly sports or CNN, young women watch MuchMusic, MTV or Slice, and older women watch HGTV, FoodTV or Diva. However, the one channel almost everyone has in common is TLC.

One afternoon a few weeks ago, I went to my usual machine, started my routine and then began to flip channels until I settled on something I wanted to watch for the duration of my workout. After a while, I look around to see what everyone else is watching, since it was mostly women in the gym at that time. The vast majority of them were watching “Say Yes To The Dress” [1. It's a show about a wedding dress boutique in New York. ], while a few were watching the news. And what had I settled on?

The Empire Strikes Back. NEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRDDDDD!

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